Archive for August, 2009

China Unicom 3G GPRS Settings

China, Tech | Posted by Terence
Aug 26 2009

Having got my new China Unicom WCDMA 3G number, I was somewhat confused that (a) data service worked through my China Mobile settings (b) it didn’t work using the settings Unicom customer service provided, and (c) I found yet another set of settings that can be used.

Whilst I still don’t know why the above is true, I found the following:

1) Use China Mobile settings (APN: CMNET) for GPRS / 3G Data with no proxy works fine. MMS should be received using WAP profile (APN: CMWAP , MMSC: http://mmsc.monternet.com , Gateway or Proxy: 10.0.0.172. Port 80 for HTTP, port 9201 for WAP)

I don’t know if this is just compatibility, or a problem with China Mobile’s network.

2) The settings Unicom customer service now provide will only work through a proxy.
GPRS APN: 3gwap
WAP APN: 3gnet

- for both must set proxy through 10.0.0.172 . These settings provide support for web (HTTP) traffic only.

3) Older data suggests to use:
GPRS APN: uninet
WAP APN: uniwap
MMSC: mmsc.myuni.com.cn

- I use this and it works. No proxy needed for GPRS ; but use 10.0.0.172 (as above) for MMS. Works across all protocols (MSN, FTP etc…) unlike 3G settings.

Therefore if you have a China Unicom 3G card and have been given the new settings, don’t bother. It’s just more complicated, and using 3gwap non-HTTP based services will not work.

Note: I’ve subsequently discovered this site claiming that for certain applications like Mobile Television you must use the 3G settings. I haven’t tested.

Visa free access to Russia!

Hong Kong, Travel | Posted by Terence
Aug 01 2009

Those Hong Kong passport holders out there may be interested to know that as of July 1st 2009, a mutual visa free arrangement between Hong Kong and Russia will allow visa-free access between both regions for a period of 14 days.

Russia isn’t high on my list of places to visit, but this is certainly welcoming news. Being so close, it even sounds mildly tempting…

Edit – Noting that many people get here searching ‘visa free access China’ in Google, note the following:

1) Only passport holders from Singapore, Brunei, and Japan can visit China visa-free for up to 15 days. Visitors from Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan should use a separate document issued by mainland authorities for travel.

2) Visa-free access to Russia granted to the following countries as of 28/08/2009 : Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Cuba, Moldova, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Israel, Macedonia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Venezuela, Argentina – and Hong Kong.