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.
I live in Shenzhen and tried the CU 3G network. I got it working with the APN uniwap and the MMSC settings you listed and added the proxy to the MMSC settings. It worked fine for me. Where I got messed up was the lack of information. Like they told me it would work in HK. “No problem” the salesman said. He didn’t mention the CU would want a deposit of RMB3000 to open IDD and Roaming service for my prepaid phone. The idea of making this huge deposit upset me greatly. THe second issue was that no one told me about their billing process and that I was getting my full data allotment for the month because of the date i signed u and i was going to be charged 10RMB for each megabyte over my limit. AND they never told me I could buy additional data plans or that those data plans can only be activated at the first of the month.
so i decided to buy another number from them through a local friend who can ope n the number for international roaming and calling for free and add a data plan at the end of this month so I can use it next month.
The 3G from CU is very fast and I was able to access all the same sites from my phone as at home.
I find China Mobile have a better policy regarding ‘wai di ren’ (外地人) or foreigners using their services. The RMB500 I paid China Unicom as a “deposit” is not used for deducting monthly fees but rather I must collect it six months later. I am told the same is the case with the RMB3000 for roaming activation.
With China Mobile, the RMB500 you pay to open your account is merely a prepay for your next few bills, as is the 3000RMB you pay for roaming. If you call the hotline (10086) after three months of using your GoTone (全球通) service as a foreigner and your account was in good standing, they will activate your roaming for free.
You’re right regarding the data plans – they should definitely have informed you. Data here is still quite expensive compared to many providers abroad which offer reasonable unlimited data plans.
hi. i just want to ask if there’s any broadband service provider in china?
i have a Huawei 160 HSDPA USB modem (unlocked) which I bought in the Philippines, and I’m wondering if China Mobile has the same service being provided?
Thank you
Hi Chris,
China Mobile operates 3G using the homegrown TD-SCDMA which the Huawei 160 (I assume, after a brief search online) does not support. However you can use it for GPRS/EDGE access.
You would be better off using China Unicom, which supports HSDPA over WCDMA.
The third provider, China Telecom, runs its 3G network using ED-VO (CDMA) – likely also not supported by your device.
Prices for all three networks are not cheap at the moment: on a standard voice plan, 5RMB gets you 30mb data monthly, whilst 20RMB gets you 150mb.
hey guys i live in nanjing i hav a blackberry8310 and my service provider is china unicom ….. i got my gprs activated but im not able to browse internet through my phone
the messge im gettin is ….your device doesnot currently have any browser configuration service book entries
…………