Introduction

Before 3 became an official iPhone carrier, I started playing with functions on the iPhone to enable features and automate settings for use on 3. I’ve since created a few different bits and pieces to play with and enhance the user experience whilst using an iPhone on 3.

Contents

1. 3 Voicemail App
2. Simple My3 Usage
3. 3 Carrier Bundle
4. Enable Tethering and MMS (No longer working in 3.1+)

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1. 3 Voicemail App

I recommend you read the Full post, as it contains some important privacy information. The quick instructions are as follows:

1. Grab your iPhone, open safari, and go to http://andrew.harrison.org/3mail. You can use Wifi or 3G, 3 Voicemail will work with both.
2. You’ll be prompted to add it as a home screen app, so hit the + button on the Safari toolbar, and then “Add to Home Screen”
3. Tap the new icon on the home screen, and the app will launch. Type in your 3 email address and your voicemail PIN, and hit “Onward”. You’ll be taken to the voicemail list.
4. From that list, tap on a message to listen to it. It will take a few seconds to download the message to my web server, and then it will take you to the Quicktime player, where it will download the message to your phone. This can take time, depending on how fast your connection is, and how big the message is. I don’t have any control over it once the Quicktime player appears, so be patient.
5. Once the message has been played back, it will automatically log you back in and show the list of messages again.

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2. Simple My3 Usage

Update

I’ve made a couple of changes to this. You should delete and re-add the Home Screen icon to see the changes. I’m fiddling with this as part of a related, more ambitious project, so stay tuned.

If you’re on 3 with an iPhone, you almost certainly have a data pack. If so, you may also find it frustrating that the My3 portal shows call cap usage and data usage on two different screens, requiring 3 clicks to get between them.

To make it easier, I’ve created a simple page that pulls in both screens [in iframes] and displays them one after the other. It’s also got an icon specified so you can add it as a webclip to your iPhone’s home screen. It will only work when you’re on your mobile data [not on wifi] and will login automagically the same way it does when you go to My3 normally.

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3. The 3 Carrier Bundle

Update

iTunes 9/iPhoneOS 3.1 disabled unsigned carrier bundles (or something to that effect – I’m not quite sure what actually changed) so I’ve updated my bundle to v6.4, which seems to get around the problem. I’ll be keeping my bundle at 2 full versions higher than the official bundle from now on, as that seems to make everything keep working.

Apple has allowed authorised carriers to create carrier-specific settings for APNs [internet access points], voicemail, carrier logos, call diversions etc. as a single package called carrier bundles. These bundles are essentially .zip files with the .ipcc extension, and contain images and property list files with the required settings. 3’s carrier bundle disables some features that are nice to have, so I’ve created my own carrier bundle that re-enables these features. Follow the instructions below to install.

Instructions for Mac are as follows. Windows has similar instructions, but step 1 has a different command which can be found here (I can’t vouch that this works, I don’t have a Windows computer/iPhone to test it on).

1. [iTunes 8.2+/iPhone 3.0+ only] Quit iTunes, fire up Terminal and put in the following command: defaults write com.apple.iTunes carrier-testing -bool TRUE and hit enter.
2. Download the Carrier Bundle and unzip it, you should have an .ipcc file.
3. Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch iTunes, then select your iPhone in the sidebar.
4. Hold option and click the “check for update” button and select the .ipcc file. iTunes will load it to the phone. You may need to reboot or remove/replace your SIM/toggle aeroplane mode to see the changes.

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4. Enable Tethering and MMS (Redundant and no longer supported)

Update

This method is unnecessary as the carrier bundle above now includes these settings. You only need it if you do not want the rest of the goodies the carrier bundle comes with. THIS METHOD NO LONGER WORKS – UNINSTALL THE PROFILE IN iPhone OS 3.1+

The following solution will allow you to tether your computer to your iPhone and also send MMSes:

1. Fire up MobileSafari on your iPhone and go to the .mobileconfig file directly
2. It will open up an Install Profile screen, telling you it’s going to Enable Tethering. Tap Install.
3. It’ll tell you it’s not authenticated, don’t worry too much about it, it’s just that apparently I’m not an actual mobile phone carrier according to Apple. Hit Install again.
4. It will do its thing, then after about 10 seconds it will have installed. Hit “Done” in the top right. It will take you back to Safari.
5. On your iPhone, go into Settings -> General -> Network, you now should have a new option for “Internet Tethering”. Follow the instructions to set up your Mac for tethering.

MMS Settings need to be added manually as follows:

Go to Settings -> General -> Network -> Cellular Data Network

Set up as follows:

• APN: 3services
• Username: [blank]
• Password: [blank]
• MMSC: http://mmsc.three.net.au:10021/mmsc
• MMS Proxy: 10.176.57.25:8799
• MMS Max Message Size: [blank]

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A note on customisation

I welcome all feedback and feature requests, however I won’t be customising the carrier bundle or the voicemail app for any other carriers. If you’d like to adapt my methodology for use on other carriers, I’m happy to answer specific questions that you may have.