Cingular 8525 – New ROM, New Features, Fixes and Internet Connection Sharing
Posted by Keith Elder | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 04-06-2007
I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago how to setup the Cingular 8525 to connect to the Internet with your laptop. After that post a new updated ROM was released by HTC which brands the phone with AT&T instead of Cingular and it also provides a lot of updates and fixes. For example the top of the phone now properly displays Edge or 3G depending which high speed data network you are on. It also adds support for downloading videos, music and even enables PPT (push to talk) on the phone.
I’ve used the PPT feature some but I only have two people that I know who have push to talk on their phones (my sister and her husband). If you have PPT feel free to ping me at 601.467.9744. I haven’t decided if I will keep the feature or not. I guess it depends on the number of people that I know that have it. It also cost extra money too. Time will tell.
The coolest feature that I want to shout from the roof tops is the new Internet Sharing program. Previously this was known as “Wireless Modem”. As you can see from my previous post on how to use the 8525 with your laptop, it takes time to setup and isn’t common knowledge. The new program which is called “Internet Sharing” just absolutely rocks. It works like this under Windows Vista.
1. Plug up phone cable to laptop.
2. Launch “Internet Sharing”.
3. Press Connect.
That is it! You are done. What happens is it creates an on the fly network adapter, gets an IP address and sets everything up. I renamed the network 4 adapter on mine to “Cingular 8525” as you see in this picture. Wow is this “GUMP”. Plug the phone in, launch the app and you are online.
This feature rocks and is very welcomed. Just be sure you you have the all you can eat wireless plan before turning this on or it will cost you a fortune. This week we are in Orlando, Fl for Tech Ed and the hotel wants to charge $9.99 for 24 hours of Internet usage. Orlando supports the high speed 3G network and with Internet Sharing built-in now, I have high speed Internet for free. Thank you Hilton for offering Internet but I’ll keep my $9.99!
I went to that site and cannot locate the latest rom version for my 8525. Anyway you could pass a link my way?
Go here, you’ll find what you are looking for.
http://www.xda-developers.com/
i just got a 8525 from ebay. where can i get the latest windows and rom version? i’ve been looking everywhere and can’t find it. can someone post up a link here or email me at northernva2000@gmail.com.
thanks,
lisa
Thanks so much fol the info! the internet connection issue was something I had searched extensively as well & had given up until today.
I bought this phone and never really used it because AT&T charged a fortune for phone, data and tethering service. Signed off and now sits in a drawer.
My question is:
I’m now going to nursing school and need a pda. Can the 8525 be used with all of it’s pda functions such as Word and Excel WITHOUT having to sign up with either AT&T or T-mobile for phone service? I don’t really need the phone, just want to have medical reference tools/programs in my pocket.
@Lee
If you have WIFI and use it on the phone then there are no charges whatsoever. However, here is my take with that phone Lee. For me, that phone is a brick without the data plan. That phone has 3G on it which is reaching the speeds of WIFI. So for what, $30 a month you can get unlimited data from ANYWHERE. That gives you email and other things no matter where you are at. For me just using the WIFI isn’t an option and sorta kills the attractiveness of the phone. That is just me though.
Hey i have the 8525 under at&t, and I just want to be able to use the internet. Since the phone can pick up wifi signals, if i connect to a network than i should have internet free of charge right? At this point i wouldn’t be using the At&t internet service? Just wanted to be sure because I tried something similar n ended up being charged. That time it was through Activesync which allowed me to have internet access on phone from laptop with wireless connection. I downloaded a couple ringtones etc n the bill came in somewhat loaded. Any suggestions on the two questions or statements Keith or anyone else?
As long as you don’t get too crazy or carried away they won’t say anything. If you use it all day everyday, Then they will. Unlimited means unlimited within normal use not saturate the line 24/7.
i have an 8525 with at and t and i have an unlimited data plan. i use this feature often and completely love it it works fast and is a great option when my router isnt working. i want to know if there is any other charges if i have the unlimited data plan?
Doesnt work for wm6 users. I just ended up using an aircard instead. Sure it costs more but I can afford it =P
For people that don’t have email on their phone, if they wanted to text you to send you a quick message what are they going to do? Walk to their computer and send you a message?
Saying that you don’t need text messaging because you have email on your phone now doesn’t correlate to me. That’s like saying I have shoes so I don’t need my feet anymore. Doesn’t make sense to me. Sorry.
Now, how do you disable text messaging? I have email on this phone. Who needs texting with email?
Make sure you’re using activesync 4.5 under XP. Just went through a bit of troubleshooting related to having an earlier version of activesync. When I installed 4.5, it worked great!
You don’t need to do anything in the browser. It just sorta works.
Can anybody tell me the settings that need to be made at the browser end ???? any proxies that might b needed to set ???
I’m running under Vista and I haven’t seen that at all. Nothing comes to mind as to what it might be based on my experience either. First thing I would do is fire up a sniffer or something like that to see what is going across the wire, that may hold an answer.
Keith, quick question, maybe you can help me out. I updated my ROM and the phone works great, but whenever I Coonect the “Internet Sharing” (both usb & BT, I see the new network appear and then I get “The remote party has ended this connection” Do you know what could be wrong? thank you! I am under Cingular with an unlimited data plan.
All I know is mine is pretty fast and works really well.
Don’t know why but this “internet sharing” feature seems to be so much slower than connecting with the wireless modem on the old ROM, to the point of being functionally impractical. Perahaps its user error? Any suggestions for improving the connection speed?
dude….great posting! your info helped me perfectly with finding the latest ROM and how to establish a teathered internet connection. i didn’t realize that my phone would be essentially reset to default so I lost my contact info and had to do the manual set up after the installation of the latest ROM. I had my contact info in Outlook so it wasn’t too bad…..just created a new POP3 account, paired with ActiveSync, filled out some preferrences, etc….
Is there a way to get this to work in windows XP?
I just tried it too…I rocks!!!!