GeoSIM & Nokia phones

[DaveRo]

Originally Posted by DaveRo

So here's the question. Is there any way of predicting from the spec whether a phone - the 6230i say - will work with GeoSIM (i.e. generate the callback request when I dial as normal.)

I came upon the answer to my own question - so I'll post it here.

Whether a phone supports the 'call control' STK facility is signalled in its 'Terminal Profile' - byte 2 bit 2. (The layout of the Terminal Profile is given in document GSM 11/14)

I found a load of terminal profiles here http://www.bladox.com/devel-docs/gen_me_sim.html

Example terminal profiles:
6310i* (doesn't work with GeoSIM) starts (hex) xx x1 - bit 2 not set
7610 (works) starts xx x7 - bit 2 set

I bought a Nokia 6100 on ebay for 16GBP - works fine.

(* correction: 6310i not 6210i)

[hawkdeira]

Hi - have been following this thread with interest but I don't pretend to understand all of it!
I use Riiing /UM with a Nokia 6230i and have to dial out through the sim card menu rather than entering the number through the keyboard.
What does the phone do to initiate the callback from Riiing? Send a text message? Send a special code somewhere?
As I said, just curious . . .

[DaveRo]

Originally Posted by hawkdeira

...I use Riiing /UM with a Nokia 6230i and have to dial out through the sim card menu rather than entering the number through the keyboard.

I don't know much about GSM, STKs, or SIMs - only what I found out researching my own problem with GeoSIM and the Nokia 6310i. (You only find out how something works when it doesn't!)

I looked at the Riiing/UM websites and compared their operation with GeoSIM. In both cases you should be able to just key the number normally. If you can't, because the phone doesn't support that, with GeoSIM you have to compose a USSD which contains the number, whereas with Riiing it seems you have to use a SIM card menu. I'm not sure what that looks like; I assume it's a dialogue with an application on the SIM.

So I think that both SIMs rely on the STK 'call control' function - the phone (Mobile Eqipment, or 'ME') passes whatever number you dial to the SIM, instead of actually calling it. The SIM then generates a service message of some sort - a USSD in the case of GeoSIM - which initiates the call back.

Assuming that the terminal profile given in the link above is correct, the 6230i supports 'call control' - and just about everything else. So I've no idea why it doesn't work.

One possibility is that there might be a firmware problem. The latest firmware for the 6230i is v3.70 - if yours is earlier (*#0000# to find out) then it might be worth a google to see if there are any relevant changes to STK/call control. I saw that there was a change in v3.30 (STK setup call: Correct call sequence when # digit entered) but that doesn't look relevant to me.

Maybe the application on the SIM which handles call control is broken - are there updates to that?

[hawkdeira]

Hi Dave

Thanks for the reply, interesting and food for thought. A couple more observations.

Originally Posted by DaveRo

I looked at the Riiing/UM websites and compared their operation with GeoSIM. In both cases you should be able to just key the number normally. If you can't, because the phone doesn't support that, with GeoSIM you have to compose a USSD which contains the number, whereas with Riiing it seems you have to use a SIM card menu. I'm not sure what that looks like; I assume it's a dialogue with an application on the SIM.

A friend has a CherryMobile sim card (one of the Manx rebrands) and he too has to initiate calls from the simcard menu - but a message appears on screen saying a text message is being sent and then the ringback happens.

Originally Posted by DaveRo

One possibility is that there might be a firmware problem. The latest firmware for the 6230i is v3.70 - if yours is earlier

Checked and my 6230i has version 3.80 !

Cheers