[S0ltice]

Hi all, happy to join the Blackberry Forums community.

I recently just upgraded to a Bold 9700 from T-Mobile. I do not have a data plan and I've been feeling paranoid while using wifi. The top corner of phone says UMA(Lowercase). Is this normal? The browser still works, but I'm afraid to use it as I worry about data charges. I've been doing so much research over the net and I've become slightly, well extremely confused. It would be great to help me clear this up. Thanks!

[aiharkness]

Wirelessly posted

You may be ok, but call T-Mobile and ask if you've charged data fees. Don't wait for your bill.

The reason I say this is I found the APN settings were already configured on my 9700. I don't know if that's the general case, or the settings were automatic because of my data plan. Previously, I and everyone I know had to manually enter the settings.

So, make sure you haven't been using carrier data throught the apn at a per kb rate and didn't know it.

[Trimix]

Wirelessly posted (L'neuf trois)

Seeing lowercase case uma is normal because you don't have a data plan. It would be uppercase if you did. UMA/uma just means you can use a wifi connection to make/receive phone calls (comes out of your minutes unless you have an additional plan).

Furthermore, you're seeing uma when you switch on wifi because it sounds like your connection settings are set to wifi-preferred. To check your settings, go to: Manage Connections>Mobile Network Options>Connection preference.


You should be ok with using wifi; but can check with your carrier just to double check things.

[S0ltice]

Thanks for replying. Yeah, calling up T-Mobile was my last resort. Just wanted to see if I can get some answers before doing so.

So just to confirm, using the browser with a lowercase uma is normal? Should I set to "Wi-Fi Only" to be safe?

[aiharkness]

Wirelessly posted

Originally Posted by S0ltice

Thanks for replying. Yeah, calling up T-Mobile was my last resort. Just wanted to see if I can get some answers before doing so.

So just to confirm, using the browser with a lowercase uma is normal? Should I set to "Wi-Fi Only" to be safe?

Probably.

You have never seen gprs, right?

Just to satisfy my curiosity, if you open options > advanced options > TCP/IP, is there anything entered there?

[S0ltice]

Originally Posted by aiharkness

Wirelessly posted



Probably.

You have never seen gprs, right?

Just to satisfy my curiosity, if you open options > advanced options > TCP/IP, is there anything entered there?

So far, I have not seen gprs, only edge(lowercase).

Hmm..Nope. Completely blank. I don't have it checked either, but above, I have APN Settings Enabled checked. Could that play a factor with the lowercase uma? Still a little confused.

[aiharkness]

Wirelessly posted

I think your good.

I'm not sure why you saw edge. Maybe someone will respond. I've not had the experience of a blackberry that is not on a blackberry data plan.

[S0ltice]

Thanks for your help. I guess I will keep doing some research just to be 100% sure.

[Trimix]

Wirelessly posted (L'neuf trois)

Originally Posted by aiharkness

Wirelessly posted
I'm not sure why you saw edge. Maybe someone will respond. I've not had the experience of a blackberry that is not on a blackberry data plan.

Actually seeing lowercase edge is normal for someone who does not have a data plan. If the signal is really bad, it may drop down to gprs.

Originally Posted by S0ltice

So just to confirm, using the browser with a lowercase uma is normal? Should I set to "Wi-Fi Only" to be safe?

Yes, lowercase uma is also completely because you do not have a BlackBerry data plan at the moment.

The uma just allows you to make/receive phone calls using a wifi connection. This is very handy in areas where your cell signal is poor/weak, but you have wifi access. It does not affect your wifi whatsoever, nor is it an additional feature you have to pay for. Think of uma as an additional feature/perk of wifi.

If you feel that you have no use for it, simply change the connection preference to mobile only or mobile preferred. With these settings, you can still turn on and use your wifi but you should not see your icon change to uma. You will only see wifi + edge.

uma is not affected by APN either. Since you don't have a data plan, the only place where it might come into play is when you see the Tmobile browser (tzones/web2go or whatever they are calling it now). This is where you can check your account details like minutes used.

I understand you're concerned but I don't think you need to overly worry. When I first got my BB, I did not have a data plan either and used wifi very frequently. Never charged. Also when I first got my device I had the APN set to wap.voicestream.com. I think it was default for me.

[S0ltice]

Thanks, Trimix! Wow, you basically answered everything in a nutshell. Good to know that the lowercase uma is normal for people with no data plan.


Just one last question. Pretty off topic but when I install apps, do I need to set anything, like permissions, to Wifi only? I recently just installed UberTwitter, and a pop up kept saying it's trying to access my information.

[Trimix]

Wirelessly posted (L'neuf trois)

Generally, when you install apps permissions are set to a default. You can always change them if they're causing some sort of issue (likenot being able to connect or something).

I'm not sure about the permissions for UberTwitter, but in UT there should be a network/connection menu. Do you have the "use wifi if available" box check marked?

[jhayesvw]

my BB 8320 has been on lowercase uma for a few days now.


i have NEVER EVER had a data plan and i always had UPPER case UMA until a few days ago.

kinda strange. ive tried pulling the battery, turning off my wifi and so on.
no change.

[Trimix]

Wirelessly posted (L'neuf trois)

I'm on wap so I can't see what carrier you have. But if it's Tmobile I know its possible to see EDGE and UMA even though you don't have a data plan. Supposedly their BB feature enabler changed edge to EDGE (even w/o a data plan).