Internet Sharing with the Samsung BlackJack and Windows Vista

I was waiting for a flight out of Orange County Airport earlier this week, and after I fired up my laptop, I couldn't find any publicly available wireless networks. So, I decided to try using my Samsung BlackJack (SGH-i607) for internet connectivity, because I had remembered reading about the feature awhile back. I tried to get things working for about 10 minutes before I had to give up. I'm not a cell phone expert, but I can usually mind meld with devices and figure them out within a short period of time. Not this time.

So last night, I dug in. After a few hours following forum threads across hundreds of posts, reading technical support notes, downloading drivers, and playing with configurations, I finally figured out how to properly set up and use the internet sharing feature with Windows Vista via Bluetooth. I thought I'd document the procedure here so that others don't have to go through the same painful process.

As mentioned, I have a Samsung BlackJack (SGH-i607) phone that I upgraded to Windows Mobile 6.0 a month or so ago, and I'm running Windows Vista SP1 on a Dell XPS M1330 laptop. My service is AT&T (formerly Cingular), and I have an unlimited data plan (update: Blake Handler notes in the feedback to this post that an unlimited data plan may not cover the "tethering" feature I describe here, so it's worth checking the details of your account to avoid any surprises) . The following instructions are based on these devices and software versions, so your mileage may vary if you're using something slightly different.

1. Update Your Connection Profile
   On your BlackJack, go to Start/Settings/Connections/GPRS/AT&T IMS. It should say Connects to: The Internet, and most likely, Access Point: ims.cingular. Change Access Point to be isp.cingular (all lower case). Both User name and Password should be blank. Change the Authentication Type to be CHAP. Both Primary DNS and Secondary DNS should be 0.0.0.0 and IP address should be blank. Press Done two times to return to the Connections screen.
2. Activate Bluetooth and Make Your Device Visible
   Choose Bluetooth, then Bluetooth again. Click Menu, then Turn On Visibility. Choosing this option will automatically enable Bluetooth and make the device visible. Exit the menu and click Done four times to return to the startup screen.
3. Establish a Connection Between the Phone and Your PC
   In Vista, choose Start/Control Panel/Network and Internet/Network and Sharing Center/Setup a connection or network. Choose Connect to a Bluetooth personal area network (PAN) , then click Next. Click the Add... button to launch the Add Bluetooth Device Wizard. Check the box next to My device is set up and ready to be found, then click Next. After a few moments of searching, your device should show up, likely titled SGH-i607 (unless you've changed its name). Select the new device, then click Next. When asked about a passkey, choose Use the passkey found in the documentation and enter 0000 (four zeros), then click Next. On your BlackJack, you will be asked to confirm the connection, so select Yes. When asked for the passcode, enter 0000 (four zeros), then select Next. You should receive an Info screen stating that Your Smartphone has connected with your machine name. Click OK. Then, enter a display name for your device (or simply leave it as its default), and click Next. On the Services screen, click Done. On the PC, you should see a Completing the Add Bluetooth Device Wizard. Click Finish.
4. Configure Internet Sharing
   On your BlackJack, select Start/Applications/File Explorer. From the My Documents folder, select Up, then scroll down and select the Windows folder, then scroll way down and select Internet Sharing (follow the steps later on to create a handy shortcut for Internet Sharing). Change PC Connection to Bluetooth PAN, and ensure that Network Connection is set to AT&T IMS. Select Connect.
5. Connect to the Internet
   On the PC, make sure the SGH-i607 is selected, and click Connect. If everything goes according to plan, the status on your BlackJack should say Connected, and you should have internet access on your laptop. To disconnect, simply select Disconnect on your phone. Or, on the PC, right-click the small Bluetooth icon in the notification area, select Join a Personal Area Network, select the SGH-i607 device and choose Disconnect.

I'm sure Bluetooth uses up more battery power, so it's probably a good idea to disable Bluetooth when you're not using it. Select Start/Settings/Connections/Wireless Manager, then select the Bluetooth option.

To create a shortcut for Internet Sharing and make life easier the next time you want to use the internet, connect your Blackjack to the PC using the USB cable. I don't know of any way to do this without involving the PC. On your PC, click Start/Computer, then look for your SGH-i607 device, and double-click it. Double-click the root folder (indicated by a backslash), and look for a folder called Windows. If you can't see the folder, select the Organize menu, then Folder and Search Options. Click the View tab, and uncheck the option that says Hide protected operating system filed (Recommended) . You'll receive a warning; select Yes, then click OK. When you can see the Windows folder, double-click it, then scroll down and right-click on Internet Sharing.lnk. Choose Copy from the drop-down menu. Find the Start Menu folder (probably by scrolling up) and double-click it. Right-click anywhere on a blank area, and choose Paste from the drop-down menu. On my phone, I had to turn it off and restart before I could find the new Internet Sharing icon under the Start menu.

Whew! Hope you made it through all of that! Fortunately, after you've gone through these steps once, you only need to perform steps 4 and 5 to connect to the internet. If you find any problems with these steps, or if you have any recommendations that have worked well, please leave feedback.

Comments

• Anonymous
  April 18, 2008
  Be careful when connecting with AT&T, you may be shocked when you receive your bill. While you may have an unlimted data plan, AT&T will charge you "extra" for connecting your portable computer via your mobile device! You need an AT&T Data Plan that also includes their "tethering" option. http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-plans/pda-personal-plans.jsp Blake Handler Microsoft MVP "The Road to Know Where"

• Anonymous
  April 18, 2008
  Thanks for the heads-up and pointer, Blake. I'll add an update to the post so people are aware.

• Anonymous
  April 18, 2008
  Interesting story. On my Mac OS X laptop without any extra software, it took me ca. 20 seconds to set it up, and it takes one click to connect to the intenet via my mobile phone. A.

• Anonymous
  April 25, 2008
  Hey Mike, just thinking about you today. I love the M1330, that's awesome you have one as well. I have the Samsung i760 with Verizon and they have a flat fee for data but after 5gb they may throttle your bandwidth but I haven't had that happen. Anyways, the blackjacks are great but next time you are in the market for a phone, check out the WM Pro / touch screens. So many more apps and ability.

• Anonymous
  June 02, 2008
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  July 19, 2008
  Mike, Great post; it got me over a couple of hurdles I was running into.   I just wanted to pass on a couple of discoveries.  First, it appears that the MediaNet setting in Internet Sharing still works for InternetSharing (if it available in your setup).  This is what I used prior to the WM6 upgrade and I prefer it, as I feel comfortable that I won't see any unexpected charges going this route.  I'm not sure if the pricing will be any different but I prefer not to chance it.   Second, AT&T IMS seems to use the EDGE network while the MediaNet approach uses 3G. With the expected speed differences.  This is likely based on regional offerings, though. Just a couple of points your readers might find helpful to go along with your very informative post.  

• Anonymous
  August 16, 2008
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 20, 2008
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  February 25, 2009
  I do not have the option showing for "Connect to a Bluetooth personal area network (PAN)" ... is it possible this is disabled?

• Anonymous
  March 21, 2009
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  September 21, 2009
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 04, 2010
  i have samsung sgh-1607 and laptop compaq presario cq-61 with windows 7 OS, i did all the steps above, everything was succesful, but i still couldn't connect to internet, when i opened the properties of the connection, i saw that the status "no internet service " i use local operator for my phone services, all gprs setting has been set, i can even use internet connection on my phone..would u plz tell my the solution..thanks