OS 3.1.2 iTunes 9 Update: Still works. Prior to following the instructions given below you have to quit iTunes 9, and enter

defaults write com.apple.iTunes carrier-testing -bool TRUE

in a Terminal session. There you go!

OS 3.0 Beta 2 Update: The info provided in this post works for the latest Beta 2 of iPhone OS 3.0, too.

Let me first say sorry for a blog post title that is far too long. However, with a little bit of Google magic it finally brought you here, didn’t it?

Recently I’ve posted an article about enabling MMS (and Tethering) on your iPhones for the German mobile operators. The article was inspired by my partner site iPhone-notes.de and the fantastic work André Sendowski does over there.

As I ran into a couple of problems with my iPhones I thought I’d write a quick follow up and might help others avoiding some of the trouble. Please be aware that most of the stuff in this area must be considered “guessing” as nobody really knows the details of what’s going on behind the scenes.

As usual you do everything at your own risk.

As one of my findings it appears as if there is no one-solution-fits-all. It seems as if you not only need the correct carrier bundle but your specific settings also depend on the tariff/contract you’re running on.

I’ve now got MMS, Tethering and 3G data connectivity confirmed running for both T-Mobile and Vodafone. So if you happen to run on the same tariff as I, it should work out for you, too.

T-Mobile

This is one of my development devices. It’s a regular, legal, netlocked, iTunes activated iPhone 3G 16GB running on iPhone OS 3.0 (7A238j). As I hardly ever do anything with it, I’ve chosen the cheapest contract option: Complete XS.

The device has never been jailbroken or unlocked.

It works with this carrier bundle and the APN in Settings > General > Network > Cellular Data Network set to:

APN: internet.t-mobile
Username: t-mobile
Password: tm

Vodafone

This is sort of my production machine. It’s another iPhone 3G 16 GB. I’ve purchased the device in Italy where iPhones have no netlocks. This device has never been jailbroken or unlocked and runs iPhone OS 3.0 (7A238j). I’ve subscribed to the special iPhone tariff that Vodafone is offering in Germany (and which is a 100% flat for just everything, highly recommended).

It works with this carrier bundle and the APN in Settings > General > Network > Cellular Data Network set to:

APN: web.vodafone.de
Username:
Password:

Note: Once you install the carrier bundle it likely sets Username and Password to “vodafone”. You’ve got to manually delete username and password. Keeping the username and password set did not work for me!

Some final remarks

I noticed that whenever I had difficulties getting MMS working, I could also not use the data network for Internet connectivity. The error given was: “Could not activate cellular data network”. André told me, that there should not be any association with the APN you can set via the iPhone Settings application as the carrier bundles contain an internal and separate APN configuration for MMS which is not even accessible from the iPhone. However, if I put “vodafone”/”vodafone” back in, MMS functionality is gone for me.

Hope this helps and feel free to leave your remarks to help others.

Disclaimer: Do not offer iPhone Dev Portal UDID registrations here!

Unfortunately I’ve recognized that people who got iPhone OS 3.0 without an Apple Developer membership tried to get their UDIDs registered via other members of the program, who have started to sell their 90+ slots. Please do not post any UDID registration request or offering in the comments. Your comment will never get approved and killed without further notice. I’m sorry.