Orange UK - Making UMA calls

[sarah_933]

Hi,
I've just moved house and the Orange (UK) coverage in my new place is hopeless.
But if I turn wi-fi on on my 8320 Curve and connect to my wireless network, I can make and receive calls from anywhere in the house.
I understand that I am using UMA and that my calls are going over the internet.
I didn't expect this to work as my broadband is BT Internet, not Orange
But I'm worrried that I'm going to be charged extra for these calls.

Does anyone know if

a) UMA calls are free?
b) UMA calls are part of my inclusive minutes?
c) UMA calls are charged separately ?

I don't mind a or b. It's just c I'm worried about.

Obviously, I've tried ringing Orange. They told me I couldn't use UMA!

Thanks

Sarah

[sunkast]

Unless you have a specific UMA plan, the minutes will be deducted from the plan you already have.

[branta]

You might be getting UMA service through your BT broadband account. You can't get it through Orange unless you have Orange internet (not recommended, lousy reputation as ISP)

ISTM charging for UMA is usually part of your ISP service, not part of your phone service. How this works when ISP and cellular services are with different providers is open to debate.

Dig around here Mobile | Personal | BT.com and see if you can find anything to help you decide.

[tecksquad]

i have been using my nokia 6301 from the USA orange have just charged my normal plan rates which i get free 01-02 numbers very cheap lol and i also have a bad signal at home and use it there i think you can use it on any wifi which will give you access :Pete

[Apexes]

used to be only orange internet, but does now work on any isp/router

[tecksquad]

rang a Friends mobile yesterday he was in Spain it doesn't seem to have charged me anything on my bill or any calls from home over wifi :Pete

[sarah_933]

I managed to look at my call history on line. The UMA calls are marked as "Homezone" and it looks like they are either free or part of the inclusive minutes.

[tecksquad]

It looks like they are giving you 1000 free mins a month over homzone are you registered with the unique service Sarah

[verwoodspring]

Originally Posted by sarah_933

Hi,
I've just moved house and the Orange (UK) coverage in my new place is hopeless.
But if I turn wi-fi on on my 8320 Curve and connect to my wireless network, I can make and receive calls from anywhere in the house.
I understand that I am using UMA and that my calls are going over the internet.
I didn't expect this to work as my broadband is BT Internet, not Orange
But I'm worrried that I'm going to be charged extra for these calls.

Does anyone know if

a) UMA calls are free?
b) UMA calls are part of my inclusive minutes?
c) UMA calls are charged separately ?

I don't mind a or b. It's just c I'm worried about.

Obviously, I've tried ringing Orange. They told me I couldn't use UMA!

Thanks

Sarah

This is why it always pays to search a forum BEFORE posting a question - I was just going to ask the same thing as you... word for word!

Like you, I have BT Broadband. My signal isn't great at home, unless I have the WiFi feature on my phone turned on.

This puzzled me - as did the fact that "homezone" started appearing next to some calls on my bill.

I phoned Orange, and the lady there didn't know why Homezone calls were appearing - and suggested a neighbour had Orange Broadband (which is nonsense, becuase I am only connected to my own wifi service).

Anyway, it would seem that I am not being charged for "homezone" calls. In any case, I am meant to get free landline calls, so I will kick up a fuss, if charges start coming through!

It seems such an excellent service - I am just puzzled as to why I was never told about it - becuase for me, it would have been a deal breaker from the start....

Moreover, when I visit my friends, I will now ask if I can use their wifi connections!

[charliec]

Hi all. I'm with BT as my ISP. However today I was able to register Unique B3albeit with my 3rd phone call as an upgrade to my monthly bill.
B3 is the free Orange, landlines and 30 worldwide countries. It cost £5 and starts within the hr. They have no idea at Orange that it is available so perservere with different agents

[talk-to-frank]

Hi all...

I have been looking into UMA for a few days now and have tinkered with software/hardware (im not gonna go into that)
However I cant seem to get UMA service on BT Home Hub.. or others for that matter.
Has anyone managed to configure a BT HH at all to accept it or does that even need doing?
Im on Orange, I have a UMA enabled handset. just wondering why it doesnt show up as using UMA at all? anyone with a similar experience?

- this post excludes Apexes! Cheers for diggin Jack!

Frank

[talk-to-frank]

After a lengthy and probably dangerous trip down the route of rebranding my BB just to get UMA working I have hit a brick wall that is BT Technical Support or lack thereof.

It would seem that consumers know more about this technology than the people selling it to us, which is too often the case.

I think the main problem with UMA is that it can incorporate the use of upto 3 companies or maybe even more... in my case;-
1. RIM - its a BlackBerry!
2. Orange - Mobile Network
3. BT - Broadband Provider

And therefore support is like being bounced around from place to place knowing that its getting you nowhere.

Im very annoyed that after all the leg work, which at times Ive felt pretty uncomfortable with but not enough to deter me, has no bearing on the outcome of the problem. It looks like it is now down to one of the providers (not RIM) it looks like it could be BT - which after 4 calls this evening to various departments looks like Im not gonna get what I want.

I would like to keep this post open though for further discussion and insight. And perhaps even a solution. Im not sure how many people are employed in a support capacity within the 3 companies above mentioned but I think I'd rather put my beliefs in the now 1m+ support network of CB!

So please let me know of any findings on this!

talk-to-frank

[talk-to-frank]

Hi all...

Just thought I'd post my conclusion to my own personal UMA problem... IT WORKS!

I upgraded my OS to 4.5.0.124 (EastAsia) with no vendor.xml file... the registered on the HRT and.. nothing happened...
then i got a call on my mobile and realised half way through the call that the sound quality was crystal clear and there were no 'blips' at all.. previously I couldnt even manage to send SMS in my house at some times...

So I was overjoyed to look at the screen and see the UMA icon, then I tested it with the Mobile Network Radio off just to see, and again calls/txt/mms worked flawlessly in both directions.

My set up is;-

Pearl 8120
SW v4.5.0.124
Re-branded to Vendor 142 (Orange UK) from 125 (O2 UK)
BIS Unlimited
BT Broadband over BT HomeHub

Now... I have nothing left to tinker with... Im gonna be bored... but happy ofcourse...

I think I'll test Orange now, and see if I actually do get charged for calls etc over UMA... and if I do... I'll then have to find a way around it, lmao...`

[methos]

Originally Posted by charliec

Hi all. I'm with BT as my ISP. However today I was able to register Unique B3albeit with my 3rd phone call as an upgrade to my monthly bill.
B3 is the free Orange, landlines and 30 worldwide countries. It cost £5 and starts within the hr. They have no idea at Orange that it is available so perservere with different agents

they have no idea it's there. LOL! how did they add the product then?

Depending on whihc dept you speak to they may well not do as it's not part of their remit. However there are plenty of depts who know it's there along with the dept you spoke to. As I said, if they didnt know it was there they wouldnt know how to add it.

Basically there are a few UMA products which can be added to your account. As you can use UMA without the product on your account it can be used on any ISP. Using an ISP other than Ornage will mean all your calls, texts etc will come out of existing talkplan bundles or charged at standard network rates should you have no bundles.

If you have Orange Broadband you can also have one of the UMA bundled products added to your account which will when using UMA give you more free mins to landlines or orange or international landlines or all of the above.

If you've been given this and do not have orange broadband enjoy it while it lasts. As a company Orange has a new policy in place which checks accounts every month for eligible and non-eligible products and if any non-eligible products are found they will be removed. You can moan all you like once you've lost it, it's pointless. The system is automated. In this instance there will be no broadband package associated to your mobile phone account which means you are not eligible for one of the chargeable UMA products and it could at any time be removed. Complaining you had it and now dont and breach of contract blah blah blahwont help because as said the system is automated and even if a csr was to re-add it would automatically be removed again.

I had UMA on my pearl and my brother in law on his curve. We are both on Virgin Media and it was shocking! Very choppy and made the phone unusable if i'm honest. This was a year ago so maybe it's improved.

[talk-to-frank]

Hi all.

I have been on to Orange Support to try and get to the bottom of this.

Firstly I was told it was free to make calls regardless - as it was all routed through my BT Broadband account. So I tried a few calls yesterday and today checked online to see if I had been charged or not. I had - 12 GBP for a few calls -so I called, and fair enough the person that told me that left notes on my account to that accord, and I was swiftly credited with the same amount on my bill.

I then got put through to a team that apparently deals with Unique and was told that none of it is free unless you are with them on Orange Broadband aswell - then there are 3 different tariff options available.

So in a nutshell (I have this in black & white in form of an email from the CSR not in as many words)

Any calls made over UMA are identical to calls made over the Orange Network. Therefore a call made over UMA will be included in any bundles or tariff options I have.

So I get 200 mins pm. If I use 100 over the Orange Network and 100 over the UMA I have used all of my 200 mins.
Im then charged accordingly for calls above and beyond that regardless of using Orange Network or UMA.

I then tried the above method of having them add a bundle for me. Apprently a no go as I am not an Orange Broadband Customer. I wouldnt want to draw their attention to charliec's post just incase it meant them losing it, if thats even possible!

But all in all im happy with that - free calls would have been a bonus, but this for me was really all about getting good reception at home.