Voilà! I am using a BSNL 3G sim on my iPad 3G!

Apple's iPad 3G comes with an AT&T microsim. India's only 3G service provider, BSNL uses the regular sim for their 3G service. I recently got myself an iPad 3G. I planned to wait until someone launched a good 3G service, hopefully with a microsim and then latch on to the 3G bandwagon.

Then, one day, in my daily Google alerts on the iPad, I came to know about John Benston who actually cut his regular sim card into the shape of a microsim, carefully making sure that the important parts of the sim are preserved and properly aligned. He was in the UK and he used a Vodafone sim successfully on his iPad.

Yesterday, my boss at office arranged a BSNL 3G sim and asked me to take a shot. The sim looked very different from the AT&T sim. I had very little hope of it working.

About an hour back, I took a knife that we use in our kitchen and a pair of scissors. I then aligned the BSNL sim with the important parts of the bundles sim on the iPad and cut out the extra portions. I then cut the top side corner too and tried to put it into the iPad's sim tray. It wouldn't fit. I needed to finely trim out small bits from here and there. The sim then fit into the tray.

Next was the crucial test. Would the network work? It's all fine to cut a sim and put it into the iPad. Had I cut out some wrong portions? Were the important circuits still in place?

I went to the settings and gave the APN - bsnlnet.

Then waited patiently.

There it was! CellOne 3G on the top left corner of the iPad!

I was thrilled! I tried opening a few sites (I had previously disabled Wifi) and it worked!

So, there you are. It's official - the iPad 3G can be used with BSNL's 3G service!

Comments

IGA Nephropathy said…
Now sitting in traffic in Hyderabad wont be the same again -:) ....of course under the assumption that you have a driver.
Anonymous said…
It's been a couple of days now. How do you rate BSNL 3G ?
Kamal D Shah said…
Its been very good so far. I would say about 90% as fast as my home internet connection.
Unknown said…
What plan have you chosen and what does 3G cost per month?

Just ordered a non-3G iPad, and it is on its way by Fedex from HongKong.
Kamal D Shah said…
You have to buy the sim which costs around Rs. 60 and then its similar to a pre paid plan. You can choose from different plans. I currently have a plan that costs around Rs. 600 which allows up to 6GB of usage. There are other plans that cost less and I plan to switch to one of these from next month.
Ganesh said…
My Pins seem to be completely off .. I can Mail you a photo of my SIM and would greatly appreciate if you can tell me if this will work .. Dont want to anything to happen to my precious (IPAD) here ..
Anonymous said…
But why would anyone use such a stupid thing as an iPad? I find everything coming out of Buzz Apple is pure marketing. I think any day there is always another company offering better products than Apple - eg Creative's players have always been better than Apple's. However, Apple is too smart in cult-management and is able to successfully induct even smart & wise people like Kamal.
Anonymous said…
Did you have to jailbreak the iPad for it to work?
Kamal D Shah said…
There is no need to jailbreak to be able to use another sim.
Nikhil said…
I had heard about this 'hack' (if you can term it that...
and was planning on trying it with my BSNL SIM... it would help things if you could post photos of your sim, esp when placed atop a regular (uncut) sim, so that I know what parts can be dispensed with... and the hand weilding the knife will be far steadier!
Kamal D Shah said…
Hi Nikhil,

I should have taken pictures while doing the act! Now the deed is all done and the sim has been cut so too bad,
I can't post pics now since I don't have an uncut sim.

However, the link in the post has some very useful pics. You might want to look at them.

Kamal
RAS said…
Hi do we need to unlock the ipad or we can directly cut the bsnl sim and use it ....
Kamal D Shah said…
No need to unlock the iPad. You can directly cut the sim and use it.
RAS said…
oh ok the thanks thanks a lot :)
Anonymous said…
hi Kamal-

i just received my ipad 3g. i bought bsnl 3g sim and activated in 2g phone and DIY'ed the sim to fit ipad sim tray. when i switch on the ipad says "NO SIM"

What could be the reason.please guide. thanks
Kamal D Shah said…
Hi Anonymous,

Please send me an email and we can try and sort it out.

Can you send me a pic of the cut sim and the iPad's original sim next to each other?

Kamal
DC said…
Hi. I am planning to buy an iPad Wifi. But after reading your post, even I want to buy a 3G iPad. I already have a BSNL 3G connection which I use with my N82 Nokia. I just have one doubt. Will this micro SIM come with the 3G iPad itself when you buy? Whether you activate with AT&T or not? I mean to cut the BSNL SIM, you need a micro SIM sample na.
Kamal D Shah said…
Yes, the iPad comes with the AT&T microsim.
Unknown said…
I am told that you can copy the personality of a SIM on to a Micro SIM. Google for the info. If you do not have any luck, I can find out from the person who told me and get you the details of how to do it.
Shashwat said…
Hi kamal...
Thnx for sharing your experience..i have myslf bought an ipad 3g 64 gb which is stuck at SF,California.. :(
even i am gonna connect to the 3g network of bsnl..Since all this while i was just. Wondering about the speed that u get on 3g ...
I would greatly very greatly appreciate if you could verify the speed u are getting using a bsnl 3g sim...
U can download a free speedtest.net application to test it...
Would really really appreciate if you could do that for me..
Where do u exactly stay?I live in kolkata..
Hope u reply..

Cheers
Kamal D Shah said…
Hi Shashank,

I just downloaded the app you linked to and here are the results:

Download speed: 280 kbps
Upload speed: 264 kbps
Kamal D Shah said…
Hi Shashank,

I just downloaded the app you linked to and here are the results:

Download speed: 280 kbps
Upload speed: 264 kbps
Kamal D Shah said…
It will vary with a lot of factors. I just got a 452 for downloads.
Unknown said…
Hi Kamal,

Have you had any problems with BSNL 3G. I was able to cut and get the sim working in my iPad, but it will not connect on 3G. Keeps returning an error message saying that it could not connect to a data network.

However! Everytime the same settings are using when the 3G sign is replaced with E (edge), it will connect and let me browse.
Kamal D Shah said…
You need to get the bsnl sim activated. Have you done this?

Can't think of anything else...
Unknown said…
do u need to unlock ipad b4 using any other sim
Kamal D Shah said…
No you don't need to unlock the iPad before using another sim.

Btw I just cut two more BSNL sims for two iPads and they both are working. So, if you're having problems, you are missing something basic. I did not do anything special really.
Ganesh said…
Mate you should start a business.
Hari Kishore said…
Dear Kamal-

I DIY ed bsnl sim and i am able to see cell one on top left hand side of ipad.but when i try to open any site it says " could not activate cellular data network" with a sub message service option not supported.

pleas guide.thanks.
Kamal D Shah said…
Hari Kishore,

Have you activated the BSNL sim? You need to do this before using it.

Kamal
Unknown said…
Hi Kamal,
I was wondering if you knew of anyway to buy a MicroSIM in India maybe cut by someone already. I was contemplating between a 64GB Wi-Fi, and a 64GB Wi-Fi and 3G. What would you recommend after using it, and how is the 3G signal by BSNL in NCR.
Cheers.
Kamal D Shah said…
Hi Rajit,

No I don't know anyone who sells cut sims.

I stay in Hyderabad where the BSNL 3G speeds are quite good. I am not sure about NCR.

I would recommend going for a 3G version. Might as well go the whole hog!

Kamal
manny said…
hey thanks so much for this info.. i cant wait to get a ipad 3g .. but i am wondering is 16 gigs enough or is it necessary to get 32gig.. ?
Kamal D Shah said…
Manny, it really depends on how much data you need to store. I would recommend a 32GB one though because its easy to fill up space especially if you have a large number of pictures or songs.
sandeep goel said…
hi
have activated bsnl 3g on my ipad.Have followed all the instructions as explained to by you guys.
i get the display "Cellone 3G" on the screen.APN setting is at bsnlnet. but still i cant browse. I get the message"the ipad is not connected to the internet".
what might be the problem?
Kamal D Shah said…
Hi Sandeep,

How did you activate the sim? You have to get it activated by BSNL. You will need a cell phone to get it activated.

Also, I have since, realized that APN is not required to use it on the iPad.
sandeep said…
hi
i activated the sim using a 3g enabled handset. even without the APN it doesnt work.
Thanks
sandeep said…
hi again
yes it was activated by BSNL
Thanks
Kamal D Shah said…
Are you sure you have enough balance on the sim? I got the same message when my balance went below 0. I recharged the sim and then immediately, it started working.

You will need a cell phone to check the balance.
sandeep said…
my balance is more then Rs 500.00
Kamal D Shah said…
Hmmmm... are you able to browse the internet from your 3G cell phone?
sandeep said…
yes i can.
Kamal D Shah said…
I am sorry I have no idea what the problem could be in that case!
sandeep said…
thanks anyway
Kamal D Shah said…
Sandeep, actually try one more thing: In the APN settings give bsnlnet for APN, your cell phone number for username and 1111 for the password.

Fingers crossed!
sandeep said…
Nope.It doesnt work.
sandeep said…
Thanks mate…i dont know what happened but it is working fine this morning…..Thanks a lot for your help man
Kamal D Shah said…
Hey Sandeep! That's great to know!!! Congratulations!
manny said…
hey i figured if i am getting it i might as well go all the way .. So i am getting the 64 gigs ipad 3g .. The 3G works brilliantly on my n97.. i am just hopping that what ever u guys said will work when i try to access the 3G network through the ipad
Kamal D Shah said…
Hi Manny, makes sense. Try it. If you have any problems, let me know and I can try and help you!
manny said…
But i am getting it for 50 thousand rupees .. is that a good price ??
Kamal D Shah said…
Are you getting it in India? Or is someone getting it for you from the US. I paid close to 45K and my brother got it from an store in the US. SO, if you're getting it in India directly, it is a good price!
manny said…
Yeah i am getting it from India .. should arrive in 24 to 48 hrs .. i am just keeping my fingers crossed about the BSNL chip !!
Anonymous said…
Hey Kamal, I have a slightly diff question - re charging, was wondering if one could just plug the wallcharger into the socket and charge or if we need a voltage adapter to do that? We will anyways need a plug converter for 3 pin. Not sure what the power in a normal socket is - would it end up damaging the IPAD. Charging by comp takes forever.
Kamal D Shah said…
Yes, you can plug the charger into the socket. Many sockets these days support the rectangular plugs that come with the iPad. If you don't have one, you can get an adaptor. Either way, you will not damage your iPad because the adaptor supports voltages in India. I think it supports from 110 to 240 V. Check the power adaptor. It should be marked.
Anonymous said…
Thanks Kamal for the quick response.
(the charging question anon. guy)
Manny said…
Just got my ipad 64GB and it' work magically with bsnl 3G !!! Thanks so much for all ur technical support ... Jai hind
Kamal D Shah said…
That's excellent news Manny, congratulations and wish you many hours of fun with your iPad!!
Anonymous said…
Hi ! Thanks all of you for your helpful messages. I had bought my 3G iPad in France before coming to Orissa a few days ago. As I won't have wifi connections in all the places I plan to visit, a friend got me a bsnl sim card today. In less than 10 minutes I got it to work ! And so much faster than my iPhone edge connection ! Gratitude to you all.
Anonymous said…
Dear Kamal,
I get my iPad 3g today and will try the BSNL 3g sim.
Tell me how do I transfer the data from my windows PC to Ipad. The data is in MS Office?
Thanks
Nanu
Kamal D Shah said…
Hi Nanu,

You will need to install iTunes on your PC. Then go to the Applications tab. There, there is a section to transfer files to your iPad. Go and add the files you want to transfer and then sync. The files should get transferred. You will need an Office like app to view them though. There are quite a few apps to do this.

All the best!

Kamal
Unknown said…
thank You buddy. APN: is BSNLNET, And USER NAME And PASSWORD is Your Cell No: it works. like u said it works when E sing is displayed, and ofcourse you should have minimum Rs.100.00 as balance. thank you once again.
Atul said…
Prepaid settings seem quite different.

Got the BSNL 3G card activated and it worked for an hour with APN settings of pps3g, mtnl & mtnl123. However hasn't worked for 36 hours after that.
I've just managed to get it working with different settings of:

APN: pps3g
Username: mobile no
Password: password provided on activation

(hope it continues to work)

P.S. Excellent blog
Atul said…
Feeling very silly re above post now. My card is an MTNL (Jadoo card). I had asked a relative to get the BSNL 3G card and I spoke to the dealer over the phone and they told me it was a BSNL and I never looked to notice it was MTNL.

Anyway, folks should have the settings for MTNL prepaid as well now :)
Kaushal said…
I live in Noida and work in Delhi. I bought MTNL 3G trump, cut it to fit in the slot and it works fine... but strangely,only in Noida :( Any idea how to sort it out.
Robert Heath said…
Great tips here. I finally got it working. I wanted to leave a note about getting BSNL in Shimla for visitors after several days. I bought a sim card at the CTO office. The power went out so i tried to activate voice and data in my phone at a shop with BSNL. No on knew what a data plan was. Went back to CTO and activated but they didn't give me the settings (the recharge guy there had to spend 40 minutes figuring out they had data plans). Cut the sim with scissors, put it in my iPad, got the cellOne but didn't work. The guys at Gupta Electric fixed the settings for me. I would suggest going there first as they have lots of data stuff, on middle bazaar, hard to find but worth it. Incidentally bsnlnet with no username and password worked for me but didn't initially for some reason. Service in Shimla is weird. Switches from 2G to 3G frequently with full bars in both cases.
3G is working with bsnlnet in APN settings without username and password so far. Thanks guys.. Enjoy your iPads! :)
Kiruba Shankar said…
I've been contemplating buying an iPad 3G. This post of yours greatly helped in me taking my decision. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Anonymous said…
hiiiii
this is mehul here
i am using an apple i pod
i just want ot know that which plan of bsnl u r using for internet usage?
Kamal D Shah said…
Mehul, I am using a prepaid sim. I have no idea about the plan but I recharge with Rs 220 every time. Sorry!
Anonymous said…
Is it legal to break or cut SIM in India?

Gopal
PANICKER said…
HI Guys , I have a IPAD 32 GB and I am using now on gprs. wifi works very well.
I am in process of using MTNL 3g card and will let you know how that works in mumbai.
I request all IPAD users in INDIA to go to my blog http://ipadusersindia.blogspot.com/search?q=ipad

and post their comments .I wish to bring all IPAD users for good knowledge sharing and entertainment.
thanks
Kamal D Shah said…
Hi Gopal, it is not illegal to cut a sim. I cut many sims till now and I have still not been arrested. hehehe!

Kamal
Kamal, I installed the sim and recharged it for 440Rs + 110 for voice. it shows CellOne 3G connectivity, but internet doesnt seem to work. It says, unable to activate internet. Do you know whats going on?

i set apn to bsnlnet
Kamal D Shah said…
Hi Kabeer,

Why did you recharge voice too? Anyway, what I would do is to check the balance using a regular 3G phone. Also, unless you're roaming you don't need the APN.

For someone else who had a similar problem, it just started working the next day.
Since the sim is cut to microsim size, no other handset would have it! I deleted the apn and have restarted the pad, but it refuses to get any data. Error message is 'Could not activate cellular data network'
Kamal D Shah said…
Even though the sim is cut, it will work in a regular phone provided you place it properly. I am checking my balance in a friend's nokia phone.

About the error, I am not sure what the problem could be.

Actually one more thing, the connection needs to be activated by BSNL. Have you done that?
omm said…
For all those guys for whom bsnl 3g internet is not working the best solution would be to google and download iphone configuration utility.more info at mailomm@gmail.com
SANJU said…
Whether BSNL 3G pre-paid Sim is compatible with IPad 3G or we have to use post-paid Sim? Please clarify?
SANJU said…
Hi Kamal ji...
Kindly let me know that whether BSNL 3G pre-paid Sim is compatible with IPad 3G or we have to use post-paid Sim? Please clarify?If yes then it will work in Amritsar, Punjab if I purchase the same in Jaipur?
Kamal D Shah said…
Hi Sanju, sorry for the delay in responding.

Yes, BSNL pre paid is compatible with iPad. I am using a pre paid SIM myself. Also, if you buy it in Jaipur and use it in Amritsar, it should work provided BSNL roaming is available there. You will need to give the APN settings while roaming however. When you are not roaming, it usually works without any APN settings. Roaming charges would apply of course.

Kamal
Ashish monga said…
http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-general-discussions/10067-mtnl-3g-working-ipad-delhi.html
SANJU said…
Hi Kamal ji,
Thanks for your valuable feedback.
Kindly guide/elaborate the term APN settings while roaming and what are its (APN) settings.
Kamal D Shah said…
When you are roaming you will need to give some settings for the 3G to work with BSNL on the iPad. Go to Settings on the iPad and then tap on Cellular Data. Then go to APN settings. There give bsnlnet for APN. This should do the trick. In case it does not work, give the cell phone number for Username and 1111 for the password.
Any body know setting for I pad 3G Mumbai trump prepaid card
Unknown said…
My solution to the question of which iPad to buy:

I bought the iPad-wifi (no 3G). Spent the $130 I saved on buying a Huawei E585 for Rs 5800/- (actually 850 RMB). Slipped in a BSNL 3G card (no cutting) and it worked straight away. The only setting I had to put in - takes a minute - was to put in the APN as "bsnlnet", and I was connected in seconds.

Google for the Huawei E585 and you will see that it is half the size of a really small cell phone, and can be mistaken by some as one. Like a cll phone, it is cordless and can be charged through the computer's USB or using a 110/220 adapter that comes with the device.

Best part is that the E585 creates a wi-fi from the 3G airwaves and your friends/colleagues/family can share the connection, which you can password protect like any other wi-fi. You can slip in any 3G SIM card, and the E585 lets you have multiple profiles (diff APNs, etc) to choose from, in case you are traveling overseas and want to use a diff SIM card. When the pvt players in India get their 3G act together, you can take your pick of operator.
Anonymous said…
Guys I got a MTNL 3G Jadu Prepaid card for my iPad . The following settings worked for me :

APN - gprsppsmum

Username - mtnl

Password - mtnl123
Anonymous said…
Followed the directions for trim, APN of bsnlnet and got the Cellone 3g in the left corner but it is slow. Any ideas? Thanks
Unknown said…
On a side by side comparison, an iPad with a BSNL SIM card in it had very poor download speeds compared to my iPad working off the wifi created by an E585 with a BSNL 3G SIM card in it.

Having said that, BSNL's 3G shows very variable performance on repeated SpeedTest(.net)s. The problem perhaps lies with BSNL.

Wait for the pvt sector to come up with their 3G implementations.
zombiee said…
anybody tried tethering a 3G ipad to a macbook pro to access internet via the ipad on your macbook
Would be glad to hear
Krishna said…
This is a great forum. I am waiting for my ipad 3g. I already have a data card which gives me hsdpa speeds. Can I use this in the ipad ? ( its bsnl)
Krishna
Chennai
Kamal D Shah said…
You cannot use a data card with the iPad. There is no port you can connect one to.
SANJU said…
Hi Kamal ji. I have got the new BSNL 3g Pre-Paid Sim Card at Jaipur indicating Rs.50/= balance.And the BSNL has recommended the APN for BSNL 3G setting as " gprsnorth3g.bsnlmobile.in " . And the above setting is not workable.Kindly advise me in this regard and also how much minimum balance is required on Pre-Paid connection for making it fully functional.
Kamal D Shah said…
Are you using this in an iPad? You will need to recharge it with more money. The initial is just the activation charge. Try recharging it with Rs. 220 (not sure about the exact amount, you will need with the BSNL office). Also, it may need to be activated. You should try to use the sim in a regular 3G mobile and check the balance and validity and try to browse the internet.
Unknown said…
Read a BSNL advt today which has reduced the prices of 3G data plans. Eg., what was 249+tax has now become 199+tax=222 (I think)
Anonymous said…
hey Kamal ..i have BSNL 3G data card. Have been using it for months now. have enough of credit etc.
cut it to micro sim size, so that it exactly fits in to the ipad tray.
close the tray and i get message 'No Sim'.
i can put the sim back in to my data card and it (fortunately) works.
So 'Sim' is working fine, fits in the sim slot of Ipad, but get 'No Sim' msg/
any advice
Unknown said…
hi kamal

can u help me my wifi is not getting detected after i had jailbreaked it using limera1n software

i restored my ipad to factory setting my 3g sim is working fine but ipad is not detecting any wifi network i did reset network setting on ipad still no luck
can i suggest me solution :(
Sajan Venniyoor said…
Just spoke to my mobile dealer (Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi) and he says they have the necessary equipment (whatever that is... scissors, probably) and expertise to cut and fit a normal SIM card into a microsim slot. These things are best left to the professionals...
jjtg said…
for those using 3G sim from MTNL mumbai - can recharge data online at http://dolphin.mumbai.mtnl.net.in/customercare/trumprecharge.html

in the long list, these are the data coupons (reports a very low talk value and zero validity):
"Plan Coupon 99" for 130mb
"Plan Coupon 249" for 500mb
"Plan Coupon 450" for 1GB
"Plan Coupon 749" for 2GB
"Plan Coupon 2500" for 25GB

MTNL 3G tariffs are updated here: http://mumbai.mtnl.net.in/3gweb/tariff_3Gmobile.html
jjtg said…
@ Madras Hash: do you know any sellers of the Huawei E585 in India?
Unknown said…
I got a friend traveling to Hong Kong to pick it up. It has not yet come to India. I recommend the device, but not BSNL 3G, which sucks big time. Hope one of the pvt players get their act together fast.

Hong Kong has everything you want to buy at great prices, including iPhone 4s, Macbooks, etc.. Prices as good or better than the best places in US.

Wonder why retail in India sucks so bad.
Anonymous said…
My bsnlnet APN settings worked fine in Banglore wher I bought the 3G sin card for the iPad, but it is not working in Mumbai where I'm on a business trip. How can I get it to work?
Unknown said…
A friend had a similar issue. The solution was no change in settings. But the home BSNL office had to "allow" roaming on MTNL.

Worked well after that.
Amit Bhawani said…
@Madras Hash - Can you help me in setting up the BSNL 3G with Huawei E585. Tried APN bsnlnet but its showing CellOne on the device with no towers. Am i missing something in the settings? Can you give me your contact details
twitter.com/amitbhawani
Amit Bhawani
Unknown said…
My email is hash (at) madrashash (dot) com

Your settings are probably right, especially if you see CellOne. Blame the signal strength. BSNL really sucks.
kapil said…
Thanks a lot for this post buddy. I am now switching to wi-fi+3g in place of Wi-Fi.
Anonymous said…
Did it myself works like a charm!
Anonymous said…
Has anyone tried using the Tata Docomo 3G card for the ipad? The sim looks different in size in terms of the circuitry. Hence, would this work in the ipad after cutting?
Kamal,

I used iPad in Bangalore and it was roaming on MTNL Delhi perfectly. Ever since I have come to Bombay, it doesn't connect to internet. Spoke with BSNL - they said everything is in order - including balance.

I've tried all permutations available on this blog. No go! Any other solution?
Kamal D Shah said…
Kabeer, try setting the APN as bsnlnet, username as your mobile number and password as 1111.
Rushabh Shah said…
BSNL 3G has recently launched the Micro SIM for the iPad; along with new data plans.

As a prospective buyer, what are your recommendations regarding the BSNL 3G speed and connectivity ( Mumbai ) ?

Also, has anyone managed to try the Docomo 3G yet ?
Kamal D Shah said…
Hi Rushabh, wow! thanks for the info. I am fairly happy with the speed. As long as you are in the 3G range, the speed is good. There are some pockets in which it goes into Edge where the speed is very bad. I haven't tried Docomo.
Anonymous said…
Im using the bsnl 3g sim on my ipad. was working great but a few minutes back couldnt browse the nnet though im getting a good signal with 3g on it. cant find out the problem. apn is still bsnlnet. have u faced this problem before??
Benny said…
Kamal,

With all these discussion, I was able to get my iPad working. Everythigng discussed here were useful. Thank you guys.

Now, I have question. Is there a way to check the balance from iPad (or at BSNL website etc) without removing the SIM from iPad and use it with another 3G phone? I hope there is almost no possibility of doing this, But I just wanted to check if there is any way to do it which I am unaware.
Thank you
Kamal D Shah said…
Anonymous, just try it again. This usually settles down on its own.

Benny, even I am not aware of any means to do it without taking it out from the iPad and using it on a 3G phone.
Anonymous said…
That's really weird isn't it? To remove the Sim each time you need to check the balance/validity? It's especially annoying if you're planning to travel and want to know if the balance will get you through.

Cant even call their customer care to check the balance.
Mridul Singhai said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kamal D Shah said…
Mridul, you don't need to take a contract and the iPad will work with any carrier.
Vijay said…
Hi Kamal
I have 3G BSNL data card. I have changed the settings from BSNL South to BSNL north in the profiles. As I bought it in Bangalore and was using it in Delhi.
Few days it was working fine, later it gives problem with unable to connect to the server.
Also the speed is terribly slow.
I have Data Card Make : Capitel
Anonymous said…
Hi there, I'm in Mumbai right now, just purchased a micro sim from BSNL and put it right into my ipad, they said it will work after an hour, and i've typed in bsnlnet, however, i'm not sure which carrier i'm supposed to select, it doesn't seem to have BSNL as a choice..

any idea what else i could do?

i've restarted it..i see in-dolphin on top left and three bars, however, internet is still not conneced.

thanks,

a foreigner in mumbai
Ganesh said…
@Foreigner You would have purchased a MTNL sim in Mumbai. so select MTNL as the carrier. Search to see what your APN would be it will not be bsnlnet AFAIK.
Unknown said…
Is it safe to assume that all the above holds true for iPad-2 as well?
Unknown said…
can i make voice call to any other mobile using bsnl 3g connection on an ipad 3g. if yes any application to be downloaded?
Kamal D Shah said…
Mohit, yes it is.

Soma, yes, you can use Skype. The calls are charged though.
Unknown said…
Hey Kamal,

Just bought a new bsnl 3G micro sim card. When i started using it i could see the 3g symbol and after a few days it got replaced by the symbol'e'. Earlier posts say that it stands for edge or something which is basically has lower speed than 3g..but i find it very weird how can it shift from 3g to e when i'm in the same place/location...Any thoughts/solutions?
Kamal D Shah said…
Shriram, this happens some times. There is nothing you can do. Just wait. It should come back. Or go to some other area. It should come back.
Unknown said…
Hey didin't expect a reply so fast! Thanks...
Yeah i tried doing that.In fact i went to the Bsnl head office in Pune
Put an additional recharge and still it showed the same 'e' sign ..and i was standing right near the main office!!!
I guess it's their fault. There's nothoon much we can do except wait? Rt? The speed sucks under 'e'
dacrazyone said…
Hey Kamal, thanks for the extremely helpful post. I need your help. So, here I sit with an Ipad2 3G, with a BSNL sim cut to the size based on the AT&T chip. The problem is, I didnt activate it thru the cell phone b4 I cut it. Once I realized it, I went thru the instructions (duh!) and placed it just about right in my phone and got BSNL network. When I dial 123, I do get the sweet lady welcoming me, but my call keeps getting disconnected when I press '2' for finding out my balance(which is the prescribed method for activating it). Aaaargh! I have been trying it for the past 1 hour. No progress. Help! Is there any other way of activating the magic thingummy? Ah, also, I went to the BSNL office and recharged it for 599. Help!
Thanks!
Kamal D Shah said…
I got it activated at the BSNL office!
c said…
Guys need some help. I purchased a Ipad 3G for my mother in Gurgaon, and got a BSNL microsim for her. After much waiting, it was activated and not with Bsnlnet as teh APN setting, she is seeing the Dolphin logo on the Ipad but there is no connectivity. Can you please help?
Avinash said…
Thank you for your post Kamal.
But I have some doubts not addresses before in this post.
I have recently bought the Galaxy Tab 10.1(or 750) which also requires microsim. Hope the bsnl settings for ipad work on it too. Fingers crossed.

But I could not get any microsim in BSNL odfice in Kolkata. :(

If I buy a normal BSNL sim to cut it finally, 1. please tell me what recharges to make?

2. how to activate before cutting it down.

3. The portfolio shows Rs. 100 for activation charge. What is that?

4. And is the Rs. 599 6 Gb plan still valid?
Madhu said…
Kamal,

I just picked up a BSNL 3G plan -999 unlimited. I got it cut in the BSNL office itself. Now i have 2 questions:
How long will the activation taKE?
Secondly, you mentioned that APN info has to be bsnlnet. Is the username & Password provided by BSNL or anything that i want to keep?

Thanks
Kamal D Shah said…
Activation is usually immediate. You don't need a username and password unless you are roaming.
Anonymous said…
What is the password in case of roaming in bsnl ipad sim ..?
Kamal D Shah said…
Try 1111 and the cell number as the username. Best of luck!
Anonymous said…
Hello. I too have a similar Problem as c. I picked up a BSNL 3G microsim for my ipad from Gurgaon, India a few months ago and after a few hiccups the service did start successfully for a good almost 5-6 months (without even recharging it once after the initial recharge of Rs.999/-)! Eventually I came to know that BSNL offered a scheme for introductory purchases of 1gigs download for 6months Free!! During this period I received exceptionally good service while in home circle or roaming almost everywhere I travelled with excellent speeds.
Now since last month I am receiving the signals of good strength, service provider I'd (IN-Dolphin or Cellone) BUT no '3G' icon next to the I'd. I tried a recharge in the middle of last month and the service resumed immediately making me presume that the reason was not enough funds in the account. This recharge was to last 30 days but the services stopped again ( 3G icon went missing) from the midnight of 30th of last month. I presumed it was the previous problem of recharge and promptly got the recharge a couple of days ago... But still No Joy.
I have registered this matter with the BSNL CC but as expected.. no after sales!!!
Could there be an issue with the settings since during this period I have started using alternate services from Reliance and since then this problem of no 3G icon with BSNL sim has started. Could there be a conflict or a bad sim issue.
Can anyone help please? MSC.
Anonymous said…
hi kamal,
i'm using bsnl 3g for my ipad, it was working fine for couple of weeks and now when i was trying to browse it shows a message dat service not supported.pls conect 2 internet. d balance is zero,is dat neccessary to recharge even it is a microsim. i tried every thing setting apn to bsnlnet, restarting it,nothing worked,But pls make dis sort it out.
bgreddy said…
how to use bsnl 3g chip in i pod and
i.e. how it can be used as a mobile phone
Kamal D Shah said…
The iPod can't be used as a phone.
Anonymous said…
Hey Kamal,

How do check the balance in ipad2 any solution?
Kamal D Shah said…
No way to check directly. You will have to remove the sim and use another phone to check. Unless of course your provider provides the balance on the web.
Aditya Kumar said…
Hey kamal
I am in Mumbai. Just came from Bangalore with a 3G sim on the iPad. My net doesn't seek to just work.


It shows dolphin apn is bsnlnet. Roaming is active but just doesn't work.

Do I need to call some Bangalore Bsnl office? Or how do I make this work, each time I try a diff apn do I need to restart the iPad. Pls help really urgent how do I get the iPad to work via Bsnl 3G in Mumbai
Anonymous said…
you are a fool who has no idea about Apple!