iPhone v3.0 OS MMS and tethering — 12 Jun 2009

Posted in daily

A quick post to share with you how I managed to activate tethering (Swisscom) on my iPhone 3G running iPhone OS 3.0 (build 7a341).

The 3.0 update was seemless. I downloaded my developer's copy and updated the iPhone via iTunes by opt-clicking the «Check for Update» button in the iPhone summary pane.

I won't go over all the 3.0 new features as they are extensively covered elsewhere. Nevertheless, the update run smoothly and without incident. All new features were instantly available (incl. MMS), except tethering.

If you read around, you'll notice that MMS and tethering may require changing your operator settings. Prior to iTunes 8.2, you could load new operator settings, called a carrier bundle (e.g. Swisscom_CH.ipcc), that enabled them. The files also allows the carrier to enable and disable features such as MMS, data roaming, and tethering, and set their carrier logo etc. Apple have disabled the adding of non-signed .ipcc files in iTunes 8.2, released alongside iPhone OS 3.0. So it wasn't as simple as loading a new set of settings.

Digging around I discovered on Andrew Harrison's weblog you could enable functions by loding a .mobileconfig file:

The solution: .mobileconfig. These files “which can contain similar information to .ipcc files, but for specific functions “are allowed by Apple, and are executed on the phone, not through iTunes.

The idea is simple: you need to build, or find, the .mobileconfig file for your operator, send it to yourself by email, and open it from the iPhone.

I found a list of .mobileconfig on Benm.AT which amongst others offered the Swisscom settings. Check his site for yours.

Base Deutschland
E-Plus Deutschland
Mobilkom Austria A1
O2 Deutschland
Orange Austria
Orange Austria Tethering
Orange Schweiz
Sunrise Schweiz
Swisscom Schweiz
T-Mobile Austria
T-Mobile Austria #2
T-Mobile DE Complete Tarif
T-Mobile Deutschland
Tele.ring Austria
Vodafone Deutschland

You can connect to your iPhone either by bluetooth or with an USB cable. To connect by bluetooth, turn bluetooth on, pair your iPhone and your Mac, and open the bluetooth menubar icon. You'll find an item with the name of your iPhone with a submenu named «Connect to Network». Select it and your done.