Nexus S with Softbank

[thepie]

Hi all,

I plan to buy a Nexus S (unlocked) but I have to confirm that it can work with Softbank 3G first. Is there anyone here that have experience with using Nexus S with Softbank to share their experience with me? Thank you!

 

[dblbstrd]

I know this thread is about a month old, but I'll answer anyway.

In theory it could work, but in practice, how do you expect to get the SIM card? They won't sell you a SIM card without the phone. If you want a Softbank contract, you may as well just get an HTC Desire or something.

 

[thepie]

Oh, thanks for the reply.

I checked the frequency of Softbank and they use WCDMA 2100, so in theory Nexus S should work.

I decided to get a Nexus S anyway. I'll have my friend sign me up for an HTC Desire (not a bad phone, but I hate its battery life, and I prefer a pure Android phone anyway), and I'll dump the HTC Desire later. It's a 0 yen phone and unlockable, so it's not too bad in terms of economics anyway.

 

[thepie]

Just for anyone who wants to check if the Nexus S can work on Softbank or not, it works FLAWLESSLY.

But you'll need some tweaks to get it working with Softbank Mail.

Aside from that, I am enjoying my phone with a (somewhat crappy) Softbank network

 

[zeiroe]

Hi thepie,

I have been looking for more information on this for a while now. If you don't mind, I was hoping to pick your brain. I plan on visiting Japan for about two weeks in the near future. I love my Nexus S and I would like to use it for my visit. The Nexus S you have working on Softbank, what country and carrier was it intended for? Here in the U.S., there are three different versions with three different radios.

 

[thepie]

Mine is i9023 - the EU version bought in France. However, the GSM version in the US should work with Softbank since it supports the WCDMA 2100 frequency (according to http://www.google.com/nexus/#/tech-specs)

Not sure if it'll work on other networks in Japan though since they may use different frequencies.

 

[Petaris]

A GSM phone supports CDMA?

I am not sure that is possible as they are two different systems, unless it has both radios in it.

CDMA phones don't have SIM card slots from my experience. Does the nexus really support both systems?

 

[thepie]

No. WCDMA, which is a 3g technology that supports dual-mode operation along with GSM/EDGE (but Softbank doesn't support GSM). The Nexus S version that supports this type of dual-mode operation is called Nexus S GSM.

 

[Petaris]

Ahh, OK.

I was thinking that WCDMA was just another version of CDMA like CDMA2000 was. I didn't know it was based on 3g instead. Thanks for the info!

 

[welterguy]

HI the pie, I was wondering if you could give me details about what i need to do to my Nexus S phone - I can use it for calls and messages but can't get it to do internet/data services. Thanks

 

[thepie]

You have to set the correct APN settings. Find "open.softbank.ne.jp" on the net. The username should be opensoftbank (the old setting has a different username if I remember correctly), but the password I cannot share here. However, you can just google it and find it in dozens of websites.

Good luck!

 

[welterguy]

Thanks very much!

 

[thepie]

Oh I should take note that this is applicable to only Grey sim card (for smartphone/3G phones). The black one (for iphone) uses the smile APN...
You MUST set the right APN setting, or else you'll end up with a crazy bill