30 replies to this topic

[therafiman]

I recently unlocked my Vario III (ie Tytn II) so i could use it on the 3 UK network. At first the planet 3 pages did not work, but after faking the user-agent as a Nokia N95 these and the free video streams are working just fine.

The thing is, one of the main reasons I moved to 3 was for free skype calls, but skype doesn't want to connect with my current settings. My guess is maybe 3 have a different skype version which uses a specific port. Unfortunately I can't get this version, because if I go to the Skype download page on my phone, it of course thinks I'm using the N95 and offers my the symbian version.

I have tried setting up the user-agent as a Qtek 9000 (only phone on the 3 site list that has Windows Mobile), but I couldn't get that to work.

So basically, is there anyone who could help me either get the Qtek user-agent working, or is there anyone here with a WM phone fully working on 3, who could send me a version of Skype downloaded with their phone?

[dbaleanu]

therafiman, on Dec 19 2007, 12:03, said:

So basically, is there anyone who could help me either get the Qtek user-agent working, or is there anyone here with a WM phone fully working on 3, who could send me a version of Skype downloaded with their phone?

Whilst I understand that you are after the 3-customised skype client, in which I'd be interested too, bog-standard skype should still work on 3 with a Kaiser.

Been using 2.2.0.36 with a pre-paid SIM on the 5/mth internet add-on for over a month now and never had any issues with it.

[rjlawson]

Skype isn't 'Skype' on 3 - it's a client made by iSkoot which sets up a voice call to your phone & connects it to the Skype network. So the WM Skype client won't work, and I don't think there is an official one as there hasn't been a WM device on 3 (did the Qtek ever come out?).

[HOOLIGAN]

rjlawson, on Dec 19 2007, 15:51, said:

Skype isn't 'Skype' on 3 - it's a client made by iSkoot which sets up a voice call to your phone & connects it to the Skype network. So the WM Skype client won't work, and I don't think there is an official one as there hasn't been a WM device on 3 (did the Qtek ever come out?).

I have used skype on 3 and it was fine (with my Tytn II). Have a look on xda-developers. Did you see that 3 and Tmobile are pooling resources on their 3G network. Looks like you have made a good choice for coverage!.

[PaulOBrien]

Skype will work fine I believe if you have a flat rate data plan, but yes, Skype on 3 (as promoted) isn't really skype as we know it, it's skype over regular voice channels AFAIK.

P

[therafiman]

Thanks for the replies, I realised after posting i'd made a slight oversight when setting up the phone - i set up only the internet connection to run through 3, not the local networks one as well (didn't think I needed to)...after changing that as well, skype suddenly worked. Strangely though I couldn't receive calls, I could only make them.

Then after reading rjlawson's reply i tried iSkoot from their website, and it worked well - I was really happy with the fact that the the sound came out of the normal phone speaker and not the speakerphone on the back (like with Skype). But I realised the call was phoning a local number and I was getting charged for the call, which made it a bit pointless. I searched around and found the number used by iSkoot on 3, and changed iSkoot's registry entry for the call number to that - but when I logged into iSkoot it just reset that to the 0208 number again.

I logged out...and then it all stopped working. No settings changed at all, neither Skype nor iSkoot would connect for the rest of the day. I didn't know if changing the settings had actually worked, or if somehow i'd just happened to connect for a while when I wasn't supposed to before i got disconnected again.

So I bought the £5 internet add-on, and now Skype works great, with incoming and outgoing calls. My problem with it though, is if the calls aren't running through the 3 number on iSkoot, isn't the call bandwidth being taken out of my internet allowance? And if so, isn't that going to run out quite quickly with the 1GB limit? Assuming Skype calls use a fair amount of bandwidth...

I'd still love to use iSkoot, so I guess my request for a copy of Skype changes to one for a copy of iSkoot that works with 3's number instead of the 0208 one. Or if anyone knows how to change the number it dials (but I doubt that, it seems to get the settings when it logs in).

[PaulOBrien]

I don't think you'll hit 1GB on Skype THAT quickly, but yes, it's coming out of that allowance. I wonder how strictly that ceiling is enforced?

P

[andrewkeith5]

Paul (MVP), on Dec 21 2007, 16:01, said:

I don't think you'll hit 1GB on Skype THAT quickly, but yes, it's coming out of that allowance. I wonder how strictly that ceiling is enforced?

P

only one way to find out....good luck

[therafiman]

Well it looks like i finally reached a solution. I went through the following steps:

1. Fake phone user-agent string as a Sony Ericsson W910i using NetFront (it was the first 240x320 screen phone i found in 3's compatible list).

2. Download the Java version of Skype from 3's services page. You have to save it, not just run it, because it uses a root certificate the phone doesn't have.

3. Modify the jad file in a text editor to remove the root certificate lines.

4. Also modify the midlet-jar-url value to "address/filename" as opposed to just "filename". Without this the jad file will not find the jar it needs since the midlet-jar-url value in the file is relative and not absolute. The address is the same as the one from which the jad was downloaded, so the simplest way to do this is copy the location of the "Download Skype" shortcut on the 3 page, then replace the jad filename with the jar filename.

And that's it - run the jad and it installs and runs fine. Unfortunately there's no touch screen support, and the GUI is very slightly too big for the screen, but it's still completely useable. In the future I could probably repeat the process with versions for other phones to see what works best.

Also, I had to make a call to it before it connected properly and showed all the correct contact statuses.

It worked beautifully after that though - it uses iSkoot to make the call through 3's dedicated number just as i wanted it to. This means the free Skype minutes I have are used, and the call is routed through the front speaker and not the loudspeaker. If someone rings me with Skype it works just as well.

As an added bonus, I noticed i can let the it run in the background and put the phone in standby mode, and if someone makes a Skype call to me, the phone still rings just like with normal calls. This definitely makes the service much more useable, as I don't have to turn off standby mode to make it work all the time.

Incidentally, while I was at it I also got 3's new version of Windows Live Messenger (old one didn't work for me) and with the root certificate jad modification, that's working too. I didn't need step 4 for WLM though because the url path was absolute.

I've attached the modified jad files for anyone who might need them.

 Skype.rar   248.55K   542 downloads
 Windows_Live_Messenger.rar   310.61K   423 downloads

Edit: It has been brought to my attention that this version of Skype will not work in the Intent Midlet Manager that HTC provide with the Tytn II, because the softkeys don't function properly. It does however work with Esmertec JBed. Windows Live Messenger will work with both managers.

I also noticed that the jar files I uploaded quickly stopped working because the url path changed. I've swapped them with new rar files containing both the jad and jar files (make sure they're in the same directory when you run the jad).

As an alternative to step 4 above you can do what I have now done with these files and simply use the jad url's and the filename contained in the jad to find the jar file in your web browser and download it directly. Then as long as it's in the same directory as the jad and you have followed step 3, and made sure the jar url property is in this case relative and not absolute, you can install the files without needing to connect to 3.

Lastly, if you want to run the programs from your start menu instead of loading JBed first, and/or you want to get rid of the annoying popups you get because these apps are untrusted, look here:

http://pdaphonehome....et-manager.html

Edited by therafiman, 19 February 2008 - 04:47 PM.

[ltgland]

therafiman, on Jan 26 2008, 15:30, said:

Well it looks like i finally reached a solution. I went through the following steps:

1. Fake phone user-agent string as a Sony Ericsson W910i using NetFront (it was the first 240x320 screen phone i found in 3's compatible list).

2. Download the Java version of Skype from 3's services page. You have to save it, not just run it, because it uses a root certificate the phone doesn't have.

How did you do that?  I downloaded Netfront, but it still does the same thing as when I try go to download the client via my pc.  It tells me to try the phone

[secret.simon]

Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum
(I have great and joyous news)

I believe that I have succeeded in getting the native Iskoot WM6 client for Skype to connect to the Three/3 service. I am still testing it and would appreciate your feedback.

Steps
a) (Edit-03-Oct-08) Download & install the .Net Compact Framework 3.5 from Microsoft ( http://download.micr...TCFSetupv35.msi ). It appears to be necessary for the hack to work.

b) Download and install the Iskoot client for Windows Mobile 6. Try the direct link here ( http://www.iskoot.co....1.54_WMpro.CAB )

c) After installation, start the application, but DO NOT sign in. Instead exit it. The reason for doing this is to create the default registry entries for Iskoot.

d) Now start your favourite registry editor (I personally use Resco Registry Editor, but you should be able to use any. Please do not ask me how to use the registry editor. This is not the appropraite forum.)

e) Head for the following location in the registry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\ISKOOT\SKYPE\DEVICE

f) Update all the following entries to the same value "http://mobile.three.co.uk/948" (do not include the "double quotes")
      BackupHost
      CallUrl
      DefaultSkHost
      Pushhost (if it exists; if it does not , do not manually create it)

g) Exit the registry editor of choice and start and log into Iskoot. This might take some time. It took me about five minutes.

It should now be configured to connect to the 3 Skype service. To cross-verify, check that the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\ISKOOT\SKYPE\DEVICE\CallNumber has the value +447838333894 (the 3 Skype calling number). It should be automatically added by the software.

Therafiman has condensed steps d through f into a cab, attached here ( http://www.modaco.co...h...st&id=25114 ). Many thanks to him, for both the cab as well as for starting this thread in the first place.

This has been tested by many people over a month and and has been reported working with .Net Compact framework with WM6.1 on Hermes and Kaiser. Further feedback is always welcome.

Legalese: The above is merely advisory and there is no warranty, implied or otherwise, for the same.

Edited by secret.simon, 03 October 2008 - 10:31 PM.

[mostafa]

secret.simon

Sounds good, I have been trying to get this working for a few weeks using the same method you mentioned, but it alwas says that it cannot connect.

I think its half working because after I first do it, some of the other registry entries get filled in with three specific values. But something then seems to stop.

How did you get it to connect, I tried multiple times with no success (it doest try long enough to get to 5 mins as you suggest).

BTW PushHost was not in registry so I created it, but still no luck.

[secret.simon]

Hi Moustafa,

I will ask you some silly questions, but I hope that you will have the patience to answer them.

a) Are you on the UK 3 network with a 3/Three SIM in your phone? Also, which model phone do you have? 

Can you make outgoing telephonic calls from your handset without any issues?

c) If you are PAYG, when did you do your last top-up?-Skype calls are only valid for 30 days from last top-up.

d) Do you get any error messages? Is yes, what are they?

The steps above are specific to a WM6 phone on the Three UK Network.

Three might occasionally drop you to a GPRS roaming connction with O2. This will not work then. You must be on the Three network itself. What I did was go to Start > Settings > Phone > Phone > Band (tab at the bottom) and set it to UMTS (2100+800), which I have observed forces me onto the Three Network or disconnects me, but prevents me from accidentally roaming onto a 2G network like O2.

Get back to me with the answers to these questions and we will look further.

[mostafa]

Hi Simon,

a) I am on three contract phone, with x-series silver add-on, skype on java works but not very well

always works

c) n/a

d) get "Currently unable to connect." I tried with default iskoot settings, which connects fine but that doesnt go through the three server.

I have set to both utms only as well as gsm.

regards

Mostafa

[ltgland]

mostafa, on Sep 15 2008, 17:10, said:

d) get "Currently unable to connect."

Ditto.

Ditto on the pushhost regkey.  I did not create it though.

[secret.simon]

This might sound weird, but the same suggestion on another forum has elicited the information that this works on Hermes, but not on Kaiser. I currently have a Hermes and hope to switch over to a Kaiser, so will check it out for myself soon.

Article on another forum: http://www.3g.co.uk/...ad.php?p=393910

I have also heard that Skype on Kaiser running WM6.1 has issues, but not if it is running WM6.0. If somebody on the forum has WM6.0, can you drop us a line refuting/verifying the same? Could these issues be co-related?

[DeanPall]

Hi, when I try to log into Skype now I get a message asking me to update my software.  I'm guessing that this will mess up the settings and mods made in the above download.  Anybody tried it?

[DeanPall]

Can anyone here help a n00b and download the latest version of the .jad and .jar java files for Skype client version 2.0.40?  I've downloaded the old modified version posted my rafiman but this is now forcing and upate on the 3 network site.  I cannot work out how to get this to download on my TyTn. If someone can post these files it would be greatly appreciated as I need Skype for work purposes. Cheers  

[therafiman]

Congratulations secret.simon on getting the proper iskoot version working!

I tried to modify the cab file to setup the registry but unfortunately it just overwrites the settings again on the first run. So I made another cab to run seperately which adds the registry mods:

 iskoot_mod_3mobile.rar   693bytes   375 downloads

To use this file, make sure you run it after steps a AND B as described by secret.simon. ie. The steps would be:

a. Install the iSkoot client
b. Start the client, but exit before signing in
c. Install mod cab file (above). No need to run anything after install.


Also for those who still need the newer java version, here it is:

 Skype_2.0.40_SEW910I_UK_Modified.rar   243K   349 downloads

Edited by therafiman, 28 September 2008 - 09:39 PM.

[DeanPall]

therafiman you are a legend!  Many thanks for this.  I did finally manage to get the iSkoot version working by following secret.simon instructions.  It took me ages to get it going as I believe you need to have .net Compact Framework 3.5 installed otherwise it will not work.  I how have two version of Skype on my phone with the wonderful work from therafiman so I will test them both out and see which works the best.  

Edited by DeanPall, 30 September 2008 - 06:33 PM.