How To Access Internet Through WiFi on Nokia C3-00

Nokia C3-00 is Nokia's entry level smart phone with qwerty keyboard and wifi! At £60(at the time of writing) a piece at ASDA compared to £69 + £10 top up or £79 total at Dialaphone. This phone is free for pay monthly custo mers and comes with free gifts as well. See more offers at Dialaphone .The form, weight, and specifications are worth more than it's price, and will make as a good present this Xmas. The first link will also give you one 2GB micro sd and 4GB microsd, and no top up require d compared to the other online shops. If you can find any cheaper, please inform me.

 THE SPECS

Click here to get the full specs:

THE PROBLEM

The phone is perfect, but I had a hard time on one of the settings. The problem is internet access through wifi. The unit can identify and connect straight away to any router but when you connect it to the internet using the native internet access or the applications that use internet, it still uses the mobile networks 3G access to go to a web page. Even how many times I tweeked the settings, the choices and the menus and submenus do not have WiFi or WLAN as a choice in connecting the device into the web. One forum says to update the unit but the update connection uses packet data which means uses the GPRS or 3G connection which means the device always bypasses the wifi connection. As my sim card has no credit yet, I was not able to do so, I can not update the device through wifi or can do any internet thing yet!

THE SIMPLE SOLUTION 

The Nokia Account OVI(Menu, Settings, Nokia Account, OVI) under settings, which is free to use with my present network(vo......),  gave me hope as it lets me choose to connect to wifi rather than wap, 3g or GPRS. After creating an account, I went to the stores and access OVI stores (Menu, Stores, Shop OVI), which did lets me choose wifi again! I downloaded some free games, and ringtones then came across opera web mini (type in Opera under search), a web browser!!! I had a feeling this will do the trick as it is not a native application of the device. After firing up Opera, it lets me choose wifi to my delight! The native web browser uses my data network connection and there's no way that it chooses wifi, but this free app lets me choose my free access!! So next time you stumble upon a phone that ignores your free wifi, download a free web browser!

Update: 13th Of September 2011

As I am writing this, I came across a problem with this device.

I can not proceed to OVI stores.

The application opens when I click it, but it says I need to download the update before proceeding. When I click download, it says I need to subscribe to a data bundle. I bought data bundle but the annoying part is it says, it is not compatible with my device!

I used the opera browser and tried to access OVI on it, but it says it is not compatible with Opera browser!

I installed the Nokia suite to my computer and tried to update my phone and hoping to update OVI as well. The phone update went well.

 

Then I went to   OVI Store to update the OVI store software but the site says, Nokia C3-00 is not supported.

There are still at least 30 applications within the OVI store for the Nokia C3-00, the only annoying bit is, you can not download and transfer them to your phone using the USB. 

You need to send the applications link by text to your mobile which is free, but your phone will use the data allowance you have in your phone's sim to download and install the application. The link will not work with wi-fi!

I am not sure with other networks, I think this is a mobile network issue. As this phone is a pay as you go phone and tied to my vo....... network.

I rest my case on this one, I've given away the phone. If you have the Opera browser before the new OVI store took effect, then you are in luck, as the new OVI no longer support  Nokia C3-00. The Opera mini browser still works through wifi even without a credit or sim card inserted.