The first 3G phone I owned back in 2009 was the Nokia N70. At That time Nokia phones were leading and the N70 was kind of versatile.
I was working at a publishing company back then and the compensation was not that satisfying. I could not even buy a brand new Nokia 3G phone.
I bought the device from my girlfriend's (now my wife) uncle for only Php2000. By the way the device was capable of video calling via data connection because it doesn’t have Wi-Fi feature.
I was using the phone for a couple of months and quite familiar with all it’s features. I wasn’t aware that such a device could do more than just its capability.
By the way Nokia N70 was a Symbian operating system and capable of installing apps without downloading from the app store. Apps were in dot sis file (.sis) and shareable to any Nokia model of the same version.
My Phone Was Better Than Your Phone
One day my friend who once worked at the company visited us at work. He had a Nokia N70 too and he shared to me about how to browse the internet with a Nokia phone even if the sim card doesn’t have airtime load. You don’t need to subscribe to a promo too just to have access to internet data. This was when my Nokia N70 unleashed its full potential.
The trick was to use a free proxy site that will serve as an access point and you will have unlimited internet with your phone.
He told me that he once worked part time at a call center and the guy he met there shared the trick with him. It seems that the trick has been circulating for a long time already in some BPO associates.
During those times, mobile networks were kind of vulnerable to these tricks. Symbian and Java phones were more friendly to these networks.
The idea was to have unlimited internet on mobile devices with only 1 peso as maintaining balance. Even if you have run out of airtime load, you can still browse the internet free of charge. You can even download large files or watch live TV broadcasting as long as your remaining 1 Peso balance will not be consumed for SMS.
It was called the Free Browsing Technique or Unlimited Browsing Technique (FBT/UBT).
A particular cell phone browser will then be modified using tools like JARBOOM and SISBOOM. More like an APK editor for Android phones today. These tools are apps that are capable of editing the application and injecting a proxy server inside the file.
Even if you don’t have knowledge in programming you can learn these tricks by experience.
If you want to maximize the capability of your Nokia phone, you need to hack it. For IPhone, it is called Jailbreak and for Android phone it is called Rooting.
However, this practice is somewhat risky, for if you have failed in the hacking process, you will end up buying a new phone.
Self Taught
I have been using the trick for almost four years. During that time the free and unlimited browsing technique was widely known not only here in PH. I did not dare to do research as to where it originated but it was known globally. It was kind of ceaseless because giant networks like Globe and Smart telecom can’t find solutions to stop it. But it was NOT ILLEGAL because if it was it will not stay that long. I think during those times, the cell phones packet data security was not that highly secured.
I even have had a Smart sim card that need not have to use this tricks because I can browse freely with 1 Peso remaining load until expires. I have read some forum that Smart telecom has mistakenly distributed sim card with internet data activated and I was lucky to have purchased one of them. It lasted for six months.
Imagine four years that I have been using free internet on my Nokia N70. That was a lot of savings for an internet data connection. I have shared the trick to our co-workers and even their families and friends wanted to have this free internet.
However these free internet has been used by some opportunistic people. They collect fees to some who want to have a free internet on their phone.
As for me and my friends it was just for personal usage. When somebody would approach us and ask if they can have this trick too, we did not collect fees because we get it free and so we share it for free too.
My Personal Digital Assistance
My Nokia N70 was like my Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) back then. It can modify apps, I watch TV on it, live streaming and Download films to watch. The platforms we used back then for chatting were Nimbuzz and Mig33 and the most famous and friendly browser was the undying Operamini.
I did not study programming but during those times I just noticed myself unpacking a dot sis file and inserting a proxy server on it. Anyway it was just basic for a real IT programmer.
These tricks only applies to Nokia Symbian and Java phones. However we have it tested to other phone brand and it worked but not with Apple i-phone.
Happy Days Are Gone
When android phones came, Nokia was slowly fading and those tricks don’t seem to work with androids. That was also the time that I forgot about it because I had an opportunity to work overseas.
After my contract overseas I went to my friend who shared the trick. I asked him if it was still existing and he said it had completely ceased. Some guys are still trying to make it work with androids but it is kind of hard to connect. They are using this Psiphon thing. I tried it once but it did not work with packet data. It will work with open Wi-Fi that doesn't need admin permission.
My interest on this thing has completely gone because why would I waste time on such a thing when I already have subscribed to an internet connection at home.
But anyway I was just sharing my internet experience back in time, when most people here in PH were dying to have an unlimited internet connection for their mobile phones.
That was also the time when I created my first blog with Blogger. I am posting their tricks for free and sharing some of my personalized browser apps ready to use with a proxy server injected on it. The blog was sort of educational and it was fun. Pure fun and unforgettable experience with FBT/UBT, no money involved.
Thanks for reading. Ciao!
Feel free to check my previous posts:
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Photo Credits:
Eirik Solheim
I'm only familiar with Operamini. Hindi ako nagkalikot sa phone noon. Hehe. More on text ako noon. And I also had a Nokia N70 pero mas bet ko yung Nokia 6630 yung andoon sa photo ng unsplash yung parang may chubby cheeks. Hahaha. Ewan ko lang nasaan na yun pero yung N70 alam ko andito pa. Nakakamiss ang Nokia. Classic 🥰