Web Browsing in other countries

icanhazkindle · 10-06-2010, 02:12 PM

Hi,

I am living outside of the US and if I want to use the web-browser, it says that I can't use it because of regional restrictions. However I've read, that it is possible to connect the Kindle to an US-Amazon-Account and then use the internet connection. If I do that, will I have to pay money for it because it's seen as you being an US-Citizen who is using his Kindle oversea?

terencek · 10-07-2010, 07:39 AM

Doesn't it depend on whether your Kindle is the International version? I live in South Africa and my new Kindle 3 went onto the web out of the box via the local Vodafone partner, no tweaking or settings necessary. I have heard similar stories from friends in Europe.

It's also important not to confuse the two 'international' aspects of the Kindle. One is whether a US-registered owner can buy Amazon books elsewhere, or vice-versa, which I gather is a bit problematic. The other is simply web access, which should work anywhere in the world there is a (participating) Vodafone or AT&T partner.

HarryT · 10-07-2010, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by terencek

It's also important not to confuse the two 'international' aspects of the Kindle. One is whether a US-registered owner can buy Amazon books elsewhere, or vice-versa, which I gather is a bit problematic. The other is simply web access, which should work anywhere in the world there is a (participating) Vodafone or AT&T partner.

It's a little more complex than that; it also depends on the agreement with the local telecoms operator. For example, I live in the UK and hence have a K3 with a Vodafone SIM. My K3 will browse the web in Germany but, from what we've heard, those K3's bought by people who live in Germany will not - they are restricted to Amazon and Wikipedia.

icanhazkindle · 10-07-2010, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

For example, I live in the UK and hence have a K3 with a Vodafone SIM.

How can you put Sim-cards into your K3?

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

My K3 will browse the web in Germany

That's the thing that interests me. If you, as a UK citizen, are in Germany and browse the web from there with your kindle, do you have to pay for it or is it free?

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

but, from what we've heard, those K3's bought by people who live in Germany will not - they are restricted to Amazon and Wikipedia.

As I'm German I can confirm that.

HarryT · 10-07-2010, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icanhazkindle

How can you put Sim-cards into your K3?

The K3 has a SIM card built into it. US K3's have an AT&T SIM; European ones have a Vodafone SIM. It tells you which one you have in a sticker on the box.

Quote:

That's the thing that interests me. If you, as a UK citizen, are in Germany and browse the web from there with your kindle, do you have to pay for it or is it free?

It's free.

TalkingBook · 10-08-2010, 05:41 AM

Tossing in my two cents:

I bought my DXG about a month ago in the US, registered to a US account, and was extremely pleased when I stepped off the plane in Hamburg yesterday to find that the browser is fully functional for me here in Germany. I live an hour an a half or so north of Hamburg, in Kiel, and I've also had no problems with the browser up here – so far.

Any idea what kind of SIM the DXG is supposed to have, Harry?

plaisthos · 10-08-2010, 06:33 AM

YOu can lookup it yourself. Go to setting, press 611 (alt y alt q alt q). There should be ******* SIM ******
Look at the IMSI. For my DXG it is 310 41 ..... where 310 is US and 41 is AT&T. Under network you see the currently using gsm network which is 262 03 for me or Germany, Eplus

TalkingBook · 10-08-2010, 08:18 AM

Thanks for the info, I knew about the 411 page, but the 611 was new to me.

My IMSI is also 310 41 and I'm connecting through 262 07 (O2).

So getting back to the OP; there are several conditions that I can think of that may have to be met to have full browser functionality 'in other countries'. (For the sake of example, I'll say Germany.) These are:

1) Appropriate SIM card, apparently either AT&T (US) or, as Harry says, Vodaphone (UK). I assume, because Harry said European Kindles come with a Vodaphone SIM, that this would apply to one bought in Germany as well.

2) Either a US or UK based Kindle account.

3) Connection to a network with the proper agreements with Amazon.
________________________________________

I'm not sure which of these is the important condition, or if it is dependent on a number of them. Has anybody with a German-bought Kindle had full browser access without a US or UK-based account? That would seem to show that 1) is fulfilled and 2) is irrelevant. If this is the case, 3) would seem to be the deciding factor; however, if not, all options appear to remain open.

I've been trying to figure out for awhile why some people have international browsing while others don't, and more importantly for myself, if I'm in danger of losing my browsing "privileges"; any info would be greatly appreciated.

Wurstbrot · 10-08-2010, 10:55 AM

I live in Germany and own a Kindle2 since a year - delivered and registered to a German Amazon account. In the first time free web surfing was not possible. Some weeks (or even months) ago I read somewhere in this forum that this had changed. I tried it - and yes, I could freely browse the web without restrictions since then. Recently I' ve been in Switzerland and Italy with my K2. Browsing was possible in Switzerland, too, but not in Italy ("Due to local restrictions blabla ...").

Last week I got my new K3 - registered to the same German account as my K2. As with my K2 browsing is no problem with the K3 as well.

plaisthos · 10-08-2010, 10:56 AM

Iteresting. I thought amazon has one roaming partner for each country. For germany there seem to be at least two

TalkingBook · 10-08-2010, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wurstbrot

I live in Germany and own a Kindle2 since a year - delivered and registered to a German Amazon account. In the first time free web surfing was not possible. Some weeks (or even months) ago I read somewhere in this forum that this had changed. I tried it - and yes, I could freely browse the web without restrictions since then. Recently I' ve been in Switzerland and Italy with my K2. Browsing was possible in Switzerland, too, but not in Italy ("Due to local restrictions blabla ...").

Last week I got my new K3 - registered to the same German account as my K2. As with my K2 browsing is no problem with the K3 as well.

Very interesting, that would seem to confirm that the only determining factor is which network the Kindle is connecting to – unless there's some other factor I'm not considering.

Just a thought – I doubt it will work, as I'd be highly surprised if I were the first to think of it – but if the only thing keeping some people from having full browser capabilities is the network they are connecting to, could a fix be as simple as trying to manually connect to another network via the 311 command? I'm sure I'm missing something, as it sounds far too easy.

I'd try it myself if I had the problem, but there's no way I'm tempting fate by messing around with it while it's working correctly.

10-06-2010, 02:12 PM	#1
icanhazkindle Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle 3	Web Browsing in other countries Hi, I am living outside of the US and if I want to use the web-browser, it says that I can't use it because of regional restrictions. However I've read, that it is possible to connect the Kindle to an US-Amazon-Account and then use the internet connection. If I do that, will I have to pay money for it because it's seen as you being an US-Citizen who is using his Kindle oversea?

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10-07-2010, 07:39 AM	#2
terencek Groupie Posts: 170 Karma: 1010944 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: The African bush Device: Kindle 3	Doesn't it depend on whether your Kindle is the International version? I live in South Africa and my new Kindle 3 went onto the web out of the box via the local Vodafone partner, no tweaking or settings necessary. I have heard similar stories from friends in Europe. It's also important not to confuse the two 'international' aspects of the Kindle. One is whether a US-registered owner can buy Amazon books elsewhere, or vice-versa, which I gather is a bit problematic. The other is simply web access, which should work anywhere in the world there is a (participating) Vodafone or AT&T partner.

10-08-2010, 05:41 AM	#6
TalkingBook Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle DX Graphite	Tossing in my two cents: I bought my DXG about a month ago in the US, registered to a US account, and was extremely pleased when I stepped off the plane in Hamburg yesterday to find that the browser is fully functional for me here in Germany. I live an hour an a half or so north of Hamburg, in Kiel, and I've also had no problems with the browser up here – so far. Any idea what kind of SIM the DXG is supposed to have, Harry?

10-08-2010, 06:33 AM	#7
plaisthos Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle DXG	YOu can lookup it yourself. Go to setting, press 611 (alt y alt q alt q). There should be ***** SIM **** Look at the IMSI. For my DXG it is 310 41 ..... where 310 is US and 41 is AT&T. Under network you see the currently using gsm network which is 262 03 for me or Germany, Eplus

10-08-2010, 08:18 AM	#8
TalkingBook Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle DX Graphite	Thanks for the info, I knew about the 411 page, but the 611 was new to me. My IMSI is also 310 41 and I'm connecting through 262 07 (O2). So getting back to the OP; there are several conditions that I can think of that may have to be met to have full browser functionality 'in other countries'. (For the sake of example, I'll say Germany.) These are: 1) Appropriate SIM card, apparently either AT&T (US) or, as Harry says, Vodaphone (UK). I assume, because Harry said European Kindles come with a Vodaphone SIM, that this would apply to one bought in Germany as well. 2) Either a US or UK based Kindle account. 3) Connection to a network with the proper agreements with Amazon. ________________________________________ I'm not sure which of these is the important condition, or if it is dependent on a number of them. Has anybody with a German-bought Kindle had full browser access without a US or UK-based account? That would seem to show that 1) is fulfilled and 2) is irrelevant. If this is the case, 3) would seem to be the deciding factor; however, if not, all options appear to remain open. I've been trying to figure out for awhile why some people have international browsing while others don't, and more importantly for myself, if I'm in danger of losing my browsing "privileges"; any info would be greatly appreciated.

10-08-2010, 10:55 AM	#9
Wurstbrot Member Posts: 19 Karma: 5132 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Hamburg, Germany Device: Kindle 2+3, HTC Legend	I live in Germany and own a Kindle2 since a year - delivered and registered to a German Amazon account. In the first time free web surfing was not possible. Some weeks (or even months) ago I read somewhere in this forum that this had changed. I tried it - and yes, I could freely browse the web without restrictions since then. Recently I' ve been in Switzerland and Italy with my K2. Browsing was possible in Switzerland, too, but not in Italy ("Due to local restrictions blabla ..."). Last week I got my new K3 - registered to the same German account as my K2. As with my K2 browsing is no problem with the K3 as well.

10-08-2010, 10:56 AM	#10
plaisthos Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle DXG	Iteresting. I thought amazon has one roaming partner for each country. For germany there seem to be at least two

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