Hints & Tips

To get your .tel domain picked up by search engines, you can submit it on official websites, such as:

• Google http://www.google.com/addurl.html
• Microsoft Live Search http://www.bing.com/docs/submit.aspx
• Yahoo! http://search.yahoo.com/info/submit.html

Indexation will take time (up to 8 weeks sometimes) depending on the search engine and other external factors, but it's expected to help search engines pick up your .tel quicker.

The language in which you see your domain relates to the language settings within your browser. To change these settings, go the Options menu in your browser, as shown below for popular browsers Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer.

In Mozilla Firefox:

1. Go to Tools > Options.
2. In the Options dialogue, select the Contact icon.
3. At the bottom of the dialogue, click "choose..." for a list of languages.
4. Select the required language and click Add.
5. Use the "Move Up" button to move the newly added language to the top of the list.
6. Click Ok.

In Internet Explorer:

1. Go to Tools > Options.
2. In the Options dialogue, select the "General" tab.
3. Click the "Languages" button at the bottom of the tab.
4. Click "Add.." and select the desired language.
5. Use the "Move Up" button to move the newly added language to the top of the list.
6. Click Ok.

Refresh the page in the browser and language should now change

If you need to know how many people use the phone numbers that you publish on your .tel, you can subscribe to a service called "remote call forwarded phone number" or "market extension line".

Most phone companies offer this service, which gives you a tracking phone number that you put into .tel. When somebody uses that number, the call is forwarded to your actual line, but call duration and the total number of calls is tracked by the phone company. You then get a report with all the data to demonstrate how your .tel phone line is working.

Some companies offer free phone numbers, such as www.0870-free.co.uk in the United Kingdom.

If your phone company does not provide the service you need, setup a tracking line forwarded to a toll-free number, which will provide you with similar statistics. Most phone companies charge for the tracking number service, but it's usually a relatively small investment that can give you a lot of useful information. Take a look at www.ringrevenue.com for an idea of phone-based services you may wish to use.

Your .tel allows you to store your location as geographic coordinates: latitude plus longitude. Clicking the Location link on your .tel displays your position on a map, such as Google Maps in a browser.

In the .tel control panel Dashboard, you can enter your location as a post code, address, or exact co-ordinates separated by a comma. In the former cases, you may need to adjust your location because your postcode may not exactly correspond to your actual location. Follow these simple steps to store your location:

1. Enter your location and click the magnifying glass search button to go to that location.
2. Use the zooming controls to see where the marker is, and drag-and-drop the marker as needed for greater accuracy.
3. Click Save to store this location. Your new location is shown as coordinates beneath the map.
4. To change your location, move the marker or input another location, and repeat steps 1 - 3 above. Click Save to replace your old location with the new one.

Depending on the device you're using, getting the precise geographic coordinates may be easier. You can use the decimal format "51.518117, -0.13425" or the standard "N 51 31.090' W 0 8.050'".

Method 1 - Google Maps

1. Open yourname.tel in a browser window or tab.
2. Click on your Location link to view in Google Maps.
3. Click the Satellite tab in the upper right corner to switch to that mode.
4. Compare the location of the marker to where you want it to be.
5. If needed, further adjust the position of the marker by changing the values for N (northbound movement) and W (westbound movement) in the Search Maps address bar until you get the perfect position.

For areas that are not identifiable on Google Maps, such as a factory location in Chichigalpa, Nicaragua, you may need to use the Google Earth application instead. A free version is downloadable at http://earth.google.com/.

Suggested by a .tel owner, Richard Laughton laughton.tel.

Method 2 - iPhone

1. Install the free My.tel application to edit your .tel domain, iphone.apps.telnic.tel.
2. Click on the map.
3. Click the move icon, select move to GPS, and then click the Set .tel marker button.

Method 3 - BlackBerry

1. Go to Options -> Advanced Options -> GPS.
2. Click the BlackBerry button and select Refresh GPS. The latitude and longitude, and accuracy will display on screen.
3. Copy or input these to the Location in your .tel control panel.

Other devices may offer similar services.

A .tel domain does not include email hosting by default, but provides the necessary support for a .tel email address. Please check with your .tel service provider whether a mail hosting service is available, or setup your own mailbox on independent mail servers.

To have a .tel email address, you need to have mail servers setup to host your mailbox, and MX records pointing to those servers from your .tel domain. You can add MX records from the Settings link in the .tel control panel, or programmatically using the SOAP/AJAX APIs. Again, your .tel provider might offer to do this for you.
Below are simple instructions on setting up a free .tel mailbox using Google Mail or Windows Live Mail.

Google Mail

1. Sign up for a Google Apps account and add your .tel domain name:
   1. Select the option Administrator: I own or control this domain from the sign up page and enter your .tel domain name.
   2. Enter all your personal information.
   3. Enter the email address you want setup at your .tel domain and finish the sign up process.
2. Get Google mail server names to setup MX records in your .tel domain.
   1. Skip forced verification of ownership using CNAME records by selecting I will validate later.
   2. Go to your Admin Panel
      Verifying Domain Ownership > Configuring MX Records.
3. Setup .tel to point to Google mail servers, such as
   ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. 10
ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. 20
   • Using the control panel, go to Settings > Setup .tel email and enter the priorities and the MX server names, OR
   • Using the .tel SOAP API, create the relevant MX records by calling storeRecord().
4. Wait for Google to validate ownership of your domain. This can take up to 48 hours.

Windows Live

Stage 1: Add your .tel to Windows Live

1. Sign up for a Windows Live account or log in if you are returning user.
2. Enter the .tel domain that you wish to add and opt to Set up Windows Live Hotmail for my domain.
   • If you are new to Windows Live, on the next screen select Create a new Windows Live ID in your domain, ex: person@smallco.tel and fill in the sign-up form as required.
   • If you are a returning user, continue by signing in with an existing Windows Live ID.
3. Accept the Conditions. You will be directed to the Domain Settings page.

Stage 2: Setup .tel to point to Windows Live server

1. On the Domain Settings page, get the details of the MX record that you need to set up. This is tied specifically to your domain name rather than being a generic address.
2. Copy the MX server name and enter it into your .tel.
   • Using the control panel, go to Settings > Setup .tel email and enter the priorities and the MX server names, OR
   • Using the .tel SOAP API, create the relevant MX records by calling storeRecord().
3. Return to the Windows Live process and hit Refresh to validate the changes.
4. After the validation passes, you will be offered to setup member accounts.

Stage 3: Create member account(s)

1. In the Member Accounts area, click Add+ to create a new member.
2. Fill in the form with the requested data (may not work on browsers other than Internet Explorer).

Stage 4: Activate your mail account

1. Sign up for the Windows Live Mail system by filling in the new user form.
2. After completing the form, you will be asked to sign in again entering the captcha when prompted.

Your .tel mailbox is now setup.

You can save a backup copy of your domain as an XML file on your computer. The backup includes all data, including contact information, profiles, groups, and friends. You can then use this file at any time to restore the domain data; for example, during a transfer.

To backup your domain(s), go to Settings, Backup / Restore data tab and select the domain to be exported, or choose All domains to backup all information in your account. Confirm the operation and save the file when offered by the browser. Please ensure that your browser allows saving files from your .tel control panel.

To restore information, again open the Backup / Restore data tab and click Browse to navigate to the backup file. The system will check the data format and list the domains contained in the file. Select one or more domains to be restored, and confirm the operation. Please be aware that this operation can take significant time depending on the amount of restored data.

Important: Restoring a domain erases any other data that you may have in your control panel for this domain.

Any connection issues to the .tel for BlackBerry application are usually attributed to the APN settings of the device. If you experience connection issues when using the .tel application, check to see if the APN settings on your BlackBerry are enabled. These can usually be found in the Options menu section of your Blackberry in Options > Advanced Options > TCP/IP. If the APN setting is disable, please enable and retry connecting to the service.
If this is still not successful you may also need to specify the APN username and password for your carrier. These settings can be found at this third party site by selecting your country and phone supplier, http://www.modmyi.com/wiki/index.php/Carrier_APN_Settings.