HUAWEI E620/Laptop Hangs (Vodacom3G)?

[stevenvm]

I have a new Dell D820 purchased from dell and it comes without the built in dell 3G module, when I try and use my PCMCIA 3G card the laptop just hangs, I manage to connect but then it just hangs the laptop and I need to switch off.

I've used the same 3g card in my old dell and had no problems, i've tried disabling the integrated 3g and all wireless options in the BIOS but no luck. A friend of mine had the same problem with his MTN 3G card on a HP laptop but never solved it.

Is there a firmware upgrade for the HUAWEI E620 card or could I purchase the dell integrated 3G card from vodacom, dell say the don't sell it here yet.

Please help!

[atomcrusher]

@ stevennm ...

I see you have had no response on this forum from anyone at VC .... BTW, did you really expect one???

For what it's worth, I had the same issue (hanging) with a MTN E620 F@stLink Data Card on my previous HP laptop .... still no solution from MTN. And now I have a new Dell with no PCMCIA slot, so can't even use the data card ... and still no answer from MTN as to when they will join the real world and offer the Express Card compatible data card. SP's (all of them) suck!

I have considered moving from MTN to VC, but I note that on the VC website it states words to the effect that "data cards are NOT compatible with all laptops / notebooks.

[vodacom3g]

I've been busy trying to get to the bottom of this one....

It's a known problem with the D820 and the Huawei E620 card. Dell is aware of the problem and we are awaiting a possible solution from them. This is not helping you much though....

I'm trying to get a process in place where we can swap your cards out for another brand.

I actually gave my own Option to a Dell D820 user in Cape Town yesterday, and took his Huawei to use in my Sony.

If you've not already PM'ed my all you details, please do so and I'll see what I can do for you.

[stevenvm]

Any luck yet with a solution?

In the meantime I've been testing with a friends merlin U740 and it seems to be ok, the only thing is it gives me a connection speed of 230.4 kbps and i get the following on the vodacom speed test:

Download Speed: 363 kbps (45.4 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 48 kbps (6 KB/sec transfer rate)
The light on the Merlin is orange which I believe is HSDPA, is something wrong or is this normal?

Steven

I've been busy trying to get to the bottom of this one....

It's a known problem with the D820 and the Huawei E620 card. Dell is aware of the problem and we are awaiting a possible solution from them. This is not helping you much though....

I'm trying to get a process in place where we can swap your cards out for another brand.

I actually gave my own Option to a Dell D820 user in Cape Town yesterday, and took his Huawei to use in my Sony.

If you've not already PM'ed my all you details, please do so and I'll see what I can do for you.

[rekall]

Those speeds indicate that it is running on 3G and not HSDPA.. I'm not sure what happening with that light though?

[vodacom3g]

We managed to get a 620 / 820 combo working today, so I've asked the guys to check what's different. Will let know, but if anyone wants to help test, PM me your details.

You're being limited to 384/64, either because you're on a 3G contract (the lower tariff) or you might be on a pre-paid contract and the system thinks you should be on 3G.

We're doing a bulk update in the next few days to migrate all the pre-paid numbers to HSDPA.

[Sidster]

Hey guys.

I've had problems with PCMCIA 3G/Egde cards before. The best thing to do is get the standard software straight from the vendor. The one that's branded for MTN or Vodafone/Vodacom is usually crap. The standard unbranded one always has the latest firmware. After installing the software you simply plug in your datacard and it'll prompt you to update the firmware if applicable.

You can get it here under the "software" section.

I'm downloading it as we speak so I can try it on my D820. I'll let you know how it goes.

[vodacom3g]

Hey guys.

I've had problems with PCMCIA 3G/Egde cards before. The best thing to do is get the standard software straight from the vendor. The one that's branded for MTN or Vodafone/Vodacom is usually crap.

For the education of all forumites, please provide us with exactly what makes these "MTN or Vodafone/Vodacom" cards / firmware crap.

What changes in the firmware and sourcecode did you pick up that's different from the vendors'?

I assume you've done a decompile of the firmware and software and can highlight these changes?

[Sidster]

If you wanna argue you can go here because I won't indulge you. This is my policy as far as arguing on the internet is concerned.

What planet are you from? Have I decompiled it... What a laugh.

I speak from personal experience with three different datacards. In all three cases the firmware that comes with the branded version is older than the plain unbranded one. My Sierra Aircard gave me a few inconsistent errors so I decided to update the firmware. I go to Sierra website, download software branded "For MTN", install and viola... No firmware update. I go back to Sierra website and download software labelled "All others", I install and pop in datacard and, Bobs your uncle, firmware updates and issues are resolved. This is because the vendor charges MTN or Vodacom each time it "updates" it's branded version of the software. So the network operators don't get Sierra or Huawei to bundle the latest firmware with each new build. In fact those companies won't rebuild the branded software at all unless there's a major bug. And even then it's prioritised below the unbranded standard version. That being said, Novatel seems to be doing better in that regard. Their software lets you update your firmware regardless

Long story short. If you want the latest software with the latest bugfixes and the latest firmware... GET THE UNBRANDED VERSION.

On a different note. I got the plain unbranded software for the Huawei E620. It updated my fimware but didn't resolve the issue with the Dell D820. Oh well. I'll keep my ear to the ground and post my findings here.

[ChestyKov]

Any update on the known issues with Dell's Latitude D820 and Huawei' E620 Data Card?

[vodacom3g]

Any update on the known issues with Dell's Latitude D820 and Huawei' E620 Data Card?

It's been quiet on this issue for a while, till your PM, that is.

Last time I checked the guys got this combination working in the workshops. I'll check with them and cc you on the mail. (PM me an e-mail addy)

[mightymax]

It's been quiet on this issue for a while, till your PM, that is.

Last time I checked the guys got this combination working in the workshops. I'll check with them and cc you on the mail. (PM me an e-mail addy)

Hi vodacom3g, have you got word from the workshop yet about ther problem?

[vodacom3g]

The problem with certain laptops have been identified as an issue with Huawei cards manufactured before 1st of October. See below on how to check if your card is one of the older batch.

If you have an older card AND you see the problem, you can have it swapped out at your local shop.

>Which notebooks have been affected with the old E620 hardware?

- To date we have had reports of a number of DELL LATITUDE and HP EVO notebooks.

>Has it been resolved?

-YES.
-By Huawei revising the filter parameters on the data cards manufactured from the 1st October 2006 are based on the revised hardware specifications.

>How do I know if I have old or new hardware?

-New hardware can be identified by looking at the Serial number on the back of the data card.
-The series of numbers and letters include information about the date of manufacture.
-For example in the serial number E81AE106A0100027
-06 represents the year
-A represent the 10th month
-01 represents the day of the month

-Therefore if the 7th, 8th, 9th digits are 06A, 06B etc… it is new hardware

[vodacom3g]

If you wanna argue you can go here because I won't indulge you. This is my policy as far as arguing on the internet is concerned.

What planet are you from? Have I decompiled it... What a laugh.

I speak from personal experience with three different datacards. In all three cases the firmware that comes with the branded version is older than the plain unbranded one. My Sierra Aircard gave me a few inconsistent errors so I decided to update the firmware. I go to Sierra website, download software branded "For MTN", install and viola... No firmware update. I go back to Sierra website and download software labelled "All others", I install and pop in datacard and, Bobs your uncle, firmware updates and issues are resolved. This is because the vendor charges MTN or Vodacom each time it "updates" it's branded version of the software. So the network operators don't get Sierra or Huawei to bundle the latest firmware with each new build. In fact those companies won't rebuild the branded software at all unless there's a major bug. And even then it's prioritised below the unbranded standard version. That being said, Novatel seems to be doing better in that regard. Their software lets you update your firmware regardless

Long story short. If you want the latest software with the latest bugfixes and the latest firmware... GET THE UNBRANDED VERSION.

On a different note. I got the plain unbranded software for the Huawei E620. It updated my fimware but didn't resolve the issue with the Dell D820. Oh well. I'll keep my ear to the ground and post my findings here.

It's not about arguing.

If you want to state 'facts' then back it up with solid support.

If your point was that later revisions of software/firmware tend to be better, everyone will agree, but then say so.

Rather your point was that "The one that's branded for MTN or Vodafone/Vodacom is usually crap."

You'll agree, it's a rather argumentative statement

[stevenvm]

V3G

Can these be swapped out for the USB model?

The problem with certain laptops have been identified as an issue with Huawei cards manufactured before 1st of October. See below on how to check if your card is one of the older batch.

If you have an older card AND you see the problem, you can have it swapped out at your local shop.

>Which notebooks have been affected with the old E620 hardware?

- To date we have had reports of a number of DELL LATITUDE and HP EVO notebooks.

>Has it been resolved?

-YES.
-By Huawei revising the filter parameters on the data cards manufactured from the 1st October 2006 are based on the revised hardware specifications.

>How do I know if I have old or new hardware?

-New hardware can be identified by looking at the Serial number on the back of the data card.
-The series of numbers and letters include information about the date of manufacture.
-For example in the serial number E81AE106A0100027
-06 represents the year
-A represent the 10th month
-01 represents the day of the month

-Therefore if the 7th, 8th, 9th digits are 06A, 06B etc… it is new hardware