Sign up with GoogleI've been using my HSDPA card for a few months now and earlier this week changed to a router version. Vodacom sales people clearly don't know the "rules" about if, when and how you can add a router to your contract - well you can't - not at R80 per month anyway. I ended up buying one outright at a cost of R2000 - daylight robbery if you look at what these routers cost overseas.
Router arrives and firmware if NOT compatible with Novatel U740 card - imagine my delight when the @#_)#% thing didn't work. Downloads of firmware for both the HSDPA card and Router worked....... why can't Vodacom TELL us this?? The correct firmware for the HSDPA card is acquired form an application downloaded from the Vodacom website (tell your sales staff about this!!!) - the file is called NVTL-FUU_700_27.2. It's a breeze to update the firmware of the card - which I did on my laptop. I'm not sure how you would do this with a router. The router arrived with an early verion of firmware - the correct version is also available from the Vodacom website - and it's a file called Linksys Firmware 1.99.8. Also a breeze to upgrade - IF YOU KNOW YOU NEED TO DO SO!!
Everything is now working well. And NO THANKS TO VODACOM and their pathetic service and sales people. I would hope that none of this woudl have happended if I'd got the router as part of a contract. I'm sure a very competent and helpful Vodacom person would have arrived and completed the installation for me.... well Vodacom, not everyone gets a router as part of a contract!
One thing I did miss when swapping to the router was a traffic log - there doesn't seem to be any historical record of traffic which makes it difficult to know how much of my precious 500MB I've used. In looking for a solution, I've found a fantastic application called NetLimiter which monitors traffic and uses and excellent interface - check it out at www.netlimiter.com. I've just installed it and it seems that it will do the trick. If there's an easier / better solution I'd like to hear about it.
So far so good, my router works like a charm and I'm enjoying it.
Ciao
Russell
Router arrives and firmware if NOT compatible with Novatel U740 card - imagine my delight when the @#_)#% thing didn't work. Downloads of firmware for both the HSDPA card and Router worked....... why can't Vodacom TELL us this?? The correct firmware for the HSDPA card is acquired form an application downloaded from the Vodacom website (tell your sales staff about this!!!) - the file is called NVTL-FUU_700_27.2. It's a breeze to update the firmware of the card - which I did on my laptop. I'm not sure how you would do this with a router. The router arrived with an early verion of firmware - the correct version is also available from the Vodacom website - and it's a file called Linksys Firmware 1.99.8. Also a breeze to upgrade - IF YOU KNOW YOU NEED TO DO SO!!
Everything is now working well. And NO THANKS TO VODACOM and their pathetic service and sales people. I would hope that none of this woudl have happended if I'd got the router as part of a contract. I'm sure a very competent and helpful Vodacom person would have arrived and completed the installation for me.... well Vodacom, not everyone gets a router as part of a contract!
One thing I did miss when swapping to the router was a traffic log - there doesn't seem to be any historical record of traffic which makes it difficult to know how much of my precious 500MB I've used. In looking for a solution, I've found a fantastic application called NetLimiter which monitors traffic and uses and excellent interface - check it out at www.netlimiter.com. I've just installed it and it seems that it will do the trick. If there's an easier / better solution I'd like to hear about it.
So far so good, my router works like a charm and I'm enjoying it.
Ciao
Russell