5GB vs 2GB dongle

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GrootBaas

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I am planning on getting me either the 2GB or 5GB prepaid dongle tomorrow morning. However I am slightly concerned on the 5GB side of things.

I tested a friend's 2GB white dongle at my place and I had reception (http://www.speedtest.net/result/1139056003.png - yes I live in a cave) very similar to my current expensive Vodacom connection (http://www.speedtest.net/result/1139064658.png).

Someone however told me that the 5GB one works at 21mbps and the 2GB at 7mbps, and if I don't get the 21mbps reception with the 5GB one I only have EDGE.

So I basically want to know, will I get the same speed with the 5GB dongle as I got with the 2GB one I tested or is there a chance it could be less? Sorry if this is a [email protected] question but I don't want to spend money I already don't really have on something I can't use.

Oh, and are the prepaid dongles the same one's as the contract dongles? I would assume they are...
 
Both switch between EDGE and HSPA+ when available. I currently as i type only have EDGE... tower overloaded. If you want futureproof, get the 5Gb. If you want value, but the 2Gb with additional R999 sim's if you need more data.

I have purchased 5 x R999 sims over the last three months, which leaves me with 12Gb / month. Plenty. And a 384k DSL cheapy for music and the odd game bleh.
 
Most people with 21Mbps dongles don't get faster speeds than 7.2Mbps as far as I know. I can assure you that the coverage in your area will be a far more determining factor for your speed and not the speed of the modem. If you have good coverage and use a 7.2Mbps dongle, it's really fast :D
 
@MadMan!! - get to use your friends for a few days or look around here for people in your reception area to find out there experiences before buying.
The White Dongle (7.2Mbps) should be good enough as you wont get more that even with The Black Dongle (21Mbps).
But at the end of the day when more capacity added & they upgraded to faster speeds (like MTN & Voda are trialing) The Black Dongle (21Mbps) would be nice to have.
Decision is yours, but test it out in your area first for a few days..... if u can
 
Viva said:
Most people with 21Mbps dongles don't get faster speeds than 7.2Mbps as far as I know. I can assure you that the coverage in your area will be a far more determining factor for your speed and not the speed of the modem. If you have good coverage and use a 7.2Mbps dongle, it's really fast :D
Click to expand...

I constantly get 10-11 Mbps. :)
 
Thanks for the replies. Sitting in cell c store now in cape gate (lekker kommin people in this mall!). Closest to stellenbosch that have stock. Taking the 2gb deal so hopefully it works. Will try and sell it it to someone if I struggle too much.

The lady here tells me they have been having a lot of reception issues in this area.
 
Watch out Madman! I too bought my 7.2 dongle at CG... got my in-laws and parents to do the same... now we sit with cr@p performance in Brackenfell... I live in Morgenster Heights, in-laws in Vredekloof and parents in Protea Heights... we all get the same pathetic service... constant disconnects, constant force downs to EDGE... you've been warned! Probably too late! :)
 
BGE said:
Watch out Madman! I too bought my 7.2 dongle at CG... got my in-laws and parents to do the same... now we sit with cr@p performance in Brackenfell... I live in Morgenster Heights, in-laws in Vredekloof and parents in Protea Heights... we all get the same pathetic service... constant disconnects, constant force downs to EDGE... you've been warned! Probably too late! :)
Click to expand...

Have you tried forcing 3G only mode? What is your signal strength in dBm? Anything in the -90's and lower is asking for disconnects in my opinion. The MDMA tool is a better one to use.
As a temporary workaround to the disconnects, try the ping trick.
 
ajax, tx for the advise... yes I am using the Mobile Partners software, 3G only... RSSI -89dBm... connection is stable at the moment... RSSI was -101dBm about an hour ago! Fact remains that VC's older technology is so much more reliable, CellC definitely has work to do! Will check out the MDMA tool now!
 
Ajax, running MDMA now, but on connection attempt I get something about entry not found in phone book... this:

Error 623: The system could not find the phone book entry for this connection.

hmmmm... ya!
 
Did you read the documentation? You need to setup a "dial-up" connection first. It uses Windows RAS to connect.
 
3.5 to 4Mb/s download speed for me, and 2Mb/s upload speed at home.

EDGE-only at work.

Basically it doesn't matter which router you use, if you have 50% signal, then buying the more expensive one will not give you a better signal. Rather, if signal is important to you, either move closer to a tower, or look at an external antenna with inductive coupler.
 
Only setup my connection today. Also getting those constant disconnects. Running that ping trick now, hopefully it makes a difference.

Question, does Cell C have a service of some sort that I can check my balance or should I use a traffic counter on my side? I'm not using the CellC program to connect so can't check my usage there.
 
I'm slap bang in the middle of an area where there is supposed to be great Cell C '4G' coverage and if I'm not stuck on EDGE then the line drops again and again, and again. TERRIBLE.

If only I'd waited for Vodacom's deal :(
 
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CELL C are busy doing upgrades at the moment so you will probably disconnect as your account will probably reflect zero data dial *101# --- noticed this morning I have Nill,nothing,zero data on all my data cards.....


Cross fingers and hope when you do read this - its sorted
 
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