Any reason why my CellC modem does not work with Vodacom sim cards?

[|tera|]

As the title says,

I can't connect with my CellC ZTE MF190 using a Vodacom Sim card (tested two)?
I get error 619 and I've tried creating a manual connection as well and it's not working.

As far as I know it is illegal to network lock devices in South Africa, so what is the problem?

 

[ginggs]

As far as I know it is illegal to network lock devices in South Africa, so what is the problem?

Correct.

Do the Vodacom SIMs work in another device? Are they RICA'd? Do they have airtime?

 

[|tera|]

Correct.

Do the Vodacom SIMs work in another device? Are they RICA'd? Do they have airtime?

One is prepaid, one is contract. Both are RICA'd, one has airtime (data bundle). I'm trying to get the Vodacom Modem working to see if it works in it, but I have a suspicion it would.

I can connect fine with my CellC sim card and it shows Ready in MDMA as well. When I insert the Voda sim cards and open MDMA it shows the network at the top, HSPA, Vodacom, but it is stuck on "searching for network".

Doesn't work if I attempt to connect through the CellC dashboard either.

All of this says to me that my modem is locked.

 

[ginggs]

I can connect fine with my CellC sim card and it shows Ready in MDMA as well. When I insert the Voda sim cards and open MDMA it shows the network at the top, HSPA, Vodacom, but it is stuck on "searching for network".

Make sure the modem is set to automatic operator selection.

 

[|tera|]

Make sure the modem is set to automatic operator selection.

Thanks, I checked that and it is. I did most of this yesterday, so today I'm posting for solutions, since I get no joy. I even uninstalled the modem this morning and reinstalled, which made no difference either.

 

[ginggs]

I'm trying to get the Vodacom Modem working to see if it works in it, but I have a suspicion it would.

Let us know what happens.

 

[chrisc]

See if some later firmware is available.

 

[krieg]

Have you tried closing the dashboard software and using the ZTE dialer for your modem? I have a ZTE modem from Vodacom. Using the Vodafone dashboard with another operator's sim card will not work. Either use the ZTE one or MDMA.

 

[|tera|]

Let us know what happens.

Finally got the Vodacom modem working and it's doing the same, except it says on the prepaid sim card "connect gprs" and nothing works.
The owner of the device and sim probably gave me the wrong information. It's weird that the contract sim doesn't work either, but I'm giving up.

I've spent too much time on this, so I'm just going to let it go.

 

[MervynB]

As the title says,

I can't connect with my CellC ZTE MF190 using a Vodacom Sim card (tested two)?
I get error 619 and I've tried creating a manual connection as well and it's not working.

As far as I know it is illegal to network lock devices in South Africa, so what is the problem?

It's a different modem and a different service provider so this may not be much help but I'm using a ZTE MF668 modem from CellC with a 60 + 60Gb prepaid SIM from 8ta.

To get this to work I found I had to disconnect the modem and reboot. I placed the 8ta SIM in the modem and connected the modem. Windows (XP Pro, SP3) did it's plug 'n play routine and eventually opened the CellC dashboard. This did the normal scan looking for device and eventually came up with a "No Service" message. If left for a few moments longer it eventually finds the 8ta signal and is ready for connection. At this point I found that I could close the dashboard and open MDMA. Once MDMA was open I could connect by either using MDMA, opening the CellC dashboard or by using a normal Windows RAS connection.

I don't use MDMA to connect as I've found that although it does make the connection the "Connect" button doesn't toggle to "Disconnect" so I have to use the Windows RAS connection to disconnect anyway. I have, therefore, created a shortcut on the desktop to run the RAS connection and I use this instead. (It connects quicker than the CellC dashboard.) I use MDMA to monitor the connection's signal strength and the cell Id.

 

[sajunky]

I don't use MDMA to connect as I've found that although it does make the connection the "Connect" button doesn't toggle to "Disconnect" so I have to use the Windows RAS connection to disconnect anyway.

It is known issue with ZTE modems. Still MDMA is usefull for CellID and signal determination.