[April 2006] Current 3G problems - Feedback Please

[Edinetz]

I have just experienced the downlink stall again after having not seen the problem in a while.

MSISDN 082579 slave to 082558
32k SIM
Option Colt 3G Card
LAC 89
CellID 13196919 (According to Nokia 6680 - don't know how to get it from datacard)

The link did recover this time.

 

[vodacom3g]

I've previously asked for the first 5 digits for the cards that showed the downlink stopped problem.

If you're seeing the problem, won't you please PM me the following details:

1) Your name and surname (amazing how many PM's I receive anonymously!)
2) 3G number (the one you're battling with)
2) E-mail addr.
3) Voice number (where we could call you).

We've got a few people, especially in Cape Town, with this problem at the moment.

 

[SoTrue]

There was virtually no service this morning from 04:00 (no 3G, no GPRS) where I live (Pta East) The best reception is normally from Mooikloof-3, then Mooikloof SH. My cellphone info display said Tierpoort this morning, which is about 10 km away. However, no Internet was possible.

Does this have something to do with the upgrading of the Pta towers that Vodacom3G mentioned last week?

 

[rabbiddog]

I have got the problem now. connection with no data.

 

[zoot]

Ok, I'm in Jo'burg now (usually in Cape Town) and my connectivity is even worse! The link remains up for a minute or so, then terminates. Currently connecting via Parkwood-3 cell. vodacom3g, I'll PM you, as requested.

 

[rabbiddog]

My connection seems stable again.

Although it is changing to GPRS now and again (even with 3 bars 3G)

Sorry my problem is still here

 

[CORY]

3g PROBLEMS

I am very happy with 3G, but have problems in shutting down when it's time to go home. I'm looking for something logical, Mr Spock, but the best I can come up with the up is that things hang when I have been using iTunes or Dragon voice recognition just before I close down . I usually end up holding down the power button.

It's a small price to pay, but is annoying.

Cory

 

[SoTrue]

There was virtually no service this morning from 04:00 (no 3G, no GPRS) where I live (Pta East) The best reception is normally from Mooikloof-3, then Mooikloof SH. My cellphone info display said Tierpoort this morning, which is about 10 km away. However, no Internet was possible.

Does this have something to do with the upgrading of the Pta towers that Vodacom3G mentioned last week?

For the first time in about three weeks I had decent Internet connectivity at home (see above). If it is something that someone did to change this, a very big thank you to all those involved. If not, may things stay the same or improve......

 

[snap]

My loss of downlink problem has been around for so long I cant even remember when it started anymore!!!

Really starting to think it will never be fixed and if you are unlucky enough to be one of the ones with the "bad" numbers you will have to convince someone to change your number or learn to live with it!

 

[vodacom3g]

snap, I hope to have an answer for you, and the rest of the crowd, by tomorrow.

 

[snap]

Thxs v3G, what made me think about it again is I forgot to start up the stay alive ping thing and my connection lasted all of 2 minutes.

 

[Pwillmot]

A new funny with the upgraded 3g Network

I replaced notebooks over the weekend - tried to install my old Merlin U630 on new Dell (Latitdue D810 - old notebook was Precision M50) and when I try to add 3G profile, the "services" list does not contain any entries.

Have contacted user support, but no help as yet - they have verified that I am running correct firmware, Vodaphone app, etc

OS is Win XP SP2 with 64K SIM

The 64K sim works (connects to network) if inserted into std handset

Interesting, my old notebook (on which 3G was running intermittently last week) was reformmated / installed over the weekend (but no hardware changes) and I also cannot reinstall 3G on this old platform (also due to missing "Services" list)

By the way, the lights stop flashing on the card (completely - after initial blue / red sequence a couple of times)

Behaviour is consitent on both notebook platforms.

 

[vodacom3g]

There is a registry hack for this, posted a few times before on the forum. Let me look for it.

-------------------------------------

A possible reason is that one or two registry keys in

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Vodafone\Setup\NewProf ile]

are missing:

"Country"="South Africa"
"InstallType"="Personal"
------------------------------------

 

[Pwillmot]

Merlin U630 not installing

Nope - we tried this when I spoke to support staff on phone - didn't make any difference

By the way - the registry hack was supposed to address differences between downloaded Vodaphone app / drivers and those provided with Card

Approx 3 or 4 weeks ago - I completely (and successfully) reinstalled by old Dell M50 notebook with 3G using same Vodaphone downloaded image as I tried last weekend and everything worked (i.e. without registry hack being required)

 

[Pwillmot]

Installing Merlin U630

By the way, are you aware of any other folk who have successfully installed old Merlin U630 since network upgrade?

When I asked support staff, no one seemed to be able to verify that this was regression tested before upgrade

 

[rabbiddog]

It seems as if my problem may have gone away. Been connected for hours now with no problems.

 

[MdFZA]

3G HSDAP installed on desktop PC anyone?

Hi All,

Has anyone installed the Option 3G HSDPA data card onto a desktop PC?

I have installed the 3G HSDPA card onto a desktop PC using a Vodacom supplied PC Bus Adapter with Elan drivers.

Everything works fine for about five minutes when sudenly the throughput stops (the download arrow goes to 0 bps). I then have to "disconnect" then "reconnect" to carry on browsing the web. The signal strength remains on 5 bars all the time (no loss at all).

Has anyone had a similar problem and how was this fixed?

Cheers,

 

[Swoosh]

I use a PCMCIA Adapter with no problems at all. I bought for my Iburst modem and tested the 3G card and it worked

 

[SoftDev]

Hi all,

Just received a call from Vodacom, they are going to credit me for the time period that there was a problem, from 01/04 till 19/04. I do not have all the details as yet; it will be shown on my bill next month I was told.

I was also told that the fix was deployed in Pretoria last night, anyone in PTA area still experiencing the problem. I will continue to monitor and report as well.

SoftDev

 

[fingers121]

I too just received a call from Vodacom saying that I'll be credited for each day that the problem is ongoing (so far since 31 March) and this was only with a call to 155 some time back - no letters, e-mails, threats, etc need so I think (at least for me) Vodacom are being pro-active on this issue.

I'm sure though the more feedback that they get regarding this problem from people like us on the forum, the easier it is to try diagnose and rectify the problem, so I'd suggest calling in to 155 with your query, getting a reference number, and updating them on what your experiences have been so far.

Personally for me I'm still experiencing the problem, no more disconnecting, but the downlink stop happens quite often, and I don't think it's hardware related as I am seeing this with both the old 3G card, and the HSDPA card, and infact it's worse on the HSPDA card, but after a couple of seconds the link comes up again.

It also to me seems to be localised to certain areas, at home it's a real pain, but now at the office (a block away from Vodaworld and Siemens) and there's no problem at all?