MDMA 1.0.0.31 Beta Testing

[ginggs]

UPDATE : I had a connection established via the dashboard with MDMA running. I closed the connection and the dashboard but left MDMA running. When I tried to connect using the command line option I received and error "Connection in use". After I closed MDMA I was able to connect using the command line option and I could then re-open MDMA with a problem.

Interesting, you were able to run the Cell-C dashboard and MDMA at the same time?
Normally you can only have one dashboard open, either Cell-C's, or Vodafone's, or the manufacturer's or MDMA, never two at the same time because only one application can open a serial port at a time.

Can you check which modem devices your various dial-up networking entries are configured to dial? Are they all the same?

MORE UPDATE : Connection via the command line affects the shortcut to the Windows Networks Dial-up entry is as much as right clicking on the icon shows that "Connect" has changed to "Disconnect".

I don't understand.

BTW, those 'rasphone.exe' commands are precisely what MDMA executes when you click on the Connect or Disconnect (when available) buttons.

 

[MervynB]

Interesting, you were able to run the Cell-C dashboard and MDMA at the same time?
Normally you can only have one dashboard open, either Cell-C's, or Vodafone's, or the manufacturer's or MDMA, never two at the same time because only one application can open a serial port at a time.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/mervyn/MDMA2.jpg

MDMA is active as the RAT value changes from HSPA+ to 3G when the connection is idle.

You'll see I've gone back to using MDMA Version 8. This is so that I can't be tempted to play with the radio bands. While this may work with the Huawei modems my ZTE modem definitely wasn't happy about this. Back in November the tower I normally connect to went down and a suggestion was made in the forum that I force the modem to only use the 2100MHz band in an effort to get a better connection. I did this but I could then only get a 2G connection and I couldn't set the modem back to it's original settings. The modem went back to CellC to be reset. They gave up and supplied a new modem!

Can you check which modem devices your various dial-up networking entries are configured to dial? Are they all the same?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/mervyn/MDMA_RAS.jpg

There is only the one modem installed at present and it is set to COM4

The MDMA entry was cloned from the Vodacom entry for a Huawei E220 modem back when I first started using MDMA. (Version 6) I have used this without problem with Huawei E3770 and E3765 modems since then. The Cell C Connector entry was created by the new ZTE MF668 modem. MDMA does not connect if I make a copy of the Cell C entry and rename it MDMA.

I don't understand.

BTW, those 'rasphone.exe' commands are precisely what MDMA executes when you click on the Connect or Disconnect (when available) buttons.

Initially I found that if I used the Connect button on MDMA to connect I couldn't use the CellC dashboard until I had rebooted. I then found that if I use rasphone.exe -h MDMA from the command line to disconnect then I could use the CellC dashboard without rebooting. After a bit more finger-poking I found that I could use the Windows Network Dial-up entry to disconnect successfully.

I haven't quite pinned this down yet but it looks as if MDMA and the CellC dashboad can be open at the same time provided I first establish. then close, a connection using the RAS entry before I start the CellC dashboard.

I have created a shortcut on the desktop to the Windows Network Dial-up entry and I now use this to start and stop the modem. Once the connection is established I open MDMA as a monitor. (NetMeter keeps tabs on usage and transmission speed.) Not exactly "Vun click" but it will serve.

 

[sajunky]

I can confirm Mervyn finding with Vodafone K3570-Z except CellC dashboard interraction which I haven't used.
- frequency settings - unable to go back to default, but this is not UMTS 900MHz modem, so there is no problem
- MDMA dial button works, it connects, but MDMA doesn't receive feedback that modem is connected, bytes count is not working, looks like MDMA stays in disconnected state.
- RAS (or Windows dialup GUI) can be used for connecting and disconnecting
Thanks Mervyn, now I know, I need CellC dashboard to reset bands to default.

 

[ginggs]

Just to be clear, the answers to the following questions are both "No."?

Is there any difference between using Windows, MDMA and the following command to dial-up?

rasphone.exe -d MDMA

Is there any difference between using Windows and the following command to hang up?

rasphone.exe -h MDMA

 

[MervynB]

Just to be clear, the answers to the following questions are both "No."?

Is there any difference between using Windows, MDMA and the following command to dial-up?

rasphone.exe -d MDMA

No difference. The modem connects successfully with all three. The Windows option and the command line option both work with MDMA open and reporting tower no, signal strength, etc. I'm using version 8 of MDMA.

Is there any difference between using Windows and the following command to hang up?

rasphone.exe -h MDMA

No difference. The connection hangs up and I can reconnect using the CellC dashboard.

 

[MervynB]

I can confirm Mervyn finding with Vodafone K3570-Z except CellC dashboard interraction which I haven't used.
- frequency settings - unable to go back to default, but this is not UMTS 900MHz modem, so there is no problem
- MDMA dial button works, it connects, but MDMA doesn't receive feedback that modem is connected, bytes count is not working, looks like MDMA stays in disconnected state.
- RAS (or Windows dialup GUI) can be used for connecting and disconnecting
Thanks Mervyn, now I know, I need CellC dashboard to reset bands to default.

The new CellC dashboard does not surface a way of changing the bands. I changed bands on a ZTE MF668 using MDMA version 10 and I couldn't reset back to the original. The modem was using the old dashboard. At the suggestion of staff at the Cresta CellC shop the new dashboard was installed and flashed to the modem. This didn't solve the problem and the modem would only connect using 2G. The modem was returned to CellC and they couldn't reset it either so they replaced it.

 

[sajunky]

At the suggestion of staff at the Cresta CellC shop the new dashboard was installed and flashed to the modem. This didn't solve the problem and the modem would only connect using 2G. The modem was returned to CellC and they couldn't reset it either so they replaced it.

Thanks, this is a serious problem, as we don't know how to go back to automatic (all bands). Command which supposed to do it is rejected. In your case it is critical, as whe don't know how to force UMTS 900MHz either.
I feel sorry for others, as I just 2 days ago advised in other thread to force 2100MHz. If you have posted it earlier, I would be more careful.

 

[ginggs]

No difference. The modem connects successfully with all three. The Windows option and the command line option both work with MDMA open and reporting tower no, signal strength, etc. I'm using version 8 of MDMA.

No difference. The connection hangs up and I can reconnect using the CellC dashboard.

This is good news.

Thanks, this is a serious problem, as we don't know how to go back to automatic (all bands). Command which supposed to do it is rejected. In your case it is critical, as whe don't know how to force UMTS 900MHz either.

This is not such good news, I have added a warning to the first page of this thread.

 

[ginggs]

All my searches result in the same list of commands, so they were probably all copied from the same source.

Set Band Status +ZBANDI
at+zbandi=0 • Automatic (Auto) - Default
at+zbandi=1 • UMTS 850 + GSM 900/1800
at+zbandi=2 • UMTS 2100 + GSM 900/1800 (Europe)
at+zbandi=3 • UMTS 850/2100 + GSM 900/1800
at+zbandi=4 • UMTS 850/1900 + GSM 850/1900

Logic would suggest that there may be a UMTS 900 option on at+zbandi=5 or at+zbandi=6 or so. I haven't yet come across any other reports of at+zbandi=0 not working though.

 

[Solitude]

I'm the user that sajunky mentioned a couple of posts back.

Would you guys like me to try and set it back to automatic tonight to see if works?

 

[ginggs]

Would you guys like me to try and set it back to automatic tonight to see if works?

That would be great, thanks. I don't believe you can do any harm trying to set it back. (The harm was already done when you set it to 2100MHz only :wtf

 

[Solitude]

Cool, will try it tonight.

Setting it to 2100MHz made me happy ginggs. You have no idea how much. After years of first struggling with Telkom and then Cell C having the same congestion problem, I could suddenly play an MMO. It's just awesome.

 

[sajunky]

Logic would suggest that there may be a UMTS 900 option on at+zbandi=5 or at+zbandi=6 or so. I haven't yet come across any other reports of at+zbandi=0 not working though.

I thought it was problem with my modem and posted on the forum sometime ago. I attempted up to 10 or so, all failed. Will repeat later.

 

[MervynB]

Thanks, this is a serious problem, as we don't know how to go back to automatic (all bands). Command which supposed to do it is rejected. In your case it is critical, as whe don't know how to force UMTS 900MHz either.
I feel sorry for others, as I just 2 days ago advised in other thread to force 2100MHz. If you have posted it earlier, I would be more careful.

I couldn't find anything appropriate for Huawei modems but a bit of Googling found me some of the ZTE AT commands at http://3g-modem.wetpaint.com/page/ZTE+AT-commands?t=anon

According to the site at+zbandi=0 is the command to reset the bands to automatic. If this is what Graham uses in MDMA then it looks as if the MF668 has a bug in it's firmware.

Hindsight is 20/20 vision. Looking back on things I should have found the AT commands in November when I had the problem and then used something like PuTTY to try and reset the bands before I took the modem back to CellC. It's one thing playing with a modem that doesn't work properly as there is very little to lose but I'm too chicken to experiment with my present modem in case I wind up with a second casualty.

 

[Solitude]

Hmm how I would I know if it's failing?

Automatic - Gets set, works
UMTS 850 - GSM 900/1800 -> Searching for network...
UMTS 2100 + GSM 900/1800 (Europe) -> works
UMTS 850/2100 + GSM 900/1800 -> works
UMTS 850/1900 + GSM 850/1900 -> Searching for network...

I don't get any error messages. I can't seem to connect to the slow tower here anymore though. Connects to Cell ID 11025 every time. Am I doing this right?

 

[ginggs]

Hmm how I would I know if it's failing?

You would get an error message when trying to set automatic network selection.

Which modem and firmware version do you have?

 

[Solitude]

You would get an error message when trying to set automatic network selection.

Which modem and firmware version do you have?

Nope, I don't get an error.

Hardware Version: MF668-2.0.0
Firmware Version: BD_MF668V1.1.2B08

 

[MervynB]

You would get an error message when trying to set automatic network selection.

Which modem and firmware version do you have?

I don't know what the details were for my original modem but it had had the new dashboard installed. (The new modem's details are the same as Solitude's.) I didn't get an error message when I set the bands back to Automatic but the modem didn't see any 900MHz towers afterwards. The 2100MHz tower it found only had 2G service. The 2100MHz tower Solitude is connecting to gives him a 3G connection so he is happy even if the modem doesn't connect at 900MHz.

There is, of course, the possibility that CellC replaced my modem because it was, in fact, faulty and not perhaps because they didn't have the know-how to reset it. The automatic band setting on Solitude's modem may well have worked and he is still connecting to a 2100MHz signal because that is the best available. Perhaps the only way to be sure that the automatic setting has been effective is to try it in an area where it is known that a 3G connection is usually at 900MHz.

 

[Solitude]

I think you may be right MervynB. Mine always used to automatically connect to the 900MHz tower where now it doesn't at all anymore.

 

[ajax]

Perhaps the only way to be sure that the automatic setting has been effective is to try it in an area where it is known that a 3G connection is usually at 900MHz.

A quick wardrive should do the trick. Take notebook and modem on a drive. If you drive a couple of km's and don't see any Cell ID's ending in 1,2 or 3 (Cell C only) during that time, then the modem is still stuck on 2100 only.