MDMA 1.0.0.31 Beta Testing

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Does MDMA get the Operator name that it displays from the SIM or from the tower? The "roaming" box is not ticked so I assume that it is using the operator's own tower anyway but I would like to confirm this.

My CellC 5GB X 12 months deal ends at the end of the month. As CellC has just doubled the rate for a new 5GB X 12 SIM I'm considering the 8ta 60+60 promo. This will, however, only work on 8ta's own towers and will not allow roaming to the MTN network.

I've just "invested" :) R41 in a SIM and 100MB data to see if the 8ta connection is acceptable. The signal strength is significantly lower than CellC and the download speed is also much lower but it is adequate for my needs. Once I'm convinced that I'm actually connecting via a Telkom tower it's goodbye CellC, hello 8ta.
 
Mine says Telkom & roaming is not ticked. So I assume I am on 8ta's network.
My area is however not covered on there map.
Signal is -85dBm to -105dBm depending on how I turn modem & tower I pickup.
 
MervynB said:
Does MDMA get the Operator name that it displays from the SIM or from the tower? The "roaming" box is not ticked so I assume that it is using the operator's own tower anyway but I would like to confirm this.

My CellC 5GB X 12 months deal ends at the end of the month. As CellC has just doubled the rate for a new 5GB X 12 SIM I'm considering the 8ta 60+60 promo. This will, however, only work on 8ta's own towers and will not allow roaming to the MTN network.

I've just "invested" :) R41 in a SIM and 100MB data to see if the 8ta connection is acceptable. The signal strength is significantly lower than CellC and the download speed is also much lower but it is adequate for my needs. Once I'm convinced that I'm actually connecting via a Telkom tower it's goodbye CellC, hello 8ta.
Click to expand...

you should contact 8ta on the forum and have your sim blocked for roaming and then test it, as then you will only use 8ta towers - 60+60 deal is brilliant, as all data is valid for whole year, i.e. no monthly expiring
 
MervynB said:
Does MDMA get the Operator name that it displays from the SIM or from the tower?
Click to expand...
MDMA gets the operator MCC and MNC (655 for South Africa, 02 for Telkom) from the modem, the modem gets it from the base station.
MDMA then tries to get the operator name for that MCC and MNC from the modem, if the modem returns rubbish, MDMA uses its own list.
MervynB said:
The "roaming" box is not ticked so I assume that it is using the operator's own tower anyway but I would like to confirm this.
Click to expand...
Confirmed.
 
ginggs said:
MDMA gets the operator MCC and MNC (655 for South Africa, 02 for Telkom) from the modem, the modem gets it from the base station.
MDMA then tries to get the operator name for that MCC and MNC from the modem, if the modem returns rubbish, MDMA uses its own list.

Confirmed.
Click to expand...

Thanks for confirming this. MDMA shows that the signal strength for 8ta is quite a bit lower than for CellC and the download speed is slower but it is still adequate. I will, therefore, be switching to the 8ta 60+60 promo when the CellC 5GB X 12 deal runs out at the end of the month.
 
Bundu said:
you should contact 8ta on the forum and have your sim blocked for roaming and then test it, as then you will only use 8ta towers - 60+60 deal is brilliant, as all data is valid for whole year, i.e. no monthly expiring
Click to expand...

The SIM was supposed to have had roaming blocked when I bought it as I specified I wanted to see if I would be able to take advantage of the 60+60 promotion. The promo coverage map shows that I should have coverage but there's always the small print if it turns out to be wrong. :) I would be far happier writing off R41 (R40 was the smallest amount of data I could get) than fighting over R1800 if the map turned out to be wrong. My query here was just making quite sure I was, in fact, using a Telkom tower.
 
IceQB said:
Mine says Telkom & roaming is not ticked. So I assume I am on 8ta's network.
My area is however not covered on there map.
Signal is -85dBm to -105dBm depending on how I turn modem & tower I pickup.
Click to expand...

I have the modem (MF668) hanging on an extension cable in the window. I've moved it around until I got the best signal strength which is about -85dBm. I'm getting download speeds of about 2Mbps. The CellC connection was giving me a signal strength of -69dBm with a download speed generally of about 4Mbps but up to 10Mbps on occasion when it connects to a 2100MHz tower.

Initially the modem was plugged into a USB connector on the computer and it kept on dropping the connection. I now have it connected via a powered USB hub and no more dropped connections.
 
MervynB said:
I will, therefore, be switching to the 8ta 60+60 promo when the CellC 5GB X 12 deal runs out at the end of the month.
Click to expand...
This is OT here, but if you try 8ta 2+1GB for two months first, you get better picture of network performance and stability.
 
MDMA does not see my modem.

I have a ZTE MF668 modem, I have also created a working RAS setting called MDMA and it connects fine if I directly use the Windows network connection.

However if I start MDMA it responds after "initializing mobile device..." with message "Mobile data device not responding"

Please help
 
This means that modem port is accessible, but diagnostic port (which MDMA use) is locked by other dashboard. Open dashboard and somewhere in options menu there is an option to unload from systray on exit. This will free diagnostic port for MDMA.
 
@sajunky; Thanks for your quick reply

Unfortunately the same problem is still there.

The "other dashboard" is the new Cell C connector. I have found the setting which says "Remove RAS connection on disconnect". I have ticked it and tried many combinations to start and end the program without effect.

I think the problem is that the Cell C dashboard does not even see the network in the first place. (It says "no network available") so it never gets to the "disconnect" part to uninstall. It is very frustrating since I can easily connect and disconnect my modem with the Windows Network screen but still Cell C sees no available network.

I cannot see any other obvious setting in Cell C to change.
 
okennejc said:
@sajunky; Thanks for your quick reply

Unfortunately the same problem is still there.

The "other dashboard" is the new Cell C connector. I have found the setting which says "Remove RAS connection on disconnect". I have ticked it and tried many combinations to start and end the program without effect.

I think the problem is that the Cell C dashboard does not even see the network in the first place. (It says "no network available") so it never gets to the "disconnect" part to uninstall. It is very frustrating since I can easily connect and disconnect my modem with the Windows Network screen but still Cell C sees no available network.

I cannot see any other obvious setting in Cell C to change.
Click to expand...

do you see the modem in 'Device Manager' when it is plugged in?
 
Is there maybe a service or a process in Task manager that I can kill to free the port?
 
Of course you can see modem in device manager, as you can dial.
It must be another instance of dashboard blocking a port. By example when you plug-in modem, it autostarts from emulated CD-ROM. Press and hold left shift before inserting modem. Release only after network device is activated, it shows on systray.
Unfortunately I don't have experience with Connector, so I can't point you to exact process name. but you should see application on systray when modem is in.
 
@sajunky; Thanks I got it working eventually.

Keeping shift down while inserting/loading modem did not work though, it only installed the drive but the modem remained invisible.

But your information led me to investigate other things that keep the serial port active. I have a built-in bluetooth stereo port which loads automatically even though I do not activate it and I suppose it reserves the ports. After disabling that allowed MDMA to work. So it was not the Cell C connector that caused the problem.

Thanks again for the help
 
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