MTN uncapped E3637 Huawei modem continuously disconnecting/ reconnecting to computer

[Burnmeister]

Good day

I have bought an MTN uncapped contract last week. However, the modem (Huawei E367) does not seem to connect properly to my laptop: It connects for a few seconds, then I get a disconnected message after which it reconnects over and over. I thought at first it could be hardware issue (i.e. the modem is not connecting to the computer properly), as the problem did not seem to occur when I applied downward pressure on the modem when it is connected to the USB port. The same problem occured when the modem was used on all the computers in the office. I work in an area where (for MTN at least) there is limited 3G signal (mainly edge). Another person in the office using a similar modem with MTN does not have any problems (apart from the very slow edge only signal while vodacom has 3G signal!)

Now the weird bit - when I am in a bigger town with strong 3G signal for MTN, the modem connects perfectly fine! Thus I cannot show the MTN staff what is wrong with my modem when I am at home/ in the office.

I used windows 7 professional on a Toshiba laptop.

Any help/ suggestions would be appreciated!

Regards
Brand

 

[Billwill]

How is the modem configured?

3G only or 3G prefered?

A useful facility is to use the MDMA monitoring package mentioned on this forum.
If you download the latest version of MDMA you can shutdown the MTN dashboard and start MDMA.

MDMA lets you easily change from "3G only" to other options, shows which Tower you are connected to with signal strengths etc. and lets you disable some of the bands ie. 900 Mherz, 2100 Mherz etc. so you can see which band you are actually using from MTN at that time.

 

[sajunky]

Actually OP reports connection problem between modem and PC.

I thought at first it could be hardware issue (i.e. the modem is not connecting to the computer properly), as the problem did not seem to occur when I applied downward pressure on the modem when it is connected to the USB port. The same problem occured when the modem was used on all the computers in the office.

Good observation! Power problems caused by bad electrical contacts. I noticed that my E367 (from 8ta) had oxidated connector and caused similar problems on my PC. When signal is stronger, problem not showing - it is expected, as modem transmit more power in poor signal conditions.

This all above is combined with poor (half open) connector design giving more free-play.

Solution: remove oxidation with pencil rubber. Need to work hard, as layer is quite thick (at least was in my case).

 

[Burnmeister]

Thank you for the reply. I have changed the settings to force my modem to use 3G/HSDPA signal only (WCDM only). Even though the signal is very poor, at least the modem does not disconnect from the computer anymore.
@sajunky, is the layer of oxidation easily visible, in other words what will I notice if I removed the layer adequately?

 

[Burnmeister]

@Billwill: which MDMA package would you recommend? where can I get it?

Regards
Brand

 

[sajunky]

@sajunky, is the layer of oxidation easily visible, in other words what will I notice if I removed the layer adequately?

If it is not shiny like a mirror, then is oxidated. Porous surface (even if conducting) give reduced contact area.

MDMA link is below, search for the link to latest beta. It will help working on signal strenght.
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/59080