Vista Support

[fonefreak]

E220 Vista Compatible.

I'm battling to understand this, is there or is there not a way of making a Huawei E220 work with Vista?

I spoke to Vodacom support earlier and they directed me to their website where there are downloads for Vista (www.vodacom.co.za/about/downloads/3g.jsp). There I see a download for the E620 but not one for the E220 (at least not one for a PC, there is one for a Mac), the lady assured me that the 74 MB download will also work with my E220 but from what I've read in this forum that is not the case.

Is there anybody who can clarify what's what?

I'm on MTN and have my E220 working with Vista. It gave me problems at 1st
but I managed to get it working. I had to copy all the drivers to the C:\WINDOWS\system32 folder and update via that, give it a try.

 

[Muffin-Man]

Hey ppl

Do we have any software/drivers that will work for the E220 and Windows Vista without "fooling" Vista into installing the drivers? I've got a client's notebook but no method is working.

 

[salmo]

vodacom sucks

This is such b*lls**t, Vodacom doesn't even have the decency to respond to my post. I'm being charged for something that I can't use, and I can't even carry over my pathetic 500MB of data to the next month or whenever Vodacom might see fit to provide a fix for their clients. There is no customer service, this company doesn't care one bit for the customers that keep it in business, if I took that attitude to my customers I'd quickly go under. At the very least I would have expected a vodacom rep to reply to my post.

It doesn't help me at all that MTN works, in fact I know that they have found a fix, why can't vodacom?

A contract is a 2 way street, I have kept my part by paying vodacom for their alleged service each month but right now they are not honouring their part of the contract so why should I honour mine? I feel like taking all my business to MTN and vodacom is welcome to sue me, I'll see them in court. I have several phones on my vodacom account as well as the 3g data bundle, yet they still don't care enough to give me the courtesy of a reply.

Losers.

 

[salmo]

I've known that Vista is coming out for months now and other networks have managed to come up with the drivers so the old story that Vodacom doesn't write the drivers doesn't wash. It's not Microsoft's fault or even Huawei's fault, that's the easy way out. If vodacom can't provide me with the service that's fine but then they shouldn't be charging me. To charge me for a product that I can't use, not give me any timeframe of when I can expect it to work and not to bother responding to a post from a client who is obviously unhappy is just not right, it's downright insulting in fact.

Why do I need to specifically ask one of their members to respond, I'm a very unhappy client, and if there is one then you can be sure that there are plenty of others. It's bad service and bad "customer relations", Vodacom should answer that, not anybody else. It just confirms my point, they can't be bothered to answer me themselves, they let "ic" do it for them because they don't have enough respect for their customers to do so.

 

[vodacom3g]

I've known that Vista is coming out for months now and other networks have managed to come up with the drivers so the old story that Vodacom doesn't write the drivers doesn't wash. It's not Microsoft's fault or even Huawei's fault, that's the easy way out. If vodacom can't provide me with the service that's fine but then they shouldn't be charging me. To charge me for a product that I can't use, not give me any timeframe of when I can expect it to work and not to bother responding to a post from a client who is obviously unhappy is just not right, it's downright insulting in fact.

Why do I need to specifically ask one of their members to respond, I'm a very unhappy client, and if there is one then you can be sure that there are plenty of others. It's bad service and bad "customer relations", Vodacom should answer that, not anybody else. It just confirms my point, they can't be bothered to answer me themselves, they let "ic" do it for them because they don't have enough respect for their customers to do so.

I actually take exception to your post. I also think you misunderstand the function of this forum. It's a broadband community forum and not a Vodacom support structure. It's not run or managed by Vodacom in any way. We partake here to engage with our customers and the idea is not to replace a few thousand call center agents.

Your question is typically one the forum sorts out itself and I fully expected someone to answer. I happen to know of a potential fix for this problem, but did not want to mention it until it was fully tested.

For Vodacom support you should always log a call with 155 and they will monitor and track your call. If you can pass me your ref. number, I can check it our for you.

BTW, please explain to me how a Huawei driver that won't work on a Microsoft OS is Vodacom's problem? How did Vodacom cause this problem?

 

[internaut]

Shooo, it's getting hot in here.....

By the way I got my Option Globetrotter 3G+ card working in Vista by downloading T-Mobile's 45MB Communication Centre software.
T-Mobile Communication Centre
My OEM Globetrotter Mobility Manager driver, released at the end of 2005 btw , also got the Option Globetrotter chugging along in Vista. Must be a veteran.

 

[PushingTin]

Vodacom3G, how is the progress with regard to testing the "fix" for the E220?

Hopefully it will be out soon, thanks for all the help.

 

[vodacom3g]

Vodacom3G, how is the progress with regard to testing the "fix" for the E220?

Hopefully it will be out soon, thanks for all the help.

Try this and let us know:

Instruction to get the E220 working in Windows Vista.

Goto: C:\program files\Vodafone\Vodafone Mobile Connect\Driver
- right click on "Devsetup.exe" and run as admin"
- After that start the usual VMC 9.1 detection routine
- The device should be installed using VMC 9.1 under Vista.

 

[salmo]

Try this and let us know:

Instruction to get the E220 working in Windows Vista.

Goto: C:\program files\Vodafone\Vodafone Mobile Connect\Driver
- right click on "Devsetup.exe" and run as admin"
- After that start the usual VMC 9.1 detection routine
- The device should be installed using VMC 9.1 under Vista.

This is fine but what drivers need to be installed first and from where can they be obtained in order to reach the above point? There are so many posts in this forum on the subject but not one of them tells me where to go to get the product to work and what steps to follow. The above answers the second question but not the first one.

 

[salmo]

I actually take exception to your post. I also think you misunderstand the function of this forum. It's a broadband community forum and not a Vodacom support structure. It's not run or managed by Vodacom in any way. We partake here to engage with our customers and the idea is not to replace a few thousand call center agents.

Your question is typically one the forum sorts out itself and I fully expected someone to answer. I happen to know of a potential fix for this problem, but did not want to mention it until it was fully tested.

For Vodacom support you should always log a call with 155 and they will monitor and track your call. If you can pass me your ref. number, I can check it our for you.

BTW, please explain to me how a Huawei driver that won't work on a Microsoft OS is Vodacom's problem? How did Vodacom cause this problem?

1). I did log a call with 155 and was told that Vodacom doesn't have a fix and they don't know when they might, it could be next week and it could be in 3 months for all I know.

2). I made my post on 23rd Feb and by the time I had my rant had received no answers other than a few telling me that MTN has found a solution.

3). Creating the drivers is not Vodacom's problem but selling a product that is not compatible with the latest technology and charging me for a service that I can't use most certainly is. Furthermore if MTN has been able to make the E220 work then why has Vodacom not been able to do so? Are the tech guys and girls at MTN cleverer or do they just care enough for their customers to make a plan? I don't know but I can take a good guess.

 

[vodacom3g]

1). I did log a call with 155 and was told that Vodacom doesn't have a fix and they don't know when they might, it could be next week and it could be in 3 months for all I know.

And they're right in saying that. We'll only annouce a solution when it's been tested. I often ignore that rule here on the forum and it sometimes backfire. (PPDB )

2). I made my post on 23rd Feb and by the time I had my rant had received no answers other than a few telling me that MTN has found a solution.

Yes, on Friday. After your post I asked for possible fixes and the guys started working on it. By Monday they said they might have a fix but need to test on different platforms. Tuesday, you throw your toys. We also got the possible workaround on Tuesday which I posted above.

3). Creating the drivers is not Vodacom's problem but selling a product that is not compatible with the latest technology and charging me for a service that I can't use most certainly is. Furthermore if MTN has been able to make the E220 work then why has Vodacom not been able to do so? Are the tech guys and girls at MTN cleverer or do they just care enough for their customers to make a plan? I don't know but I can take a good guess.

Did you buy your E220 after you bought Vista and did the salesman tell you it supports the E220 on Vista? If so, send me his name and I'll for sure take it up with him.

 

[vodacom3g]

This is fine but what drivers need to be installed first and from where can they be obtained in order to reach the above point? There are so many posts in this forum on the subject but not one of them tells me where to go to get the product to work and what steps to follow. The above answers the second question but not the first one.

The drivers are built into VMC 9. Have you tried the suggestion above?

 

[salmo]

The drivers are built into VMC 9. Have you tried the suggestion above?

What is VMC 9 and where can I find it? I'll gladly try anything, VMC 9 is obviously an abbreviation for something, I have no idea what though.

 

[salmo]

Did you buy your E220 after you bought Vista and did the salesman tell you it supports the E220 on Vista? If so, send me his name and I'll for sure take it up with him.

I bought the E220 after "upgrading" my laptop in January to an HP Pavilion series that doesn't have the correct socket for the original datacard that I had been using up until then. I purchased the E220 to overcome that problem and since the laptop came with XP it was fine, I installed Vista afterwards. So the answer is that no salesman was at fault, in the circumstances it wasn't relevant and when I bought Vista, the question of whether the E220 would be compatible simply didn't come up.

I travel a lot and the 3G Internet connection is vital to being able to conduct my business. I'm leaving for Europe in less than a week and need to have it working by then. So perhaps my anxiety and frustration is becoming understandable?

 

[Diago]

What is VMC 9 and where can I find it? I'll gladly try anything, VMC 9 is obviously an abbreviation for something, I have no idea what though.

It's Vodafone Mobile Connect and it's the 74MB download you referred to in your first post. It's available from the Vodacom Downloads section of the Vodacom Website

 

[Diago]

I bought the E220 after "upgrading" my laptop in January to an HP Pavilion series that doesn't have the correct socket for the original datacard that I had been using up until then. I purchased the E220 to overcome that problem and since the laptop came with XP it was fine, I installed Vista afterwards. So the answer is that no salesman was at fault, in the circumstances it wasn't relevant and when I bought Vista, the question of whether the E220 would be compatible simply didn't come up.

I travel a lot and the 3G Internet connection is vital to being able to conduct my business. I'm leaving for Europe in less than a week and need to have it working by then. So perhaps my anxiety and frustration is becoming understandable?

I would suggest to anyone planning an upgrade to Vista is too first confirm that all devices you own/use regularly is supported in the new OS and drivers are readily available. HP is the only provider that has drivers ready for all their notebooks, whereas Acer only released their's about a week ago. The hardware community is still in process of getting drivers ready as they have had limited time with the RTM (+-2 Months) which also happened to fall over the December period.

 

[threegee]

Acer actually released drivers for their Vista compliant desktops and laptops about 2 weeks ago as I posted in an earlier post.

All in all, the only device I had problems with on my upgrade to Vista was the Huawei card which took me 2-3 weeks to sort out. Part of the problem was the "default/incorrect" vista drivers for the PCMCIA slot. Once Acer released their updated drivers, Vista was immediately able to detect the card properly and load the Huawei drivers which work exceptionally well. As far as software goes I do not have one software package (so far) which does not work on Vista.

I do of course agree with you that anyone wishing to upgrade to vista, first check that all their hardware is compliant. There are a number of places online to run an upgrade advisor tool which scans your system for compliancy and will make recommendations.

Having been a user of Microsoft products myself since DOS version 1.0. I can say that hardware, driver and software support for Vista has been lightning fast compared to any predecessor. I remember upgrades to Win98, WinNT, Windows 2000 and even XP where it would often take several months before you could get certain hardware working again.

The fact that most 3G cards are already supported and now working on Vista is phenomenal, the product was only officially launched to public only 28 days ago. I think Vodacom3G has also been really trying hard to make sure that VMC 9 was released quickly which Vodacom did.

 

[Diago]

Acer actually released drivers for their Vista compliant desktops and laptops about 2 weeks ago as I posted in an earlier post.

All in all, the only device I had problems with on my upgrade to Vista was the Huawei card which took me 2-3 weeks to sort out. Part of the problem was the "default/incorrect" vista drivers for the PCMCIA slot. Once Acer released their updated drivers, Vista was immediately able to detect the card properly and load the Huawei drivers which work exceptionally well. As far as software goes I do not have one software package (so far) which does not work on Vista.

I do of course agree with you that anyone wishing to upgrade to vista, first check that all their hardware is compliant. There are a number of places online to run an upgrade advisor tool which scans your system for compliancy and will make recommendations.

Having been a user of Microsoft products myself since DOS version 1.0. I can say that hardware, driver and software support for Vista has been lightning fast compared to any predecessor. I remember upgrades to Win98, WinNT, Windows 2000 and even XP where it would often take several months before you could get certain hardware working again.

The fact that most 3G cards are already supported and now working on Vista is phenomenal, the product was only officially launched to public only 28 days ago. I think Vodacom3G has also been really trying hard to make sure that VMC 9 was released quickly which Vodacom did.

The only statement I disagree with in this is the Acer driver support. Of the Vista released drivers they provided only 4 of the drivers actually worked on my notebook, and their support department is still getting back to me on the status of the rest of the drivers, including the PCMCIA driver for my particular model. Among the drivers I am having issues with are:

• Acer OrbiCam (Logitech Version)
• Software Modem
• PCMCIA Driver
• Card Reader
• Acer Launch Manager

After a chat to the local product manager it was confirmed that the Acer drivers for the base models have been released, but none have been tested. The more expensive model range for both Aspire and TravelMate still have missing drivers and the one's that were released will work on 80% of the models out there.

However.. I am willing to wait a bit and doing a bit of searching got everything working on mine apart from my Options Colt, which is one of the first 3G modems to be provided by Vodacom. I haven't ever swapped because it was working for what I wanted and I am happy with it, however it looks like I may have to if Acer cannot get there act together.

 

[salmo]

I would suggest to anyone planning an upgrade to Vista is too first confirm that all devices you own/use regularly is supported in the new OS and drivers are readily available. HP is the only provider that has drivers ready for all their notebooks, whereas Acer only released their's about a week ago. The hardware community is still in process of getting drivers ready as they have had limited time with the RTM (+-2 Months) which also happened to fall over the December period.

Believe me I've found that out the hard way, but in truth I've had relatively few problems and only 2 that have not yet been resolved; Quickbooks and the E220. Everything else has worked fine and for the most part I'm really enjoying Vista.

Thanks for all the help and my apologies for stepping on anyones toes, I'll try the fix as described and give my feedback.

 

[threegee]

Hi Diago

I had problems with most of those devices during my initial install of vista in early January. Then I started tracking down drivers from various Acer sites and one by one I managed to get them working except the PCMCIA and the Orbicam which did work with the drivers I got but not properly.

The drivers I obtained from the European Acer FTP site totalled about 600 Mb worth of downloads. The first download was a driver package, the second was a software package. These two zips then had to be extracted and placed into various folders and then I had to run the upgrade wizard which placed an icon onto the desktop which I then ran and it then extracted all the driver and software packages and loaded everything. One reboot later every device worked 100%. Of course the extraction and folder naming and placing of files into the correct folders was not documented anywhere but rather presented to me in the forms of errors which I worked through one at a time until I had the order right ... can help you with the naming and placing of files if need be.

I did contact Acer South Africa through the guy who supplied me the laptop, that was 3 weeks ago, they still have not even gotten back to me. I found the location to the Euro FTP Site before Acer SA even knew about it ... this was also confirmed to me through the guy who sold me the laptop who was overjoyed that I could tell him where the drivers were because Acer SA could not

Anyways I am not sure which particular model you have and that of course could be part of the problem but you could keep a check on ftp.work.acer-euro.com to see when their drivers are released for your model.

The list of directories on that FTP site has grown considerably since they were first released and the packages that you download are pretty comprehensive albeit large. But I also understand from your point of view that to download 600 Mb of files and not have it work is costly and frustrating. I used up over 1Gb of various driver downloads for Vista before I downloaded these files from Acer .... so ... although driver support has been quite forthcoming for Vista the file sizes add up real quickly.

Hope you find a solution.