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2G is possible

I want to correct what Solwaybuggier said. "3G Preferred" is an option with version 2 of 3Connect. You simply got to Networks>Network Mode and select from 3G Only or 3G Preferred. If you want to force it to drop down to 2G, that can be done by going to Networks>Manual Selection. Change the radio button from Automatic to Manual. Press Select Operator and the dongle will scan available networks for a few seconds. You will usually get a chance to select Orange GSM from a list. Then press Change Operator, and then OK, then Connect. I have surfed on Orange 2G for hours and hours in various locations.
 
Hello from Scourie near Cape Wrath in the NW Highlands. I've been contentedly using my PAYG 3 dogle all the way up though it is a bit slow. I DO have to be patient and fiddle a bit to get it to connect. Essential to bypass the 3 start menu by allowing it to come up after the dongle is connected to USB (by supplied cable for extra range). Then exit the 3 menu and going to your Windows start menu. Click on 'connect to'. Go to 1.3g, and click. It may take a while for the dongle to find a signal, but when it does, the light shines solid - browse away! I've been pretty happy with it -
Regards,
Jacquie
 
Re: 2G is possible

DocHoliday said:
I want to correct what Solwaybuggier said. "3G Preferred" is an option with version 2 of 3Connect. You simply got to Networks>Network Mode and select from 3G Only or 3G Preferred. If you want to force it to drop down to 2G, that can be done by going to Networks>Manual Selection. Change the radio button from Automatic to Manual. Press Select Operator and the dongle will scan available networks for a few seconds. You will usually get a chance to select Orange GSM from a list. Then press Change Operator, and then OK, then Connect. I have surfed on Orange 2G for hours and hours in various locations.
Doc
I'm sure there was no 3G Preferred option when I tried it - but I will let it update again later and report back. (If I don't get back on this you can assume it's out of embarrassment!!) I did try Manual Selection but it found no operator, but that may be a problem of poor reception in my home.
 
JacSprat said:
Does Braemar count as the 'proper' Highlands? If so, I'm happily using my 3 dongle from the CC site just out of town. Thing is, if you depend on 3's start-up menu to tell you there's a signal in the boonies, forget it. You have to exit their menu, go to network connections and click on 1.3g manually (your dongle's direct connection). I find that if I can get four or five bars on my Orange phone, there is usually a signal strong enough for broadband. You just have to play around a bit. I figured all this out while in Italy with jokey signals. 9/10, I got enough of one to check and send emails.
I'm heading towards Ullapool in a couple of days, will report from there (if possible!)

Regards, Jacquie
JacSprat said:
Hello from Scourie near Cape Wrath in the NW Highlands. I've been contentedly using my PAYG 3 dogle all the way up though it is a bit slow. I DO have to be patient and fiddle a bit to get it to connect. Essential to bypass the 3 start menu by allowing it to come up after the dongle is connected to USB (by supplied cable for extra range). Then exit the 3 menu and going to your Windows start menu. Click on 'connect to'. Go to 1.3g, and click. It may take a while for the dongle to find a signal, but when it does, the light shines solid - browse away! I've been pretty happy with it -
Regards,
Jacquie
Hi Jacquie,

Thanks for that info. That 3 Home Page was getting on my blooming nerves.
Would I be right in saying that your dongle is unlocked?

I did try the other networks to see what their signal strength was, and Orange 3G was the strongest near our home, (about 200 yards away from the exchange), whereas 3 was the weakest signal.

MHF still down loaded in only 8 seconds though on HSDPA. Impressive. :D

Regards,

Jock.
 
bigfoot said:
Which of these dongles are compatable with Macs?
I have an Ibook and a Dell inspiron is there a dongle that will work with both machines?
According to the bumf that came with mine (3 dongle ZTE MF627 PAYG) - it's suitable for either PC or Mac (for the Mac it needs OS X 10.4.11 / 10.5.2)

HTH

Keith (Sprokit)
 
Hi Jacquie,

Thanks for that info. That 3 Home Page was getting on my blooming nerves.
Would I be right in saying that your dongle is unlocked?

I did try the other networks to see what their signal strength was, and Orange 3G was the strongest near our home, (about 200 yards away from the exchange), whereas 3 was the weakest signal.

MHF still down loaded in only 8 seconds though on HSDPA. Impressive. :D

Regards,

Jock.[/quote]




Hi Jock - No, it's not unlocked. I think there may be some confusion between roaming in foreign climes outside of sister networks, and how it works in the UK. You won't be charged any more to be using ,say, Orange's network here whereas in France, you would be charged a wack.
I am on 3's PAYG system, but it should be exactly the same for contract. It really can be a faff to connect when the 3 menu tells you there's no network, but once you figure it out the bypass, no worries. I'm amazed to be sitting on a sunny cliff in my van in the blooming farthest reaches, and posting on MHF!

Regards
 
Re: 2G is possible

Solwaybuggier said:
DocHoliday said:
I want to correct what Solwaybuggier said. "3G Preferred" is an option with version 2 of 3Connect. You simply got to Networks>Network Mode and select from 3G Only or 3G Preferred. If you want to force it to drop down to 2G, that can be done by going to Networks>Manual Selection. Change the radio button from Automatic to Manual. Press Select Operator and the dongle will scan available networks for a few seconds. You will usually get a chance to select Orange GSM from a list. Then press Change Operator, and then OK, then Connect. I have surfed on Orange 2G for hours and hours in various locations.
Doc
I'm sure there was no 3G Preferred option when I tried it - but I will let it update again later and report back. (If I don't get back on this you can assume it's out of embarrassment!!) I did try Manual Selection but it found no operator, but that may be a problem of poor reception in my home.
Well, it certainly seems to work now! So thanks Doc for pointing it out - still keeping v1 on a USB drive just in case, plus Jacquie's very helpful advice.
 
JacSprat said:
You won't be charged any more to be using ,say, Orange's network here whereas in France, you would be charged a wack.
I am on 3's PAYG system, but it should be exactly the same for contract. It really can be a faff to connect when the 3 menu tells you there's no network, but once you figure it out the bypass, no worries. I'm amazed to be sitting on a sunny cliff in my van in the blooming fartest reaches, and posting on MHF!

Regards
Thanks Jacquie. I am enlightened now. :lol: :lol: :lol:

If I get a bill for excess data charges, you'll know who I am coming after, don't you? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Only joking.

Jock.
 
JacSprat said:
Thing is, if you depend on 3's start-up menu to tell you there's a signal in the boonies, forget it. You have to exit their menu, go to network connections and click on 1.3g manually (your dongle's direct connection).
Thanks, Jacquie!

It never occurred to me that you could do this, until I read this thread a few weeks ago. We've just been up to the Yorks coast, & found that the Vodafone software wouldn't establish a connection at all, despite a reasonable signal from the dongle up in the rooflight. (Seemed like a conflict with the new software we'd just installed so we could take a small, cheap printer with us to print walk maps - solving one problem creates much bigger ones!) Anyway, remembered your tip - connection straightaway, every time!

You never know when miscellaneous facts can be useful - forum browsing isn't really such a time-waster after all!
 
Thanks, Jacquie!

It never occurred to me that you could do this, until I read this thread a few weeks ago. We've just been up to the Yorks coast, & found that the Vodafone software wouldn't establish a connection at all, despite a reasonable signal from the dongle up in the rooflight. (Seemed like a conflict with the new software we'd just installed so we could take a small, cheap printer with us to print walk maps - solving one problem creates much bigger ones!) Anyway, remembered your tip - connection straightaway, every time!

You never know when miscellaneous facts can be useful - forum browsing isn't really such a time-waster after all![/quote]

Crikey - I wish all my posts were as useful. Just hope it doesn't lead to some obscure memory melt-down or the like.
Posting on three (orange 2g rather!) from the forest under catbells in the Lakes (Low Manesty CC). I've never experienced a more gorgeous day (walking the dogs up Borrowdale) in 15 years of the UK. Hope everyone is as blissed out as I am!
Jacquie
 
THREE

Hi

I have a THREE dongle on contract which is in dispute as a result of the removal of the Three at Home service. Anyway, forgive me for sounding daft, but are you saying that in an area with no THREE coverage, you simply tell the Dongle to use the Orange network instead, with no extra charges?

Russell
 
Re: THREE

Rapide561 said:
Hi

I have a THREE dongle on contract which is in dispute as a result of the removal of the Three at Home service. Anyway, forgive me for sounding daft, but are you saying that in an area with no THREE coverage, you simply tell the Dongle to use the Orange network instead, with no extra charges?

Russell
Hi Russell -
At the risk of sounding like a modern politician without an original thought,
'Let me make myself very clear',
I have a 3 PAYG dongle. When I am on the road, I load it up with £10 (broadband lite), 1gb to use within a month. In the year since I had it, I have often had to bypass the useless 3 menu. In all that time, I've never managed to use up my monthly allowance.
In Italy and Austria, I bypassed it to use the sister networks when the 3 menu told me there was no network - no problems at all other than lots of shifting to different USB ports and faffing to find a signal at all.

Conclusion:
We're not talking about foreign roaming charges here.

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT an expert - just passing on my personal experience! I have no idea if this is conducive to those with a contract - it may be best to hand over many ££ to their phone-in customer service dept. just to be sure OR give it a try, then log into My3 and see if your account has been zapped into a six-figure debit. Good luck.

XOJ

EDIT:

Here's a more succinct explanation I just found on another website:

Secondly- 3 has the greatest 3g coverage out of all the networks (roughly 90%) as that's all that 3 themselves do so they've invested a lot in 3g coverage (when you're not in 3 coverage it piggybacks onto orange and to a lesser extent o2 to provide signal, but this is only 2g so painfully slow bb). So while it's not going to work for everyone, it's more likely to than the other networks. For the people asking about using it on trains, it's not going to be a particularly good service as you'll be constantly going in and out of signal. Definately no good for streaming, but some internet surfing should be possible.
 
Hi Jacquie,

It may only be the PAYG 3 Dongle that picks up Orange 2G. I have a 3 contract Dongle, and it won't pick up any other network other than 3. :(

A shame really, as it is less fiddly than the PCMCIA card, sim and software.

Jock.
 
JockandRita said:
Hi Jacquie,

It may only be the PAYG 3 Dongle that picks up Orange 2G. I have a 3 contract Dongle, and it won't pick up any other network other than 3. :(

A shame really, as it is less fiddly than the PCMCIA card, sim and software.

Jock.
Hi Jock -
I've just been told that, contract or PAYG, the system automatically 'piggybacks' on other networks (in the UK) when there is no 3 signal, but you may not be able to see this on your menu.
All seems pretty complicated and unclear unless you're a Phd in wireless technology... :roll:

Jacquie
 
JacSprat said:
JockandRita said:
Hi Jacquie,

It may only be the PAYG 3 Dongle that picks up Orange 2G. I have a 3 contract Dongle, and it won't pick up any other network other than 3. :(

A shame really, as it is less fiddly than the PCMCIA card, sim and software.

Jock.
Hi Jock -
I've just been told that, contract or PAYG, the system automatically 'piggybacks' on other networks (in the UK) when there is no 3 signal, but you may not be able to see this on your menu.
All seems pretty complicated and unclear unless you're a Phd in wireless technology... :roll:

Jacquie
The reason I mention it Jacquie, is because over the last two weekends where I haven't been able to get a 3 signal, Rita has had an excellent Orange signal on her phone. Using the method you described, I tried to manually choose the Orange network available, but it came back as "cannot change operator", and with an excellent Orange signal strength, the Dongle certainly didn't piggy back, to my dismay.
I have just tried it again, and it is still a no go for anything other than 3.
It is a black Huawei E160G dongle, with the micro SD card slot.

Jock.
 
JockandRita said:
JacSprat said:
JockandRita said:
Hi Jacquie,

It may only be the PAYG 3 Dongle that picks up Orange 2G. I have a 3 contract Dongle, and it won't pick up any other network other than 3. :(

A shame really, as it is less fiddly than the PCMCIA card, sim and software.

Jock.
Hi Jock -
I've just been told that, contract or PAYG, the system automatically 'piggybacks' on other networks (in the UK) when there is no 3 signal, but you may not be able to see this on your menu.
All seems pretty complicated and unclear unless you're a Phd in wireless technology... :roll:

Jacquie
The reason I mention it Jacquie, is because over the last two weekends where I haven't been able to get a 3 signal, Rita has had an excellent Orange signal on her phone. Using the method you described, I tried to manually choose the Orange network available, but it came back as "cannot change operator", and with an excellent Orange signal strength, the Dongle certainly didn't piggy back, to my dismay.
I have just tried it again, and it is still a no go for anything other than 3.
It is a black Huawei E160G dongle, with the micro SD card slot.

Jock.
Jock -
Couple of things;
Don't you have an integrated USB port, or is your laptop an older model that needs USB adaptors - could be a whole different ball of wax in that case?
Is your laptop on Windows XP?

If so, it sounds like you're using the 3 menu to manually change the operator - mine won't work either!
My method is:
-plug your dongle into the USB port
-wait until the 3 menu comes up
-now, click to exit it and wait for it to leave your screen
-go to your Windows start menu
-click on to 'connect to', then double click on 1.3g
-a little message should flash on your blue bar saying 'connecting', then with any luck, connected!

It doesn't always work because the 3 software often freezes up screens. In this case, a complete 'turn off and restart' of the computer solves the problem.
If your wife is getting a strong Orange signal, this should work for you Jock - it's worth one more try!

Let me know what happens...

Jacquie
-
 
JacSprat said:
Jock -
Couple of things;
Don't you have an integrated USB port, or is your laptop an older model that needs USB adaptors - could be a whole different ball of wax in that case?
Is your laptop on Windows XP?

If so, it sounds like you're using the 3 menu to manually change the operator - mine won't work either!
My method is:
-plug your dongle into the USB port
-wait until the 3 menu comes up
-now, click to exit it and wait for it to leave your screen
-go to your Windows start menu
-click on to 'connect to', then double click on 1.3g
-a little message should flash on your blue bar saying 'connecting', then with any luck, connected!

It doesn't always work because the 3 software often freezes up screens. In this case, a complete 'turn off and restart' of the computer solves the problem.
If your wife is getting a strong Orange signal, this should work for you Jock - it's worth one more try!

Let me know what happens...

Jacquie
-
Thanks Jacquie,

Yes, two integrated USB ports, as well as a PCMCIA slot, and Windows XP SP 3.

If so, it sounds like you're using the 3 menu to manually change the operator - mine won't work either!
My method is:
-plug your dongle into the USB port
-wait until the 3 menu comes up
-now, click to exit it and wait for it to leave your screen
-go to your Windows start menu
-click on to 'connect to', then double click on 1.3g
-a little message should flash on your blue bar saying 'connecting', then with any luck, connected!
Yes, I did try both methods, but the method from the start menu does connect to the dongle, bypassing the "My3" web page as you previously mentioned..........but only where there is a 3 signal.
That little menu also shows my T-Mobile, Vodafone and Dell wireless connection options.

I really don't know what I can do to make the connection to Orange, in the absence of a 3 signal.

BTW, I was told that T-Mobile and 3 were working together to increase the area of 3G coverage across Europe.

Jock.
 
THREE

Jock

I think I have sussed it...

1) Log off the internet
2) Disconnect the THREE dongle by pressing the DISCONNECT button.
3) On the THREE pop up window, press settings - it looks like two cogs.
4) Press network
5) Put a dot in select manually choosenetwork box
6) Press search.

A list of available connections comes up. This does not work if you are connected to the internet.

I still do not know how this can be FREE of charge though??? Surely paying money to THREE but using Orange or Vodafone etc does not make sense.

Russell
 
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