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PaYG 3G USB modem

Old 1st May 2010, 17:51
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PaYG 3G USB modem

Hello folks,
having limited experience of these little gizmos, I thought I'd look for some opinions. I have used an Orange 3G USB modem in March (which was kindly lent to me whilst away from home), worked very well.
However I found that Vodafone offers Pay as You Go ones for £30 (with 3GB traffic for 30 days at £15, included in the £30) and I'm thinking of just popping into the store around the corner and grabbing myself one.
Any opinions or experiences anyone? Also, any issues with Mac OS X (currently use a PC (Vista) laptop, but in the process of resuscitating my very much missed iBook G4 with Tiger on board)?

Cheers and enjoy the (wet) BH weekend
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Old 1st May 2010, 22:14
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It depends on how much you are going to use it. I bought a Vodafone dongle and it has performed well but at the end of the 30 days your unused credit evaporates. I have only used it for odd days away from home. O2 have a dongle which you are only charged £2 for a day £7.50 for a week and £15 for a month. That suits my usage pattern better so when the vodafone credit expires I will replace it with an O2 dongle - £19.50 on their website at the moment.
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Old 6th May 2010, 11:24
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As it happens I am using a Vodafone (their spelling) dongle at the moment.
It works well - even in some places where usual mobile phone coverage is patchy. I got it because I am away from home a lot and have found that the 3Gigs for £15 just gets me through the 30 days you get before evaporation. You can also stack up credit so that it comes into play as your last 3G runs out. The only niggle is that it keeps on wanting to reload the software claiming to not recognise the device. I am sure there are as cheap or cheaper deals going but it works for me.

VnV
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Old 10th May 2010, 13:19
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For those of us who only use wireless broadband occasionally, the previous Vodafone deal was much better.

It cost £15 per gigabyte but the data never expired. If you only have the modem for light, occasional use it is a much better deal as you don't have to top it up every month.

Unfortunately, Vodafone stopped this deal at the beginning of the year. However, the good news is that you can still buy sim cards from eBay that are on the 'old' contract. I picked one up from a wholesaler that came with 1gb of data pre-loaded for £9.99
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Old 11th May 2010, 00:15
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It is funny how sometimes you come across a post / thread on PPRuNe and you create a reply and just before you post it you think to yourself. 'Hmmm am I right? I had better check that on G88gle or I will get slaughtered by the other far more knowledgeable members'. And then you find a gem. Until someone far more knowledgeable than yourself puts you right of course.

So here is the 'gem' for 3 Mobile Broadband dongles.

By the way, if anyone is experiencing slow speeds with 3 Mobile Broadband, one of our users, Paul Tait offers the following advice: right click on the network icon (two little flashing computers in the bottom right hand corner of your screen) and click on connect to a network. Click on the 3 usb modem but with the second button and click on properties. In the window that pops up, click the configure button and another window will pop up showing the maximum speed. Sometimes the maximum speed has been set to the default value of 115200 which will cause your modem to be slow. If this is the case change it to 921600 and click OK. If this works for you, please let everyone know by submitting a review below. And thanks to Paul! [Reply by Pauline on 20th May 2009: Followed instructions re changing to faster speed and it has worked brilliantly. Have had my 3 mobile broadband for around 5 months now and it gives excellent service.]

This comes from:
http://www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk/3-mobile-broadband.htm

Now I have just tried this on my 3 mobile dongle and the thing was set to 115200 and having made the change it is really flying compared to what it used to do.

Now someone will tell me that I shouldn't have it at this setting !

I have ditched my original post!
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Old 14th May 2010, 10:28
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Thanks!!!

Just when you think you've covered everything over the years, something like this comes up.

Just checked my T-Mobile 3G connection to find it set at a speed of 230400; now reset to 921600.

Conversely, my Vodafone 3G dongle appears already defaulted at 921600.

Obviously worth checking for all ISP's.

----------------------------------------------------

PS:
Further to previous, I should add my T-Mobile connection is via an internal laptop 3G modem; standard T-Mobile dongles might be defaulted to 921600. My above mentioned Vodafone account is operated via separate dongle; not laptop modem.

This might suggest a case for checking one's internal modem (if used) and would probably account for the fact that improvements noted came after a reboot, rather than close/open of the connection.

----------------------------------------------------

PPS:
Beginning to wish I'd never started this (!); just tried someone else's Vodafone dongle and it appears too be set at a lower speed.

I guess the bottom line is check all internal modems and dongles.




Last edited by BLUE SKY THINKER; 14th May 2010 at 13:02. Reason: PS/PPS: .....
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