Vodafone Mobile Broadband will only connect with GPRS?

Hi,

I have just bought a mobile broadband dongle PAYG on Vodafone. The problem
is it always connects with GPRS and never 3G. As you will probably know I
cannot put up with GPRS as its like a dial-up speed.

Does anyone know if I can make the modem use 3G automatically, or is it
likely that it is choosing the only speed it has available. According to
Vodafone coverage I am right in the middle of a 3G area of coverage. I even
took the laptop outside yesterday and it still connected to GPRS only. I
have paid 15 pounds top-up if that is relevant.

Can anyone suggest how I make it connect at 3G speed? There is a
comprehensive dialler software that comes with the dongle, but I'm not sure
if I can shoose 3G anywhere.

Thanks
Sarah

In article <gvqnf0$8k8$1@news.eternal-september.org>, Sarah Wilde
<777@777.00> scribeth thus
>Hi,
>
>I have just bought a mobile broadband dongle PAYG on Vodafone. The problem
>is it always connects with GPRS and never 3G. As you will probably know I
>cannot put up with GPRS as its like a dial-up speed.
>
>Does anyone know if I can make the modem use 3G automatically, or is it
>likely that it is choosing the only speed it has available. According to
>Vodafone coverage I am right in the middle of a 3G area of coverage.

So are we .. and still the poxy thing falls over to GPRS rates..

Their coverage maps are dare I say it .. a tad optimistic;!...

> I even
>took the laptop outside yesterday and it still connected to GPRS only. I
>have paid 15 pounds top-up if that is relevant.
>
>Can anyone suggest how I make it connect at 3G speed? There is a
>comprehensive dialler software that comes with the dongle, but I'm not sure
>if I can shoose 3G anywhere.
>
>Thanks
>Sarah
>
>

--
Tony Sayer

Sarah Wilde wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have just bought a mobile broadband dongle PAYG on Vodafone. The
> problem is it always connects with GPRS and never 3G. As you will
> probably know I cannot put up with GPRS as its like a dial-up speed.
>
> Does anyone know if I can make the modem use 3G automatically, or is
> it likely that it is choosing the only speed it has available.

You're not just selecting "connect" too quickly are you? Mine always finds
GPRS first but if I wait a bit longer, it picks up 3G and I connect once
the dongle is flashing blue.

Tim

The message <78eutoF1litq5U1@mid.individual.net>
from "Tim Downie" <timdownie2003@obvious.yahoo.co.uk> contains these words:


> You're not just selecting "connect" too quickly are you? Mine always finds
> GPRS first but if I wait a bit longer, it picks up 3G and I connect once
> the dongle is flashing blue.

Mine just won't get 3G at all here, in the wilds of Outer London.

--
Helen Vecht
Edgware

"Helen Deborah Vecht" <helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:31303030373639354A228F9945@zetnet.co.uk...
> The message <78eutoF1litq5U1@mid.individual.net>
> from "Tim Downie" <timdownie2003@obvious.yahoo.co.uk> contains these
> words:
>
>> You're not just selecting "connect" too quickly are you? Mine always
>> finds
>> GPRS first but if I wait a bit longer, it picks up 3G and I connect once
>> the dongle is flashing blue.
>
> Mine just won't get 3G at all here, in the wilds of Outer London.
> Helen Vecht
> Edgware
>
>
You could get it unlocked and try say a 3 PAYG Sim

Steve Terry

In article <oh5pWBC93PIKFwEk@bancom.co.uk>, tony@bancom.co.uk says...
> In article <gvqnf0$8k8$1@news.eternal-september.org>, Sarah Wilde
> <777@777.00> scribeth thus
> >Hi,
> >
> >I have just bought a mobile broadband dongle PAYG on Vodafone. The problem
> >is it always connects with GPRS and never 3G. As you will probably know I
> >cannot put up with GPRS as its like a dial-up speed.
> >
> >Does anyone know if I can make the modem use 3G automatically, or is it
> >likely that it is choosing the only speed it has available. According to
> >Vodafone coverage I am right in the middle of a 3G area of coverage.
>
> So are we .. and still the poxy thing falls over to GPRS rates..
>
> Their coverage maps are dare I say it .. a tad optimistic;!...
>

The woman in the shop checked coverage against my postcode because it
was "not refundable". It was slap bang in the middle of a strong signal
area yet I only get at best a poor signal and most of the time very poor
or none.

The thing has very intermittent IM coverage too, even when it does
connect which suggests they might be attempting to block it. An ssh
tunnel always gets through though.

Anyone manage to life the adult content bar online? Keeps saying try
later after entering credit card details.

Steve.

In article <gd3725tkc3cpjo7m57raf3a713t78cr1dr@4ax.com>, occassionally-
confused@nospam.co.uk says...
>
> steve <steve@nospam.invalid> wrote
>
> >The thing has very intermittent IM coverage too, even when it does
> >connect which suggests they might be attempting to block it. An ssh
> >tunnel always gets through though.
>
> If you are using SSH tunnelk then I guess you know what you are doing.
> I must try this sometime. PPTP VPN works over Voda but nobody else.
> What are you using at the server end?
>

An ssh server on an unslung NSLU2 wired to my home ADSL connection.

> >Anyone manage to life the adult content bar online? Keeps saying try
> >later after entering credit card details.
>
> You need to enable the adult content otherwise Voda will "discover"
> adult content in random binary data e.g. HTTPS or VPN. I had to do
> this on every data SIM card I ever set up with Voda. Don't recall
> having to do it with any other network.
>

The online stuff doesn't seem to work. There's all this about having to
register a credit card to get it lifted then it taking £1. I bought the
darned thing with a credit card... Perhaps the "you can only top up with
£15" logic is blocking it.

Will try in a Voda shop.

Steve.

steve wrote:

> Anyone manage to life the adult content bar online? Keeps saying try
> later after entering credit card details.

If SSH works, then 'ssh -CD5000 some.whe.re' and use localhost:5000 as a
SOCKS proxy. Et voila, your browsing will go via wherever you're SSHing to.
The -C turns on SSH compression, this may hinder rather than help if the far
end has got a slow CPU.

--
<http://ale.cx/> (AIM:troffasky) (UnSoEsNpEaTm@ale.cx)
20:10:24 up 27 days, 8 min, 1 user, load average: 0.46, 0.20, 0.14
A few flakes working together can unleash an avalanche of destruction

In article <gvqnf0$8k8$1@news.eternal-september.org>, 777@777.00 says...
> Hi,
>
> I have just bought a mobile broadband dongle PAYG on Vodafone. The problem
> is it always connects with GPRS and never 3G. As you will probably know I
> cannot put up with GPRS as its like a dial-up speed.
>
> Does anyone know if I can make the modem use 3G automatically, or is it
> likely that it is choosing the only speed it has available. According to
> Vodafone coverage I am right in the middle of a 3G area of coverage. I even
> took the laptop outside yesterday and it still connected to GPRS only. I
> have paid 15 pounds top-up if that is relevant.
>
> Can anyone suggest how I make it connect at 3G speed? There is a
> comprehensive dialler software that comes with the dongle, but I'm not sure
> if I can shoose 3G anywhere.

By default these things are set up to use the highest speed available,
so either you've altered the settings (unlikely) or there is actually no
3G signal (likely).
--
Regards
Jon

In article <gd3725tkc3cpjo7m57raf3a713t78cr1dr@4ax.com>, occassionally-
confused@nospam.co.uk says...
> If you are using SSH tunnelk then I guess you know what you are doing.
> I must try this sometime. PPTP VPN works over Voda but nobody else.
> What are you using at the server end?

PPTP vpn works fine over Orange. I used it for about 2 years.
--
Regards
Jon