Linksys WRT54G3G-EM router and three.ie

FRM

I am having a problem using the above brand new router with a new three.ie 3g datacard.

When trying to connect to the three.ie network the router sits in a loop with ACQUIRING as the state and won't connect.

Have changed to GPRS and it picks up VODAFONE successfully within 10 seconds.

Anyone had this issue before with three cards on this router ?

godskitchen

Are you sure you can get 3G?

godskitchen

It should connect to Vodafone on GPRS as this is the network Three use for GPRS, as they dont have a GPRS network of their own, so they piggy back......

I have had so many problems with Three its not funny, if you cant connect to vodafone on GPRS it may be a problem with your sim.

How are you setting up the router? are you using the software that came with it or accessing it via a web browser?

FRM

well I have the blue light flashing on the router...... I have it in with me today in the office in Grand Canal in Dublin.... got the same status blue light that I had at home....

its a HUAWEI E630 card

the router has V2.00.18-EM Dec 4 2006 firmware in it.

Any further thoughts ?

I am accessing it via the web interface to setup the router. Didn't really have to change anything as the laptop picked it up first time.

FRM

I have just been told by LINKSYS that I need a PIN code for the card to work.... yet three dont supply pin codes with datacard sims....

LINKSYS are adamant about this being the cause of the problem... anyone seen this ???

Sponge Bob

have 3 support told you

1. what this pin is ..and what its called
2. where in the linksys setup screen you enter it

I suspect its an unlock code , see this note on the 620 card used by Voda

with hyperterminal connect to teh com port the modem is on

type

at^cardlock

(return)

If you get a response like:
^CARDLOCK: 2,0,0
OK
Your card is not locked and you are good to go.

However, if you get a response like:
^CARDLOCK: 1,10,NXnXn
OK
Your card is network locked to operator NXnXn ( = Three) and you have 10 remaining attempts at the 8-digit unlock code.

then again maybe its not an 8 digit unlock code and its a different pin entirely

FRM

I eventually got it fixed by pure chance yesterday... spoke to 3 different people in 3 and eventually the tech dept guy was of great help... he said to try the APN of 3ireland.ie and hey presto the router started connecting... Linksys were very poor technical support...

now only got one issue with router it will connect to the net when you press the front connect/disconnect button but wont automatically connect when using the router settings....

dont suppose anyone has came across this ???

godskitchen

Not come across this myself, i hate when people ask me questions like this............but im going to ask them anyway...........Did you save the settings? Did you reboot the router?

What APN were you using yesterday? I was aware of only one APN for Three. Also the tech guy you spoke to.........where did he sound like he was from?

I have a problem for the last 2 months, contacted customer service and head office every day and still nothing. I have found none of their staff have a clue, apart from the Data card support in the UK, but they cant help me with my problem in this country (faulty Mast/Cell). I have come across maybe two other companys who have such bad service in the past and both are no longer around.

FRM

Thanks again godskitchen... yeah I saved the settings and did a reboot... will have a further dig tonight or over weekend.... its not a major show stopper just a pain that you have to press the button on the router... the main thing is its working...

It was data card support the guy worked for.... he wasn't the first level telephone operator.. I got past them quickly... baffled them with techno speak !!! He was from the UK unfortunatly..

jhegarty

I thought those routers where locked to vodafone ?

godskitchen

jhegarty wrote:

I thought those routers where locked to vodafone ?

Neither of mine were, but if they are you can unlock them with a firmware update.

watty

Some can't be updated with firmware other than the suppliers. Others can.

boatbuilder

Sorry to resurrect a dead topic, but I'm considering getting a linksys router with a vodafone 3g card and I need some help!

We have set up a training centre in Carrickmacross and Eircom can't get us a phone line of any description until August at the earliest. Ice Broadband came out and they can't get a signal for wireless broadband because of the location of their two masts (stuck on the side of bungalows).

So....here we are, considering going with Vodafone Mobile broadband.
We will need to network the connection into our existing computer network which consists of about 10 peer to peer computers connected via an ethernet switch.

So what equipment do I need?

1 - Linksys WRT54G3G router??
2 - A special card of some sort from Vodafone?? Vodafone's standard modem?

Can this be an "always on" connection like normal broadband?
Can we get a static IP address?
Can we set our dns servers to the opendns ones for content filtering purposes?
Can we set up port forwarding on the linksys router? (for remote desktop)

Thanks for your help, I'm a wee bit lost here!

David

watty

It's not normal broadband. "always on" depends on usage, as the cap may be exhusted.

You need a PCMCIA card. There are other routers that take USB modems.

Yes, port forwarding etc is like a router on Cable or DSL.

OpenDNS is generally slower and is less secure than an ISP. They can be poisoned. Only use OpenDNS if the ISP DNS is a problem.

Also there is O2, dunno what their signal is like there.

The PCs use the router IP as both gateway and DNS.

Alternatively you can use Clarkconnect (Linux, automatic install) on an old PC (add PCMCIA PCI card or use USB modem). Some "hands on" needed to get 3G modem working, but most PCMCIA and USB modems do work on Linux.

Getting a static IP is not impossible, only difficult. Would DynDNS.org not do? You really really don't want to host via 3G. Consider co-located hosting.

DNS is nothing to do with content filtering normally. That would be router/firewall rules. Clarkconnect makes it easier to set filter rules. Also the Dlink DIR-451 router has better content filtering support, unless you migrate the Linksys to OpenWRT.

There is also two-way satellite. Its latency is fixed at about 840ms and can be better than 3G/HSDPA which varies from 150ms to 1000ms+. Satellite has more advanced spoofing and such to reduce handshakes which quadruple latency. (At 300ms HSDPA will be worse than Satellite).

Speed on 3G/HSDPA varies from 70k (full sector/ or poor signal ) to 3.6Mbps (one user in sector and excellent signal). Speed on professional Satellite does have contention, but "typical" speeds are often much better than 3G even if on basic 1Mbps package.

When the schools Broadband was implemented nearly 1/2 had to get satellite. Even on DSL exchanges many lines fail.

Have you checked ALL wireless ISP possibilities?

Sponge Bob

jeez :eek: a business relying on 3g :eek:

For Gods sake contact net1 willya

http://www.net1.ie/coverage.php#coverage-popup#

tell them sponge bob sent you .

boatbuilder

Thanks,

I'll try Net1 to see if it works for us...I didn't know about them.

Emailed net1 at 11:30pm and got a phone call from them at 11:50pm :eek:

I don't think we'll be able to get a signal though. ICE broadband said they couldn't even pick up the transmitter at all from the roof!!

In regard to Vodafone mobile broadband, a static IP is not essential for us...it would just be handy, although yeah we could use dyndys.org or no-ip.com.

Most firewalls/routers that I've come across have gaping holes in their internet filtering. For example, they rarely block proxy server websites. I've found that opendns works well for what we need and it blocks the vast majority of proxy sites.

Unfortunately, satellite is probably out of our price range!

Sponge Bob

told ya that the very mention of the Sponge would open doors

watty

OpenDNS doesn't block anything. That's an illusion. All I need is an IP address or enter my own DNS settings on laptop to bypass OpenDNS.

If you really want filtering get a professional router (bridge from Modem/Router), OpenDNS on Linksys or Clarkconnect with modem directly.

Not all wireless providers use the same base station masts for same area, nor have same sector aerials. So check all the providers.

Both OpenWRT (follow reciepe on web ) and Clarkconnect (boot from CD and click next) are free and easier to install than installing Windows *PROPERLY*