[email protected] wrote:
> On Sun, 31 Dec 2006 01:33:18 +1000, Graeme Willox
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> John Henderson wrote:
>>> Graeme Willox wrote:
>>>
>>>> It is locked to 3.
>>> OK, I'd missed the possibility that it might be locked until I
>>> reread one of Simon's posts. So ignore my earlier suggestion
>>> about changing SIMs.
>>>
>>> There's a possibility that we can make the card ignore the
>>> Telstra network completely, and that this might get you working
>>> with 3 again when you're in a 3 coverage area. I'm uncertain
>>> about a few of the fine details, so you'll need to bear with
>>> me.
>>>
>>> Firstly, we need to find 3's PLMN. Telstra's is 50501, Optus is
>>> 50502, and Vodafone is 50503. One-tel used to be 50508, and I
>>> have no idea what 3's is other than it will start with 505
>>> (Australia).
>>>
>>> Next, we need to force the card to restrict itself to this PLMN
>>> with the "AT+COPS" (PLMN selection) command. The command is
>>> optional for manufacturer implementation, but most do implement
>>> it.
>>>
>>> I'm running Linux, and don't have access to Windows later than
>>> 98. But I imagine later versions of Windows implement modem
>>> "Extra settings", where you can put such commands. On my
>>> Windows 98 machine I can get there via Control Panel / Modems /
>>> Properties / Connection / Advanced / Extra settings.
>>>
>>> Looking at the on-line XU870 manual, page numbered 31, you may
>>> be able to access it via the Internet Options / Connections /
>>> Setup tab also.
>>>
>>> Put
>>>
>>> AT+COPS=1,2,"505nn"
>>>
>>> (for the correct value of "nn") into the Extra settings field.
>>> It there's already something in this field, just add
>>>
>>> ;+COPS=1,2,"505nn"
>>>
>>> to the end of what's already there instead. And if it doesn't
>>> work with those quotes in place, try it without them.
>>>
>>> When you want it to revert to automatic PLMN selection, just
>>> remove the above command from "Extra settings" and cycle the
>>> power to the card/laptop. As a last resort,
>>>
>>> AT+COPS=0
>>>
>>> sets the device to automatic network selection (this is the
>>> default value specified in 3GPP 27.007).
>>>
>>> John

>> Thanks. I tried that, but it didn't work. I went into the terminal
>> programme in Windows XP , set the "modem" to be the NetConnect card and
>> typed those commands and it accepted them. It just didn't have any
>> effect on the way the card performed. Three is 50506, BTW.

>
> Like I said earlier, did you ring them? Despite the reputation that
> some calls centers have, they have solved problems for me.


Yes, I rang them and was transferred to the data support people. He
looked at where I live, which is outside of the defined Three coverage
area and decided that my card would not work there because I was not in
a Three coverage area. When I asked why I wasn't roaming to Telstra, he
said it was because I wasn't in range of Telstra either. Apparently,
every Telstra GSM and Telstra CDMA phone I've ever known didn't realise
they were out of range of Telstra, and the 3 Net Connect Card itself
didn't realise it was out of range when it connected at 1.8 megabits the
day before either. It wasn't a once of, either, I walked outside with
the laptop a few times the day before, and it re-established the
connection each time.

I went back to the Three store on Friday (my first day off since before
Christmas) but that was at 4 pm Brisbane time. They escalated the issue
with their technical support people, but the technical support people
are in Sydney apparently, so they'd already gone home by the time I got
there. (Not that I'm complaining about that because if we'd had
daylight saving here, Three would already have been closed and I
wouldn't have gotten there until Tuesday at the earliest.

I'm not bagging the people who work in their call centre. Do do their
job, they either have to translate to and from English quickly, or they
have to learn how to think in English. I know from when I've done some
basic foreign language studies that learning how to think in another
language can be difficult, especially if the other language doesn't have
any common origins with your own, such as English and some of the other
European languages do.

I should also add that I've taken my laptop back into an area where I
know there is good Three coverage, and it still makes no difference to
how the card behaves, so I still think it's a firmware problem.




See More: 3 HSPDA NetConnect Card Problem