One datacard with two providers?

(This doesn't seem to have got on the list, so I'm resending it.)

Hi All

I have a Novatel Merlin U630 datacard supplied by O2. Should I
be able to replace the O2 SIM with my Vodafone one from my phone
and use that instead sometimes (i.e. if I'm somewhere where
there's a hole in the O2 network)?

I have tried, but get Error 619 from my Windows XP laptop when I
try.


All the best,

Paul


Paul Beverley, Editor, Living with Technology & Archive Magazine
-----------------------Phone: 01603-722544----------------------
Freelance editing and proofreading: http://www.archivepub.co.uk/

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"Paul Beverley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi All
>
> I have a Novatel Merlin U630 datacard supplied by O2. Should I
> be able to replace the O2 SIM with my Vodafone one from my phone
> and use that instead sometimes (i.e. if I'm somewhere where
> there's a hole in the O2 network)?
>
> I have tried, but get Error 619 from my Windows XP laptop when I
> try.

This is something I'm not experienced in, with respect to your card that you
mentioned.

However, are the settings on the software used by the card set to o2 only?
You can't use o2's access-point, for example, with a Vodafone sim card. Is
data enabled on the Vodafone sim, usually via a call to Vodafone themselves?

In theory I imagine it is perfectly possible to use the aforementioned card
with a Vodafone SIM, but quite a few settings would have to be changed.

In message <vag%[email protected]>
"Taylor" <[email protected]> wrote:

> "Paul Beverley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I have a Novatel Merlin U630 datacard supplied by O2. Should I
> > be able to replace the O2 SIM with my Vodafone one from my phone
> > and use that instead sometimes (i.e. if I'm somewhere where
> > there's a hole in the O2 network)?
> >
> > I have tried, but get Error 619 from my Windows XP laptop when I
> > try.
>
> This is something I'm not experienced in, with respect to your card that you
> mentioned.

Thanks for the response, Taylor. :-)


> However, are the settings on the software used by the card set to o2 only?

I've tried using different software. The O2 card comes with both
'O2 Connection Manager' and 'MobiLink', the latter looking more
generic. Both are installed on the computer, and I can chop and
change between them. Both gave the same error when I tried to use
them with Vodafone.

I did then try downloading 'DashBoard' from the Vodafone website.
I couldn't get that working either - but I did think it seemed a
bit familiar.

So I went back to the other two programs. They were both then
totally screwed up! So I had to uninstall all three and then
reinstalled the first two. Thankfully all was back to normal.

And as I installed Connection Manager, I realised why Dahboard
had seemed familiar. I'm pretty sure it's the same software, but
with a different corporate colour (reddish instead of O2's blue)
and with similar but similar different "smiling happy people" on
the different pages as the installation progressed.


> You can't use o2's access-point, for example, with a Vodafone sim card. Is
> data enabled on the Vodafone sim, usually via a call to Vodafone themselves?
>
> In theory I imagine it is perfectly possible to use the aforementioned card
> with a Vodafone SIM, but quite a few settings would have to be changed.

Do you mean settings in the card? Could there be something on
the card that is "locked" to O2?


Someone on a computer group (Acorn) that I inhabit suggested
that the contract I signed (with which the card came 'free')
may have forbidden the use of the card on other networks, but
they certainly didn't mention that at the shop.



All the best,

Paul


Paul Beverley, Editor, Living with Technology & Archive Magazine
-----------------------Phone: 01603-722544----------------------
Freelance editing and proofreading: http://www.archivepub.co.uk/

Paul Beverley wrote:
> (This doesn't seem to have got on the list, so I'm resending it.)
>
> Hi All
>
> I have a Novatel Merlin U630 datacard supplied by O2. Should I
> be able to replace the O2 SIM with my Vodafone one from my phone
> and use that instead sometimes (i.e. if I'm somewhere where
> there's a hole in the O2 network)?
>
> I have tried, but get Error 619 from my Windows XP laptop when I
> try.
>
>
> All the best,
>
> Paul

The card might be network locked.
Irma

Inviato da X-Privat.Org - Registrazione gratuita http://www.x-privat.org/join.php

[email protected] declared for all the world to hear...
> The card might be network locked.
> Irma

Then there's the question of completely re configuring the software to
connect through a different network, which would have to be done for
each SIM change.
--
Regards
Jon

"Jon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> [email protected] declared for all the world to hear...
> > The card might be network locked.
> > Irma
>
> Then there's the question of completely re configuring the software to
> connect through a different network, which would have to be done for
> each SIM change.

Configure the card with two connection profiles, then have two dial up
networking
connections, one dials *99***1# the other dials *99***2#
(which assumes that one connection uses CID 1 and the other uses CID 2).

I had to do a hack like this on a Voda branded phone with an Orange PAYG
SIM installed - CID's 1 & 2 were hard coded to Vodafone, the Orange
settings were stored under CID 3 - had to use *99***3# to get the connection
to come up.

/john