This offering from 3 - £50 for the modem, and £15 for 3GB -is looking
like an attractive proposition- has anyone had any experience? My
questions would be: can you get Linux or Windows Me drivers for it,
and can it be unlocked?

brianhughes45@googlemail.com wrote:
> This offering from 3 - £50 for the modem, and £15 for 3GB -is looking
> like an attractive proposition- has anyone had any experience?

I've been using it successfuly for 2 months now.

I don't like their customer service.

> My questions would be: can you get Linux or Windows Me drivers for it,

It self-installs its own drivers and won't work without usb 2.0.

I don't know if its OS specific.

> and can it be unlocked?

Don't know.

On Thu, 5 Jun 2008 11:02:48 +0100, "John Burke" 
wrote:


>I don't like their customer service.

What don't you like about them John could it be because they are in
India or somewhere and you cannot understand half that they are
saying?.
I have a 3 mobile and this the only complaint I have regarding 3
but I have only called CS twice about two very trivial matters anyway.

brianhughes45@googlemail.com wrote:
> This offering from 3 - £50 for the modem, and £15 for 3GB -is looking
> like an attractive proposition- has anyone had any experience? My
> questions would be: can you get Linux or Windows Me drivers for it,
> and can it be unlocked?

www.play.com are doing it for £39.99, exactly the same, plus, 
if you buy it through www.quidco.com you'll get cashback, or, 
if you have a nectar card and buy it through their estores 
link you'll get nectar points for it.

The one on play has quite good support for Linux.

--
xCx

mymail@hotmail.com wrote:
> On Thu, 5 Jun 2008 11:02:48 +0100, "John Burke" 
> wrote:

>> I don't like their customer service.

> What don't you like about them John could it be because they are in
> India or somewhere and you cannot understand half that they are
> saying?.

1. I had to navigate a non-user friendly menu several times to eventually
obtain a human contact.

2. Although whoever/wherever I spoke to had good enough English, I still
objected to hearing bs.

3. Their later email response completely ignored the issue I'd raised

However, 1,  2 & 3 do seem to be industry standard now IME.

> I have a 3 mobile and this the only complaint I have regarding 3
> but I have only called CS twice about two very trivial matters anyway.

This concerned my access somehow being charged at the wrong tariff.

In article <81e79156-66e4-4dd5-a8b6-dde81cfadf4c@
56g2000hsm.googlegroups.com>, brianhughes45@googlemail.com says...
> This offering from 3 - £50 for the modem, and £15 for 3GB -is looking
> like an attractive proposition- has anyone had any experience? My
> questions would be: can you get Linux or Windows Me drivers for it,
> and can it be unlocked?
> 

I think both versions work under Linux but it is apparently easier to 
get the Huawei one (white one) working.

I also know that one can also be unlocked using online tools for 15 
euros. I unlocked and use my 3 one on T-mobile.

It does have problems switching from HSPDA to 3G on T-mobile but I think 
that is a network issue.

Steve.

On Thu, 5 Jun 2008 21:19:00 +0100, "John Burke" 
wrote:


>1. I had to navigate a non-user friendly menu several times to eventually
>obtain a human contact.

Having had few years of this with Blueyonder now Virgin media and BT I
have kind a got used to it .

>3. Their later email response completely ignored the issue I'd raised
>
>However, 1,  2 & 3 do seem to be industry standard now IME.
I expect to here a live human voice when ever I ring some company or
other  but it looks like I am going to have to expect for a long time
because I am convinced it just ain't going to happen anymore. I called
3 this afternoon and wanted to speak with a human myself but could not
get even near to one 1,2,3,etc etc etc was all I was getting so gave
up in the end . I was actually wanting some more info regarding the BB
offering not to worry it is their loss not mine when I first went
through the sign up already having an account with them they where
wanting only 7.50 a month  but I backed out decided to have a little
think . About an hour later went back in did the sign up thing again
this time however they where wanting 7.50 for the dongle AND 7.50
for the BB account a month which was the reason for me contacting them
to get clarification .

In news:81e79156-66e4-4dd5-a8b6-dde81cfadf4c@56g2000hsm.googlegroups.com,
brianhughes45@googlemail.com  typed, for 
some strange, unexplained reason:
: This offering from 3 - £50 for the modem, and £15 for 3GB -is looking
: like an attractive proposition- has anyone had any experience? My
: questions would be: can you get Linux or Windows Me drivers for it,
: and can it be unlocked?

I was seriously tempted by this device, but was told by the sales droid 
that you have to top up by at least £10 per month, whether you use up all 
the credit or not. The thing is no good to me if I have to keep throwing 
money at it, I only considered it for occasional use if I go away for a 
weekend etc., I don't have any use for it most of the time, I already have 
internet access at home and at work.

Sounds like a contract under another name to me, surely if it's Pay As You 
Go the credit should be good for as long as I keep it active..? On my 
phone the credit stays live as long as a call is made every 180 days, why 
is this different..?

Ivor

On Sun, 8 Jun 2008 00:07:50 +0100, "Ivor Jones"
<ivor@thisaddressis.invalid> wrote:


>Sounds like a contract under another name to me, surely if it's Pay As You 
>Go the credit should be good for as long as I keep it active..? On my 
>phone the credit stays live as long as a call is made every 180 days, why 
>is this different..?

I wouldn't touch "pay has you go" Ivor unless you only intend using it
a few times  a year I have a payg phone on Virgin which hasn't even
been switched on since I came back from Belgium three months ago
and won't be until August when I go again . I have a 3 contract phone
for everyday use so I will get the mobile broadband for 7.50 a month
and the modem is free which I intend ordering at some point today .

On Thu, 5 Jun 2008 11:02:48 +0100, John Burke  wrote:
>brianhughes45@googlemail.com wrote:
>> This offering from 3 - £50 for the modem, and £15 for 3GB -is looking
>> like an attractive proposition- has anyone had any experience?
>
>I've been using it successfuly for 2 months now.
>
>I don't like their customer service.
>
>> My questions would be: can you get Linux or Windows Me drivers for it,
>
>It self-installs its own drivers and won't work without usb 2.0.

My sister has one working in Win2000 on USB1.1. It shouldn't need USB2 as 
its peak speed is 3.6Mbit/sec which is way below the ceiling 11Mbit/sec of 
USB1.1.

Recent Linux distros work with it just fine (I got hers working on my 
Fedora 6 laptop), but in Windows, it's only Win2000/XP/Vista.

>I don't know if its OS specific.

They only advertise it as Windows and MacOSX, but recent Linux kernels 
also include drivers.

-- 
-- Michael "Soruk" McConnell         Eridani Star System
   MailStripper - http://www.MailStripper.eu/ - SMTP spam filter
   Second Number - http://secondnumber.matrixnetwork.co.uk/

On Sun, 8 Jun 2008 00:07:50 +0100, Ivor Jones <ivor@thisaddressis.invalid> wrote:
>In news:81e79156-66e4-4dd5-a8b6-dde81cfadf4c@56g2000hsm.googlegroups.com,
>brianhughes45@googlemail.com  typed, for 
>some strange, unexplained reason:
>: This offering from 3 - £50 for the modem, and £15 for 3GB -is looking
>: like an attractive proposition- has anyone had any experience? My
>: questions would be: can you get Linux or Windows Me drivers for it,
>: and can it be unlocked?
>
>I was seriously tempted by this device, but was told by the sales droid 
>that you have to top up by at least £10 per month, whether you use up all 
>the credit or not. The thing is no good to me if I have to keep throwing 
>money at it, I only considered it for occasional use if I go away for a 
>weekend etc., I don't have any use for it most of the time, I already have 
>internet access at home and at work.
>
>Sounds like a contract under another name to me, surely if it's Pay As You 
>Go the credit should be good for as long as I keep it active..? On my 
>phone the credit stays live as long as a call is made every 180 days, why 
>is this different..?

My understanding of it is you need to do that if you want continuous 
broadband availability.  If you don't activate another £10 for mobile 
broadband once the first has run out, you get charged £1/Mbyte.  No idea 
how long the credit lasts otherwise.

-- 
-- Michael "Soruk" McConnell         Eridani Star System
   MailStripper - http://www.MailStripper.eu/ - SMTP spam filter
   Second Number - http://secondnumber.matrixnetwork.co.uk/

On Sun, 8 Jun 2008 00:07:50 +0100, "Ivor Jones"
<ivor@thisaddressis.invalid> wrote:

>In news:81e79156-66e4-4dd5-a8b6-dde81cfadf4c@56g2000hsm.googlegroups.com,
>brianhughes45@googlemail.com  typed, for 
>some strange, unexplained reason:
>: This offering from 3 - £50 for the modem, and £15 for 3GB -is looking
>: like an attractive proposition- has anyone had any experience? My
>: questions would be: can you get Linux or Windows Me drivers for it,
>: and can it be unlocked?
>
>I was seriously tempted by this device, but was told by the sales droid 
>that you have to top up by at least £10 per month, whether you use up all 
>the credit or not. The thing is no good to me if I have to keep throwing 
>money at it, I only considered it for occasional use if I go away for a 
>weekend etc., I don't have any use for it most of the time, I already have 
>internet access at home and at work.
>
>Sounds like a contract under another name to me, surely if it's Pay As You 
>Go the credit should be good for as long as I keep it active..? On my 
>phone the credit stays live as long as a call is made every 180 days, why 
>is this different..?
>
>Ivor

I think 3 do PAYG differently from the other companies. They expect
you to top-up each month. So in some respects it's like a contract.
I've got one of these USB modems. I intend to pay for a month at a
time but only when I think I'll need it.

I've not tried that yet but I assume 3 will let me do this.

In news:90ho44516s9vkpvd0h8leogpn4am06ama8@4ax.com,
pjlusenet@yahoo.co.uk  typed, for some strange, 
unexplained reason:

[snip]

: I think 3 do PAYG differently from the other companies. They expect
: you to top-up each month. So in some respects it's like a contract.
: I've got one of these USB modems. I intend to pay for a month at a
: time but only when I think I'll need it.
:
: I've not tried that yet but I assume 3 will let me do this.

Let me know. To me, PAYG should be exactly that, and as I don't really 
imagine needing mobile internet all that often, I don't see why I should 
pay for airtime that will disappear even though I've paid for it. That to 
me smacks of profiteering - "we've got your money, but we're still going 
to cut you off..!"

I've got a couple of PAYG SIM cards that haven't been used for several 
months, but they're still active.


Ivor

pjlusenet@yahoo.co.uk wrote:
> I think 3 do PAYG differently from the other companies. They expect
> you to top-up each month. So in some respects it's like a contract.
> I've got one of these USB modems. I intend to pay for a month at a
> time but only when I think I'll need it.

Really?  I've had a 3 SIM for 7 weeks and never topped it up.  It came with
no credit (was 99p from eBay).  First I ported over a number from Tesco,
which gave me a tenner of credit.  Then about a week later I bought the 1GB
mobile broadband option and used that for a month.  Now it's run out, and
I've got a nil balance on the SIM.  It still works for My3, it just
doesn't if I try to go outside the 3 WAP site.  I've received no texts
or calls hassling me to topup my SIM.

I'd be really interested to know if 3 expect me to top it up frequently, as
that'll be a big disincentive to using it.  Like you I only plan to use
mobile broadband as and when I need it.  If I wanted it all the time I'd get
a contract.

Theo

On 09 Jun 2008 21:36:52 +0100 (BST), Theo Markettos
<theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

>pjlusenet@yahoo.co.uk wrote:
>> I think 3 do PAYG differently from the other companies. They expect
>> you to top-up each month. So in some respects it's like a contract.
>> I've got one of these USB modems. I intend to pay for a month at a
>> time but only when I think I'll need it.
>
>Really?  I've had a 3 SIM for 7 weeks and never topped it up.  It came with
>no credit (was 99p from eBay).  First I ported over a number from Tesco,
>which gave me a tenner of credit.  Then about a week later I bought the 1GB
>mobile broadband option and used that for a month.  Now it's run out, and
>I've got a nil balance on the SIM.  It still works for My3, it just
>doesn't if I try to go outside the 3 WAP site.  I've received no texts
>or calls hassling me to topup my SIM.
>
>I'd be really interested to know if 3 expect me to top it up frequently, as
>that'll be a big disincentive to using it.  Like you I only plan to use
>mobile broadband as and when I need it.  If I wanted it all the time I'd get
>a contract.
>
>Theo

My understanding is that if you top-up your 3 SIM then the credit will
have a time limit of a month(?). If you don't use it you lose it.
That's different from the other networks on PAYG.

Networks will turn off a SIM if it's not used for a few months. I
don't know what the time limit is with 3 whether the SIM has credit on
it or not. If they DO turn off a SIM I'd hope it would be easy to get
it turned on again when you need it, by offering them some money (of
course)