Vodafone data card with Linksys WRT543G router

SalteeDog

Has anyone managed to get the Vodafone badged Huawei E618 3G datacard (this is the one they are currently offering) working with the Linksys WRT543G router. I've upgraded the Router firmware to 1.99.8 - which i think is the latest. When I run the set-up wizard for the router - it keeps prompting me to fit the 3G card to the router - even though I already have it plugged ito the slot. Anyone got any advice?

pfrench

Two things to try. There is an updated version of the wizard available, but i suspect that the problem may be with the sim card. I had the same problem and it turned out that the sim hadn't been activated correctly. Ring the Vodafone data team and they will be able to confirm this for you straight away.

SalteeDog

My datacard works perfectly when it's connected directly to my laptop. Could it still be a SIM issue?

SalteeDog

Okay I'm just off the phone with the Voda data team. My sim set-up is fine. Apparently...the router is not compatible with the Huawei cards. Linksys are working on a firmware upgrade but Voda have no view as to when it would be available. I was advised to try and replace my Huawei card for an older Option card - although finding one in stock at any of the Vodafone shops might be a long shot since the Huawei is currently the datacard model of choice....

I'm not sure I believe this....

pfrench

You should definitely not believe it cos its not true ......

I have one of the Huawei cards (although its the 620) and its working fine with that router. And there are other posters here who i know have the 618 and have had no problems.

Did the firmware upgrade definitely kick in? You need to reset (30 seconds holding the reset button) the router after the install.

uncle_sam_ie

I talked to the Vodafone team before I bought that router and they gave me the same story about the firmware update coming in late september. I ended up binning all the software crap that came with the card and the route, because I'm on a Mac anyway. All I did then to get it to work was use the routers default web address and type in the pin, and that was it. No firm ware upgrade at all. It's working fine.

SalteeDog

Thanks guys. I'm pretty sure the firmware was installed (based on what the router admin page reports) - that said I didn't hold the reset button down for 30 secs ...more like 5 secs. So perhaps it didn't fully kick-in. I'll try that later.

uncle_sam_ie. Do you have a Huawei E 618?
In the absence of the set-up wizard perhaps I just need to manually set-up the router to get it working.

smellslikeshoes

It works but you have to set it up using 192.168.1.1 on internet explorer and completly ignore the normal setup.

uncle_sam_ie

SalteeDog wrote:

Thanks guys. I'm pretty sure the firmware was installed (based on what the router admin page reports) - that said I didn't hold the reset button down for 30 secs ...more like 5 secs. So perhaps it didn't fully kick-in. I'll try that later.

uncle_sam_ie. Do you have a Huawei E 618?
In the absence of the set-up wizard perhaps I just need to manually set-up the router to get it working.

No, it's the 620. I bought it about three weeks ago in Cork.

uncle_sam_ie

SalteeDog wrote:

Thanks guys. I'm pretty sure the firmware was installed (based on what the router admin page reports) - that said I didn't hold the reset button down for 30 secs ...more like 5 secs. So perhaps it didn't fully kick-in. I'll try that later.

uncle_sam_ie. Do you have a Huawei E 618?
In the absence of the set-up wizard perhaps I just need to manually set-up the router to get it working.

No, it's the 620. I bought it about three weeks ago in Cork.

SalteeDog

I give it another lash this evening - sounds like I should be able to get it going.

Other than that It seems like I was sold a pup (to some extent) with the data card - I should have done my research in advance and insisted on a E620 ... at least that way I'd be HSDPA enabled too - although saying that it could be quite some while before Vodafone have HSDPA rolled out to rural Co. Galway!

Sponge Bob

its in Clifden already and in Kilrickle , have you not seen their map ???

SalteeDog

Really? I know they are 3G but I didn't think they had rolled out HSDPA yet outside of Dublin. Is there a map specific to HSDPA? I guess the race is on againt O2 in light of that company's recent announcement.

Sponge Bob

There is a post in the 02 hsdpa thread in the IoffL forum where a person with a 618 card is getting 384k while his mate is getting 1.8mbits with a 620. It seems that HSDPA is out there on a trial basis in some areas ...with Voda.

Better make sure you get the 620 and you may get higher speeds then.

There is a 3g voda map (general 3g that is) but no accurate o2 map of any sort.

SalteeDog

Actually I'm not too happy about that. Voda website states:-

"Mobile Connect Cards are future proofed for 3G broadband connectivity when our HSDPA network is launched later in 2006 and will offer access speeds of up to four times faster than existing 3G solutions."

But in fact the E618 card that they sold me in late July isn't future proofed in any way.

Not only that but they promote the WRT54G3G on their site too in spite of their tech people claiming that the E618 isn't compatible with it (but more about that anon...making some progress with getting that working).

So...I'm going to complain to Vodafone about this, and ask the shop to replace my E618 with a E620.

SalteeDog

Back to the original subject of the thread.

Ignoring the 'set-up' wizard and accessing the Router management screens directly I've managed to get it to connect to the Huawei E618 datacard but I cannot get it to connect to the internet via the card.

- It's showing as GPRS connected to Vodafone-ie.
- Blue 3G/GPRS light on Router is on.
- Green Light on datacard is on and flashing.

APN is office.vodafone.ie
DNS is automatically set by provider.

Some more details:-

Login Type : 3G/UMTS - GPRS
IP Address : ************
Subnet Mask : 255.255.255.255
Default Gateway : 10.64.64.64
DNS 1 : 213.233.128.1
DNS 2 : 213.233.128.19
DNS 3 :
MTU : 1500

However - I'm getting the following pop-up when I connect

'can not get a IP address from 3G/GPRS network server'

Also pings or tracert to the internet gives me 'unable to resolve target system name' when I try a domain name, or a timeout when I try an IP address directly.

I'm a complete noob when it come to network set-up so any advice is welcome.

SalteeDog

Got it working - kind of....
I was setting this up in a spot which was only getting GPRS not 3G. By switching it from '3G preferred' to 'GPRS only' on the Router settings I casn make a connection out to the internet.

That said...

Pingtimes are at about twice as long as if I used the card directly from my laptop.

Connection seems to drop after about 5 minutes.

...........

SalteeDog

I've replaced the E618 with a E620 but still no joy. Very different issues with this card. Card works fine when connected directly to PC so SIM is fine. Router works fine without card. But the router refuses to get beyond self-diagnostic when powered on with the card. If card is inserted after the router is powered on then the router continues to function but doesn't pick up the card at all. Card is getting power from the router though. Uncle_sam_ie - if you get a chance can you let me know what version of the firmware you're running on the router. I'm thinking I might need to switch back to an earlier version. Suffice to say both Linksys and Voda tech support have been of no help.

Sponge Bob

given the amount of those huawei cards that will be 'out there' by christmas you may be sure linksys will produce a firmware flash fairly soon

I noted that the Huawei 620 is available in South Africa for longer than here and where there seem to be external antennae available for them. That may be a better idea than the routers.

Have a look at these discussions on their equivalent of boards.ie down there.

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/search.php?searchid=980098

uncle_sam_ie

SalteeDog wrote:

I've replaced the E618 with a E620 but still no joy. Very different issues with this card. Card works fine when connected directly to PC so SIM is fine. Router works fine without card. But the router refuses to get beyond self-diagnostic when powered on with the card. If card is inserted after the router is powered on then the router continues to function but doesn't pick up the card at all. Card is getting power from the router though. Uncle_sam_ie - if you get a chance can you let me know what version of the firmware you're running on the router. I'm thinking I might need to switch back to an earlier version. Suffice to say both Linksys and Voda tech support have been of no help.

Linksys Firmware Version: v1.99.8


Card Firmware: 1:11.16.09.09.11

SalteeDog

Thanks for that. I'm on the same linksys firmware. I'll check my card firmware.

SalteeDog

Still no joy - I'm using the same firmware on the E620 too. So either there's a hardware difference on the Huawei datacard I'm using or the cardbus on the router has been damaged in some way (unlikely). I'm going to try the linksysinfo forums and also the vodacom ZA forum to see if anyone has any ideas there. At least this is turning out to be a good learning experience.