Best Mobile Broadband for a new MacBook

Ainekav

Just wanted to ask does anyone know which would be the best and cheapest mobile broadband to get for a new macbook (10.6.3). I have had 02 for the last year with an old macbook and it was fine, but now it seems to be really bad on my new laptop - connection wanes after a few minutes and is really slow etc etc. the guy in the o2 shop said that its a common problem with new macs- something about configuration. this deal only costs me a tenner a month though, because Im a student. Which is a pain if I have to go getting a more expensive one. Any ideas?

I hear mixed reviews about three, I have a friend who has it on her mac, but she has an old laptop too. Do any of them apart from o2 do student deals?

thanks in advance

ZENER

I've been using 3 mobile broadband for about a year now without problems. That was until I upgraded to Snow Leopard though. The software that came with the USB stick didn't install in the normal way but it is possible.

The one major problem is that the software is extremely buggy and I found that the processor was being utilised far more than it should have been. The result was drastically reduced battery life and a machine that burnt my lap !!

A better option is to get their My-Fi device which behaves as a wireless access point and allows up to 5 machines share the connection wirelessly. It's battery powered so is portable which is really useful if you live in a weak signal area. The modem can be located to obtain the best transfer rate while you can be elsewhere within range of it !

I get a constant 2 to 3 Mb connection where I live.

At last 3 now also provide a way to buy credit online which is a real plus compared to their old method of buying credit in a shop !

Hope this helps !

Ken

Ainekav

Hi Ken, thanks for your reply, forgot about this thread for a while! Really need to change from o2 now, it is terrible and driving me crazy.

The 3 one sounds good but I am a budget of max 20 euro a month and I want to pay monthly, not buy credit for it.

I went into vodafone today and they said that I would have no problems with their dongle thing. I wont be convinced until I see for myself however.

Then there's meteor, which is more expensive (30 euro for the dongle) but I have no idea how good that is.

Any one have any ideas at all?
O2 was fine with my old Mac, but now its just terrible and Im afraid its going to be the same story with the other networks.

I am running on 10.6.3 so thats snow leopard.

dont know what to do!

Ham'nd'egger

Ainekav wrote: »

Hi Ken, thanks for your reply, forgot about this thread for a while! Really need to change from o2 now, it is terrible and driving me crazy.

The 3 one sounds good but I am a budget of max 20 euro a month and I want to pay monthly, not buy credit for it.

I went into vodafone today and they said that I would have no problems with their dongle thing. I wont be convinced until I see for myself however.

Then there's meteor, which is more expensive (30 euro for the dongle) but I have no idea how good that is.

Any one have any ideas at all?
O2 was fine with my old Mac, but now its just terrible and Im afraid its going to be the same story with the other networks.

I am running on 10.6.3 so thats snow leopard.

dont know what to do!

You can upgrade to 10.6.4 for a start

I'm using O2 and speeds are fine for me as a rule. I'd say this to you; the current weather isn't great for wireless signals while your local connection may need a wee bump; call O2 and mention it to them.

Ainekav

why do i need to upgrade? does that not cost money?

well i havent called them but I did go in and the guy said 'oh yeah thats happening with new macs - some problem with configuration'.

with my old macbook I had a problem once with the local area connection or whatever and they resolved that for me in a day or two. this bad internet craic has been going on for around two months, while ive been living in galway and dublin, so i really don't think thats the problem. also, my housemate has the exact same dongle and hers is perfect because she has a pc!

i emailed them too and they said to contact mac. which seems a bit ridiculous.

Johnmb

Ainekav wrote: »

why do i need to upgrade? does that not cost money?

Updates that are still Snow Leopard (i.e. 10.6.x) don't cost anything, just run the software update.

muggyog

Upgrades cost.
Updates dont, do a software update as suggested.

Ham'nd'egger

Ainekav wrote: »

why do i need to upgrade? does that not cost money?

Should have said update; sorry

Ainekav wrote: »

well i havent called them but I did go in and the guy said 'oh yeah thats happening with new macs - some problem with configuration'.

Going a little OT here but O2 shops don't deal with network issues; call 1909 and talk to them them

Ainekav wrote: »

with my old macbook I had a problem once with the local area connection or whatever and they resolved that for me in a day or two. this bad internet craic has been going on for around two months, while ive been living in galway and dublin, so i really don't think thats the problem. also, my housemate has the exact same dongle and hers is perfect because she has a pc!

Perhaps you and her could swap dongles for a while and see if the problem persists but there isn't any valid reason why the OS is at fault here. Given that it has happened to you before it's fairly likely that it may be happening again for whatever network issues that may be at work. The mobile broadband is prone to contention rates pushing it as well but let them know ASAP.

Ainekav wrote: »

i emailed them too and they said to contact mac. which seems a bit ridiculous.

And it is as mine is working fine as a rule! Again, call them on the phone and sort it out from there; you are paying for a service so chase it up

Ainekav

upgrade/update sure its all the same to me hey!

I'll update it but I don't see how that'll help my internet.

I cant actually swap with her as she is having her own problems (unrelated) with it and got temporarily but off. She has used mine though on her pc as has my boyf and it works fine on their laptops. So the problem is not with the dongle. Sorry I shuld've said this.

I'm pretty certain the problem is with the configuration between my mac and the dongle. I will call o2 tomorrow and talk to them.

If I can't get it fixed, what I want to know is, which network will I switch to? Has anyone heard of problems with macs and meteor, vodafone or 3?

(Above poster says 3 doesnt work well with snow leopard.)

I'm sorry Ham n egger I have no idea what contention rates are and also I don't think it has to do with local connection or my area because a) my housemates works fine for her and b) this problem has been going on since I lived in Galway a month ago.

Thanks for all the help, just want to see what my options are in terms of different broadband provider.

The best value seems to be 3 or vodafone, as you get the dongle free. I only need around 5 or 10 gbs a month, Ive never even used nearly that on o2.

Is there anywhere I could even try and find out if there are problems with snow leopard and these providers? I am guessing that the salespeople may not inform me if there are problems when I go to buy, as Ive been sold phones in the past that are unreliable but when I ask I get told they're grrrreat!

feckers.

drunkmonkey

The B260 router on 3 is pretty quick if you've good coverage. You can get it cheaper by going on broadband pro, that's 26pm but you get 30GB. It's nearly worth it as if you ever go over the 15GB by 1GB that extra gig will cost you about 70 euro.

Ainekav

cool, well i definitely wont need that much of a limit, i have never even come close to going over my current 10gb one. im on the james st side of kilmainham just on the offchance one of you is my neighbour and can tell me how good the coverage is!

alright i suppose the best thing to do is start calling all these people and try and fix my existing thing or find a new one that works. all i want is to be able to watch a fukin youtube video in peace people!

im...LOST

I'm using the o2 bb and it's fine. I don't use any of the software or anything that comes with it. I changed things and input some manual settings into system Prefereneces and mine works completely fine. (2 month old MBP).

I'll fish out the o2 details I used...


EDIT


OK, I followed this walkthrough and downloaded he drivers and what have you.
http://blog.evandavey.com/2008/02/how-to-connect-huawei-e220-usb-modem.html


Then I put in these settings found in the attached images for for Ireland o2.

Probably worth a shot before getting tied to another contract.

Ainekav

Well I went in yesterday and I paid 20 euro for a brand new modem, after the technical guy on the phone assured me my only problem was the fact that i had a really old modem. i'm on a new 1 year contract now. i'm still trying to figure out how good this one is. its certainly no wireless that you'd pay good money for but it's better than the last one. its plug in and play so there's no cd or anything - is that what you mean when you say youre not using the software? my computer is a 2 month old macbook.

thanks a million I'm Lost, do you think I should try this now that Im in a contract etc?

If this one turns out to be a dud I'm giving up...

thecommander

Ainekav wrote: »

Well I went in yesterday and I paid 20 euro for a brand new modem, after the technical guy on the phone assured me my only problem was the fact that i had a really old modem. i'm on a new 1 year contract now. i'm still trying to figure out how good this one is. its certainly no wireless that you'd pay good money for but it's better than the last one. its plug in and play so there's no cd or anything - is that what you mean when you say youre not using the software? my computer is a 2 month old macbook.

thanks a million I'm Lost, do you think I should try this now that Im in a contract etc?

If this one turns out to be a dud I'm giving up...

Did you not bring the laptop with you and setup in shop?

Ainekav

I did indeed and it worked fine in the shop and it works fine now, but I did notice that the speed lessened now and again.

So Im just hoping it stays relatively fast, because last night it was dipping a little bit at times.