Help please with Telecom Mobile broadband T-Stick

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Help please with Telecom Mobile broadband T-Stick

Nessie

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#60455 26-Apr-2010 17:26

I use the Telecom t-stick to demo my software to potential customers in the upper north island. AT home I have good wired, fast Telecom broadband and don't use the T-stick.

I used the old Telecom CDMA mobile card for 2 years without one problem and got excellent coverage for $40 per month.

I upgraded my laptop and unfortunately the old CDMA card no longer fits my new laptop and I have to use the newer T-stick which plugs into a USB port. (HP using XT)

I installed it in November and took 2-3 months to get it working - many, many long hours on the phone to Telecom, uninstalling and reinstalling sw, changing the SIM, resetting the network etc etc.

Now it only works intermittantly, doesn't work in any concrete buildings, and is totally unreliable. Recently I tried to use it in an office in the main street in Hamilton. It wouldn't go so my customer pulled out her laptop and old Telecom CDMA which worked perfectly.

Can someone give me some advice; should I try Vodafone, use my Vodafone phone to hook up or what else can I try?

The Customer service at Telecom has improved and the CS officers are very friendly and try to help me. I have come to the conclusion that there must be a problem with the device or the network.

Is anyone else having these problems?

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192 posts

Master Geek

#323188 26-Apr-2010 19:29

Hi Nessie, sounds like the T-Stick is faulty and probably best you take it in to a store for verification.

The CSR's sound like they have done all they can over the phone. Good for you for sticking in there :)

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n00dy

482 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#323195 26-Apr-2010 19:37

a bit more info, what make and model datacard, not all datacards are made equal. how much signal is indicated in the connection box

Ashka

139 posts

Master Geek

#323196 26-Apr-2010 19:41

You didn't say but I'd expect you are on the XT mobile Network the same as I am.
Personally I don't have a problem with access in most areas of Hamilton / Cambridge.
You seem to have checked most things except your computer & USB connections & cables etc. Cables are easily missed but are often the problem.

The XT Mobile coverage map :
http://www.telecommobile.co.nz/mobile/ournetwork/coverage
Best..

nzbnw

2371 posts

Uber Geek

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Spark NZ

#323201 26-Apr-2010 19:46

A few things you can try, if you're using a Sierra Wireless 885, check you're running the latest firmware;

http://www.sierrawireless.com/support/

If you have a Telecom MF636 download the Connection Manager from ZTE's NZ site;

http://zte.co.nz/main/Product_Downloads/MF636_downloads.htm

Other than that, what device do you have?

nzbnw

Nessie

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#323414 27-Apr-2010 09:39

Hi there

The device is a MF626 made by ZTE.

michaelmurfy

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#323521 27-Apr-2010 12:12

Just a wild guess, but you stated this does not work in buildings.
Sounds to me it's using the Telecom 2100MHz WCDMA network which is just for Infill, I have no idea the process of checking and finding out this though.

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n00dy

482 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#323575 27-Apr-2010 12:57

Nessie: Hi there

The device is a MF626 made by ZTE.

If this was one of the free prepaid devices, always ensure that you have at least $10 of funds.
Also this is the entry level of datacards and I found that all devices are not made equal. The free one I had ( white 626 ) was notorious for dropping off, I went to a serria wireless and notice faster speeds and almost no drop off. I also notice that the 626 wouldnt work that great with less than 3 bars signal but the sierra wireless work well even with only 1 bar of signal.

nzbnw

2371 posts

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Spark NZ

#323843 27-Apr-2010 19:37

Can you try using a USB extension cable to give the device some height and ideally place the device on a 45 - 90 degree angle?

What does the coverage map say about you're expected coverage? How many bars does the connection manager show?

nzbnw

Sheagae

200 posts

Master Geek

#324570 29-Apr-2010 09:55

I had the MF626 also. The thing was useless, it had major problems with Windows 7, even in compatibility mode. Windows XP ran it somewhat, but the thing would connect for a few seconds then die. I returned it the next day, literally had only used about 20c worth of credit, and they would not accept it back. Told me to instead sell it on TradeMe. Useless product with useless service.

Nessie

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#325978 3-May-2010 12:02

Thanks for all your feedback - I am starting to realise that it is a bad product and I may have to purchase a better quality T-stick if I'm ever going to receive a good signal wherever I go. The Telecom CSR are very helpful but they just try and solve your problem and don't realise that the problem may not be solvable.

Thanks for all your suggestions

Paulthagerous

698 posts

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#325990 3-May-2010 12:37

Just a couple of things here:

1) Have you tried it on another computer? I have found through experience that there CAN be software (particuarly Antivitus software) that can cause disconections.

2) Have you been into a store to see if they can find a problem with anything? At the very least they may have another computer to try it on, or maybe even a card to try on your computer.

nzbnw

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Spark NZ

#326156 3-May-2010 19:06

nzbnw: Can you try using a USB extension cable to give the device some height and ideally place the device on a 45 - 90 degree angle?

What does the coverage map say about you're expected coverage? How many bars does the connection manager show?

nzbnw

Have you tried this? If you're in a lower coverage area it can help.

As above how many bars of coverage does the connection Manager say you have?

Help us to help you, if you don't give us the answers to our questions it's hard to advise a course of action to resolve you're issues.

nzbnw

Nessie

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#326453 4-May-2010 13:27

Hi there,

I've just tested it from home today (West Auckland) and it is fluctuating between 4-5 bars of coverage and working fine. Last week I tried it here and it cut in and out every couple of minutes. It just seems to be very unreliable. Over the last six months I have;

- replaced the SIMcard
-uninstalled and re-installed the sw many times
- had Telecom reset my system - 3xtimes
- gone into a Telecom shop and let them test it (3xtimes) and it worked perfectly for them!

Last week I was talking with a Telecom rep who said that the 626 is really an entry level device which is the conclusion that I have reached so I'm upgrading to the 636 for $200. I'd really like the Sierra but it is around $400. I will try the 636 and see how that goes from me.

If I thought the coverage was better I'd try another provider but my colleague was using the Vodafone device and found that the coverage was not very good.

Thanks for your suggestions

Paulthagerous

698 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#326477 4-May-2010 14:31

Nessie:
- gone into a Telecom shop and let them test it (3xtimes) and it worked perfectly for them!

Was this on their machine or yours?

Nessie

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#326486 4-May-2010 14:42

They tried it on their machine and on mine and it worked OK on both. I bought a new HP ProBook4710s in November when my previous laptop's motherboard went. The ProBook has been working fine and the four USB ports have been all working fine for other devices. (on XP)

The reason I think it is the device is that I've noticed that it doesn't seem to like any concrete walls whereas my old Sierra would work just about anywhere except very thick concrete walls.

I was in Christchurch last week and went to a mall to meet a colleague and tried to connect and it wouldn't.

A few months ago I gave two demos to 2 different companies in the main street of Hamilton. The first demo was terrible - the device just keep turning off and I had to keep clicking it all the time to reconnect. The second demo it just wouldn't work at all. The customer brought in her laptop with an old Sierra using the CDMA network and it worked perfectly! So maybe the 626 just doesn't have enough 'grunt' for the new XT network? I'm trying to decipher my Telecom account to find out whether they gave it to me or if I paid for it as I think I deserve a refund!

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