Fixing Non High Speed Roaming

[ForumAdmin]

Tips for 'fixing' slow speeds.

[GrantN]

Hi Guys



Yesterday we had a customer come in with a new E169 supplied by exetel complaining of slow speeds. We noticed straight away that is was in GPRS ( Green). I placed my Optus branded modem beside it and it was in (Blue) so we checked his settings and it was set correctly. The only way we could get it to work was to set it to WCDMA mode only. I then installed another modem (Exetel) we had here for a customer on a separate laptop and it was doing the same.

With my techs in the work shop we carried out some test to confirm if it was the modem or the preinstalled software as the new modems supplied use different software than the original Optus one that were sent out. We placed the new modem in a netcomm unit and it roamed into high speed correctly. We then placed the modem in a laptop with the Optus Software and it roamed high speed. Then placed an the Optus modem in the laptop with the exetel software and it would not roam into high (Had to manually set)



I thought that I should bring this issue to your attention as lot of the customers we are selling these units to would not know how to manually set it to WCDMA and it will not roam into slow speed if they are out of high speed range.



Thanks



Grant

[ehallein]

I've noticed that mine swaps between wcdma and HSDPA. Which one is which frequency, I was under the impression they where all umts, is one faster?

thanks

[matt231]

I've noticed that mine swaps between wcdma and HSDPA. Which one is which frequency, I was under the impression they where all umts, is one faster?

thanks

It should be on "WCDMA YES OPTUS"(blue) when idle (i.e you're not browsing or downloading). It switches to "HSDPA YES OPTUS"(cyan) when you start browsing/downloading.

This means that the HSDPA channel is freed up for someone else when you're not using it.

It shouldn't really ever be blue when you're actively using the net.

[Wok]

This thread is very interesting.

I recently set-up my parents-in-law with Exetel wireless. For the couple of weeks or so speeds were great (coming from dial-up).

I had purchased a new Huawei E220 from EBAY for them & loaded up the latest Optus firmware & client software.

Lately their internet has been woeful. Pages take ages to load, if at all & voip is totally unusable. I have noticed that most of the time now the modem's light is what I call solid 'green' instead of 'blue'. Does this mean they are only getting GPRS ???

How do I manually set it to WCDMA ??? Is this the correct thing to try ???? What should I do to remedy this situation

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated as I was the one who suggested that they go down this track & go wireless. They are not very happy at the moment !!!

[jokiin]

This thread is very interesting.

I recently set-up my parents-in-law with Exetel wireless. For the couple of weeks or so speeds were great (coming from dial-up).

I had purchased a new Huawei E220 from EBAY for them & loaded up the latest Optus firmware & client software.

Lately their internet has been woeful. Pages take ages to load, if at all & voip is totally unusable. I have noticed that most of the time now the modem's light is what I call solid 'green' instead of 'blue'. Does this mean they are only getting GPRS ???

How do I manually set it to WCDMA ??? Is this the correct thing to try ???? What should I do to remedy this situation

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated as I was the one who suggested that they go down this track & go wireless. They are not very happy at the moment !!!

not sure which software version you are using exactly but there is provision within the menu system of all the versions I have seen that will allow you to change the network mode to stay on 3G

[CoreyPlover]

Wok, http://forum.exetel.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=30808 may be or interest to you

Yes, the solid green indicates GPRS. I still am unsure about the E220 specs, but it seems like:

• Comparing http://www.huawei.com/mobileweb/en/prod ... .do?id=282 and http://www.huawei.com/mobileweb/en/prod ... do?id=1181, the E169 clearly supports supports both HSPA bands (900/2100Mhz) but the E220 supports only the 2100Mhz band. Both modems support the relevant 900Mhz GSM/GPRS band
• Comparing http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/bc/hardware/ ... del_id=519 and http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/bc/hardware/ ... del_id=779, the E220 has HSPA support, but gives a proviso for standard 3G support (whereas the E169 says "Compatible with both the 900MHz and 2100MHz Optus rollouts across Australia"

So I wouldn't be surpirised if what is happening is:

• Your modem attempts to connect at full speed HSPA (which both modems support) but perhaps you are not in a 2100Mhz area
• Ideally, your modem would then drop down to 900Mhz HSPA and still retain high speeds, but the E220 doesn't support this mode
• So your modem drops down to 900Mhz GPRS mode, which is very slow

[brumer]

Very informative thread.
You point out that a lot (if not most!) wouldn't know how to lock it to the fast speed setting instead of allowing it to auto negotiate between the two.
Can you please give us step 1 , step 2, etc, etc?

[CoreyPlover]

The option to select the connection type is in the Optus/Exetel Wireless Broadband program: Tools > Options > Network. Changing the Network Type to WCDMA only will force the modem to attempt to negotiate a HSPA or WCDMA connection.

However, it is ordinary for the modem to auto negotiate and switch back and forth between HSPA/WCDMA when there is traffic and GPRS when there is no traffic. Usually, this auto-switching is not noticeable

[ccwchew]

Sorry for digging up an old thread.

Thanks for the info, I recently did this for my parents wireless broadband by exetel and it's helped the modem lock onto WCDMA and HSDPA.

However speeds on average don't exceed 30KB/s to 60KB/s most of the time and occasionally bursts up to 100 to 120KB/s now and then, so overall it's still slow for them, at times not much better than dial-up speeds.

Compared to myself in a VIC or NSW country town my exetel HSDPA is speedier.

Any other suggestions to improve speeds?
(Currently my parents are using Huawei E160E USB modem in a Melbourne eastern suburb).

[JeremyP]

Sorry for digging up an old thread.

Thanks for the info, I recently did this for my parents wireless broadband by exetel and it's helped the modem lock onto WCDMA and HSDPA.

However speeds on average don't exceed 30KB/s to 60KB/s most of the time and occasionally bursts up to 100 to 120KB/s now and then, so overall it's still slow for them, at times not much better than dial-up speeds.

Compared to myself in a VIC or NSW country town my exetel HSDPA is speedier.

Any other suggestions to improve speeds?
(Currently my parents are using Huawei E160E USB modem in a Melbourne eastern suburb).

I would suggest looking at signal strength and coverage in the area.

If 900Mhz frequency is available in that area, it would probably be recommended to use this, as it should overall give a better signal. (The E160E supports 900Mhz and 2100Mhz)

Depending on signal strength you may have to invest in getting an antenna.

I myself use the little "Panorama" clip on antenna (such as clipping to a laptop screen), it also has a stand you can use to sit it on a upright surface. eg. a table or desk - https://www.exetel.com.au/modemorder/index.php?p=368

[mrhox]

ccwchew, may I suggest buying an Exetel 'Yagi' antenna: https://www.exetel.com.au/modemorder/index.php?p=350
Even though they are targeted at rural users, they will enhance the reception performance for urban users, too, which it sounds like your parents are experiencing. (Especially if they live in a cell 'shadow'.)

At $70 they are good value. (I researched prices upwards of $120 from other sources in AU.) The 13 metres of cable they are supplied with means they are excellent value.

My personal experience was very good: Holidaying at Hobart Beach camping ground in Bournda National Park with no signal strength on the mobile phone, I used one of these antennas on the USB modem and got 200-700kpbs from a cell somewhere in the Bega direction.

Cheers...