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[Cliffo B]

Sorry I missed the Newent meet,but had a 2 week booking at one of our favourite CL's in North Wales and the meet fell on the middle w/end of our booking.As a consolation I decided to treat myself to a Orange dongle and at least not miss out on OOF.Not being too hot on technology I'm finding the mobile broadband a bit of a wind up. To try and explain as best I can. Here goes. The dongle is an Orange E1752 and has a led that shows green for 2G, and blue for 3G, 2G is just about useless on the speed front, yet 3G is very good. Since I got the dongle on the 1st Sept in Llandudno the first half hour or so has been on 3G, then gone to 2G.Yesterday I returned back to Orange to ask if there was any chance of a permanent 3G connection,as I suspected they told me it was dependant on location but I'd already tried relocateing, and no success. The logic to me is if the connection is made on 3G on a particular location why does it change to 2G? Please note this morning the connection is maintaining 3G hence my ability to do this thread.I found out yesterday that I have a 14 days to cancel my contract which I will do if I cant be assured a permanent 3G line if a connection is made at that value.Does anyone have any ideas how I should go? I've found the laptop to be a fantastic mobile asset,at 3G of course,any advice will be much appreciated.      

[pscocoa]

I have used a Vodafone dongle for several years in UK and Internationally and the location is definitely an issue and also 3G mast problems from time to time. It is just the same as when you get no 3G signal and change your phone to 2G and signal returns immediately. Orange are pretty good at letting you know what issues there are in particular areas if you ring them and speak to someone on Network status.

On the whole it has been a good service but massive frustration is inevitable with this type of technology from time to time. As you are aware of course signal can go from 3G to 2G just by changing from 1 room to the next.

I would persevere - very flexible for people on the move but not a good replacement for fixed line nor should you see it that way eventhough at times it is brill

[dad1uk]

I have a '3' dongle, which isn't too bad, but only as good as the phone signal in the area.
You certainly gave it a baptism of fire with regard to North Wales, my was pretty useless there, as was the mobile phone.
Obviously not as good as proper Broadband, but when in a good area the dongle is very usable.

[zirk]

Most Networks now offer resonable Mobile Broadband, within good coverage they work well, in poor signal areas there shite, Ive pretty much used all the UK Networks and in good coverage will give between 3.5 to 7.2 Mb speeds. The trick is to find the best Network coverage where your going to use it most of the time.

Almost all new doggles will have 4 modes, 2.5G (GPRS about 60Kbs), Extended 2.5G (EDGE 128Kbs or 236Kbs, but not used in the UK), 3G, 330Kbs, and 3.5G (HSDPA or variants of, which can be up to 7.2Mbs).

Within the Software you should be able to change Network preferences, ie, 'Prefer 3G but allow GPRS' so change that to 3G+ only, this wont do you any favors in poor 3g signal areas but it will stop the dongle falling back on 2.5G and staying there untill it decides to revert back to 3G again. The dongle reverts to GPRS in poor 3G+ signal areas as 2.5G generally gives better coverage due to it being part of the GSM (2G) Carrier component.

GPRS (2.5G) is pretty much useless, 3G on a dongle is quiet good for normal surfing, a lot faster than on your phone, where as 3.5G (Broadband) shows its true colours when downloading large files or watching videos etc.

If using the doggle full time then go on contract, or if the usage is on a Add Hoc basis I wouldn't bother with a monthly contract, grab yourself a Sim Free Broadband doggle of fleeBay and go with a normal PAYG Voice Sim, theres some nice tricks you can do with T mobile, Orange, Vodafone and 3 Mobile Sims which will give 3G or Broadband usage for about 50p a day or less!

Chris. 

[Phil]

I have been using Vodaphone mobile broadband with work on and off for about 4 years now, coverage depends on not just the area but also the type of dongle you have, ive had PCMCIA, oblong box thing and a USB plug in. Of these the oblong box on a lead appears better.

I also have a 3 PAYG one that i bought when Vodaphone had an 'issue', sometimes i get 2G on Vodaphone, swap to 3 and get 3G and vice-versa.

Strange thing is in an area i use often i can barely get a normal phone signal (tried O2, vodaphone and T-mobile) but i can get a full 3G 3 signal!!

To be honest its all luck of the draw 

[Varche]

I use Orange dongle 3G for Internet access in good old 3rd world Spain. I am unimpressed on avariety of counts.

Previously I was on dial up for 22 euros a month! (about£20) Didn't work very well.

Apart from satelite which costs a fortune to set up, my only other choice is 3G. I ended up with Orange. I can see their transmitter albeit 5 miles away.  I pay 45 euros a month(about £37) for unlimited access. In theory it is 3Meg but the best I get is 1.7Meg. So far so good.

Now the not so good. Sometimes the connection is good and other times it isn't. You can be working away and then it goes all slow. This is particularly the case when the schools break for lunch or at the end of the day (kids texting, sending hazing clips? who knows).

I find their customer service is rubbish (like all Spanish companies - do not change your bank acct to the likes of santander). Their is NO address in Spain to write and complain to. All letters and bills they send out have no head office address. All comms is via a call centre. I will leave that to your imagination.

I have a Huwaei dongle modem on the end of a 5 metre USB cable. I have tried it in various locations includingoutside with a straight line of sight. The signal and therefore speed still varies from hour to hour. I assume that is to do with loading.(users versus bandwidth). You can get an extn aerial for the modem. They plug in the side of the dongle. Useful if you are working in your car for example. Budget about £80. In the UK probably £40.

I can't recomend them but am tied into an 18month contract. 

[TheBoy]

None of the networks have particularly good rural 3G coverage.  Lets face it, Vodafone struggle to provide a 2G signal for calls in most of the country as soon as you are away from major cities.

For mobile internet, I've found O2 to be good for my needs, as they have pretty universal 2G coverage, and an awful lot more EDGE than any other network. 3G is still mostly limited to built up areas though.

[Vamps]

I have a '3' dongle which has just been upgraded for no extra fee.     Works well, even in North Yorkshire in my caravan (static) where my 02 phone is very poor..

[Amigo]

I usually sit behind my comfy desktop with big screen & sounds. Not a lappy fan, i hate mine. However i do appreciate it when i'm out overnight in the truck or at an OOF/Classic car meet in the caravan. I've used it all over the uk & the only place it would'nt work was this years Lakesmeet @ Keswick where most of us could'nt even get a phone signal. It's with my orange phone package, 800 mins cross network, 300 texts, unlimited landline calls & the dongle (which always lights up blue) £23/28 per month.
   I don't have a clever phone or need many minutes/texts so for me it's probably the best deal i'll get.

[mh_trigger]

I have a '3' dongle which has just been upgraded for no extra fee.     Works well, even in North Yorkshire in my caravan (static) where my 02 phone is very poor..

two points that i can agree with!ive been from the south coast to north enough to make a difference and prety much most places inbetween!bit slow occasionally but no real complaints

[Cliffo B]

Thanks all,seems from everyones comments dongles are just  not that reliable I did try for a few days and found it to be a total wind up so I've returned it back to Orange who were very good and allowed me to cancel my contract with them. It would appear my expectations were too high,and your comments proved this to me,so thank you all once again.So i'm back home now on the good old home network broadband