3 Dongle problem

Hi
I'm hoping somebody can help me before i tear my hair out!

I have a 3 dongle which i use on my Dell Inspiron laptop. The laptop is on Windows Vista home premium (or something like that).

Its worked fine for months but over this last week the dongle keeps disconnecting and reconnecting itself, though sometimes doesn't reconnect itself.
I e mailed 3 for a solution to this problem and all they did was send me a link to the "help and support" page saying i'd find a step by step solution there. Yet i can't find any solution to my problem there.

If anybody can help me sort this out i would be REALLY grateful.

Depending where you live and how strong was/is the signal it is very dificult to give you an advice.

Did you tried to uninstall and install back the 3G software?

Regards

I live in Manchester in the M11 area. The signal varies between a blue light and a pale blue light which i'm led to believe is good or very good.

I haven't done anything with the software as i'm not 100% sure what i'm doing. I can use a computer and internet but don't know anything about technical stuff

It would be good if you could removed the software and after reboot the system install it back again.
You can always request a paid job and that can be done with remote access.

Regards

How much would it cost me for a paid job?

I'm a single parent of 1 and currently unemployed so whatever the cost i would have to save for it

I've uninstalled the 3 connect software, restarted laptop and re installed the 3 dongle. It initially installed it then made me install an update and its just disconnected and re connected itself again!! Aaarrrrrgggghhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Siobhan, have you tried plugging it into a different USB port and see if it works?

Hi
Yes, i've tried in in all 3 different USB ports and does the same in all :o(

This may sound silly but does anybody think it would make a difference if i uninstall again, restart, re install but not let it install the suggested update?

It might work.

hmm unfortunately that hasn't solved the problem either :o(
The suggested update said it was "Manditory" so does that mean it HAS to be done?

Plus, anymore suggestions on how this frustrating problem can be solved?

Mmm....

What happened between last week and working and not working?

Have you tried the dongle in another computer?

god knows!!!!! lol

had a windows update a few days ago but the problem was already occuring before that so i assume it hasn't anything to do with it.
Haven't done anything different otherwise.

After re installing earlier without allowing the 3 update, the problem still occurs but not quite as often...more like every 5mins now instead of 1 or 2, but i assume this could just be coincidental.

A friend of a friend mentioned something about maybe the Dongle needs re flashing but i haven't the faintest idea what that means

p.s i don't have another laptop/pc to try it in

Never listen to friends of friends. They are dangerous!

Are you using the original software that came with the dongle?

What is the model number of the dongle?

the dongle didn't come with any software, it just says to plug it into a USB port than accept the User Licence Agreement, follow the Wizard and the software will be installed automatically.

The dongle is a prepay Huawei E156G

Richard - the software is on a flash rom drive on the dongle. It appears as a drive when you plug it in

Siobhan
A contact now with the major carphone company told me recently that bad batches of these dongles appear from time to time. You may have one. Have you spoken to "3" - my guess is that yours is faulty

Hi
I e mailed 3 and their response was just a link to the broadband help and support page, which didn't help or give me any support!!

It's just so frustrating and puzzling as its worked fine for 6months until recently

OK
this problem has frustrated me enough now, so i guess that as nobody seems to know what it is or how to solve it then my only option left is to save up again to purchase a new 1 :o(

We have had several reports of problems with these dongles on this forum and the ones I have seen myself seem rather temperemental.

The one idea no-one has suggested is to use System Restore to return your settings back to a time when the dongle was working. If that fails then it is likely your dongle has developed a hardware fault.

3 have no updated software on their website so go with Alan's idea and try a system restore.

Without actually sitting in front of the PC there is only so much we can do / suggest.

ok, thanks guys

i will try that....when i find where system restore is

Siobhan
I really suggest that you push the issue with "3" and demand a replacement
I'm unable to say more, but this dongle is probably faulty

think i may probably have to do that :o(

I found and tried "system restore" it went through the process, restarted laptop then it said system restore hasn't restored due to an unidentified error....so is this now a 2nd problem i have?

As far as i'm aware, i don't have any virus' on my laptop as i have Norton360 and regularly do scans

The "unidentified error" would be your Norton 360. You need to follow the instructions here http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/sharedtech.nsf/pfdocs/2005113009323013

thanks

i did what you said and and the system restore worked but guess what....my internet is still disconnecting and re connecting :o(

Plus following those steps messed up my Norton so been sorting that out all afternoon.
A bit hard running a livescan when internet keeps disconnecting haha

As I said earlier, the fact that restoring the settings to when the dongle was working did not get the dongle to work again, strongly points towards a hardware fault (rather than a software problem).

just to add to that, a contact who works at a well known Carphone company says that every now and again faulty batches of these dongles DO get released
I think thats what you've got - get it exchanged

Thanks for all your help guys, it's been very much appreciated.
Even though i purchased the dongle at a pc shop, do you think i'd get much joy returning it to a 3 store?
I've only had it 6 and a half months though

no - the 3 store has no liability for it
Your choices are either to return it to the point of sale and demand refund / replacement under the terms of the "sale of good" acts, or call £'s customer service line and get them to swap it
The latter is the best way forward as you'll need to make sure that any outstanding credit is transferred to the new dongle. The shop won't be able to do that - 3 will

should read "3's customer service line"...

ok, thanks Jon

Siobhan
3's support pages are at
http://www.three.co.uk/Help_Support/Mobile_Broadband_Help

contact details at
http://ask3.three.co.uk/mbbdocs/contactus/contact_us_main_1.html

i'v faced this problem for 2 weeks now, had a replacement dongle... didn't work!... tried it on my sisters laptop and seemed to work although didn't try it for very long... i think i'm just goin to cancel my contract with 3 as i think there all full of it... especially when u call them and have to speak to an indian which i could probably tell you everything that they will say before they say it.... think i'l go get a job with 3 in there call centre, ultimataly i'v tried everything and its still not working, if anyone has another solution other than the ones thats posted here please tell... 3 sucks!!

If you can, try it on your sister's laptop for long enough that you can be pretty sure it would have misbehaved if it was going to. If it doesn't do the disconnect/reconnect thing then one off three things, starting with the least likely:

1) If you and your sister don't live within a few hundred metres or so of each other then 3's base station (cell) may be faulty. I have seen this before but it's damn difficult to admit even the possibility. The fault may only be with data connections and if there aren't too many other people around using them, 3 won't know there's a problem.

2) A Norton update has caused this, something else I've seen happen although not for quite a while. Uninstall Norton. Get the PC online but do NOT start your email client and do not surf the web or use any other online program such as MSN. Leave it and see if the problem occurs. If not, reinstall Norton and run the same test - no email, etc. If the failure occurs then contact Norton support and tell them the tests you have carried out. If they suggest uninstalling it and re-installing it again (they probably will), just tell them you've already done it & aren't going to waste your time doing it a second time.

3) The dongle software has corrupted windows in some way. I used to see this regularly with Sony phone software and one of the very early USB 3G dongles. The only solution then was to do a clean re-install of windows & all your apps (after backing up all data of course).

4) Your laptop motherboard has developed a fault and is not delivery the correct supply voltage to the USB ports. Not easy to diagnose. If it proves to be the case, you will need to get a USB plug-in card (PC card) as these dongles don't usually work in hubs.

4) The dongle is faulty - but if it works in your sister's PC I don't see how that can be.

I wonder if this has anything to do with it
The author is talking about an O2 dongle, but the same problem would apply to any others
He's written a workround, but my guess is you could achieve the same thing by disabling power management on the USB ports and dongle in device manager

http://shaneosullivan.wordpress.com/2008/05/18/temporary-solution-for-using-huawei-modems-in-windows/

Interesting Jon.

That problem was apparently first encountered about 18 months ago so you'd expect Siobhan to have had it since then - but. of course, there is the small chance that the relevant Windows update has only just landed on her machine :/ Even so, she says the problem didn't start as a result of a Windows update.

Curioser & curioser :}

interesting comments on this thread, especially re possible probs with signal strength

http://forum.huawei.com/jive4/thread.jspa?threadID=328745&tstart=100&orderStr=9

Hi I have a 3 dongle it came @ 6 days a go and i have had nothing but trouble I have uninstalled it twice rebooted my computer. And still disconnects after about 2 mins I am sending it back on my 14 day return policy. I have canceled my DD so they want be getting any money off me.

Apparently,according to "3" the latest windows IE is the problem, they recommend going with Mozilla firefox, or anything BUT IE

unfortunately that idea does not hold water: its the connectivity which is the issue, not the browsability of the internet.
Something shuts the connection down, and in the lack better evidence everything points to these possible areas as maybe the cause
1) weak signal from the phone company towers
2) defective dongles
3) power management problems within windows on the USB ports or dongle
4) driver issues

However this is nothing more than an educated guess and without more details we're in the dark as to how to fix the problem
What is clear is that there is an ongoing problem with these Huawei made dongles, and the more customers complain to their suppliers the greater the chance that maybe Huawei will be forced into fixing them

I can connect to the internet and your home page but cannot browse,I do not get a msg telling me that i am out of credit.

I have a feeling that you may be in the wrong place and that your enquiries may be intended for 3 and not PCIQ. Please read the preceding comments on this thread and if you still have a question for us then post back with a clearer explanation of what it is you require of us.

You've broken the crystal ball again Robin, haven't you?!

CRASH! tinkle tinkle . . . . .

I can get access to most e-mail sites but for some reason on Zynga poker-cannot get on?? always stops at the same point! please help -thanks
Richard

presumably you are trying to access it via Facbook or Twitter?
try updating/installinf the latest versions of Java and Adobe Flash

word of warning: Zynga would to indulge in shady marketing practices - see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zynga
Also EVERY machine I have ever seen which was used for online poker games was riddled with viruses. Maybe poker players ignore basic security. Maybe something more insidious is in place?

i was just looking online to a soloution to this problem and fount it here just to say i have been having the same problem which only started like 3 weeks ago it is rly anoying it dosent seem to do it if im downloading something it seems to work all the way throguh the download and then soon as done dissconnects or if im just surfing the net it dissconnects and then i have to reconnect like twice to get it workin agian from what ive been reading i think it might have sommin to do with 3 side not our pc cuz i get light blue all the time i get 3 bars but still light blue

My impression is that problems with 3 dongles are many and various. Windows sees the dongle as a type of dial-up modem and dial-up modems can be set to disconnect after a period of inactivity so you might just have picked up some bad settings. Or it could be something completely different.

theres a suggestion that the USB port power saving kicks in and shuts them down as well
to cure that you'd have to disable power saving on the dongle and all the USB Root Hubs in device manager

Imagine a world without problems, for the common man to solve,you can't! Therefore we have gone high-tech and shrunk most of the modern worlds problems into portable home entertainment units,called computers! Welcome to the real world of sweeping a problem under the proverbial carpet. Now you play,you are the boss so you solve the problem,be careful,don't dig too deep a hole or it costs money to escape from ,where?what are you doing?Why are you doing it,Because it is fun being in control of something.So dont panic,take a deep breath,be ready for de-ja-vu.You've ARRIVED! Be happy and enjoy you'r multi,media Don't OVERSPEND! Steve.

when i put my 3 mobile broadband dongle in to my computer it does nothing it doesnt even come up with autorun and doesnt show up in my computer i think i deleted the software it there anything i can do as i have no internet thanks

sounds like it may have failed
Speak to 3 and see what they say
They are the supplier and service provider and should be your first recourse
Note you need to CALL them - don't rely on e-mails

If the 3 Dongle does not install automatically go into my computer, find the drive for the dongle, double click it and then click on the orange coloured 3 icon. Then click the file that says autorun.exe. It will then install the software. It then asks for a mandatory update.
I had the same problem yesterday.

Hi I have had trouble with getting my 3 dongle to go on the internet. After reading through your forum I have uninstalled and then reinstalled my dongle with great success. Thank you for the help it just goes to show that forums work.

If you uninstall the 3 dongle software, make sure you also delete the network connection associated with the 3 dongle before you re-install.

If you have anti virus sofware such as norton 360 remove this and leave computer switched off overnight. I had to remove norton 360 anti-virus as the firwall was causing the internet connection to go into stand alone mode. I have no virus protection was only way to get internet to stay connected

Norton 360 includes firewall software which you really don't need (because Windows has its own firewall). I often get called out to fix problems caused by this Norton firewall whilst I have never seen a Windows firewall problem. HOWEVER if you know what you are doing you can configure the Norton Firewall not to mess up your Internet connection.

If you don't want to use Norton (and who would blame you) but still want virus protection then Microsoft Security Essentials will do the job and seems to run well on any computer.

Hi
I have just got a new laptop so switched my dongle from my old laptop to my new one without any problems, however, my husband went out today and bought new dongle for the old laptop. Since then the 3 icon has disappeared and is not in the deleted/recycled bin either. When the dongle is in the laptop it is green but with no wizard help to make it connect. Making it impossible to connect!!!!! Help

so the problem is just with the new machine?

Unisntall ALL software relating to BOTH 3 dongles
Then reboot the machine
Then plug the new dongle in and reinstall the software from it

Actually, Jon, I think Carla is saying the problem is just with the OLD machine. But your advice still holds good.

1stly mate let me tell u this...i had a monthly pay 15 a month dongle off 3...one i got stopped working for no reason one day it would be fine id turn laptop off n wouldnt connect again id have to reinstall again..after 9..yes!! thats 9 new sent out dongles wit the same problem happening or similar too i gave up on 3 the mutally cancelled my contract n i went wit o2..since then ive NEVER had any problems...3 were plain n simple shi***..they were un helpful they kept chargin me every month for my allowance n still half time id be without a dongle waiting on new one arriving or new sim card but still they whacked on the charges..i just had nuff n gave up...also im not the only one i no and have spoke to loads of folk who have had same or similar issues....3mobile broadband is utter crap...do ur self a favour n use a diff company..!!!!

1stly mate let me tell u this...i had a monthly pay 15 a month dongle off 3...one i got stopped working for no reason one day it would be fine id turn laptop off n wouldnt connect again id have to reinstall again..after 9..yes!! thats 9 new sent out dongles wit the same problem happening or similar too i gave up on 3 the mutally cancelled my contract n i went wit o2..since then ive NEVER had any problems...3 were plain n simple shi***..they were un helpful they kept chargin me every month for my allowance n still half time id be without a dongle waiting on new one arriving or new sim card but still they whacked on the charges..i just had nuff n gave up...also im not the only one i no and have spoke to loads of folk who have had same or similar issues....3mobile broadband is utter crap...do ur self a favour n use a diff company..!!!!

1stly mate let me tell u this...i had a monthly pay 15 a month dongle off 3...one i got stopped working for no reason one day it would be fine id turn laptop off n wouldnt connect again id have to reinstall again..after 9..yes!! thats 9 new sent out dongles wit the same problem happening or similar too i gave up on 3 the mutally cancelled my contract n i went wit o2..since then ive NEVER had any problems...3 were plain n simple shi***..they were un helpful they kept chargin me every month for my allowance n still half time id be without a dongle waiting on new one arriving or new sim card but still they whacked on the charges..i just had nuff n gave up...also im not the only one i no and have spoke to loads of folk who have had same or similar issues....3mobile broadband is utter crap...do ur self a favour n use a diff company..!!!!

what you have to remember is that different companies have different network provision
Gee may simply be in an area where "3" have not invested in their network. Some areas are strong for one company, others good for another
Look at these maps (now slightly out of date)

Vodaphone customers may find this map interesting
It enables users to plot their signal strength

My 3 dongle has started playing up since i had to upgrade the software in it. It keeps cutting off every few mins but worked fine in the weeks before.
One thing I have noticed is if you check the box where your mobile number goes in on the "my three" tab on the connection screen it has dissapeared every time the connection cuts off- is this the problem?

interesting, sounds a good guess
but you really need to speak to "3" support to resolve it. Its there software and they're the ones who need to fix it

im just woundering iff sumone could let me know how i could stop my 3 dongle from going of all the time it keeps going off and on all the time its allways dpone it since ive gettin my new laptop its also a new dongle

im just woundering iff sumone could let me know how i could stop my 3 dongle from going of all the time it keeps going off and on all the time its allways dpone it since ive gettin my new laptop its also a new dongle

have you spoken to 3?
what do they say?

Daniel, remember the days before broadband when we had to connect to the Internet using a dial-up modem? Well as far as your computer is concerned the 3 dongle is just another dial-up modem. In the old days you paid for the length of your dial-up phone call, no matter how much or how little you downloaded so your computer has all sorts of settings associated with a dial-up modem to save costs, including a setting to disconnect the call if no activity is detected. It's probably that setting that you need to modify - if you can find it.

hi i am on the 3 dongle network and i have got loads of detected virus's is there an easy way of removing them from of my laptop

Please start a new thread about your viruses. The 3 dongle has NOTHING to do with the viruses.

i ve been using 3 dongle for 3 moths and it disconnects very often. im sick and tired of it aggrrr! i move into different flat and its even worse here! is it possible to cancel my contract after 3 months without paying anythig due to technical problems? x

no good asking us as we have nothing to do with it

Speak to "3"

hi there, ive just read this post. I had my 3 dongle for nearly a year and it worked perfect, was super fast etc etc...over the last couple of weeks its been disconnecting and connecting, lets me on for 5 mins then doing it over and over, i phoned 3 and they sent me a new dongle out, this didnt work either, its still doing the same thing. I installed a windows update too and after that it did something to my laptop which i fixed but the dongle stil isnt working,,,is it to do with norton? i had norton before when it worked and nothings changed since it was working...dont understand either and 3 seem to be useless...

I do wonder if this story may hold a clue to part of the problem
It seems that "3" have in places been using Orange's slower 2G network in areas that "3" didn't cover, but have in recent months been shutting down that access.
It may well be that you have a combination of fewer available nodes, with more customers being forced onto those that are left - so reducing the available bandwidth
This is pure guesswork, but it seems a reasonable hypothesis. No-one at "3" is going to admit it though, even if I'm right

Did you fit your Micro Memory Card in the Dongle. The Dongle will not work properly without a memory Card

John W - What are you talking about? The 3 dongles don't need a micro memory card. you're thinking about a SIM card….

I had a similar problem with this dongle and have found a solution. First you need 300 grms of flour 100 grams sugar and 100 grms of butter. Mix in a mixing bowl and coat liberally. Plug it into any usb port of your choice. Then put laptop & dongle in the oven for 30-40 mins or until golden at 220c. Set aside to cool. Hopefully it should now work if not you have youself a nice dongle cake to eat for the vital energy boost you need to keep you awake until you figure it out!!

LOL! Custard or ice cream with that sir?

my dongle plays up now and then. i uninstalled then installed it. now the quick link dont work, i have to click on wifi and connections and choose from dropdown box. still works though. by the way, just interested how you can live in manchester in the m11 area.??? manchester is manchester, m11 is bleedin london to cambridge.??? unless ya got a house 125 miles long, ya pullin our legs.

Well spotted that man! Mark, I think you will have realised by the amount of moans on the web just how dodgy these dongles are. Your irritation could be symptomatic of a problem with the dongle, or could be getting nobbled by some other software on your laptop. Whichever way, your first port of call should always be 3.

At least you have found a work-around :-)

Mark
when you say " just interested how you can live in manchester in the m11 area.??? manchester is manchester, m11 is bleedin london to cambridge.??? unless ya got a house 125 miles long, ya pullin our legs" - just who are you talking about?

for the connection lost, reconnect issue reinstalling the software will help as a temp solution, also although i dont recommend it as it makes it impossible to check your usage but for some reason the t-mobile software works better for 3 devices. for the not bein able to play poker etc signal on 3 needs to be at least 4 bars to load it. 3 is also terrible for hardware issues try to make some space between any other electronic (other then signal booster obv) had to replace mine twice so far (t-mobile and vodafone once each as well) in a two year run. best advice for those of you who can get a fiber optic connection its the best if your a reguler net user dongles cost far to much.

Wow! i have been having the same problem with my 3 dongle for about a month now, i have tried everything to get the stupid thing to work and to be quiet honest 3 are cr*p. i am not good with computers but there was some really good advice on here and though none of it has worked for me i just want to say thank you all, for the suggestions. and to all the other people who have had trouble with 3 it is almost nice to know that i am not the only one with this problem which is how they make you feel when you ring them.

Hi,

I bought a 3 Dongle (Model: ZTE MF112) two days ago and have been having constant problems with it crashing my laptop. This happens, on average, every 20 minutes and when it happens I have to do a force shutdown (pressing power button for 5 seconds).

I have only experienced this while playing an online Java game, as that is the site I visit most often. I have not yet tried browsing for long enough to see if it would still crash.

A friend suggested connecting via 'Connect To' in Vista Start Menu, instead of through the 3Connect Panel and also to upgrade to latest version of Java. I done both of these but the crashes are still occurring. Is there any way this can be fixed, or should I just ask for a replacement Dongle?

I bought the Dongle from Argos and not 3 Store.

Chris, it would help if you posted a new thread for your problem instead of tacking on to the back of an old one as it can be easily missed.

In the first instance you must talk to "3" and establish with them if your dongle is faulty or not. As you've only just bought it and you are under warranty they must correct any problem you have using the equipment.

Chris, I doubt whether you will be able to convince '3' that your problem is down to their dongle on the basis of what you have written to us. At the very least, you would need to show that you never get the same problem if you play the same game on the same computer using some other form of internet connection.

In my experience, problems that require a forced shut-down are often hardware faults with the graphics chip or the hard drive.

my guess would be either a fulty USB port of overheating graphics cchip

Everyone says that they have "disconnection" problems but mine is still connected with the blue light on but no internet?
It works pefect for 2 mins then goes dead, ping test times out. Disconnect, reconnect, works fine for 2 mins then times out again?
I'm lost with this. I thought it was norton 360 issue but seems to do the same on my other laptop without norton?

hi all, ive had the same prob, yet again 3! My pc is an american megatrends as far as im aware, 80gb ultra-ata HD, AMD sempron 2200+.... Ah who am i kiddin, i dont really know what that means! Lol,
yeah my dongle aswell was going off then comin on again a few seconds later, strange tho coz it was disconnectin first, just goin off n back on! When it came on one section of the interface was appearin in front of all other windows then disappearin to joinin the rest of the interface! Canny annoyin like! im just a run of the mill comp user so 4give me if i stumbled on to this or my computers about to blow, i went into computer management and in the services bit n checked things like UPnP device host was ok n plug and play n PnP-x IP bus enum... And so on! Then i uninstalled my dongle rmmestarted my comp n installed the dongle again and its workin fine again! Like i said , sum 1 cud laugh coz that cud be simply co-incidence!
I dont care tho, its workin n thats what i like! Just thought id post it incase it helped any1 else! Thanks, bye guys!!!!

Hi i also have a 3 dongle and it has worked fine up untill 3 weeks ago. It keeps disconecting itself for no reason. Sometime it will reconect and other times it dont. I am using a desktop pc running windows 7. I have flushed the dns etc and still it keeps disconecting if anyone can help i would be very greatful

Jet, from your description of the symptoms I would say your dongle has developed a fault. The only way to prove this is to try it on another computer.

I had endless problems trying to get my 'Vista' laptop to use a dongle, the 3 store even spent 2 hours trying (including trying other dongles)It would not connect when we tried a Virgin one whilst abroad,both of which have worked happily with my notebook (the 3 one also with the desk top OK)searching for answers on line found lots of people finding Vista was the problem. I've still not resolved it though it maybe your problem? All the best i understand the tearing hair out! Sympathies!

Hes I have the same problem but on T-mobile and no it's not a software problem its a usage one! lol if you don't laugh your cry but yes there controlling the way we live!

I don't use software and mines the same so it can't be that. And if the hardware turns back on and works as before I would rule that out as well! Who controlls the network not U!

i'm having a same ish problem were the dongle decides to randomly turn itself off... so my advice is just to get a different type of dongle (not 3) or the better option try and get home broadband.

hy my 3 dongle has been doing the same over the last 3 months it drives me potty i think 3 is crap, my fone does the same i foned 3 but so far no help what so ever.....

Hi

I am sure someone can assist me in solving this problem.

I have a ZTE MF 190 (Airtel) dongle and once I connect it to my Pc it goes off simultaneously. you may wish to know it is using windows 7 ultimate and the computer is Dell Optiplex GX520

I will be much grateful if someone can to my rescue.

regards
Innocent

you either have a faulty dongle
or the USB ports on your computer are broken

Hi Guys,
Well "three" years have gone by and no solution to this problem. I have an E3231 dongle which worked well until 48hrs ago. I use it on a desktop and a laptop and know when things changed because I was using it one moment and it was fine and then the dreaded disconnect/reconnect.

Been in contact with "3" india and after 1.5 hrs on the line (and giving them remote access to both pc's), it was concluded that either the dongle was faulty or there may be a problem with the stength of signal in my post code. I said that I have a constant 5 bars, but apparently it is not to do with the mast (only 0.1mile away).

I am an engineer so pressed the 3 guy and apparently there are from what I can make out booster boxes in the postcodes. This is where apparently some interference can occur or so the 3 guy said.

So, I was asked to take the laptop and dongle into another post code...got in the car and drove a few miles away. I found a spot with 5 bars and surfed the net for 30mins as asked. Not one bit a trouble, fast snappy...just as it was for me back at mine 48hrs ago. This was the test to rule out that the dongle was OK.

I then got back to my place and tried the dongle again and yes it had the same old problems again (which I expected). Phoned 3 again and they have escalated it to their "second line" and they are due to call me within 48hrs, but their "second line" were made aware of the problem whilst I was on the phone with the customer support guy from 3.

So it does appear in my case that this is something to do with this/these boxes in the postcodes (not sure if each post code has one)and they are looking at this in an effort to fix this issue.

Sorry, no solution, but if you have similar a problem, to rule the dongle out as NOT being defective, it is useful if you have a laptop and can transport it to another post code. If it still does the same as its doing where you normally work with it, then it could be a faulty dongle.

Hope this helps a bit...bit pathetic though this type of thing has been going on for *three* years though!

Hi Guys,
Well "three" years have gone by and no solution to this problem. I have an E3231 dongle which worked well until 48hrs ago. I use it on a desktop and a laptop and know when things changed because I was using it one moment and it was fine and then the dreaded disconnect/reconnect.

Been in contact with "3" india and after 1.5 hrs on the line (and giving them remote access to both pc's), it was concluded that either the dongle was faulty or there may be a problem with the stength of signal in my post code. I said that I have a constant 5 bars, but apparently it is not to do with the mast (only 0.1mile away).

I am an engineer so pressed the 3 guy and apparently there are from what I can make out booster boxes in the postcodes. This is where apparently some interference can occur or so the 3 guy said.

So, I was asked to take the laptop and dongle into another post code...got in the car and drove a few miles away. I found a spot with 5 bars and surfed the net for 30mins as asked. Not one bit a trouble, fast snappy...just as it was for me back at mine 48hrs ago. This was the test to rule out that the dongle was OK.

I then got back to my place and tried the dongle again and yes it had the same old problems again (which I expected). Phoned 3 again and they have escalated it to their "second line" and they are due to call me within 48hrs, but their "second line" were made aware of the problem whilst I was on the phone with the customer support guy from 3.

So it does appear in my case that this is something to do with this/these boxes in the postcodes (not sure if each post code has one)and they are looking at this in an effort to fix this issue.

Sorry, no solution, but if you have similar a problem, to rule the dongle out as NOT being defective, it is useful if you have a laptop and can transport it to another post code. If it still does the same as its doing where you normally work with it, then it could be a faulty dongle.

Hope this helps a bit...bit pathetic though this type of thing has been going on for *three* years though!

Thanks, I'm sure this will be of help to the "3 Dongle" community.

Hi Guys,

Actually 3 deserve this update as in my case everything resolved itself the day after I posted my first post just above.

Actually one of their network analyst's contacted me the very next day to see if I had noticed a difference in connecting to 3 mobile broadband.

I was pleased to say yes, although I had noted on a couple of instances during the day it did appear to drop out. The big difference though was I was straight back in without any aggravation.

Sreejith then offered to call back again the next day to see if I was still "happy". Which is exactly what he did.

It transpires that there were spikes caused to air-wave interference. Sreejith confirmed this. So at least we got to the bottom of it.

I was pleasantly surprised that he then said that they were going to upgrade the transmitter. My complaint did not carry all that weight, but he did say that it certainly verified the need for the upgrade. He confirmed that this would be done at latest by 13th Jan 2013 and that if there was any disruption it would be kept to a similar level as I had experienced the day before, which was a dropout twice in the day.

Well, to date everything is still fine and I must say that 3 have performed very professionally, so I will be staying with them...touch wood!

All the best and have a great Christmas.

Regards
Mike

hi
I hav a 3 dongle which lets me on to most majority of websites but wont let me on some of them. ive turned my firewall off and changed browsers, and still wont let me. hope u can help thanks

Mark, better to start a new topic. However, the first question is: are you sure it's the dongle? Connect your computer to the Internet by some other means and make sure the problems are no longer present.

and turn your firewall back on. Quickly

same problem here had the dongle for years and now its doing exactly what you say yours is...any solutions yet?

Try taking out sim and cleaning it worked great for me

hi
i have just finished reairing a laptop for someone and they use three dongle zte m112 on windows 8.1 i downloaded the driver from 3 and connected then about between 2 to 10 minutes everytime it would disconnect i searched and found this forum and seen alot of people with the same problem i tried all settings in 3 connect software to no avail last thing i tried seems to have worked for me benn connected for 4 hours now iwaited before posting just to see if it worked
go into device manager click on modem double click your dongle modem to open up properties go into power management and untick allow this computer to turn of this device to save power click ok and close then connect again and see if this works for you.

M not sure of this problem but related to dongle issue. i hope somebody can help me out. The problem starts when i insert my dongle and starts to play poker my laptop gets reboot after 2-3 minutes of playing. can someone give a suggestion and help me fix this problem.

rebooting while playing poker?
Probably malware on the machine - someone else has remote access to your PC. Seen it before -- online poker is inherently insecure with a lot of electronic cheating going on

Dongle disconnecting then reconnecting is related to the 3-UK server network. If you have Norton installed, check "history"....you will see you were connected to a 3-UK server, then disconnected and reconnected to a different 3-UK server address. I imagine this is just a function of how 3-UK handle their network traffic. You have no control over this. You could overcome the problem by using a public server like Google, but 3-UK doesn't allow it.

Dongle disconnecting then reconnecting is related to the 3-UK server network. If you have Norton installed, check "history"....you will see you were connected to a 3-UK server, then disconnected and reconnected to a different 3-UK server address. I imagine this is just a function of how 3-UK handle their network traffic. You have no control over this. You could overcome the problem by using a public server like Google, but 3-UK doesn't allow it.

Dongle disconnecting then reconnecting is related to the 3-UK server network. If you have Norton installed, check "history"....you will see you were connected to a 3-UK server, then disconnected and reconnected to a different 3-UK server address. I imagine this is just a function of how 3-UK handle their network traffic. You have no control over this. You could overcome the problem by using a public server like Google, but 3-UK doesn't allow it.