Vodafone 3G Minicard Problem

Hi,

I have an XPS M1330 with an internal Vodafone 3G card (Dell 5520).

The SIM was succesfully activated in early October 2007 & it worked just fine. Now it doesn't - when I try to connect it shows "No Service" & "SIM not activated."

There are no other error messages & Device Manager & other diagnostics state that all hardware & software is working correctly. Vodafone confirm that the SIM card has been activated & is still registered on the network - if I put the SIM card into my mobile phone it works just fine, although the SIM card in my phone does not work in the laptop either.

The software is the same as when the SIM card was originally activated although I have since carried out a firmware upgrade which was recommended by Dell.

I have spent considerable time & money discussing this with Dell & Vodafone & so far there has been no resolution. I am wondering whether it is possible to undo the firmware upgrade to see if this is the cause but I cannot find any way of doing this. Can anyone help with this or suggest anything else please?

Thanks,

Skyrider

 

Hi there Skyrider I saw your post over @ the official Dell forum so your problem still not rectified...
Check at the wireless card that the aerial wires are home firm if there are then you could 1:try the card in another unit or insist that a Tec comes round and check over your laptop and make sure that the bring a spare one just in case your is dead..
By the way was you card full open to any network?

 

Hi BlackRussian,

Thank you for your reply.

That is a good suggestion although I neglected to mention in my first post that I have also done this - under guidance from Dell Support I disconnected the two antenna wires & removed the minicard. I then reseated the minicard & reconnected the antenna wires but this made no difference whatsoever.

I was then asked if it would be "convenient" to reinstall the OS? Naturally it wasn't convenient but I did it anyway & then reinstalled the minicard drivers etc. but once again it made no difference.

However the SIM card, which is separate to the mincard, works just fine in my mobile phone allowing me to connect to the internet with no problems. It just doesn't work in the laptop.

Dell have now arranged for a new minicard to be sent to me & I am expecting it to arrive tomorrow.

Regarding available networks there is a separate Vodafone SIM card which will only work with Vodafone. However I would guess that if you inserted a SIM card for another service provider it would work with that provider.

Regards,

Skyrider

 

Hi,

Did the problem with your 5520 card get resolved. I'm having similar issues with a Dell Precision M2300. My Vodafone SIM was activated last week and initially I was getting good stable 3G connection at speeds up to 3.6Mbps. After a few days I could no longer get a 3G connection, the modem would only connect at GPRS speeds if at all. Sometime the device is not recognized at all.

I've been in touch with Vodafone and they're sending me out a new SIM to try. They've checked the cells around some of the locations I want to use the connection and they're all fine, my account status is fine. If the new SIM doesn't solve things then it looks like a hardware issue.

Regards
nrg

 

Hi nrg,

In my case it turned out to be a problem with the 5520 card itself.

Dell sent me a new 5520 card which I replaced myself & all was well again

I then carried out the firmware upgrade (available from Dell) & it still works

Good luck...

Skyrider

 

I can tell you that the 5520 card is open/unlocked. I have a Three 3G card in mine and it works perfectly. However you will need to configure the software with the correct credentials for your new network.

 

How do you do that?

The card utility allows me to select from a list of other providers to try & get a connection with, but I am guessing that these have roaming deals with Vodafone.

There is also an option for manual network selection but all the other providers listed (local, different to the above list) are marked "Forbidden".