Gobi 2000 WAN Unlock Solution - tested & works new Z win7 64bit Pro

I have new VPCZ1 - upgraded from TT and my 5th SONY in as many years. Travel internationally for long stretches and, while I'm happy to have and use Verizon WWAN in the USA, I needed the ability to use a local SIM when I am outside the USA and in a non-CDMA area. New Z came with SIM card slot so no soldering required. Spent the last several days scouring the forums for a way to use my AT&T or another GSM SIM in the laptop without a lot of hassle and, after a lot of testing and playing, the solution was actually quite easy and elegant.

Found this link on an international Thinkpad forum and modified the instructions to work on the Z:

1. Download and unpack Sony OneClick Intenet from ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/VAIO/Or...ric_ENU_1.x_32bit_64bit_E_1.0_1.0.0.1_ENU.zip
2. Edit config.ini - change InstallSilent to 0 (so you can watch the install, select language, etc.)
3. Install it.
4. Run OneClick Internet and, first thing, choose the update option and let it download and install v3.1 of OneClick Internet
5. Reboot.
6. Use SmartWII to turn on WWAN modem.
7. Instead of VZW Manager, use OneClick Internet to manage your connections.
8. For VZW, go to settings, firmware, select Verizon and let it update the firmware then connect.
9. For AT&T, go to settings, firmware, select AT&T and let it update the firmware then connect (be sure you have an AT&T SIM in the slot that's already authorized for a WAN connection).
10. For other GSM network that isn't listed as one of the choices (also has pre-configured settings for Vodafone and a few others), go to settings, firmware, Generic UMTS, let it update the firmware then, under profiles, create a profile with your local apn, username/PW, save the profile so you have it for future use, then connect.

The OneClick Internet automatically reloads the new firmware each time you make a change to a different provider/network and also manages the connection.

I couldn't find a new copy of v3.1 but the one from the link above installs and older version which you can update (the older version crashes a lot under win7 and didn't work consistently).

I didn't make any hardware changes or download any other drivers/software. Everything else was as the Z came out of the box.

If you like VZW connection manager you can even continue to use that when you have the modem set-up for Verizon - it works fine.

Interestingly, I called Verizon International Data support before I did all this hunting on the web and asked for an unlock code as I said I would be away out of the US for extended periods of time and needed a local provider for WWAN access. They were very nice and told me the modem really wasn't "locked" as the new GOBI can load firmware as needed - just the VZW only supported the SONY/VZW manager software provided and I would have to search elsewhere to find a program that would allow loading/unloading of different firmwares which the OneClick seems to do quite nicely.

I wish Sony just offered this up-front for the new machines with the GOBI 2000 and onboard SIM card holder. Others, like DELL, let you easily reconfigure the GOBI to use whatever provider you want (as, it appears, does SONY outside the US as the program on the link comes from SONY).

That said, after a lot of searching and testing, it was an easy software solution that let's you keep your machine and current software intact and also opens the modem up to other carriers!

Let me know if you have any feedback or this does/doesn't work for others.

 

Whoah, the is amazing info that I think everyone should know.
That software is officially from sony?

 

Starts up and then bombs out. Is the 3.1 version directly accessible???

 

Version 3.1 from Sony:
WebToGo Update version 3.1 : Sony Australia

 

i tried jarnaby's link; but on install it puts up a license agreement but the accept button is obscured by the textbook; anyone know the shortcut to get rid of the screen (tried enter and ctrl+ variety of letters)

 

Stupid question - does the WebToGo program supersede the OneClick program or are they two different things?

edit: nvm, I see its the same thing

 

Two questions:
1. Is gps always accessible in gobi 200?
2. Did you have to sign VZW contract upon receiving the laptop and is it possible not to activate it at all?

 

You found the thread I was looking for! As a token of appreciation, here's a cookie for you:



You can click on the textbox, then Tab twice, Enter. Are you using FHD with 125% DPI?

1. I believe so, the WWAN doesn't have to be active.
2. Don't know. I would guess not, but someone else needs to confirm...

 

this program must not be the right one for my computer

i dont have full hd ; i have 1600x900; all the menus and text boxes are messed up

 

I've just called both Verizon and Sony support lines and got some more info. We don't have to sign a contract if we receive the modem not from Verizon directly (if we order it in a pre-configured Vaio laptop for example).

 

Just wanted to add my note of thanks too TG2500 for the tutorial at the start of this thread. I was able to do the unlock relatively painlessly on my Z12 purchased in the US.

Only notable difference is the software noted in the first post did not run (just bombed out), instead I grabbed Oneclick from the "WWAN Software" package available at:

VAIO-Sony-Europe

(Found this alternate source thanks to the post by Blue13x - also thanks due)

AT&T can provide a 5gb dataplan (no contract needed, as you have all the hardware) for ~$60-70 a month. I noted that they did not need the IMEI code (the rep just keyed in a bunch of 9s) to activate.

Only other thing, is when you start Oneclick it starts with some windows offering manual or automatic configuration. Ignore those and close them, then click the tabs in the program proper to make the firmware changes per the step in the tutorial. Also it took a good 5-10 minutes for the firmware to update FYI.

Thanks again, now I have to figure out why my "location services" keeps turning off...

 

Hello,

does somebody know wheter the gobi 2000 wan modem works with T-Mobile 3G (AWS 1700Mhz) ?

 

Thanks to JarnabyBones for finding the direct link to the oneclick internet 3.1 software! I'm happy this was useful to others - no reason many should have to go through the same hassle!

 

T-mobile is one of the firmware options on the pull-down menu, so I would say so.

 

TG2500, THANK YOU

Confirmed, working on Vaio VGN-P788K/Q

 

This worked great, instructions from the OP and the link from the quoted post.
Did this to my VGN-P688E/N, now I just need to get a SIM slot soldered in.

 

For this Verizon data access Do you use a SIM card of Verizon to access the network thru your Gobi 2000 device ?

If i am right Verizon is a CDMA carrier right ?

If so then your Gobi 2000 device recognizes a CDMA SIM card right ?

thanks,

 

don't need a SIM for Verizon, you should be able to just sign up right through the VZW manager and get right on line.

Or you could go to a store with your computer and give them the number in the battery compartment and they can give you a plan.

no Gobi 2000 doesn't support t-mobile 3G
you can use EDGE/GPRS

see this thread for more info
http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...00-internal-WWAN-card?p=13924248#post13924248

 

The following numbers are marked on the Gobi 2000 card
Which of the following is needed for signing up with a CDMA operator (Verizon)

IMSI : 4050XXXXXXX3879
SIM ICC ID : 8991034111009XXXXXXX
IMEI : 35988102xxxxxxx
CT : GBAAE0AXXXXXX
SPS No : 531XXX-001
ASSY No :509XXX-002

thanks,

 

I thank TG2500 for the info. I ended up buying a Vaio VPC Z12 with the Gobi 2000 (Verizon) and was able to make it work with Vivo, down here in Brazil.

For anyone considering the same path, bear in mind that I followed all of TG2500 instructions but for some reason I cannot connect using the OneClick App. Rather, I click on the "Network and Sharing Center" icon in the task bar (close to the clock), select "Vivo" and then click "Connect". I can verify it works perfectly this way (I am using it right now: WiFi is off, Mobile Broadband is on in Smart Wii).

Windows' Network and Sharing center will require that you enter the same APN info used in OneClick (right-click, properties). In the case of Vivo, in Brazil, they are: APN=zap.vivo.com.br, user=vivo, password=vivo.

The error message in OneClick Internet is "Connection Error: Please check APN setting". Which is funny, because the APN setting is exactly the same one that works through Windows' Network and Sharing center.

I wonder whether I would be able to connect had I not followed the OneClick install instructions, selected "Generic UMTS" as the firmware, etc. Yet I am glad everything is working now, and I thank (again) TG2500 for the info. I'd not have bought this configuration without it.

 

IMSI for CDMA/Verizon
IMEI for GSM/AT&T and almost everything else

 

Ricardo,

The Vivo that is working on your lappy is it a CDMA connection or a GSM connection. I read from the wiki site that Vivo in Brazil operates both CDMA as well as GSM networks.

If its the CDMA network that you are using on your Vaio VPC Z12, have you inserted a CDMA SIM ?

thanks,
aiamuzz

 

Hi Ricardo

I live also in Brazil, but wasn't able to connect via "vivo". Oneclick doesn't find any device and "vivo" doesn't appear on windows network and sharing center. What am I doing wrong?
thanks,

 

Thanks for posting this guide (and the link to http://www.sony.com.au/support/down...ersonal+computer/sectionfirst?subpage=detail). I just used it to unlock my modem in my SA22, and now I have 3G internet in Australia.

Thanks again!

 

Boy! are you paying over the odds! In the UK I have got Virgin mobile broadband, 3G speed and GBP 4.90 per month/Gb (Thats about $20 for 5Gb!)

 

i don't get this part
What exactly is the SmartWII i didn't see it any where, althouth throught google.
and the OneClick Internet as i download above and upgrade doesn't have anything in setting like Firmware or anything like that

 

You don't need to do any of those steps to connect for most carriers. You just need to supply your carrier with the IMEI # (GSM - eg, AT&T) or IMSI# (CDMA - eg, Verizon) and they will either send you a SIM card (AT&T) or simply authorize your GOBI radio (Verizon) and both will provide you with an SSID and password, and then just follow the approach used by Ricardo Castro, post #20 above. Simply stated, once you've gotten the carrier authorization and SSID and security password as I described above, you just go to Network and Sharing, where you would find your WiFi Router, and you will now find your WWAN SSID as a wireless option. Click on it and on connect, enter the security code the carrier provided and you're in business.

I know my explanation sounds about as complicated as the OP's but it really involves only 3 steps:

1. Contact the carrier of your choice and set up the wireless broadband account
2. Use the carrier-provided info to identify your mobile broadband network in Network and Sharing in Windows 7
3. Click on your carrier-provided SSID name, enter your carrier-provided password

Done!

 

but the Gobi 2000 in my Z51 doesn't show in device manager, i can't install driver for it.
My Z51 default language is French, so i upgrade it with ssd and reinstall it with windows 7 English. When replaced HDD i saw the Gobi wan with antena plugged in. But after installation i hadn't seen it in device manager.
So i seek google for solutions or any ways to make it to be turned on or activated

 

I'm sorry I did not check back to see your response until now. I'm also sorry I did not realize you do not have a Z1 model (the thread is about the GOBI in the "new Z" so I guess that could have been any past Z depending on when the OP was made!), and so my experience with my Z13 could be entirely different than yours with a Z51.

If I knew more to advise you I would, but this would be one that I would either Google or, you might consider one of the web-based "Expert" answer services such as justanswer.com, which will charge at most $20 US but you only pay if they successfully solve your problem. They have 100s of people who have technology expertise and when you post a question all their registered "experts" are sent a link and whoever provides you with a solution first you agree in advance to pay about that amount, via PayPal, so you'l have to have a PayPal account. I have about a 50% success experience using them - got 2 solutions, 2 failures to solve. But again, there is no cost or risk to give it a try. If you do, know that you can have unlimited interactions with as many people as you need until you get someone who has the knowledge to intelligently address your objective. If the first one that responds does not strike you as having specific experience needed to resolve this, you can click on a link requesting a different expert.

Sorry for such a long-winded response about this kind of service, but I thought it might come in handy for you, or anyone reading this thread, since for me the two times they came through it was after I was ready to give up so whether this issue or one you face in the future, good to know about them. There are several other websites that do the same thing. It's actually an application of "crowdsourcing" to solve a problem, but has been around before that term was even coined!

Good luck.

 

Hello...I recently picked up a mint Sony VAIO SA25GX and want to thank you very much for the information here. Although this modem was advertised as being for AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, I wanted to get it working on a prepaid RedPocket data SIM using the T-Mobile network for a lot less - I live in Los Angeles where there is a significant amount of re-purposed 1900mhz data bandwidth that T-Mobile has brought online. My primary need for the service is having a back-up to WiFi on occasion, so I'm not using a lot of cell data on the notebook. Red Pocket offers a SIM that provides 1GB of data for $10 a month, as well as 3GB for $30 and 5GB for $50, with the $30 and $50 plans offering throttled unlimited data after the 4G caps are reached. T-Mobile has the same rates for their data, but the 1GB plan goes to $20 as of 1/1/15. RedPocket also allows and even encourages sharing and tethering, and the Vaio SA I have has a mobile hotspot capability built-in as well.

The OneClick Internet software provides a T-Mobile firmware update as an option...and as of now the program updated to version 3.2 from the 3.0 link download provided earlier...fortunately that original link still works. Once I got the firmware updated the entire activation process took about 10 minutes including logging into RedPocket and activating the SIM. I was able to obtain a RedPocket Mobile Internet Starter Kit data SIM off eBay which included the first 512MB of data free, giving me a chance to see if the modem and service would work, for very little cost. And fortunately, it does work. My first speed test reported around 3MB down and 1.3MB up for speeds, which is better than Verizon or Sprint's 3G data would ever be for a fraction of the cost, and I don't have to have phone service with a major carrier to get a decent data rate (I use Straight Talk for cell service on AT&T's network for $45 a month inclusive).

Again, my thanks for the instructions on how to get the Mobi 2000 working on T-Mobile GSM without having to re-invent the proverbial wheel. Kudos!!! If you want to learn more, I now get to Refer-A-Friend...woohoo and stuff.

RedPocket Data SIMs and information click here.

Speed Test Results Below:



One caution about the RedPocket SIM's...if you sign up for Auto-Pay they will immediately charge your account and wipe out your 512MB of free data from the card sign-up...so wait until near 30 days or your data is used up...whichever comes first, before choosing an Auto-Pay plan.

 

I want to add the following about the RedPocket SIM's...if you sign up using their Mobile Internet Starter Kit that includes a $5 preload, as soon as you set up Auto Renew they treat it as a new start date for the account, wiping out any of the remaining balance on the preload $5 including the data and the date...so I suggest you don't sign up for auto-renew until you're near the renewal date, or out of data, whichever comes first.