Saturday, February 23, 2008

Can't Connect This - Huawei Modem E220 and Smart 3G Sim


It's been three weeks with Asus Eee and I've spent more than enough time trying to activate the Smart Buddy sim card to work with the generic Huawei Modem. Even that sentence sounds tiring enough.

Huawei Modem

The Huawei modem is made in china, supposedly you just place any 3G enabled sim card and it should connect to the Internet. According to forums, this is also the brand that Globe uses for its visbility service. And Smart is also using a similar modem for its plan 799.

So first off, I grabbed a Smart Buddy sim card and inserted it into the hardware. It didn't work so I tried activating the 3G sim card by texting and waited 24 hours for activation. Still, the sim card didn't work so I figured to get it to the Smart Wireless Center and the guy there wasn't helpful either. Note: Hardware is working, sim card is not.

He told me that in order for the sim to work, I gotta buy a 3G phone. I said, "what for, that's why I have this modem" and the man said something that the reason they are selling the service is for it to be bundled with a 3G phone. Yet, i told him to find a way to activate it and he did. The man told me it really wouldn't work and today, I was able to talk to a customer rep and confirmed that the Smart Buddy sim card can't be used with the Huawei E220 modem.

Smart Bro 799

Geez. The only option to have a wireless network anywhere is the Smart Bro 799 plan but this one has a two-year contract and would charge you P10 for every 30 minute block in excess of the 40 free hours.

I called Globe too and the rep said they are currently only offering Visibility for corporate accounts.

Asus Eee is lonely without WiFi

I've been carrying my Asus Eee but really, the Eee PC is kind of useless if there's no wifi within the area. We can only hope that in the near future, there are more services to choose from and more gratis wifi internet connection.

7 comments:

shink said...

"the Eee PC is kind of useless if there's no wifi within the area."

True, dat. Most ultraportables today are used for just about two things: primarily mobile communication and to a lesser degree, office work on the go.

As it stands right now, it's only by fortuity that one can come across an open network you can ride on, even here in the Metro. What's free in other countries is paid for here in our home turf.

Lace Llanora said...

Yeah good thing that malls such as Podium have free wifi access and also, Galleria malls.

Some cafes also offer free wifi and i hope this will be a standard soon!

J said...

Di kasi muna nag research.... Sayang yung bili ni Mama. Di ba pwede isoli?

Lace Llanora said...

huh? its not sayang the problem is its not wifi everywhere and if it was, asus eee would be MORE fantastic.

I am able to use asus eee whenever I am waiting for my sundo, most high end malls offer wifi too.

Yet imagine if wifi was nationwide, free international calls, free sms, and free downloads everywhere! :)

Azrael Coladilla said...

yeah
kahit saaan may wifi na

sa podium starbucks
the best wifi spot

and also dun sa matcha tea cafe sa pearl drive, kaso kelangan mo muna bumili para makuha mo yung password

sa mga burger king meron wifi din


sa galeria the best wifi spots din
just avoid some cafes lang kasi nablock ng airborne and wiz yung free wifi ng mall.


tignan ko and research para magamit natin yung usb hsdpa modem

J said...

baka meron ditong tinda na compatible sa smart?

Azrael Coladilla said...

@joni
gagana naman yun
basta hsdpa modem na usb

kaso problem lang dito ay yung service