K3565 - Dongle Connection problems

[Wil]

Hello all.

I was called out to look at someone's laptop on Thursday evening.  They're connecting to the internet with an E160X  - K3565 dongle. HUAWEI Mobile Connect - 3G Modem running FW 11.604.20.01.00.

On Thursday we were able to find a network & connect.  The laptop was riddled with malware & viruses, so instead of wasting time trying to undo all the knots, it was quicker to run the Factory Reset utility & wipe the HDD.

This is when things went downhill.

Yesterday, whenever I first reinserted the dongle into the laptop, it started to reinstall the Mobile Connect Lite software. When that had finished, the software appeared, looked for & detected the Mobile Device, & then just sat there saying "Searching for network".

After about 5 minutes on this screen, it brought up a window to say that the SIM needed to be activated.  Surely if we were using the dongle to connect on Thursday & there was over £20 of credit on it that means that the SIM is activated :smileyfrustrated:

I came to this site & contacted someone on the LiveChat.  We went through some things & I was told that the SIM was indeed active.  They passed me to someone else who took me through some various attempted fixes:

Change the Network from 3G only to GPRS only, & then back again.

Setup a new connection called "Prepay" under the Manage Connections option.

Put the SIM card into another phone to update it.

Sadly none of these worked.  The software, Vodafone Mobile Connect Lite v9.3.5.11690 by Huawei, just says "Searching for network" & then after the 5 minute wait, says the SIM needs activated.

The "Connect" button is not visible.

The dongle flashes 2 green lights every 5 secs.

I can use the "Diagnostics" option under Help & get an IMEI & IMSI numbers.

I've used the "Driver Updates" & "Software Updates" options under the Help menu to check & make sure I have the latest available, & both come back to tell me that I do.

The laptop is running Windows Vista SP2.

My PC is running Windows 7.

Just as a test having read 1 or 2 of the other threads on the forum, I installed the dongle & software on my own PC, & it's the same problem.

I've been on with 3 different people on the VF helpdesk & none have been able to fix this problem.  I'm hoping that someone will have experieced a similar problem & come to the rescue :smileyhappy:

[Wil]

I've done a wee bit more digging through the forums. 

"latest firmware for the K3565. It should be version 11.608.10.51".  This one is running FW 11.604.20.01.00.

Where can I get the firmware update since the VMC software is telling me that everything is up-to-date?

Thanks.

[Retired-Simon]

Hi Wil

Thanks for your post. The firmware isn't publicly available although I can send it you. I've sent a private message with details of how to contact us so that we can get this sent over.

You can find your PM inbox here. If you can't access this link, please ensure that the box next to "Turn on private messages" is ticked on this page, and let us know if you need any further assistance.

Thanks

Simon

[fhabbe]

I bought a K3565 dongle with a 15 GBP Top up last year but never activated it. The box is still sealed. I live in Germany and can only use a dongle when visiting the UK. Can I use the dongle (and the credit) next year when I will be visiting the UK?

Frederick

[KD]

Hi @fhabbe 

You will still be able to use the dongle but the credit and SIM will likely have expired. Any Pay as you go account expires after 270 days of non-use. If you bought our non-expiring credit for your dongle you can see how to claim the money back here.

You can see how to get a new data SIM here.

Thanks

K

[drj]

Congratulations for finally accepting that people who have non-expiry credit remaining can get refunds.