K3565 Dongle - Downloads Stop

[jkp2505]

Hi,

I am using Vodafone pay-as-you-go mobile broadband on a Huawei K3565 USB Dongle. I have had the dongle for a few months and I keep getting problems downloading anything other than small files. The download normally gets to 15-30 MB before it freezes and I have to cancel it. There is generally no error returned, and I am still able to browse sites without disconnecting and reconnecting.

The VMC Lite software is generally showing signal strength at 3/5 bars and I don't have problems with normal browsing. I thought at first it was a problem with Firefox or my antivirus software but using Internet Explorer and no antivirus I get the same problem.

I am running Windows Vista SP1 and the driver software that was included on the dongle. Unfortunately at the moment I don't have the facilities to test the dongle on another machine.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

James

[Retired-Dave]

Hi jkp2505,

Interesting - certainly not tied to the browser you're using at the time.

Have you always had this issue, and is it with any files or only a specific type?

Also, is there a specific error message when it fails? Is it the same each time, or is it different? Does the connection drop out, or does it just stop the download?

Whilst you cannot test in another machine, you don't say if you're on a laptop or a desktop. If it's a laptop, are you able to try in another locatin, just to rule out signal strength?

I'd also suggest checking for any updates to the software here to make sure that you're as up to date as possible.

I'm sure we can get to the bottom of this for you - just get back to us and let us know how you get on.

DaveN

eForum Team

[jkp2505]

Thanks for the reply.

This issue has occurred since I started using this dongle and as far as I know did not happen when I used to connect to the internet over wi-fi. My computer is a laptop, and I have moved it around a bit to get the best signal but the problem remains the same.

I've done some more testing and it seems that the problem is not that I can't download files bigger than 20MB. Instead it seems that the problem usually only occurs when the file is pretty big, e.g. a 600MB ISO, in which case the download freezes at about 20MB.

To clarify - when I say 'freezes', I mean that the progress bar freezes and never gets going again.

Is there by any chance, an intentional restriction on the file size that can be downloaded on this tariff?
I'm well inside the 3GB fair use allowance BTW.

[danger11]

Thanks for the reply.

This issue has occurred since I started using this dongle and as far as I know did not happen when I used to connect to the internet over wi-fi. My computer is a laptop, and I have moved it around a bit to get the best signal but the problem remains the same.

I've done some more testing and it seems that the problem is not that I can't download files bigger than 20MB. Instead it seems that the problem usually only occurs when the file is pretty big, e.g. a 600MB ISO, in which case the download freezes at about 20MB.

To clarify - when I say 'freezes', I mean that the progress bar freezes and never gets going again.

Is there by any chance, an intentional restriction on the file size that can be downloaded on this tariff?
I'm well inside the 3GB fair use allowance BTW.

I suspect this is due to vodafone's middle man proxy server (This is what forces content control). Your best using a download manager, so then you can resume downloads.

[Retired-BenJ]

Hi Jkp2505

I've done some more testing and it seems that the problem is not that I can't download files bigger than 20MB. Instead it seems that the problem usually only occurs when the file is pretty big, e.g. a 600MB ISO, in which case the download freezes at about 20MB.

VMC isn't really meant to be used for this, it's merely for email and light internet browsing, having said that I've managed to pull down a significant amount of data (a months usage in a day for testing purposes) without any trouble or time outs.

So we can have a look further for you I have sent you an email, if you could reply back with the details we need we have investigate.

Thanks
BenJ
eForum Team

[BHulme]

Hi there everyone,

I too am having the same problem with my K3565 dongle; downloads freeze after a certain point.

I've tried this on various computers each running Windows XP SP3 and also on a computer running Vista Home SP1 (I was unable to install the dongle on a Windows 7 machine but that's a seperate issue).
Currently I have a full 5 bars of signal and I'm downloading at 1.6Mbps right up to the point the download stops. I have plenty of data allowance left as well.
In each case the download stops at the same point in the file, although this point changes for different files. I'm having problems downloading files as small as 3Mb using both FTP and HTTP.
I've also tried different types of files to see if the problem is content specific but in each case the download freezes.

During all of this it's possible to browse the web normally and even use remote desktop.
A download manager would for many people be a senisible option but I use this connection for a piece of custom business software it's not possible for me to do this.
Additionally, if I use a fixed-line broadband connection, or I use my mobile broadband connection from Australia or NZ (both supplied by Vodafone) all the problems go away instantly!

If, as a previous member has commented, this is being caused by your content controler, is it possible to relax it's settings or turn it off?
This problem is very infuriating and has rendered the device completely useless to me.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Retired-Reidar]

Hello bhulme

It might be worth trying a different version of the VMC connection software, I've linked to the Vodafone business site VMC download site.

I am not usually one for uninstalling an application that is already working, however if you are willing to go ahead with VMC 9.4.6 you'll have to uninstall the current version,

Reidar

eForum Team

[feydun]

I'd be interested to see if this is resolved. My contract ends in a bit and I need to choose a new provider. I am with Orange, not Vodafone, but I'm getting the same thing. I have excellent reception and a reasonably fast connection (2 to 3 Mb/s) 

I've seen other mentions of this by others, but no fix. I'm unsure whether it's due to PC configuration or how the network handles things - especially caching. I'm obviously using different software to connect, I get the same results on my desktop and tablet, with windows xp pro and windows 7 ultimate, including absolutely fresh installations, disabling firewalls and antivirus makes no difference. 

Large downloads (e.g. Linux distributions) cannot be completed. I use internet explorer, firefox and opera, and a range of download managers. Resuming does help, when it is possible (not always supported), but if the file is too large then I can't fully download it even with resume - maybe at the other end after too many requests for the same chunk of data it starts ignoring me. It can happen with smaller files too (e.g. 20 MB) but basically the larger the file the less chance I have of downloading it. It will quite often happen near the end, especially for smaller files.

I have no problems at all downloading things by torrent. Unfortunately the large files I tend to download are legal, and usually I cannot find a torrent. I use a Huawei E160E, with a recent driver. Obviously I'm not asking for support, but I will be very interested to see if Vodafone can resolve this.

[Retired-Holly]

Hi feydun,

A warm welcome to the Vodafone eForum!

We'd love to help you if your serious about changing provider, the more the merrier!

As your using an Orange model we're limited in the help we can give however it may be worth chasing it up with them to see if there's a later version of PC software for your dongle.

I managed to dig out their Mobile Broadband Help page so fingers crossed you'll find a solution there.

Thanks

Holly
eForum Team