Son has a Macbook (running El Capitan)he normally uses the WiFi in the
house but thinking of out and about he has gotten himself a PAYG USB
dongle

http://consumer.huawei.com/my/mobile...s/e3533-my.htm

so he can get WiFi over the mobile network.

However we cannot seem to get a signal (3G) for it, neither indoors
nor taking a walk down to the mobile masts in a nearby car-park.
Are there any tips and tricks to setting up one of these dongles
or is it a case of no signal no connection to the computer rather than
no connection to the computer the Dongle doesn't even bother 'looking'
for a signal?

soup wrote:
Son has a Macbook (running El Capitan)he normally uses the WiFi in the
house but thinking of out and about he has gotten himself a PAYG USB
dongle

http://consumer.huawei.com/my/mobile...s/e3533-my.htm


so he can get WiFi over the mobile network.

However we cannot seem to get a signal (3G) for it, neither indoors
nor taking a walk down to the mobile masts in a nearby car-park.
Are there any tips and tricks to setting up one of these dongles
or is it a case of no signal no connection to the computer rather than
no connection to the computer the Dongle doesn't even bother 'looking'
for a signal?
Have you registered with an operator and got a sim in the dongle?
Have to start with the obvious things....

Have you tried a smartphone on the same network to see it it can get a
3G signal?

On 15/07/2016 17:14, Bob Minchin wrote:

Have you registered with an operator

Didn't think I had to with PAYG

and got a sim in the dongle?

Yup and it's the right way in (one of the first things I checked)

Have you tried a smartphone on the same network to see it it can get a
3G signal?


I am a bear of little brain how would I go about that?

I thought a cell phone signal was different to a 3G


Can I swap signals on a smartphone (son has an iPhone perhaps I will
get him to use that).

I am pretty much OK with Window things but I know two things about Mac
Nowt and bugger all

On 15/07/2016 17:02, soup wrote:
Son has a Macbook (running El Capitan)

Just tried the Dongle on a Windows machine(No2 son's laptop) and it
works. so seems to be a conflict between El Capitan and the Huawei
dongle, rather than a problem with this area getting 3G or the actual
dongle being a POS.

soup wrote:
On 15/07/2016 17:02, soup wrote:
Son has a Macbook (running El Capitan)

Just tried the Dongle on a Windows machine(No2 son's laptop) and it
works. so seems to be a conflict between El Capitan and the Huawei
dongle, rather than a problem with this area getting 3G or the actual
dongle being a POS.

I know even less that you about macs but I would be looking on the
dongle website for Mac issues.

On 15/07/2016 18:04, soup wrote:
On 15/07/2016 17:02, soup wrote:
Son has a Macbook (running El Capitan)

Just tried the Dongle on a Windows machine(No2 son's laptop) and it
works. so seems to be a conflict between El Capitan and the Huawei
dongle, rather than a problem with this area getting 3G or the actual
dongle being a POS.

I would avoid USB dongles for this purpose, if possible.

They usually have some software stored on flash memory. Plug it in,
computer sees drive, can install software. Not so easy if the software
isn't right for your computer - e.g. which OS, which release and even
what patch state.

You might find updated and appropriate software on the dongle maker's or
supplier's website and be able to install that instead of what was
supplied. Or even just installing it because the computer has not
automatically done so itself.

I'd much prefer to use a mifi or phone with personal hotspot capability.

--
Rod

On 15/07/2016 19:06, Bob Minchin wrote:

I know even less that you about macs but I would be looking on the
dongle website for Mac issues.

Just spent twenty minutes on that f^&%$*& site, losing it big time,
not only is there server slower than a slow thing on a slow day it
randomly slips into a strange foreign language and every time I search
for E3533s-2 (the actual model of the dongle) it gives me results for
mobile phones .

Spent the rest of the time googling issues between this dongle and
ElCapitan got one that 'says' the fix is easy disable csutil then
install the software from Huawei , "what not enough expletives on the
planet software"?

Have decided to throw in the towel give the whole shooting match
back to son and tell him to go to the "Genius bar" at the local Apple
shop.

On 15/07/16 19:33, soup wrote:
Have decided to throw in the towel give the whole shooting match
back to son and tell him to go to the "Genius bar" at the local Apple
shop.

Apple count on that.


--
"In our post-modern world, climate science is not powerful because it is
true: it is true because it is powerful."

Lucas Bergkamp

On 15/07/2016 17:02, soup wrote:
Son has a Macbook (running El Capitan)he normally uses the WiFi in the
house but thinking of out and about he has gotten himself a PAYG USB
dongle

http://consumer.huawei.com/my/mobile...s/e3533-my.htm


so he can get WiFi over the mobile network.

However we cannot seem to get a signal (3G) for it, neither indoors
nor taking a walk down to the mobile masts in a nearby car-park.
Are there any tips and tricks to setting up one of these dongles
or is it a case of no signal no connection to the computer rather than
no connection to the computer the Dongle doesn't even bother 'looking'
for a signal?

If he has a mobile then he probably already has a data contract on the
phone and may well be able to share it using bluetooth or wifi negating
the need for a dongle.

Data add ons tend to be cheaper than a seperate contract anyway.

On 15/07/2016 21:19, dennis@home wrote:
On 15/07/2016 17:02, soup wrote:
Son has a Macbook (running El Capitan)he normally uses the WiFi in the
house but thinking of out and about he has gotten himself a PAYG USB
dongle

http://consumer.huawei.com/my/mobile...s/e3533-my.htm

so he can get WiFi over the mobile network.

However we cannot seem to get a signal (3G) for it, neither indoors
nor taking a walk down to the mobile masts in a nearby car-park.
Are there any tips and tricks to setting up one of these dongles
or is it a case of no signal no connection to the computer rather than
no connection to the computer the Dongle doesn't even bother 'looking'
for a signal?
If he has a mobile then he probably already has a data contract on the
phone and may well be able to share it using bluetooth or wifi negating
the need for a dongle.

Yup, he has an iPhone 5 and it was the work of moments to set it up as
a hotspot and use that to connect. However he is bloody minded (almost
put determined there, but I think it's a case of like father like son.
So bloody minded seems more apt)that it will be cheaper to not use the
data allowance on his 'phone. The mere fact that it is using his 3G
signal not his data is neither here nor there according to him, and to
be honest I am not au fait enough to put a decent argument forward.

So will get the dongle set-up then when he has used his allowance
(2GB in 30days) on it shall not bother getting any more and will let
the whole idea just fade away. In the house he can just use the house
WiFi, at his aunt's he can use hers, at his work use theirs any where
else he can use his phone and if he needs the big screen he can use his
phone as a hotspot . The other use case of, 'in the car' I managed to
talk him out off "if you are driving concentrate on that not getting
a WiFi signal", else phone or hotspot if big screen needed.

On 15/07/2016 21:46, soup wrote:
The other use case of, 'in the car' I managed to
talk him out off "if you are driving concentrate on that not getting
a WiFi signal", else phone or hotspot if big screen needed.

I end up using quite a bit of data when driving - for satnav. I usually
set it going on a any significant journey even if I know the route well
- just for traffic update information.

--
Rod

On 15/07/2016 22:12, polygonum wrote:
On 15/07/2016 21:46, soup wrote:
The other use case of, 'in the car' I managed to
talk him out off "if you are driving concentrate on that not getting
a WiFi signal", else phone or hotspot if big screen needed.

I end up using quite a bit of data when driving - for satnav. I usually
set it going on a any significant journey even if I know the route well
- just for traffic update information.

He has a satnav thing so it is not connected to his phone in any way.
I would say fiddling with that as he goes along is enough of a
distraction[1] without having to deal with a mobile too.

[1] Bit of a squirrel chaser, him.

ngle.

Yup, he has an iPhone 5 and it was the work of moments to set it up as
a hotspot and use that to connect. However he is bloody minded (almost
put determined there, but I think it's a case of like father like son.
So bloody minded seems more apt)that it will be cheaper to not use the
data allowance on his 'phone. The mere fact that it is using his 3G
signal not his data is neither here nor there according to him, and to
be honest I am not au fait enough to put a decent argument forward.


If he's going the be that bloody minded then I'd leave him to it and let
him get on with it!..

And he can pay for the data bills!

Yoof of today eh;?...

So will get the dongle set-up then when he has used his allowance
(2GB in 30days) on it shall not bother getting any more and will let
the whole idea just fade away. In the house he can just use the house
WiFi, at his aunt's he can use hers, at his work use theirs any where
else he can use his phone and if he needs the big screen he can use his
phone as a hotspot . The other use case of, 'in the car' I managed to
talk him out off "if you are driving concentrate on that not getting
a WiFi signal", else phone or hotspot if big screen needed.


--
Tony Sayer

What sim does it use?
YYou find it hard often to get the right package as most comewith airtime
and text, and very littledata. Its the data you need not the other stuff of
course.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"soup" wrote in message
...
Son has a Macbook (running El Capitan)he normally uses the WiFi in the
house but thinking of out and about he has gotten himself a PAYG USB
dongle

http://consumer.huawei.com/my/mobile...s/e3533-my.htm

so he can get WiFi over the mobile network.

However we cannot seem to get a signal (3G) for it, neither indoors
nor taking a walk down to the mobile masts in a nearby car-park.
Are there any tips and tricks to setting up one of these dongles
or is it a case of no signal no connection to the computer rather than
no connection to the computer the Dongle doesn't even bother 'looking'
for a signal?

Well what does the package with the sim say?
Normally from my experience you need a for example gigabag from giff-gaff.
I would point out though that its bloody expensive if used on windows as
updates and stuff eat up your allowance in a few minutes if you are not very
careful.
I always unplug ours and leave it charging on a usb supply when not being
used on line, then plug it on and make sure everything capabale of a
download is turned off first.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"soup" wrote in message
...
On 15/07/2016 17:14, Bob Minchin wrote:

Have you registered with an operator

Didn't think I had to with PAYG

and got a sim in the dongle?

Yup and it's the right way in (one of the first things I checked)

Have you tried a smartphone on the same network to see it it can get a
3G signal?


I am a bear of little brain how would I go about that?

I thought a cell phone signal was different to a 3G


Can I swap signals on a smartphone (son has an iPhone perhaps I will
get him to use that).

I am pretty much OK with Window things but I know two things about Mac
Nowt and bugger all

On 16/07/2016 09:45, tony sayer wrote:

If he's going the be that bloody minded then I'd leave him to it and let
him get on with it!..

Done! Had enough gave him the 'bits' and said "Genius bar might be
able to fix this I know next to nothing about Macs (not that hard to
know but it is a good excuse).

And he can pay for the data bills!

Bad subject (bank of mum and dad. Works but lots of "can I just...")

Yoof of today eh;?...

Yoof(ish) he is 23

Well the dongle when plugged into a windows pc, uploads software to the pc
and installs a service for itself.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"soup" wrote in message
...
On 15/07/2016 17:02, soup wrote:
Son has a Macbook (running El Capitan)

Just tried the Dongle on a Windows machine(No2 son's laptop) and it
works. so seems to be a conflict between El Capitan and the Huawei
dongle, rather than a problem with this area getting 3G or the actual
dongle being a POS.

On Saturday, July 16, 2016 at 11:54:40 AM UTC+1, Brian Gaff wrote:
Well what does the package with the sim say?
Normally from my experience you need a for example gigabag from giff-gaff.
I would point out though that its bloody expensive if used on windows as
updates and stuff eat up your allowance in a few minutes if you are not very
careful.
I always unplug ours and leave it charging on a usb supply when not being
used on line, then plug it on and make sure everything capabale of a
download is turned off first.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"soup" wrote in message
...
On 15/07/2016 17:14, Bob Minchin wrote:

Have you registered with an operator

Didn't think I had to with PAYG

and got a sim in the dongle?

Yup and it's the right way in (one of the first things I checked)

Have you tried a smartphone on the same network to see it it can get a
3G signal?


I am a bear of little brain how would I go about that?

I thought a cell phone signal was different to a 3G


Can I swap signals on a smartphone (son has an iPhone perhaps I will
get him to use that).

I am pretty much OK with Window things but I know two things about Mac
Nowt and bugger all

you want the Giffgaff `Always On` goody bag, unlimited data, traffic shaped after 6Gb , for 20 quid a month , PAYG.

On Fri, 15 Jul 2016 17:48:52 +0100, soup wrote:

On 15/07/2016 17:14, Bob Minchin wrote:

Have you registered with an operator

Didn't think I had to with PAYG

and got a sim in the dongle?

Yup and it's the right way in (one of the first things I checked)

Have you tried a smartphone on the same network to see it it can get a
3G signal?


I am a bear of little brain how would I go about that?

I thought a cell phone signal was different to a 3G


3G - that is just shorthand for the generation of the technology built
into the phone to handle voice, text and data. 3G phones should be
backwards compatible with 2G networks. So the cell phone signal in your
particular case would be from a 3G network.

The current fastest networks are 4G and there is much talk of 5G networks.
The new generations are very much aimed at faster data links because voice
and text work fine on the old 2G networks.

I think you asked elsewhere about data allowances. If you have a modern
(smart) phone and you use any of the smart functions you will need a data
connection. Web browsing, email, anything that needs data from the
Internet. So your phone's monthly allowance will include voice, text and
data.

If you tether then you are using the phone to provide a data connection to
the Internet. So you are using the phone's data allowance. You have to
price the cost of that against the cost of a separate phone account in a
dedicated dongle. A dongle is really just a specialised mobile phone
without the user interface bits (screen keyboard, speakers etc.) and SIM
cards are usually interchangeable between phone handsets and dongles.

I would second the suggestion of a MiFi (although it is too late now)
because this is basically a phone dongle which you connect to via WiFi
instead of USB. So just like a home network. Much more flexible, doesn't
require special drivers, and more than one person can share the link.

Hope this helps.


Cheers


Dave R


--
Windows 8.1 on PCSpecialist box

On 16/07/2016 11:54, Brian Gaff wrote:
Well what does the package with the sim say?
Normally from my experience you need a for example gigabag from giff-gaff.
I would point out though that its bloody expensive if used on windows as
updates and stuff eat up your allowance in a few minutes if you are not very
careful.

You need to tell windows its a metered connection then it won't assume
you have unlimited data.

You can do this for different WiFi and ethernet networks so it can work
out which networks it can download the updates from at zero cost.

On Sat, 16 Jul 2016 04:02:17 -0700 (PDT), Adam Aglionby wrote:

I thought a cell phone signal was different to a 3G

It's all digits, I think there is a basic data link at whateever
speed can be attained over which data, SMS, phone calls are carried.

you want the Giffgaff `Always On` goody bag, unlimited data, traffic
shaped after 6Gb , for 20 quid a month , PAYG.

But giffgaff are on O2 and O2's coverage can be a bit poor. They are
only 2G here, all the others 3G and EE 4G.

The big gotcha with many tarrifs is "no tethering" ie the data use is
for the device with the SIM only. The networks can tell to a limited
extent as well. TPO don't spot my tablet via the phones WiFi but if I
connect the home LAN they do in a few tens of minutes.

It might be worth a look at Asda Mobile, EE (but 3G only), allow
tethering, have data only plans. Still worth doing the maths on p/MB
though if you know how much data you are likely to need. Their
cheapest data is a normal bundle, 6 GB Data, Unlimited Mins and Texts
for £20 - 0.3255 p/MB, the biggest data only is 4 GB for £15.00 -
0.3662 p/MB.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Sat, 16 Jul 2016 11:50:46 +0100, Brian Gaff wrote:

YYou find it hard often to get the right package as most comewith
airtime and text, and very littledata. Its the data you need not the
other stuff of course.

It's a mine field out there, everything from the network operator
actually having 3 or 4G where you want it or the service provider
allowing tethering to the service providers tarrif structure and your
use.

Asda Mobile
£10.00 Bundle 1.5GB 600min Unl
Txts 0.6510 p/MB
£12.50 Data Only 2.0GB 0.6104
p/MB
£15.00 Bundle 3.0GB 1000min Unl
Txts 0.4883 p/MB

That's quite a step in p/MB between the £12.50 data only and £15
bundle. Their £20 bundle gets the data price down to 0.3255 p/MB.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Sat, 16 Jul 2016 11:54:46 +0100, soup wrote:

On 16/07/2016 09:45, tony sayer wrote:

If he's going the be that bloody minded then I'd leave him to it and
let him get on with it!..

Done! Had enough gave him the 'bits' and said "Genius bar might be able
to fix this I know next to nothing about Macs (not that hard to know but
it is a good excuse).

And he can pay for the data bills!

Bad subject (bank of mum and dad. Works but lots of "can I just...")

Yoof of today eh;?...

Yoof(ish) he is 23

You may have to wait another ten years for him to leave his teenage
years behind if my experience as a parent is typical. :-(

--
Johnny B Good

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
idual.net...
On Sat, 16 Jul 2016 04:02:17 -0700 (PDT), Adam Aglionby wrote:

I thought a cell phone signal was different to a 3G

It's all digits, I think there is a basic data link at whateever speed
can be attained over which data, SMS, phone calls are carried.

Not with 3G, that showed up with 4G.

you want the Giffgaff `Always On` goody bag, unlimited data, traffic
shaped after 6Gb , for 20 quid a month , PAYG.

But giffgaff are on O2 and O2's coverage can be a bit poor. They are
only 2G here, all the others 3G and EE 4G.

The big gotcha with many tarrifs is "no tethering" ie the data use is
for the device with the SIM only. The networks can tell to a limited
extent as well. TPO don't spot my tablet via the phones WiFi but if I
connect the home LAN they do in a few tens of minutes.

It might be worth a look at Asda Mobile, EE (but 3G only), allow
tethering, have data only plans. Still worth doing the maths on p/MB
though if you know how much data you are likely to need. Their
cheapest data is a normal bundle, 6 GB Data, Unlimited Mins and Texts
for £20 - 0.3255 p/MB, the biggest data only is 4 GB for £15.00 -
0.3662 p/MB.

On 16/07/2016 21:36, Johnny B Good wrote:

You may have to wait another ten years for him to leave his teenage
years behind if my experience as a parent is typical. :-(

He can act like a teenager as long as he wants IN HIS OWN HOUSE.

Plans for his room , Moi?

On Sat, 16 Jul 2016 20:36:32 GMT, Johnny B Good wrote:

Bad subject (bank of mum and dad. Works but lots of "can I
just...")

Yoof of today eh;?...

Yoof(ish) he is 23

You may have to wait another ten years for him to leave his teenage
years behind if my experience as a parent is typical. :-(

33? Naw that was about the time I took my "gap year" between being
made redundant after 15 years as a staffer and becoming freelance.

--
Cheers
Dave.