Usb Internet Dongle

[grtaylor]

I'm coming back to Thailand for two weeks over Christmas and New Year. I'm now working in the Philippines, and I have a USB Internet Dongle (from SmartBuddy) which I just use in the PI in emergencies, if my ISP is down.

Can I use a Thai SIM card in it while I am in Thailand, or do I need to buy a Thai dongle there as well? In other words, are dongles customised for the country they are sold in?

Thanks,

G

Edited December 8, 2009 by grtaylor

[RubbaJohnny]

Suggest ask Smart Buddy if locked

The Panthip Drs can unlock virtually anything for afee

[OriginalPoster]

I recent got one of the SmartBro dongles when visiting the Philippines too. It's a rebranded ZTE MF627 HSDPA modem and they are being sold for 995 pesos (about 700 baht) including a SIM card and 5 hours of internet access. It's a really good product, I found that I was able to get a HSDPA connection with it in most places that I went in the Philippines (though in a few areas it would only pull in GPRS).

Yes, you can use it in Thailand (with a Thai SIM) but only if you reflash it to update the firmware. The reason for that is that Smart locks the dongle to their SIMs. To update it , you need to google for a file called MF626UpdateTool_GLOBE_PHV1.2.exe, download it, and follow the instructions carefully (especially the part about doing the updating on Windows XP instead of Vista and to make sure that you remove your SIM card from the dongle while doing the updating). You may also need to update the modem software that is installed on your PC (I'm not completely sure that's necessary because I uninstalled Smarts customized modem software in favor of a generic version prior to ever trying the dongle outside of the Philippines).

The updating worked perfectly for me, the only oddity was that for some reason the updating software couldn't find the modem on my system unless Smarts modem software was running in the background.

As a bonus, the updating of the firmware also allows the dongle to support speeds up up to 7.2 Mb/s instead the 3.6 Mb/s it can support as purchased. That won't make a difference in the Thailand or the Philippines, but in Singapore you can get that speed now on a prepaid SIMs (and faster than that on subscription plans).

Edited December 8, 2009 by OriginalPoster

[crev]

So after the firmware update, the Smart dongle will be unlock?

[OriginalPoster]

So after the firmware update, the Smart dongle will be unlock?

Yes.

[monty]

It'll only do EDGE in Thailand, even in area's where 3G is available (Bangkok from True on 850 Mhz and now TOT on 1900 Mhz) as the device only works on 2100 Mhz for 3G.

Anyway, at 700 Baht you can't go wrong, haven't seen GPRS/EDGE only modems that cheap yet in Thailand!

[OriginalPoster]

It'll only do EDGE in Thailand, even in area's where 3G is available (Bangkok from True on 850 Mhz and now TOT on 1900 Mhz) as the device only works on 2100 Mhz for 3G.

Anyway, at 700 Baht you can't go wrong, haven't seen GPRS/EDGE only modems that cheap yet in Thailand!

According to the User's Manual that that series of USB modems, it should be able connect to these types of networks:

HSDPA/UMTS 2100 MHz

HSDPA/UMTS 1900 MHz

HSDPA/UMTS 850 MHz

GSM/GPRS/EDGE 1900 MHz

GSM/GPRS/EDGE 1800 MHz

GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900 MHz

GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850 MHz

Is the first one what they are using in Thailand for 3G?

[monty]

If that's true you're lucky, only AIS's network won't work (900 Mhz).

HSDPA/UMTS 1900 MHz is what TOT is using in Bangkok, pre-paid simcards available, 0.5 Baht/MB (500 Baht per Gigabte), so not too expensive for casual use.

HSDPA/UMTS 850 MHz is what True uses, I think if you have a GPRS/EDGE enabled simcard (have to call customer service for this, True simcards don't allow gprs out of the box) then you only pay when using EDGE (i.e. no 3G available) but when it detecys 3G, your access is free! Mainly coverage along the skytrain route!

[OriginalPoster]

If that's true you're lucky, only AIS's network won't work (900 Mhz).

HSDPA/UMTS 1900 MHz is what TOT is using in Bangkok, pre-paid simcards available, 0.5 Baht/MB (500 Baht per Gigabte), so not too expensive for casual use.

HSDPA/UMTS 850 MHz is what True uses, I think if you have a GPRS/EDGE enabled simcard (have to call customer service for this, True simcards don't allow gprs out of the box) then you only pay when using EDGE (i.e. no 3G available) but when it detecys 3G, your access is free! Mainly coverage along the skytrain route!

The main reason that I'm not completely sure that the list of supported networks is right is that there are a lot of different customized versions of the firmware for that series of modem floating around and I'm not completely sure which version of the firmware my copy of the user's manual matches with. Only places I've personally used that modem other than the Philippines is Singapore, and Singapore is using the 2100 mhz band.

Edited December 8, 2009 by OriginalPoster

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Firmware and instructions here

[Jiu-Jitsu]

If that's true you're lucky, only AIS's network won't work (900 Mhz).

HSDPA/UMTS 1900 MHz is what TOT is using in Bangkok, pre-paid simcards available, 0.5 Baht/MB (500 Baht per Gigabte), so not too expensive for casual use.

HSDPA/UMTS 850 MHz is what True uses, I think if you have a GPRS/EDGE enabled simcard (have to call customer service for this, True simcards don't allow gprs out of the box) then you only pay when using EDGE (i.e. no 3G available) but when it detecys 3G, your access is free! Mainly coverage along the skytrain route!

The main reason that I'm not completely sure that the list of supported networks is right is that there are a lot of different customized versions of the firmware for that series of modem floating around and I'm not completely sure which version of the firmware my copy of the user's manual matches with. Only places I've personally used that modem other than the Philippines is Singapore, and Singapore is using the 2100 mhz band.

Specifications