Friday, May 27, 2011

Review on Huawei UMG 181 with BSNL 2G/ BSNL 3G/ Vodafone 2G

Hi Friends,

Today I received my Huawei Data that I had ordered from eBay last week.

It came in a small box not packed too nicely but that's fine. I eagerly opened up and thought of putting it to test.





Once I plugged it into my PC it was detected without any problem, Then it installed the drivers and showed up as Removable Media and CD ROM.

Once installation was complete, I used the setup from the CD-ROM to install the Mobile Partner that came with it. It was also installed successfully.

I removed the back cover and poped in my BSNL 2G SIM and plugged in the Data Card.Used Mobile Partner and changed the preference for Network Type to WCDMA preferred. The Data Card was able to register itself on BSNL's HSDPA network. Since there were profiles already setup, I did not have to fiddle with the setup of APN and Dial Up number.

Clicked on Connect and bingo it was connected in a single go.

Huawei UMG 181 Data Card:
  • Retractable USB Port
  • Slot for SIM and Micro SD Card
  • Slot for External Antenna
  • Indicators: Green(Blink) - 2G Network Available, Blue(Blink) - 3G Network Available, Green(Cont.)-Connected to 2G Network, Blue(Cont.) - Connected to 3G Network.
  • Firmware Ver. : 11.100.11.00.420
Mobile Partner (Shipped Along) :
  • Software Version :16.001.06.01.500 FaKiro
  • Voice Call - Enabled
  • Video Call - Enabled
  • GPS - Supported
  • Option to Control Bandwidth Usage by setting up limit.
Speed Test's


BSNL 2G
BSNL 2G










Vodafone EDGE
Vodafone EDGE











EDIT: As requested by an online friend to upload Mobile Partner shipped with this data card, I have made it available and you can download it here

Mobile Partner ver.16.001.06.01.500 FaKiro


Will post more speed results later. If you want to know anything specific to Huawei UMG 181, you can go ahead and shoot your questions, and I'll try to answer as much as possible.


13 comments:

  1. Please post about how much speeds you get on BSNL 3G as I'm planning to buy one. I guess you're from Jaipur, am I correct?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Shank,

    Yes I am from Jaipur. If you are planning to buy BSNL 3G please check out the network in your area. I had it checked in some areas by my friends, and when I was getting speed up to 2Mbps my friends were hardly getting 256Kbps.

    Right now I get a varying speed between 1-2Mbps, and occasionally nothing less than 256Kbps.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Preetam,

    Sure I can upload the Mobile Partner but will need some time. I will post a link once I upload.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Preetam: I have uploaded Mobile Partner and shared the link. Please go through the post for link.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Suresh,

    Very good tutorials, suggestions and breakthrough ideas.

    I am planning to replace my wired broadband connectivity and I have a CISCO WRT610N. How can I use this router with 3G data card? I need to use the wifi for laptop and ipad and occasionally I need to use the sim for Ipad alone.

    What would u recommend?

    And about this particular data card is now listed as Rs 2589 and what is the difference from the official BSNL data card Linktop / LW273 7.2 MBPS/Tri Band/Rs 2000(Exclusive of VAT)

    Best wishes and regards,
    Aditya

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Aditya, Sorry but you can't use this router with 3G Data Card. You can find more information on 3G Routers here: http://sureshkumarmali.blogspot.com/2011/06/3g-data-card-to-wifi-3g-router.html

    The other way out would be to create an AdHoc network and connect the data card to your laptop, and use ICS(Internet Connection Sharing) to share your internet.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Suresh,

    Fine thanks. Can you elaborate on the second suggestion i.e. Internet Connection Sharing. Can you list the steps.

    regards,

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi

    Thanks and can you elaborate on the internet connection sharing. Can you please list the steps.

    I am interested using a data card, router(creating a wifi hot spot in house), desktop, laptop and few wifi devices.

    regards,

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Aditya: Sorry for the delay in response. Here is a brief step by step instructions on ICS, http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306126

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Suresh,
    Pl be prepared for 2 dumb questions since I am non-tech :)
    1. i bought a huawei dongle / netsetter "Mobile Connect 3G" a month back, but got the chance to use it only yesterday. firstly, how can i know which model no. do i have? i threw the wrapper and the print on the device looks Russian !
    2. i bought a tata docomo card yesterday for the above device. though it shows a connection is established, i couldn't open any site, not even a simple google home page.. it shows speed of 283.6kbps, which i believe is very horrible.
    can you please help?
    many thanks in advance
    Amiya Sen

    ReplyDelete
  11. @Amiya Sen, First of all no question is dumb. Now answering your questions.
    1. Its OK if you have thrown away the wrapper. Once you install mobile partner(dialer software with device) and you connect. goto Help>>About and you should have the device info there. since mobile partner is being customized by the provider you may have to go through some other options in case you don't find it.

    2. It seems you were on 2G network. Go to Tools >>Options >>Network. check if the network preference is set to GSM only or GSM preferred. if yes change it to WCDMA preferred. The other case: Check for 3G network availability in your area.

    Regards,
    Suresh

    ReplyDelete
  12. @Suresh
    I thought a techguy like u would be 2 busy to answer, but many thanks for extremely quick answer (and also for kind remarks that "no questions are dumb")
    1. There is a list of s/w in the about and all of them show 1.01. The title shows 16.001.06.01.500 FaKiro....is that the model no.? :)
    2.I am currently in Gujarat, where I believe the 3G is good enough. As suggested by you, I did change to WCDMA preferred, the displayed speed hasn't changed much. But at least, I am using the current net connection from docomo which yesterday was not opening any site...
    thank you again for your help and guidance.
    Regards
    Amiya Sen

    ReplyDelete
  13. @Amiya Sen, 16.111.XXX is the software version and not the model #. Try going through other options available in mobile partner software. It should be something like Huawei E1550, or E172, etc...

    If your place is 3G enabled check for the signal strength. It would something like -85dbi. The lower the number, better the signal as its a negative value. Try moving around to find good signal strength.

    ReplyDelete