Mobile 3G Broadband

3G Broadband Troubleshooting

Once you have got a 3G Mobile broadband connection, there really is little to go wrong, hardware wise.  Most service issues relate to either installing the supplied software, or problems with sending email.

Software installation issues:

A few general rules to remember when installing any software will help avoid potential problems with 3G connection software - and software in general.

• Check your system is capable of supporting the software supplied, The version of Windows and amount of system memory as well as any requird updates should be checked.
• Are there any old versions or similar software packages that should be removed first?
• Are there any updates for the supplied software that should be used instead of the supplied software?

Once the software is installed and your 3G device recognised, you should be able to get Internet access and test your mobile 3G Internet connection.  You should take time to familiarise yourself with the new software and how to connect so that when out "on the road" you know what to expect and when anything is not working as it usually does.

The download limits are now sufficiently high that in normal use, most users should not find a 3GB per month data allowance to be restrictive - but don't expect to download TV programs and watch YouTube all day!

Email Considerations:

Sending email can pose certain problems for users.  While webmail such as gmail and  yahoo and web based messenger services like MSN, AIM and Windows Live will usually work without any configuration changes at all, email programs such as Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express may receive - but not send email.

This is due to the way email is usually sent to the Internet.  It is common for the "Email Client" (Outlook) to be configured to send to your own ISP (Internet service provider) This is the company providing your Internet connection.  If you have BT Broadband at home and a Vodafone 3G mobile internet connection, then you have two different ISPs, depending on how you are connected to the Internet at the time.

If Outlook is configured to send email via these SMTP (Outbound) servers, then it will fail when using the other ISP.

To avoid this problem, the most simple option is to use an outbound mail server that supports "SMTP Authentication".  In this way, you can use the same server regardless of how you connect to the Internet, removing the need for any reconfiguration at all.

Not all ISPs support SMTP authentication, but if you have a domain name through a third party hosting company (such as 1&1 or FastHosts, etc) then they should provide an SMTP server that you can use.  Check your hosting companies web site for "SMTP Authentication" and they will usually provide a guide to configure common email clients to suit their service, as this tends to vary between hosting companies.