The K3770 puzzle

[frankdc]

Hello Gintas,

Thanks for replying to my e-mail. Let's continue discussion here.

There are many K3770 unlocked. And there are many K3770 that are not even recognised as evidenced in your Huawei forum. I add my own to the list of failures.

The funny thing is that your advice does not help at all. The modem is properly installed, there are no issues in the device manager (WinXP SP3), the Vodafone dashboard recognize it, the dial up and Hyper Terminal also recognize it.

But your unlocker does not, and the generic Huawei dashboard Mobile Partner does not.

I would assume there is something in the installation that is conflicting with Mobile Partner and dc-unlocker.

So my suggestion is: let's check first the services. Please check my list against your on the machine where you got your K3770 unlocked. Any differences?

Thanks a lot!

frank


----- list of services started -----

Application Layer Gateway Service
COM+ Event System
Cryptographic Services
DCOM Server Process Launcher
DCService.exe
DHCP Client
Distributed Link Tracking Client
DNS Client
Error Reporting Service
Event Log
Fast User Switching Compatibility
Help and Support
IPSEC Services
Network Connections
Network Location Awareness (NLA)
Plug and Play
Print Spooler
Protected Storage
Remote Access Connection Manager
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
Secondary Logon
Security Accounts Manager
Security Center
Server
Shell Hardware Detection
System Event Notification
Task Scheduler
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Telephony
Terminal Services
Themes
WebClient
Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
Windows Management Instrumentation
Windows Time
Wireless Zero Configuration
Workstation

[Vincentas]

Contact us by live chat on working hours from 11 to 17 gmt+2 and we will try to check more.

[frankdc]

Unlocking does not help

Hello Vincentas,

I have now unlocked my Vodafone K3770 using #####. Works fine and ... it does not help.

Even after unlocking it, the Vodafone K3770 remains invisible to a generic version of 'Mobile Partner' and to dc-unlocker. It seems, the issue is not the lock, the issue must be the drivers which are from Vodafone and apparently only works with Vodafone hardware if certain features are requested.

I have been looking for non-Vodafone K3770 drivers and failed. If you know any, please post the link here.

Thanks and regards

frank

[Vincentas]

Hello Vincentas,

I have now unlocked my Vodafone K3770 using #####. Works fine and ... it does not help.

Even after unlocking it, the Vodafone K3770 remains invisible to a generic version of 'Mobile Partner' and to dc-unlocker. It seems, the issue is not the lock, the issue must be the drivers which are from Vodafone and apparently only works with Vodafone hardware if certain features are requested.

I have been looking for non-Vodafone K3770 drivers and failed. If you know any, please post the link here.

Thanks and regards

frank

Sorry, we do not have drivers.

[frankdc]

(1) Are the modems K3770 and K3770-Z relatives?
No, K3770 comes from Huawei, K3770-Z from ZTE.


(2) Beside Vodafone, do any companies distribute the K3770?
No.


(3) Are there non-Vodafone drivers for the K3770?
Most probably no such drivers exist. There are none at
http://www.huaweidevice.com/worldwide/.


(4) Are there differences in the K3770 hardware?
Yes, the K3770 has changed over the years. So advice for older version
does not necessarily apply to the current version.


(5) Does the K3770 get along with non-Vodafone dashboards?
The current K3770 doesn't. Huawei's 'Mobile Partner' does not detect
the device, be it locked or unlocked.


(6) Can you use the K3770 with non-Vodafone SIM cards?
No, if the modem is locked.


(7) Can you use an unlocked K3770 with non-Vodafone SIM cards?
Yes, but only with dialup. Vodafone's dashboard does not react to
alien SIM cards. Other dashboards do not even recognize the
device locked or not.


(8) So what's the advantage unlocking the K3770?
With it you can now dial up to providers other than Vodafone. But you
will never get the freedom and the convenience of widely used modems
like the old E1550. Vodafone has effectively found a way to lock a modem
stronger than merely with a code in its firmware. Of course,
the approach only works for hardware distributed solely by Vodafone.

[Vincentas]

(1) Are the modems K3770 and K3770-Z relatives?
No, K3770 comes from Huawei, K3770-Z from ZTE.


(2) Beside Vodafone, do any companies distribute the K3770?
No.


(3) Are there non-Vodafone drivers for the K3770?
Most probably no such drivers exist. There are none at
http://www.huaweidevice.com/worldwide/.


(4) Are there differences in the K3770 hardware?
Yes, the K3770 has changed over the years. So advice for older version
does not necessarily apply to the current version.


(5) Does the K3770 get along with non-Vodafone dashboards?
The current K3770 doesn't. Huawei's 'Mobile Partner' does not detect
the device, be it locked or unlocked.


(6) Can you use the K3770 with non-Vodafone SIM cards?
No, if the modem is locked.


(7) Can you use an unlocked K3770 with non-Vodafone SIM cards?
Yes, but only with dialup. Vodafone's dashboard does not react to
alien SIM cards. Other dashboards do not even recognize the
device locked or not.


(8) So what's the advantage unlocking the K3770?
With it you can now dial up to providers other than Vodafone. But you
will never get the freedom and the convenience of widely used modems
like the old E1550. Vodafone has effectively found a way to lock a modem
stronger than merely with a code in its firmware. Of course,
the approach only works for hardware distributed solely by Vodafone.

Yes, almost all here is true. But not all. You can unlock this mdoem with dc-unlocker.
Also, there are many not customized connection manager, that are made not by huawei and contain vodafone drivers. You can try to check for non vodafone manager in this forum also.

[frankdc]

nitpicking

>>>
Yes, almost all here is true. But not all. You can unlock this mdoem with dc-unlocker.
<<<

There is no mention of dc-unlocker in the post you are replying to.

I did unlock my K3770 (current version) by other means because dc-unlocker was failing. There are sundry reports of similar failures on your Huawei forum. I believe you succeeded on older K3770 hardware.

However, if you managed to trick out Vodafone's drivers, please do share.

[Vincentas]

>>>
Yes, almost all here is true. But not all. You can unlock this mdoem with dc-unlocker.
<<<

There is no mention of dc-unlocker in the post you are replying to.

I did unlock my K3770 (current version) by other means because dc-unlocker was failing. There are sundry reports of similar failures on your Huawei forum. I believe you succeeded on older K3770 hardware.

However, if you managed to trick out Vodafone's drivers, please do share.

If you were not able to detect by dc-unlocker, it does not mean it was failing.

[frankdc]

success story

>>> If you were not able to detect by dc-unlocker, it does not mean it was failing. <<<

Let's agree that dc-unlocker was and is succeeding although it is unable to detect the device.

[Vincentas]

>>> If you were not able to detect by dc-unlocker, it does not mean it was failing. <<<

Let's agree that dc-unlocker was and is succeeding although it is unable to detect the device.

There were people that were able to detect it. What provider and country is your modem from?
We have faced some this model modems that have customized firmware. These are not supported at now.

[frankdc]

error correction

>>> There were people that were able to detect it. <<<

Probably on old K3770 hardware. In the last two months, there were seven threads in this forum of people whose dc-unlocker didn't detect the device. My thread is number 8. You routinely invited to a chat when your forum advice proved useless. Results after the chat? Zero, zippo, zilch.

>>> What provider and country is your modem from? <<<

There is one and only one provider using the K3770: Vodafone. Their name may differ from country to country, the firmware may differ from country to country: so what? Reading the firmware comes after recognising the device - and dc-unlocker likes to pass face to face with the current K3770.

It's even worse than I was saying a couple of posts upstream: you can connect using dialup with a locked or unlocked K3770 *only* after the modem has registered on a network. The only network the drivers will allow is Vodafone's. If the SIM card is not Vodafone, registration will fail and you have no connection.

Sorry for my error. Unlocking the K3770 is entirely useless if you are planning to use a provider other than Vodafone. And if you intend to stick to Vodafone, you do not need to unlock in the fisrt place.

Your candour in this issue has left a bit to be desired, Vincentas. Tell users that they do not have to bother about unlocking the K3770. Removing the lock code in the firmware does exactly nothing.

[Gintas]

>>> There were people that were able to detect it. <<<

Probably on old K3770 hardware. In the last two months, there were seven threads in this forum of people whose dc-unlocker didn't detect the device. My thread is number 8. You routinely invited to a chat when your forum advice proved useless. Results after the chat? Zero, zippo, zilch.

>>> What provider and country is your modem from? <<<

There is one and only one provider using the K3770: Vodafone. Their name may differ from country to country, the firmware may differ from country to country: so what? Reading the firmware comes after recognising the device - and dc-unlocker likes to pass face to face with the current K3770.

It's even worse than I was saying a couple of posts upstream: you can connect using dialup with a locked or unlocked K3770 *only* after the modem has registered on a network. The only network the drivers will allow is Vodafone's. If the SIM card is not Vodafone, registration will fail and you have no connection.

Sorry for my error. Unlocking the K3770 is entirely useless if you are planning to use a provider other than Vodafone. And if you intend to stick to Vodafone, you do not need to unlock in the fisrt place.

Your candour in this issue has left a bit to be desired, Vincentas. Tell users that they do not have to bother about unlocking the K3770. Removing the lock code in the firmware does exactly nothing.

There are few firmware versions. One of them are not supported.
You can always check what firmware version your modem has this way:
Launch DC-Unlocker, write "AT+CGMR" in white window and press enter.
If DC-Unlocker responds with "21.045.03.00.37" - you will not be able to unlock this modem. This firmware version (locked to Vodafone Egypt (only)) is customized, not supported and could not be unlocked with DC-Unlocker.
If DC-Unlocker responds with other firmware version, like "21.023.04.00.11", then you can unlock it with DC-Unlocker.

Believe me, there are many users who unlocked K3770 successfully, and now are using with other providers SIM cards without problems.
So, your theory is wrong.

[frankdc]

the real issue

>>> Believe me, there are many users who unlocked K3770 successfully

I'll believe you when you specify whether the K3770 was current or old.

Here is a quote from South Africa where Vodacom (i.e. Vodafone) does not lock its modems and still the usual 'no modem' issue comes up:

<quote>
Sometime in 2009, Huawei drivers started to appear with the .inf files modified so that the device description appeared in Device Manager as 'Vodafone Mobile Broadband' instead of 'Huawei' devices. This prevented Mobile Partner from being able to detect Vodafone devices. It is possible to search and replace in all of the .inf files supplied with the drivers, but it seems that version 21 of Mobile Partner is able to detect Vodafone devices.
<unquote>

Just add that version to your downloads of not customised managers.
Or get the current Vodafone msi-file and change all the drivers names.

[Vincentas]

>>> Believe me, there are many users who unlocked K3770 successfully

I'll believe you when you specify whether the K3770 was current or old.

Here is a quote from South Africa where Vodacom (i.e. Vodafone) does not lock its modems and still the usual 'no modem' issue comes up:

<quote>
Sometime in 2009, Huawei drivers started to appear with the .inf files modified so that the device description appeared in Device Manager as 'Vodafone Mobile Broadband' instead of 'Huawei' devices. This prevented Mobile Partner from being able to detect Vodafone devices. It is possible to search and replace in all of the .inf files supplied with the drivers, but it seems that version 21 of Mobile Partner is able to detect Vodafone devices.
<unquote>

Just add that version to your downloads of not customised managers.
Or get the current Vodafone msi-file and change all the drivers names.

We do not modify ar change mobile partner or dashboard. Dc-unlocker provide only unlock.
You can try to check in this forum, as I remember here was a version of connection software that work with vodafone modems.

[frankdc]

success

>>>
as I remember here was a version of connection software that work with vodafone modems.
>>>

None of the 3 Mobile Partner variants you have works with the (current) K3770.

I found the version 21 on the web and installed it. It is quite a hassle because that install damages the previous K3770 install and you have to repair it by hand. What you need is a generic Mobile Partner install with the customised K3770 drivers.

Long story short: I can now use Mobile Partner with the K3770.

As for dc-unlocker, I do think you should warn users about false expectations. Unlocking the current K3770 does not mean using Mobile Partner on the device. It is possible to use it (modem locked or unlocked) but it is quite a bit of extra work.

Just unlocking the (current) K3770 will do plenty of nothing: you cannot connect with Mobile Partner at all; and you cannot connect with the Vodafone Dashboard to other providers. Unlocking was for the cat except if you manage with dialup or with dashboards which are a simple front-end to dialup.