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Orange (Spit) 3g dongle AAAAARGHHH


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Some of you will know that I was away for sometime earlier in the year with no Internet access, even by Wifi.

So I had invested in a Orange 3g Dongle, just for such emergencies. I wouldn't normally dream of using 3g or Orange (spit)

But it didn"t work surprise surprise [8-)]

Now I am completely hopeless at most practical things, but I can usually work out computer problems with a few searches on the Internet etc, and one of my best friends in France used to work for IBM in La Défense, so we get by between us.

Then there is male pride...[:$]

I never use helplines, partly because they often know less than I and my friend do.

Anyway for all the three months I couldn't get the dongle to work, even though there was a Orange 3g signal. One of the nurses in the nursing home took pity on me as a perceived tecchy illiterate and re-installed the thing, obviously believing that I done it wrongly.

"Oh that's strange..it doesn't work" was the result, and I gave a sweet Norman smile

Then my friend and his wife visited, and he did the same thing, then installed it on his laptop...

It didn't work.

He took it home

It didn't work.

Just before going back in for the last session I went into the Orange (spit) shop in the town centre.

Oh that's strange they said.  Your sim card is valid, and your contract is ok

but

It didn't work in their shop either.

"Go to Auchan" they said " they are more technically minded then we are. We are just sales assistants.

After that gem I needed a sit down so I went into the local café which has Wifi .

I was fulminating about Orange (spit) and la patronne said "let me try it in my laptop"

It didn't work..

but being a woman she is prepared to phone up and ask for help.

The reply was astonishing.

"it doesn't work because we have blocked the sim card" 

"Why have you blocked the sim card?"

"because M Norman has moved house without telling us"

Now I haven't moved house since 1999, and my contract clearly has my present address on it.

"But M Norman hasn't moved house"

"but our facture was returned by the post in September last year' 

"So he is in arrears?"

"Oh No he has paid every month since April 2010"

"So what is the problem?"

"Our letter was returned"

"How could he know that?"

"We sent him an SMS"

"to which number"?

"The number of the sim card"

'but I thought you had blocked that"

Oh yes we did"

Where did you send his facture?

To his house in Trouduc les Beziers"

"but He lives in Trouduc, not Trouduc les Beziers"

"Ah that explains it then...

[:-))]

Then then claimed to have unblocked the sim card but it still doesn't work.

"Ah they said where are you? 

"In the town centre next to the Orange shop "

"Oh yes. The coverage there hardly works. We are going to improve that next year....

Words fail me

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I got one with free my Orange package. TBH I neither wanted or needed it but as I had it I thought why not - big mistake. I'm pretty good with the old PC's and am seldom defeated but a day of my life was at least twice what I was prepared to devote to that piece of worthless poo and I eventually I tossed it back in the box never to see the light of day again.[blink]

 

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[quote user="AnOther"]

I got one with free my Orange package.

[/quote]At least you didn't part with the 70-odd €s which Mr C  spent on mine in an effort to get me connected to the outside world whislt I spent nigh-on 2 months in hospital.  I was not at my best anyway but it's hard to convey here just how angry we were with this "pile of worthless poo" as you so succinctly put it.  I'm so glad that somebody far better at these things than I had equal trouble with the ****ing thing.  Some of my friends who come over for the race have asked me if it would be a good idea to invest in one for sending their pics etc home whilst they're here for the race.  I now know the answer to that.
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[quote user="AnOther"]

I got one with free my Orange package. TBH I neither wanted or needed it but as I had it I thought why not - big mistake. I'm pretty good with the old PC's and am seldom defeated but a day of my life was at least twice what I was prepared to devote to that piece of worthless poo and I eventually I tossed it back in the box never to see the light of day again.[blink]

[/quote]

Phone them up and tell them you don't want it and they will knock 4 Euros a month off your bill, well they did for me anyway. When I asked about sending it back they said to throw it away as they would simply block the sim card. Shame really as it had never even been out of the box but then Orange have shed loads of money and I suspect they get these things for next to nothing.

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That's an awesome tale of woe Norman and regretably seems to be becoming more common as things get more technically advanced.

At least they didn't say 'that's interesting'

 

Courtesy of the B******d Operator From Hell

 ........... "Correct. Still on that topic, an engineer happens to mention the words 'that's interesting'. What has happened?"

"Uh, he's either broken your computer, lost his screwdriver inside it somewhere, put it back together with lots of parts left over or encountered some error that he's never seen before."

"So?"

"Oh, he just says it to pass the time because he's not allowed to say 'bo****ks' in the presence of a customer."

  cannot count the amount of times i have said the words "that's interesting" to a customer on the phone....

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Hello Normy - thought I might TRY and be helpful!

I've had an Orange (France !) Huawei E160 dongle for around 4 years now and it works superbly well on my local 3G network.

However, like you, when I first tried to install it (and subsequently update it to Windows 7) - disaster!

So - I uninstalled the Orange France software from my PC and downloaded / installed the UK version of the E160 Connection Manager software from the Orange.co.uk site (link below) been fine ever since.

http://shop.orange.co.uk/mobile-broadband/help

(use the 'support' tab for the downloads relevant to your dongle make)

Simon :-)

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Norman

Almost exactly a year ago my physiatrist assured me everything was going to be alright. It was finished. Gone.

And then last night I saw the vodafone imp dancing on my grave at the side of the bed. I  managed to shoo it away but as soon as it had gone the Three ghoul appeared climbing over the foot of the bed. I raised my hand to shake my fist but nothing happened. Totally impotent.

It was then that I noticed the Orange devil on the window ledge laughing as I writhed in mental agony.

It's all coming back Norman. Why did you post the thread? Why did I read it?

Help someone.

 

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