Android and 3G Modems

[Tanzanite]

Hmmm I have gone through a few 3G modem since I bought my First tablet and lets just get real here. Android and 3G is not a straight forward thing.

When you read the specs most Tablets say that they support 3G dongles. Most of them is in fact telling the truth but some of them don't tell which dongles they support. So you receive this sexy little thing in the post and want to connect it to the Internet and ......

After too many trials and errors here is what I found.

There is no golden rule about which modems works with which tablet. I at least have modems that works with one tablet and not with another.
If you want to be sure that a modem works then you should buy the modem where you buy the tablet (and make sure they guarantee that it work)
I have found that the following modems works with most Tablets (some of them with all tablets that I have tried)

Huawei E220
Huawei 1750E
Huawei 156G
Huawei E173 (not all versions)
TE MF637U

Based on the manufacturers specs Huawei 1750E seems to be the safest choice.

Even when you have a modem that is recognized by the tablet you might have to configurer it which has it own challenges. Here is a good guide for this: How to setup your 3G modem

When everything is done you have the freedom to access the Internet from everywhere (where there is 3G coverage, but there are a few hurdles that you need to deal with first.

 

[J515OP]

Good post. I would suggest the use of a wifi hotspot instead of a usb dongle modem. It seems that tablet manufactures may also be counting on the use of these hotspots instead of 3g modems judging by the issues you note.

Google

 

[tvjudge]

ok I just bought the inexpensive cherrypad. pretty cool and i setup the 3g as per the cherrypad site instructions. Kepp getting a messaage to be sure the dongle is in the list. I note your post says not all versions of the dongle will work. Mine apperas to be an e173-3 as displayed by the almost impossible to read writing on the inside under the cover.

Is there some firmware or drivers i need to update on my droid. It came with os v 2.2 should that be updated as well?
Im a linux guy but a droid newbe

thanks in advance for any suggestions

 

[oldRags]

My 2 cents:
just tried a Huawei E173-u2 on a stock Android 4.4.2 Kitkat, Nexus 7. No-go, the APN settings don't appear on the tablet.
The modem blinks in green and I'm stuck.
It seems it should be possible by rooting the tablet and installing the PPP Widget App.

ok I just bought the inexpensive cherrypad. pretty cool and i setup the 3g as per the cherrypad site instructions. Kepp getting a messaage to be sure the dongle is in the list. I note your post says not all versions of the dongle will work. Mine apperas to be an e173-3 as displayed by the almost impossible to read writing on the inside under the cover.

Is there some firmware or drivers i need to update on my droid. It came with os v 2.2 should that be updated as well?
Im a linux guy but a droid newbe

thanks in advance for any suggestions