Tips and Tricks - Written by mbrocks.com on Monday, March 31, 2008 15:59 - 9 Comments

Problems with the E870 ExpressCard on certain machines

It looks like there have been some compatibility issues between the Huawei E870 ExpressCard where the card will not power up correctly (normally resulting in the LED indicator going a solid colour as soon as it is plugged in or no lights at all). This has been seen on certain models of Advent, E-Systems, Fujitsu Siemens and Dell machines to name a few.A new firmware for the card (not a VMCLite Update) has been released to resolve this which can be found here: E870 Firmware Update  It looks like this can be applied on the machine its failing in as long as the Huawei 3G PC UI Interface device component is visible in Device Manager under Ports.cheersSimple






9 Comments

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Mike
Nov 27, 2008 14:40

I had this problem, after updating the firmware everything works fine.

Desmond
Dec 13, 2008 10:11

Tried this and now my e870 card is locked…. Help?

Desmond
Dec 14, 2008 2:22

Further clarifiation…
- I bought the Huawei e870 ‘un-locked’….
- Had the problem as described here..
- Applied the fix in the link.. problem fixed
- but now launching the Mobile Partner requests me to enter the un-lock code…

This now renders my card useless, unless I can get it unlocked….. Is there anyway out of this without purchasing unlocking services….. I guess someone should have mentioned that this firmware upgrade will lock your card!!

R.A.F.
Dec 27, 2008 22:56

This firmware asks me for a password to upgrade, as my Huawei E870-datacard is a branded one from A1-Vodafone (Austria). – Does anyone by accident know this password?

Phil
Jan 23, 2009 7:37

Thanks for the Firmware, but i have another problem:
the mobile partner software (and other software like the vodafone one too) says: “The SIM/USIM card has not been detected or is invalid.” The E870 status LED blinks two times fast (green) then 2 sec. not and so on. I tried the firmware versions : 11.002.03.09.03, 11.002.03.09.03, 11.002.03.16.03, VMCLite_32.1.156_standard(from Vodafone)and 11.304.20.00.00 and also different SIM cards from different providers (Vodafone, EPlus Prepaid, T-Mobile). Can someone help me?

Desmond
Jan 23, 2009 8:37

Phil, you need to make sure the SIM cards have the HSDPA services enabled from the telecom provider. Also you need the APN setting of the telecom provider, and this is entered into the setup of the software.

Did the firmware lock your E870?…. Mine is still locked.

Thanks

Phil
Jan 23, 2009 8:51

Hello Desmond!

I Know that my Vodafone SIM Card is able to use UMTS, because i can use my SE K800i mobil phone as a modem and go online into the UMTS net. Yes i have entered the right APN, but the software MOBILE PARTNER gives me that “SIM CARD INVALID error” just after i start the software. NO this firmware from above (http://www.mobileconnected.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/e870update_11304200000b310.zip) did not lock my E870!

Desmond
Jan 28, 2009 2:18

Hi Phil,

Lucky you that it did not lock yor card… Unlucky, that for some reason it is not working…. Wish I could help further….

My E870 still is out of Action… and naturally, I am not a happy man!!

Hope you solve your problem quickly.
Thanks
Desmond

Chris Kelly
Feb 5, 2009 5:03

I have applied this firmware update to a Vodafone UK card that I was having problems with in a new Dell E6400 and it is now working perfectly. I had the same problem as described above. No problems with the card in any other machines, but in the Dell E6400 the light was green, it could be seen by the Vodafone software, but never set to active.

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