Common reasons for not being able to recieve a mobile broadband network signal.
1) Very poor signal or no reception at all
- Check the reception indicator showing the signal strength.
- Suggestions on how to improve your mobile broadband signal
2) SIM card has not been activated
- Contact the mobile network operator who supplied the SIM card to get it activated
3) SIM card or modem has been blocked by the network operator
- This usually happens when a SIM \ modem is reported stolen. Contact the network operator
4) SIM card has expired
- Some SIM cards expire if they are not used before a certain date. You will need to get a new SIM card
5) Modem doesn't support the mobile network frequency
- Does your modem support the frequency used by the network operator. For example, a modem that only supports the 2100Mhz band will not work with a network using the 1900Mhz band.
- Some mobile network operators use two bands depending on location (often one for towns and the other for country side), this is why your modem may work in one location and not another.
6) Does the modem support the mobile broadband technology used by the network operator.
- Different mobile network operators use different Mobile broadband technologies. For Example, Verizon (USA) use a 3G technology based on CDMA, while AT&T (USA) use a GSM based technology. If you tried to use a AT&T 3G modem with Verizon it will not work and vice versa.
7) Only a 2G signal is available and the modem is configure to 3G only
Configure the modem to '3G preferred' rather than '3G only'. These settings are usually found in the connection manager (aka dashboard) software under the 'Network' settings
8) A SIM card from another network is used in a 'locked' modem
To use a SIM from another network requires the modem to be 'unlocked'. Search Unlocked Dongle for your modem's unlocking solution
Related error messages:
'No Network'
'Unable to find a network'
'Service unavailable'
'Invalid SIM'
