FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I connect to a WWAN network? 1. Insert a SIM card into the SIM card slot (read manual for the location) while the laptop is switched off. 2. Boot the OS What is a SIM card? A SIM card is a small plastic card with a small memory chip where the necessary data to authenticate the 3G card on a WWAN network is stored. Depending on the WWAN service provider, sometimes even the SIM PIN, the APN and other authentication data is stored there. A SIM card is usually provided to a customer after a service contract is made with a specific WWAN service provider. 3. Start the 3G Connection Manager (Mobilink or Toshiba Wireless Manager) 4. Insert the SIM PIN number if requested 5. Configure the Connection Manager (see below or read the manual how to do this) What is a Connection Manager (Wireless Manager) and why do I need it? 6. Wait until a network is found 7. Click the connect button 8. Connected I purchased a Toshiba 3G laptop but the Connection Manager tells me there is no SIM card. What does this mean? SIM cards are provided to you after a contract is made with a 3G service provider. Our 3G laptops (if not customised for a 3G service provider) are shipped without a 3G service contract. Please purchase a SIM card at a phone store. You can also use the SIM card of your personal mobile phone if a data service is enabled for it. The location of the SIM card slot is described in the Toshiba manual. To create a 3G network connection, some parameters (depending on your 3G service provider) must be configured. A Connection Manager is a software utility which manages the required parameters. Typical required parameters are: The APN: This is the name of the WWAN network to which the 3G card shall connect. Please contact your 3G service provider for APN name. Username: The username is used to authenticate the connection. However, most of the time a username is not required or a common name is used. Please ask your 3G service provider for your username. Password: The password is used to authenticate the connection. However, most of the time a password is not required or a standard password is used. Please ask your 3G service provider for your password.

What is a WWAN? WWAN is a common term for cellular network technologies such as UMTS, GPRS, GSM, HSDPA, 3G etc. to transfer data. How is the throughput of Toshiba 3G cards? We support up to 3.6Mbit/s download and kbit/s upload with the Novatel WWAN modules. The Ericsson F3507g WWAN module for Toshiba supports 7.2Mbit/s download and up to 3.6Mbit/s upload. What is a SIM PIN? A SIM PIN is a 4 digit security number which must be input before the 3G card can establish a connection to a WWAN network. However, some WWAN service providers store the SIM PIN permanently into the SIM card. Alternatively, it may be stored permanently using the Connection Manager function. In this case, the 3G card can work immediately after the SIM card is inserted and the laptop has booted up. How is the throughput in the real world? This depends on the location as well as on the actual network coverage. Low signal strength can result in low throughput and slow response time. What is an APN? The APN is the name of a specific WWAN network to which the 3G card shall connect. It is similar to the SSID of WLAN networks. The APN is different from WWAN network to WWAN network and even depends sometimes on the WWAN service contract (flat rate, time based, etc.). Please ask your WWAN service provider which APN should be used. In case many users are connected to the same 3G base station at the same time, throughput might become low as well.

What kind of different WWAN technologies are available? Please refer to table below. Technology CSD Download (Kbit/s) Upload (Kbit/s) 9.6 9.6 HSCSD 28.8 14.4 HSCSD 43.2 14.4 GPRS 80.0 20.0 (Class 8 & 10 and CS-4) GPRS 60.0 40.0 (Class 10 and CS-4) EGPRS (EDGE) 236.8 59.2 (Class 8, 10 and MCS-9) EGPRS (EDGE) 177.6 118.4 (Class 10 and MCS-9) UMTS 64 HSDPA 1800 HSDPA 3200 (HSUPA = 1800) HSDPA 7200 (HSUPA = 3600) Can I connect to a 3G network without using a 3G connection manager? Yes. You can create a standard Windows dial-up connection using the 3G modem device. In case of an Ericsson F3507g WWAN module for Toshiba module, a dial-up connection with the current SIM card settings is automatically created after the Connection Manager is opened the first time. Is it possible to run a VPN connection over a 3G connection? Theoretically, yes. However, depending on the actual network state (coverage, signal strength, etc.), sometimes there might be problems because the 3G network response time can be high depending on the network situation at time. VPN connections are very sensitive regarding response time due to security concerns and, therefore, a slow response might interrupt a VPN connection in rare cases. However, this depends also on the used VPN software. How can I establish a 3G connection before Windows log on? Unfortunately, this is not currently supported by our Connection Manager. It is possible by setting up a standard dial-up connection. What is GSM, CSD, HSCSD, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, etc.? In short, these terms describe different WWAN transmission tech nologies (see also table above).

Can I insert the SIM card while the OS is booted up and running? Sorry, this is not possible at the moment. The SIM card will not be recognised. Please shutdown your Toshiba laptop, insert the SIM card while powered off and boot again. How can I avoid roaming? Unfortunately, with the Novatel WWAN module, there is no way to configure the Toshiba 3G laptop to reject a roaming connection. The laptop will, if the connect button is pushed, connect to every 3G network in range, no matter if it is in a foreign country or not. Please check the name of the actual available WWAN network in the Connection Manager before clicking the connect button. I own a 3G cellular phone. Can I also use the SIM card of my mobile phone for a Toshiba 3G laptop? Theoretically, yes. However, it depends on your current phone contract. If data service is activated, your phone s SIM card can be used after configuring the Connection Manager. If the phone s SIM card is not activated for data services, please ask your current 3G service provider to activate it. Please be aware that a data service activated under a default contract may result in high costs. To avoid these, please ask your actual 3G service provider whether it is possible to obtain a data serviced optimised contract. With the Toshiba Wireless Manager and the Ericsson F3507g WWAN module for Toshiba, it s possible to fix the APN to a specific one. In this case, no roaming will happen. Please check the Toshiba Connection Managers Help for details. Can I use another Connection Manager other than the pre installed one? Usually, we support only the preinstalled Connection Manager as it is tested to work well. Other Connection Managers might only work partially or even not at all.

Why do I sometimes only get a GPRS connection and not a UMTS (3G) or HSDPA connection? Do you support SMS / MMS and (or) voice calls through the Toshiba 3G module? HSDPA or even UMTS (3G) is not supported everywhere. At the moment, mostly only larger towns and cities are covered by a HSDPA or UMTS network. GPRS is supported in every location where GSM (usual voice cellular network) is available. Unfortunately, with the Novatel WWAN module we do not support SMS / MMS nor voice calls. Only data transmission is supported. The Ericsson F3507g WWAN module for Toshiba in combination with the Toshiba Wireless Manager supports SMS. We are working to support MMS and voice in the future. How can I find out on which speed my current HSDPA connection is running? Unfortunately, there is no way to detect the HSDPA connection speed because it is a dynamic process influenced by several parameters like coverage, signal strength, base station performance, etc. Windows shows me that I m con nected by 7.2 MBit/s but my per formance measurement tool shows a much lower speed. Why is this? Windows doesn t display the real speed. Windows just shows the maximum speed our 3G card is supporting. What is GPS? GPS, also called Global Positioning Service, uses a constellation of between 24 and 32 satellites that transmit precise microwave signals, which enable GPS receivers to determine their current location, the time, and their velocity. What does it mean if a Laptop supports GPS? It means that the laptop has a built in device which is able to receive the GPS microwave signal to calculate current location.

Does Toshiba support GPS on laptops? GPS is supported on laptops equipped with the Ericsson F3507g WWAN module for Toshiba. Does this built in GPS function have the same quality as my car navigation system? We are continuously working to improve the quality of the GPS function, but due to the multi usage design of a laptop, several interfering devices exist. Therefore, the signal reception quality of a built in GPS receiver will be typically lower than the signal reception quality of a dedicated navigation system. How does GPS work on Toshiba laptops? GPS is supported as a part of the WWAM module and must be switched on / off through the Toshiba Wireless Manager. Please note that some early versions of the Toshiba Wireless Manager do not support GPS. However, the latest Toshiba 3G module (featuring the Ericsson F3507g module) with the latest driver and the latest Toshiba Wireless Manager will support GPS. The previously used 3G module (Novatel) does not support GPS. If GPS is enabled, the GPS data is sent in NMEA 2.0 format through COM 6. Any GPS application (e.g. Google Earth+ or Garmin), supporting the NMEA 2.0 and being able to connect to COM 6 can make use of the GPS function. Is A-GPS supported on Toshiba Laptops? Technically, A-GPS is supported. However, A-GPS needs to be supported by the GSM/3G carriers. We are continuously working with several carriers to provide this feature in the near future.