Question Weird USB 3G M2M Networking Stick

[louisfriend]

Hello. I go to the recycling center all the time and spotted what looks like a hospital nurse call button attached to a USB stick I assumed was a wifi card. It turns out the USB has a SIM card in it. I found the product information page. How do I get this thing to work? They go for about $50 on eBay. Could I get data service on a SIM card and use it for internet access? Can I use it as an normal wifi card? There is a FAQ and product data sheet but this is like Greek to me. Thanks.

https://consumer.huawei.com/solutions/m2m-solutions/en/products/tech-specs/ms2131-en.htm

 

[bill001g]

First are you willing to pay a monthly fee to use the device if not stop now and put it in the trash can.

Many of these devices are carrier locked so you would somehow have to find which carrier it supports. Partially this is based on the radio band because not all carriers support all bands.

Your also have to find the device driver for the device. The too tend to be carrier dependent since it even using the same hardware they have difference access methods, for a over simplification they use different login ids. Some of these devices the driver is on a file on the stick itself.

Now you still must get a sim card that works in the device. These you generally must get from the carrier you are going to run this on. Some have a charge for it and others do not. It seldom works to move a sim from say a cell phone to one of these devices. The data plans are different for cell phones and these devices so even it could technically work the ISP will have blocked it. The generally charge much more for data on these type of devices than they do for cell phones.

With all the hassles involved it likely would be easier to get a new dongle from the provider you want to use. The new ones likely support things like LTE which is much faster. The cost of these modems is only a tiny part the monthly fees is where the real costs are.

Another concern would be if the device was reported stolen. Most reputably ISP will not activate any stolen equipment on their network.

 

[louisfriend]

I just checked with Ting and even if it is unlocked they would only be able to provide 2G coverage. Thanks.!