Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone has a tried a Virgin E169 from their pre-paid broadband packs with an Exetel SIM? The fine-print claims it is locked to the "Optus Network" so I'm not sure if that will mean it will work with Exetel or not?

I'm having a terrible time with Virgin support over early expiry of pre-paid credits so we are looking at going to an Exetel service if possible.

Regards,

Adrian

adriansmith wrote:Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone has a tried a Virgin E169 from their pre-paid broadband packs with an Exetel SIM? The fine-print claims it is locked to the "Optus Network" so I'm not sure if that will mean it will work with Exetel or not?

I'm having a terrible time with Virgin support over early expiry of pre-paid credits so we are looking at going to an Exetel service if possible.

Regards,

Adrian

they are only network locked (if at all) so it will work with Exetel which also uses the Optus network

Also, Virgin has dropped the price of these ($149). Has the supply price been dropped for Exetel, or are they using subsidies from their monthly fees to help pay for them?

I can confirm that the Virgin modems will connect with Exetel. However, it might require the installation of the virgin broadband software to first install the modem. Once installed, you can then switch over to another provider's utility.

The virgin modem comes with a 1 month 300MB included and speed capped at 512K, so you could buy one over the counter and use it while waiting for your Exetel SIM to arrive

peterh_oz wrote:Also, Virgin has dropped the price of these ($149). Has the supply price been dropped for Exetel, or are they using subsidies from their monthly fees to help pay for them?

From what I've seen wholesale prices fluctuate all the time, so that may well be the case. Other factors like exchange rate and quantities purchased would also determine the retail price.

So I suppose these factors may restrict Exetel in the short term, hopefully when they order another batch they will be able to alter their pricing.

I purchased my E169 through Exetel just before Christmas and although not a heavy user, I am more than happy with it.

Yes, prices on all sorts of hardware are a bit unpredictable at the moment. I mention this more for those situations where you need a stick faster than you can get one from Exetel I've done this in the past with Optus ones, but my local store was out of stock when I needed one for a customer to try, so grabbed a Virgin one to experiment with. Still, it will be good if Exetel can get the prices down (I'm an agent by the way.)

I think you can safely reflash the Virgin modem with generic "Mobile Partner" software which installs a connection manager with no profiles. I have done this successfully with an Optus branded stick, but have not tried it on a Virgin one yet.

http://www.huawei.com/mobileweb/en/file ... 58&ctype=1 - you might need to append .zip to the filename.

Cheers, Mike.

Thanks for the pointer. I purchased a Virgin E169 last week, and it works ok with my Exetel SIM, so I'll try the reflash after the included 300MB/month of Virgin data/airtime has expired.

I did some testing it in the Hunter Valley on the weekend, however given the wet conditions I didn't feel like climbing on the roof and getting wet and even less like getting a wet laptop. Hopefully conditions are better this coming w/e.

sqgl wrote:Must look for explicit unlocking software.
By the way, it is an E160E (not a 169).

this is probably the most popular unlocking service for these modems http://www.dc-unlocker.com/

sqgl wrote:It all worked out, so I will be encouraging even more friends to go this Virgin-Exetel wireless route (convinced two so far).

Also, Dick Smith, Tandy (Woolworths Group)etc have the Virgin Pre Paid E169 and E1762 modems for $89. Target, and maybe other Coles Group stores, have the same Virgin Pre Paid for $80. Most stores seem to have the E169 modem more then the E1762. I went to several stores until I found one selling the E1762 as it is the faster modem. Works well with an Exetel SIM.

Regards