Help & Support

• PC than runs Windows 2000, XP or Vista or an Apple Mac that runs OS X, either 10.4 (Tiger) or 10.5 (Leopard).

• Your computer should also have at least 128MB of RAM, and 50MB of hard disk space available. 

• And you’ll need a free USB port, so you can plug your modem in.

• You are not using any software known to conflict with our modems. You have the log-in details and any password needed to install software (business users may need administrator rights).

• If you have an anti-virus protection or a firewall, you may need to switch it off when installing your USB modem software or make sure you select Allow during installation.

You need to be using a Windows 2000 (service pack 4), Windows XP, Windows Vista or Mac (10.4 and above) operating system.

If you're using one of these systems and can't install the modem, please phone the 3 technical support team. You can reach them on 1913 between 8am and midnight, seven days a week.

The first thing to do is check the light on your modem. If you’re using a Huawei modem, a flashing blue light means that there is good network coverage; a flashing green light means that there is either no 3G reception in your area, or that there is a temporary network coverage issue.
 
Use these steps if you have installed the modem, but are unable to click on the Connect button.
 
For Windows users:
Check that you have full administrative rights on the computer.
To do so, click on the Start button on the bottom left corner of your screen, then Control Panel.
Make sure you are seeing the page in Classic view.
Click on the User Accounts icon, and this should tell you whether you have administrative rights.
If you are currently logged in as a different user, you may have to log out or restart and sign in as administrator.
Open your Mobile Connection manager window, and check whether the SIM card has been detected.
Look for a green arrow pointing towards a SIM card sign. If the arrow is red, then the card has not been detected.
Try re-inserting your SIM card, making sure that you push it into the modem until it locks.
Unplug the modem and restart your computer. Then plug the modem back into your computer and wait up to 30 seconds before trying to connect.
You may also want to try plugging the modem into another USB port, or using a different cable if you have been supplied with more than one. If you are using the double connector cable, make sure both connectors are plugged in.
If none of these solutions work, you may have to temporarily disable your antivirus software and firewall.
Once you have done so, close the connection manager window and unplug the modem. Plug it in again, wait a few seconds for it to be recognised and initialised by the computer, then open Mobile Connection and try again.
 

If you are a Pay Monthly customer, you might get this error message if you have used your 10GB of free data and there is no more credit available on your account.

Use My3 to check if you have any credit left. If you are a 3Pay customer, you need to activate your Top-up and then convert your Top-up to a Mobile Broadband Add-on before you can surf the internet.

There may also be issues with the network. It could be unusually busy, or your computer has connected to one with poor coverage. For instructions on how to manually connect to the best network, click here.

It is also possible that your firewall or anti-virus software is blocking access to the Internet.

All you need to do is open Internet Explorer and click on Tools, which is located in the top right-hand corner.

Next, just un-tick Work offline and open a web page. You should now be able to access your favourite sites.

If you are having problems with frequent disconnections or slow speeds when connected, you should check that you are on a network with optimum coverage.

You can check this by opening the 3 USB Modem connection manager window, and see whether you are on a GPRS, 3G or HSDPA network.

This should be displayed in blue at the top. If it says GPRS, you may not be able to use the service as you are not in an optimum coverage area.

But you can try manually selecting the network to get onto the 3G network.

• To do so, first disconnect.
• Depending on which model modem you have the steps vary slightly.
• If you have E220, E169 or the E630 select Settings then Network Manual Search. If you have the E160 select Tools > Options > Network > Registration mode > Manual search and register > Select the network > Register.
• If you have the ZTE click on Settings then Network Settings, Manual Search then Apply.
• A window will pop up to tell you it may take up to 20 seconds to complete the search.
• To continue, click Yes.
• Your computer will now do a search, and all available networks will be shown. Look for 3(3G), select it, and click Register.
• A window should appear to tell you the operation has been completed successfully.
• Click OK. If the connection manager still displays GPRS, then try moving to a different area to see if it displays 3G or HSDPA, and connect again.

This may appear if there is a fault with your modem or its installation files. If you receive this message, please call 3 technical support. You can reach them on 1913 between 8am and midnight, seven days a week.

First, try re-inserting your USIM card. To check that you have inserted the card correctly as per the manual.
 
You may also want to try plugging the modem into another USB port, or using a different cable if you have been supplied with more than one. If you are using the double connector cable, make sure both connectors are plugged in.
 
Alternatively, unplug the modem and restart your computer. Then plug the modem back into your computer and wait up to 30 seconds for the modem to get initialised before trying to connect.

• Unplug the modem.
• Unplug any other USB device that may be attached at the same time, such as a printer or scanner.
• Restart your computer.

You may have to uninstall the modem software and reinstall it again

To uninstall

• Make sure you have administrative access before proceeding.
• Unplug your modem and restart your computer.
• Click on the Start button on the bottom left corner of your screen, then select Control Panel.
• Make sure you are seeing the screen in Classic view.
• Select Phone and Modem Options and click on the Modems tab.
• Select the modem you wish to remove and click Remove.
• A message box will appear asking you to confirm your decision. Click Yes, then OK.
• Restart your computer. When it restarts, plug in your modem.
• The Found New Hardware Wizard should now start.

To do this:

• open your 3 USB Modem connection window, and click on the Settings icon, which looks like a set of gears.
• A new window will open. Click on the Connection tab, and make sure *99# appears in the Number box under Authentification.
• You can modify these settings by clicking on the Modify button.

Alternatively, you may want to create a new connection. The steps for this vary slightly depending on your modem.

Steps to create a new profile for all the modems:-

• If you have an E220, E630 or E169 select Settings, then Connections, New.
• Under Profile Name, type the name of your new connection, such as 3broadband.
• The Authentification Number should fill in automatically – if not, enter *99#.
  Leave the Username and Password blank.
• Under APN, select Static and enter 3ireland.ie in the box.

ZTE

• If you have ZTE go to Settings then Add. 
• Under Profile Name, type the name of your new connection, such as 3broadband.
• The Authentification Number should be filled in automatically – if not, enter *99#.
• Leave the Username and Password blank, Under APN, select Static and enter 3ireland.ie in the box.
• If you have the E160 go to Tools then Options, Profile Mgmt, New and click on static in APN box. Enter the APN 3ireland.ie then Save, select OK and try connecting.

First, try reinserting your USIM card.
 
The modem application might require you to enter a PIN number. The default PIN number is 0000, so try entering this.
 
If this does not solve the problem, check that your APN number is entered correctly.

Make sure you are not already connected to the Internet using another connection.

To see your active Internet connections on Windows XP, go to the Start button on the bottom left corner of your screen, then select Control Panel and Network Connections (make sure you are seeing the page in Classic view - if there is the option to Switch to Classic view in the top left corner, click on it). Disable any other active connections.

• Click on the Start button on the bottom left corner of your screen, then Control Panel.
• Make sure you are seeing the page in Classic view (if there is an option in the left corner that says Switch to Classic view, click on it).
• Click on the Network Connections icon.
• From the menu bar at the very top of the window, select Advanced. A drop-down menu will appear.
• If there is a tick next to Operator-Assisted Dialling, click on it so that it disappears.

Click on the start menu, which is in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. Select Run from the the menu.

A box will pop-up. Enter the word temp into it and click ok.

Another box, full of files, will pop-up. Delete any files you don’t want by right clicking on them and selecting delete.

To delete more files, open Internet Explorer and click on Tools at the top of the screen. Once you’ve clicked on Tools a menu will appear, select Internet Options.

An Internet Options menu will appear. Click on delete cookies, clear history and delete files to free up more space on your computer and make it run faster.

You can also free up space by resetting your computer to its default status. To do this, click on the Advanced tab and click on Restore Defaults.

• Click on the Disconnect tab on the 3Connect screen.
• Then click on the Settings tab. When the menu pops up, click on Network.
• Use the drop down box in Choose connection type to select 3G only.
• Select Choose manual network and click on Search.
• Then you’ll see a list of networks. Select 3 3G and click on Register.
• You’ll get a message saying Operation successful.
• Close down 3Connect and a message will pop-up asking if you want to save your new settings, save your new settings.
• Re-open 3Connect and click on Connect.
• Once you’re connected, open up Internet Explorer and your internet should now run faster.

If you try the above and don't see an improvement, please call 3 technical support. You can reach them on 1913 between 8am and midnight, seven days a week.

Certain software that you may have installed on your computer may be incompatible with your USB modem. If you have any of this software installed you will need to disable it, or uninstall it.

• Alcohol 120%
• Any DVD Camera Fix (Webcam software)
• Clone CD/Clone DVD
• Cyberlink Power DVD
• Daemon Tools
• Dell Media Direct (Express)
• DVD Shrink
• HP Quickplay HP DVD Play
• HotSync Manager 6.01 (part of Palm Desktop 4.1.4)
• Napster
• Nero Image Drive
• Norton Save and Restore
• Norton Ghost NTI CD/DVD Maker
• Pinnacle Instant CD/DVD Suite
• Pinnacle Media Suite
• Roxio Win on CD /Roxio CD Creator
• All Ulead software 
   
   

If you need to reinstall your data modem, first remove any previous installations of the software.

If you don’t have your modem installation disks, then the drivers can be downloaded from the links below.

• E220 drivers for Windows XP / Vista
• E220 drivers for MAC OS x10.4 & later
• MF622 drivers for Windows XP / Vista
• MF622 drivers for MAC OS x10.5 & later

In the 3G tab, enter 3ireland into the Access point name box. Make sure IP is selected from the PDP dropdown.

Click OK. You'll be returned to the Connections window. Highlight the new connection and click Add. Click OK.

You'll be returned to the Advanced Settings window. Double click on Profiles.

The existing, active profile will be displayed. To add the profile you have just created, click Add.

Highlight the new profile on the right hand side and click on the arrow that points to the left. It will move the profile to the left-hand window. Click OK.

Highlight the new profile and click Set active. Click OK. When you connect in future, this profile will be used.

Close the modem connection software. Re-open it and try connecting.

Manual dial-up connection

If this doesn’t work, you may need to create a manual dial-up connection.

To do this, follow these steps:

Open up Internet Explorer and select Tools > Internet options.

A menu will pop-up. Click on the Connections tab and then on Setup.

Then click Next on the New Connection Wizard, which pops up.

On the next menu, click Connect to the internet > Next

Then click on Set up my connection manually > Next

On the next menu, click on Connect using a dial-up modem > Next

Then put in the ISP name (3internet) and click Next

Then enter *99# in the phone number box and click Next

Then choose Anyone’s use or My use only and click on Next

Another menu will pop-up. Just leave this blank and click on Next.

Put a tick in the Add a shortcut to this connection to my desktop box and click on Finish.

After you’ve done this, go to the Control Panel > Phone and modem > modems. Then select your 3 modem from the list and click on Properties > Advanced. Then add the following into the box:

at+cgdcont=1,”IP”,”3ireland.ie”

Manual dial-up for Windows Vista

To set up a manual dial-up for Windows Vista, just follow these simple steps:

Open a new Internet Explorer page and go to Tools > Internet options.

Then click on the Connections tab > Setup

On the next screen you are given the option to connect via the internal modem.Choose to create a new connection and then click Next.

 Then from the How do you want to connect screen, choose Dial-up.

Enter *99# in the dial-up phone number field and leave the username and password blank. Then click on Connect.

After you’ve done this, go to the Control Panel > Phone and modem > modems. Then select your 3 modem from the list and click on Properties > Advanced. Then add the following into the box:

at+cgdcont=1,”IP”,”3ireland.ie”

We have been made aware of a problem specific to the Huawei E160G, where certain websites cannot be accessed. The following solution/update does not apply to any other modem. Do not download and install the update if you have anything other than a Huawei E160G.

If you have the Huawei E160G and have found that certain websites will not display, while others display correctly and with no issues, it may be due to an issue with corrupt IP packets. You may notice that certain websites will time-out while trying to connect, or others may display only part of a page. It may also affect certain pages one day and not the next.

Huawei have released a firmware update for this modem, which should fix this issue. If the problem you have is not related to this particular issue the firmware update will not help, but will not affect the modem.

It is very important that you follow the instructions in this .pdf as an incorrectly performed installation could permanently damage your modem. Please read the instructions before proceeding.

To download the .exe firmware click here. Save to your desktop and unzip. Double click on the .exe file to run it.

This update is for Windows operating systems only. You will not be able to install the firmware update if you are using Mac OS X or Linux.