Kill GPRS to make Virgin Broadband fly

By Munir Kotadia on 29 August 2007
Munir Kotadia

After struggling with Virgin Mobile's broadband over 3G for a couple of weeks, I discovered a modem tweak that has completely changed my Internet experience.

Virgin Broadband uses mobile phone networks to provide users with an Internet connection and the equivalent of a land-line phone number.

One feature of the service is that, depending on the strength of the signal in the user's area, the modem will switch between three different mobile standards -- GPRS, UMTS and HSDPA.

GPRS is technically 2.5G and offers an experience similar to dial-up. UMTS is starter 3G, providing a slight step up with downlinks of 384Kbps while HSDPA, known as 3.5G, is the most desirable, with a current potential download speed of 3.6Mbps.

This switching feature does have its uses -- when you are in an area outside 3G coverage, the service will drop down to GPRS and still remain connected to the Internet.

However, one issue -- and, after speaking with the tech support team at Virgin, an issue that affects lots of people -- is that the 3G signal is relatively weak inside buildings, causing the modem to stick with a "safe" GPRS link instead of risking a more challenging 3G connection.

On my modem's connection status page, the signal strength floats between -85db and -103db.

I hate GPRS. It makes downloading large files painful and I struggled even using Web sites like Gmail and Facebook -- YouTube was impossible.

An important fact is that a very weak 3G connection is still about six times faster than GPRS, so in most cases it is better to kill the GPRS altogether and force the modem to stick with 3G.

Luckily, Virgin's modems can be set to do just that.

The process takes about one minute and for me, it made a world of difference.

Follow the steps below and see how you go:

  • Connect to the modem management console (192.168.1.1) and log in.
  • Make sure the Internet is not currently connected (either press the connect button on the top of the modem or click the disconnect button in the console).
  • Click on the Connection Settings icon.
  • Click Network Connections.
  • Click WAN Cellular.
  • Click on the Settings button.
  • Scroll down to "Network Type" and select "UMTS only".
  • Click the Apply button. When the page reloads press OK.

Now your modem will ignore the GPRS signal so you have to beware of two things.

Firstly, because your modem is now set to ignore GPRS, it will only connect in 3G, which means if your 3G signal is extremely weak, instead of switching to dial-up speeds, the connection will cut out completely.

Secondly, watch those download limits. When my signal was mainly GPRS the amount of bandwidth being used was minimal and it seemed I would never be able to use up my 4GB limit. But with a continuous 3G connection, those megabits just fly through the sky.

Topics: wireless, virgin, hsdpa, gprs, broadband, gpr, modem, connection, signal, umt

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Comments (18)

  • Nick commented on 19/10/2009 19:51

    The more customers they signed the worst the service got so don't recommend you neighbors. The modem is some $20 cheap eastern block made product which only give 2 bars max all the time making there service next to useless. Unless you buy a good modem with a booster you will get a perfect product with four to five bars, but they will still shape you internet. If you can't afford a real modem use you old Nokia phone at least you will get four bars and a phone call which will not drop out after 2 minutes.

  • Flash commented on 25/06/2009 15:36

    I live in Forest lake, Brisbane and 3G is totally unreliable here so wireless broadband sucks AND they charge for uploads as well.

  • Nickster commented on 31/05/2009 05:28

    How do you connect to the modem management console?

  • ron g commented on 28/05/2009 06:02

    just getting better all the time.
    virgin is great! best value i have seen anywhere. just keep those prices down for your loyal
    customers.
    cheers

  • Havoc commented on 09/05/2009 22:20

    using just UMTS does help, but I've noticed that even thaugh the signals are high, the download and uploads are still slow. Reason could be the ports being used or USB interface. I am gonna test my theory.

  • tone commented on 29/04/2009 19:20

    Is there a way to connect to connect to the modem management console on OS X (10.5.6)?

    I've tried reaching it on 192.168.1.1 but this is timing out without a response.

    Any help greatly appreciated

  • dudes commented on 17/02/2009 20:24

    ........living in a wave of gprs...........read the instruction.you da man......ha thanks

  • Max commented on 17/02/2009 00:23

    Virgin wireless broadband's an utter disgrace, when I first signed up it wouldn't work for two weeks- they told me it was a "backend problem", now it;s "fixed" it doesn't work more then 90% of the time, yes I've reloaded the software, had my firewalls, etc, checked by experts, they all say the prob lies with Virgin- whose customer service is the worst in human history. It's claimed to use the Optus 3G network- UMTS preferred- most of the time the signal strength is pretty high but it just refuses to upload or download. Do not purchase.
    p.s.Please don't respond to this post with a load of technical jargon, humanity achieved an astonishing amount before computers were invented. Thank you.

  • ruby commented on 24/01/2009 12:47

    i have no prblem with internet but my phone connection with virgin keeps dropping out or echoes how tofix.

  • Bondi Boy commented on 20/09/2008 21:20

    Kill GPRS to make Virgin Broadband fly, i've tried doing this but when i disconnect the modem, (Make sure the Internet is not currently connected ) i cannot change the setting,, is there another way to make Virgin Broadband go faster,, it's a dog,, don't touch it.

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