Why won't my Nokia E51 access Orange's 3G network?

April 22, 2008 10:39 AM

Why won't my Nokia E51 access Orange (UK)'s 3G network?

So I got this new Nokia E51, unlocked. Its tech specs are supposed to be GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UTMS 850/2100. I've had no problems accessing Rogers/Fido's 3G UTMS network on the 850 band in Canada, but since I've returned to the UK I can only access the 2G network through Orange. I'm on PAYG if it's relevant. I was under the impression that Orange's 3G network in the UK operates on the 2100 band. The settings on the phone are to "dual-mode" (GSM/UTMS) so I don't think that's the problem. I can access data services (very slowly) so I know the WAP settings etc are correct too. Any thoughts?

posted by modernnomad to technology (5 comments total)

Wikipedia (right there under the "key features" chart): "The North American 2100 band is incompatible with the European 2100 band." Can't find anything beyond that, nor a reference. Still looking, though.
posted by Viomeda at 11:25 AM on April 22

Ah. Wikipedia again:

3G
UMTS / HSDPA / HSUPA devices operate in the UMTS frequency bands 800/850/1900/2100 or 850/1700/1900/2100 MHz:

2100 (downlink) / 1900 (uplink) for Europe, Brazil and Asia (usually referred simply as W-CDMA 2100)
...

2100 (downlink) / 1700 (uplink) for America (e.g. T-Mobile USA)

So: it doesn't work because European 3G networks use 2100 for the uplink and 1900 for the downlink, whereas North American 3G networks use 2100 for the uplink and 1700 for the downlink.
posted by Viomeda at 11:38 AM on April 22

That would be my guess, anyhow. (I'm kind of out of my depth with phone networks.)
posted by Viomeda at 11:39 AM on April 22

Did you use the same SIM card in Canada and the UK? Is your UK card from a long time contract? I had the same problem once, and it turned out the card I got years ago could not do 3G. It got exchanged for a new one and 3G worked fine.
posted by uncle harold at 1:12 PM on April 22

It wouldn't be a coverage issue, would it? I know I sometimes get 3G and sometimes not, but that's in the US.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 4:50 PM on April 22