Unlocking and Setting-up the Huawei E5776 MIFI
A: Cancelling your EE contract
If you don't intend to keep the contract with EE you need to cancel it within a day of purchasing the MIFI so that you give the requisite 30 day notice and don't get caught for a second month's payment of £15.99!
When I rang EE they were very busy (I had to wait 15 mins on the phone to get through!). There are various numbers you can use to contact them depending on what is best for you (cheapest!). I get free land-line calls on my mobile (we don't have a home land-line) so I rang the standard land-line number.
- EE Landline number: 01707 315000
- EE free-phone number: 0800 801080
- T-mobile or Orange 'pay monthly' phone contract holders (not PAYG) can ring 150 free
B: Buying an Unlock Code
1. I got the unlock code from the below chap who is very quick and helpful although you can use whoever you wish:
When you buy the code via Ebay once you've clicked Buy it Now you'll get a 'confirm order' screen on which your name and address etc will be shown, below this (just above the details of what you are buying) there will a sealed envelope icon and some blue text saying Add message, click on this and then cut and paste the below into the message field and type in your IMEI number in full (it's on the box and should start with 8660890 with 8 more digits afterwards):
Hi, can I please have the unlock code for the below:
MODEL: Huawei MIFI E5776
IMEI NO: 8660890........
Thanks
Click the Add Message button.
[Note that if you forget to do the message when you pay, you can instead send him an email saying you've just bought a code on Ebay and with the info he needs (as above) to: gsmn@btinternet.com ]
2. Now click on the Log in to Paypal button on the right and a Paypal screen will appear, log in as normal, then you'll go back to the Ebay payment screen and you then just need to click on the Make payment button (on right of screen). You get a confirmation email from Ebay for the transaction.
3. Simon will send the code to your email address and you then need to use it to unlock the MIFI as follows.
C: Unlocking the MIFI
IMPORTANT: Before you start you must do the 2 things below:
- Ensure that you have your existing network provider's APN address, if you don't know it do a web search whilst you still have your existing internet connection so you can find it as you will definitely need it (you can probably find it by searching on your provider's website).
- Now disconnect from your internet connection and ensure that your pc/laptop/tablet etc won't connect automatically to any other network that may be available (whether wirelessly or by cable), otherwise you will see that connection information on screen and not your new MIFI information!
You are now ready to continue ....
1. Put your existing broadband sim into the MIFI (it has to be an unaccepted sim, ie a non-EE/T-Mobile broadband one, so not the one that came with the MIFI).
2. Connect the MIFI to your computer via USB or wirelessly (both ways should work) and turn it on, it will show the battery charging then change to say 'sim lock', 'no service', or something similar. The pc should automatically install the drivers etc, it'll probably take a few minutes so just let it chug away until it's done.
3. Launch your web browser and a screen should come up automatically from 'EE' asking you to enter the unlock code, type in the code and press okay (or whatever the button says!). Try to go on the internet and you should get an error message saying something like 'connection failed' and/or 'profile invalid' - don't worry there's nothing wrong - the MIFI will have unlocked but is still trying to connect to the internet using the MIFI's EE sim network settings (APN address), so you need to make a new APN profile with your existing network settings instead which is what we'll do next.
4. How to Create a new APN Profile
Click on the Settings icon (cog at bottom of screen) and log in with:
ID: admin Password: admin
Click on Profile Management on the right (in blue) and then New Profile and create a profile for your existing network as follows:
Profile name give it a name - I just called mine Three for ease
APN three.co.uk Note: if you have a different broadband network provider (ie not 'Three') this is where you need to enter their APN instead which you should already have obtained before you started!
User name LEAVE BLANK *
Password LEAVE BLANK *
* It is rare for an APN address to need a user name or password, so leave these blank.
Click okay (or whatever the 'confirm' button says).
5. Now click on the Home tab and the Set-up Wizard should take you through to make the APN the default one - just 'confirm' everything.
6. To get to the EE web screen in future, you just need to put the below in your browser's address:
http://192.168.1.1/html/home.html
Disclaimer:
The above information is provided to assist those who wish to setup the MIFI to use with another network provider, no responsibility is accepted whatsoever for any problems/errors/faults which occur due to your using the information.
