Ronni,
Thanks for the links and your thoughts.
I spent close to three hours on the phone to Telstra today, negotiating for an
updated modem. Spoke to four different people; spent most of the time getting a
cramp in my arm from holding the phone and waiting ("I won't be long; please
hold the line."). I refused to accept that bringing the modem to the Telstra
shop was a reasonable solution. What-the-hell! I'm an octogenarian; driving and
walking are major efforts now, and the nearest shop is about 40km away.
Besides, Telstra knew I was a Mac user when it sold me the modem.
The final result: I'll receive an updated modem for about 25% of the usual
cost, which is $299. However, I had to sign up for a 12 month plan — I've been
on a month-to-month for many years. I'm satisfied that it was the best I could
do, and I can assure you, getting this result was no piece of cake.
Persistence, patience, rational arguments ... and luck.
Telstra is touting its 'new' approach to service. There is no doubt that
someone in Telstra is trying, but they've got a long way to go. I won't know
how reasonable this result is until I try the updated modem.
Cheers,
Vlad
On 27/11/2012, at 12:00 PM, Ronni wrote:
>
> I feel your pain and frustration Vladimir.
>
> Bigpond are saying that firmware can only be upgraded using a Windows PC, as
> firmware upgrades are all ".exe" files and thus cannot be upgraded from Mac,
> Linux, BSD or Unix computers, unless you run Windows in a virtual machine or
> similar environment.
>
> So you need Windows installed in Parallels Desktop or Boot Camp or similar on
> your Mac to upgrade the firmware.
>
> Cheers,
> Ronni
>
> Sent from Ronni's iPad4
>
> On 27/11/2012, at 8:18 AM, Vladimir James <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Aside from coverage, I have found that Telstra's service for this Mac user
>> sucks.
>>
>> I have a wireless 3G plan using the NetComm 3G21WB modem. I received notice
>> that the modem urgently required an update, and since my download speeds had
>> been averaging less than 1 MBps, I made enquiries. I found that the update
>> required the use of a Windows machine. Well, I had deliberately divested
>> myself of Windows hardware and software. I complained. A week or so later, I
>> received replies from Technical Support:
>>
>> "First, I would like to extend my apologies for any inconvenience that this
>> issue had caused you. Unfortunately, firmware update file is only compatible
>> with a Windows computer. You can only update the 3G21 modem by using
>> downloading the file to a Windows Computer, connect the modem to the Windows
>> Computer using an ethernet cable. Lastly run the file from the Windows
>> computer to your modem.
>> If you have any other questions ...."
>>
>> And, another ...
>>
>> "We understand how hassle to do this upgrade. As far as benefit is concern
>> it will help your connection perform much better. For the meantime, the only
>> way that we can perform this upgrade is by connecting your modem to a
>> Windows machine, and run the download on that machine. Once done, you can
>> now connect using your MAC and receive the higher downlink speeds.
>>
>> BigPond is still finding its better solution on how we can establish such
>> process on MAC users soon."
>>
>> In case you missed it, they are telling me that I have to borrow or
>> otherwise acquire a different OS in order to update the equipment they sold
>> me as a Mac user.
>>
>> Still seething,
>>
>> Vlad James
-- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List --
Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml>
Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml>
Settings & Unsubscribe - <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug>
