Archos G9 devices can receive an optional 3G stick to bring 3G mobile communications functionnality in addition to the existing WIFI connectivity. The 3G stick connects on the back of the device after removing a small trap.
The 3G stick should be available in the coming weeks at a price of 49 euros or 49 UKP from most online shops selling the Archos G9 devices and from some selected mobile operators. The stick should come with a free SIMcard and some free connection time, to be extended with pre-paid credits to buy to the operator.
Specifications
According to Archos FAQ, the 3G stick for the Archos G9 tablets is un-SIM locked, so you can use it on any compatible network. It accepts any standard sized SIM card, Micro-SIM cards are not supported. The G9 3G Stick uses the following GSM frequencies: 850/900/1800/1900MHz and the following UMTS frequencies: 900/2100MHz. This means that it will work with any network in the following regions/countries: Europe, India, Africa, Israel, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Thailand Note that the G9 3G stick will not work on networks that use frequencies other than the above.
Known to date operators partnering with the Archos 3G Stick program:
| Country | Operator | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| UK | Three (part of Hutchison Whampoa Limited) | |
| France | Bouygues Telecom | First two days are free then prepaid daily (reduced bandwith after 300 Mb) + unlimited WiFi = 6 € or prepaid montly (reduced bandwith after 1,5 Gb) + unlimited WiFi = 29,90 € |
| SFR | ||
| Germany | Vodafone | prepaid for the day, week or month |
This table will be updated as soon as new parterships are released.
Using the 3G stick
With current firmware (version 3.2.34), the 3G Stick detection does not seem to quite like hot plug, it recommended to turn off your device before inserting the 3G Stick.
Then, remove the plastic trap on the back of your tablet
You will need to open the 3G stick to put your SIM card in place.
You can put back the top pastic cover on the SIM card side of the 3G Stick
Plug the Stick into the Tablet.
| You should pull out slightly the stick out of the tablet for optimum reception as the antenna part of the device will have better isolation outside the other electronics part of the tablet. In this position you should see two black plastic blocks next to the USB part the USB connector in the stick. |  |
Start your tablet.
You should be prompt for your SIM card PIN code, enter it.
Enjoy your 3G access on your Archos G9 device
Speed test
We used a 3G SIM Card from the french operator SFR, to do some usability tests and check the bandwith.
The Internet browsing speed for web access is quite decent, as well as the Youtube video playing (see our video)
Measurements with Speed Test version 2.0.5 application give the following:
| Ping around 130 ms | Download speed 1600 kbits/s | 1300 kbits/s Upload |
|---|
Using 3G Stick on a computer
The great thing about Archos 3G Stick is you can use it on your PC or Mac device. You just have to plug in the USB port, the stick contains a small memory hosting the drivers. On our test PC, the whole installation process went flawlessly as you can see on the video. The driver and the application got installed and we got the SIM Pincode prompt after a few seconds.
USB Port for the 3G Stick
Unfortunately, the full size USB Port on the back of the device used for the 3G Stick does not currently seem to be usable as Host USB port. We don’t know yet if it’s an hardware limitation or if it’s just not implemented yet by the software.
[flagallery gid=5 name="Gallery"]
 |  | AMAZON USA | Usually ships in 3-4 business days | $ 161.99 |  | AMAZON UK | £ 135 |  | AMAZON DE | 125.24 EUR |  | AMAZON FR | 148 EUR |
![Lenovo K1 was a tablet released by Lenovo in 2011. For 2011, it was just an ordinary mid to high-end Honeycomb tablet and featured a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM […]](http://www.arctablet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/36x36xlenovo-k1-hd-36x36.jpg.pagespeed.ic.GHtq7k3QoZ.jpg "Lenovo K1 HD (2014) spotted on GFX Benchmark"){kind=small}
![Two weeks ago, we were the first to reveal the affordable quad-core Archos 50 Neon and today, we are proud to present you the new 50b Oxygen. While it is […]](http://www.arctablet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/36x36x50boxygen-nowrmk-36x36.jpg.pagespeed.ic.-0_f-3qF7q.jpg "Archos 50b Oxygen: 5 inch phone with Quad-Core CPU"){kind=small}
![While Archos announced many new models during the MWC 2014 event, we were still missing a few unannounced ones. One of them was the 70b Cobalt tablet and today, we […]](http://www.arctablet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/36x36x70bcobalt-nowrmk-36x36.jpg.pagespeed.ic.kmP4EIWO1g.jpg "[Update] Archos 70b Cobalt leaks out, going to be a RK3026 budget tablet"){kind=small}
![Back in February, we reported that Prestigio was working on an 7.85 inch tablet with Intel CPU. Now, with the release date of the Thunder range getting closer, we were […]](http://www.arctablet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/36x36xprestigio-thunder-1-nowrmk-36x36.jpg.pagespeed.ic.5fsQBMmTyM.jpg "Prestigio MultiPad Thunder 8.0 leaks out, another Intel-based tablet from Prestigio"){kind=small}
![Pipo is not only about Android with their MediaTek and Rockchip tablets and at Hong Kong Fair, they are also showing the new W2 and W3 tablets running on Windows […]](http://www.arctablet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/36x36xpipo-w3-nowrmk-36x36.jpg.pagespeed.ic.cCRp6pwflo.jpg "Pipo shows W2 and W3 Windows 8 tablets at Hong Kong fair"){kind=small}
![Sometimes, Samsung is just as bad(or even worse than) as Archos and is just bringing new models on the market one after another. A new device from Samsung, the SM-G357 […]](http://www.arctablet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/36x36xsamsung-36x36.jpg.pagespeed.ic.ArlKSfBwxt.jpg "Samsung G357M smartphone with 800×480 resolution on the way?"){kind=small}
![Pipo, a popular Chinese tablet company is showing off its latest Rockchip and MediaTek devices at the HKTDC fair this week. The new phablets and tablets feature screen sizes between […]](http://www.arctablet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/36x36xpipo-t8-nowrmk-36x36.jpg.pagespeed.ic.IRSLAH7zFX.jpg "Pipo reveals new tablets at Hong Kong fair, powered by MediaTek and Rockchip CPUs"){kind=small}
![Looking around for new devices on GFX Benchmark, we came up across a new tablet from Gigabyte. What is remarkable is its screen size of 13.7 inch bundled with GSmart […]](http://www.arctablet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/36x36xgigabyte-gsmart-nowrmk-36x36.jpg.pagespeed.ic.DF88WIOwmZ.jpg "Gigabyte GSmart GX2 tablet shows up on GFX Benchmark"){kind=small}
Crew RKTablets Blog feed
I bought one a week before. But this seems insane that if it will work with ArchOS G9 3G stick. I already have 3 USB internet stick and would like to use any one of them. These sticks very well fits in the provided slot but says “Unable to search network” when connected with all the configuration settings in place.
Can you please confirm if it will work with any USB stick or not (even after some hacking)?
Thanks,
Akshay
I think 3G is currently only support with Archos 3G stick, others sticks will probably not work because they won’t be recognized by the system.
There is unofficial support for some 3G sticks, but I haven’t tried it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1504719
Cheers.
have you got confirmation that this works with any sim plan, yo seemed a bit dobtful in yor review, as yo reference faq but do not test yourselves. interested to know because in iatly we have some interesting offers with wind (9 euro per month)
does the micro host usb port outputs more power?