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MiFi Signal Fluctuations

My MiFi stays in the same place in my house but the signal level may go anywhere from no bars to five bars several times per hour. I've tried turning off unnecessary devices to minimize the potential for interference, but nothing seems to help. I have even moved the MiFi to a remote location in the house near a window that faces my closest Verizon cell tower and it still does the same thing. Although I have had occasional download speeds of 2-3 Mbps, more typically it's around 100kbps. That's too slow to reliably download large updates or stream YouTube videos. All firmware and software are up to date. I get the same results when I use my new iPhone as a hot-spot, so it's not the MiFi. When I run diagnostics, it always shows the ISP as the problem. So, what's up? My zip code is 20158. As with many of the other bloggers, this started about the time I subscribed to the unlimited plan. Before then, I used "safe mode" to avoid overages and I was expecting to be throttled to 100kbps. It was my understanding that with the unlimited plan, I might be throttled if my monthly usage exceeded 20 GB AND the system usage was heavy, but it seems to be permanent. I haven't come close to 20GB yet and my service is really slow.

Comments

John_Getzke

Few areas for you to check:

1. Signal strength in terms of RSSI - View the diagnostics on the Jetpack and see if you can retrieve this value for us. Observe it over a period of time and record the highs and lows so we know how to translate what is being displayed as signal bars on the control panel into measurable numbers.

2. Bring the MiFi to another area. Observe if the MiFi can perform better or not if you remove it from the environment. I'd suggest a populated area like the nearest town and outside of the reach of your current towers.

3. Speedtest.net. Get an average over a few tests and lets us know what you find so we understand where your speed metrics are coming from. Anytime you stop to test be sure to document the results.

This information should help us isolate the problem to your account, device or a problem in your home relative to interference or distance from the towers. Unlimited plans do have to worry about data limits so keep a close eye on your account data usage as you test. Once you hit the limit there isn't anything you can do until your billing cycle resets.

Verizon_Support

I rely on my MiFi for so many things. I know I expect it to be consistently speedy, and we want this for you as well. There are no issues reported in your area. I realize you said it started when you got our Unlimited Plan, when was that? Are other services on your iPhone impacted, like voice and text messaging? Also, your speed is reduced with a hotspot and MiFi after 10 GB for the rest of your bill cycle. You can find out more information under number 9: http://vz.to/2l11WIE

RosanneM_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the �Correct Answer� button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

cthomaswilson

I've been watching the signal levels and it appears that the MiFi is switching back and forth between channel 13 and channel 4. When using channel 13, I have 4-bards and a RSSi of -89dBm. When I'm on channel 4, I have 1 bar and a RSSi of -118dBm and basically, no service. I have a company phone that is also on Verizon and it consistently has 3-bar and no service interruptions. So, I think you're intentionally doing something because of my unlimited plan.

I changed to the unlimited plan around February of this year. I recall that some of the online information suggested that the download rates "might" be throttled when usage exceeded 20GB, but later I got an e-mail indicating that I would be throttled to 3G speeds when I exceeded 10GB. This is a much less economical than my previous 20GB plan on "safe mode" and the service is MUCH poorer.

One of the reasons that my usage is so high is because I have another person in my house who is working from home, but another concern is the CNN website that doesn't provide a way to disable the autoplay of their video newsfeed. Even when I disable this feature in by browser and use Ad-blocking software, CNN changes their system and autoplay is restored.

I don't download movies or play online games. I just browse websites. My browsing patterns have not changes in the last 10-15 years, but the data usage keeps increasing. I briefly enjoyed having 4G LTE speed in previous years, but I rarely get that now. It's rare when my download speed and network reliability are good enough to just download the latest security updates to my computer. I' getting tires of this. Will FIOS ever get to my address?

Verizon_Support

cthomaswilson,

I appreciate the extra details that you've provided & the troubleshooting that you've done on your own. Let's look into this a bit more. I've sent you a Private Message so that I can gather much-needed information to assist further. Please reply to the Private Message to continue. Thanks!

AliciaS_VZW

cthomaswilson

Sorry, but I didn't get a private message from you. Would that have been sent directly to my e-mail address or through the Verizon webpage?

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