VZW Mifi Devices Constant Disconnects in NYC

[SubLo]

Well, I felt I had to register and report/re-iterate the user experience.  This is in no way meant as a bashing but simply a report of the factual experience I've had with VZW's 4g Mifi devices over the last 2 months as a corporate customer.

I started with a VZW Samsung SCH-LC11 replacing my previous 3g device of the last 2 years.  As you can speculate, my 3g Mif worked flawlessly.  I upgraded only because it was nearing the end of contract and could make legitimate use of aster 4g speeds.  Furthermore, the monthly payments for the 4g upgrade were actually a bit cheaper.  I have since returned the SCH-LC11 Mifi and now "use" their Novatel 4510L.  As you can likely also surmise from my posting this, my experience has been abysmally poor.

To summarize, both the Samsung SCH-LC11 as well as my current Novatel 4510l mifi devices, like others have reported, experience incessant drops in connectivity every 5 to 10 minutes whether being actively used or not.  This is true all around the tri-state NYC area I frequent.  The admin page will always be accessible but no data will be transmitted or received.  The admin page sometimes will display a "dormant" status and sometimes not. Regardless, any device connected to the Mifi will not be able to communicate to the Internet.  The green or violet lights on the device will sometimes stay flashing and sometimes solid.  The Wifi and network connection will not indicate any problem but clearly, there is a big problem. 

The only way to remedy the situation when this happens is to hit the disconnect then connect buttons on the admin page which I find myself doing unbearably often.  Powering off/on the device will also work (again for a few minutes).  Needless to say, I'm beyond frustrated with this service (I don't believe it's necessarily the device at this point as I've tried 2 with the same problem) and would love nothing more than to try a competitor's "4g" Mifi offerings or even "downgrade" back to VZW's 3g mifi. Neither manufacturer nor VZW have offered firmware upgrades to fix the issue.

In the end, from my experience, this service is not ready for prime-time, widespread corporate (or even personal) deployment where folks are dependent on a solid connection to get work done.

[wicamper]

I am having the exact same issue here in Wisconsin!!  It is very frustrating I have tried both the Samsung and Novetal 4G devices and the same issue.

[wicamper]

I have the exact same issue here in Wisconsin!!  I have tried both the Samsung and Novatel 4G devices and both stop working after approx. 10 minutes and I have to disconnect and reconnect.

[captmrgnx]

I just upgraded to the Samsung 4G MiFi in Allen, TX and am experiencing the same drops every 5-10 minutes of use. The speed of this thing rocks! But the drops are a major inconvenience. I just keep the Admin page up so I can Disconnect/Connect when this happens.

[willzzz99]

There is a software/firmware update that fixes many things:

http://ars.samsung.com/customer/usa/jsp/faqs/faqs_view_us.jsp?SITE_ID=22&PG_ID=2&PROD_SUB_ID=557&PRO...

[bfmcvs1]

Even after the upgrade the disconnects still occur.........I upgraded 3 weeks ago and it didn't change anything. Good luck.

[frtwome]

By any chance can you tell me how to keep my mifi 2200 using the same IP address? Everytime I turn it on and connect, it changes my IP address. Do you know how to set it to stay on the same IP?

[AyaniB_VZW]

Hi frtwome,

In general, Static IP Addresses are established for large business accounts. It is not clear if you are initiating this request for a business or consumer account.  However, I can assist you the process.  Keep in mind there is $500 one-time account-level Static IP fee. Please PM me your wireless number and I would be happy to get the process started for you.  I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks for your involvement in our community forums,