MiFi 4510L Firmware Update 2.23!

[John_Getzke]

It looks like the MiFi 4510L Support page has been updated with new documentation.

See the following link for more information:

http://support.verizonwireless.com/system_update/mifi4510l.html

The new benefits include:

1. Obtaint your SIM info from the Diagnostics menu of the Web UI

2. Stronger Web UI password/Securit Key (new devices)

3. Improved connection in 3G/4G areas

4. Improved handoff performance in 3G/4G areas

5. Improved VPN stability

6. Enhanced device capability to use USB power to extend battery life

7. Added device capability to support delivery of future software OTA

There is release date has not been revealed for this firmware update.  Some say it will be on 11/1...

It looks like this firmware update will not be forced like the previous update.  We can download and install this one when we are ready to do so.

[ocean_pilot]

Thx for the reply .... I will check with a local Verizon store about it now.  I hope there is a simple solution.  Fat chance, huh?

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John_Getzke wrote:

Ocean,

There have been some reports on battery/power issues in the past, but none since 2.23.  I would assume that your hardware is faulty, most likely your battery needs replacing and this is a coincidence.

Keep in mind that the E-Ink display does not necessarily show you when the device is powered on/off.  There appears to be some kind of a residual charge that allows the E-Ink display to remain on even when the device isn't. 

For example, if you yank the battery from the device while it is powered on then your E-Ink display will remain frozen for a few moments (I never timed it but its long enough).  The LED would be off in this situation and the device is powered down, but the E-Ink would make you think otherwise.  In this situation you would need to reattach the battery and reboot the device and then shut it down properly for the E-Ink display to correct itself.  This situation sounds similar to what you are describing.

An easy test would be to bring it into a Verizon store and swap your battery out with one of thier display batterys (With a CSR's permission ofcourse).  If you cant reproduce the problem with a different battery then we would know that your battery is bad.  If you can reproduce the problem with a different battery then we may have a new issue on our hands.

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[ocean_pilot]

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ocean_pilot wrote:

Thx for the reply .... I will check with a local Verizon store about it now.  I hope there is a simple solution.  Fat chance, huh?

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John_Getzke wrote:

Ocean,

There have been some reports on battery/power issues in the past, but none since 2.23.  I would assume that your hardware is faulty, most likely your battery needs replacing and this is a coincidence.

Keep in mind that the E-Ink display does not necessarily show you when the device is powered on/off.  There appears to be some kind of a residual charge that allows the E-Ink display to remain on even when the device isn't. 

For example, if you yank the battery from the device while it is powered on then your E-Ink display will remain frozen for a few moments (I never timed it but its long enough).  The LED would be off in this situation and the device is powered down, but the E-Ink would make you think otherwise.  In this situation you would need to reattach the battery and reboot the device and then shut it down properly for the E-Ink display to correct itself.  This situation sounds similar to what you are describing.

An easy test would be to bring it into a Verizon store and swap your battery out with one of thier display batterys (With a CSR's permission ofcourse).  If you cant reproduce the problem with a different battery then we would know that your battery is bad.  If you can reproduce the problem with a different battery then we may have a new issue on our hands.

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Thx for all replies on this issue.

I made it to a Verison store today later and was provided with a different battery having about 3/4 charge.  It appears that may have been the problem because it booted up on battery power and got a 4G signal.  and shut down properly.

I took it home and put it on charger to get FULL charge.  I want to test it more tomorrow before declaring success, but it looks

promising at this point.  Will advise if any further problems with the unit pop out.

Thx guys for the help and suggestions.  Good group.

Cheers ........

[ocean_pilot]

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ocean_pilot wrote:

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ocean_pilot wrote:

Thx for the reply .... I will check with a local Verizon store about it now.  I hope there is a simple solution.  Fat chance, huh?

---

John_Getzke wrote:

Ocean,

There have been some reports on battery/power issues in the past, but none since 2.23.  I would assume that your hardware is faulty, most likely your battery needs replacing and this is a coincidence.

Keep in mind that the E-Ink display does not necessarily show you when the device is powered on/off.  There appears to be some kind of a residual charge that allows the E-Ink display to remain on even when the device isn't. 

For example, if you yank the battery from the device while it is powered on then your E-Ink display will remain frozen for a few moments (I never timed it but its long enough).  The LED would be off in this situation and the device is powered down, but the E-Ink would make you think otherwise.  In this situation you would need to reattach the battery and reboot the device and then shut it down properly for the E-Ink display to correct itself.  This situation sounds similar to what you are describing.

An easy test would be to bring it into a Verizon store and swap your battery out with one of thier display batterys (With a CSR's permission ofcourse).  If you cant reproduce the problem with a different battery then we would know that your battery is bad.  If you can reproduce the problem with a different battery then we may have a new issue on our hands.

---

---

Thx for all replies on this issue.

I made it to a Verison store today later and was provided with a different battery having about 3/4 charge.  It appears that may have been the problem because it booted up on battery power and got a 4G signal.  and shut down properly.

I took it home and put it on charger to get FULL charge.  I want to test it more tomorrow before declaring success, but it looks

promising at this point.  Will advise if any further problems with the unit pop out.

Thx guys for the help and suggestions.  Good group.

Cheers ........

---

BAD NEWS ....

No joy ...... on battery power still can't log in to the unit when a 4G signal ....... it came up and would shut down.  When I tried to log in to the unit I couldn't and when I went to the unit location it appeared frozen again, as I could not shut it down in the normal fashion.  Ejecting battery adding wall power and we're back to working. normally.

I will next try replacing the unit itself and we'll see what happens next.   If that doesn't solve it, it's definately got to be a firmware problem it seems to me.

[nsayer]

e-ink requires no power to maintain its current state. So if the device is locked up, or if you yank the battery out of it, you won't see any change in the display. This is probably why Novatel chose the technology - it would't have a noticable impact on battery life. But they kept the LED because e-ink isn't a reliable indicator of system availability because a crash can leave the display in a misleading state indefinitely.

[statdetective]

I updated my MiFi 4510L a week ago. It still has the same sort of issues. The ones below have not been fixed.

1. Webpages will not load. Resolution: Exit and restart the browser. I can still ping websites, but the session with the current website has lost its context. I think this happens because the IP address gets reassigned.

2. The device resets while accessing the Internet. Resolution:  Restart the device. I usually reset the device from the mifi.admin interface. When this happens I can't ping websites anymore. 

The time of day seems to be an issue. I have had the most difficulty on Saturday mornings.

[statdetective]

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statdetective wrote:

I updated my MiFi 4510L a week ago. It still has the same sort of issues. The ones below have not been fixed.

1. Webpages will not load. Resolution: Exit and restart the browser. I can still ping websites, but the session with the current website has lost its context. I think this happens because the IP address gets reassigned.

2. The device resets while accessing the Internet. Resolution:  Restart the device. I usually reset the device from the mifi.admin interface. When this happens I can't ping websites anymore. 

The time of day seems to be an issue. I have had the most difficulty on Saturday mornings.

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It's been bad all day. The upgrade didn't fix my issues and it seems to be worse than before.

One of the differences I have noticed is that the device continues to maintain an assigned IP address when webpages freeze. But, ping doesn't work. The browsers are reporting DNS failures. If that's the case, then it is likely to be a software issue with the 4G Network.

[Corato]

I updated the Mifi 4510L on my Mac first; wound up with lno network connection.  Spent an hour on the phone with 2nd level support, no luck.

I tried the advice herein with Windows 7 and it crashes the computer, blue screen of death,  repeatedly in the middle of the update.

Did anyone test this update?

[John_Getzke]

Try running your firmware update on a WinXP computer if at all possible.  Many users have reported success when trying that OS when other OS were having problems. 

I take it you have already tried running the DUU_Verizon_MiFi4510L.exe application as suggested by JeffR?

If all else fails you can always bring your MiFi in to a Verizon store and ask them to perform the firmware update for you on one of thier computers.  If the device is truely beyond repair then they will see it and issue you a replacement device on the spot.

[stekib]

I should have reviewed all these notes before upgrading to 2.23. Got Blue Screen of Death on my machine and now MiFi is slower. Live and learn.

[MateoDiego]

I just got a new MIFI4510L last week and have been looking through the posts here for a way to resolve the irritating "using while charging via USB" issue when I stumbled upon this post. I had attempted to update the firmware from 2.16 using Win7 earlier this week, but after the updater installed it did nothing.  Numerious attempt to uninstall and re-run using Win7 all got me no where. After seeing this post today I successfully re-ran it using my WinXP box. I am now successfully running 2.23 without issue.  And I am plugged in via USB, charging and using WiFi.  Nice!

Sounds like the Win7 and MAC updaters are jacked up.

Thanks for all the great posts!

[Skywalker34]

I recently upgraded the fw on my mifi from the 2.16 to the 2.23 version and immediately after the update began to experience much slower speeds on my mifi.  Whereas prior to the update i could hold a conversation on skype while online gaming at the same time without any lag or voice issues, now I lag all the time and have voice issues.  I've called tech support, and they basically said that my mifi is now working as it should in a 3G coverage area.  I find this ridiculous since it is now running slower than it was prior to the update.  The reason why i updated the fw was that i was having incidents where my mifi would disconnect for a few seconds at a time randomly throughout the day.  It has indeed fixed the disconnects but i'd rather have the disconnects again with a faster connection then the slow, lagtastic connection i now have.   Is there any way that i can downgrade the fw on my mifi to the 2.16 version again? Or is there any other possible thing that i can do to get it working the way it was before the update?

[John_Getzke]

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Skywalker34 wrote:

Is there any way that i can downgrade the fw on my mifi to the 2.16 version again? Or is there any other possible thing that i can do to get it working the way it was before the update?

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You cannot downgrade firmware.  Once you are upgraded there is no turning back.  The older firmware versions are not available from Verizon anyways.

Try resetting your MiFi to help it re-negotiate its connection with the local towers.  Sometimes performance problems can be quickly and easily resolved with a level 2.

Level 2 Reset:

1. Power down the MiFi

2. Remove the back cover

3. Remove the battery

4. Remove the SIM card

5. Allow the MiFi to sit for 30 seconds

6. Reassemble the MiFi

7. Test the Connection

[RUn2it]

downgrade the firmware? Ha ha, I tried twice to update with techs on the phone, blue screen. I triede all the resets, battery out simm out, wait, push reset on the edge where cover goes, added a drop kick to the list. I trhink I'll try the Mac brick thing that way it will work exactly the way I planned and will actually be reliable .... as a light duty paper weight. If you could downgrade the firmware and it worked like mine ...... I guess I would know if misery likes company anyways.

[1oldcrow49]

I just updated today and wish I hadn't. I am also having the same problems as you. Yesterday I was getting 3 and 4 bars consistantly and today I only get 1 to 2 bars. Can only browse with 2 bars and everything comes to a halt when it drops to 2 bars. Moving around the room doesn't help