MiFi 4510L - Firmware Update 2.28!

[John_Getzke]

A brand new firmware update has been released for the MiFi 4510L.

Patch Notes Here:

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

Instructions Here:

http://support.verizonwireless.com/pdf/system_update/mifi4510l_instructions.pdf

Windows Manual Download Link Here:

http://production.4510.verizon.mifiupdates.com/Windows/MiFi4510LWin.zip

Man Manual Download Link Here:

http://production.4510.verizon.mifiupdates.com/Mac/MiFi4510LMac.zip

This one is Over the Air folks.  It should happen for you automatically.  Post your feedback and questions below.

[John_Getzke]

Correction, it doesnt look like it is entirely automatic.  The MiFi will download the installation files for you and wait for a reboot.  The next time the MiFi is booted you will be redirected to the Admin page where you have to click the Install Now button.   While the MiFi is updating you will be disconnected from the internet.

The MiFi will flash a white LED while it is performing the update.

[azscotts]

So I just ran the upgrade (from my Mac even) and did not brick my device.  I have placed my 4510L in the same location I always do on the edge of my desk.  Speed tests are about the same maybe a little higher.  Its hard to say for sure if there is any improvement because it is Friday and there could just be less people in this area using 4G.

If I see continued "good performance" I will post it here.  But so far I haven't been seeing the continuous resets or dormancy problems.

[rectalogic]

According to the release notes, USB tethering is supported now:

"USB Tethering drivers have been added to the Help feature within the admin console within Advanced Settings."

I don't see that in any of the Help menus, but I installed the Mac driver from 3G_Drivers_v3.0.24-PS.pkg in the download (this installed /System/Library/Extensions/NovatelWirelessWWAN.kext). It doesn't work for me though, whenever I attach the 4510l to USB I see in the system console:

3/24/12 7:24:21.000 PM kernel: 0        0 AppleUSBCDC: start - initDevice failed

I also tried explicitly loading the kext using kextload. And of course I don't see the device in Network preferences. Anyone else get it to work?

[rectalogic]

If I use DUU_Verizon_MiFi4510L_FW2.28.app to disable USB-HID mode, then two new devices show up in network preferences - "Novatel Wireless Modem (wwan)" and "Novatel Wireless Modem (en6)". Attempting to connect using the wwan device fails, logging:

3/25/12 11:05:12.530 AM configd: SCNC: start, triggered by System Preferen, type PPPSerial, status 0

3/25/12 11:05:12.560 AM pppd: pppd 2.4.2 (Apple version 560.13) started by aw, uid 2003

3/25/12 11:05:13.581 AM ccl: Starting Novatel WWAN Support CCL

3/25/12 11:05:13.682 AM ccl: Connecting to Network

3/25/12 11:05:13.686 AM ccl: CCLExit: -6021 (No carrier.)

3/25/12 11:05:13.687 AM pppd: Connect script failed

3/25/12 11:05:22.000 AM kernel: NovatelWirelessUSBCDCECMData: - Link down

Also, the only way I could find to re-enable USB-HID mode (so the device can be used as a MiFi hotspot again) was to re-upgrade to firmware 2.28.

[John_Getzke]

I'm not sure what USB-HID mode exactly is or why it would cause an issue.  Apparently it must be turned off for the firmware update to proceed.

I got tired of waiting for the automatic update so I started the manual steps this morning.  I got it on my 2nd try as it seemed the MiFi needed to be rebooted after installing the drivers and running the DUU.exe program the first time.  Simply removing the USB like the instructions say did not make a difference.  After rebooting the MiFi and running DUU again it was able to complete the firmware update.

Everything appears to be working like normal.  I wasnt able to find the USB tethering drivers under the admin console either.  Not sure what they meant by that in the patch notes.  I do not have any new tethering capabilities, my MiFi is still wireless only.  I do not see any devices in my Device Manager while I am connected through a USB cable.

[John_Getzke]

I updated a 2nd MiFi through the manual installation steps and also needed to reboot the device.  After the reboot the firmware update went smoothly.  I was using 64bit Win7 for both my updates, the same computer too.

One thing I noticed is that the firmware update history area is not accurate.  In fact it remains empty after completing multiple firmware updates on my main MiFi since before 2.23.  Not a deal breaker, and it has never mattered before.  Still no luck finding this mention of tethering or USB cable in the help files either.

[statdetective]

The update did not happen automatically for me. I had to do it manually.

I am been pleasantly surprised with the update. Before this update, I was never able to keep the 4G connection in operation. The network connection would time out, which would result in hanging the web browser. The only way that I was able to reliably use the MiFi 4510L was to lock it into EVDO only (3G). After the update, the 4G connection is now working for me. I am getting download speeds of between 2MB and 5MB and upload speeds between 1MB and 2.5MB. I have not been experiencing lockups to the same degree that I had experienced previously. My browser did lock up last night. I don't know if this was a browser issue or a network issue.

The release notes said that 4G connectivity was improved in fringe 4G areas. This is probably why my connection has improved.

I have been disappointed with the MiFi 4510L. But it provides me with mobility which is something that I need, so I have been living with it, even though  I told my friends that it was "expensive dialup."

This update looks like it has addressed at least some of the issues that I was dealing with.

I'm still not sure why the data transfer totals appear to be much higher than I think I am using.

[John_Getzke]

I think we have debunked that the 2.28 firmware update is not automatic as it was promised to be.  I am fine with that considering the huge fiasco the last firmware update was on myself and those I support.  As long as it does not block or reroute people until they do the firmware update I'm happy.

Its good to hear another positive review on the firmware update.  Hopefully the trend improves as more LTE networks come online and future firmware updates are released.

Stat, when you say data transfer totals what are you referring to?  Your overal data consumption for the month or something else?  Can you give an example?  There have been threads where folks claim that the MiFi is downloading content on its own and causing users to go over thier cap.  We havent been able to get to the bottom of any of those cases so far.  Hopefully that is not the case for you.

[statdetective]

This reply might be best in another thread.

When I say "data transfer totals" I am referring to my overall data consumption for the month. It is very easy to exceed 100MB per day of data usage on the MiFi 4510L without accessing any bandwidth "heavy" content, like YouTube.

I am using my MiFi 4510L with a Windows XP machine, a Nook Color eReader, an HP OfficeJet printer, and a Wireless Range Extender.

Before using the MiFi 4510L, I had not realized that XP machines required so much bandwidth to support them. There are a lot of operating system and other software updates that get downloaded and many of them are large. Norton Internet Security is constantly pinging the Internet and downloading updates. If I launch Microsoft Outlook, the bandwidth requirements go way up, unless I use the web-browser interface. I am sure that much of the data consumption in 100MB per day occurs with these updates.

Several of the Time magazine downloads on the Nook Color eReader have been over 100MB. When I was using the MiFi 4510L in 3G mode, those downloads could take 45 minutes or longer. So, I don't believe the data consumption values are inflated.

However, I have left the MiFi 4510L powered on with no devices connected to it and my data consumption has still increased. At those times, I noticed that the LED was flashing (indicating data transfers are in progress). I don't know what causes that.

I only turn on the MiFi 4510L when I am using it. I power it down when I am done. That way, my data consumption does not increase because of software updates, anti-virus updates, and other communications.

In my opinion, the 5GB plan is insufficient in an environment where the systems are always on and are always connected to the Internet.

[ktuinstra]

I got an email from my Verizon rep that the firmware update will be released OTA on 4/12.  This is what I got: 

Customers who have SU2 and have not manually upgraded their device to SU3 will receive the update over-the-air starting 04/12/2012.  Once the update has been downloaded by the device, end users will discover that auto-connection on their device has been disabled and that browser traffic will be redirected to the admin console to perform the update.

[John_Getzke]

I pray that your VZW rep is misinformed.  Thanks for the heads-up if the rep is correct.

The last time VZW forced a firmware update was not pretty.

[ktuinstra]

I agree when 2.16.07 came out it wasn't fun.  When it detects there is an update but can only apply the firmware manually and needs admin rights not going to be easy to roll out especially when your users don't have admin rights.  I think (hope) goes better if does go OTA since this time downloads to device and have to progress through some screens.  Fingers crossed.

[John_Getzke]

The OTA update for 2.28 has been delayed. 

No word on when it will become available again.  VZW suggests that anyone who has not updated to 2.28 by USB to get it done soon.  That is the only way to reduce the impact of the OTA when it goes live in the future.

[ktuinstra]

I am curious to know where you found this out?

[John_Getzke]

@ktuinstra,

I contacted Verizon for confirmation about the forced OTA update.  Someone followed up with me later and confirmed that the OTA will be delayed.  Since I haven't seen any complaints this morning I assume the delay is still in effect.  No word yet on when the delay will be lifted.

[rmilling]

I have attempted the manual update multiple times, but without success.  I think my laptop or my mifi device is now in an odd state that may require special steps (ie cleanup) in order to proceed with the update.

QUESTION:  Are there specific steps I should perform to get the mifi device and the laptop into the proper starting state before proceeding with the update?

Here are details:

My laptop is Windows 7 Pro 64-bit.  I reset the mifi to factory defaults.  The current firmware version is v2.23.

I installed and uninstalled the drivers on the laptop, many times.  Currently they are installed.  Currently, every time I run DUU_Verizon_MiFi4510L_FW2.28.exe I get the HID-mode pop-up.  I never get past this point.

steps that I perform:

- turn on mifi  (it is fully charged)

- connect mifi to laptop via USB

- wait a few seconds

- run DUU_Verizon_MiFi4510L_FW2.28

- get the HID-mode pop-up -- select YES then OK

- unplug mifi device from USB

- power down mifi device, then power back up

- plug mifi device back into USB port of laptop

- run DUU_Verizon_MiFi4510L_FW2.28 again

- get the same HID-mode pop-up

- repeat many times, never getting past this point

[ktuinstra]

Those are the same steps I have my users perform if they constantly keep getting the hid-mode.  They click yes on hid, unplug it, turn it off completely, turn it on and wait a little bit and plug it in and it goes.  I would wonder if you reset the device to factory settings possibly - Believe the button is under the battery cover.  Not to sure since for me at least the unplug and turn off and on has worked.

[John_Getzke]

@Rmilling,

Restoring the defaults is a good idea.  You havent gotten to the point where the firmware update has actually started yet so there should be no harm in restoring.  You are getting stuck on the part where your computer downloads the drivers and trys to setup the MiFi to accept the firmware update.

On the previous firmware update someone discovered cleanup steps that were helpful for Mac users.  I don't think you should have to worry about cleanup just yet.  If you did try to cleanup then I would suggest re-downloading the entire package and trying again on a different computer if one is available.

I completed my update on a Win7 64bit laptop so we know that it should be possible with your setup too.

[rmilling]

John,

I completed the MiFi firmware update using a different system, also Win7 64bit.  So, that's set.  That just leaves me with some cleanup to do on my Win7 64bit laptop that did not work.

I made the switch to using another system because I suspected that something about the drivers was not right on my laptop.  My primary clue was that I did not get any pop-ups indicating drivers being loaded when I connected via USB cable.  Although I uninstalled the drivers, rebooted, reinstalled, etc. several times.  Nothing changed. 

I previously plugged the MiWi device into the laptop via USB to recharge.  I did not think about it at the time, but perhaps that caused Windows to load some default driver.

Any suggestions on how to cleanup any old stuff to prepare for the next firmware update will be greatly appreciated.

[John_Getzke]

A trick I like to use for printers is to delete all the related objects from Device Manager when the device is plugged into the computer.  That way you can be sure that all references to that hardware are gone the next time it is plugged in.

Wiping out Device Manager in addition to cleaning up Programs and Features are the only known cleanup steps I can think of at the moment.  There may be more cleanup possible in the registry but I have never had to dig that deep before.