MiFi 4510L and Macbook Pro Retina

[SteveGk]

Hello,

Anyone get a new Retina MBP working with the 4510 MiFI unit?

This same MiFi works flawlessly with my other Macbook Pro (2009) but with the new Retina MBP I get a connection but no browing/internet access.

The password has been confirmed via review in the Keychain and any other WiFi networks I connect to work without issue.

Searched online and can not find others with a similar issue.

Any ideas on how it can connect to other networks but this one MiFi fails while the same MiFi network can be accessed via a different model MacBook Pro laptop???

Regards,

Steve

[John_Getzke]

Steve,

What you are describing here is either a password problem or a incompatibility issue between your device and the default settings of the MiFi 4510L.

The first thing I would do is re-enter the WiFi password on your MacBook.  Since I'm not a Mac guy I wont be able to tell you the steps necessary to accomplish that goal, but I'd bet you can figure it out.

If you can confirm that the WiFi password is getting entered correctly then the next step would be tweaking the MiFi.  I'd suggest changing either the WiFi password to WPA or change the 802.11 wireless mode to B+G.

Remove/Change the WiFi password

1. Navigate to http://mifi.admin
2. Enter "admin" in the textbox in the upper right hand corner
3. Click the WiFi tab
4. Change the security of the device:
   1. Change Selected Profile to Open Access
   2. Change the Security from WPA2 to WPA or WEP
5. Update your WiFi password if necessary
6. Click Apply
7. Test your connection

Change the 802.11/Wireless Mode

1. Sign into your MiFi
2. Click the Wi-Fi tab
3. Change the 802.11 mode from B+G+N to B+G
4. Click Apply
5. Test your connection

[SteveGk]

John,

Thanks for the details. I did not know about the connection means via mifi.admin

I changed the password and connection security to WPA2

The first time it did not take and the same password as original allowed connectivity to the mifi device.

Second time it took the change, then restarted the device, but now will not accept either the new or old password. Might have something to do with the network key which I entered as 12345678. But I am not sure if that is the problem.

So if locked out, now I have to find out if there is some way to reset to stock using the admin password on the back of the 4510l ?

[John_Getzke]

Steve,

If you are locked out of the mifi.admin webpage then you will need to reset the device to the defaults.  I suggest a level 3 reset.

Level 3 Reset

1. Power on the MiFi
2. Remove the back cover
3. Press and hold the Reset button next to the battery for 10 seconds
   a. Paper clip seems to work best for pressing the reset button
   b. Watch the MiFi E-Ink display to see if all the icons are displayed
4. Release the Reset button
5. Reassemble the MiFi
6. Test your connection

Once you are reset you will need to use the default passwords to connect and manage your MiFi.  Those passwords should be posted on the back of the device.  They might also be posted underneath the battery if your MiFi is new enough, if not I can help you figure it out.  All we have to do here is find out what kind of passwords your Macbook needs and provide it the correct information when it tries to connect.  Everything else should be automatic from there.  WPA2 security is the best and should be used whenever possible, but you might want to think of a stronger password that adheres to internet best practices.

Strong password best practices:

1. Atleast 1 capitol letter (A, B, C)

2. Atleast 1 number (1, 2, 3)

3. Atleast 1 Symbol (-,.,!, *)

4. Atleast 8 characters long

5. Non-dictionary words (Blu3-F00t)

[SteveGk]

John,

Yes that works to reset the stock password.

I again, reset the password with a solid password, very slowly so as to make sure there are no mistakes... Then changed to WEP or WPA ( I forget which I used). The restart happened and the password was NOT accepted. Reset again and the stock password is accepted just fine.

I'll retry later using both WEP as well as WPA just to confirm that this does nto work. 😞

[John_Getzke]

Ok, I can see we are getting the hang of managing passwords with your MiFi. In a perfect world we would get this MiFi configured on a WPA2 secured password type but maybe we will have to settle for WPA.  WEP isnt even really worth trying in terms of security, its only there as a last resort for oldschool computers.  The wireless mode must be OK on the default B+G+N otherwise your MacBook would not connect after the resets. I'd bet once we get the password issue figured out you will be good to go.

VZW phone support would be able to assist you in this area too.  Feel free to give them a call if you want extra support after hours.  Otherwise I'm happy to continue bouncing ideas back and forth over the forum until you can get it resolved.

Keep us posted on your progress.

[njp]

Late to this discussion, but I've had intermittent issues (frequent connection drops, etc.) with my Mifi 4510L since I got it six months ago, mostly with my iPad 1.

I just bought a MacBook Pro Retina running Mountain Lion on Saturday, and it only connected once in many attempts, and then only for a few seconds, until now.

Based on this thread and others, I used another computer to connect to the Mifi, set the Mifi 802.11 mode to just "n" (the default was actually b and g, but *not* n) and also changed the Mifi wireless channel to 5, which I'd learned is different from the other access points and wireless routers I use or see.

It works, suddenly as reliably as my other wireless access works with all my other systems (been using it continuously now for the past three hours).  I'd guess that the iPad 1's n wireless is a bit too fast for the Mifi's default b and g wireless, and the MacBook Pro's is absolutely too fast.  While changing the channel might be a good idea, I recommend simply setting the Mifi wireless to "n" only as a first step for Mac Book Pro people having connection problems.

[John_Getzke]

Great feedback, thanks for sharing!

Its good to hear that the tips and tricks we exposed are working.  This is a perfect example of someone who did a little digging, performed a site survey and properly configured thier device to suit the enviornment.