I wish I'd never bought one. I liked the idea of having my own hotspot that I can use independent of my workplace's open network. However, most of the time at work the Samsung won't open up its WiFi to let me connect. I think it may be due to all the other access points at work that are probably saturating the airwaves but I don't know. The most frustrating part is that it's a "Catch-22" in that I can't configure it at work because the only way I can log into the device is via WiFi. The USB port seems useless other than to charge the device. In other situations it seems to work fairly well, but I don't need it that frequently outside of work. I wish I could return the{word filter avoidance}, but it's past the "grace" period.
I found the solution to connection dropping problem after 1 week of research and trial/errors.
Step 1: Call verizon support at 866-221-4096.
Step 2: Press 6 for MIFI device.
Step 3: They will ask you to remove SIM card, wait 10 seconds, then put it back in.
After doing this, it never dropped again. The tech person said by removing the SIM, it resets the cell towers it's connected to. He even called me 15 minutes later to make sure. He did say that he did something on his side too so not sure if calling is required.
Just got done with a Twitter exchange with @VZWSupport - they were very helpful and copped to the 4510L issues right away. They are working with Novatel on a firmware update to solve 3G dormancy issues when plugged in; also confirmed 3G/4G roaming issues has been submitted to Novatel but could not confirm it would be included in the f/w update.
ilocano wrote:
I found the solution to connection dropping problem after 1 week of research and trial/errors.
Step 1: Call verizon support at 866-221-4096.
Step 2: Press 6 for MIFI device.
Step 3: They will ask you to remove SIM card, wait 10 seconds, then put it back in.
After doing this, it never dropped again. The tech person said by removing the SIM, it resets the cell towers it's connected to. He even called me 15 minutes later to make sure. He did say that he did something on his side too so not sure if calling is required.
This seemed to help improve my LTE connection, at least in LTE-only mode. I'll check to see if it reduces the "stuck on 3G in a strong 4G area" problem, which I've had in Los Angeles and San Jose (but not Washington DC).
My LTE signal at my home seems to bounce between a LTE signal strength of -89 db and -45 db, which is a very big range.
I had the Novatel 3G mifi but got a free upgrade to Samsung 4G SCH-LC11. I HATE IT. In 3g mode, the Samsung matched the mifi. But in 4G mode, the performance is terribly inconsistent. Constantly getting delays and "unable to load page" errors. The 4G network is just not nearly as consistent as the 3G network for me. Also, the SCH-LC11 keeps powering down. Once it starts, it will only resume for 5-10 mins and then power-down again. I replaced it once, but the replacement does the same thing.
I so so wish the device had a switch where I could force it back into 3G mode when the 4G is so bad!!!!!!
oosillyoo wrote:I have successfully been able to get two VPN connections to work using Windows XP and the Cisco VPN client using IPsec over UDP on both the Samsung and the Novatel. Both of them seemed a little sluggish even compared to my old MiFi 2200. I have been able to get a PPTP VPN established from an iPod and an iPad to a PFsense router but not through the Samsung hotspot. This seems to be an issue with the fact Verizon is using a double NAT on the 4G network. If Novatel can get it to work I would think Samsung could too in a future firmware release.
I will be testing the Samsung and Novatel using L2TP to VPN to a PFsense box later today.
How did you get your VPN to work? I just switched from SCH-LC11 to the MiFi 4510L today, because I could not get the VPN to work on the Samsung device. Little did I know, my VPN also doesn't work on the MiFi.
I am running Cisco VPN Client using IPSec over UDP. When I start the VPN session, a tunnel gets established just fine. But I can't access any of the servers (be it mail server or intranet server) on the corporate network. I also can't get to the Internet with the VPN tunnel in place.
I'd greatly appreciate it if you can provide some guidance on this.
Cheers.
Hi Ultra7,
I understand the importance of using the Mifi with your VPN. However, since you mentioned that this is being used on a corporate network, please contact your IT department.
Thank you very much and have a good day!
You might want to check out the posts (mostly mine) on the thread under "Samsung SCH-LC11 disconnects". If you live in a location with lots of trees and hills you may be in for even more frustrations.
Well, I have frequent disconnects with a very strong signal (-66 dbm) and no trees. So I'm not convinced that Verzon's explanation is correct.
Since I cannot find an ExpressCard (PC card) successor so my laptop can move up to LTE, I went with the Novatel MiFi. I really miss the simplicity of a dongle-less modem, especially since my HP 2530 internally powered the card and it didn't occupy a USB port (I bought the Boxwave cable to avoid having to tote the extra charger or worry about running out of battery).
Has anyone seen an LTE ExpressCard? I'll check the other threats to see if the USB LTE's have given users the fits the Samsung's or the Novatel's have dished out, particularly on VPN.
HP sells an internally mounted CDMA/other modem for these laptops, but it is not LTE.
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