Samsung SCH-LC11 first impressions - problems

Just received the Samsung SCH-LC11 4G hotspot. We are located in Phoenix Arizona with pretty good signal strength. The device is intended for business travel and to keep in touch with the office network.

Setup and initial configuration went pretty smooth. In the envelope in the box is a SIM card that must be installed under the battery. Never saw a SIM card before and was surprised it is not much more than a piece of plastic.

You dial a phone number and activate the device using information included with the invoice. Lots of numbers and took two phone calls but got activated.

The password for connecting is a midde digits of an IMEI number on the outside of the device package. The inclosed literature indicates it was found on the back side of the device itself. Nope.

After starting the SCH-LC11 it took about 5 minutes before I could connect from a laptop. After than initial delay, connection took right off.

Initial speed tests, performing an actual file download from our office server, showed about 2.5 Megabits of speed sustained. Not much better than the Verizon MiFi we upgraded from.

Next went into the devices configuration with a web browser. The password is the same one used to connect to the device (again the middle digits of the IMEI number).

Initial configuration changes:

1) changed security to WPA2 Personal/PSK (AES). By default then use th older WPA.

2) changed the 802.11 Mode to b/g/n. n is not selected by default.

3) changed the default IP address from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.97.1 (needed for networking to office purposes). After rebooting the device and reconnecting could not access the Internet. Also needed to change the DNS Server to 192.168.97.1. This appears to be a bug as it did automatically change the DHCP range and Gateway.

Ran into the same problem already reported here that Microsoft PPTP (sometimes referred to as VPN) hangs during connect and will not function.

On the screen Configuration / Settings you can enable VPN Passthrough. With this enabled "true" VPN software (we use Sonicwall) functions correctly.

Did not see a way/method to upgrade the device firmware or PRL. With the MiFi you used the VZAccess Manager software. Have not yet run across any documentation mentioning it yet. .

Offhand SCH-LC11 seems stable. Have seen a couple of bursts of 5 Megabits per second the am disappointed with the speed as it does not seem to be much faster than the MiFi.

Accepted answers

dalewood

The latest firmware update corrects the issue with Microsoft PPTP hanging.

All comments

willzzz99

Remember LTE is a GSM technology like AT&T or T-Mobile so you don't need to WORRY ABOUT PRL updates or anything. With GLOBAL GSM SIM card technology (including LTE) the updates are DONE AUTOMATICALLY BY THE OPERATOR (VZW in this case) by doing a SIM card OTA (over the air) push. You don't need to worry about it, the device is smart enough to update on its own. :smileytongue: Also everytime the device reboots it will auto-update. That's probably why the initial setup took 5 minutes because the device was probably downloading and programming updates from VZW.

Regarding the firmware updates, I would check www.vzam.net prodically for f/w updates.

Hmm only 2.5Mbps on LTE? Either you are in a down-town area and a-ton of users are already using VZW LTE (rare) or you are only in a 0 to 1 bar area. Did you move the device around to a different area with a higher signal strength (5-bars of LTE maybe, try near a cell site?) to see if you get more speed?

Also are YOU SURE it's connected to LTE and not the slower EvDO? Are you even in a LTE coverage area? Check the vzw coverage maps.

ZipTurtle

dalewood wrote:

The password for connecting is a midde digits of an IMEI number on the outside of the device package. The inclosed literature indicates it was found on the back side of the device itself. Nope.

The password is on a label UNDER the battery cover. It is not directly on the back as that would be somewhat of a security issue.

You should change it anyway using the Admin GUI, You can set both the WiFi password and the admin password to be different.

ZipTurtle

willzzz99 wrote:

Regarding the firmware updates, I would check www.vzam.net prodically for f/w updates.

www.vzam.net is ONLY for VZaccess updates. The Samsung 4G hotspot does not use VZaccess for anything. It also can't be used for Texting since it has no VZaccess abilities.

I was told by support, that turning off the device and turning it back on, will update whatever network changes there are and that if there is a firmware update (not sure how you would know), resetting the device and turning it on would permit that update.

There is nothing in the Admin Web GUI for updating the device.

Clearly, they will need to do a firmware update sometime (hopefully soon) to correct some of the VPN issues that people are having. Luckily something I don't have to use often (use SSL remote access systems instead which work just fine).

willzzz99 wrote:
Hmm only 2.5Mbps on LTE? Either you are in a down-town area and a-ton of users are already using VZW LTE (rare) or you are only in a 0 to 1 bar area. Did you move the device around to a different area with a higher signal strength (5-bars of LTE maybe, try near a cell site?) to see if you get more speed?

Also are YOU SURE it's connected to LTE and not the slower EvDO? Are you even in a LTE coverage area? Check the vzw coverage maps.

Phoenix has great coverage at least everywhere I've been so far. At work, I was getting 97% and the same at home. What was a bit strange was at work it said EVDO = 0 but at home, it said EVDO = 85% but the device is clearly using LTE as indicated on the lights of the device.

I have one device (and HP Slate 500) which is having great difficulty using the device for reasons that are being checked into now. Speeds are terrible.

I have tried with 8 other notebooks and 3 phones (all Droids) with very good success. Not quite what the Thunderbolt users are seeing but good enough for my needs. Typically between 7Mbps - 15Mpbs Down and upwards of 3Mbsp down.

So it is possible that the speed issues he is having are related to the computer type he is using. My slate makes it almost useless hopefully to be corrected shortly.

LTEnewbie

Just got the hotspot yesterday and tried to create a MyVerizon account, but during the creation process, it notified me the temporary password has been sent to my mobile device (i.e. the Samsung SCH-LCH11 hotspot).

If the VZWaccess is not available for Samsung SCH-LCH11, then how can I get the "text-message" that contains my temporary password?

Thanks.

ZipTurtle

It should be sent to your email address registered for your account.

There is no text messaging with this device.

dalewood

The light says LTE on the device and the web config page also says LTE.

As stated later Phoenix has good coverage for LTE and bas Verizon itself. We are located in the Scottsdale area (i.e. the suburbs). Did try a few spots outside the office but we already have a good signal.

I spoke with Verizon tech support yesterday and they are not completely sure how updates to the device will be handled. The USB port is used only for charging. They suspect that either a special program will be made available or the Verizon Access Mananager will be enhanced to support this sort of "WiFi" device only.

It seems strange to me that they don't have an "update" button with the web page of the device itself..

dalewood

The documentation that comes with the device all shows a label on the back. I upgraded from a MiFi and that is how they did it. The doco was pretty generic and not specific to the device, hence the comment as it stood out to me.

First thing I did was put a label on the back with the info.

dalewood

The laptop I was using is fairly powerful and can easily get 7-8 Megabites per second via its WiFi connection, assuming 802.11n (which is not the default with the SCH-LC11).

We are a small office and I handle the network and servers. The testing was from our own website and others that have extremely fast download ability. I used actual file downloads and not the 'speed-test' programs most folks use. In the real world I move files and connect remotely so I want to see and report actual reesults.

The 2.5 Megabits per second was pretty consistent, except for a few small bursts, and disappointing.

TheSchneider

Do any mods roam these boards, is there actual help here for these issues?

KristiZ

Just purchased the Samsung SCH-LC11 mobile hotspot to use in my home for my desktop computers. I could get one computer to connect with no problem. The other one, not so easy. Want to know how to connect the second one. When I pull up the available wifi networks, on the second computer, Verizon does not appear as an option. Please help!!

dalewood

The latest firmware update corrects the issue with Microsoft PPTP hanging.