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Sorry if this question is already here someplace, seems I'd seen something but cannot find now with the changes to the forum, seems that the layout makes it hard to drill down for some info or see the threads already existing. searching does not seem very intuitive to me either.....there's my 2 cents....so, on to my question:
I'd like to replace my WildBlue satellite service with VZW service. I started using a MiFi4510l recently and with 4G service just arriving here, it beats the satellite speeds considerably. It does cost a bit more per Gb but not substantially. I believe I will make the change this month and dump the WB service.
So, I'd like to end up with the 4510 as a modem feeding into a router, in other words taking the place of the WildBlue router. My setup now is using a Linksys WRT54G router, from there we use a combination of wired and wireless connections for laptops, desktops, printers, etc.
I see how I could do that with the Pepwave Surf per other posts I've read here. (Having trouble locating them today with the new layout).
I have also read about connecting the 4510 to a Cradlepoint router by USB cable, and I am wondering if this would be a better setup, or if it does work this way. Anyone have experience with this? Looks like there may be some different Cradlepoint router models available.
One consideration for me: I would want to be sure I had 802.11 "g" available as that is what I have on 2 laptops and a printer....
Also, given 4G service, would I sacrifice any speed by routing the VZW signal through a "g" router?
thanks, Happy New Year
Solved! Go to Correct Answer
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The MiFi 4510L cannot be USB tethered for a data connection. If you tried to tether it all that would be accomplished is charging, the device would still be connected wirelessly to the Cradlepoint router.
The pepwave, cradlepoint and even the new Netgear router can provide you with the receiver and wireless to LAN cable features that you are asking about. Depending on the rest of the features and the $$$ you want to spend you can go one way or another. I now have a Pepwave and it works great, although I wish I could change the wireless channel on it to further optimize my enviornment.
Keep in mind that every wireless node/hop/router/rebroadcast connection that you add to the MiFi the slower your data speeds will be. Sending a connection through a cable eliminates some of the overhead but you can still see a performance hit when you look for it. In general try to use as few additional devices as possible if speed is what you are concerned about. Id consider purchasing one of the above mentioned devices and replacing your current Linksys router all togeather.
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I would love to be proved wrong but to this point you still can't use the 4510l in a tethered fashion (USB connection), it is possible to charge it via USB while using it, but you can't actually use it as a usb modem. One of the many disappointments the 4510 brought to the table... 😞
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Thanks, I suspect that you are correct, unfortunately. I am also hoping somebody will prove you wrong.
I just posed the question to sales @ 3gstore.com, guessing I won't get an answer for a day or two. I'll post their answer here.
Meanwhile, the VZW 4G service seems to work fairly well for us, not nearly as fast as advertised but much better than WB by far, maybe 2 -4 Mbps reported by speakeasy.net. Unfortunately, we don't have any other decent choices for internet service where we are located.
When I said "WildBlue router" in OP, I meant modem... guessing you knew that. Thanks
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The MiFi 4510L cannot be USB tethered for a data connection. If you tried to tether it all that would be accomplished is charging, the device would still be connected wirelessly to the Cradlepoint router.
The pepwave, cradlepoint and even the new Netgear router can provide you with the receiver and wireless to LAN cable features that you are asking about. Depending on the rest of the features and the $$$ you want to spend you can go one way or another. I now have a Pepwave and it works great, although I wish I could change the wireless channel on it to further optimize my enviornment.
Keep in mind that every wireless node/hop/router/rebroadcast connection that you add to the MiFi the slower your data speeds will be. Sending a connection through a cable eliminates some of the overhead but you can still see a performance hit when you look for it. In general try to use as few additional devices as possible if speed is what you are concerned about. Id consider purchasing one of the above mentioned devices and replacing your current Linksys router all togeather.
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My answer arrived from 3gstore, here it is(in bold), as you guys already knew...:
"Hello,
No, the MiFi 4510L doesn't support direct tethering at this time in any of the routers. What you'd need to do is get one of our WiFi as WAN routers here - http://3gstore.com/waw
You'd connect the MiFi via WiFi to the router that would then create a larger WiFi network and give you access to Ethernet out to connect all your hardware.
- Matt"
John, is the pepwave you have the "Pepwave Surf Mini"? http://3gstore.com/product/1813_pepwave-surf-mini-200.html
and if it is, do you have it connected to a router by ethernet cable? Or am I missing the best way to consolidate 2 networks into 1?
And the also, from above post:
"One consideration for me: I would want to be sure I had 802.11 "g" available as that is what I have on 2 laptops and a printer...."
Guess I need to do some more learning here.... thanks for the help. Gerry
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Couple more thoughts/questions...
Would I possibly be better off with a USB modem that WOULD tether directly to a current router?... (Haven't studied the current offerings for the USB modem choices)... I don't anticipate much traveling with the MiFi, and when we do, 1 computer is all we carry. Thinking I could still bail on my VZW commitment until the 15th, or possibly I could trade equipment.
If I use the Pepwave, it looks like Windows file sharing does not work with it as a router? We do plenty of file sharing/ moving, etc. with the existing Lynksys router, it's been pretty well behaved for maybe 5 years now. So, to basically replace the WildBlue but continue our network as we are used to(file sharing a must), we would have this arrangement...
MiFi4510>>>>wirelessly connected to >>> Pepwave Surf MIni >>>> ethernet cable connected to>>>>> existing network: Lynksys WRT54G (or newer/later model router) sound correct? Or a better way to do this?
Does concern me to sacrifice any noticeable speed with the additional wireless connection
Do the older Samsung MiFi units(2200?) tether by USB cable? are they not as good for some reason? thanks
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John, is the pepwave you have the "Pepwave Surf Mini"?
Yes. I have the Mini model.
do you have it connected to a router by ethernet cable?
No. I have my pepwave connected to a router which has its own modem connection. The pepwave is repeating my router's signal to give me better reception and signal strength in a different area. I connect wirelessly to the pepwave when I am in that area. I noticed the difference when I set up the devices, but ultimately i went with all wireless due to convenience.
Would I possibly be better off with a USB modem that WOULD tether directly to a current router?...
Technically yes, but you may not notice the difference. A USB connection to a cradlepoint router would be quicker than a MiFi to Pepwave according to my testing. Given your information a single USB modem would be better for performance reasons.
MiFi4510>>>>wirelessly connected to >>> Pepwave Surf MIni >>>> ethernet cable connected to>>>>> existing network: Lynksys WRT54G (or newer/later model router) sound correct?
Yes. Thats the best way to do it with those devices.
Do the older Samsung MiFi units(2200?) tether by USB cable?
Not sure, I've never had a 2200. The older models simply cannot support 4G LTE like the newer models can. Likewise, older MiFi's might not be supported by Verizon if you have a problem where the new models are.
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For the most part using a wireless connection between the 4510 and whichever wireless router you decide to use will be fine, I just don't like it because it is one more needless hop between my computers and the internet (the hardwired computers) and because it's one more point of failure in what has historically been a very flaky technology (LTE). If I could I would go back to a USB modem and just plug it directly into one of the pc's (or a cradle) and use that as the access point to the internet.
Keep in mind all of your file and printer sharing will still be inside the local network so the connection to the internet device will be meaningless at that point.
The 2200 did allow for tethering which gave it the best of both worlds, it just isn't compatible with LTE.
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So I replied to Matt by email at 3Gstore and asked for a return phone call to ask further questions and he called me back ... what a pleasant surprise!
He told me about the Cradlepoint MBR95: http://3gstore.com/product/3029_cradlepoint_mbr95.html?gclid=CI39oJvotK0CFQSFhwodmzMikw about $100 + shipping
I had been looking at the MBR1400, more like $300+
It doesn't show up on the page referenced above:http://3gstore.com/waw and he wasn't sure why, said they would get that fixed. His take was get rid of my Lynksys and use the MBR95, rather than add the Pepwave to an old router, will cost about the same.... for both the reasons mentioned above.... he did not think I would notice any latency/speed differences that were noticeable. The broadcast range is less with with the MBR95, but seems like it will do the job for me. Figure i'll sleep on it for a day or two ... looks like "WiFi as WAN" is what I'm looking for in a router, don't know if there are other choices.
Side note: Matt at 3Gstore thought there was a version of the Novatel 4510(probably a slightly different model #) from/for Sprint that would tether by cable. He seemed to think that firmware was the only reason why VZW 4510 cannot connect by USB. Maybe somebody at VZW is paying attention....
thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it.
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My experiences with 3G store support have been good too. They will continue to support your device after you purchase it aswell which is a really nice feature considering they do not manufacture any of the products they offer.
I'd agree with Matt's advice, replacing the cisco router would be better than adding another one to the current setup. With a cradlepoint router you can do either the USB modem or the MiFi so there is greater flexibility with those devices.
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Not only look into 3Gstore Cradlepoints router but look into their Peplink balance routers they are a gem in themselves, they are an awesome router
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Ordered the MBR95 router with an antenna and adapter cable.... http://3gstore.com/product/3047_3g4g-full-band-outdoor-omni-antenna.html ... ran thru the suggested antenna site survey found at the 3gstore. My improvement with the antenna may not be a bunch as it seems the signal has gotten better with the arrival of the LTE service, but I'll be able to place the 4510 in a location that should work out pretty well with the router.
The balancing routers look like more than I need.
Thinking I'll keep the 4510, it has been working well for quite a few days now... WildBlue only seems slower now than ever. They just announced a new satellite going in service ... supposed to offer 12 Mbps service to east/west coasts, 5 Mbps for everyone else. Takes all new gear(dish/modem) and will cost more for less data volume. Plus install fee and new 2 year commitment. Go figure...
I'll post back how this all works out, thanks for all the advice.
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The Cradlepoint MBR95 has been up and running now for about 3 days. Working well, no big problems getting all my devices(wireless and cat cabled) connected. Took a bit of "fiddling around" at first, mostly just figuring out the user interface, security mode, etc. Still don't have a real clear understanding about channel selection, seems everthing works well enough with it set on "auto" in channel management. There is a 122 page PDF manual where I'm guessing the answer is....
I don't think it has quite as powerful wireless broadcast range as the Cisco/Linksys WRT54G, which has 2 external antennas on it.
Set up the omni antenna yesterday with 20' of cable on an outside wall towards where I think my signal comes from. The MiFi 4510 reports a fairly steady -70Db signal, SINR changes from 11to maybe 14. Before the antenna would range a lot, lower/mid -70s to -100+. Seems a bit quicker as far as web page loading, more consistant. Couple of Speedtest.net tries had anywhere from 2.7mbps DL on wireless laptop connection to 6.7mbps DL on a cat cabled desktop. Uploads are always faster yet 6.2 to 9.2 mbps. guessing that is as good as it will get.(Seems there are a hundred reasons why the speedtest would only be so accurate, lots of variables.) Way better speeds than what I had, although costs a bit more in terms of data volume.
Also, if I connect wirelessly to the MiFi directly, the speed test shows better results. So there does appear to be some loss with the WiFi to router connection. Hard to see the difference as far as average web page loading... Might be better to have a USB modem connected directly. I am going to keep the 4510,tho.
There is a post by JerryF here about a smartphone app to determine which cell tower you are connecting to, sorry I don't have the link handy to post here. I don't use a smartphone, but looked handy for those with fringe reception issues thinking about antenna placement.
Also, $20 mailin rebate on MBR95 thru Jan. 3gstore was a real pleasure to deal with, I would certainly would steer folks their direction.
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Im not sure which link was referring to but here is one that I use to lookup local cell towers:
http://www.cellreception.com/towers/
The FCC does not require every antenna/tower to be registered so it might not show all the possibilities. In my hometown it appears to be accurate.
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John, this was the original post ...https://community.verizonwireless.com/thread/735676
Towards the end JerryF links to a new post(his) which tells about the smart phone app..
I did not find any local towers for my area looking at the "cellreception" site
Side question: Copy/paste does not work for me to add a link to a post, I seem to have to use the "insert link" function.... is that your experience also?
Also, I was going to add some input to an "antenna" thread we had both posted to earlier, but I cannot find it since the new forum went into action...
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The site I linked doesnt seem to find small towns very well. Everytime I search for my hometown it zooms on the Twin Cities and I have to manually move the screen to find my area. If you havent already try looking from your closest major city and manually panning/zooming over your home town to see if there are different results.
I've never had problems copy/pasting links on this forum. I copy/paste URL's from IE8 into the forum and JIVE auto formats it into a clickable link for me. I think copy/paste is just plain buggy on this new forum engine. However I do have issues copy/pasting responses from other users in my own responses. The site locks up for me to the point where I close the browser and reopen a new one. I have been working around it by manually typing whatever I was going to quote.
The old thread may have been lost in the transition. Everything that was going to be migrated should have done so already. Links to the old forum are now working too so if you can dig up an old email notification you should be able to find it. Otherwise you are at the mercy of the clunky keyword searching features of JIVE.
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Maybe this will help
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Make sure that both the Cradlepoint MBR95 and the Novatel 4510L are turned off and unplugged. Remove the battery from the Novatel 4510L so that it's completely off.
If the Novatel and the Cradlepoint are both turned on while you're setting them up, they won't work together when you're done.
DO ALL OF THESE STEPS IN ORDER. DON'T SKIP ANY STEPS.
CONFIGURING THE NOVATEL 4510L MOBILE HOTSPOT
- 1. Assemble the wall charger and then charge the battery on the Novatel hotspot according to the instructions that came with the device.
- 2. Plug in and turn on the hotspot.
- 3. Using the web page interface, configure the hotspot, name your SSID and then set your password on the Novatel, again according to the instructions.
- 4. Next, unplug and take the battery out of the Novatel 4510L so that it's completely off.
CONFIGURING THE CRADLEPOINT MBR95 ROUTER
- 1. Plug in and then turn on the Cradlepoint. Make sure that the Cradlepoint's Wi-Fi switch is turned on. This switch is on the back panel of the device, next to the Power switch.
- 2. Configure the Cradlepoint (Using the "Getting Started" tab in the web page interface). Name the SSID the same as the one that you used to set up the Novatel 4510L. Also, use the same password.
- 3. HERE'S THE TRICK: Set a new IP address for the Cradlepoint, so that the third group of numbers are NOT zero or "1." Set it to any number between 2 and 10.
GETTING THEM TO WORK TOGETHER
- 1. Put the battery back in the Novatel 4510L, plug it in and turn it on.
- 2. Turn on the Wi-Fi as WAN feature on the Cradlepoint.
See: "How to configure Wi-Fi as WAN on a Series 3 Cradlepoint router"
and
Cradlepoint WiFi as WAN Setup: Tutorial 4 (from the 3G store)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMHrn07m1h4&feature=plcp
- 3. Also, be sure to set connection order (Wi-Fi first), unless you're also using a wired Ethernet connection. In the web page interface, the connection order is called "fallover priority." You can see how to do this in the tutorial video.
- 4. (Optional) On the Network Settings page, configure the Guest network.
Now you can connect your other wireless devices to the Cradlepoint. When you look at the IP address for these devices, they should have the same third group of numbers as the ones that you set when you configured the Cradlepoint. Using the example shown before, the IP address for a laptop connected to this network would be something like 192.168.9.111. The "9" in this IP address confirms that you're connected to the Cradlepoint.
