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myredracer's avatar
myredracer
Explorer II
Jul 28, 2019

Verizon mifi issue. Verizon of no help.

Have been using a Verizon jetpack on a pay-as-you-go plan for about 5 years no problem and use it for camping only in the summer. Has always been very reliable except for spotty reception on the Oregon coast depending on location.

We're currently in Welches OR, near Mt. Hood for about 2 weeks. Previous to being here, we were up in Chehalis WA and the mifi worked great there. First couple of days here in Welches, the Verizon worked great. Then it stopped working. Contacted Verizon and they could not figure it out and said they would "escalate" it. 3 days later, we did not hear back. Another call to Verizon and they said it might be the SIM card so we drove an hour to a Verizon store to get one. Did not help. The guy at the Verizon store said if that doesn't help, it's likely the jetpack. Verizon said a new one would be $150 and that there's no guarantee that would fix the issue.

But the weird thing is, for the past 5 days, it works fine for 2-3 hours in the morning and then stops working at the same time each day, about 10 am. Why would it do that?? According to Verizon, it's not the plan we're on and we have plenty of gigs left.

If it works for a couple of hours each day at the same time each day, how could it be a hardware issue at our end? We also have a nice brand new laptop. We tried walking around the CG with the jetpack & laptop and there's no difference.

Am at the CG clubhouse at the moment and being "forced" to use the usual substandard CG wifi. :E Help!
  • Since you're in Oregon, it's gotta be solar flares interferring with signal transmission.
  • Several things:

    1. It could be a signal problem due to atmospheric conditions including rising sun.

    2. Get a cell booster to help prevent future problems and provide better signals. Since it's "important" get a good one with 4G capability.

    3. CG Wifi is rarely secure - be careful as anyone can use a app to see and access your computer.

    And see if a neighbor has a cell booster that you can try (in their rig perhaps) to help isolate the problem.
  • rk911 wrote:
    or there could be ongoing maintenance at the tower you're connected to. a buddy works for Sprint and tells me that it's not unusual for towers to be down for maintenance, occasionally for a few days.
    Never thought of that.

    What's annoying is that we're on our annual 3-week vacation and we can't survive in a CG without the internet... DW has been doing some important office work and needs the internet to view and edit documents. I'm retired and "need" the internet for entertainment. Even if it could be fixed, we'll be back home by then. At least CG wifi is available.
  • edbehnke wrote:
    probably jetpack. get to verizon and try one of theirs or find a neigbor who has one working. process of elimination
    That's what we wondered at first but why does it go down the same time each day and work only for the same duration?
  • or there could be ongoing maintenance at the tower you're connected to. a buddy works for Sprint and tells me that it's not unusual for towers to be down for maintenance, occasionally for a few days.
  • probably jetpack. get to verizon and try one of theirs or find a neigbor who has one working. process of elimination

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