Verizon mifi issue. Verizon of no help.

[myredracer]

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!

[myredracer]

Finally working, woohoo!! 🙂

Called Verizon yesterday morning and finally got to talk to an actual tech guy that knew more than the previous people we talked to. He said he had another customer with the exact same issue and it was resolved by replacing their jetpack. This tech said Best Buy had the jetpack for $40 instead of $150 at a Verizon store so off we went into Gresham again to get one. The new jetpack worked okay at Best Buy.

Got back to the CG and it would not work. Another call to Verizon and they got it going. That only lasted minutes. Then another call to Verizon and they rechecked the IME no. and SIM card and did some kind of reset. That worked another 15 minutes or so. We figured we were SOL at that point.

Then around 11 pm, it suddenly started working out of the blue and has been fine since. Keeping our fingers crossed...

Never was a cell tower issue according to Verizon. Never did get any solid clues from them. They did add 15 gigs to our plan for all our pain and suffering.

[myredracer]

2chiefsRus wrote:
I would try using my smart phone as a hot spot about 9:30 or so before you have a problem with the jetpack. See if they both have problems at the same time or if it is only the Jetpack. That could tell you if it is the jetpack or the local tower.

We've used our smart phone sometimes but the plan doesn't have enough data for a 3 week camping trip and daily use. DW was testing both her iphone and android along with the laptop and no difference.

[MrWizard]

when its working early in the morning, log into the jetpack itselt
and pull up the signal level, connection info or diagnostics menu
see what it is

then do the same thing again again after the problem starts

see if you have the same signal strength
if signal is significantly lower/different (large numbers 105 mean weak signal)(low numbers 56 mean strong signal)

could indicate work on the tower
or some kind of interference or tower overload

[naturist]

Just went through a similar spell with a Sprint equivalent device. Had to be cell tower issue, and it would cut out around 10 am, too. We also have Sprint cell phones, and they all had the same problem. 'Net was up and down off and on for a week. Drove me nuts.

[2chiefsRus]

I would try using my smart phone as a hot spot about 9:30 or so before you have a problem with the jetpack. See if they both have problems at the same time or if it is only the Jetpack. That could tell you if it is the jetpack or the local tower.

[jcpainter]

myredracer wrote:
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!

You could be experiencing tower congestion, but 10:00 AM would be a strange time for that to happen unless there's a special activity going on in the area of the cell tower you're connected to .

If you do get a new hotspot . . . don't let Verizon sell you an outdated model (like the Elipse)that they are trying to unload. Technology is changing so fast and the older ones cannot take advantage of the newer cellular bands or a lot of other features. The 8800L is Verizon's latest model.

Go somewhere with decent internet and watch this video for a better understanding before you buy. It's real easy to be "penny wise and pound foolish". Educate yourself on the differences. Hot spot Differences

[azdryheat]

Since you're in Oregon, it's gotta be solar flares interferring with signal transmission.

[2oldman]

Could be traffic increasing at that time each day.

[CA_Traveler]

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.

[myredracer]

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.

[myredracer]

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?

[rk911]

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.

[edbehnke]

probably jetpack. get to verizon and try one of theirs or find a neigbor who has one working. process of elimination