"Clear" for internet connection?

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I'm surprised you are having trouble making any wifi work with the Mifi device - the 802.11(b/g/n) spec is pretty explicit and variations from it are very rare. I would be shocked if you really have a wifi compatibility problem. What sort of issues are you having.
 
Gary,

There is a known issue with USB adapters (not so much internal adapters) and the Verizon MiFi. Some of that has obviously been corrected by changes in firmware on both the adapters and the MiFi itself. Adapters that are built into laptops use a different chip and that seems to be part of the issue.

The spec is one thing and is not in question. Successfully meeting it with a combination of firmware and chipsets in the field by another vendor is the wildcard.
 
So the problem is with the wifi chipset used in some USB wifi adapters?  Do you know which chipset? There are literally dozens of them, many of them down to a single chip now.

I'm trying to get this clear, since I also operate a popular Yahoo Group for cell modem users (including Mifi) and have not heard of any difficulties making connections. With so many Mifi devices in use, Verizon and other carriers, I would think it would be a well-known issue. I have one myself and use it with several different computers with no issues (though only one of them has a USB wifi adapter).
 
Gary,

I will try to relocate that information. It is likely that part of it has been corrected with firmware upgrades since my D-Link adapter miraculously started working after a period of time and several reinstalls with later firmware.

It was a known problem to the Verizon engineers I was talking with originally and they were interested in my feedback at the time.

I dropped the issue after changing out the adapters and then having the original adapter start working after some Verizon firmware upgrades. I don't like to walk away from a problem like that without the exact answer, but it is often expedient.
 
We've had a Toshiba laptop, an iPad2, and a couple of iPhones connected to our Verizon MiFi4510L all at the same time with no problems.  I think it's a great little device.
 
Have you considered Millenicom? It uses the Verizon network and costs a whole lot less.
 
mrschwarz said:
Have you considered Millenicom? It uses the Verizon network and costs a whole lot less.
$80 per month for 10 gigs is the same price as Verizon.
 
According to their web site, it's $59.95 for 20 GB for a USB adapter. You can buy a Wifi Ranger or Cradlepoint router for around $100 and have a wireless network for a lot less. Considering what the networks charge for the hot spots, I don't see the point.
 
mrschwarz said:
According to their web site, it's $59.95 for 20 GB for a USB adapter. You can buy a Wifi Ranger or Cradlepoint router for around $100 and have a wireless network for a lot less. Considering what the networks charge for the hot spots, I don't see the point.
But this is not 4G access. The $80 for 10 gigs is 4G. So there is no price advantage to Millenicom unless you don't care about speed.
 
That's true. Don't you find it interesting that the faster connection that it offered, the lower the caps on it are?
 
mrschwarz said:
That's true. Don't you find it interesting that the faster connection that it offered, the lower the caps on it are?
Not really. I never get near my 5 gig cap so they don't matter to me.
 
I have the Clear service here in the Philadelphia suburbs. I have the modem that connects to their 4g service, or it reverts to 3g if the 4g is not available. 3g has a bigger coverage area.  They are owned partly by Sprint and use their equipment. The 4g is unlimited, the 3 g is not, but I've never exceeded whatever they allow for usage in a month. The transmission speed once connected is great, but the time it takes to get connected is annoying. It's nice to put he laptop in the RV and have the internet available, but if you travel outside the metropolitan areas of the northeast's big cities, as I do, you don't have service in most locations.
 
i bought clear about 1.5 years ago. $30 per month. i had to buy the clear modem. clear and clear-wire are not the same.
clear worked most of the time in the 'couv in our moho and in hawaii. when it had problems, mostly at night, customer service (disservice) was closed.
on our trip south last year the only place clear worked was in los banos, ca. nothing in oregon, nevada, cal bay area, or arizona. in many of these places, such as reno, there was a clear office which i visited.
their answer was to try to sell me a more expensive service.
last month i had had enough and cancelled clear. what a pita. you cannot cancel service on the internet or at an office. their cs doesn't answer in a timely fashion and then put me on hold to transfer me to ''accounting'' who do not answer right away and hung up me before i got my business done. 4 times.
it took me over an hour of cell time and a visit to the vanc. office to cancel clear. i used the offices land line to finally get the job done. the office had a different phone number from cs to get to ''accounting''.  888.888.3113.
my advise is to stay away from those folks.
i now have t-mo cell phone service that i use for tethering  my computer.
 
Hey, I realize it's been awhile since I posted this question...

I went ahead and got a MiFi from Verizon and love it!  I went for the 10 gig because of my need for certain things online like webinars, which take up a lot of bandwidth. 

I got the MiFi since it was on sale when I called, only about $43 total.  I also wanted the versatility, up to 5 devices.  I have three computers and one of my printers is wireless.  Works for me!

Cathy
 
I went with Clear about a year ago. I got one of the last 3g/4g air cards. We keep the 4g wireless router at the house. We can run 3 laptops, 2 wireless printers and stream Netflix all at the same time.

The bad news! I orig got the 4g wireless router to use where i'm parked in Waco. I am just outside there coverage area. Have been told new areas to come soon. 8 months ago.

For travlers i would not recommend it. If you are in a metro area it's not a bad deal if you stream video. I have not encountered Throttling or caps on streaming or data. The 3g/4g air card work great as well, it auto scans for 3g or 4g and connects to what is available.

I pay $80 a month for all. I was just happy to get away from Verizon. Home wireless router was $59.00 a month and an air card was $99.00 purchase and then a monthly charge per the plan you picked.

Clears coverage is limited. No upfront cost for equipment and 2 year commitment.

At home we had Verizon internet, home phone and tv. Started cheap and got really expensive. There customer service is terrible.

I now have Dish, no home phone and clear internet. Still have Verizon wireless (good deal thru wife's work) and can use my phone as a tether. I did receive a notice from Verizon that that they would start charging for tethering and overages on data use. Be careful with Clear they will deceive you. So far good customer support.

In bad weather you will lose your 4g signal like with satellite tv.

If i had to do it over again i would probably go a different direction. Live and learn.
My 2 pennies.
 

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