VZ USB Modem failing

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
It appears my USB Modem is starting to fail. Inconsistent disconnecting for no apparent reason and calls to both Verizon and 3G confirms this. I have a replacement on order through 3G Matt. Very helpful guy. I may be absent for a few days.:(
Or in and out as my modem allows.:rolleyes:
 

boatto5er

Founding VA Chap Ldr (Ret)
Ray,

Are you sticking with 3G or upgrading to 4G? My Verizon 4G USB Modem flies (when I'm in a 4G area).
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Ray,

Same here. I have a Pantech UML290 USB modem from Verizon, purchased at the VZW store here in Crossville. Taking the modem and laptop in today for them to look at. Unit did not work in Nashville or here in Crossville.

Jim
 

campers2

Active Member
We are still based in a 3g area. I heard that they are receiving complaints from folks with the 4g modem dropping off when in a 3g area.

Any one having those problems?
 
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jbeletti

Well-known member
My update for today: Went to Verizon with modem and laptop. They worked on it for a few hours and could not fix it. They worked on the phone with their tech support but needed to bump it up to level 4. They called me to get the gear and wait for a call from level 4 tech support. No call. Oh well. Going into store tomorrow to see if they will swap it out. Bought it there last month.

Jim
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Ray,

Are you sticking with 3G or upgrading to 4G? My Verizon 4G USB Modem flies (when I'm in a 4G area).
I'm staying with 3G. I seldom get into the areas where 4G is available. Once it's more widespread I may get into it. When the modem was working right, 3G was plenty fast for my needs. With only a 5Gig limit, I don't do movies or stream Netflix or anything like that.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Ray,

Same here. I have a Pantech UML290 USB modem from Verizon, purchased at the VZW store here in Crossville. Taking the modem and laptop in today for them to look at. Unit did not work in Nashville or here in Crossville.

Jim
Hopefully they'll get it right soon. Is 4G available in the area you're in? Campers2 was saying there have been issues with 4G modems in 3G areas. Good Luck with it though.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Ray,

No 4G here in Crossville. 4G in Tampa when I was there with it in March. 4G in Chicago too. I've had no trouble in 3G mode on the modem in 3G areas until just a few days ago - now it seems like the modem is bricked.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Well - some progress. Got Verizon to overnight me a new modem and they decided to swap my SIM too. The new SIM would not authenticate on the network at the store or in my old modem. Got the new modem today, added the new SIM and VIOLA! It authenticated and connected to the Internet. Unfortunately - there is not enough signal where I am to use it. But when I am back in Crossville in Monday - I hope to be "good to go" :)
 

3Gstore

Well-known member
Well - some progress. Got Verizon to overnight me a new modem and they decided to swap my SIM too. The new SIM would not authenticate on the network at the store or in my old modem. Got the new modem today, added the new SIM and VIOLA! It authenticated and connected to the Internet. Unfortunately - there is not enough signal where I am to use it. But when I am back in Crossville in Monday - I hope to be "good to go" :)

Glad to hear you're back up and running! We had some crazy issues with Ray's new wireless modem but thankfully I got him up and running today!
 

Bobby A

Well-known member
Ray,

Are you sticking with 3G or upgrading to 4G? My Verizon 4G USB Modem flies (when I'm in a 4G area).

Same hear, I've had my 4G from Verizon since Januray and just recently for the first time I was in a 4G area, and it was surprisenly fast, I hope they continue to move rapidly to get 4G in more areas, they are working on it supposebly.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Glad to hear you're back up and running! We had some crazy issues with Ray's new wireless modem but thankfully I got him up and running today!
Yup!!! I only had to drive about 65 miles round trip.:rolleyes::rolleyes::eek: I had to go out west to a Verizon area to activate and update the modem. Works pretty good here at home now. I'm glad we were able to take the Sebring at about 30 mpg. :)
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Glad you got it up and running Ray! Way to go Matt!

I am back in Crossville, TN and got the replacement UML290 running here in the Mac directly. Cannot get it to work in the Cradlepoint CBA250 for some reason. Matt, we may need to speak by phone on this one.

Jim
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
UPDATE: Reset my Cradlepoint CBA250 to factory defaults and modem connects to network. We're all good here again. :)

Jim
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Here's some food for thought. When my original USB727 began acting up I called Verizon to try to determine what was going on. After some discussion and mentioning I used the modem an a wireless router, they said that using a USB modem in a router will shorten it's life. I didn't argue but I can only assume if this is true, it's because the modem never gets powered down. Any thoughts on this Matt or Jim?
 

3Gstore

Well-known member
UPDATE: Reset my Cradlepoint CBA250 to factory defaults and modem connects to network. We're all good here again. :)

Jim

Glad to hear that you got everything resolved with your router. If you run into any problems down the road shoot me a message and I'll see what we can do to fix it.

Here's some food for thought. When my original USB727 began acting up I called Verizon to try to determine what was going on. After some discussion and mentioning I used the modem an a wireless router, they said that using a USB modem in a router will shorten it's life. I didn't argue but I can only assume if this is true, it's because the modem never gets powered down. Any thoughts on this Matt or Jim?

Using a router is the same as leaving the device plugged into the PC 24/7. You'll constantly have power running to it and yes, it can shorten the lifespan slightly, if you're constantly running a device. If concerned about leaving it plugged in 24/7, you can always unplug it when not in use to be safe and ensure the longest lifespan. In my experience I'd say the average modem probably has a 3 year lifespan before you start to notice it acting funny. Chances are by the time 3 years passes there will be some new type of technology that will be available, IE - LTE-A and WiMAX-A (Advanced version of 4G).
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Using a router is the same as leaving the device plugged into the PC 24/7. You'll constantly have power running to it and yes, it can shorten the lifespan slightly, if you're constantly running a device. If concerned about leaving it plugged in 24/7, you can always unplug it when not in use to be safe and ensure the longest lifespan. In my experience I'd say the average modem probably has a 3 year lifespan before you start to notice it acting funny. Chances are by the time 3 years passes there will be some new type of technology that will be available, IE - LTE-A and WiMAX-A (Advanced version of 4G).
OK, not to argue but, when my device is plugged into the laptop and the lid is closed, the green light on the device is off. It's not an issue with me. I'm just relaying what I was told by Verizon. I suppose it would be easy enough to unplug the router or put it on a switchable extension cord.
I do plan on upgrading whenever 4G becomes more widespread or whatever else is in the future. Thanks for your insight though Matt. BTW, my original USB727 was exactly 2-1/2 years old. Still worked but not very reliable. No issues at all with the "new" one so far.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Apologies to ray for the thread hijack - yet related.

Matt - yeah, my modem is flaking out again. Rarely working in the CBA250 anymore and only half the time with the Mac directly. Ugh.

Jim
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Apologies to ray for the thread hijack - yet related.

Matt - yeah, my modem is flaking out again. Rarely working in the CBA250 anymore and only half the time with the Mac directly. Ugh.

Jim
No problem Jim. Related issues and Matt seems to be following it as well so it's all good. Well, except for your modem. Is it the CML290?
 
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