I'm having the same issue.
I am using the 551L in a cradle point wireless router with a Wilson trucker antenna with a 3G signal. I began using this configuration last July and it worked wonderfully to the point that I have been doing all my calling VOIP and I am able to stream video without any buffering. Then eight weeks ago I began receiving a degraded signal. I have been on the phone with at least a dozen Verizon tech's and have submitted at least four trouble tickets. They are writing my issues off to foliage and now dismiss me when I call but I am not buying their excuse it at least in part. I've spoke to several new wireless users in my subdivision and have developed a theory. In anticipation of their roll out of 4G equipment before the end of Dec of this year Verizon has over sold capacity in my area (very rural) since last Oct after the foliage dropped. Now that the foliage is back the connectivity has been degraded by the additional users. In addition to my conversations with the new users in my last conversation with the tech he volunteered to cancel my contract with no penalties (I've got 15months left before my two years are up). Has anyone experienced this? Has anyone used an amp to boost signal strength? If how did it work?
RJ,
I have never heard of VZW blaming a connection problem on foilage before, sounds kinda fishy to me. Although its plausible I wouldnt think it would be very likely to be the real issue. I'd put more salt into the overloading the local network theory. That should be easy to confirm by testing your connection at off peak hours. Try staying up late or waking up early for a few days and see if there is any difference in performance vs peak hours. You could also try driving out of range into another territory and sample the connection in a different area to compare.
Signal strength can always be boosted as long as there is a signal to work with. A great site to check out is the 3Gstore for a walk through guide to see if an amp/antenna would help you. Complete the steps for a site survey and compare your results with the various products which may fit your situation.
Site Survey:
Thanks John, They way my theory came to light was because I will jump from a weak 1-1/2 bars up to a solid 4 bars out of the blue and stay there for a day to two weeks. Occasionally it will be there very early in the morning but degrades by late morning, this would not happen if it were foliage. I work for a secure communications company and foliage can be a real issue when dealing with RF communications but in cases where it is an issue the signal is gone once foliage is out and doesn't come back again until after fall. Either Verizon doesn't want to admit that they have over sold capacity or it is a case of a lazy tech who is feeding me that answer to get the issue off of his plate. I've asked to speak with the field tech directly but they will not permit it. Thanks for the site survey link I will definitely give it a try.
RJ
RJ,
Thanks for the feedback, I learned something new from it : ) Its always fun to share info with another technologist.
RJCPIM wrote:
Either Verizon doesn't want to admit that they have over sold capacity or it is a case of a lazy tech who is feeding me that answer to get the issue off of his plate.
I'd say its a combination of both. The non-field tech's can/will only go so far into troublshooting. They rarely have answers that are not provided from one of thier troublshooting manuals/resources. I can see how what you are asking for would go over thier heads. Try asking them about IPv6 sometime and see what kind of jibberish they will feed you.
As 4G LTE continues to roll out, VZW will continue to focus on expansion first. That means some issues will get flaked off unless there is a serious outage. Amplifiers and antennas sound like a good fit for your situation. The correct amp/antenna setup should be able to hold you off until VZW can double back and take a deeper look at your area.
Please keep us posted on your findings.
I think (hope) the issue has been resolved. After talking to my neighbor last Friday afternoon she experienced the same issue later that evenig. She said that they had to remove the 551L modem from the router insert it into the computer and updat the software on it in VZ Access Mgr. When I got home today I did the same thing only after VZ Access Mgr came up it prompted me to check for software updates. After I accepted another message came up and made the open ended statement "your software is up to date". When I read it I couldn’t tell if my software was just updated or my software was current and did not need updated. I removed the modem and put it back into the router and my signal went up to four bars immediately and has been there all evening. I have even called via VOIP several times (something we have not been able to do for three weeks) and have had a very good connection each time. I think "your software is up to date" means the software was updated. Anyway, it's definitely not foliage or else I would not be pulling down four bars. I have a signal booster on the way and can't wait to hook it up.
RJ
maybe you have to get the drivers for xp and install.
Its having problems with all systems? even the win 7? I have been reading where people have had to exchange these things up to 3 times before they get one that works. This is scaring me from one. Im teathering an iphone with 4g LTE and it works great. But I need the phone for a phone at times and connect sepearatley.
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