Tell us what you think of your Mifi!

graham

You've seen 3Gstore.com's reviews of the Novatel Mifi here and here for Sprint, but what we want to know is if you were writing the review for the Mifi, what would you say?
How do you like it, what would you change and what would you keep? How do you use it? What devices are you using it with?

Let us know!

Hapy · EVDO Newbie Joined: 26 Jul 2009 Posts: 3

My main problem is that, to buy a Day Pass I have to connect the MiFi unti to the computer that's running the Verizon software. As I said in another thread this is just plain dumb.

Once the MiFi has been set up I should be able to connect to it with any computer any time. If I have no Day Pass money left then I should be taken to a Verizon web page where I can add money to my account.

Bookstores and coffee shops around the globe do this: connect to their wireless network but pay before you surf.

Apparently you CAN call the broadband customer support number to refill your Day Pass but on two different occasions when I tried this a recorded voice said they were "performing system maintenance." So if I needed to be online but didn't have the computer that the Verizon software is on, I was out of luck.

dma · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 7:28 am Post subject: charging

My only complaint is that I can't just use any Micro USB cable to charge the MiFi. It seems that any cable that can carry data will not charge the MiFi unless it's tethered to a computer. Kind of defeats the purpose. I wish an update would come out soon to fix.

I'd also like a little more functionality in the web admin page. Something similar to the cradlepoints.

Other than those 2 things, I really like my MiFi.

Darney · EVDO Newbie Joined: 02 Aug 2009 Posts: 6 Location: Indiana

Things I like about the Verizon MIFI 2200:

It's fast, 800K-1.2 M connection
Easy setup
Reliable (so far - I've only had it for a couple of days)
Portable Hotspot a great idea!
It was FREE with sign up from an online vendor

Things I don't like about it:

5 Gig limit
Gets quite warm
Would like an external antenna connection - range is very limited
Has caused some Sleep issues on my OS X Macs.... can't turn off MIFI when it's connected to the USB port. Macs now won't go to sleep properly.

But, all that being said, beats the heck out of the horrible dial-up I had until I got the thing.

rodsailor · EVDO Newbie Joined: 15 Aug 2009 Posts: 1

I have had my Myfi for just over a month after using an ATT Sierra 881 for over a year. With the ATT card, my maximum usage for a month was always less than 4 Gig. Using the Myfi, without changing my usage patterns, my usage jumped to 7.5 Gig per month. I called Verizon and talked to their tech department, and they think that somehow ATT's data is fatter than Verizon's! I tried to explain that a megabyte was a megabyte, but they seem convinced that ATT has some magic method of stuffing more info into a Gig of data. I can't help but think that there's a class action lawsuit in there somewhere, as it seems to me that doubling my usage just because I switched from ATT to Verizon is not based on reality.

Dj_AmTraX · Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 2:50 pm Post subject:

Great so far, but the weak link is the 5gb cap.

waynefoutz · EVDO Junkie Joined: 31 Mar 2008 Posts: 361

krelvinaz · Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 7:02 am Post subject:

I've had my MiFi 2200 (Verizon) for about a week so far. I replaced a USB720 with it so that I could use my new Netbook (Toshiba NB205) in the field without sucking power from it like the USB720 did.

I ended up getting a Tekkeon MP1800 and can now run for more than 14 hours with my typical use patterns which is more than I will ever need.

After patching the config to allow for tethering and WiFi access, it is a much better solution in that if I am connected to the wall, I can keep the MiFi charged by connecting it in via USB and still provide WiFi to other devices.

Setup was a bit on the rough side as the documentation sucks. But once I figured out what was going on, changed the security profile of the WiFi network, I have been pretty happy with it.

sd2131 · Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 1:27 pm Post subject: Sprint MiFi New User

I have been using about 24 hours. It seems like it took a bit for my computer to find and use it. However, my Palm Life Drive found it in seconds and up I go.

I am concerned about the lack of antenna for usage around the house.

We use for our full time internet at home and I like to move around with my laptop?

Any comments about lack of external antenna?

It does seem to work well after I finally got connected to the laptop.

It seems like 2.5 hours isn't very long. I would probably leave plugged in since I don't use mobile very much. Would that harm it??
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sd2131

3Gstore · EVDO Addict Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 3160

hrdc · Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 3:03 pm Post subject:

Setup was on the rough side for me too, but now it seems to work okay other than losing part of its charge if its left off for a few days.

hrdc · Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 3:12 pm Post subject:

I forgot to say in my previous post the main thing I use the MiFi for is to have data on my iphone. In my area the AT&T network is quite weak and can almost never stream video. Using the MiFi the iPhone works great.

imajypsee · Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 4:49 pm Post subject: I've had it since June 3rd

..mine is a VZW mifi; I bought it for traveling and I can say that wherever there's a good signal and I can get EVDO it's GREAT. In places where the only access is 1xRTT it's like molasses in January SLOOOOWWWWW...
the only way to get an update to the PRL seems to be to tether it with the USB cable, which I rarely do. Sometimes it can take forever to recognize the signal and get going (maybe the PRL update will fix that). And, figuring out the battery is a hoot.

The things I like are portability and multiple users. We had a carload of us online at once for our summer trip; and, using an iTouch, we were able to get information pretty much anywhere with little to carry around.

sd2131 · Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 6:37 pm Post subject: MiFi Usage

Been using for about a week and my only complaint so far is sometimes it just stops working. You look over and the light on the side is out. Since we use it for our exclusive internet at home and two laptops working all day I just assumed they thought I had enough.

I power it down and restart and reconnect and then it is ok.

Anyone else having this trouble.

Unfortunately I haven't travelled with it yet. Hopefully it will do as good as the Ovation U727 we had before.
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sd2131

t6821hn · EVDO Newbie Joined: 25 Aug 2009 Posts: 8

I have had the MiFi for a few days and it has been working flawlessly so far. No complaints here.

The MiFi replaced my Verizon V740. The former appears to be a little faster for me which is big plus. The one good thing is that I don't have to use up one USB slot for my Macbook Pro 13.

Hopefully, it will keep working as before. I have read about the disconnect complaints so I'm hoping I don't eventually get that problem.

Overall, it was a good decision to switch to the MiFi.