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Novatel MiFi 500 (Sprint Tri-Band Hotspot)


dedub

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I had that problem before. It's similar to seeing "Cameleon" in SCP bug. For me, a factory reset fixed it.

I didn't do anything to it at all and it's fixed now.

 

It appears that on the web admin page, the 3G now uses the "circle" icon...but on the display, there are dots underneath the "3G" in the top line display that move.  That appears to have replaced the double-headed arrows that were there previously.

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I have a Novatel MiFi 500 Hotspot that I'm looking to sell on the cheap, now that I have a tri-band device. 

 

Anyone interested? $25? I'll pay for shipping... 

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Anyone on here using this device? There's a rebooting bug in the current firmware :(

Yeah mines pretty much useless. Maybe send mine in for a different device possibly
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Yeah mines pretty much useless. Maybe send mine in for a different device possibly

I sent a message to Novatel tech support tonight with links to multiple threads about the issue so if I hear anything I'll post again.

 

What will make me nervous is trying to do a firmware update on a device that reboots by itself!

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I sent a message to Novatel tech support tonight with links to multiple threads about the issue so if I hear anything I'll post again.

What will make me nervous is trying to do a firmware update on a device that reboots by itself!

All it would take is several youtube videos of proof. Nothing worse for publicity than a company disregarding video proof from multiple sources.
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  • 1 month later...

Anyone on here using this device? There's a rebooting bug in the current firmware :(

 

got a refurb from newegg recently (nov 25) to activate on freedompop and the f/w upgrade went smooth. no glitches so far.. i read the reboot bug and was hoping to get an exchange if mine turned out defective. but it didn't, thankfully!

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  • 2 weeks later...

After extensive research I have figured out what causes the rebooting. The device does not reboot when in 3G, only when the device is connected to LTE. More importantly it only reboots when the device is switching bands. This is why some folks don't have an issue and others only have the issue sometimes. If you are in a coverage area that only has Band 25, you probably don't see this issue. If you are in a Sprint Spark market like Chicago, NYC, LA, etc yours probably does this non stop. It will also depends on the location. As long as your device sits on one LTE band for an extended period of time, it won't reboot. The minute it tries to switch, the device will reboot.

 

I have posted this on both the Sprint and FreedomPop forums in hopes someone will relay the message to Novatel but if someone wants to send this info to Novatel directly to help fix, by all means.

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I have posted this on both the Sprint and FreedomPop forums in hopes someone will relay the message to Novatel but if someone wants to send this info to Novatel directly to help fix, by all means.

Nice work! I won't hold my breath on someone noticing. We should both send a message to Novatel. My first one was ignored.

 

I won't bother with Sprint forum because a customer service rep will ask me for my cross streets and tell me I'm not an official Spark market yet so I should reset my device and my problems will go away. :)

 

It actually is comical the responses the reps give even with message after message of people having the same problem.

 

Also good to know the reason so that if there is another update at some point, we can try to do it in a 3G or B25 only area so it doesn't reboot during the update :)

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

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Hmm so i got the mifi a few months ago for free on contract. And it said the line was out of contract only a few months later. Got a free device with no contract. Any others with this weird kind of stuff happening?

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  • 3 years later...

I dusted off my Novatel Mifi 500 in December and hopped on the $50/month unlimited hotspot data offering.  Still don't have any reliable HSI where I live except the major mobile providers, so this has been a revelation.  Running all my smart home devices and the kids kindles is great.  It does lag occasionally as its Sprint's LTE, but its been a great three months so far.  It loves the MagicBox for the most part.

I've had to reboot it a few times when it gets stuck on B26 or the device hangs on the main menu.

Can't believe I've had this thing 4 1/2 yrs and its still kicking strong.

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