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Official Magic Box discussion thread


lilotimz

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Has a consensus been reached on what to do with the 20% and stuck boxes? Mine arrived today and so far stuck at 20% each time. Run the battery down and then try again? Send it back for replacement?

So far it's come down to 1) bad coverage, 2) lack of spectrum in local area, & 3) network not configured for MB compatability.

 

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7491e29aa8389cb92a2e9cb481cd490b.jpg

 

Magic box here let's see what luck I have! I get b41 right outside my door but as soon as I walk in b25/26 it is.

 

 

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So far it's come down to 1) bad coverage, 2) lack of spectrum in local area, & 3) network not configured for MB compatability.

 

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

can you share what goes on in the background during set up of these that would cause the "network not configured" reason?  What is going on at the macro cell site during a magic box boot up and why wouldnt that be available at all LTE sites already?  What generates the boxes GCI on the fly? 

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can you share what goes on in the background during set up of these that would cause the "network not configured" reason? What is going on at the macro cell site during a magic box boot up and why wouldnt that be available at all LTE sites already? What generates the boxes GCI on the fly?

The macro network not authorizing the unit to connect as its considered an always on UE with a specific SIM authentication method. Thus the Macro cell is rejecting the MB as an incompatible UE.

 

Gci is assigned at the factory.

 

 

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The macro network not authorizing the unit to connect as its considered an always on UE with a specific SIM authentication method. Thus the Macro cell is rejecting the MB as an incompatible UE.

 

 

how local is that problem and what is missing that other areas seem to have?  authentication would seem like a fairly "easy" thing to address no matter how remote the problem is, correct?

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how local is that problem and what is missing that other areas seem to have? authentication would seem like a fairly "easy" thing to address no matter how remote the problem is, correct?

Theoretically yes but since it's sprint I'm going to say nothings "easy" really. Sprint speed[emoji768].

 

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Has anyone had a non-phone device successfully connect to a MB?

I have two Samsung Tab A's that are connected to my MB. In total there are four devices that are connected to it at my house.

 

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The macro network not authorizing the unit to connect as its considered an always on UE with a specific SIM authentication method. Thus the Macro cell is rejecting the MB as an incompatible UE.

 

Gci is assigned at the factory.

 

 

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Any way of contacting Sprint and letting them know about this in a specific market/area? My guess would be MB support, but just curious if you have any insight on this.

 

-Anthony

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Has a consensus been reached on what to do with the 20% and stuck boxes? Mine arrived today and so far stuck at 20% each time. Run the battery down and then try again? Send it back for replacement? 

I have noticed more than one person complain about the 20% issue in N.C..  There might be a possibility that the network in that area still needs some software or hardware to make the Magic box connect.  Might be a good idea to just hold on to it for awhile.

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I have noticed more than one person complain about the 20% issue in N.C..  There might be a possibility that the network in that area still needs some software or hardware to make the Magic box connect.  Might be a good idea to just hold on to it for awhile.

 

I think I'll do that rather than call them or send it back right now. They sent me two for two locations in the same general area. I'll give it a few months to see how it works out. Thanks for the info!

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I think I'll do that rather than call them or send it back right now. They sent me two for two locations in the same general area. I'll give it a few months to see how it works out. Thanks for the info!

You are in the same boat as Bill and I. Hopefully we can inform Sprint about this issue and get us some Magic Box love!

 

-Anthony

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I think I'll do that rather than call them or send it back right now. They sent me two for two locations in the same general area. I'll give it a few months to see how it works out. Thanks for the info!

The problem with that is that if your magic boxes don't connect to the macro network within the next couple of days it is highly probable you'll be asked to return them. At that point you may figure out what the issue preventing the NC boxes from activating is, but it still likely you'll be sending it back regardless.

 

Given there are a number of you in North Carolina with issues, if it were me, I'd be doing everything possible with Sprint to try and figure out what the issue with the macro network is. The odds of it resolving itself before Sprint send you an RMA kit and demands the box back are slim.

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The problem with that is that if your magic boxes don't connect to the macro network within the next couple of days it is highly probable you'll be asked to return them. At that point you may figure out what the issue preventing the NC boxes from activating is, but it still likely you'll be sending it back regardless.

 

Given there are a number of you in North Carolina with issues, if it were me, I'd be doing everything possible with Sprint to try and figure out what the issue with the macro network is. The odds of it resolving itself before Sprint send you an RMA kit and demands the box back are slim.

I've had mine for 8 days and it hasn't connected once and haven't heard anything from Sprint about returning it yet.

 

-Anthony

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what channel do these boxes broadcast band 41 on and how can i tell if the channel is available to use in my market?  I know the university system owns some spectrum close to sprints band 41 and it is being used by a WISP so now I am worried.

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what channel do these boxes broadcast band 41 on and how can i tell if the channel is available to use in my market?  I know the university system owns some spectrum close to sprints band 41 and it is being used by a WISP so now I am worried.

Keep in mind, these are small cells that Sprint has complete control of. Meaning its all market dependent.

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Keep in mind, these are small cells that Sprint has complete control of. Meaning its all market dependent.

 

can you clarify?  the reason the boxes are not working in some markets is because sprint is not able to operate the magic box on that channel in that market (due to ownership).  if they could simply change the channel instead wouldnt they?  looks like they have updated their qualification tool to disqualify addresses with this problem (it was a bug) and have the users send them back.

 

EDIT-- https://www.reddit.com/r/Sprint/comments/6w0suc/approved_for_magic_box_but_dont_have_band_41/dmfyvwo/

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Excellent news! As of me waking up this afternoon, my Magic Box has officially initialized! It's connected to Band 41 with an RSRP of -110, and a CINR of 10.4. Where I used to get .83 Mbps down and .44 Mbps up on a -115 to -120 Band 26 signal, my house is now coated in a beautiful, clean Band 41 signal capable of at least 23.10 Mbps down and 1.83 Mbps up! Over a 2000% increase! Great!

 

I'm guessing whatever issue the Charlotte market was having, it is possibly resolved! Everyone who was having issues in the Charlotte market, go and check your MB and see if it's working now.

 

-Anthony

 

EDIT: Also forgot to mention that it appears to be broadcasting on UARFCN 39874, diifferent than Mr. Nuke's 39758 that his is broadcasting.

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You were two days away. The system is set up to flag the MB if it hasn't connected in 10 days.

I wonder if that applies to magic boxes that have already been "activated"?

 

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can you clarify?  the reason the boxes are not working in some markets is because sprint is not able to operate the magic box on that channel in that market (due to ownership).  if they could simply change the channel instead wouldnt they?  looks like they have updated their qualification tool to disqualify addresses with this problem (it was a bug) and have the users send them back.

 

EDIT-- https://www.reddit.com/r/Sprint/comments/6w0suc/approved_for_magic_box_but_dont_have_band_41/dmfyvwo/

As I understand it, if Sprint does not own B41 spectrum in any given market it will not be able to broadcast. But as you can see from what anthony.spina97 just posted, frequency broadcasted is market dependent and contingent on Sprint having access to that spectrum.

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I got the magic box last night and set up it and it's connected to whatever tower with CINR at 13.5. My only issue is my iPhone 6 is not connecting to it. The box says connected devices 0. Any idea as to why? Is there a period that goes by where it has to fully latch onto the network 

 

edit* my iPhone is connected to the box and now where I was getting  6 down tops without the box on b25 I am now getting 40 down and 8 up. I'm very impressed. 

 

 

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Just got my MB yesterday, after about 5hrs of messing with it ended up setting it up on the 3rd floor(my sisters apt) of my apt building, I live on the 6th floor and unbelievably enough I pick up signal in certain parts of my apt and everyone below and on top of her now have a near perfect signal. 

Speeds we're the worst in her case cause she was too low to pick up a good macro signal and too high for the small cells. But with the MB now average speeds are between 5 and 15mbs depending on time of day vs .3 and 1mbs.

Magic Box isn't that far off from actually being magical..lol

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