Official Magic Box discussion thread

[superbluepsd]

Update:

After taking the magic box to a B41 macro while using the battery going thru initial setup and then returning home and plugging it in it has completed setup and now is working on B25 albeit but it is working. Gonna leave it plugged in without moving it and hopefully it will learn the network and connect to B41 as my phone does in the same spot.

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[burnout8488]

1 hour ago, superbluepsd said:

Update:

After taking the magic box to a B41 macro while using the battery going thru initial setup and then returning home and plugging it in it has completed setup and now is working on B25 albeit but it is working. Gonna leave it plugged in without moving it and hopefully it will learn the network and connect to B41 as my phone does in the same spot.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
 

Ha, well, at least you discovered a solution for those that this happens to in the future! Shouldn't have to do it, but it works. :-) 

[Mitsospiros]

Question.

Just got the Magic Box a few days ago.  I have an iphone 7 plus.  The data speeds have increased from 0.50 Mbps to about an average 2 Mbps.

The phone shows full bar strength for signal.  I though that the bars only indicate call signal strength (CDMA2000) and not data. If the Magic box is for data only, why does my phone show a much improved signal for voice?

[Dkoellerwx]

5 hours ago, Mitsospiros said:

Question.

Just got the Magic Box a few days ago.  I have an iphone 7 plus.  The data speeds have increased from 0.50 Mbps to about an average 2 Mbps.

The phone shows full bar strength for signal.  I though that the bars only indicate call signal strength (CDMA2000) and not data. If the Magic box is for data only, why does my phone show a much improved signal for voice?

Signal bars have been showing data strength for several years now.

[Mitsospiros]

Signal bars have been showing data strength for several years now.

Is there any way on the iPhone to check voice signal strength?

Magic box working better now. Getting upper single digits download speeds. Perhaps it’s due to being early in the day.


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[shaferz]

On 12/19/2017 at 1:15 PM, shaferz said:

I went weeks and weeks without a problem of my phone connecting to the mb and now for the past week or so, it has refused to connect. 

 

Wifes phone (same model as mine... 256gb iPhone 10), on the other hand, connects reliably.  Grrrrrr

FFS.  For absolutely no apparent reason, as of this evening, my phone seems fat and happy on the magic box again.  ?‍♂️

Infuriating that it seems to be back and forth like that.  For a product that should just work, it sure seems to have some occasional hiccups.  If the end-game is to be able to use VoLTE through the Magic Box, they have some work to do.  Just checked software versions and they are the same as before.

[jamesinclair]

I still dont quite understand Magic Box.

My dad has an Airave. The 2 I believe. Should I look to switch it out for a magic box?

 

[lilotimz]

I still dont quite understand Magic Box.
My dad has an Airave. The 2 I believe. Should I look to switch it out for a magic box?
 

http://s4gru.com/entry/420-whats-in-the-box-oh-oh-oh-its-magic/

http://s4gru.com/entry/423-the-magic-box-6-months-later/

http://s4gru.com/entry/424-psa-generation-3-magic-box-has-arrived/

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[jamesinclair]

11 minutes ago, lilotimz said:

http://s4gru.com/entry/420-whats-in-the-box-oh-oh-oh-its-magic/

http://s4gru.com/entry/423-the-magic-box-6-months-later/

http://s4gru.com/entry/424-psa-generation-3-magic-box-has-arrived/

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After reading through that, I still dont have an answer.

He has wifi. He doesnt want calls to drop. Airave has solved that issue. Is there any benefit to switching?

The biggest downside to Airave is the lack of HD voice. Does Magic Box fix that?

[ingenium]

 
After reading through that, I still dont have an answer.
He has wifi. He doesnt want calls to drop. Airave has solved that issue. Is there any benefit to switching?
The biggest downside to Airave is the lack of HD voice. Does Magic Box fix that?

It might if he has a device that supports Calling+. I'm unsure if Sprint has deployed HD voice to it yet.

He might consider the Airave 3 otherwise. It'll play nicely with LTE now, which the 2 wouldn't do.

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[swintec]

6 minutes ago, jamesinclair said:

 

After reading through that, I still dont have an answer.

He has wifi. He doesnt want calls to drop. Airave has solved that issue. Is there any benefit to switching?

The biggest downside to Airave is the lack of HD voice. Does Magic Box fix that?

Magic box does not do voice unless his phone is one of the few that does VoLTE.

[burnout8488]

28 minutes ago, jamesinclair said:

I still dont quite understand Magic Box.

My dad has an Airave. The 2 I believe. Should I look to switch it out for a magic box?

 

If he has an Airave2, he should call and get it swapped out for an Airave 3 LTE. 

The Airave 3 broadcasts 1x, 3G, and LTE, whereas the Magic Box only broadcasts LTE. Right now, calls don't go over LTE, so a Magic box won't assist with calling.

Airave 3 doesn't do HD voice either. When Voice over LTE is implemented in the future, calls will be HD and go over the LTE that the Airave broadcasts. 

[lilotimz]

1 hour ago, jamesinclair said:

 

After reading through that, I still dont have an answer.

He has wifi. He doesnt want calls to drop. Airave has solved that issue. Is there any benefit to switching?

The biggest downside to Airave is the lack of HD voice. Does Magic Box fix that?

 

I had an entire section dedicated to Airave 3s and S1000s being an alternative to Magic Box.

 

Quote

 

http://s4gru.com/entry/423-the-magic-box-6-months-later/

 

"The Airave 3 LTE is the traditional CDMA  + LTE Band 41 + WiFi femto cell. It is the successor the Airaves of old. The Commscope S1000 NSC is a LTE Band 41 + WiFi only femto cell which is in essence the Airave 3 minus the CDMA capabilities. If a subscriber desires voice and data enhancement then the Airave 3 should be what the subscriber seeks. If the subscriber does not need voice enhancement due to sufficient macro voice coverage but need 4G LTE data enhancement, then the S1000 NSC would be a better fit. "

 

 

 

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[jamesinclair]

Thank you for your answers all!

[asomers]

If he has an Airave2, he should call and get it swapped out for an Airave 3 LTE. 
The Airave 3 broadcasts 1x, 3G, and LTE, whereas the Magic Box only broadcasts LTE. Right now, calls don't go over LTE, so a Magic box won't assist with calling.
Airave 3 doesn't do HD voice either. When Voice over LTE is implemented in the future, calls will be HD and go over the LTE that the Airave broadcasts. 

I've made calls over LTE on my note 8.

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[burnout8488]

Just now, asomers said:

I've made calls over LTE on my note 8.

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Understood - but I doubt this is the case with the question at hand. Barely any Sprint phones support this and it's currently opt-in for it to work.

[Tengen31]

I still dont quite understand Magic Box.
My dad has an Airave. The 2 I believe. Should I look to switch it out for a magic box?
 

I would say yes. I think the Airave is only CDMA vs MB is LTE.

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[Dkoellerwx]

40 minutes ago, Tengen31 said:

I would say yes. I think the Airave is only CDMA vs MB is LTE.

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Airave 3 is LTE.

[xdfgf]

So my MB is stuck in a reboot loop it looks like. Haven't been connecting in several days and its just a rolling screen of the sprint logo followed by a black screen. Gonna tinker a bit tonight and see if it stops then 

[SeanK_]

5 hours ago, xdfgf said:

So my MB is stuck in a reboot loop it looks like. Haven't been connecting in several days and its just a rolling screen of the sprint logo followed by a black screen. Gonna tinker a bit tonight and see if it stops then 

I've had that couple times, I just clicked reset and it fixed it.

[speedingcheetah]

Hello....I just got one of those Magic Box. model sku: ASPANMBGN2   Got some questions.

I gather this in a "Gen 2" box. 

Does this have a built in UPS? (it will run on battery if power outage?)  

or do i need to get a normal UPS?   if so, how many Watts does this device use under load?

It came with a pathetic usb power bank to use for initial setup...but i didn't use it. I don't see a way that is used as a battery backup.

 

[ingenium]

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, speedingcheetah said:

Hello....I just got one of those Magic Box. model sku: ASPANMBGN2   Got some questions. I gather this in a "Gen 2" box. 

Does this have a built in UPS? (it will run on battery if power outage?)  

or do i need to get a normal UPS?   if so, how many Watts does this device use under load?

It came with a pathetic usb power bank to use for initial setup...but i didn't use it. I don't see a way that is used as a battery backup.

 

 

 

Yes that's gen 2

 

No it doesn't have a UPS. You'll need to get one. I measured the current draw at one point but I don't remember off hand (I want to say 10-20W?). Get something capable of supplying what the PSU is rated for to be safe. They seem to vary a bit between models, but mine can draw 60W (12V * 5A). The 540 and 545 have slightly different ones, but realistically they're over-rated and they prob just got the cheapest PSUs that met their requirements. I wouldn't be surprised if each batch (same model) has a different PSU.

 

The battery will not power it. It can tell it's on the battery because it only outputs 5V, versus the PSU's 12V. It will quickly power off if not in setup mode. It will only work with the battery during the initial setup, and is meant to allow you to move it to different locations to find the best signal. After that it's unused, and they say to use it as a portable phone charger. The slim profile is actually kind of nice and makes it easier fit in a jacket pocket.

 

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[speedingcheetah]

13 minutes ago, ingenium said:

 

 

 

 

 

Yes that's gen 2

 

No it doesn't have a UPS. You'll need to get one. I measured the current draw at one point but I don't remember off hand (I want to say 10-20W?). Get something capable of supplying what the PSU is rated for to be safe. They seem to vary a bit between models, but mine can draw 60W (12V * 5A). The 540 and 545 have slightly different ones, but realistically they're over-rated and they prob just got the cheapest PSUs that met their requirements. I wouldn't be surprised if each batch (same model) has a different PSU.

 

The battery will not power it. It can tell it's on the battery because it only outputs 5V, versus the PSU's 12V. It will quickly power off if not in setup mode. It will only work with the battery during the initial setup, and is meant to allow you to move it to different locations to find the best signal. After that it's unused, and they say to use it as a portable phone charger. The slim profile is actually kind of nice and makes it easier fit in a jacket pocket.

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I  guess i have the 544 model

the box says:  P.Code: U544INU41A2DW5GA05SP

So is this the newest model?  is there a gen 3?

 

[ingenium]

I  guess i have the 544 model the box says:  P.Code: U544INU41A2DW5GA05SP So is this the newest model?  is there a gen 3?

 

 

 

That's technically gen 3, depending on if you consider the beta unit to be gen 1. There's the beta unit (540), then the first consumer unit (545 - gen 1), then the second consumer unit (544 - gen 2). The third consumer unit (546) is coming out soon-ish.   

 

 

The cellular internals (antenna, relay unit, radio, etc) are all the same on the 545, 544, and 546. The 540 has slightly inferior antannas comparatively, and has a lower transmit power.

 

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[lilotimz]

6 minutes ago, speedingcheetah said:

I  guess i have the 544 model

the box says:  P.Code: U544INU41A2DW5GA05SP

So is this the newest model?  is there a gen 3?

 

http://s4gru.com/entry/424-psa-generation-3-magic-box-has-arrived/

http://s4gru.com/entry/423-the-magic-box-6-months-later/

http://s4gru.com/entry/420-whats-in-the-box-oh-oh-oh-its-magic/