Official Magic Box discussion thread

[ingenium]

I just got an email from Sprint (an ad) trying to get me to plug my Magic Box into my home internet service. I did this once before and lost VoLTE. Seemed VoLTE only worked with LTE relay. There's no way I'm putting this on my home network if I'm going to lose VoLTE.

Anyone have any updates or other info suggesting that this has been enabled? (VoLTE using Ethernet or WiFi backhaul, that is?)

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

It works now. It can take up to 3 weeks to enable it though after changing over, but usually it's within a week. It used to be a fully manually process, with someone having to turn it on, but it seems more automated now.

You will lose VoLTE if your internet cuts out. Used take a few days to get it back (again, maybe a manual process?). But when I tested this weekend I got it back within an hour.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[bigsnake49]

When they turn off the band 41 backhaul then Maybe I will hook it up to my home network. Meanwhile it will stay on it. Hopefully T-Mobile optimizes their network to pick the best connection instead of switching to T-Mobile when the Sprint network has no service as it does now. 

[jakeliford]

On 6/2/2020 at 11:53 AM, DurhamHusker said:

I just got an email from Sprint (an ad) trying to get me to plug my Magic Box into my home internet service. I did this once before and lost VoLTE. Seemed VoLTE only worked with LTE relay. There's no way I'm putting this on my home network if I'm going to lose VoLTE.

Anyone have any updates or other info suggesting that this has been enabled? (VoLTE using Ethernet or WiFi backhaul, that is?)

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
 

Darn that stinks. I just got mine setup using the LTE backhaul and i'm getting pretty decent service.  Still can't use it to make a call no VOLTE however it is nice to be able to use the LTE for my phones and spare the WIFI for other devices.  

[bigsnake49]

13 hours ago, jakeliford said:

Darn that stinks. I just got mine setup using the LTE backhaul and i'm getting pretty decent service.  Still can't use it to make a call no VOLTE however it is nice to be able to use the LTE for my phones and spare the WIFI for other devices.  

I got the same message and until they actually take away the 2.5GHz backhaul, I will use it.

[cyclone]

Got to work this morning to find my MagicBox unable to join the network via LTE backhaul. I've had this unit for over a year and never seen this error message before...looks like T-Mobile is wasting no time at all

Update: Looks like we had a B41 outage this morning/midday. Went on lunch break and was only getting on B25 and B26. MB finally locked onto B41 about 45 minutes ago. Guess this is just side effects of work starting in this market 😑

[crazy_vag]

Seems like there was an update since a few days ago I was able to move it from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz on my Google WiFi.  It used to be that Magic Box Gold would get an error connecting, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was a software update that fixed that.

Sounds like that software update didn't enable VoLTE yet, but I haven't tried that.

[jamesinclair]

Hey guys. My dad has an older Airave (2 or 3) that has been gibing him a red light and not working.

Whats the best play right now? Call in for a newer airave, try and get a magic box, or wait for tmobile boxes?

[though]

7 hours ago, jamesinclair said:

Hey guys. My dad has an older Airave (2 or 3) that has been gibing him a red light and not working.

Whats the best play right now? Call in for a newer airave, try and get a magic box, or wait for tmobile boxes?

I think Sprint is currently sending out the Pebble.

[crazy_vag]

Switching from 2.4GHz Wi-Fi backhaul to 5 GHz made for a noticeable increase in data usage.

 

[crazy_vag]

On 6/10/2020 at 8:44 PM, though said:

I think Sprint is currently sending out the Pebble.

What's the Pebble and how do its features compare to Magic Box Gold?

[ingenium]

What's the Pebble and how do its features compare to Magic Box Gold?

Basically an Airave. If you have a VoLTE capable device, then the MB gold is better. It should have a much better range.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[crazy_vag]

On 6/17/2020 at 10:47 PM, ingenium said:

Basically an Airave. If you have a VoLTE capable device, then the MB gold is better. It should have a much better range.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 

I think a friend got one and returned it since it wouldn't cover his 4000 sq ft house.  

As clunky as MB Gold is, it does a solid job.   Especially now that Wi-Fi backhaul works and 5 GHz support works for me.

[jasonsteele]

Well, looks like they finally killed LTE backhaul in my area yesterday. MB connects to Wi-Fi backhaul, but refuses to connect to B41. Rebooted three times, factory reset once. No dice. Looks like I'm packing it up and sending it back, no way in hell im using Wi-Fi backhaul.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[crazy_vag]

2 hours ago, jasonsteele said:

Well, looks like they finally killed LTE backhaul in my area yesterday. MB connects to Wi-Fi backhaul, but refuses to connect to B41. Rebooted three times, factory reset once. No dice. Looks like I'm packing it up and sending it back, no way in hell im using Wi-Fi backhaul.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 

Why?  How is B41 more reliable than home Wi-Fi?   Or is that a "matter of principle"?

[jasonsteele]

Why?  How is B41 more reliable than home Wi-Fi?   Or is that a "matter of principle"?

I have the MB to strengthen signal in my house (where congested and barely usable B26 normally is all I get on any of my four phones without it), mainly in the event of an ISP outage (which unfortunately happens quite frequently, thanks Cox). The MB picked up B41 indoors through a south facing window with good signal, and was extremely reliable and useful...so basically, lack of LTE backhaul renders it useless for my needs. I totally understand why they killed it though, repurposing that 20 MHz block for everyone as opposed to just me and maybe two or three other people in a suburban single family home neighborhood makes more sense.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[though]

4 hours ago, jasonsteele said:

no way in hell im using Wi-Fi backhaul.

I see.

[dkyeager]

3 hours ago, crazy_vag said:

Why?  How is B41 more reliable than home Wi-Fi?   Or is that a "matter of principle"?

Band 41 through a Magic Box is faster for a lot of customers.  They may not have an ISP or a good ISP.  By my definition, bad ISPs don't offer true speeds greater than 200Mbps down, are unreliable, ban or slow down certain sites and ports without telling customers, have no option to get rid of a data cap.  AT&T for example offers 1Gbps in new condos and upscale homes, but leaves out neighborhoods with buried cable and even most neighborhoods with above ground cable (they had plans which they dropped).  So many people's choice on internet is dial-up at 53kbps, ISDN dialup at 128kbps, ADSL at 3Mbps, VDSL with at most 75Mbps, rarely WISP, satellite has caps and can't do Zoom etc because of lag.  (Most of these should be good markets for SpaceX etc.)

Then you also have budget reasons.  30% of American homes skipped their house payment this month.  Why pay for internet twice?  Many homes only internet devices are smartphones and tablets with LTE.

[crazy_vag]

3 minutes ago, dkyeager said:

Band 41 through a Magic Box is faster for a lot of customers.  They may not have an ISP or a good ISP.  By my definition, bad ISPs don't offer true speeds greater than 200Mbps down, are unreliable, ban or slow down certain sites and ports without telling customers, have no option to get rid of a data cap.  AT&T for example offers 1Gbps in new condos and upscale homes, but leaves out neighborhoods with buried cable and even most neighborhoods with above ground cable (they had plans which they dropped).  So many people's choice on internet is dial-up at 53kbps, ISDN dialup at 128kbps, ADSL at 3Mbps, VDSL with at most 75Mbps, rarely WISP, satellite has caps and can't do Zoom etc because of lag.  (Most of these should be good markets for SpaceX etc.)

Then you also have budget reasons.  30% of American homes skipped their house payment this month.  Why pay for internet twice?  Many homes only internet devices are smartphones and tablets with LTE.

It's only 8% that missed last payment, unless we have June data already:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/22/success/mortgage-payment-delinquencies-in-may-coronavirus/index.html

[crazy_vag]

13 minutes ago, dkyeager said:

Band 41 through a Magic Box is faster for a lot of customers.  They may not have an ISP or a good ISP.  By my definition, bad ISPs don't offer true speeds greater than 200Mbps down, are unreliable, ban or slow down certain sites and ports without telling customers, have no option to get rid of a data cap.  AT&T for example offers 1Gbps in new condos and upscale homes, but leaves out neighborhoods with buried cable and even most neighborhoods with above ground cable (they had plans which they dropped).  So many people's choice on internet is dial-up at 53kbps, ISDN dialup at 128kbps, ADSL at 3Mbps, VDSL with at most 75Mbps, rarely WISP, satellite has caps and can't do Zoom etc because of lag.  (Most of these should be good markets for SpaceX etc.)

BTW.  That's a really sad - but true - but still sad - statement.

i got a speedtest of 43Mbit/7.5Mbit from the Magic Box across the street, which is pretty impressive given it's coming from 7th floor and used in the city block covering a few hundred feet in each direction.

Wonder how many users the MB can simultaneously serve.  It's drawing about 3GB / day, so feels like a decent amount.

[ingenium]

Well, looks like they finally killed LTE backhaul in my area yesterday. MB connects to Wi-Fi backhaul, but refuses to connect to B41. Rebooted three times, factory reset once. No dice. Looks like I'm packing it up and sending it back, no way in hell im using Wi-Fi backhaul.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Has the magic box earfcn changed? I'm surprised that they don't just kill it from B41 and instead force it to use B25.

And what market are you in?

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[jasonsteele]

Has the magic box earfcn changed? I'm surprised that they don't just kill it from B41 and instead force it to use B25.

 

And what market are you in?

 

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

UPDATE: Rebooted once more this morning before I went to work, still not connected to LTE backhaul when I returned home. Rebooted once more, and it reconnected about 15 minutes in. I guess it was just stuck on stupid for a day or two.

 

It’s broadcasting the same EARFCN as before 39874, 2518.4MHz. It’s connecting to the same frequency it always does also, 2640.4 MHz. Phoenix market. I didn’t note the broadcast EARFCN when I connected to WiFi momentarily, but I’m afraid to connect to that again for fear of losing LTE because it works now.

 

It’s become increasingly finicky the past couple of weeks, where occasionally it’s connected to backhaul and broadcasts nothing (LTE icon is greyed out) and my devices won’t connect for an hour or two then boom, it works again. Maybe it’s on the fritz.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[ingenium]

UPDATE: Rebooted once more this morning before I went to work, still not connected to LTE backhaul when I returned home. Rebooted once more, and it reconnected about 15 minutes in. I guess it was just stuck on stupid for a day or two.

It’s broadcasting the same EARFCN as before 39874, 2518.4MHz. It’s connecting to the same frequency it always does also, 2640.4 MHz. Phoenix market. I didn’t note the broadcast EARFCN when I connected to WiFi momentarily, but I’m afraid to connect to that again for fear of losing LTE because it works now.

It’s become increasingly finicky the past couple of weeks, where occasionally it’s connected to backhaul and broadcasts nothing (LTE icon is greyed out) and my devices won’t connect for an hour or two then boom, it works again. Maybe it’s on the fritz.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

If it keeps the same earfcn, it means they haven't refarmed the spectrum. I don't foresee them shutting down relay backhaul entirely. They just want to get as many people on wifi or wired backhaul as possible before moving them to B2/25 I think.

There have been issues with MBs lately, I assume from backend changes T-Mobile is making. One of my Ethernet connected magic boxes lost connectivity (it didn't display an x in the signal bars, so I thought it was fine, but no data passed) and I got the email from Sprint saying to turn it back on. I'm usually on wifi so I hadn't noticed it was having an issue, since I had a full signal. Interestingly the email made no mention of getting charged for it if it's not used or returned.

I rebooted the MB and it had some initial connectivity issues (DNS lookups failed, but everything else worked) for 10 minutes or so, and then everything began working again. I think other people have had similar issues recently as well.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[jasonsteele]

If it keeps the same earfcn, it means they haven't refarmed the spectrum. I don't foresee them shutting down relay backhaul entirely. They just want to get as many people on wifi or wired backhaul as possible before moving them to B2/25 I think.

There have been issues with MBs lately, I assume from backend changes T-Mobile is making. One of my Ethernet connected magic boxes lost connectivity (it didn't display an x in the signal bars, so I thought it was fine, but no data passed) and I got the email from Sprint saying to turn it back on. I'm usually on wifi so I hadn't noticed it was having an issue, since I had a full signal. Interestingly the email made no mention of getting charged for it if it's not used or returned.

I rebooted the MB and it had some initial connectivity issues (DNS lookups failed, but everything else worked) for 10 minutes or so, and then everything began working again. I think other people have had similar issues recently as well.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

Yeah, I do facilities maintenance so when stuff doesn't work I go into panic mode. Because everything has to work, right?

I guess I'll just live with the MB quirks for now and wait until T-Mobile parks me on their network before I pack it up and send it back. B66 LTE is very strong in my house (T-Mobile tower is a bit closer than the Sprint one) and has great speeds.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[ingenium]

Yeah, I do facilities maintenance so when stuff doesn't work I go into panic mode. Because everything has to work, right?

I guess I'll just live with the MB quirks for now and wait until T-Mobile parks me on their network before I pack it up and send it back. B66 LTE is very strong in my house (T-Mobile tower is a bit closer than the Sprint one) and has great speeds.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Do you have a Samsung phone? You can probably use the Samsung Band Selector app to force T-mobile bands. It's the app that S20 users have been using to force their phones back to Sprint, but I think I can be used the other way around too.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[jasonsteele]

Downloaded the app, tried bands 2, 4, 12, 66 and 71. Showed no service on all bands. Band 71 tried to connect, but ultimately failed. Thanks for the idea though!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk