[SOLVED] Cant get network signal with WWAN card in Dell m4700 laptop ?

[Richez]

So i installed a Novatel 5804/e371 wwan card into my dell m4700 laptop and i have installed all drivers and even novatels dell software but i have tried time and time again to get a connection to no avail. It recognizes my sim but will fail to get any connection what so ever. Is it just not compatible with tmobile or sprint and only works with at&t but the card is said to be compatible with tmobiles band and if so what other card can i use that will allow my dell m4700 laptop to have 4g lte speeds since the cards are around 20 bucks no harm no foul.

 

[Lutfij]

Can you check and see if your Dell laptop is pending any BIOS updates? Did you follow through the activation procedures for the WWAN card?

 

[bill001g]

Why do you think it is compatible with tmobile bands. This is the problem with so called unlocked cards, it does not change the radio frequencies they support.

So first what is most important is the device has support for the band being used by a cell tower near you. Just because a cell provider can use a certain list of LTE bands does not mean they use them all on all towers. It is based on what license they got for that tower. This is why you really need a device that can support all bands used by the provider.
It could be that the tmobile tower near you is not running on the frequency your card supports.

The next messy thing is tmobile merged with sprint and so a lot of the band information is out of date.

This is why it is nice that many of the newer devices seem to support all bands.

 

[Richez]

Why do you think it is compatible with tmobile bands. This is the problem with so called unlocked cards, it does not change the radio frequencies they support.

So first what is most important is the device has support for the band being used by a cell tower near you. Just because a cell provider can use a certain list of LTE bands does not mean they use them all on all towers. It is based on what license they got for that tower. This is why you really need a device that can support all bands used by the provider.
It could be that the tmobile tower near you is not running on the frequency your card supports.

The next messy thing is tmobile merged with sprint and so a lot of the band information is out of date.

This is why it is nice that many of the newer devices seem to support all bands.

Ok so it sounds like i purchased the wrong card any ideas of what cards i can use that are still compatible with my laptop that support sprint/tmobile getting info on how to choose what is right seems very hard to come by

 

[bill001g]

This tends to be a good question for the provider. Since it will get them more money to get you on their system it is a question they will tend to answer more often. Even if they give you a model that they sell it gives you a part number to search for. Many times the device the ISP sells directly are not that much more expensive, they make all their money on the monthly charges not the $5 they would get sell a adapter.

 

[Richez]

This tends to be a good question for the provider. Since it will get them more money to get you on their system it is a question they will tend to answer more often. Even if they give you a model that they sell it gives you a part number to search for. Many times the device the ISP sells directly are not that much more expensive, they make all their money on the monthly charges not the $5 they would get sell a adapter.

Ok im only worried to find out that they might not sell mini-pcie or mini-sata form factor cards anymore i would assume they would push me towards a dedicated hotspot or usb dongle instead which is what i dont want ive broken 3 dongles on my old laptop lol

 

[bill001g]

What you are looking for is kinda rare and may not even exist. When you deal with older equipment and especially laptops the vendors seem to abandon them after few years. It is like trying to find a new wifi6 card that is pcie almost everything is m.2.

Maybe tmobile can tell you if the card you are currently using has any ability to work. Maybe you get lucky and it is one of those things that they have to put the serial number into their system like many cell phones that only work after you call them.

Tmobile has been making a lot of changes to their network and in a year or two they will be allowed to completely change the sprint network and basically force everyone to buy new equipment. Verizon is up to similar stuff with the stopping using CDMA.

In the end dongles maybe your only option. At least it is a option with a laptop there are many tablet type devices that do not support dongles, don't remember exactly but a bunch of kindle stuff is getting shut off.