[SOLVED] I have an unlocked hotspot device and dont know how to use it

[FlowRez]

I just bought the netgear lb1120 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5ASNTE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_rooRFbBKK7RZS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I dont live in a rural area but the apartments that i live in doesnt have options for cable internet so a hotspot device is my only option. I took the device to verizon (which is the only mobile store i have in my non rural area) and they couldnt activate it because the iemi was deemed not compatable with verizon service. And when i look online for hitspot device service it only brings up cell phone service with (x)gbs of hotspot data. Do i just buy a cell phone sim card, buy a cell phone service plan with (x)gbs of hotspot data and put it in my hotspot? Is that how it works?

 

[bill001g]

Nope you have no way to activate that device. A sim card is mostly just a security device the actual radios and other functions are built into the hotspot. Verizon wants money so they would have activated the device if it will work on there system. There must be a technical reason it will not work. Just because something says it is LTE does not mean it is all the same. There are all kinds of nasty things like what radio channels does it support.

Not sure what the details are as to why verizon will not activate it. You have to be very careful about moving a sim card form a phone to a router. They have very different data plans. The ones that run on routers are a lot more expensive and have much lower data caps. Many people think they can cheat verizon and pay for a low cost plan and then move the sim. Verizon is not stupid they likely have some way to prevent you from doing this. You might be able to move it from one hotspot router to another but if you are going to buy a different hotspot router that works on veirizon you might just as well use that one.

This is a very messy thing. You generally should look up supported devices before you buy them

 

[FlowRez]

Nope you have no way to activate that device. A sim card is mostly just a security device the actual radios and other functions are built into the hotspot. Verizon wants money so they would have activated the device if it will work on there system. There must be a technical reason it will not work. Just because something says it is LTE does not mean it is all the same. There are all kinds of nasty things like what radio channels does it support.

Not sure what the details are as to why verizon will not activate it. You have to be very careful about moving a sim card form a phone to a router. They have very different data plans. The ones that run on routers are a lot more expensive and have much lower data caps. Many people think they can cheat verizon and pay for a low cost plan and then move the sim. Verizon is not stupid they likely have some way to prevent you from doing this. You might be able to move it from one hotspot router to another but if you are going to buy a different hotspot router that works on veirizon you might just as well use that one.

This is a very messy thing. You generally should look up supported devices before you buy them

I actually understand why it wont work with verizon. I did in fact check supported services for the hotspot and it says limited verizon compatability. But it mostly recomends tmobile or at&t. Also i find it hard to understand that netgear would make a product that doesnt work at all.

 

[bill001g]

You never know maybe netgear did not pay off verizon to put it on the list. Hard to say how the cell companies get list of devices they will support. Almost none for example will support huawei devices even though they are technically compatible. This was even before the latest political situation on 5G stuff from huawei.

It could also be in the area you live verizon does not operate on the radio channels that device supports. The actual radio frequencies they have is not consistent. It is now even worse with the tmobile/sprint merge on that vendor.

Not much you can really do verizon has the final say on what they will and will not activate on their network. I have had issues with activating a phone that was unlocked from bestbuy who is a authorized Verizon shop. It actually cost more than exactly the same phone that was locked to the verizon network. I needed it active on 2 carriers for a while that i could switch back and forth. what a huge pain.

 

[hang-the-9]

You may have gone about this backwards. First find out what service you want to use that works well in your area. Then talk to them about what cell data modems they support. Verizon has jetpacks they use for this to create hotspots (although not really a router just a mobile hotspot generator), we use them at work often for travel. They way you did it was you bought the device first then went about trying to activate it.

 

[gggplaya]

This router only supports LTE Bands 2, 4, 5, and 12 . That's a very limited selections and in fact, the FCC just reallocated(over the 2020 summer) frequencies in the 600-700mhz range from TV stations over to cellular. Many carriers are switching some towers to those newly reallocated frequencies to give better building penetration.

Pretty much all cell towers are either owned by the big 3 (ATT, Verizon, or Tmobile/Sprint) and other carriers are called MVNO's which contract to use those towers. Most times MVNO's are cheaper but sometimes have less priority in data.

Tmobile supports all the same bands, 2, 4, 5, and 12. It's a direct match to that netgear router.

ATT also supports all the same bands, 2, 4 ,5 and 12.

Verizon Supports 2, 4, and 5 which is why it may be very limited. (Band 12 is the 700mhz low frequency band which works better in rural areas. )

Tmobile will be getting band 66 and 71 soon, which is the 700mhz and 600mhz bands taken from TV broadcasts over the summer. Your router may be obsolete if TMobile has switched over their towers in your area.

You should sign up for Starlink Beta(https://www.starlink.com/ ). It will be rolling out over the united states and parts of the world next year, but this year is currently in beta for the northwest area of the U.S. Go on youtube and learn about starlink from the beta users. It's got low latency which can be used for games and decent bandwidth (50-180mbps). Currently no data caps. If you have an apartment with a balcony, depending on which side of the sky you have a view to, you might be able to use starlink. Or if you have a nice landlord which will allow you to install it.