Customer Reviews

Novatel Wireless MiFi 2372 Unlocked 3G Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot GSM For North Ame...

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Before i start with the review i want to point out that i bought the European version of this exact same device "Novatel Wireless MiFi 2352 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot"

What this does?
It helps anyone who has a SIM Card with 3G services enabled to connect up to 5 PC's/Mac's/Wifi devices to the internet

Complexity in setting up?
i would say about 6/10 in terms of how easy/hard this is. You have to understand that the 3G sim cards (depending which carrier you have)
will have a profound impact on how quickly you can set this up.

How to set up?
* If your carrier is not enlisted in the default options on the device, you just need to contact your SIM provider and ask for an APN#
* The WIFI setup is very easy and you just need to pick a name (that is SSID) and a new password for everyone you want to access the internet
* If you intend to use this device indefinitely, then i suggest you configure it first and then connect it to the AC electrical charger

The Situation
Since i don't have the capability to bring DSL or WyMAC or etc etc. in my area, this little GEM was a GOD send! I really wanted the ubiquitous internet access in my apartment which would hook up 3 Mac's/apple TV and a Nintendo WII. This thing is fast and a solid build!

Bottom Line:
If you stuck like me with internet but can access only though your cell phone = get it
If your area does not have any other internet access points = get it
If you frequently travel and need instant net access = get it
If you have less than 5 devices simultaneously needing internet access = get it

First, it is indeed true that the Novatel 2372 GSM MiFi device will work on either the AT&T or T-Mobile GSM networks. What may not be obvious to everyone is the fact that T-Mobile's GSM network will only accommodate a 3G connection if the cellular device is capable of supporting transmission in the 1700/2100 MHz band. Since the Novatel 2372 MiFi device does not support transmission in this band combination, this results in the T-Mobile network only allowing a noticeably slower EDGE data connection. The AT&T network, however, supports a 3G connection in the 2100 MHz band (uplink and downlink).

I found this out the hard way since I had a T-Mobile service plan in effect when I purchased my Novatel 2372 MiFi router. I noticed very quickly that my data connections were always EDGE connections instead of 3G connections. Once I determined the reason for not being able to access a higher speed 3G connection on T-Mobile's network, I switched my service to AT&T's network. This raised another issue which is finding out the complexities involved in obtaining an AT&T data-only service plan, i.e., a service plan that does not entail a 2 year commitment.

Below are the details associated with obtaining reliable MiFi data service for a Novatel 2372 MiFi router.

* AT&T at one time offered, but no longer offers, a data-only service plan. In other words today a normal cell phone plan available from AT&T must include a voice service plan. However, they do offer a DataConnect plan which is designed to accommodate a USB Wireless modem device (Air Card), e.g., for use in a laptop computer only. Unless you specifically mention that you have such a GSM capable device and wish to obtain data service and no voice capabilities, the AT&T sales people will tell you no such data-only plan exists unless you can prove you are legally deaf.
* I was able to sign up for AT&T's DataConnect plan for about $66/month with a 5 GB usage limit. In my case I will most likely not exceed this limit, hence this plan is ideal for use with my MiFi router.
* Once you have purchased the appropriate AT&T service and received an AT&T SIM card, you must have knowledge of certain configuration details in order to render your MiFi router functional on the service providers network. Don't count on AT&T to have this information available. Even the AT&T higher level technical support people may not necessarily be familiar with what a MiFi router is and therefore unfamiliar with how to properly configure such a device on AT&T's network.

Here are the simple details required to configure your Novatel 2372 MiFi router for access to either AT&T or T-Mobile data services:

In the Novatel configuration setup for creating an Internet Profile, I discovered that your default profile must include the correct APN string and a valid Username and Password. Fortunately this kind of information is available on the Internet or obtainable from your cellular service provider.

For AT&T (HSPA, UMTS, EDGE and GPRS), the APN should be: WAP.CINGULAR
- Username can be your assigned mobile telephone number
- Password can be your assigned mobile telephone number

For T-Mobile (EDGE and GPRS), the APN should be: [...]
- Username can be blank
- Password can be blank

There appears to be some variations in acceptable entries, especially involving the Username and Password. In general, however, the APN entry must be recognized by the carrier matching the inserted SIM card.

Novatel Wireless MiFi 2372 Unlocked 3G Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot GSM For North America (AT&T & T-Mobile)

I bought a 2372 to replace an AT&T Quicksilver that was a pain to configure on a Mac. By contrast, the MiFi is a breeze for any WiFi capable device to use.

Some minor issues that should be mentioned:

1. The battery door is currently the subject of a recall. The issue is that the door is difficult enough to remove that some folks have resorted to using tools and/or being too aggressive, resulting in damage to the battery.

2. The access point puts you on a shared private network, and access to the Internet is via NAT. This is a standard configuration for sharing an Internet connection, but the router on the MiFi unfortunately does not support either uPnP or NAT-PMP, which means that Back-to-my-Mac won't be able to reach devices behind a MiFi, and other software like VoIP or video chat may have trouble.

3. If you have a DHCP Client ID configured on your machine, the built-in router won't respond to DHCP requests.

These are fairly minor points, far outweighed by the idea of being able to share a WAN connection with 5 devices where public WiFi is unavailable. And WHAT a connection! In testing with speedtest.net, I've been able to see speeds north of 3 megabits per second downlink and 1.5 megabits up! When it's at its best, it's truly like having a mobile DSL connection. Of course, there are spots where the coverage is not as good as that - that's simply the nature of mobile connectivity.

When you connect the device up to a computer with USB, unfortunately the WiFi becomes unavailable, and the device reverts to being a standard USB modem. This can be a problem if you want to charge the device from a computer and share it at the same time. You could work around this if you wish by modifying a USB cable to cut the two data pins leaving the power pins intact, as the mere presence of USB power does not, by itself, turn off WiFi access.

The built-in MicroSD slot is a nice touch. When you're using the device with WiFi, access to the card is via a web-based interface. When you connect the device up with USB, it shows up as a USB disk, as you'd expect. The best use I've made of this is that I loaded the Mac drivers for the USB side of the device and the user guide in a card and stuck that in, so they'd be handy if needed.

My company pays for my ATT data plan. I have a USB card but decided to get a mifi 2372. It works great!
2372 supports the 850 mhz band (2352 doesn't) which is better for buildings/walls and ATT is investing a lot of money on...

If you travel a lot and you are already paying for an ATT data plan you should consider buying it.

The product worked just fine for about 60 days then it developed some sort of short or loose connection internally and would not see the sim card unless you pressed down on it. After a while it stopped working all together. No worries, it has a one year warranty. So after determining it had been sold by an Amazon partner I reached them by email and after a week they told me that Amazon had fulfilled the order and they can not help me. So.... I called Amazon and they told me that my return period had expired and that I needed to call the manufacturer. I called the manufacturer and they said to call my "dealer" that they did not deal with consumers. Now you know what you will face if it breaks. If you really need one that is unlocked by one from T-mobile and unlock it yourself with a web tool. That way you will have an unlocked device with a warranty. So far no one has figured out how to unlock the AT&T mifi firmware without re-flashing it. (Not advisable)

Sorry SuperDeal and Amazon but, not ensuring that there is a path to warranty service for what you sell in ridiculous!!! You are welcome to email me if you would like to reconsider your policy.

I've worked for a cell carrier for over two years and have done Lots of testing when it comes to using cellular data. I've used aircards, tethered with iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Palm, anything you can think of, I've probably messed with at one point in time. Recently, I decided to jump ship and get a MiFi. Unlocked, of course, because I don't like to be forced to use a carrier's specific plan and I wasn't in the mood for another two year contract. This MiFi has not let me down. My new job requires me to travel across the nation and this tiny box has definitely held up its end of the bargain. Speeds are way faster than any aircard I've used or any time I've tethered a cell phone. This is through extensive testing at more than one location.

PROS:
Super Fast Speeds
Easy to setup
APN configurable
Easy to use a micro-sim Adapter with.

CONS:
RARELY* I'll have to pop the battery out to reset it. This doesn't happen often and is a very easy fix.

I bought one of these a few months ago. I had trouble getting it to turn on, but eventually it worked. Over the next three months whenever this thing would lock up (at least once a day) we would have to unplug it, wait a minute or so, and then spend a while trying to get it back on again. About two weeks ago it wouldn't turn on anymore. I returned it and promptly ordered another one.

It arrived yesterday, and I had the same issue. It almost seems to turn on at random, and the button seems to accomplish nothing. It locked up after an hour. Same nonsense.

Want a firmware update? They have produced many, but they are NOT available from Novatel. Or Amazon. You are stuck with the buggy firmware from January of 2010. This unit seems worse than the first, and after it locked up for the second time, I gave up and requested a return from Amazon. I bought a Virgin Wireless Mifi from Best Buy today and will not look back. The Mifi 2372 was a complete pile of garbage for me. Both of them.

Joel

I have a Verizon mifi 2200 that I've used for a year and it has saved me many times when traveling. But it's SLOW. With the 2372 and AT&T I get at a minimum 3 times the download speeds that Verizon provided. Sometimes 5 times the download speeds. I'm canceling my Verizon account and sticking with AT&T. We just got back from Yosemite National Park and they had AT&T in the lodges on my IPad 3g but the verizon mifi 2200 couldn't get a signal. AT&T has been everywhere that I need a signal. So with the 2372 my Laptop and ipad wifi are covered.

Works well with ATT network. I'm using their "DataConnect pass" system; not a great value, but since I sometimes go a month or two without travel, it seems the most economical (though most economical would be to use the sim card from my iPhone as suggested by another reviewer). Plus, it doesn't require signing on to a plan with a canceling fine. You have to go get a free sim card from an ATT store to use in this device; then you buy a DataConnect pass with the hardware info from the mifi and the info from the sim card. Buying the DataConnect pass authenticates the sim and assigns a mobile number to the sim.

With that done, log in to the mifi and set the connection parameters. I had to hunt down the right APN etc settings on the web after those suggested by another reviewer would not work (perhaps it is due to regional variations?). Here's what worked for me:

APN: ISP.CINGULAR
Username: ISP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
Password: CINGULAR1
Authentication: PAP

With that done I was on the network and working within a few seconds. After a few more settings, such as making the network secure, it's worthwhile to save the settings to a backup file so you can quickly restore what you've done when you experiment with settings.

I tried to hack the settings so that when I connected the usb cable it would not turn into a usb modem, following instructions at [...], but this did not work. Have to try to find a usb->micro usb charging only cable to avoid the hassle of setting up a usb modem.

I just got back to the US from a European bike and boat trip. I knew we wouldn't have any WIFI on the boat, so I was looking for an alternative way to connect to the Internet. This device came in very handy.

I was in 4 different countries, and used this device in Germany and Austria with prepaid data cards. I bought the card for Austria from eBay, and the card for Germany in the Munich airport as I landed. The card that I bought in Germany cost about $30 for 1GB of data, which turned out to be plenty. The carrier I used in Germany was Blau. The carrier for Austria was A1.

Neither card worked really dependably in the country. Sometimes I didn't have any coverage and sometimes it was just edge. However, in the cities both worked really well. It turned out to be a real help in Munich, because although our hotel there had Internet available, it was very expensive and would have added up very quickly. Therefore, I just used my MiFi device with the Blau data card and did just fine.

There is one thing you should know if you are planning on using the MiFi in Europe, however. You need important information for each of the carriers you use, or the card is useless. When you buy a card, be sure to get the APN, Username, Password and the type of encryption used. You will need this information to set up a profile for new card. It's very difficult to find out this information on the Internet. However, for both cards that I used, the people in the Shop know what information I needed. Just don't purchase a card unless you can find out this information as you purchase it.

I found that with the European carriers, even after the initial setup for the card, I had to connect to the MiFi device, then bring up the MiFi control panel in my browser. There I had to login as the administrator and click the "Connect" button so that the MiFi connected to the cellular network and obtained an IP address. Once I knew what to do, it worked pretty well. My husband and I could even use it at the same time without difficulty when we had good cellular coverage.