Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Technical Details
- Connects up to 5 WiFi enabled devices to the 3G wireless internet
- Internet is limited to 5G per month. No longer offers unlimited internet starting February 2011
- No Contract
- Connects almost anywhere
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
You can connect to 5 WiFi enabled devices. Can be used with both Windows as well as Mac.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
61 of 69 people found the following review helpful
Note: This is a history of events. The bottom of this review has latest update.
I've taken over this device from someone who claimed it was really slow when he used it in home in manhattan. I'm using it now in queens and when the speed is descent, it is somewhat better than when I was using the novatel mc760 usb wifi modem. For streaming videos, expect to wait for it to cache b4 any playback and wait, and playback, etc. Tested speed vs at&t iphone service (tethered) and at&t on iphone runs about 4-5x faster than this.
Biggest problem w/ this mifi is that it always drops my connection, often multiple times w/in the hour - I really hate this part. I then have to restart modem via browser or take out battery and put it back in, or turn it off/on - usually in about 2-3 minute. OK speed for me, but super annoying disconnections. I can see this being a huge problem while doing large downloads. I rarely experienced disconnections w/ my mc760 using same virgin $40 unlimited option. At the very least, why can't this stupid device just reconnect to ISP automatically when it disconnects?!!
best speed using speedtest.net: I have seen this go just over 2Mbps, but speeds are sporatic at best.
worst speed for almost all day 12/1/10: between .08Mbps to about .26Mbps, most of the time less than .2Mbps - we're talking Kbps here. This is horrific speeds compared to line broadbands and even the at&t iphone service. Don't expect to stream any videos at this pathetic speed. It is so slow all day, it is painful.
I should have tested the speed of my novatel mc760 and give this mifi a rest for a month.
update 11/22/10
i'd give this zero stars if i could. this crap disconnects so many times w/in the hour it's unusable. Called Virgin and they say it's a problem w/ the battery. Since this was bought at walmart, looks like i'll have to make a trip to get a battery replacement. I hope that's will fix this annoying problem.
update 11/23/10
walmart informs hardware replacement must be done w/in 15 days of purchase so i called virgin again. virgin rep today has no idea of faulty battery issues. had me go thru setup/restart device (which i've already done b4). still has disconnection issues. called virgin again and this rep wanted me to go thru setup/restart device (deja vu). she has no record of any of my previous calls. she finally admits that there is a problem w/ their mifi servers outage which causes disconnections. it must be having outages multiple times per hour. between poor phone signals and poor english from tech support, we were talking in circles. i made sure the rep logged my call so that it doesn't become a new case every time. I'm not sure where the problem is exactly, but the reps seem to be covering up a much bigger problem w/ this device/service.
update 12/10/10
well after enough service calls and complaining they finally agreed to send me a replacement. Got the replacement device. It does feel like it disconnects a lot less now although there are times when it would disconnect at least 5 time (maybe more) in the hour. It would have probably disconnected more times in that period but since it doesn't reconnect w/ isp automatically, you wouldn't know that it disconnected unless u were using internet service. i wonder if choosing the log option caused it to disconnect more. i did that the other day, and it started disconnecting like crazy. so i removed logging. however, it still disconnected about 2 more times so not sure.
on 12/9 the device had an outage for 2 hrs and cust svc couldn't be reached. connects to isp, but no internet service. i guess they had a major outage and everyone was calling. i've also been checking my speed daily. The speeds are acceptable these days, avg between .3 and .8 Mbps. Sometimes it could be over 1 Mbps, but the speeds change so quickly between tests just 10 seconds apart.
speed test update 12/13 - tested in manhattan building and got about .5Mbps download speed after several tests. ironically, the upload speed was almost as high as the download. Compared on same machine w/ time warner cable isp and got about 9.3 - 9.8Mbps download. That's almost 20 times the bandwidth! w/ 9Mbps, it is easy to share the bandwidth. At .5Mbps, u barely have enough bandwidth for one machine, let alone share it.
Pros:Can support multiple wifi devices.
Acceptable speeds during "good" days. Great when it works.
small enough to fit anywhere.
access via admin page is reliable.
pc connect to device easily and pc never lost connection w/ device.
very portable and flexible.
access via pc wifi is preferred over usb wifi modem - takes less pc memory and quicker connection times.
good for on the move or if you don't have permanent address.
Cons:Frequent disconnections to isp and won't auto reconnect to isp. Worse than dial-up in this case.
Can only reconnect to isp by restarting device, or turn off/on, or reinserting battery.
takes about 2 minutes to restart device each time.
Customer service lack knowledge and "conceal" bigger problems.
Has only 2 lights - difficult to figure out what's happening.
Terrible when it acts up - make you want to throw it out the window.
Can be a pain when device is shared my multiple devices due to frequent disconnections and subpar bandwidth.
low reliablity and bandwith - don't use for work (vpn) or business.
can lose work. if connection is broken, it will auto redirect you to the admin page on browser and whatever you were typing before (in fb or email, etc.) will be lost. plan to do your editing in notepad or something.
device can get really hot.
unfortunately, i don't have much option since i don't have permanent address and will need this no contract device. much better than nothing. this mifi needs a real upgrade, maybe in the bios to prevent disconnection and auto reconnect to isp. if they can achieve this, then it will rock.
update 12/21/10
have to say that lately (about a week) the mifi has steadily been improving and the past 2 days, i didn't even have a lost connection after i turned it on in the morning!! I did lose connection once late last night bc of payment expiration. That did give me a bit of problem though bc it showed my device wasn't activated, but wouldn't let me activate it and get onto virgin site to make a payment either. I gave up after a few tries and retired for the night. This morning, it had no problem activating and I was allowed to make a payment. So far, so good. Also in the past week, i noticed that when i did get disconnected, it no longer redirected my to the admin page (that used to cause me to lose my work on a page that i was editing). Maybe it's a seasonal change, moon position, earth rotation thing, etc, but I really suspect that the earlier problems w/ the mifi is really stemming from the isp, which they are continually (and silently) addressing. Maybe tech development support is reading our problem threads? In any case, I am happy that things are certainly improving. Even the speed has been a lot steadier and usable compared to my early experiences. Let's see how this device/service holds up in coming weeks and months - fingers crossed. I have to give it an extra star now, and more stars later if service/bandwidth proves to be stable and reliable.
update 12/22/10
oops spoke too soon, this thing still acted up a number of times today and 3 times yesterday. It also redirected my page when I was on facebook and made me lose all my typing. Back to 1 star. still can't recommend them.
update 12/30/10
back to the dumps again, actually worst ever. disconnected me way so many times that i lost count, often just a minute after reconnecting. for 3 days now, it was running at dialup speeds again, between .1 - .2 Mbps, sometimes under .1Mbps - absolutely ridiculous and so unreliable! it often makes my session hang just by being so slow. called tech support 4 times and then they switched me to a different channel, then to a shared channel and back to one channel. still same crap speed, and disconnects like crazy. i spend so much time w/ this turtle net and w/ tech support, and trying to get work done, waiting for pages to load. i think once the service expires, i'll go back to my usb mc760. on my last call to tech support, they tell me they have engineers working on this now and it's slow bc of heavy usage thru the holidays. i don't buy it esp. when it is constantly slow day and night. i asked for credit for this lousy service and they credited me $10. if this keeps up, i'm going to keep asking for more credit back until i owe nothing for the month. everyone should start asking for credit now so that they'll realize that it'll cost them money if they don't get their act together.
verdict: mifi/isp still NOT ready for primetime!!!
I've taken over this device from someone who claimed it was really slow when he used it in home in manhattan. I'm using it now in queens and when the speed is descent, it is somewhat better than when I was using the novatel mc760 usb wifi modem. For streaming videos, expect to wait for it to cache b4 any playback and wait, and playback, etc. Tested speed vs at&t iphone service (tethered) and at&t on iphone runs about 4-5x faster than this.
Biggest problem w/ this mifi is that it always drops my connection, often multiple times w/in the hour - I really hate this part. I then have to restart modem via browser or take out battery and put it back in, or turn it off/on - usually in about 2-3 minute. OK speed for me, but super annoying disconnections. I can see this being a huge problem while doing large downloads. I rarely experienced disconnections w/ my mc760 using same virgin $40 unlimited option. At the very least, why can't this stupid device just reconnect to ISP automatically when it disconnects?!!
best speed using speedtest.net: I have seen this go just over 2Mbps, but speeds are sporatic at best.
worst speed for almost all day 12/1/10: between .08Mbps to about .26Mbps, most of the time less than .2Mbps - we're talking Kbps here. This is horrific speeds compared to line broadbands and even the at&t iphone service. Don't expect to stream any videos at this pathetic speed. It is so slow all day, it is painful.
I should have tested the speed of my novatel mc760 and give this mifi a rest for a month.
update 11/22/10
i'd give this zero stars if i could. this crap disconnects so many times w/in the hour it's unusable. Called Virgin and they say it's a problem w/ the battery. Since this was bought at walmart, looks like i'll have to make a trip to get a battery replacement. I hope that's will fix this annoying problem.
update 11/23/10
walmart informs hardware replacement must be done w/in 15 days of purchase so i called virgin again. virgin rep today has no idea of faulty battery issues. had me go thru setup/restart device (which i've already done b4). still has disconnection issues. called virgin again and this rep wanted me to go thru setup/restart device (deja vu). she has no record of any of my previous calls. she finally admits that there is a problem w/ their mifi servers outage which causes disconnections. it must be having outages multiple times per hour. between poor phone signals and poor english from tech support, we were talking in circles. i made sure the rep logged my call so that it doesn't become a new case every time. I'm not sure where the problem is exactly, but the reps seem to be covering up a much bigger problem w/ this device/service.
update 12/10/10
well after enough service calls and complaining they finally agreed to send me a replacement. Got the replacement device. It does feel like it disconnects a lot less now although there are times when it would disconnect at least 5 time (maybe more) in the hour. It would have probably disconnected more times in that period but since it doesn't reconnect w/ isp automatically, you wouldn't know that it disconnected unless u were using internet service. i wonder if choosing the log option caused it to disconnect more. i did that the other day, and it started disconnecting like crazy. so i removed logging. however, it still disconnected about 2 more times so not sure.
on 12/9 the device had an outage for 2 hrs and cust svc couldn't be reached. connects to isp, but no internet service. i guess they had a major outage and everyone was calling. i've also been checking my speed daily. The speeds are acceptable these days, avg between .3 and .8 Mbps. Sometimes it could be over 1 Mbps, but the speeds change so quickly between tests just 10 seconds apart.
speed test update 12/13 - tested in manhattan building and got about .5Mbps download speed after several tests. ironically, the upload speed was almost as high as the download. Compared on same machine w/ time warner cable isp and got about 9.3 - 9.8Mbps download. That's almost 20 times the bandwidth! w/ 9Mbps, it is easy to share the bandwidth. At .5Mbps, u barely have enough bandwidth for one machine, let alone share it.
Pros:Can support multiple wifi devices.
Acceptable speeds during "good" days. Great when it works.
small enough to fit anywhere.
access via admin page is reliable.
pc connect to device easily and pc never lost connection w/ device.
very portable and flexible.
access via pc wifi is preferred over usb wifi modem - takes less pc memory and quicker connection times.
good for on the move or if you don't have permanent address.
Cons:Frequent disconnections to isp and won't auto reconnect to isp. Worse than dial-up in this case.
Can only reconnect to isp by restarting device, or turn off/on, or reinserting battery.
takes about 2 minutes to restart device each time.
Customer service lack knowledge and "conceal" bigger problems.
Has only 2 lights - difficult to figure out what's happening.
Terrible when it acts up - make you want to throw it out the window.
Can be a pain when device is shared my multiple devices due to frequent disconnections and subpar bandwidth.
low reliablity and bandwith - don't use for work (vpn) or business.
can lose work. if connection is broken, it will auto redirect you to the admin page on browser and whatever you were typing before (in fb or email, etc.) will be lost. plan to do your editing in notepad or something.
device can get really hot.
unfortunately, i don't have much option since i don't have permanent address and will need this no contract device. much better than nothing. this mifi needs a real upgrade, maybe in the bios to prevent disconnection and auto reconnect to isp. if they can achieve this, then it will rock.
update 12/21/10
have to say that lately (about a week) the mifi has steadily been improving and the past 2 days, i didn't even have a lost connection after i turned it on in the morning!! I did lose connection once late last night bc of payment expiration. That did give me a bit of problem though bc it showed my device wasn't activated, but wouldn't let me activate it and get onto virgin site to make a payment either. I gave up after a few tries and retired for the night. This morning, it had no problem activating and I was allowed to make a payment. So far, so good. Also in the past week, i noticed that when i did get disconnected, it no longer redirected my to the admin page (that used to cause me to lose my work on a page that i was editing). Maybe it's a seasonal change, moon position, earth rotation thing, etc, but I really suspect that the earlier problems w/ the mifi is really stemming from the isp, which they are continually (and silently) addressing. Maybe tech development support is reading our problem threads? In any case, I am happy that things are certainly improving. Even the speed has been a lot steadier and usable compared to my early experiences. Let's see how this device/service holds up in coming weeks and months - fingers crossed. I have to give it an extra star now, and more stars later if service/bandwidth proves to be stable and reliable.
update 12/22/10
oops spoke too soon, this thing still acted up a number of times today and 3 times yesterday. It also redirected my page when I was on facebook and made me lose all my typing. Back to 1 star. still can't recommend them.
update 12/30/10
back to the dumps again, actually worst ever. disconnected me way so many times that i lost count, often just a minute after reconnecting. for 3 days now, it was running at dialup speeds again, between .1 - .2 Mbps, sometimes under .1Mbps - absolutely ridiculous and so unreliable! it often makes my session hang just by being so slow. called tech support 4 times and then they switched me to a different channel, then to a shared channel and back to one channel. still same crap speed, and disconnects like crazy. i spend so much time w/ this turtle net and w/ tech support, and trying to get work done, waiting for pages to load. i think once the service expires, i'll go back to my usb mc760. on my last call to tech support, they tell me they have engineers working on this now and it's slow bc of heavy usage thru the holidays. i don't buy it esp. when it is constantly slow day and night. i asked for credit for this lousy service and they credited me $10. if this keeps up, i'm going to keep asking for more credit back until i owe nothing for the month. everyone should start asking for credit now so that they'll realize that it'll cost them money if they don't get their act together.
verdict: mifi/isp still NOT ready for primetime!!!
58 of 67 people found the following review helpful
Everywhere that we have used our Virgin Mobile Mifi, it has worked great. $40 a month unlimited internet with no contract, and the ability to only pay for it the months you use it, is the best deal out there. I highly recommend this device.
One note that you might not be aware of. None of the Mifi 2200's (for any carrier) can be used while they are connected to a computer's USB. The data connection to the computer shuts the Wifi off. There are three solutions. 1) If you use the Mifi on battery this isn't an issue (obviously) 2) If you use the Mifi plugged into a wall or car charger, with no data connection to a computer, this isn't an issue. 3) If you buy a "Power-Only", no data, USB cable, or modify your USB cable to remove the data connection, you can power it off your computer and still use the Wifi.
/// Update after 1 year. ///
We've had this for over a year now, so I wanted to provide an update. It continues to work very well, and is a great deal. We use it about every other month. That ability alone, to only pay for it when you want to use it, is a huge cost savings.
The service is very good. We rarely have any problem getting a connection or having service at a reasonable speed. The contract carriers may be a little faster, or a lot faster in some cases, but for budget conscious users the trade-off is worth the savings.
I really like being able to share the connection with multiple devices. My wife and I both have Kindles and often travel with multiple computer devices. The MiFi allows us to use everything without having to worry about getting each device onto the hotel's network. It even works in the car, which for the passengers is useful on long trips.
I have nothing but positive things to say about the MiFi 2200 and still strongly recommend it.
One note that you might not be aware of. None of the Mifi 2200's (for any carrier) can be used while they are connected to a computer's USB. The data connection to the computer shuts the Wifi off. There are three solutions. 1) If you use the Mifi on battery this isn't an issue (obviously) 2) If you use the Mifi plugged into a wall or car charger, with no data connection to a computer, this isn't an issue. 3) If you buy a "Power-Only", no data, USB cable, or modify your USB cable to remove the data connection, you can power it off your computer and still use the Wifi.
/// Update after 1 year. ///
We've had this for over a year now, so I wanted to provide an update. It continues to work very well, and is a great deal. We use it about every other month. That ability alone, to only pay for it when you want to use it, is a huge cost savings.
The service is very good. We rarely have any problem getting a connection or having service at a reasonable speed. The contract carriers may be a little faster, or a lot faster in some cases, but for budget conscious users the trade-off is worth the savings.
I really like being able to share the connection with multiple devices. My wife and I both have Kindles and often travel with multiple computer devices. The MiFi allows us to use everything without having to worry about getting each device onto the hotel's network. It even works in the car, which for the passengers is useful on long trips.
I have nothing but positive things to say about the MiFi 2200 and still strongly recommend it.
24 of 29 people found the following review helpful
I haven't been writing a ton of reviews lately, but I had to give a shout out to Virgin Mobile and the MiFi device
For you roadwarriors (or like me, writers who frequent diners that have no Wifi service) this is the PERFECT and BEST device available
I was previously using a Sprint USB card that was $60 a month for 5 gigs of data, with a 2 year contract - the device purchase was also around $100
This Virgin Mifi has NO CONTRACT, is UNLIMITED DATA, and is $40 per month (pay as you go plans) - and this device is around $150
I can attest - the speeds are excellent and stable! In addition, you can hook up 5 devices total - I live in LA and I find no connection or speed problems (and apparently, this device uses the Sprint network, so if Sprint is good in your area, this is the device you want)
The battery is solid, as it usually lasts around 4 to 5 hours on a full charge, so you may wanna keep the charger around - I do use a Mac and you can hook it up directly over USB (which will also charge it), but doing so will also turn off the Wifi connection - and for what it is worth, it is faster over USB tethering
Anyways - I can't sing the praises of this device anymore - buy it! It's terrific and well worth it! You will NOT find a better wireless broadband plan out there
Love and peace everyone!
For you roadwarriors (or like me, writers who frequent diners that have no Wifi service) this is the PERFECT and BEST device available
I was previously using a Sprint USB card that was $60 a month for 5 gigs of data, with a 2 year contract - the device purchase was also around $100
This Virgin Mifi has NO CONTRACT, is UNLIMITED DATA, and is $40 per month (pay as you go plans) - and this device is around $150
I can attest - the speeds are excellent and stable! In addition, you can hook up 5 devices total - I live in LA and I find no connection or speed problems (and apparently, this device uses the Sprint network, so if Sprint is good in your area, this is the device you want)
The battery is solid, as it usually lasts around 4 to 5 hours on a full charge, so you may wanna keep the charger around - I do use a Mac and you can hook it up directly over USB (which will also charge it), but doing so will also turn off the Wifi connection - and for what it is worth, it is faster over USB tethering
Anyways - I can't sing the praises of this device anymore - buy it! It's terrific and well worth it! You will NOT find a better wireless broadband plan out there
Love and peace everyone!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
use dial-up ....anything but this.
I am doing this with my phone because, even though my fingers are too fat for this screen, it is easier than entering my password twelve times to get the mifi to work. Read more
Published 20 days ago by electron71
good for general Web usage
Only downfall is it lags a couple of second for videos. Excellent for just Web surfing. I like the prepaid portion, 20 dollar card for 1 gig. in the store it costs 120 plus tax. Read more
Published 20 days ago by ericcvt
The worst internet!!
This device is great at enabling up to 5 devices that has wifi,my G2 phone connects and my laptop+IPod does to. And it sets up like a brezze. Read more
Published 28 days ago by S. WILSON
Good product, awefull support
Good product and performs well except that the activation took me about 30 minutes. After a month, the ac adapter stopped working and it took me more that 30 mins on the phone to... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Philip L. May
Disappointing coverage, complicated set up, trained support?
I spent a couple of hours trying to figure out how to set this device up online where they have limited and apparently incorrect instructions. Read more
Published 1 month ago by larry Seckman
Uhmm any slower and it'd be like 0G
I was looking for a tablet that was not that expensive and I got this well it's easy to set up but when your using it Omg regret buying it's super slow and frustrating after it... Read more
Published 1 month ago by David
Colossal Waste of Money!!!!!
This thing constantly stops working, and I hardly ever use it. I spend more time trying to get it to work because it constantly disconnects. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sam
DO NOT BOTHER
Cannot even get the mifi to work with my existing account and gave up after half an hour on tech support!
Published 2 months ago by illinoisbelle
Do yourself a favor; don't buy this.
I bought the Virgin Mobile MiFi because I travel, and also because it doesn't require a contract. I spent $125 at Target and purchased the $50 "Unlimited" data plan, and I... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jody Donnelly
Wonderful product
I recieved my purchase 32 days ago.
I had a problem with the battery not holding a charge. Read more
I had a problem with the battery not holding a charge. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Reamziesmom
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
Look for Similar Items by Category
|
