Mobile Internet

[21mbps]

Yes I have more negative comments about my rockethub.  Randomly throughout the day my hub stops working (www light on but no data)  (Extremely high signal).  WHen i type, 192.168.1.1 into a wired OR wireless computer the hub is inaccesible.  It also does this at random during surfing, its still on, its still connected to the internet, but it does not work.  When i type in the 192.168.1.1 the spinning "waiting" thing just comes up and nothing happens.

[javatyger]

Sorry to hear about all the problems you're experiencing, but I've had the exact opposite experience here in Edmonton. My Rocket Hub has been working perfectly - it's fast and never drops it's connection. When I need to access my hub, I just go to http://www.Rogers.mifi and it works.

Hopefully things work out better for you. If it's still under warranty, try returning it. You've probably already tried this, but just wanted to suggest it anyways. Good luck.

[21mbps]

I am assuming someone may be loggin onto it when that happens b/c I can't even log in to the interface.  if i unplug my wired PC's and turn the wireless off on the router the WWW light still flashes and 450MB was used in two days w/o any computers attached to it........mmmmm

[Janet]

I have the same issue with needing to reset the Hub frequently. Sometimes we can work around physically pushing the button to cycle it by simply disconnecting and reconnecting the 3G connection.

To do this:

• In a brower, type 192.168.1.1.
• Enter the Admin user name and passworkd (admin and admin are the defaults)
• Go to 3G Settings...Setup....Data APN
• Click Disconnect
• When the screen refreshed, click Connect. This ususally takes longer to complete.

Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. If it works, it saves a trip upstairs to the office where the Hub is (best signal strength).

[Janet]

You can see if someone else is signed on by logging into the Hub and checking the DHCP under the Status menu. This will tell you which IP addresses are currently in use.

[skinorth]

@all:

[beginning of rant]

I have been using an Ericssen W35 RocketHub on the Rogers cell network for over a year.  In general, the W35 RocketHub has not caused problems.  Initially I experienced frequent disconnects, but that turned out to be a Windows Vista problem with dhcp.  See:

http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/forums/forumtopicpage/board-id/Mobile_internet/thread-id/345

The Rogers cell network however is really really bad for Internet access during prime business time, e.g., 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM on business days.  It seems that voice is given such a high priority over data on the cell network during that period of time that Internet connections are slow and/or constantly dropped in many locations.  One would think that Rogers could invest in more capacity on its cell network to honour the contracts it has with its paying Internet customers.  But that does not seem to be a high priority with them.

I and others with whom I have spoken, as well as heard from on this Forum, agree that the Rogers cell network sucks bigtime.  I have plenty of reservations about the Rogers Internet infrastructure as well.  To mention but one thing, the Rogers DNS servers, which are a normal part of the service provided by an ISP, are very unreliable and slow.

Unfortunately I am more or less forced to use a cellular connection for my Internet because Canada's suburban and rural areas are very poorly served by the telco oligopoly here in Canada.  As a result, I end up paying through the nose for what I get.  And what I get ain't much: slow speeds, disconnects and extra charges for data volumes over 3Gbytes per month.  And you people who have 80 to 90 Gbyte caps think you have it rough!

So, yeah, I agree that there are problems with the RocketHub, but they are not typically with the 'Hub itself.  The problems are predominantly with the Rogers cell network, with the exorbitant costs for the service, with the hard to reach and/or unknowledgable Rogers technical support staff, and with management that won't adequately invest in the infrastructure required to serve the largely captive paying customer audience Rogers enjoy here in Canada.

So thank you, Gov't of Canada for your lackluster telecoms policies that permit this travesty to continue.  Thank you CRTC for failing to enforce effectively those minimal rules and regulations that are in place.

And all of you who have contributed to this Topic, I understand your pain.  I too am feeling it.  But please focus on the real cause of our problems and it will help resolve our short term technical issues more quickly.

[end of rant]

skinorth

[kman007]

Agree with Skinorth,

I've had a hub for 12 months now due to locale.(Lake Erie Port Colborne ) I'm on our second pc of hardware since the first hub became so hot it ceased to function.

we have had 10 months of poor bandwidth - no DNS. and 2 months of superb bandwidth.( said a technician was sent to tower site ?) that has long since disappeared.

Rogers support knows full well what's up with this network. In the area in question  The cell tower is overloaded with cell phones users. Support has said this.

the only time a decent signal can be had is when the mass population is sleeping.

Support went as far to say that they were working on a fix (but could not say when a new tower would be built for the area.)

Support offered to cancel the service with no penalty but would not refund the hub.

To this end Rogers appears on one hand to admit their Internet 'HUB' network has failed but on the other simply refuses to fix it.

Talking to a local rogers phone retail outlet that handled sales of the "HUB" they commented that majority of customers were fed up with it. ( no internet )

we use a blackberry and an Iphone- both phones will show the "EDGE NETWORK" meaning no 3G.

talk about rolling out a high speed internet service? This one failed and what an attitude from Rogers? we don't when we will get around to building a new tower to relieve the "overloaded tower" (their own words)

Rogers fails to deliver.

[skinorth]

@kman007:

thanks for your comments and for adding your knowledge and experiences to our discussion.  By the way I have an Ericsson W35 RocketHub.

For anyone who has these sorts of "problems" with the RocketHub, please keep in mind that there are a number of factors that need to be identified and addressed in resolving your RocketHub performance issues:

1. problems with the device(s) which we connect to the 'Hub.  I had a serious Windows Vista DHCP-related Internet disconnect problem that I thought was caused by the 'Hub.  I finally resolved the problem by researching it myself, and finding the Microsoft-suggested fix.

Others have had issues with DNS and other technically more involved matters in the setup and use of the 'Hub.

2. problems with the RocketHub setup and use.  These devices may need some small amount of setup, and can and do fail.    Rogers support should be involved in their resolution, particularly if it is a warranty issue.

3. problems with your own "local" network, WiFi or wired  If you use a 'Hub, you do now have a "local" network which connects the 'Hub to your PC, Mac, game boxes, WiFi-capable phones or whatever.

These include the setup and use of auxiliary routers should you desire to include those in your home/busines network.  We can address these here for you, if you can provide a reasonable problem description and tell us what you have done to find resolution.  Typically, Rogers support does not feel obliged to help us with this, but you may be able to convince them otherwise.

4. problems with cellular connectivity.  This includes cellular network signal strength and antenna matters.  We can and will continue to mention our experiences here, spontaneously or on request.

5. problems with performance of the 'Hub.  These are usually a harder "nut" to **bleep**.  These problems can in fact masquerade as problems under points 1 to 4 above.  In the end, suspicions that they are not one of those four need to be resolved satisfactorily first before performance problems can be addressed effectively.

For example, (Mr. Rogers take note!!!) issues with DNS can and do affect our performance and network reliability directly.  However, historically, the performance and reliability of Rogers DNS servers have been problematic and Rogers has not appeared to resolve them.

Performance problems can, and in practice, are, often caused by the (lack of) performance of the Rogers cellular network infrastructure.  We know this for at least three reasons:

a) they happen consistently at certain times of day when we know that cellular voice traffic is at its most intense.  They consistently do not happen, for example, during the wee hours of the morning, when most people are asleep and not using their cell phones.

b) they are reported by numerous Forum participants coast to coast, in specific locations.

c) Rogers support techs have individually admitted to them, but obviously cannot personally address them by adding towers, infrastructure of other kinds, etc.

d) Rogers has been reported here as admitting to non-performance issues by offering no-penalty contract cancellations to users who complain.  I guess you could call this the unwritten  "put up or shut up" contract option available to us, the customer.

So, what to do?  A number of us have mentioned that the RocketHub or similar competitive offerings are the only choice we have, short of using the more expensive satellite internet options available.

So, the choices for many of us are dialup or NO internet, expensive satellite Internet, or the RocketHub with built-in performance limitations.

In conclusion, if even educated and technically knowledgeable users can find no other reasonable choice, then obviously Mr. Rogers is once again in the driver's seat.

Maybe Mr. Rogers needs to borrow the Tickle Trunk from Mr. Dressup................

skinorth

[CavanBaillie]

People keep talking about satelite as a option but when you factor in the latency its as slow as dial up. If you are downloading files it seems fine because one packet follows the other without a return request. But when surfing the delay caused by latency is added to each file it takes forever. In my experience I was getting ping rates on the xplornet satelite of up to 1000 ms sometimes.

[MontyR]

I'm in Port Colborne, on Lake Erie and have the same experience as Skinorth. I heartily concur with his comments about rural coverage and Rogers' infrastructure. It's a national embarrassment!