Verizon 4510L

Retired and Happy · 06-30-2011, 09:38 PM

I bought a mobile hotspot yesterday from Verizon. It's a 4510L wireless device that allows up to five connections. The device was on sale and he offered an additional coupon, so I got it for about $25 with the mail-in rebate. I had read about them overheating and dropping service and mentioned these concerns to the salesman. He said an overheating problem should be a warranty issue, which could result in an exchange. He reiterated that service should be stable wherever Verizon phone service is available.

I hooked it up last night and it is still cool to the touch this evening. I have not had any service drops yet, and seem to maintain a 3-bar signal level vs the 1-2 bars I get on my phone in this same room. I get a green light (for 4G service) or a violet light (for 3G service). So far it has maintained a 4G connection except on initial startup.

He said the 5 GB plan should be more than enough for the casual user who doesn't do a lot of gaming or movie viewing...which we don't. He said we can deactivate it twice during the year to save on the $50 monthly usage fee. And he indicated there may be a way to deactivate more than twice a year. I need to look into that more thoroughly since we plan to use it primarily during travel.

A salesman we talked to last week indicated we could use it at home and do away with our DSL line. My desktop computer is also capable of wireless connectivity. We'll see about that after we get a little more experience with it.

I'm using it in a wireless mode to see what we can expect at Disney World's Fort Wilderness next week, but it also came with a USB cable for single computer operation, which reportedly offers more security.

So far the only complaint is that the 5 GB data I'm paying for can't be combined with (or used for) data service on our telephones.

Izzyblueye · 07-01-2011, 06:02 AM

RETIRED AND HAPPY: Thanks for a well written review of the Hot Spot 4510L. I found it very informative and complete. More than I could have found reading a ton of material. I think I will subscribe to this thread for later follow ups.

Clay L · 07-01-2011, 10:26 AM

The manual doesn't show it but I was told there is an external antenna port on the 4510L.
Does yours have one?

Retired and Happy · 07-01-2011, 03:10 PM

Yes. The 4510L has an antenna port. I saw a cover but wasn't sure what it was for until I found a post somewhere in this forum of a similar setup. It had a link to antennas and antenna ports for all sorts of equipment. That poster used an amplifier with a remote Wilson truckers antenna. I have a truckers antenna mounted on my RV roof that I used to use for my cell phones. I need to find out if that is the same antenna that can be used for internet connectivity. If so I will only need to buy the adapter cable (also listed in the post mentioned above) to mate with the 4510L.

Clay L · 07-02-2011, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retired and Happy

Yes. The 4510L has an antenna port. I saw a cover but wasn't sure what it was for until I found a post somewhere in this forum of a similar setup. It had a link to antennas and antenna ports for all sorts of equipment. That poster used an amplifier with a remote Wilson truckers antenna. I have a truckers antenna mounted on my RV roof that I used to use for my cell phones. I need to find out if that is the same antenna that can be used for internet connectivity. If so I will only need to buy the adapter cable (also listed in the post mentioned above) to mate with the 4510L.

The Wilson trucker will work fine with 3G but not so well with 4G.

Verizon uses the 700 MHz band for 4G and the antenna is designed to work with two bands - 806-894 MHz and 1850-1990 MHz.

One poster says in some areas Verizon has 4G on the higher bands but I haven't been able to find anything that confirms that.

llmrealestat · 07-02-2011, 11:23 AM

We also just bought the 5 spot because we were tired of paying $2-$5/day for WiFi in the CGs. Works great. We have looked several places for the antenna and adapter but have been told it's not out yet.

LibbyLA · 07-02-2011, 11:37 AM

I plan to get one of these once our FW is moved out to the boondocks, probably sometime next month. The coverage map shows that there is coverage in the boonies, but you know how that goes.

Thanks for posting your review.

liz

Retired and Happy · 07-10-2011, 09:16 PM

First "remote" use of our 4510L. We're at Disney's Fort Wilderness, and it's working well! We've had a steady 4G connection whenever we've had it in service. We leave it plugged in and have had not problems with signal dropout or overheating power supply; the two main problems I read about in 4510 reviews. So far we're satisfied customers.

Bob (WA0MQE) · 07-12-2011, 05:25 AM

Consider yourself lucky that Verizon is using the 700 MHz band for their 4G. 700 MHz will penetrate (transmit & receive further) much better then the higher bands. This also means you'll be less likely to require an external antenna.

TheBarbers · 07-12-2011, 06:50 AM

I have a Verizon 4G droid and my wife has a Verizon 3G iPhone4. We are both power users and use a lot of Internet on our phones. The people who have complained about drops are probably power users like us who are streaming data while traveling.

My observations with my 4G phone are that it doesn't do a good job hopping cell towers so it drops the data stream. My wife's 3G phone has no problems and doesn't drop the data stream when hopping towers. Verizon is aware of the issue and is working on an update to address this. You will recall there were connectivity issues with 3G when it came out, too but it got worked out. 4G will be the same way.

jrmez · 07-13-2011, 08:50 AM

Thanks for this information. It has been very informative. We will be looking at this also. I am interested in using it at home, too.

Long Island Mac · 07-13-2011, 09:04 AM

Have used the 4510L for a few years, and just received a replacement for the original at no charge. New one shows bars and how many wireless users on it. Only twice did not have conection. Once in SD badlands and once in Maine at Desert Island. Speed slow on a few occasions, but only small problem. have the up to 5 gigs program. wife uses it for banking and when no wifi at campground. good unit!!

davydee · 07-13-2011, 05:24 PM

Glad to read others are having good results with the 4510L. We're not. So far I've spent over two hours in Verizon stores from Forth Worth, TX to Fresno, CA. Verizon gets it working, remove a program they say is conflicting with the signal and send me on my way. Back at the trailer and within an hour of use, we're back to losing internet access after 5 minutes of use even though the we have 4 bars signal strength shown on the MiFi. A trip back at the next town and a visit to Verizon and they get back to working, remove another program they say is conflicting, send me on my way and within an hour of use at the trailer we're dropping signal after 5 minutes of use. Next town, same thing. I gotta hammer in waiting... David

Tininthewind · 07-14-2011, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davydee

Glad to read others are having good results with the 4510L. We're not. So far I've spent over two hours in Verizon stores from Forth Worth, TX to Fresno, CA. Verizon gets it working, remove a program they say is conflicting with the signal and send me on my way. Back at the trailer and within an hour of use, we're back to losing internet access after 5 minutes of use even though the we have 4 bars signal strength shown on the MiFi. A trip back at the next town and a visit to Verizon and they get back to working, remove another program they say is conflicting, send me on my way and within an hour of use at the trailer we're dropping signal after 5 minutes of use. Next town, same thing. I gotta hammer in waiting... David

Turn off all flouresent lighting and see if that might be where the interference is coming from.