New T-Mobile Quanta hotspot now available from the Calyx Institute

[NXR]

Just got this email:

Greetings from The Calyx Institute! We are thrilled to announce that our Contributor Plus membership is back, now with a new 5G-capable device: the Quanta 5G hotspot for T-Mobile.

Like the 5G Mifi M2000, this hotspot supports 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 6, an internal 4x4 MIMO antenna, and Advanced Carrier Aggregation. The Quanta hotspot has max theoretical speeds of 1.2 Gbps Down / 316 Mbps Up, can support up to 32 connected devices, and has USB tethering capability. As with all Calyx Membership hotspots, wifi data is unlimited and unthrottled.

As a Calyx Institute member, you get the first opportunity to sign up for a new Contributor Plus membership, which comes with a Quanta 5G hotspot and a year of unlimited data. A new Contributor Plus membership is $600 for the first year and $500 to renew every following year.

If you are in the middle of your membership period, you also have the option to order the Quanta 5G as a replacement device for a $250 donation. Just log in to your account with us, click Devices, and then click Order Replacement Device. Get yours today: https://members.calyxinstitute.org/

Before deciding if a Contributor Plus membership is right for you, we strongly recommend calling T Mobile for an up-to-date, personalized coverage assessment of your local 5G infrastructure here: 1-800-937-8997.

As with all our memberships, The Calyx Institute cannot offer test hotspots, or offer refunds if service is inadequate or non-existent. Our wireless hotspots and data plans are offered as a thank-you to member donors who support our research into privacy protecting communications technology, and are not a commercial transaction.

5G is a relatively new technology, and we want to be transparent about the fact that 5G capability may not be a “silver bullet” for all connectivity and service issues. This device may not be right for everyone. 5G service is still not available in all areas where our other hotspots operate, because 5G infrastructure is still being built and refined throughout the US. Service, speed, and performance depend on many factors which The Calyx Institute does not control, including carrier network capabilities, device configuration and capabilities, network traffic, location, signal strength, signal obstruction, and more. Actual results may vary.

You can read more about the Quanta hotspot here: https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/gear/5g-mifi-m2000/. If there are any other questions we can answer for you about our memberships or the hotspots we offer as membership premiums, please let us know at help@calyxinsitute.org.

Thanks so much for your membership and support,
The Calyx Institute


Haha, this is "the story of my life" at its finest. Earlier this year I paid $750 for the Calyx Sustainer membership for Year One, the Inseego M2000 5G hotspot, and now they have the new T-Mobile 5G hotspot available for $150 less than I paid, but I can "upgrade" to the less expensive hotspot by spending another $250.

If you're interested this is their enrollment page: https://members.calyxinstitute.org/enroll

So far the Calyx Institute plan has worked out very well for us. We'll be headed south soon so it will be interesting to see how it works in SW Florida post-hurricane.

Ray

[RV Wanderers]

I received the same email and wondering if this new hot spot is actually an upgrade over the M2000 hotspot. Thoughts?

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by RV Wanderers

I received the same email and wondering if this new hot spot is actually an upgrade over the M2000 hotspot. Thoughts?

Every hot spot that I have owned I have battery problem and ended up replacing the battery. The M2000 I have a spare that I carry with us when we travel. The New one the battery is internal and not user replaceable and for that reason alone I would up/down grade to the new hot spot.

It also runs on a different chip set that really unproven. It may be better than the one in the M2000 but I know the M2000 works for me.

[RV Wanderers]

Haven’t watched it yet, but Mobile Internet Resource Center posted a video on this as well.

https://youtu.be/FjYEtWWllJg

[tetranz]

It looks interesting but I find it disappointing that there is no device that you can use with Calyx that allows an external antenna.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by RV Wanderers

Haven’t watched it yet, but Mobile Internet Resource Center posted a video on this as well

Thanks. I just watched it. They did mention the non-removable battery and no touchscreen. They briefly touched on carrier aggregation but that's not a big deal for me.

I know that Inseego now has an M3100 and an M3200. The M3100 appears to be this one but Verizon-specific, just like the M2000 that's called an M2100 for Verizon: https://inseego.com/products/mobile/mifi-x-pro/

The M3200 appears to be the same one but with a different name: https://www.globalcertificationforum...uct/10743.html

Bottom line: I'm (obviously) sticking with what I have. Not having a user-replaceable battery is a real downside to the Quanta for me as well.

Ray

[KenZ71]

I'm using a Hotspot provided by T-Mo under their $50 / month deal. No option for an external antenna but also No battery to mess with. Works for me

[KenZ71]

Hah, replying to one of my own posts ��

Just ordered a Calyx hotspot for 3 reasons
1) T-Mo while it has been working great while traveling the fine print says it might not
2) Calyx using a referral code found on Reddit will give me a month free.
3) I can drop Cable Co internet at the stick house and replace with T-Mo

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by KenZ71

Hah, replying to one of my own posts ��

Just ordered a Calyx hotspot for 3 reasons
1) T-Mo while it has been working great while traveling the fine print says it might not
2) Calyx using a referral code found on Reddit will give me a month free.
3) I can drop Cable Co internet at the stick house and replace with T-Mo

I have not heard any good reviews on the Quanta Hotspot but I have not heard any bad reviews either. Lets us know how well it works. I ran M2000 for about a year and really zero problems including battery problems.

We did the same thing, we drop our cable modem and got a cheap DSL connection to run our security systems when we are RVing. The T-Mobile connection is faster than my old cable connection and a lot faster than our DSL connection.



Quanta hotspot

[TB673]

CWSWine, what kind of battery issues have you had with your hot spots?
I am on my 2nd Inseego M3000 (TMobile) since December.
Both units will reboot at the most inopportune and at random times.
I'm wondering if this is a battery issue.
I believe that the 1st unit was new, as it was sent to the RV park in a sealed container.
The second was a refurb without a battery that was sent to a TMobile Store where the exchange was done.
The tech installed the sim, the battery and did the programming.
Thanks!

Tim

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by TB673

CWSWine, what kind of battery issues have you had with your hot spots?
I am on my 2nd Inseego M3000 (TMobile) since December.
Both units will reboot at the most inopportune and at random times.
I'm wondering if this is a battery issue.
I believe that the 1st unit was new, as it was sent to the RV park in a sealed container.
The second was a refurb without a battery that was sent to a TMobile Store where the exchange was done.
The tech installed the sim, the battery and did the programming.
Thanks!

Tim

The M2000 will lose its mind once in while but normally it has been very stable. The battery problems I have had is partly my fault for overcharging and the battery would swell up. I think Inseego should make it cut off charging when fully charged. 8800 I went through probably half a dozen batteries because of swelling and overcharging. I finally put on a timer to limit the amount of charging.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by CWSWine

The M2000 will lose its mind once in while but normally it has been very stable. The battery problems I have had is partly my fault for overcharging and the battery would swell up. I think Inseego should make it cut off charging when fully charged. 8800 I went through probably half a dozen batteries because of swelling and overcharging. I finally put on a timer to limit the amount of charging.

Yes, your lamp timer suggestion works well on the M2000.

I got a firmware update for my Calyx M2000 a few weeks ago, the first one in quite a while, and then I started having spontaneous reboots every week or so. I just got another firmware update two days ago so hopefully it was to fix that reboot issue.

I couldn't find any firmware release notes for either update, though.

The only thing I dislike about the M2000 is that either the primary network or the guest network can be on one band, such as 2.4 GHz. The other network must be on the 5 GHz band. The old 8800 could have both the primary and guest networks on the same band.

Ray

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by NXR

Yes, your lamp timer suggestion works well on the M2000.

I got a firmware update for my Calyx M2000 a few weeks ago, the first one in quite a while, and then I started having spontaneous reboots every week or so. I just got another firmware update two days ago so hopefully it was to fix that reboot issue.

I couldn't find any firmware release notes for either update, though.

The only thing I dislike about the M2000 is that either the primary network or the guest network can be on one band, such as 2.4 GHz. The other network must be on the 5 GHz band. The old 8800 could have both the primary and guest networks on the same band.

Ray

I just got an update last night for the M2000. What mine does is lose its WIFI connection completely but since I currently have it tethered to Balance 20X I don't lose connectivity. My Balance only has 1ea 5G and 1ea Cat 7 modems ( I can add one more 5G modem for 2ea 5g) 1'm running the Verizon Grandfathered SIM that runs 5G since my 8800 is a little outdated.

My battery in my M2000 since it has been tethered hasn't been an issue but the day I received the M2000 I purchased a backup battery which I have not had to use.

[NXR]

Apparently Calyx just upgraded the Sustainer membership hotspot. I got this email today:

Attention Calyx Institute Members,

Sustainer memberships will now come with a brand new device: the Inseego Mifi X PRO 5G (M3000B)! Like the Mifi M2000, this hotspot supports 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 6, Advanced Carrier Aggregation, USB tethering, and has an internal 4x4 MIMO antenna. In addition, this new device features a 1 Gbps ethernet port and a battery preservation mode that allows the device to stay plugged in for longer. As with all Calyx Membership hotspots, wifi data is unlimited and unthrottled.

Sign up for a new Sustainer membership to get a Mifi X Pro 5G hotspot + a year of unlimited data. A new Sustainer membership is $750 for the first year and $500 to renew every following year.

If you are in the middle of your membership period, you also have the option to order the Mifi X Pro 5G as a replacement device for a $400 donation. Just log in to your account with us, click Devices, and then click Order Replacement Device.

Nah, not for $400. A lamp timer is about $6.

Ray