Community Forums

JC2 · 11-10-2017, 07:39 AM

Last year(Nov 2016) while wintering in the Rio Grande Valley, we switched to Verizon for our cell service and went with the JepPack MiFi 6620L. This year, the wifi service seems to be noticeably slower on the 6620L. There are (2) other/newer JetPacks available; Model 7730L and Model AC791L. For those that use Verizon, which of the (2) newer ones would be recommended for an upgrade and hopefully better/faster wifi?

John Hilley · 11-10-2017, 08:50 AM

Changing Jet Packs will do nothing to improve performance. There are more people streaming and causing congestion. It can't be helped with new equipment.

JC2 · 11-10-2017, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Hilley

Changing Jet Packs will do nothing to improve performance. There are more people streaming and causing congestion. It can't be helped with new equipment.

Interesting, thank you. This is what I suspected might be happening thus clogging up available bandwith. We don't stream movies, etc on our phones or tablets as I have never understood how people can watch anything on such small screens.

Pigman1 · 11-10-2017, 03:18 PM

About 6 months ago I gave up the Jet Pack and started using just the cell phone as an internet connection device. Saved $10 a month and see NO DECREASE in performance. The only down side is that it does draw the phone battery down faster, but I can either plug it in to a charger or to the port on the laptop.

Mtn.Mike · 11-10-2017, 06:50 PM

I disagree about changing Jetpacks. I had a Verizon Elipisis which was a piece of junk so I bought an AC791L which is a much better unit.
I asked if Verizon would give me some credit on the Elipisis and they "laughed" at me saying it would make a good paper weight.

JC2 · 11-20-2017, 07:14 AM

Follow up to my OP. Went to the Verizon store in McAllen Tx where we started our plan last yr. After Explaining about the noticeably slower speeds this year from last, the cs rep basically said "more folks were streaming, possibly lack of sufficient towers in our general area, etc. He did change out the sim and it did help as speeds have increased somewhat. Bottom line is I will decide whether to keep our current data plan(20gigs per month which is usually very adequate for us) or maybe change to Spectrum internet during our winter stay here in the RGV. Thanks for those that commented.

docj · 11-20-2017, 07:36 AM

Contrary to what has been posted in this thread, the newest mifi, the 7730L, offers features which do improve its performance compared to older mifi models. It might not restore your service to what it was in years past, but it could improve it over what you have now. Here's a review from earlier this year that explains the features in relatively easy to understand language: https://www.pcmag.com/review/351673/...ack-mifi-7730l

wildtoad · 11-20-2017, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pigman1

About 6 months ago I gave up the Jet Pack and started using just the cell phone as an internet connection device. Saved $10 a month and see NO DECREASE in performance. The only down side is that it does draw the phone battery down faster, but I can either plug it in to a charger or to the port on the laptop.

Use IPhone all the time when park WiFi is unuseable which is most of the time. Works great.

JC2 · 11-20-2017, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by docj

Contrary to what has been posted in this thread, the newest mifi, the 7730L, offers features which do improve its performance compared to older mifi models. It might not restore your service to what it was in years past, but it could improve it over what you have now. Here's a review from earlier this year that explains the features in relatively easy to understand language: https://www.pcmag.com/review/351673/...ack-mifi-7730l

Thanks for the link docj; interesting/informative article. Might go with the 7730L as the other features of our Verizon package are quite acceptable.

Will let everyone know speed results if I do. Our speeds have dipped to the 1-2 mbps this year but were much higher last year.

95B20V5 · 11-23-2017, 07:22 PM

We have had the Netgear AC971L for over a year and burn through an average of 200-250GB of data monthly on Verizon with no issues.
We have found if Verizon data on phones is slow so will the jetpack and that was only at one location we have been out of the many since we began full timing.

John Pattee · 11-28-2017, 03:23 PM

If you are using an Android phone you should try the "Open Signal" app (It may be available for iPhone as well but I can't confirm this. ). It can run a speed test - I see huge differences in the speed based on time of day (user congestion) even with a strong cell signal.

It also shows a map of signal strength from data collected from actual users - I often work from the road and it is handy for route planning to know if coverage will be available or not.

777 Driver · 11-28-2017, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JC2

Might go with the 7730L as the other features of our Verizon package are quite acceptable

I recently upgraded from the 6620L to the 7730L and did see improved speeds with the 7730. A side by side comparison, using the Ookla app and speedtest.net show this result:
___________7730L_________6620L
Ping-----------41ms-------------33ms
Download-----16.37Mbps-------6.12Mbps
Upload---------6.70Mbps--------4.40Mbps

These results were only a one-time/one-location test at my home, done less than two minutes apart, and are not meant to represent any promise that you'll see similar results. Your mileage may vary.

Also, I note the FMCA membership in your signature line. Are you aware that FMCA membership includes a benefit that provides a "free" 7730L? OK, it's NOT FREE in that it does require a 2 year contract that provides "unlimited data" for $49.99/month. OK, it's NOT really unlimited data, either.

Here's a link to the plan info: https://www.fmca.com/benefits/verizon.html Be sure to read all the fine print to completely understand "free" and "unlimited" before you commit to the plan. Also, be aware that you may not be able to cancel your 6620L plan without penalty.

Take care,
Stu

deaton · 11-28-2017, 05:12 PM

I had an older Jet Pack and back in August I was traveling with a friend and we were parked side by side. Data service generally sucked at our location and I looked at my iPhone and only saw about one bar. But there was another source listed, a 7730L, and it was showing like five bars!

Asked my buddy about that and he said it was his Jetpack.

So I called my office and ordered up one of those. Seems faster and is definitely more stable. I run it tethered to my WiFI Ranger SkyPro.

Also, as Stu points out, FMCA has a new deal for the 7730l with Verizon.

https://www.fmca.com/index.php?optio...nect&view=home

They have another new deal with Sprint. The link takes you to the Sprint deal.

docj · 11-28-2017, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deaton

I had an older Jet Pack and back in August I was traveling with a friend and we were parked side by side. Data service generally sucked at our location and I looked at my iPhone and only saw about one bar. But there was another source listed, a 7730L, and it was showing like five bars!

Regardless of your experience in that case, the bars displayed at the top of a phone's screen or on the MiFi's screen are qualitative in nature and definitely should not be compared between different devices.

You also didn't say if you and your friend even had devices operating on the same cellular network. If you were on different networks the comparison of displays would have been totally meaningless.

Most phones are capable of displaying the signal strength they are encountering and you can also download free apps that will do that for you. This is the only reliable way to measure signal strength.