I have been using Verizon’s Broadband cards as a part of my work life for about 4 years now. Over this time I have used PC Cards, Express Cards, and now a USB modem. When verizon released the MiFi earlier this year I fell in love with yet another piece of technology. Since I was stuck in a contract I was unable to upgrade to the MiFi. I am lucky as I have good friends and one that loaned me his MiFi to use for the last 2 months. Mainly I wanted to determine if this was the device I wanted to upgrade to. The MiFi has been one of two EVDO devices I have now been traveling with. I have tried to compare the experience of the MiFi with my current Novatel Wireless USB727.
The Novatel Wireless USB727
The Novatel has traveled with me over the last year throughout the US. From hotels in Dallas, San Diego, Phoenix, New York, Miami, Seattle, San Francisco, and dozens more it has been a solid performing device. On average I download about 7GB-10GB monthly on my Novatel USB model. I am by no stretch a light user. Additionally, I have used the modem on Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Mac OSX (Leopard and Snow Leopard). To address an issue I more associate with my laptop (MacBook Pro and MacBook Air) I always travel with a USB extension cable.
Con’s of the USB Modem
- When running on both my Mac’s I have to attach a USB extension cable. The modem is wide enough that when attached to my MacBook Pro 13″ I cannot use the other USB port.
- The Macbook Air has only 1 USB port so there are multiple issues here
- I constantly want to sync my iPhone or copy files from a USB thumb drive to sync. This is not possible when I am on the USB modem. Well, let me rephrase… it is possible but I have to disconnect the modem first.
- No matter how I try to connect the USB modem it cannot make a proper connection on my Macbook Air thus the USB cable is mandatory in order to use the device.
- I am not a fan of the VZAccess Manager software. I wish it could use the build in OS components. The software does have benefits like usage information or restarting the device but overall I want to install less software on my computers.
- Verizon as a company tends to be slow to respond when vendors like Microsoft and Apple update the operation systems. Thus if you want to be on the bleeding edge of technology you will have growing pains with the model. The migration from XP to Vista was painful as Verizon did not update the software for my modem for almost 12 months. I got it to work but it was buggy.
Pro’s of the USB Modem
- I never have to charge a device. If my laptop has power, the modem will work.
- Compared to other modems it gets a great signal and has a consistent download speed.
- Works on Windows and Mac
The Novatel MiFi 2200
The MiFi has a unique advantage as it can behave as a USB modem or as a WiFi access point. There was a single change that was necessary on the MiFi to enable it to function as an access point when charging (Instructions for this are below). The MiFi functions as advertised but for me it did come with a couple challenges.
Con’s of MiFi
- With almost 100% consistency, my Novatel USB EVDO Modem out performed the MiFi doing the same task in the same location. File downloads, internet surfing or just email downloading was faster on the Novatel USB, critical when I was downloading 250MB to 1GB files. This was not a deal breaker but when I am in a time crunch I always used the USB modem over the MiFi.
- Most people do not have EVDO modems so if you travel with friends expect to share your connection. The point of the MiFi is to share the connection with up to 5 people and in concept this sounds like a great idea. In reality I am a bandwidth hog so sharing was not my goal.
- When over WiFi and the batter dies or is really low you only notice when stuff stops working
Pro’s of the MiFi
- When the connection speed was slow in a conference or hotel room you can put the unit in the window to get a better signal.
- It is not connected to your computer so it can be hidden in a bag while your working on it
- Once configured all management can be done via the WiFi Admin page. Thus loaning the unit to a friend going on vacation does not have a software install hitch
Over the 2 months I used the MiFi, I downloaded about 6GB of data. I am not sure I will upgrade specifically because of the performance issues. I really like what the MiFi does but I am hoping the next version will have support for 4G and address the current performance issues. If your thinking MiFi, I would say go for it, but someone will ask to share your bandwidth so get your excuse ready now.
Comments from the MiFi Owner Chris
When Rod first told me about the MiFi I poopooed it. I remember thinking ‘no big deal, I have a wireless card built in.’ But then my Lenovo took a nose dive and so did my Verizon card. After getting my Dell Latitude I realized there was no built in wireless modem. This led me into looking at the MiFi. I have to say as soon as I hooked it up to my laptop I changed my tune quickly. To start the initial setup was a piece of cake. It was the same process like all the previous Verizon cards. Install VZAccess Manager, plug in the card, follow the onscreen instructions and your done. I clicked, connected and after an update I was browsing the internet within 5 minutes of opening the box.
Now, I have to say, this little thing is great. It is about the size of a credit card. Well, to be more accurate, probably three or four credit cards stacked on top of each other. It was fast and it worked. Of course the next step was for me to configure the MiFi as an access point. I too noticed that the internet was a bit slower in this mode vs. having it tethered to my laptop. But it still worked. I feel I have to take a second and make it clear what slow means. My wife and I were connected to the MiFi for a week while my internet was down at home. She never realized the difference until she tried to access pictures on our homeserver which of course were on a different network. So if you consider yourself a techie power user than you will find it a bit slower. But for our regular Joe readers you most likely won’t notice a difference. The manual states that the MiFi supports up to 5 devices but I can’t imagine a need to hook up more than about three simultaneously. It is a good idea to plug the MiFi back into the laptop periodically and connect as there are network updates fairly regularly. You might think such a small device would never last on battery but it actually does a good job of both using the charge and maintaining the charge. As with a typical Verizon Wireless device you will have a tough time finding a location that you don’t have a good signal. And I even enjoy using it in the gym with my Zune HD. All in all, the MiFi is a solid device.
Instructions – These steps allow the MiFi to continue to function as a WiFi access point when connected to a computer via USB for charging
- When connected to the MiFi over WiFi navigate the the Admin Panel. In your web browser go to 192.168.1.1
- Log in
- Navigate to the Advanced Tab
- Download the configuration File
- Create a copy of the file (Backup is always good although we are only making a single change)
- Open the configuration file in a text editor like NotePad or TextEdit
- Find the setting routeroverusb
- By default this is set to a value of 0. Change the value from 0 to 1
- Save the file
- Upload the file to the MiFi via the Advanced Tab
