Unlimitedville

Below are some key troubleshooting steps for restoring internet connectivity for your MoFi SIM4 router.

Checking Signal Strength 

The MOFI performs best when it has the best signal strength from the cellular tower.  The Received Signal Strength and the Signal Quality are two indicators of the quality of the connection to the tower.  Good signal strength is typically better than -100, e.g. -90 or -95.  Good signal quality is a more positive number, like +5 or 0 and indicates the amount of distortion or noise in the received signal.   If you have a poor signal strength (like -104 or -110), you typically have worse transmission speeds.  But you can have good signal strength (like -90) and poor signal quality (like -14) and you still have poor speeds because the received signal, although strong, is noisy.  So it is harder for the modem to pull the data signal out of the received signal.

Do the following to find the best of both:

1. Put the MOFI router on an extension cord so you can move it around your home.  Make sure the two paddle antennas are snugly screwed onto the MOFI's 3G/4G/LTE antenna jacks.

2. Using your smartphone's non-Chrome browser (Safari, Internet Explorer, or FireFox), bring up the MOFI's signal strength page by doing the following. Enter  192.168.10.1 in the address bar, the place where you would typically type unlimitedville.com

3.  Enter admin for the password and log in.

4. When the Overview page loads, Click on the Check Signal Strength button

5. Slowly walk around your home holding your MOFI router and watching the signal strength screen.  You'll see the green bars, the Signal Strength and Signal Quality numbers change as you move around.   The change isn't instantaneous, so pause after each move to give the numbers a chance to be refreshed.  You want both to be as positive a number as you can get; e.g. a Signal Strength of -90 is better than -100 and a Signal Quality of -7 is better than -17.

6. Keep the router near the outside walls of your home as you walk around. You'll probably find the signal strongest when it is near a window. The signal is also typically strongest the higher you are above ground. Basements typically do not get great signal.

7. Once find the location with the strongest signal, leave the MoFi there.

If you don't find a strong enough signal, or the MOFI isn't connecting well to the tower, please repeat the above procedure but do it outside, walking around the exterior of your home.  If you get a better signal strength outside of your home, then it may be worth getting an exterior antenna that can bring the better outside signal inside to the MOFI.  We can provide you a recommended antenna configuration that many of our members use - just let us know if you want the details.  The components can all be purchased on Amazon and cost about $100 - $170 depending on the cable length you need.

Confirm APN Settings

1. Log into the MOFI Router by connecting a phone, tablet/iPad, computer, etc. to the MOFI network (regardless if the router is giving off an internet connection or not), opening a non-Chrome browser (Safari, Internet Explorer, or FireFox), and typing 192.168.10.1 into the browser's address bar, which will bring you to the MOFI Router's login screen
   the default username is root
   the default password is admin
2. Click on "MoFi Internal Modem" under Network
3. On the general settings page, for the entry “Access Point (APN)”, enter the value for your carrier from the table above
   NOTE: on some firmware versions, this is a drop-down separated by country and carrier. Select the option with Sprint and United States in this scenario.
4. click save and wait for the modem to reconnect. 

Try a carrier-specific firmware

1. Log into the MOFI Router by connecting a phone, tablet/iPad, computer, etc. to the MOFI network (regardless if the router is giving off an internet connection or not), opening a non-Chrome browser (Safari, Internet Explorer, or FireFox), and typing 192.168.10.1 into the browser's address bar, which will bring you to the MOFI Router's login screen
   the default username is root
   the default password is admin
2. Click on "MoFi Internal Modem" under Network
3. Click on the "Provider Selector" tab
4. Choose either Generic or the Provider for your plan.
   NOTE: Most providers work best under the "Generic" Firmware. However, there are times when selecting the provider-specific firmware may help resolve connection issues. T-Mobile only works under the Generic firmware.
   
5. Click save and wait 5-10 minutes for the device to reboot with the selected firmware.

1. Log into the MOFI Router by connecting a phone, tablet/iPad, computer, etc. to the MOFI network (regardless if the router is giving off an internet connection or not), opening a non-Chrome browser (Safari, Internet Explorer, or FireFox), and typing 192.168.10.1 into the browser's address bar, which will bring you to the MOFI Router's login screen

           The default username is: root
           The default password is: admin

Update phone number and SIM ID

1. Log into the MOFI Router by connecting a phone, tablet/iPad, computer, etc. to the MOFI network (regardless if the router is giving off an internet connection or not), opening a non-Chrome browser (Safari, Internet Explorer, or FireFox), and typing 192.168.10.1 into the browser's address bar, which will bring you to the MOFI Router's login screen
   The default username is: root
   The default password is: admin
2. Once the home page comes up, click on Network --> MoFi Internal Modem in the left-hand corner.
3. Scroll down until you see a button that reads "Reset phone number and SIM ID". Click this link.
4. Give the device a few moments and see if the internet light comes on.

If that doesn't work, let's try resetting the internal 4G modem, or Sierra module.

Reset Sierra Module

1. Log into the MOFI Router by connecting a phone, tablet/iPad, computer, etc. to the MOFI network (regardless if the router is giving off an internet connection or not), opening a non-Chrome browser (Safari, Internet Explorer, or FireFox), and typing 192.168.10.1 into the browser's address bar, which will bring you to the MOFI Router's login screen
   The default username is: root
   The default password is: admin
2. Once the home page comes up, click on Network --> MoFi Internal Modem in the left-hand corner.
3. Scroll down until you see a button that reads "Reset Sierra Module". Click this button.
4. The module will reset. This process can take up to 5 minutes and unfortunately, doesn't grant much insight into what it's doing. So, let the device sit for 5-10 minutes after this and come back to see if the internet light comes on.

If, after this, you still have no connection, let's try performing a full factory reset.

Factory Reset

1. Press the recessed/pinhole button on the back of the MOFI next to the power cord (using a pen or small object) and hold it for a full 10 seconds (use a timer or count one thousand one, one thousand two...)

2. Release the button.  The boot-up takes just under 3 minutes and you should see 3 lights illuminated: power, internet, and wifi.
3. The boot-up takes just under 3 minutes and you should see all 3 lights on. 

4. After the WIFI LED comes back on, you can log into the router and configure things if needed. Before logging in, close all windows of your browser (IE or Safari is recommended) and close the browser.  
5. Open your Safari, Internet Explorer, of Firefox browser, enter 192.168.10.1 in the address line.  The login password is admin