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Help Hotspot / tether on Verizon "Share Everything"

G

garyfritz

Newbie
I've got the "Share Everything" plan on VZ, and tethering is included in that plan.

Jelly Bean has tethering software so I don't think I need a separate app. I can set up the hotspot or tethering and it works. Kinda. For a little bit. Generally it works for a few seconds/minutes, then drops out or quits responding. It might start working again for a few seconds and then drop out again. This seems to happen both with tethering and with hotspot.

Are there some tricks I'm missing, or is it known to be flaky, or...?
 
not sure of what your running into as I have yet needed to use my tethering program but verizon has a mobile hotspot app on the phone have you tried that to see if it stays connected?
 
That's what I was using. I didn't select the "Mobile Hotspot" app, but I entered into Settings and chose Tethering & Mobile Hotspot, which opens up the same VZW app. I turned it on, it worked... and then it didn't.

I just tested the wifi hotspot. Fired up the hotspot, connected my laptop, and started PingPlotter. The connection worked just peachy -- for about 90 seconds. Then it died. The phone said the hotspot was still active, my laptop says it was still connected to the wifi with 4-5 bars, but no traffic was going out.

If I waited long enough, it would probably fade in & out occasionally, but it's almost midnight and I have a plane to catch early tomorrow. But it definitely does NOT stay connected reliably.

I disconnected from wifi, connected a USB cable and turned on tethering, and after maybe 4-5 minutes my laptop connected to "Network 8." But it doesn't have any internet access. It had a 192.168.x.x IP but apparently no connection. And everything in Network & Sharing Center was very very sluggish.

Then after about 10-12 minutes, poof! Suddenly it started working.

So far it's been running for about 5 minutes. But the last time I tried to use it, it was just about like the wifi -- works for a few minutes, then dead.

So my setup seems to be right -- it DOES work -- but it doesn't STAY working. And the tethering takes forEVER to start up. Something is not right...
 
I just tried to use my Razr M as a hotspots with my Samsung Galaxy tablet and also had issues. The M showed up as an available Wifi, but it would connect. I need to try connecting with my laptop to see if the problem is with the phone or the tablet.
 
I find the speed slow greatly. I also find it interesting that I have 4g until I turn on the hot spot, then it drops to 3g with only a bar or 2... ???
 
rsisley said:
I just tried to use my Razr M as a hotspots with my Samsung Galaxy tablet and also had issues. The M showed up as an available Wifi, but it would connect. I need to try connecting with my laptop to see if the problem is with the phone or the tablet.
Click to expand...

I tried to connect my laptop and had the same problem. Today, I tried again to connect my tablet and the hotspot didn't even show up as an available connection. If anyone has had a similar problem, I'd be interested in their solution.
 
Somehow I got it to work on both devices. Disabled the app and then restarted it again. Lets see how long it lasts. Good thing I don't use it very often.
 
I'm starting to think my issue isn't a problem with the Android hotspot, but with my laptop. I'm on a business trip, using wifi hotspots at hotels and office sites, and I'm finding my laptop is dropping connections just like it did with the M. Hmmm.
 
fyi, I have a horrible ISP for my home internet (not much choice where I live in a semi-rural fringe exurb area). However I can usually get 2-3 bars of 4g signal. When my home ISP gets crappy or goes out, I just turn on my razr M hotspot and connect with my laptop and/or desktop and I'm back using the internet with no problem. I've measured ~11M download and about ~2M upload and have never had it drop out. If only Verizon didn't have their darn data caps I would cancel my home ISP completely and use a Verizon hotspot. I just need to keep up on my data usage, if it gets close to the end of my billing cycle & I still have a lot of BW left, I just use the hotspot to use up all the data I'm paying for.
 
garyfritz said:
I've got the "Share Everything" plan on VZ, and tethering is included in that plan.

Jelly Bean has tethering software so I don't think I need a separate app. I can set up the hotspot or tethering and it works. Kinda. For a little bit. Generally it works for a few seconds/minutes, then drops out or quits responding. It might start working again for a few seconds and then drop out again. This seems to happen both with tethering and with hotspot.

Are there some tricks I'm missing, or is it known to be flaky, or...?
Click to expand...

I had a similar issue. Try changing the Broadcast Channel to "6". You'll find this setting in the Configure Mobile Hotspot area of the Verizon Mobile Hotspot app.
 
I am now finding that if I use the stock USB tethering program, get much faster and more stable speeds than the wifi hotspot.

to use it just connect your usb cable, wait a few weconds to link with PC,
then go to settings, tethering & mobile hotspots, then usb tethering should be available to click, then wait a few seconds and all is good.:p
 
ShanDroyd said:
I am now finding that if I use the stock USB tethering program, get much faster and more stable speeds than the wifi hotspot.

to use it just connect your usb cable, wait a few weconds to link with PC,
then go to settings, tethering & mobile hotspots, then usb tethering should be available to click, then wait a few seconds and all is good.:p
Click to expand...

also keep in mind that now FoxFi and PDA net have merged into one great app for people that do not have tethering capabilities.
 
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