Problems With New Telo 4G Adapter

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52JPrivate
Posts:8
Joined:Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:56 am
Problems With New Telo 4G Adapter

Post by 52JPrivate » Wed Jun 15, 2022 8:05 am

Like many of you, I received my new Telo 4G adapter (the black Netstick designed for use with T-Mobile since the old adapter that used Sprint will no longer work after 6/30/22.) I installed it and set it up and at first it seemed to be working fine -- I even got a blue light when with the Sprint model I never got higher than green. However, shortly thereafter, I started experiencing constant disconnections. I contacted support first via chat, which yielded nothing -- they told me to call the support number. After 20-30 minutes with a tech support person who didn't seem to understand the issue at all, I was transferred to someone who actually understood the problem. He took down all kinds of information from the device and was able to look at the log of what had been happening -- he said it seemed like the adapter was constantly rebooting itself. He advised me to reinstall the old Sprint adapter for the time being. He told me he would look into the problem and get back to me on Monday of this week. So far, I have not heard back, but I thought I'd check to see if anyone else was having this problem.

My cell phone service is with Google Fi, which uses T-Mobile, and I do get a decent connection in my house (although it generally uses wi-fi for phone service). So I don't think the changeover to a new provider is causing the Ooma problem. Maybe I have a defective stick?

twofingerrightclick
Posts:16
Joined:Wed Jun 15, 2022 9:45 pm

Re: Problems With New Telo 4G Adapter

Post by twofingerrightclick » Thu Jun 16, 2022 1:05 pm

Same here. Very few issues with the previous modem (and associated Sprint network) that shipped with the Telo (model Telo104), but The NetStick modem doesn't work: the Telo loses connection like every few minutes indicating with Solid Blue... and then Blinking Red for a bit, then back to solid Blue, on repeat. The NetStick indicator is alwasy Green (average signal strength).
This is my Grandma's Telo... we wouldn't be using Ooma if she could comfortably use a mobile. I wish they didn't send such a poor modem replacement- it was nice of them and sorta expected as my Grandma's bill for for Ooma service is twice that of my unlimited mobile plan.
I will report back what new Modem I am going to get. I need to talk with Ooma... they need to publish what modems work.
I believe the modem's IMEI has to paired with your account (think of the SIM card as the driver of a car, the car being your modem. The car must have insurance registered with the driver, or else the driver cant legally use the car on the road - the network).
I have a Huawei modem that is Linux compatible out of the box (Telo is most likely linux based) with most linux kernels... But It can't connect to the network, because of the IMEI issue. I tried using the Ooma Setup app to register its IMEI but the app throws an error.

Also I presume you dont have internet connection from some other source at your residence? If you do, you can just plug in to the Internet port on the back of the Telo and it will use that for the connection instead of the 4G usb modem. My Grandma doesn't have internet service, and so she relies on the usb modem for the Telo (also works when the power is out (plugged into backup battery), as long as cell towers are still up) :(
Last edited by twofingerrightclick on Sun Jun 19, 2022 7:50 am, edited 2 times in total.

twofingerrightclick
Posts:16
Joined:Wed Jun 15, 2022 9:45 pm

Re: Problems With New Telo 4G Adapter

Post by twofingerrightclick » Thu Jun 16, 2022 1:51 pm

Made several attempts to get support, but unfortunately Ooma support knows nothing about what network the Ooma Sims are for (I presume Tmobile LTE now, but not sure if its Sprints LTE network that is still up and running under the Guise of Tmobile. Sprint's 3g is gone, but not the LTE afaik) as well as what other Modems might work, or how to register an modems IMEI. I mean bless their hearts all those people in the call centers, its not their fault Ooma has not trained them or provided this info online!!!!

I think the specs for the netstick are: https://www.t-mobile.com/content/dam/tf ... asheet.pdf
(Titan and NetStick are identical in hardware and software)

So in reading that the Netstick supports all the bands (B2, B4,B5,B71) for T-Mobile 4G LTE (https://www.t-mobile.com/support/covera ... le-network), and has Driverless & Host-less Support for Linux, just like the Huawei modem I have: https://consumer.huawei.com/en/routers/e3372/specs/

And so now I just need to figure out how to register the IMEI so I can use it instead of the crappy NetStick. If the Huawei E3372 doesn't work than the NetStick can be vindicated, but afaik the NetStick is the issue.

The battle continues...

8459130052
Posts:8
Joined:Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:05 am

Re: Problems With New Telo 4G Adapter

Post by 8459130052 » Fri Jun 17, 2022 6:47 am

Same issue here, Netstick was stuck in a constant reboot cycle. Sometimes it would pass packets then drop voice calls after a few minutes when it lost internet. I have my Telo hooked up to ethernet now to get by. The Netstick is plugged in too and solid green light, however when I drop the CAT5 it loses internet right away.

One level 1 tech stated the service won't be provisioned until June 30, the sunset of Sprint LTE.

twofingerrightclick
Posts:16
Joined:Wed Jun 15, 2022 9:45 pm

Re: Problems With New Telo 4G Adapter

Post by twofingerrightclick » Fri Jun 17, 2022 7:22 am

I got a friendly survey from Ooma this morning via email that asked whether the new Netstick adapter was working (They mention that many aren't). It said use the old one till the 30th, and that they are trying to figure something out 🤞 If it works sometimes, then the service is provisioned... as in I dont think that the SIM would be able to connect to the network at all if what the service tech said was true.

twofingerrightclick
Posts:16
Joined:Wed Jun 15, 2022 9:45 pm

Re: Problems With New Telo 4G Adapter

Post by twofingerrightclick » Fri Jun 17, 2022 7:28 am

In the meantime (and if this never gets resolved) I saw that Staight Talk offers a similar service: https://www.straighttalk.com/all-phones ... tion.black (if landline phone use is your sole desire), and found this device which actually looks pretty sweet: https://www.amazon.com/Cell2jack-Cellph ... B089984QRT (essentially turns your home phone handsets in to bluetooth handsets for your mobile).

52JPrivate
Posts:8
Joined:Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:56 am

Re: Problems With New Telo 4G Adapter

Post by 52JPrivate » Fri Jun 17, 2022 9:36 am

Thanks to everyone who's responded. I got that same survey/e-mail this morning, as well as snail mail with "Avoid Service Interruption!" headlined.

I do have regular wi-fi at home, but the reason I opted for the Ooma 4G was to replace my copperwire landline service--and I wanted something that was not dependent on the internet/wi-fi being functional. Pretty much every other similar VOIP service seems to use your home wi-fi--I wanted to try something that would work even if the internet was down. But maybe Ooma was not the right choice. I've resisted porting my landline number to Ooma until I was sure it was reliable (the 4G part, anyway). I suppose it's somewhat redundant to have the 4G Ooma as well as a cell phone, but sometimes I just want to use a regular phone (and also be able to fax.)

I will look into the service that was mentioned above--but do you have any other suggestions? It sounds like copperwire service is slowly being phased out and will eventually not be maintained. (And the price continues to go up.) Unfortunately, no fiber optic service is available here, so I have rely on cable for internet. (DSL is too slow.)

twofingerrightclick
Posts:16
Joined:Wed Jun 15, 2022 9:45 pm

Re: Problems With New Telo 4G Adapter

Post by twofingerrightclick » Fri Jun 17, 2022 10:05 am

I get the need for the fax... there are online pdf to fax services but not the same. I have spliced rj11 cable to rj46 for a friends office before so that they could get a line to the fax machine (no rj11 phone cables in the buildings these days!).

So I have bad news from my troubleshooting... Its not the NetStick software or the new Tmobile network that is the issue, its the NetSticks usb port, and the Telo firmware.
In plugging the NetStick into my computer to get the APN info off the NetStick, so I could configure the Huawei modem I have, I found that NetStick worked great! It had 30+ mbps down and solid signal. I had no issues with its transmission and performance for about 10 minutes. HOWEVER I found that when I ever so slightly moved the usb extension cable I heard the Windows alert that a device had disconnected. So one of the issues is that the NetSticks port doesn't seat very well in the extension adapter. I had trouble getting the device to reseat!!! like it kept disconnected with every subtle adjustment!
1. One of the issues is the poor manufacturing quality of the netsticks USB port. and
2. There is a bug in the Telo firmware:
As you mentioned about the cycling booting of the netstick, I observe that the Telo crashes and boot loops when I plug in the NetStick. Not sure if this is due to the port seating issue causing a disconnection that then the Telo doesn't know how to handle or what. So I used hot glue to hold the netstick in place in its extension seat (I plugged it into my computer to observe that it was seated well as I glued it in place) The NetStick no longer randomly disconnects and has solid USB connection when plugged into my computer, but now I observe that when plugged into the Telo the NetStick itself bootloops while the Telo remains on (previously I observed the Telo bootlooping causing the NetStick to bootloop). I am wondering if this a power draw issue with the Telo usb port?

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All Ooma forgot was the Hot Glue gun...
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Last edited by twofingerrightclick on Tue Jun 21, 2022 1:50 pm, edited 12 times in total.

8459130052
Posts:8
Joined:Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:05 am

Re: Problems With New Telo 4G Adapter

Post by 8459130052 » Fri Jun 17, 2022 12:48 pm

It's a fairly new LTE/5G data device feeding data to a Linux IoT VOIP box with pretty old firmware. Not surprising there are issues.

52JPrivate
Posts:8
Joined:Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:56 am

Re: Problems With New Telo 4G Adapter

Post by 52JPrivate » Sat Jun 18, 2022 6:43 am

If the Sprint network is truly shutting down on 6/30, Ooma has less than two weeks to get this resolved. And if they can't, will they give me a refund on all of the equipment I purchased from them?

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