Cellular connection stuck in "Resetting" - MAX Transit

Everything Else
1

I have a MAX Transit with a Google Fi data-only sim. It works, sometimes, and is highly dependent on my location. When I get a connection, it works just as designed.

When it doesn’t provide a connection, it first is in “Initializing” state and then settles in to a “Resetting” mode. It says the SIM is “In use” but otherwise doesn’t provide any other engineering data. I’ve tried switching data SIMs (they both work on a tablet), switching slots, changing the APN from auto to h2g2, upgrading the cellular modem firmware, upgrading to the latest beta device firmware… nothing seems to change this. I would suspect that the carrier is rejecting the connection, yet the same SIM works on a different data-only device so that points the finger back at the MAX Transit.

Anyone experienced something similar? The fact it works when I’m in some locations/connected to certain towers and not others is weird.

Thanks.

1 Like
2

Just curious: Is your router and modem firmware up to date?

3

Yes, up to the latest beta and upgraded the cellular firmware, too.

4

I am sure you have tired this, but does this sim need roaming at all?

Had that with my transits a few times when they would not connect.

5

I think your next step would be to consult with your Peplink Partner. I’d be glad to help you further but I am not aware of any of our customers or clients who are using Google Fi.

6

Thanks… I’m well out of warranty so not sure they’re going to be much help and I can’t afford a support plan at the moment.

7

Roaming is enabled - makes no difference.

8

If you haven’t yet, try disabling SmartCheck under cellular settings.

9

Appreciate it, however the health check configuration makes no difference. I have also hard-reset the device and it does the same on a clean configuration.

10

Ok, might also check the cellular firmware in the hidden menu to see if it’s the latest but requires a working connection to update. When accessing via the GUI webpage change the end of the address from index.cgi to support.cgi (example below is from MAX-BR1) to access hidden menu.

/cgi-bin/MANGA/support.cgi

11

Appreciate the idea but as noted in the original post, already tried this.

12

What type of Transit is it? Full product code please.
My first thought is that your modems inside the Transit does not support the bands available in the area where it continues to reset. This is also supported by the fact that you say it is highly dependent on your location. Not all bands are available anywhere, and it could very well be that your tablet has a different modem supporting the correct bands in question where you are testing.

1 Like
13

Thanks for the input. It’s the MAX-TST-5GD-T-PRM.

14

Ok, that one is the Cinterion/Thales MV31-W that supports the following bands:

General Features:

5G SA and NSA (3GPP Release 15)
FR1 FDD-LTE Bands: n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n28, n66, n71
FR1 TD-LTE Bands: n38, n41, n77, n78, n79
FR2 mmWave: n257, n258, n260, n261
LTE Advanced-Pro (3GPP Release 15)
FDD-LTE Bands: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71
TD-LTE Bands: 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46 (LAA), 48 (CBRS)
UMTS/HSPA+ (3GPP Release 8):
FDD Bands: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 19

Even if it is not top of the line anymore, I find it very unlikely that it is outdated to such a degree that it would cause any issues like this. My best suggestion would be to use a Network Cell info app on your tablet and register what band it is using and comparing it to the list above. You can also check the custom selection on your modem and perhaps only select the bands you know is available in an order to force it to connect properly in case it is trying to roam/connect to other carriers but is denied. We have seen bugs on a different modem type where de-selecting one band from the custom list made the modem work as intended.

15

Thank you. The Pepwave isn’t showing me any bands to select when I try to select “custom…” so not sure if I can even try that.

16

Ok, just to make sure, this is where you are trying?

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And nothing is showing up when you select custom in band selection?

17

Nada. Just “Clear” and “All” buttons.

18

And what firmware and cellular firmware are you running?

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19

Welp, I thought I was upgrading the cellular firmware, except it’s actually failing with: “(T)Failed, module lock up, please reboot the device” - unsure how to proceed with that.

20

The MAX firmware is 8.4.1b02 build 562. The cellular firmware shows as T99W175.F0.0.0.5.8.TO.003 but I can only access that when it’s in “Initializing” state. On the support page it shows as ‘_’ and an available update to T99W175.F0.1.0.0.9_063 but it always fails when I attempt it.