Recently purchased a MAX BR1 Pro 5G to replace a crappy VZW 5G Gateway cube. Requested new SIM card for MAX from VZW and after installing the SIM then powering on the device it won’t connect to the VZW network (just green blinking light for Cellular). I’ve factory reset, tried different bands, etc. I have my phone sitting right next to the MAX and the phone is pulling 5G service but it seems the MAX just sits there showing “Connecting…” for hours and hours. I contacted VZW and they say the SIM is active and they can actually see it connected to the tower even though I’m getting nothing saying such in the dashboard nor can I open any websites. VZW went so far at to send out a 2nd SIM card which I promptly installed and nothing but the same issue.
I opened a support ticket with Peplink and they were fairly quick to respond simply saying they’ve passed the request on to one of their 3rd party support partners. That was over 5 days ago now and haven’t heard anything more from anyone.
Now what’s interesting, I went ahead and created an account on Peplink (obviously) and added the MAX as a device on the account. It can actually see the IMEI # on the SIM card! How the hell does that sorcery work!?!?
I’m at a total loss and I’m probably just venting here but thought it wouldn’t hurt to see if I’m just missing the blatantly obvious in a setting or something else.
Ahhh … the “Verizon game” … First thing to do is ensure the plan you are using is suitable for use with BR1 Pro 5G. This router is certified for use on the Verizon network but I noted your comment about the “VZW 5G Gateway cube.” Verizon may or may not allow you to move your SIM (or its replacement) from this device to your Pro 5G. For example, the SIM’s ICCID may be “locked” to the IMEI of the “cube.”
I would hope the Peplink Partner from whom you acquired your Pro 5G will help you with this. Sadly, there seems to be no correlation between size/volume of Partners and the support provided to the customer. (Indeed, the very largest of Peplink’s USA partners have virtually no presence here on the forum.) Peplink’s policy is that the selling Partner is responsible for first tier tech support, not unreasonably. Not sure, but that may be what is meant by “3rd party support partners?” So, my 2nd advice is to contact the Partner from whom you acquired your Pro 5G.
Finally, you may wish to do a search here on the Forum to learn of others’ experiences of getting Peplink routers going with Verizon – this issue has been discussed many times. (Hint: You may have to visit a Verizon store.) FWIW, our impression is that Verizon places more roadblocks in front of their users than do AT&T and T-Mobile. YMMV.
Another variable to check is the APN. The default APN is: vzwinternet however, if the new SIM is actually tied to the Verizon Home Internet service line, a different APN: V5GA01INTERNET is/may be required to use with Peplink (or other 3rd party) routers.
The second tier support person from VZW was well aware of the fact we were using a Pepwave and she even said it was ok and supported. I will try to contact VZW tomorrow to inquire about the ICCID. I also purchased the device from Waveform. I suspect I will need to make a call to them as well in the morning in order to get this project moving along in a more positive direction. I did attempt to do a cursory search on the forum before hand but like most things if you don’t use the right key words results will vary. I likely just didn’t key in on the right words to search for.
I was just watching a YT video from a person setting up and using a MAX Pro 5G with a VZW card installed. He mentioned that he had to change his APN to the one you suggested as well. I went ahead and changed my APN and restarted the cellular service. Unfortunately, it’s still trying to “Connect…”.
I did contact my client to confirm we are actually on a business plan and not a home one. So this is leading me back to Rick’s reply that possibly something may be amiss with the ICCID maybe. I will follow up with VZW tomorrow.
@Kevin_Carpenter
Interesting… Would be quite interested to hear results and/or resolution from your discoveries - as I, and numerous others have VZW working without issue in BR(x) Pro models.
@Kevin_Carpenter: I really think a trip to a VZW store may be in order, preferably a company store. Many folks have found that a SIM must be activated in a device they sell first. Once that is done it can be transferred to yours – so take the Pro with you. (I know – weird!)
We are a reseller , direct with verizon and have 5g and 4g plans available.
If you aren’t able to resolve the issue with your plan we can assist you.
We have access to wireless network performance tools with verizon and tier 3 engineers.
I made a point to ask the VZW CS person back on Friday if I needed to changed the APN and they said no…obviously. But she acknowledged that the MAX was a certified device on their network. I’m going to have my client call CS back and verify that the ICCID is properly tied to the IMEI # as suggested. I will also ask them if they’d mind taking a trip to the closest VZW corporate store (an hour away) with me to see if they can do anything. They are typically hit or miss if anyone there can actually help.
I had trouble with mine activating at first, but after putting the above mentioned APN in, changing the bands to 5GSA only, and nothing working, i did a factory reset, which changed the APN back to auto. After it booted up in factory, i set my admin password and disable the speedfusion e-sim, and selected only to use my verizon sim, and then selected verizon as the carrier near the top of the settings.
Make sure you have your band selection set to auto. The verizon biz internet 5g plans were designed to run on c-band 5g SA (only), but it seems that wasn’t feasible for them and they were restricting some market share when telling that to customers. I would definitely give verizon a call and make sure htey removed the old IMEI and changed it to BYOD- that being said, verizons system is really smart and knows when you swap into a new IMEI. i am able to pop in my sims into any number of my pepwave 5g modems and they just connect now.