I have a Pepwave MAX BR1 Mini. I had an old iPhone that I had activated on Verizon. I took the SIM card and used it on the Pepwave MAX BR1 Mini. It keeps on saying that “Obtaining IP Address” and it never does.
Any ideas how this may be fixed?
Any ideas how this may be fixed?
Get a proper plan on the that sim.
Just cuz it works in an iphone doest mean it will work in a router. My VZW phone sim also does not work in a peplink…
Hi @David_Killman . Let me add that @erickufrin 's comment is exactly correct, in my view. It appears that you have a mis-match between hardware and data plan. Some “phone” plans can be used in routers – but that’s not where I’d place my bets. ;<)
Ya… pretty well known most phone plans do not work in data devices…
This install is for one of our customers who purchased this unit himself. It is being installed on a 34’ sailboat. Before the installation I looked all over the peplink web site documents to find any information about sim cards and data plans. We were given the request to install this unit as we were in the process of upgrading all his electronics and electrical systems. We have installed numerous systems like this from other dedicated marine equipment manufactures. Because most if not all the cell carriers customer support technicians have no clue how to setup an account with units like this, we have simply bypassed that confusion and hours and hours of hold time by just taking a sim card from a cell phone and setting it up that way. I’m still hoping someone from peplink will chime in here with some advice.
You don’t say where you are located but if you are in the USA I can say that all three of the major carriers have data plans that work very well in the BR1 Mini. A call or visit to one of the stores or a search on-line will get you where you want to go. Here, for example are three plans from AT&T: Data Only, Hotspot & Tablet Data Plans | AT&T Prepaid . Hopefully, the owner bought the router from a Peplink Partner. If so, that person or organization should have some good leads for him as to how he may obtain a data plan intended for routers. (Have your IMEI handy.)
There are also a number of threads here on the Forum which describe the plans owners have chosen and use.
I might mention the next thing I’d recommend is to update the firmware. You’re on 8.0.2 and 8.1.3 is current. 8.2.0 is on RC3 and will be GA very soon. Peplink’s firmware upgrades are free and generally include more features and a few improvements/bug fixes. Upgrading is worth the effort.
Do you happen to know if this Verizon SIM is apart of any sort of business account with them?
If so, you actually do need to call customer service and have the SIM card changed from being setup for a phone versus a mobile routing device, and possibly provide the IMEI.
Nothing too difficult other than maybe being stuck on the phone for a short amount of time. I have had to do this a few times, when I shuffled some SIM cards from old phones into routers in the past.
You will need a Data Only Plan aka Connected Device Plan
Also you will need to give Verizon the IMEI number for you Pepwave located in the Details Section at the Cellular Section
Its very simple. Peplink is an enterprise device. I havent heard of a single business data plan that does not work. There are also some consumer hot spot/data plans that should work so long as they are actually hot spot/data plans that are not tied to a specific device the carrier provides. Typically, you can order the plans off the carrier websites, you should not have to spend hours on the phone. Also, Peplink just released their Speedfusion connect plans for devices that support esim. That might be a better option for many as it gives access to all the main carriers.
Just as I suspected, this has turned into a cluster. We finally got to speak with a technical service tech. He understood what we were trying to accomplish. But when he went to change the IMEI number on the account to match the BR1, Verizon refused to let him change it because of the plan it was on. He transferred us to a customer service person. She was having difficulty getting her system up and running and said for us to call her back. She gave us her direct number and assured that she would be able to help. She also said we could also go to a store and pickup a new sim card. We have called twice a day for for over a week and left VM and no response. We went to a store and they said they would only be able to issue one of their hot spot devices. This is not a commercial use device. It is on a customers private yacht.
What plan is it? Its not really about commercial use. Its about it being an enterprise router. Typically enterprise routers mean business or corporate plans. Have you escalated to executive customer service? You could even consider filing a FCC complaint, that usually gets a response from someone higher up. You will likely end up needing to switch to a plan that the carrier allows to work with these types of routers.
I have had no problem taking post paid Verizon phone sim’s and placing them in a B20X or Transit 5G.
What we did have a problem with was getting postpaid data only SIM added to our account… Even though their system properly identified the IMEI as a peplink device, it would not accept it for consumer postpaid.
Each time at the VZ store, they would simply put in the IMEI of a netgear nighhawk that they had sitting around the store. Then give us the sim, and we would test it in the Transit. No problems.
I used a similar technique with my post paid AT&T unlimited plans. I registered the new sim to an old iphone6. Then the sim just goes into the peplink and works.
That is one approach. Be careful some times SIM cards get locked to the original device and you need a PUK code.
The unit model number is MAX-BR1-MINI-LTEA-W-T. Is this certified to be activated with Verizon?
https://opendevelopment.verizonwireless.com/device-showcase
The above link will take you to a Verizon website which lists all the devices certified for use on the Verizon network. In the upper right middle you can search for Peplink & it will list all the devices that are presently certified.
As a general rule, a cellular phone sim (voice capable) from Verizon will not work in a data only device like the Peplink. If the device is certified for use on Verizon, you will save yourself a lot of frustration by obtaining a data only plan.
With new Verizon data only activations, (new SIM, new number), if the device is not certified, you will more than likely have difficulty in activating an account. Many users have found that a Verizon data only sim previously activated in another data only device will work on a device not yet certified on the Verizon network. YHour mileage may vary.
The likelyhood of Verizon 1st level support actually resolving your particular issue is remote. I would ask for 2nd level support. I have found them to be very, very helpful. I used to have their phone number. Sorry, don’t have it any longer.
Good luck.
3 Likes
well said.
To build on lemondrop’s comment:
At least one of the legacy plans still allows the inclusion of pure router units (such as Peplink’s). If you are on “The new [sic!] Verizon Plan Unlimited” then a level 2 tech will (in our experience) review and then allow the activation of a SIM card on the device, even if it were in prior use on a phone. But it does require a tech intervention, specifically to flag the SIM card as being a connected device (and not a phone) in their database.
And, as everybody emphasizes, YMMV.
1 Like
More FWIW: A number of people are playing the game close to (or across) the border of what is likely to be sustainable (e.g., playing with cellular parameter mimicry and device switcheroos) to get less expensive plans to work on devices for which they they were unlikely to be intended or supported.
I am not an attorney so I will not offer any opinion re. the appropriateness of such tactics (aside from noting how dysfunctional the US cellular market is, compared to many others, e.g. in Europe as we have experienced choices there).
However, if you do that I would strongly recommend getting a dual-SIM or (better yet) a dual-radio device (e.g., pretty much any of the Peplink devices), populating the device with two SIMs from different carriers/plans.
One feels so foolish when a plan decides not to support the device anymore, with no fall-back available.
Stay well (and connected),
Z