Unlimited AT&T $20 a month

[jimindenver]

Phaney

I will suggest at first that you try the online chat on the Mobley page.

https://www.att.com/devices/zte/mobley.html#sku=sku7700323

After that I would try calling or going into a AT&T shop. I've had to explain it to three different shops so that may be a issue. Then again you might be able to call one of the ones that now understand.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Since this thread became active again, I remembered I was going to do a test of the Mobley hardware on its timeout voltage threshold. This is a test with the auto power-off set to 30 minutes so I dont have to wait 2 hours each time I reduce voltage to the unit.

I had noticed the unit does not power-down when operated from my van at about 13.6v when charging on solar during the day, and neither does it power down on the home supply at about 13.2.

Overnight in the van, as voltage sagged a bit, (roof fan running and no solar input), the Mobley was off the next morning...voltage was about 12.5 on the battery bank.

So somewhere at a voltage under 13.2 or so, the unit decides the vehicle is not running, since the voltage has dropped, and it times out (if the timeout setting is active).

Some of us have surmised it was sensing voltage and this seems to be the case. But I wanted to be able to figure out exactly what that 'trigger' voltage is. I have a variable voltage lab supply that will do the job nicely.

Here is the setup at the start of the test this evening:

Top reading is current, about 120 milliamps.

Bottom reading is voltage, about 13.44, and adjustable with the small knob to the lower right.



I will give the unit about 45 minutes and see what it does...and assuming it stays on, I will drop the voltage by about 1/2 volt until it does power down. And report back.

Stay tuned, that is...you know...if you care!

 

[tx2sturgis]

45 minutes after I started the test, of course the unit was still powered up (and streaming youtube to my laptop), so I have reduced the voltage:





Tick tock...tick tock....

 

[jimindenver]

Thank you for the test

 

[tx2sturgis]

After another 45 minutes of normal operation I have reduced the input voltage by a smaller change.

The coarse voltage adjustment knob to set the voltage is very touchy and there is no 'fine' adjustment on this supply, so it is what it is:

 

[tx2sturgis]

And another slight reduction:

 

[tx2sturgis]

Dialed in 12.5:



I assume the Mobley will power down at this level, but will keep watching it.


In the meantime, here is a snapshot of the AT&T admin page:





The note here about the voltage drop to 11.5 is, I assume, the drop-out voltage that overrides the timers and/or the NON-timed power-down.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Still Going!!


Dialed it back a little more, to 12 dot four:

 

[tx2sturgis]

Still working....so...dropping it to 12.2:

 

[tx2sturgis]

Hmmm....it's still working. I wonder if its timeout is also based on lack of data or devices connected?

Ok...dropped the input voltage to just below 12v:



I will finish updates tomorrow...going to bed soon.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Ok...I'm a bit puzzled.

This morning, the unit had timed out, and had shut down sometime during the night.

The voltage applied was still showing about 11.99. I had left the laptop streaming audio, but it may have gone into sleep mode during the night, or the source may have terminated the stream.

Anyway, I slowly cranked the supply voltage up and the unit activated at around 12.4 volts.

Once the Mobley powered up and connected to the network, I again reduced the input to about 11.98 volts:



It's still powered up and running fine after about an hour at this voltage.

I suspect, the unit watches for new URL's being accessed as well as voltage decline, or maybe instead of voltage it is only paying attention to the internet traffic?

But this is in conflict with reports from the web about people having to reset the unit in middle of a download or just random surfing..

So I'm puzzled...but I haven't given up yet!

 

[tx2sturgis]

So the little Mobley is STILL serving plenty of data to my laptop and smartphone at 11.98 volts supply....for several hours now.

It IS triggered by a rise in voltage to boot up, but shutting itself down automatically seems more complicated than I first assumed.

Hmmm....

Next, I will simply shut off the devices pulling data from it.

Yes I know, it works and thats all that matters but I was inspired by another member doing a somewhat similar test with a thermo-electric cooler...I figure this 'experiment' costs nothing AND I might learn something....win win!

Wax-on, wax-off...

 

[tx2sturgis]

It finally powered down.

Before it did, I checked it, and with no devices connected, it looks like it went into standby, much lower current, about 50 mills.



Then about 25 minutes later I checked the Mobley again and it was OFF. No lights, no current flow indicated.



At this point my best guess is that it finally timed out based on non-use from any connected devices. This seems to be in conflict with other reports, but...who knows what the conditions for those users might be.

I guess the take-away is that the darn thing works and its smarter than I am!

 

[VanKitten]

So, this morning the ZTE MObley decide decided to cut me off from Internet.

After 3 calls and more than 2 hours on hold...no answers.

But...I am limping along. Takes forever for a simple web page to load (like this one). Email takes even longer.

I think I am being throddled. With 2 days left and about 22gig used.

I had no internet access at all for about 4 hours. That is..I would wait an eternity for a web page and get the message. The page could not load because the server stopped responding. Yeah..I think it never started responding. Then..for no reason..it started to work..BUT D E A D slow.

Anyone else have this happen?

 

[jimindenver]

Have you restarted it? Occasionally mine will lose internet and resetting it seems to get a fresh connection. I believe that besides the power timer there may be a setting to do with connection lease or something like that. My other hotspot do the same if left on for l/ong periods.

On another note my original adapter wore out on the USB end. I tried to solder a new cord in but the Mobley didn't like it. Today I picked up a new adapter and it has some new fangled power converter that is suppose to maintain a stable voltage of 12v. The Mobley is happy again.

 

[bonvanroulez]

I pulled into a remote National Forest area expecting no coverage, drove down a road to a dispersed camping spot and there is a mountaintop with towers not 1/2 mile away.

I just ran this speedtest. I'm happy. 

 

[user 15722]

So these mobley's are pricey on ebay ?
Perhaps I should keep an eye on craigs for one to pop up ?

lol
Craigslist is kinda like whack-a-mole...
Never know when one is gonna pop up, and you gotta grab it quick when it does !
wheels

 

[jimindenver]

Just make sure that the Mobley you buy is not under contract.

 

[VanKitten]

I have tried everything. Unplug everything. Remove and put back sim card ( att techno suggested this). Power everything down ( including ipad) restart.
Nothing has worked.

What is the name of the new adapter you got? Maybe I should order one now.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I think I am being throddled.     With 2 days left and about 22gig used.  

Yep, sounds like it. Just a couple more days and you will know.