Sprint Airave (Post #1 has a quick "FAQ" for help)

[drexappeal]

Where do you look up the version number?

Airrave 1.0 is the original airrave.

Airave 2.0 & 2.5 side by side

Source: Galaxy S3 & Airvana (not the Samsung version, the Airvana 2.0) - Samsung - Sprint 4G Rollout Updates

Airave 2.5

 

[firecaptain]

I got that same letter. I called the number on there and they sent me a 2.5 free of charge, no bubble, no troubles.

Got it today and after a quick call to add it to my account, it's up and running.

I had to call using my phone off the Sprint towers.. The call stayed connected just long enough to get everything done and then it dropped.

No biggie I thought b/c everything was working.

My phone rang a couple minutes later. Answered it - heard the 3 tones for airave 2.5 - and it was the Sprint CS rep calling me back to make sure everything was running correctly.

GREAT CS!

I did the initial setup with it plugged into my cable modem. After it authorized, I put it behind my router and set up the port forwarding.

We just got notice that as of August 1st the Airave will no longer be supported by Sprint or Samsung and service will end (they are kindly waiving any E.T.F.'s). Has anybody heard of a replacement coming out?

 

[Jore]

Looks like I have the 2.0. Any differences between the 2.0 and 2.5?

 

[drexappeal]

Looks like I have the 2.0. Any differences between the 2.0 and 2.5?

I'm curious to know as well. I haven't checked which version I have, but my airave has been a little quirky since I upgraded to the new versioin, so if I'm still on 2.0, I may place a call into Sprint soon, to swap it out with the 2.5.

Doesn't help that my signal has all of a sudden been non-existent, but I haven't called in to find out if tower upgrades were still happening.

 

[marctronixx]

2.0 and 2.5 are close to the same. its not worth the fight with CS to make reasons to get the 2.5 unless you are having issues that can be reproduced...

there were rumors a while back of an LTE variant coming....

 

[drexappeal]

2.0 and 2.5 are close to the same. its not worth the fight with CS to make reasons to get the 2.5 unless you are having issues that can be reproduced...

there were rumors a while back of an LTE variant coming....

Thanks! I'll likely hold off on calling until NV is officially finished and Softbank is settled in with any operation changes they implement.

 

[Jore]

I just hate that we have to have this thing just to have reception at home. It messes with my network speeds.

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

2.0 and 2.5 are close to the same. its not worth the fight with CS to make reasons to get the 2.5 unless you are having issues that can be reproduced...

there were rumors a while back of an LTE variant coming....

I was under the impression it only carried your calls, not data...am I wrong again?

I just hate that we have to have this thing just to have reception at home. It messes with my network speeds.

Put it behind your router, not in front and it should not affect your speeds.

 

[smitty543]

I have an HTC EVO 4G LTE and Airave 2.5 (which shows all signal lights illuminated). I am in the same room as the Airave, and it shows a minimal strength signal (sometimes roaming). I rebooted simulating a "battery pull" and I did a profile update. Still minimal signal. What is with this system?? Any thought?

 

[marctronixx]

when in your home, dial *99. if you are connected to the airvana, you will hear two tones and "you are now within airave coverage..." message.

if you do not hear that message or the tones, you are not connected to the airvana.

how long have you had this femtocel from sprint?

is this the first time using one?

first phone you have used it on?

before you call tech support (airave tech support not just a sprint cs), reboot the device, let it lock up. reboot your phone and try again.

you may need an update pushed to your device and only airave tech support can do that.

Spoiler

I have an HTC EVO 4G LTE and Airave 2.5 (which shows all signal lights illuminated). I am in the same room as the Airave, and it shows a minimal strength signal (sometimes roaming). I rebooted simulating a "battery pull" and I did a profile update. Still minimal signal. What is with this system?? Any thought?

 

[smitty543]

Thanx Marc. I have had the Airave for some time, and it misbehaves intermittently. The strength of the signal can vary considerable when I am sitting within feet of the unit! The Airave tech support does their majic and it behaves for a while.

When I am in the same room as my Airave 2.5 (or elsewhere in the house), my phone sometimes shows 0-2 signal bars of strenght and other times full strength. (Dialing '*99' when poor signal indication states "The feature code you entered is not available.") My EVO LTE "EVENTUALLY" shows a strong Airave signal. My wife's Samsung Galaxy, however, consistently shows full signal strength in the house. I called Airave CS and they had me 'Update Profile'. Any thoughts?

 

[marctronixx]

to contrast, ive had these units since sprint rolled them out. i have had the original (samsung--still in the closet boxed up) when they first started shipping and now the 2.0 is going strong after all these years and a move across the country.

whenever i am in vicinity of this femtocell, i get full coverage across any device ive had, and I have had 4 phones alone under the 2.0 airave and not once did the signal fluctuate.

if you are experiencing fluctuating signal coverage from this unit, perhaps your unit is faulty and/or your broadband connection is flakey.

have airave tech support ping your femtocell and do a broadband test. i now on the lte 4g there was a ota update that those devices needed so if you have not done that, it may be a good crack to hit them up and request it.

solid lamps on the femtocell but your signal meter on your device fluctuates, could also be issues with the radio in your phone.

lots of areas to troubleshoot my friend.

 

[Jore]

Do any of your airraves slow down your network speeds a lot?

 

[drexappeal]

Do any of your airraves slow down your network speeds a lot?

I've never really thought about it, but then again my airave hasn't worked right in a month.

 

[marctronixx]

No.

Put the unit behind your router not in front and you will not have any issues

 

[drexappeal]

No.

Put the unit behind your router not in front and you will not have any issues

Hey marc, I think you had explained this to me before, but just want to make sure I understand what you mean. You mean this connection chain, right?: Modem>Router>Airrave

That's how I have mine currently connected, but just want to be sure that's what you meant or if you mean physical positioning/location.

 

[marctronixx]

EXACTAMENTE!

in this setup, which differs form the sprint text, the femtocell will not cause any issues.

if you are savvy with QoS, you can even further limit (or grant) bandwidth on the router to the femtocell whilst all other devices are untouched.

since the femtocell is wired, it does not matter where its placed, but i would keep it at least a meter from the router if possible.

 

[drexappeal]

EXACTAMENTE!

in this setup, which differs form the sprint text, the femtocell will not cause any issues.

if you are savvy with QoS, you can even further limit (or grant) bandwidth on the router to the femtocell whilst all other devices are untouched.

since the femtocell is wired, it does not matter where its placed, but i would keep it at least a meter from the router if possible.

Ohhh...in that case, I may do some re-positioning of the router this weekend! It may solve the sporadic connection I was having (prior to the AC adapter going bad and Sprint Airrave support sending me a new one).

BTW, for those that do have the Airrave, I highly suggest checking on it every month, to make sure it's working. Sprint sends this automatic letter, when the airrave isn't in use, saying that they're going to charge you if the device isn't returned! It's the 2nd one I received (1st one was with the original Airrave, which Sprint actually had me replace and told me to keep the original). I had a mild freak out when I got the notification. I had switched my modem (bought my own, instead of renting from TWC) and thought the switch made the Airrave not register the signal, but turned out that the power adapter just went out.

 

[BigHurt0220]

We began using an Airave (Sprint provided it) for over 6 months and things have been great until recently. For more than a week my wife's phone (Samsung Galaxy SII) has not been able to receive text messages while at home. My phone is not having any issues (HTC One). Nothing with my wife's phone has changed (software, updates, etc) that we know of. We have an Airave 2.5 set up at our home. When my wife leaves our neighborhood she receives all of the text messages that were unable to be received at home. She is also receiving these texts multiple times once she leaves the service area of the Airave. Her phone works exactly as it is supposed to work outside of the Airave range.

I have reset the Airave multiple times. I have reset our modem and router. I have updated her PRL multiple times. I have taken the battery out of her phone for extended periods of time. The phone's software is up to date.

Any ideas of what to do next? She is not eligible for a new phone for 6 weeks or so but I would like to have her phone work as it is supposed to work. Mine works great in and out of the Airave range. The only issue either phone is experiencing is her phone not receiving texts while in the range of the Airave.

Thanks for any consideration and feedback.​

 

[marctronixx]

i dont see that you have contacted airave support?

if not, please contact them. they are a different department from regular sprint service.

 

[BigHurt0220]

i dont see that you have contacted airave support?

if not, please contact them. they are a different department from regular sprint service.

True. I have not contacted them. I will attempt to do so after work tonight. Thanks for replying.

I read this entire thread and appreciate the tone/civility that this forum provides! Great stuff...thanks!!

 

[drexappeal]

True. I have not contacted them. I will attempt to do so after work tonight. Thanks for replying.

I read this entire thread and appreciate the tone/civility that this forum provides! Great stuff...thanks!!

Yes, I concur with marc's recommendation. Airrave customer support actually helped me figure out that my unit had not been working for 1 month, due to a bad power supply, so they shipped me out a new one. I still haven't had time to make sure that it was working properly again, but it does seem to have gotten back to normal functionality.

 

[marctronixx]

most likely they will send an ota to her device if they deem it needs it.

other reason is it could be network upgrades in your area and this problem is temporary. when network vision was first being deployed, lots of users had random issues with and without the airave, so mention to them if they know of any temp issues in your area WRT network upgrades.

 

[smitty543]

I have an HTC One M8 and an Airave 2.5 in my home. The problem is that recently I can be in the same room as the Airave and have only minimal signal. I have kept (as I had been told in a Sprint store) the data setting at "CDMA/LTE". I call the Airave help line, and was told to change the setting to CDMA only. When I asked if that defeated the advanced data feature(s) of the phone, the agent said to switch back and forth between 'CDMA' and 'CDMA/LTE' when I am outside of the Airave area. Does that sound reasonable? Shouldn't the phone be able to switch automatically? Does my phone have a software and/or antenna issue?

Thanx for your insights.

 

[marctronixx]

first off, how long have you had both the phone and the airvana?

answer that and i can give more info.