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

I told my sister-in-law to get an airave, since they get about zero reception inside their house. She sent an email to The Wife saying they got it 2 days ago, but they aren't sure if it's working. I do not look forward to our next conversation (it's probably not plugged in). Every time we visit, I spend most of the time there fixing one computer issue or another.

Note to Admins - There needs to be a banging-my-head-against-the-wall smiley. I'm sure it would be used frequently.
 
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It looks like Sprint released a new and improved Airave that supports 3G connection. I dont need it, but thought some of you in this thread may find it useful.

Sprint's new Airave shipping to customers who 'qualify' -- Engadget Mobile

I just got the new version "Airvana" today, was expecting a regular Airave but was nice to see the updated hardware. Like you I don't need the 3G part, although for people visiting the house it could be useful. The 6 call limit vs 3 call is also nice, although would rarely be used. (Basically again when people with Sprint visit the house.) I don't know how well it works yet though, I just got it hooked up a few minutes ago, so it is going through the setup process, which takes a little while.

Edit: I mistakenly referred to the hardware model as "Airvana", but that is just the manufacturer. I had assumed it was an updated name because it is what is printed on the device, sorry for the error.
 
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I just got the new version "Airvana" today, was expecting a regular Airave but was nice to see the updated hardware. Like you I don't need the 3G part, although for people visiting the house it could be useful. The 6 call limit vs 3 call is also nice, although would rarely be used. (Basically again when people with Sprint visit the house.) I don't know how well it works yet though, I just got it hooked up a few minutes ago, so it is going through the setup process, which takes a little while.

Edit: I mistakenly referred to the hardware model as "Airvana", but that is just the manufacturer. I had assumed it was an updated name because it is what is printed on the device, sorry for the error.

Update: It took me a bit longer to get it running than expected, however it was my fault for not double checking my router settings (I had VPN pass-through disabled from some unrelated recent troubleshooting, and forgot about it so I assumed it was turned on in the router even after seeing the Airave manual mention VPN settings).

I'm assuming setup is similar to the previous version. I still haven't found a permanent location for it, but for now it is in the basement up on a cabinet and using the external GPS antenna. (I didn't even bother trying it without the GPS antenna due to being in the basement.) But after hooking things up, it didn't take too long to show it was connected to the internet and get a GPS lock, but then the "mobile" light was flashing yellow. Once I actually double checked my router settings I realized my mistake and got the VPN settings back where they should be, then the light starting flashing green (correct behavior when initializing), then about 15 minutes later I noticed my phone had full bars! :)

I just made one test call so far, so far so good ... later I am going to test it from everywhere in the house and see how much the signal varies between basement and second floor. And tomorrow I'll test outside in the yard (where I can get a weaker but stable signal from the real tower from) just to see how well this thing works. Hmm, and on labor day weekend, I should have a couple people with Sprint phones at the house as well so I think I'll have them to help me try out 5 simultaneous calls, just to see if it works! (And I have the router QOS settings to give the Airave high priority, so when I do the simultaneous call test, I'll have to load up my internet connection first to make it more interesting:D)
 
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I cant wait to get my the new airave. After talking to 3 different reps I finally got it free of charge and no monthly fee.

Good to hear, sometimes it takes a little persistence. As it happened, the day I called to get mine (about 4 hours before I called) someone posted methods of calling to get it free on slickdeals.net which got a lot of attention, then the next day news of the new model came out, so I'm sure right now it is a little tougher to get them free due to lots of people calling for them compared to normal.

For anyone that does have trouble getting it free (and really needs one) the retentions department is the most effective place to talk to about it. For anyone that doesn't really need one, I won't take a position on whether you should be trying to get it free or not, but if you do try, please wait a while until demand drops down to try to make it easier for customers with poor reception/dropped calls to get theirs first. I only say this due to comments I have seen on various sites in the past few days about people getting free units that have very little or no real need for them.
 
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well, considering there is a shortage of these things right now, the "right" thing to do would be to wait until the people who REALLY need this to get reception in their houses actually get one..
If your the type of person who doesn't give a damn about anyone else but themselves, then go for it..

I have no real intention of doing it at all but I'm glad your so passionate about it it's entertaining.
 
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Mine is in the mail! I must say I am very impressed with sprint customer service... I explained how i have full 3g coverage out side of my apartment but only 1 bar inside. They then transferred me to retension and said they will send me an airwave system at no cost or monthly charge! I spent a total of 11 mins on the phone and ot was a done deal. Thanks for the info!
 
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Mine is in the mail! I must say I am very impressed with sprint customer service... I explained how i have full 3g coverage out side of my apartment but only 1 bar inside. They then transferred me to retension and said they will send me an airwave system at no cost or monthly charge! I spent a total of 11 mins on the phone and ot was a done deal. Thanks for the info!

I did this today too. I just moved at the beginning of the month. It was funny I demonstrated on the phone to the rep how standing outside I get full coverage, I took two steps into my apartment and the call dropped. Rep called right back, told me Airave is on the way. I don't care if I get the new or old model, I have Wifi in my place anyway. (really, the only difference between the two is 3g data)

BTW, my evo states Time without signal at 96%, yikes! that further cemented my case for a free airave.
 
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After using the updated Airave for a few days, I am very happy with it. Eventually I still need to move it to a bettery location, but I get 4-5 bars in most of the house. Upstairs I almost lose signal in the master bathroom, but everywhere else is not an issue. (My wifi connection from there is pretty poor as well.) Once I finish getting some CAT6 cabling run (part of an unrelated project for the media center PC to get it on the gigabit LAN) I'll be moving it to the main level. But so far no call drops or other issues!

One thing to note though ... when connected via 3G, it seems like there is a 600kbps cap on speeds. Now this is just an academic exercise for me, since I connect via wifi, but my speedtests I ran for testing with wifi turned off are pretty consistently in the 600kbps range up and down. My thoughts are since this is designed to run multiple phones, and based on their recommended ISP bandwidth for data, this is either intentional, or some sort of QOS for 3G data going through the airave that isn't quite optimized. (for reference: So far I tested with just one phone using it, I have the router set to give the Airave high priority in the router QOS settings, and my broadband connection is 60mbit down/5mbit up, so I have plenty of spare bandwidth available.)
 
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After using the updated Airave for a few days, I am very happy with it. Eventually I still need to move it to a bettery location, but I get 4-5 bars in most of the house. Upstairs I almost lose signal in the master bathroom, but everywhere else is not an issue. (My wifi connection from there is pretty poor as well.) Once I finish getting some CAT6 cabling run (part of an unrelated project for the media center PC to get it on the gigabit LAN) I'll be moving it to the main level. But so far no call drops or other issues!

One thing to note though ... when connected via 3G, it seems like there is a 600kbps cap on speeds. Now this is just an academic exercise for me, since I connect via wifi, but my speedtests I ran for testing with wifi turned off are pretty consistently in the 600kbps range up and down. My thoughts are since this is designed to run multiple phones, and based on their recommended ISP bandwidth for data, this is either intentional, or some sort of QOS for 3G data going through the airave that isn't quite optimized. (for reference: So far I tested with just one phone using it, I have the router set to give the Airave high priority in the router QOS settings, and my broadband connection is 60mbit down/5mbit up, so I have plenty of spare bandwidth available.)

Dont think that is the case; I get 2.2 megs down consistently on the AIRAVE

I have Comcast HSI, 50-10 internet, and installed the AIRAVE AFTER the router..
 
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