Forum Discussion
4G LTE CellSpot v2 not connecting
T-Mobile CellSpot v2 received yesterday.
- When first connected: Power blinking green, Internet solid green, Status blinking orange
- After couple hours the CellSpot rebooted itself and changed to: Power blinking green, Internet blinking orange
UDP ports 123, 500 and 4500 verified open through Test-NetConnection command, but additionally:
- Forwarded these ports to CellSpot, rebooted CellSpot, no change in behavior
- Placed CellSpot in DMZ, rebooted CellSpot, no change in behavior
Disconnected everything else from the router, rebooted the router and connected the CellSpot to the router as the only Ethernet device, powered up, again no change in behavior
Factory reset the CellSpot, the whole process repeated itself from “When first connected”
I am at loss here. Is it possible that the CellSpot they send me is not authorized on T-Mobile core network? Is there a way to get to the Tech Support knowledgeable enoght to check that without waiting an hor on the phone and being transferred 3 times from agent to agent?
- wb6vpmNewbie Caller
Unfortunately, the techs that know how these things work are very few and far between, and the documentation for the other techs has always been a bit on the “light” side.
The only thing I can recommend is to keep requesting escalations in tech support until you get someone who knows, or knows someone who can help you.
I had a similar issue when I first got mine, and it took a bit to get to the right person, but once I did, it was awesome!
- 8yrCustomer0100Roaming Rookie
4G LTE CellSpot Solution Discovered!!!
To those who are having an issue with your 4G LTE CellSpot suddenly stop working after a power outage or reset on the Spectrum/Charter ISP network, I have a solution.
I am an independent network engineer and the solution took over two months to find but it was worth it. T-Mobile requires that your ISP open the following UDP ports 123, 500 and 4500 with 4500 being the main port for access to the T-Mobile server that allows the 4G LTE CellSpot to connect to the internet. With that done, the CellSpot is able to download your configuration files and access your user profile so that you can get cell coverage in your home. People have been complaining that it has taken up to 5 days for the CellSpot to sync and start working. But that is not why to takes so long for the CellSpot to start working.
The real reason the CellSpot stops working or takes days to resync is because your profile has become corrupt and it no longer knows your account information on the billing backend of the T-Mobile network. What this means is that you simply have to tell the T-Mobile technical support to release your CellSpot and re-activate it as if it is a brand-new install onto a new account and not adding it to your old account. Because you have a corrupt CellSpot profile, the T-Mobile backend billing software activates a recovery that creates a second CellSpot profile then it locks your profile because thinks that you have two (2) CellSpots instead of one (1). It does not matter how many CellSpots you order at this point; NONE of the will EVER WORK. Verify that you only have one (1) 4G LTE CellSpot on your account and not two (2).
In Summary, verify that Spectrum/Charter ISP has opened UDP ports 123, 500 and 4500 and then request that T-Mobile completely delete your old CellSpot profile because it has become corrupt and no longer works. Then ask them to create a brand-new CellSpot profile for you and your old CellSpot will work again and it only takes up to 30 minutes to show signs that it is loading your new profile correctly. If T-Mobile orders a replacement CellSpot; request that the CellSpot is placed on its own separate account and NOT simply added to your existing account. Then you MUST make sure that you get an RMA (Return Material Authorization) from T-Mobile to return your old CellSpot. Failure to return your old CellSpot within a few days will result in your new CellSpot locking up and giving you the same lights as your old CellSpot (i.e. Green flashing power and Amber (orange) flashing internet lights). This is because the backend billing software thinks you have two (2) CellSpots on your account instead of one. I hope this helps you to get your CellSpot working again.
- rickster99Newbie Caller
I realize this issue rose 2 years ago, but I recently had the same problem. I found out from Spectrum that one of the Wi-Fi accounts was "paused". We unpaused the account and it worked perfectly.
See if you have an unidentified Wi-Fi accout using your spectrum app and make sure that it's connected and not "paused."
- eliteramenNewbie Caller
8yrCustomer0100 wrote:
4G LTE CellSpot Solution Discovered!!!
To those who are having an issue with your 4G LTE CellSpot suddenly stop working after a power outage or reset on the Spectrum/Charter ISP network, I have a solution.
I am an independent network engineer and the solution took over two months to find but it was worth it. T-Mobile requires that your ISP open the following UDP ports 123, 500 and 4500 with 4500 being the main port for access to the T-Mobile server that allows the 4G LTE CellSpot to connect to the internet. With that done, the CellSpot is able to download your configuration files and access your user profile so that you can get cell coverage in your home. People have been complaining that it has taken up to 5 days for the CellSpot to sync and start working. But that is not why to takes so long for the CellSpot to start working.
The real reason the CellSpot stops working or takes days to resync is because your profile has become corrupt and it no longer knows your account information on the billing backend of the T-Mobile network. What this means is that you simply have to tell the T-Mobile technical support to release your CellSpot and re-activate it as if it is a brand-new install onto a new account and not adding it to your old account. Because you have a corrupt CellSpot profile, the T-Mobile backend billing software activates a recovery that creates a second CellSpot profile then it locks your profile because thinks that you have two (2) CellSpots instead of one (1). It does not matter how many CellSpots you order at this point; NONE of the will EVER WORK. Verify that you only have one (1) 4G LTE CellSpot on your account and not two (2).
In Summary, verify that Spectrum/Charter ISP has opened UDP ports 123, 500 and 4500 and then request that T-Mobile completely delete your old CellSpot profile because it has become corrupt and no longer works. Then ask them to create a brand-new CellSpot profile for you and your old CellSpot will work again and it only takes up to 30 minutes to show signs that it is loading your new profile correctly. If T-Mobile orders a replacement CellSpot; request that the CellSpot is placed on its own separate account and NOT simply added to your existing account. Then you MUST make sure that you get an RMA (Return Material Authorization) from T-Mobile to return your old CellSpot. Failure to return your old CellSpot within a few days will result in your new CellSpot locking up and giving you the same lights as your old CellSpot (i.e. Green flashing power and Amber (orange) flashing internet lights). This is because the backend billing software thinks you have two (2) CellSpots on your account instead of one. I hope this helps you to get your CellSpot working again.
3 years on and this comment was very helpful. I was in a situation where the first CellSpot I was sent was a V1 (I hadn’t explicitly asked for a V2 as I didn’t realize there was one at the time) followed by a replacement V2 as an exchange and my “profile” was likely corrupted as you say. The CellSpot tech (had to go thru customer service and then tech support to eventually talk to one) explained that since the V1/V2 swap was processed as an “exchange” instead of a “new order” that the V2 would not work, which explained the eternally blinking green light I was seeing on it.
I now have a “new order” of a V2 on the way and I’ll be shipping the other two back with UPS labels provided by T-Mobile.
Thanks for the helpful info!
- sivaprasathNetwork Novice
I am having exact same problem.
- When first connected: Power blinking green, Internet solid green, Status blinking orange
- After couple hours the CellSpot rebooted itself and changed to: Power blinking green, Internet blinking orange
I contacted Tech Support and they have asked me to Reboot the router and wait for 2 more hours. and I still have this issue. Can someone from TMobile help us here?
- 8yrCustomer0100Roaming Rookie
I am having the same problem.
- When first connected: Power blinking green, Internet blinking orange
- After couple hours the CellSpot did not change at all. Same lights as before.
I contacted Tech Support and they have asked me to Reboot the Cellspot and wait for 2 more hours, no change. I did this 3 more times with T-Mobile tech support and I still have this issue. T-Mobile blamed my internet service provider then they recanted when I told them that my PC is plugged into the LAN port on the back of the CellSpot and it can access the internet with no issues. T-Mobile is clearly either discontinuing these units because of the roll out of 5G or they lack the networking expertise to resolve what is clearly a provisioning issue on their end of the network.
My CellSpot issues started shortly after the Sprint/T-Mobile merger and now my CellSpot is a paperweight because I have had no cellphone signal in my home for over 5 weeks now. I have an open ticket with T-Mobile but I am not allowed to speak with their engineers to share information that can help them to resolve this issue. The tech support team keeps doing the same procedures and somehow they expect a different outcome. This is insane how much time is being wasted on this simple provisioning issue. This only proves to me that T-Mobile is or already has discontinued their support for these 4G LTE CellSpot devices. I hope that I am wrong and I will admit it if I am but the facts speak for themselves.
As a company grows in size, certain products no longer fit its business model. The 4G LTE CellSpot is one such product. I expect that T-Mobile will announce a new technology based on 5G in the near future that will make the 4G LTE CellSpot fully obsolete.
- RadioMan1981Network Novice
I ordered one for Dane county (Madison WI) and it won’t connect. Agent told me that the county doesn’t allow due to fcc restrictions. Why won’t you even send me anything then
- 8yrCustomer0100Roaming Rookie
If you are requesting a T-Mobile cellspot on any government property then you will need to get security clearance first to install it because the cellspot frequency mayinterfere with government communications.
- RadioMan1981Network Novice
It’s not. Just a private home. Somehow T-Mobile rep told me that the county doesn’t allow. Anyone heard?
- 8yrCustomer0100Roaming Rookie
You will have to contact the FCC to confirm this claim from your provider. Some counties fall under fcc frequency restrictions due to military installations, airports, radio antennas, tv stations and other communications facilities nearby.
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