KE4RZ1 Report post Posted August 10, 2018 I just joined the FMCA today and then immediately signed up for the Tech Connect + unlimited wi-fi hotspot with Sprint's service. I did receive my receipt for joining the FMCA and downloaded the membership package info shortly thereafter. I figured that I would start the post and kind of document how long it takes to receive the wi-fi hotspot and how it performs. I already have Sprint for my cellular service so I know the kind of network I can expect and will mainly be using it near Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, Alabama though I live in Tennessee. Anyway, I've been using my phone's built in hotspot for a while now when I needed some internet access and I regularly get 9 Mbps. speed due to less than ideal location in relation to the nearest Sprint tower but, still 9 Mbps. is plenty for most people. So I'll update when I get some info about the coming shipment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted August 10, 2018 Welcome to FMCA and the forum, hope the tech connect works well for you. Joe Wheeler is my second most favorite campground in Alabama, White Oak Creek close to Eufaula is my first, I know that is a long way for you, but if ever traveling south east, you may like to check that one out also. 73, Kay Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KE4RZ1 Report post Posted August 10, 2018 Thanks for the info. Rogersville is like the land that time forgot when it comes to technology. They have no cable TV provider. Charter actually comes within 10 miles to the East or West but that's it. The state park actually has Charter but, no one else in town. AT&T doesn't have enough ports to even supply new customers with slow DSL. So here I am hoping that the Sprint Hotspot will work out for me. I have still not received any information via email on my subscription to the Tech Connect. I'll patiently wait some more. 73 Ben Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted August 10, 2018 I hope the restaurant at Joe Wheeler is still open at the lodge, I look forward to the prime rib on their Friday night buffet, but it has been 3 years since I was last there. The deer will actually eat out of your hand there, but don't let a Ranger see you feeding them. LOL! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KE4RZ1 Report post Posted August 11, 2018 We really like going to the lodge on Sunday mornings around 11 when they still have breakfast and lunch on the buffet. If you get there much after that you will have a hard time getting a seat since it gets very crowded with the after Church crowd. Great food all around. There deer were all around the lodge last weekend even some fawn's with white spots. They weren't scared and stood around for quite a while. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KE4RZ1 Report post Posted August 11, 2018 I did check my credit card and the money for the $40 for the one time Hotspot rental and the $50 for the first month's Sprint service was charged yesterday the 9th so the only question now is whether I'll be sent a tracking number or something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KE4RZ1 Report post Posted August 15, 2018 Okay, I never received a confirmation/tracking E-mail but, I did receive the Hotspot via UPS Monday morning. I was expecting to have to sign for the package but, UPS left it sitting outside my basement door and I didn't find it until we were leaving Rogersville that afternoon. The Hotspot is the newest Franklin R910 model that you see on Sprint's website and simply turning it on and entering the wi-fi password that scrolls by on the display had me up and running in a couple minutes. I'm back in Tennessee at my main home and it's working well and just delivered 55 Mbps. download speed at the speedtest.net site. My next problem is going to report an issue with the nearest tower to my home in Alabama which has conveniently decided to stop transmitting LTE at random times of the day and when it does transmit the LTE signal the signal is a lot lower and can barely provide 1 Mbps. download speed and the upload actually times out in the upload side of the test on that same website. So the Hotspot works good but, the crucial tower that I need to work at my home in Alabama has decided to have an issue that is really affecting my use there. I have called Sprint and will call again when I go back down there Friday if the problem is still going on. I'm afraid Sprint won't bother to mess with it until it goes completely out and it easily diagnosed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
moonwink Report post Posted August 15, 2018 You can send a hissy-fit email to dan@sprint.com and Sprint will call you to console you about your problem. That address was the CEO's office many years ago but I believe they're still monitoring it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dmspkm Report post Posted August 21, 2018 Just got ours. Ordered on Sunday night, arrived this afternoon (Tuesday) via UPS. No signature required. Our connection speed is VERY bad... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
moonwink Report post Posted August 22, 2018 Dmspkm, you could be in a bad signal area or the tower you're connected to could have a very poor network connection. Send an email to dan@sprint.com with your problem and give them a chance to make things better. If they can't get it fixed right away, you may want to cancel before the window closes on that option. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dmspkm Report post Posted August 22, 2018 Moonwink, We knew that the Sprint signal would be week in our area but had hope it would be stronger that this. I'll send Dan an email though. We can live with it as we don't do a lot of video. Amazingly it's not buffering to bad using our Roku. Really bought this to use on our travels and in Florida. Friends at our campground there say that the Sprint coverage there is better than Verizon. We'll see shorty... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KE4RZ1 Report post Posted August 29, 2018 Well, it's been a while and I have contacted Sprint via phone and talked to around a half a dozen people. I have chatted online with them and I have used the Sprint forums on their site since I was already a phone customer of theirs. They simply will not send anyone to fix the nearby tower to my vacation place in Rogersville, Alabama so I am going to cancel the Hotspot through FMCA and I'm changing cellular providers. The Hotspot works fine everywhere else and I had good service in Rogersville at my place until right when I placed the order for the Hotspot. I just didn't expect for it to be so unbelievably hard to bring it to the attention of someone at Sprint that they have an issue with the tower that provides service to the town of Rogersville. The day the LTE went out at my place I figured that they would get it fixed by the next weekend. I was wrong but the LTE randomly goes off and on and even when it is transmitting LTE the signal strength is much lower than it had been for the 5 months previous. The mentally challenged people at Sprint actually think that the previous 5 months of good service that I experienced was a fluke and that I should have been having crappy service all along. So here I leave with my 4 lines and HotSpot. I've been trying to get help for almost a full month now. It's no use. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted August 29, 2018 I quit crippled Sprint 15 years ago for the same reason. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
