Some RURAL PLAN customers have been shipped a replacement SIM card to improve connectivity.  However, the replacement instructions have slightly changed since the US Mail mailing went out.  (To make it easier.)  Now this is all you have to do:

To remove the SIM Card, press in on the card slightly and it will spring back out.  When Inserting, insert with the notch down until you hear a click.

The Rural Plan SIM Card swap did not involve all customers, so if you did not get a new SIM card in the mail, it was most likely because you didn’t need one and not that it was lost in the mail.  The SIM swap was only for a certain series of SIM cards.

Watch the video for the best details on hard resetting your device.

*** URGENT NOTE ***

 It is easy to miss the Reset button inside, so make sure you feel (and hear) a “Click” from inside, which indicates you are pushing on the reset button itself.  If you do not hear/feel a click, you have missed the button and it will not reset the device as expected.  If you hit it properly, you will expect to see ALL the lights come on in the front about 5-8 seconds into the button press.

We recently noticed that the default APN for Rural SIM cards in the newest firmware for the C4R400 is NOT correct, which will require users to modify the APN after a hard reset.  This only affects units with the firmware version C4R400_E8_GOTW3_B03P14_04.  

EASIEST WAY TO CHECK:

 

 

If you have the updated firmware, you will need to verify or change your settings.  Click on the “How to verify your APN” portion below for details.

To verify your device is set to the proper APN setting, follow these directions:

In your browser, go to 192.168.100.1

• For the password, enter:  admin
• In the center box, click “Network Settings”
• On the left-hand side, click “APN”
• Verify your settings match these:

If your settings do not match, use this information from GotW3 to update your APN to the correct settings:

My APN is NOT ‘broadband’ – I need to change it

• While you are logged into the router, on the left side of the first screen of the router’s interface – where it shows connection status, click where it says ON to turn connected status off.
• In the middle of the GUI it says Network Settings and WiFi Settings. Select Network Settings.
• Third option down on the left-hand side in the Network Settings menu is APN. Select APN. 
• You’ll see Auto and Manual for the APN. Select Manual.
• A blue button with white letters, ADD NEW, will appear. Select ADD NEW. 
• For the PDP Type leave as IPV4.
• For the profile name, type in all uppercase letters ATTB2. 
• For the APN, type in all lowercase letters type broadband.
• Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click APPLY. Success should pop up on the screen.
• Now click SET AS DEFAULT. Success should pop up on the screen.
• Go to Network Settings, then Network information, and then Reset Connection.
• Turn the router back on (to show status as Connected) and you’ve re-set the APN

You are affected by the spotty GotW3 Rural outage.  They have all-hands-on-deck working to repair the problem, which means they aren’t able to answer or return calls like normal.  However, as the carrier works to repair the spotty outages across the country, they do ask users to do the following:

• Power the Device off
• Allow it to remain off for 3-hours
• Power back on and try the Internet

While I agree, this sounds less than helpful, it actually is.  The reason is, it is allowing the tower to clear its knowledge of your device, which it normally holds that information for 20-minutes or up to 3-hours.  By being off, it is forcing the tower to “forget you” and when you power it back on, it will pull new data on your account. If the outage for you is over, this WILL fix it.  But if your issue hasn’t been repaired, it indeed will have no effect.  Sadly yes, that means you have to keep trying.  This is the only thing you personally can do to speed up the repair at this time.  

However, if you don’t do this, your service could be restored, but the tower would not know for another 24-hours.  By forcing the tower to pull new data, you are speeding up that process.

I assure you, they have heard us all and are very aware of what is down. So making calls in will only frustrate you and continue to overwhelm their call center.  They know very well, that this issue is causing hardship for people working at home, virtual learning, and all the other things we use the Internet for.  Personally, I’d rather they all stay working on the problem instead of answer phones, but that’s just me.  For most of the year as a reseller, I’ve talked to many of the people at GotW3 and I know they are all truly caring people, who are working non-stop with the carrier to get this corrected quickly.