Rogers support was fine after 45 minutes of hold time. If it happens again they will swap it. Not sure why I need to wait for another incident but thats the way it is.

Concerned that I should not have purchased it since they are in the process of upgrading the network to LTE ( I think thats what the next generation is called). Apparently connectivity is up to 27 M with that version, wouldn’t that be nice. This device in HSPA mode will max out at 7 mb. Wonder what their plan will be to upgrade the fleet without alienating people like me?

They verified that there is a $10 /month charge for VPN. Don’t see this documented any where.

The support guys don’t know what the root and operator passwords are. “its locked”. Bit of a security hole in my opinon, the last people I want coming into my device is Rogers.

Finally they could not verify if I purchased a antenna I would get higher speeds , which right now are around 4M down /2M up, with 2 bars from the graphic GUI. If Rogers sold the antenna I could buy it and then return it if it didn’t so anything.

It would also be helpful for my situation if they told me where the tower is locacted so I can optimize the location of the antenna on the house sue to large overhangs and metal roof.

All in all a great solution for the last mile of connectivity that has been so long getting here. I can now cancel my extra Bell phone line and throw away the modems..

John

Interesting article, I recently purchased the data only option from Rogers, I too have this perched on a window sill and am looking for an external antenna solution, talking to nerds on site, they are willing to sell me the adapter and cable (MCX to N to FME) for about $70.00 then I can just plug in a car cell antenna. (Seriously thinking of a Wilson cell phone booster, as I can’t get reception in the house at all, but very pricey).

Have just installed the Hub, welcome to the new milennia. I can take my sign on the road, “warning entering digitally handicaped area drop speed to 28.8 !”

Download speeds 3.98down and 1.99 up with two bars of signal strength.

VPN doesn’t appear to work, additional charge? Dreading calling Rogers support the web support passed me to the 1-800 number because they are not trained on the device.

Has done a few funny things and at this point doesn’t like my Microsoft Media Server, (don’t do this at home kids).

While in the window it gets four to eight bars at times. The best download I have had is 4 Mbits but it still has stability issues. I am now beginning to believe that this is not our hardware but Rogers infrastructure or hardware as it is a relatively new technology.

Believe me, my teens demand solid technology which resulted in me paying half price for Bell WiMax for two years after I complained and complained. The hub is by far better than the Wimax system, which could drop to less than dial up conditions due to soooooo many people on the towers and server congestion.

Internet suppliers to the rural community are like bringing water to dessert people. The people will, however, get furious if they are given the water in leaky cups…….

Having a location we can call with the detailed part number, option to self install and ability to return if no significant advantage gained would be the ideal solution.

Also would like to point out that with Rogers you do not get a public IP address assigned to the Rocket Hub. This is important for those users (such as myself) that have a remote internet camera. The ability to port forward is an option on the HUB however since Rogers does not give you a public address it will not work. You do have the option (extra $10 a month) to purchase one from Rogers I don’t want to go down that route (doesnt seem right) so I have resorted to configuring my camera to send a scheduled upload of pics to a Public FTP site. Rogers should revisit this policy as there are many like me that will use the Hub in their Cottage or remote location and therefore use it for security or monitoring (temp etc…)

Thanks and here’s hoping we do here more in the coming days and weeks. I’m just passed the 15 day window and will keep it with the assumption that the Antenna and these other things will work themselves out.

Note that the product is built by Ericsson not Sony Ericsson so if you contact Sony Ericsson they will know nothing about the product.

A few comments and items of interest although it seems most of you have solved your issues.

External Antennas: There are several antenna options that will be available in Canada in the coming days as approved accessories for the Rocket Hub. Unfortunately you early adopters are the most likely candidates for external antennas.

- In the interim “Nerds Onsite” is an option: 1-877-897-0957. Inquire only about an antenna that supports the specs in the DIY option described next. They may not know the Rocket Hub, but they know antennas.

- “Do it yourself” options can be purchased from Wilson Electronics, or other websites at a lower price than buying all the way from Australia. The key to have is that the antenna much support 850/1900 Mhz and the adapter is an “MCX” male (female on the hub). The antenna choice depends entirely on what you want. Self installs are possible, but professional installs from the likes of Nerds Onsite is recommended if you are talking about mounting extended masts above tree lines, etc.

Helpdesk: The best number to call at Rogers for support on the Rocket Hub is 1-888-Rogers1 (note that not all the responding support staff have gone through the training yet being so new hence your experience) I recommend you ask for someone who is trained to support the Rocket Hub. Additional support can be found at the hub forum from Rogers.

Positioning the Rocket Hub: Best performance of the built in antennas is with the unit being vertical (on stand, or wall mounted) Don’t recommend pointing downward through the grid.

Wifi: It is possible that your device does not have the maximum power setting on the WiFi (50 feet seems odd and not normal unless your home is made of metal or thick concrete. Check wifi power setting on the WLAN page of the web interface. Repeaters are an option, or other Wifi routers but the other router needs to be in hub/switch modem or you will get IP address conflicts. I have also seen cases where users want to get the internet access outside into a barn/shop but the wifi isn’t strong enough, and running an extended cable isn’t feasible. In that case, I suggest a new device (Belkin offers one) that delivers Internet over your home power wiring. Essentially, the Belkin solution has 2 connectors. 1st plugs into the Rocket hub via Ethernet, then plug into wall outlet (cannot be a power strip), 2nd belkin plugs into wall outlet where you are trying to get the internet (again, don’t plug into a power strip/surge protector) and then plug an ethernet cable into the port and your PC. Easy way to do inside wiring without pulling cables.

“Disconnects” The rocket hub is designed to be “always on” as long as the network signal is strong enough, and available. Reading the examples shared, it is most likely network issues in the area since most of you are not getting strong signals (which are mostly resolved with the external antennas). Although it sounds like each of you are tech savy, if you are moving to the Rocket Hub from a Dial Up connection there are some things you may want to check on your PC/Laptop. A) DHCP lease time or auto renew (some older PC’s that haven’t been connected via an ethernet cable, or Wifi need the network connection settings checked. When you have to power off your PC/laptop to get connected again it is usually in the DHCP/IP address settings. Basically what is happening is the PC “forgets” that it is connected or should stay connected to the hub. B) We have also found issues with Microsoft Vista when using Wifi (won’t stay permanently connected)- where an upgrade to Service pack 3 is needed to fix the vista bug.

We were also promised the availability of an external antenna, so we brought this little gadget home (Bracebridge was the only dealer that we could find that had one). Plugged it in and voila, instant high speed internet!!!!! I excitedly plugged my telephone into it (I am happy to get away from Bell), and the connection was terrible. I noticed that we only had one section of bars lit up. The next day we had two sections of bars lit up, I plugged the phone in and it was excellent……..the next day we still had the 3G but no bars…..data still worked but the voice didn’t. Good thing I didn’t jump the gun and cancel my bell service.

Back to my original purpose for this little story. I went through similar bumps searching for an antenna. I talked to the Rogers dealer in Bracebridge and was told that the Nerd guys could install an external antenna on my house for the low cost of $450…..WOW……so I called the Rogers help folks and was told that they did not have an external antenna available. I went as far as to go to Toronto to a Rogers dealer to ask about the hub and an external antenna and the guy looked at me like I had a third eye directly placed in the middle of my forehead. He did however look into his computer and it showed a part number and price for the external antenna $99.99.

When I got home from my trip to the big smoke, I called Rogers again and after a grueling hour and a bit on the phone, I got to talk to a real live person. They told me that there was definitely not an external antenna for the hub. I again said that they advertised one on their website and if they did not in fact have one, they should remove it from the site. WOW, the next day it was gone off the Rogers website.

This all being said, I work in a location with some radio technicians and have managed to buy all the parts I need for an external antenna for about $150. Here is what I purchased:

Adapter cable from Powertech
20 feet of LMR 400 Cable with adapters
Multi-band directional Yagi antenna

This all seemed to work. But before trying this, I went into the attic, stuck the hub in one of our gable vents and turned it upside down so the signal would be “shot” through the house. This worked but not as good as the antenna.

Anyhow, just wanted to add my two cents. The hub works great when it works and I do recommend it to people.

I acquired a Rocket Hub on Dec. 11/09 to replace the horrible Rogers “Portable Internet” modem which regularly was slower than our old dial-up connection. We live in Caledon (north of Brampton) and have a great 3G+ signal here and according to speedtest.net we are getting 3 GB up and down most of the time with the Rocket Hub so for us that is really great.

The only problem we have had and still have is occasional “disconnects” that requires either the Hub to be re-initialized (unplugging or switching it to standby briefly) or as we finally discovered disabling and re-enabling the wireless adapter in our two computers (one a PCI adapter and the other a USB adapter). After multiple calls to Rogers tech support they finally agreed today to send a replacement after I asked for them to transfer me to a more senior person if they didn’t agree to do so. Hopefully the replacement will solve the problem.

I did try using an ethernet connection between one computer and the Hub and that worked flawlessly during the 6-day trial but that is not how we want to use it.

We know our wireless adapters work okay because that is what we used when we had our Linksys router tied into the Rogers “Portable Internet” modem.

I did try to connect the Rocket Hub to the Linksys router via an ethernet connection but for some reason that didn’t work at all.

I agree that the Rocket Hub is a great concept and great product.
The data plan is very good value (far better than than any USB modem plan I looked at)

The up/down speeds are excellent and works well for Skype video calls.
However, accessing and dealing with tech support is not an engaging or pleasant experience.