said by pivonka571:Does anyone have any suggestions about where I should look for a step by step procedure for setting up a new modem, or switching back to an old modem?
I am no expert, and others here can give you more nuts-and-bolts stuff than I can. However Smartview is a dumb and compliant application. It can only handle one modem at a time BUT it has no objection to SWITCHING modems as many times as you like, since all account info is embedded in the modem, NOT in the Smartview.
So the only "procedure" involved, as far as Smartview is concerned, is to close the application, properly eject the old modem, preferably through the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the tray at the bottom, pop in the new modem, wait for the computer to get comfortable with that situation, and then reopen the Smartview.
HOWEVER, even if that 598U used to work fine with your account, it no longer does. That's because your account is associated, by the gods at Sprint, with a particular ID number that each modem has uniquely. And currently Sprint's gods have your account associated with the ID number associated with your Franklin. So you still need their intervention to do this. You need them to change the modem ID number on your account from the Franklin ID to the Sierra ID.
The only thing I'm not sure about is the procedure to get your computer comfortable with the Sierra modem again, after having dealt with the Franklin on a regular basis. Here's where you need to apply to other experts here. I suspect, after closing Smartview, and then properly ejecting the Franklin, all you need to do is pop in the 598U and have the computer and the modem get to know each other again, but I could be wrong about that.
said by pivonka571:There should be no contract issues, since I have the Sierra and am not upgrading, right?
My guess is probably not, depending on how your account is configured. If your account was configured not to take advantage of your Franklin's 4G capability (meaning you have a 3G only account) then there shouldn't be any contract or account paperwork issues.
On the other hand, did you have 4G enabled on your account because you were using the Franklin? If you did, now that you're going back to a 3G only device Sprint may insist on changing the rules of your account.
Were you actually using 4G while using the Franklin? If you were, the chances are you had an unlimited 4G/5gig 3G account. Now that you're switching back to a 3G only account, you will be hit with the 5 gig limit as an everyday immutable fact of life.
Of course, if you've only been using your Franklin for 3G usage this will come as no shock to you, since you will have already been operating with that limitation.
The only way this could possibly get tricky is if you had one of the old Sprint unlimited 3G accounts, like I do, which are no longer sold.
If that's what you had, and if you chose, for that reason, NOT to enable 4G while using the Franklin, then the change from the Franklin to the Sierra must be done VERY CAREFULLY on the part of Sprint personnel or they could wind up KILLING your unlimited account and slamming you with the 5 gig cap!
As a matter of fact, in the course of dealing with my current troubles with my Sprint 3G account, I did, in my desperation, briefly discuss with Sprint the possibility of rolling back my modem from the current Franklin 3G/4G U600 to my old Sierra 598U. The representative was terrified of doing that, telling me he was afraid of accidentally bumping me off of my unlimited to the 5gig cap, and asked me not to ask him to do it. So I refrained.
Hope the above is helpful, and that others will step in to fill in the holes I've left.
