dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
22493

Oregonian
Premium Member
join:2000-12-21
West Linn, OR

Oregonian

Premium Member

[Troubleshooting] MiFi 4620L Firmware Won't Update

My MiFi Jetpack 4620L is telling me through its browser interface that there is a firmware update available. The update is from 3.20.03 to 3.20.03.1 and Verizon says it is a "mandatory update." But when I tell the browser to install the update it fails with a 403 error. I have also tried updating it from the MiFi front panel using the button and get the same problem - the update fails. Have also tried turning the MiFi off and on again. When I turned on it said that an update was available but again it failed to install. Is anyone else seeing this issue?
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

I was having the same problem until I reset the Jetpack by taking the battery and sim card out, wait 30 seconds, and then re-install. This will put everything back to factory defaults.

Then I was able to get the new firmware.

Worked for me, give it a shot.

Oregonian
Premium Member
join:2000-12-21
West Linn, OR

Oregonian

Premium Member

After you did the battery and SIM pull did you then connect to the unit using WiFi and download the update from the built-in web portal or did the update just "automagically" show up on the unit?
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

wifi and portal , it did not show up automatically

Oregonian
Premium Member
join:2000-12-21
West Linn, OR

Oregonian

Premium Member

OK, thanks. Will give it a try when I get some time and report back on success or failure.

jb1146
@verizon.net

jb1146 to Oregonian

Anon

to Oregonian
Did all the above but it failed to update.
jcharr1
join:2007-05-16
Monterey, LA

jcharr1

Member

said by jb1146 :

Did all the above but it failed to update.

Ditto.
bcltoys
join:2008-07-21

bcltoys to Oregonian

Member

to Oregonian
I had no problem's at all upgrading, are you guy's in good signal area's or bad.

jrp78
@myvzw.com

jrp78

Anon

The update does nothing to improve service. Mine is failing too but i'm in no rush to fix it because there is not fixes or enhancements.

»support.verizonwireless. ··· 620l.pdf

Oregonian
Premium Member
join:2000-12-21
West Linn, OR

Oregonian

Premium Member

Hey jrp78 thanks for posting this. The change in 3.20.03.1 is:

"Firmware will be updated to enable the device to receive future software updates successfully."

Of course, if I can't successfully update my MiFi to this version then I can't get it to "...receive future software updates successfully." It's kind of a never ending circle, dontcha think?
Oregonian

Oregonian to bcltoys

Premium Member

to bcltoys
I had a solid 5 bars when I tried the update. It seemed to download the update OK then said it would be 2 minutes or so to complete the upgrade but the MiFi rebooted in only about 5 seconds so I figured it didn't get the upgrade. When I checked, sure enough, the upgrade didn't take. I tried several times with no success.

I haven't yet tried pulling the battery and SIM as suggested by Jim_in_VA See Profile but, based on others who tried doing this, I am not holding out much hope for success.

jrp
@myvzw.com

jrp

Anon

FYI, I have tried a battery pull, sim pull and a factory reset but it still fails for me.
jrp

jrp to Oregonian

Anon

to Oregonian
Yep, quite funny ain't it? I had to manually update a 4510 a while back and the verizon page had instructions on how to download the firmware and tool but I'm not seeing anything like that for 4620, just the OTA update via the admin page.

Oregonian
Premium Member
join:2000-12-21
West Linn, OR

Oregonian

Premium Member

Well, I tried the battery and SIM card pull this morning with no luck. The firmware update still fails.

I have seen where others seem to be able to get it but this one just won't take it.

I'll keep trying occasionally and will post back if I ever this this %&*$#@! thing to update.

jeff4
join:2002-05-05
Ashburn, VA

jeff4

Member

Same here, nothing I've tried works. The unit works fantastic tho, love the service. But I'd love it even more if firmware updating works.

Jeff

Oregonian
Premium Member
join:2000-12-21
West Linn, OR

1 edit

Oregonian

Premium Member

I would appreciate it if anyone who has had success could post their Operating System information and Browser version.

I have been unsuccessful using Windows 7 (64 bit) and IE9.

Thanks.

Edit --> Also tried using Chrome v.22.
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

I used Win7(64 bit) with Chrome

Oregonian
Premium Member
join:2000-12-21
West Linn, OR

Oregonian

Premium Member

Thanks for reminding me that I had also tried the update with Chrome (no joy for me). Glad you got it to work.
jcharr1
join:2007-05-16
Monterey, LA

2 edits

jcharr1 to Oregonian

Member

to Oregonian
I'm using Mac OS X 10.8.2 with Firefox 15.0.1, Safari 6.0.1, and IE9 under Windows 7 in VMWare Fusion. I also tried it with Safari on my iPad 3. It seems to not be an OS or browser issue.

[edit] I just tried Chrome 22.0.1229.79, too. No go.

Oregonian
Premium Member
join:2000-12-21
West Linn, OR

Oregonian

Premium Member

I'd say you've just about covered it for all of us! Based on your results and mine, I would agree that it is not an OS or browser issue. Thanks for posting.
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned) to Oregonian

Member

to Oregonian
odd that I and a few others had no problem with the update. Location issue? IDK

Oregonian
Premium Member
join:2000-12-21
West Linn, OR

Oregonian

Premium Member

Odd indeed.

It seems to download the update - I can see the progress bar in the browser interface. Then, the browser interface asks me if I want to update now. At the same time, the 4620L beeps and displays a message indicating that a mandatory update is available. It offers me the opportunity to update now or defer it until the next restart.

I have tried all three: update now from the browser, update now from the 4620L, and defer the update until the next restart. Incidentally, at the next restart the 4620L does indeed tell me that a deferred update is pending and will be installed.

BUT, no matter what I do, when it tries to install the update the screen on the 4620L goes blank for only a few seconds (even though it says that the update will take approximately 2 minutes, 49 seconds) and then it reboots -- obviously way too fast for an update to have taken place.

So, for now, I am at a loss as to why the update continues to fail. I think I will wait until Verizon (hopefully) posts a downloadable version of the update so that I can get a copy of it on my PC and try it from there using the USB connection.
jcharr1
join:2007-05-16
Monterey, LA

jcharr1

Member

That's exactly what happens with me, and I tried all the same things, too.
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned) to Oregonian

Member

to Oregonian
you aren't missing much with the update. No added functions.

Oregonian
Premium Member
join:2000-12-21
West Linn, OR

Oregonian

Premium Member

said by Jim_in_VA:

you aren't missing much with the update. No added functions.

Except for the ability to get future updates! Arghh!

pdxsk
@auburnwa.gov

pdxsk to Oregonian

Anon

to Oregonian
I'm in an organization where we are deploying eight (8) MiFi 4620L's and experiencing the exact same symptoms. One of those eight did update to 3.20.03.01 successfully, the other seven have not.

I called Verizon tech support. They had me go through the reset process, etc..and after no success, they gave me Novatel tech supports phone number (877-259-2761) where I had to deal with someone even less knowledgable in India who had me do the exact same troubleshooting steps that I had done and that Verizon support had me do.

No luck and I'm waiting for a call back from Novatel after the tech discusses with his supervisor what to do next.

Everything looks great, until the device shuts down to update and it appears to just restart saying the update was successful. I didn't do anything different on the one MiFi that did update successfully.

I'll keep an eye on this thread if anyone posts more info. I can't believe we're the only ones experiencing it, but a Google search yields just this thread so far.

Oregonian
Premium Member
join:2000-12-21
West Linn, OR

Oregonian

Premium Member

Thanks for posting your experience. Sounds just like what I am seeing.

Please post back if you ever hear back from Verizon or Novatel.

jb1146
@verizon.net

jb1146 to Oregonian

Anon

to Oregonian
I spoke to Novatel Support in India, who sent a pdf of how to update.
Needless to say, it did not work. They had me attempt it twice while
on the phone. It did not work. They said they are sending the problem
to engineering.

Oregonian
Premium Member
join:2000-12-21
West Linn, OR

Oregonian

Premium Member

Funny, my strong belief is that they (Verizon and Novatel) already know there's a problem with getting a successful update to these units as the apparent sole purpose of the update we have been trying to install is to allow the device to receive future updates.

As I said above, I am hoping that Verizon will release a downloadable file which we can use to force the update rather than trying it through the web interface.

YoshiWantOut
@clearwire-wmx.net

YoshiWantOut

Anon

I recently got the 4620L and also have this very problem with firmware update. According to update log, I have attempted update around 10 times in different areas, web browsers, devices, etc. And they all resulted in a 403 failure after power cycling really quickly. At least I know it isn't just my device now.

Hopefully a fix will be discovered soon.