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rippentorn
join:2012-01-07
Hockley, TX

rippentorn

Member

Jetpack plugged in all the time?

Do you leave your Jetpack plugged into the charger all of the time?

I just received mine and after its first charge it has lost 25% battery after a few hours. If I used it all the time recharging it as needed seems like it would be tedious.
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

That's how I use it, plugged in 24/7

Jack_in_VA
Premium Member
join:2007-11-26
North, VA

Jack_in_VA to rippentorn

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Plugged in and connected 24/7
ggultra2764
join:2007-09-13
Cambridge, NY

ggultra2764 to rippentorn

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Plugged in 24/7 via USB port on my laptop. Only occasions I'd unhook it would be if I need to use the USB cable for my laptop to recharge my cell phone.

Jack_in_VA
Premium Member
join:2007-11-26
North, VA

Jack_in_VA

Premium Member

Mine plugged in to receptacle in another room. Not near any of our computers.
rippentorn
join:2012-01-07
Hockley, TX

rippentorn

Member

OK cool, thanks!
rippentorn

rippentorn

Member

Do you have issues with it getting hot?

Mine is already a little warm.
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

the weaker the signal the warmer the device becomes when the internal radio has to ramp up to keep the connection
criggs
join:2000-07-14
New York, NY

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I don't know if the Jetpack can do this, but the two Sprint hotspots from Sierra Wireless/Netgear, the Overdrive and the Tri-Fi, can operate with no battery, plugged into the AC. That's how I used them, with the battery lid OFF. It was the only way I could configure them so they NEVER overheated. And then I simply connected to them through WiFi.
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

works the same, you can remove the battery, and if plugged into a wall socket it functions fine
lan41
join:2013-11-16
Charlotte, TN

lan41 to criggs

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to criggs
so you can leave the battery out of the sprint tri fi hotspot
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

you can leave the battery out of any device that also connects to a wall socket.
criggs
join:2000-07-14
New York, NY

criggs

Member

Well, not always. The T-Mobile Sonic 2.0 will not operate unless the battery is loaded.

Diugo
@blackberry.net

Diugo to Jim_in_VA

Anon

to Jim_in_VA
This is great to know! I had a laptop ten years ago that would frequently hang the OS when trying to recharge the battery. Eventually I found that the laptop worked just fine without the battery---and never hung after that either.
Diugo

Diugo to criggs

Anon

to criggs
Thanks Criggs for the no battery idea! These jetpacks have presented some users with major problems in the past---so "try removing the battery" can be added to the list of suggestions for them.
uptospeed
join:2012-10-28
North Collins, NY

uptospeed to rippentorn

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When I remove the battery the unit powers down and when it's reinstalled it powers back up. Wish I could run without the battery it would cool it down.
nogaps
join:2011-01-08
Greenbush, MI

nogaps

Member

said by uptospeed:

When I remove the battery the unit powers down and when it's reinstalled it powers back up. Wish I could run without the battery it would cool it down.

Ditto. My MiFi goes into a boot-loop with battery removed.

Diugo
@blackberry.net

Diugo to uptospeed

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So what was Jim_in_VA's trick to get it working?
rb5505
join:2013-02-06
united state

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ours is plugged in all the time to a timer that comes on a 2 am for 2 hrs each night. that recharges it for use each day.

»www.amazon.com/Intermati ··· ds=timer
ajanis
join:2004-10-19
Oswego, IL

ajanis to Diugo

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to Diugo
said by Diugo :

So what was Jim_in_VA's trick to get it working?

I would like to know this as well. My jetpack loops without connecting if there is no battery.

This is what I miss about my Sierra 803S Tri-Fi. With OR without the battery - just connect it to power and it would turn on and connect without me issuing any commands to power on. Plug it in and go.

With the JetPack with battery - connect to power and it "standby boots" to monitor the battery charge level, and charges as needed. You have to physically push the power button to get it to turn on and connect. Without battery it just loops and loops, and never fully boots to allow you to connect.
elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA

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We run our Novatel 4620 24x7.

No issues, except that pesky "mandatory update" that came through at the beginning of the month.
wmorgel
join:2013-12-22
Douglas, AZ

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I use the Jetpack attached to my computer rather than the wall. And I have the antenna sold by Millenicom attached too. This way I get more bars reception, and my 3 adult daughters (who live here) also have access (oh ya the printer too) .

I found with the Jetpack plugged into the wall there were issues. But plugged directly into my computer they went away.

Hope this helps you.

Jack_in_VA
Premium Member
join:2007-11-26
North, VA

1 edit

Jack_in_VA

Premium Member

I have mine plugged in the wall in another room. On 24/7 with no issues.
Perhaps you may have some noisy power that the computer filters out with the USB. You should not have any problems with just using your computer USB to keep the battery charged. Just monitor the charge indicator from time to time.

USB Power Delivery specification

In July 2012 the USB Promoters Group announced the finalization of the USB Power Delivery ("PD") specification, an extension that specifies using certified "PD aware" USB cables with standard USB type A/B connectors to deliver up to 100 W of power at 20 V. For PD-aware cables with USB-micro B/AB connectors the maximum power supported is up to 60 W at 20 V, 36 W at 12 V and 10 W at 5 V. In all cases, either host-to-device or device-to-host configurations are supported.

The intent is to permit uniformly charging laptops, tablets, USB-powered disks and similarly higher power consumer electronics, as a natural extension of existing European and Chinese mobile telephone charging standards. This may also affect the way electric power used for small devices is transmitted and used in both residential and public buildings.

BlueHeron
join:2013-11-14

BlueHeron to wmorgel

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to wmorgel
said by wmorgel:

I use the Jetpack attached to my computer rather than the wall.

Some hotspots can't recharge properly from a USB port while operating, since their operating power consumption exceeds the supply specs for USB ports. If left on all the time, the battery will eventually go flat. Check your documentation and see if yours is one of them.
criggs
join:2000-07-14
New York, NY

criggs

Member

Another easy way to check it is simply to monitor the battery level over the course of time as it is connected to the computer.

In the case of the Sprint Overdrive, for example, it would recharge from the computer on paper. In fact, the moment there was any activity on the part of the Overdrive (meaning ordinary data transfer up or down) the charging would come to an abrupt halt.

On my Sonic 2.0 Hotspot, the battery does NOT run down when connected to the computer, but it does not charge either: it maintains equilibrium (i.e., if there is 71% of the battery charge available the battery will STAY at 71% indefinitely).

I don't know what the story was with my Tri-Fi, since the LTE signal was so wretched I had to leave the darn thing in the window all the time and connect through WiFi. In the latter's case, however, it would operate plugged into AC with the battery removed (so would the Overdrive), which actually made life a lot easier, since both devices would occasionally overheat when on battery.

The Sonic 2.0, on the other hand, will NOT operate with the battery removed. In addition, it won't even START when plugged in to AC. I have found, however, that if I turn it on first on battery power and get it going, successfully connected, etc., I can then plug it in to AC with no ill-effects. I have not monitored it long enough to see if it's charging when connected to the Internet with the AC also connected. It either maintains equilibrium or charges, but I don't know which yet; it may only be possible to charge it when it is off; I don't know.

Jack_in_VA
Premium Member
join:2007-11-26
North, VA

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Just check your battery indicator from time to time. You should have no problems at all.