Winegard gateway GW 100 not connecting to hotspot

[Sparky12]

This worked perfectly last summer. I was able to use my iPhone’s hotspot many times.
When I first attempted to connect this year, it sees the hotspot and tries to connect but cannot.
I have been on tech support phone calls with Winegard on 3 different occasions. They walk me through the process including a total reset and reconfiguration of the gateway using their 10.11.12.1 home page. It will connect to available wifi networks. I am trying to avoid using their data packages, they cost $80 for 10 Gb every 30 days. Expensive and inadequate, I already pay for an unlimited plan on my phone.
Used the email tech support a couple times as well. I had asked for a replacement gateway. Their response is “If it connects to a wifi network, it is not a hardware issue “. So, I guess that leaves it as a software issue that they can’t fix???
Or, have they disabled that function to connect to your phone’s hotspot to sell their useless SIM card data plan?
I have used my cellular carrier’s tech support to try and solve this, they could not get it to work. My other devices are able to connect to my hotspot.

Frustrated in Canada!

 

[Soundsailor]

Wow, that sounds very frustrating, especially since it has worked in the past. While I don't have the GW 100, I'm plenty familiar with routers in general. You say it "sees" the hotspot from your phone. What happens when it doesn't connect?

Just a blind guess here, what network is your hotspot configured for? You mention that the GW 100 has a configuration page of 10.11.12.1. It's possible that your hot spot is configured for a network that the GW 100 doesn't support. Have you changed any of the hotspot parameters since last summer? Maybe you've done this, but try resetting all of the hot spot settings being sure you note the exact password and username.

 

[Sparky12]

Wow, that sounds very frustrating, especially since it has worked in the past. While I don't have the GW 100, I'm plenty familiar with routers in general. You say it "sees" the hotspot from your phone. What happens when it doesn't connect?

Just a blind guess here, what network is your hotspot configured for? You mention that the GW 100 has a configuration page of 10.11.12.1. It's possible that your hot spot is configured for a network that the GW 100 doesn't support. Have you changed any of the hotspot parameters since last summer? Maybe you've done this, but try resetting all of the hot spot settings being sure you note the exact password and username.

When you do a search for wifi networks, you choose which one to connect to. I chose my hotspot, put in the password, and it attempts to connect. After about 3 minutes a message comes up stating it cannot connect.
Maybe the updates that iPhone performs regularly affected connectivity. The data plan should be the same, but the carrier calls it by a different name. They couldn’t help either. When I install my phone’s SIM card in the gateway, it works. It looks like I will be getting a second SIM card-data only to leave in the gateway.

I appreciate the help!

 

[ajg617]

Or, have they disabled that function to connect to your phone’s hotspot to sell their useless SIM card data plan?


Frustrated in Canada!

I suspect the above is probably the case. I also did not like their price point for LTE when I could get two new free 5G phones and unlimited data for 90/month including taxes from T-Mobile. Complaints on IRV2 forum - unable to connect to android phone hotspot. Note below on Verizon's community forum dated last June despite the Verizon logo on Winegard's Gateway 1000 site. Says a lot about Winegard:


"vzw_customer_support
Customer Support
‎06-16-2021 04:49 PM

Lisa_L12, thanks for those details. I truly apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, however, we do not support the Winegard Gateway GW-1000/Air 360+. That is not a device that is compatible on our network at this time. I recommend reaching out to the manufacturer for further support."

 

[Sparky12]

Well, not the ideal solution, but I picked up a second SIM card and installed it in the gateway. Still unsure as to why the hotspot worked last year but not this. I suspect apple.

 

[Gypsy55]

I have a Telus SIM card (data only) and can’t get it to connect? How were you successful at this?

 

[Sparky12]

I just installed the sim card in the gateway, my cellular provider gave me a little converter so that the sim card would fit, then selected " 4G " from the " Internet Source " screen. It connected automatically after that.