Pepwave BR 1 Issues

[Maineiac]

Originally Posted by turk123

Oh, I forgot to mention that Jason no longer works for Airstream.

Ok, yes, that is who we talked to originally, i had the original names mixed up

[Maineiac]

As this system and connection worked fine until I did the swap in June of last year to the t mobile sim card, did I some how not do the set up process properly, i know there were certain steps to follow, did I mess up something in the updating router process at that time and it cant clear itself?

Ironically, Airstream can see the router with the active t mobile low data chip in slot 1 as we speak.

[Maineiac]

Its like the router is connected to airstream, but no monitor or control data or functions can be seen from the app and the unit does not connect locally, ever!

For any consolation, My local dealer spent 3 hours trying to make this work in late March and gave up.

I wonder, if working properly, can air stream read info like tank levels, propane levels or turn my lights on from their office? If so can they read mine, because I cant

[turk123]

I have time today and will remove my AT&T card from slot 2 to see if mine will work without it. I remember something from when I worked with it years ago: the Airstream card in slot one had only about 1 hour of data on it so that dealers could test the system. If that data is used up on your card, this might be the problem.

Also, when you log into the Airstream-xxc network with your phone, does it show a "low data rate" message or something similar?

I'm heading out to the trailer now . . . stay tuned!

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by BreadNCircus

If Airstream can see your rig, but you can’t see any info, try these next in order of difficulty:

1) completely close and reopen the AS apps — guessing you did this.

2) using you phone’s settings, connect to the Pep unit’s WiFi. See if you can see any stats. The app should show you are connected locally.

3) check the unit’s back and ensure the RJ45 Ethernet is firmly plugged in. That’s what get the information from the Airstream’s controllers.

4) reboot the Pep unit by unplugging it.

5) reboot your entire Airstream by disconnecting it from all power including battery disconnect.

If you still get nothing from a local connection, something is broken or disconnected.

M & K

If I ever go on life support, unplug me... and then plug me back in.
See if that works.

Gizmo's rock...

Bob
🇺🇸

[Maineiac]

Originally Posted by turk123

I have time today and will remove my AT&T card from slot 2 to see if mine will work without it. I remember something from when I worked with it years ago: the Airstream card in slot one had only about 1 hour of data on it so that dealers could test the system. If that data is used up on your card, this might be the problem.

Also, when you log into the Airstream-xxc network with your phone, does it show a "low data rate" message or something similar?

I'm heading out to the trailer now . . . stay tuned!

Thank you Turk, look forward to your results

That will be a good question to solve.

Forgetting about trying to connect remotely to the rv through the smart app for the time being. And keeping in mind that my smart app will not connect "locally" to the pepwave router while sitting in the camper hooked to the router with my device connected with a limited data card in slot 1


Question: Does the pepwave router require a standard data plan in slot 2 in order to connect " locally" to the c zone panel while in your rv?

Question 2 : Can you connect "locally" thru the pepwave router to the c zone panel will in the rv with your device without a data plan in either slot?

Look forward to Turks findings

[turk123]

I removed my provider sim from Peplink's second slot, hooked it up, and turned it on. It works fine for a local connection. It shows "no internet," so it won't work remotely. But it works fine in the trailer.


If you ask me, you should have them download all the proprietary software into your modem again and then try it. They updated your modem before when they upgraded to the new T-moble sim; they can do it again now.

It all points to not getting the proper download. When I was working with Jason, we sometimes downloaded changes they wanted me to test three times in one day. It is a very automatic process, as Airstream can watch the entire fleet of trailers using this system out in the field. Scary.

In the meantime, please check your four wires on the back of the Peplink to check if they are all correct. If looking at the back of the modem, left to right it is GPS, Lte, Lte, WiFi. It is also marked on the back but hard to see if your cables are very short.

If that does not work, have them send you another sim. You have to set up your account again to use it. If that fails, maybe Airstream will loan you another Peplink. Where are you located? Maybe someone here who is close to your location can swap out theirs to test if it works with your chip!

I hate to think that Airstream would abandon you in this matter; maybe you're not making your voice heard! I will be down to JC on the 24-25 of this month. Maybe I can track down Cory (although all these guys work from home now) and shake some branches! I will be meeting with the Josh the service manager, and with Rich March, the General Manager of Parts and Service, on another matter.

PM me your Name, Vin#, telephone, and email, although I might already have it.

[BreadNCircus]

Good advice from Turk123 about firmware. I believe there was another firmware reference in this thread, too.

Based on some other forum threads, about a year ago Airstream pushed a firmware update to the Pepwave units. Or tried to, anyway. Read on if you care to hear a guess about what happened and a good next step in if you have a unit that still doesn’t work.

I surmise that AS did not update the firmware in all its Pep units at the factory thereafter because our 2023 Classic delivered late October 2022 had old firmware and a useless T-Mobile SIM.

Sometime in 2022 (someone will correct the record on year and date) AT&T ended whatever deal AS thought it had made for a high-data use plan. I don’t have any sympathy for AS on this point. It should not have promised the availability of a plan over which it had no control.

There seems to have been a bad confluence of events around this. Others on this forum pointed out — accurately, in the case of our unit — that the T-Mobile SIM and plan for “connected devices” that AS replaced the AT&T plan with didn’t offer sufficient data and bandwidth to update the Pep firmware. Oopses!

Yet others have pointed out that this firmware must be delivered Over-The-Air (OTA) via mobile and not via the Ethernet WAN or even via WiFi. I believe this to be true.

So…if you’ve ruled out other easier fixes, and I believe you have, you might consider trading money for time and reduced frustration….

Go to a T-Mobile or AT&T store and bring a picture of your IMEI number. It’s on the Pep unit. Do not bother to go w/o this IMEI. Do not bother to call, you need the store to get the SIM.

Depending on your needs, either add a new SIM to your account or buy a prepaid SIM. Some people more clever than I suggest using a different carrier than your mobile phone. I just picked “easy” and added it to my AT&T account.

The IMEI number will tell the person behind the counter everything they need to know. Pep units are, unfortunately but accurately, data-terminals or modems or “hotspots” because they can drink large amounts of data.

[As envisioned by the AS marketing team, the AS would be a “connected device” since monitoring and control is a low-data need. But, AS engineering picked a very high capability device to implement this marketing idea. That’s why all this mess with a 3G (!!) T-Mobile SIM.]

Let’s say you pick a data plan connected to your account. You’ll need it for a month or until you move the trailer somewhere with a decent signal. You will want to power-cycle the Pep to ensure the firmware update gets started. A pre-paid SIM with sufficient capacity should work, too, I suppose.

What could go wrong?

It’s unlikely, but you could have a bad Pep unit.

In my 33’ AS, it’s a long cable run from that front corner to the CZone box, with at least one repeater.

You may have “bricked” part of the Pep and it can be hard to tell w/o admin access which will never be available from AS because it would be a security risk to all of us.

Is this fair?

Probably not. If the firmware is indeed the problem, if the old firmware won’t provide minimal capabilities with whatever AS changed (or CZone or NMEA standards), if the low capacity T-Mobile SIM and plan can’t update the firmware….

Are there very many affected customers? No. It’s going to be a few who fell into the gap either because of when they took delivery (like us), or who were unlucky and had their AS powered off while the old data plan still worked and AS pushed the OTA update.

Anyhow, I solved this part of the problem by paying $25 for a data plan. My firmware updated (AFAIK). I’ve kept it on the account. Now it works Ok.

BTW, we use a Starlink and it’s great!

M & K

[Maineiac]

Thank you Breadn Circus and turk for your research and advise,

The scenario that Breadn Circus describes, seems logical, and I can see that the only choice now is to grab a sim card with capacity, put it in slot 2 and than ask tech support to push an update thru. It does seem like my router is stuck in nowhere land.

Turks confirmation that the app works without a data card in the slot in the local setting while at the rv confirms even more ....as mine wont do that.

The next time we go down country, (we are 2 hours from a capable att store, or any other capable cell provider outlet) I will most likely go to our att cell provider with my imei number and get the "data" only sim card for this router.

If we get bogged down after that, I will see if Turk can connect me with Cory when he is at the mothership.

Thank you all for your time and input.

I will update this thread once we get the 2 nd sim card in place.

[Jtom]

I would call pepwave also to see if you can use slot 2. Ive be told by John at AS that lots is reserved for them.

[Willyspu]

I had a similar issue, I did not go with the AS connect but I bought a BR1 directly from the 5g store. Mine worked great until last Fall when it would no longer connect.

The solution was actually at the telecommunications provider, in this case ATT. I called and explained what was happening, they could see the unit at their end and after several changes and attempts they we able to get the sim card to work. They said they had upgraded their systems to 5G but my sim must have missed the upgrade.

If you are using T-Mobile, give them a call and see if everything looks good at their end. They may tell you they don't support Peplink but many of us use them. Good luck.

[billcruze]

Originally Posted by Maineiac

M & K, is my problem all based on the fact that I cant do step 2 in your outline.

I am not able to connect locally to the c zone when in my camper and hooked to the pepwave. The device scrolls and than reverts to connected remotely? It never connects locally and when connecting remotely still has no data and says rv is off line

How do I troubleshoot this issue?

I'm having the same problems with my czone also. Mine started last month. I have a Tmobile card in the B slot also and it's been working fine but not anymore. I rebooted everthing and I can connect and control if I'm connected to the router but not remotely. I have no internet the light just flashes. Tmobile says it all looks fine on there end so my next step is the mother ship. Thanks for posting your problem I don't feel alone.

[xyzabc]

Talk to Tmobile to verify that router is authorized to work on your plan. I had a similar issue with the $50 unlimited plan using the sim for their hotspot. Finally spoke with a representative who was familiar with RVing and got the sim cleared. If the plan for your sim isn't authorized for your router, you will never get it to work. Tmobile can help you out.

[turk123]

Originally Posted by Jtom

I would call pepwave also to see if you can use slot 2. Ive be told by John at AS that lots is reserved for them.

Maybe you misunderstood him, but slot one is reserved for the airstream connect system. The number two slot is free to use with any provider. If you don't have Airstream Connect, you can use both slots with two providers!

Turk

[turk123]

By the way, I recently tested my system which includes a dual band router hooked up to the Peplink modem. We did this a few years ago so we could use the faster connection and double the speed. That is not true now! Either Peplink improved on its data transfer or AT&T (my provider) improved their 4g because my 4G tested a little faster on 2.4ghz than using it through the router on 5GHz (as opposed to 2.4 Ghz).

Interesting development! I will be leaving on a long trip soon and will test along the way. It is very interesting.

[kittmaster]

Originally Posted by Willyspu

I had a similar issue, I did not go with the AS connect but I bought a BR1 directly from the 5g store. Mine worked great until last Fall when it would no longer connect.

The solution was actually at the telecommunications provider, in this case ATT. I called and explained what was happening, they could see the unit at their end and after several changes and attempts they we able to get the sim card to work. They said they had upgraded their systems to 5G but my sim must have missed the upgrade.

If you are using T-Mobile, give them a call and see if everything looks good at their end. They may tell you they don't support Peplink but many of us use them. Good luck.

Since you are new here, you may not have heard... I've done this song and dance... The BR1-MINI will NOT... and I repeat NOT... work on a 5G plan for T-Mobile, ATT may be a different story, T-Mobile has been vetted and validated.

It must be put on a grandfathered 4G plan they have reserved in a special group that can activate it on that system. It will work on 5G towers for about exactly 5 days and then the towers will block the device.

I have this system, done this method, and already fought the tidal wave of BS it brings... so any other surmising unless you can document it and prove me wrong with actual plan identifiers, allocations, an other factual data... are invalid.

[kittmaster]

Originally Posted by BreadNCircus

......Yet others have pointed out that this firmware must be delivered Over-The-Air (OTA) via mobile and not via the Ethernet WAN or even via WiFi. I believe this to be true.

This is true if you are under the AS connected service and operation. If you had any access to the Admin area of the BR1-Mini, you can upload the firmware directly from Pepwave as they release it. It is publicly available for all of the units they sell.

The problem is that Airstream has locked down the Admin area so only THEY can update it via inControl as part of the Fleet thing.

It has been surmised that this was part of the very original ATT plan contract.. but since this has evaporated, I can't see this as still be enforced.... yet it is. So that is why it is done OTA and the user has no access to the admin area to upload it themselves....

This adds another layer of complication because now you need a valid service, a proper connection to a cell tower, enough data to download the 100mB firmware image (small by all accounts) and then "wait" for it to update when it has a good opportunity to do so...or if you call Airstream ask them to push it while you are on the phone assuming they can connect to your unit.

It is just way to frustrating, but then again, look at the target audience... a large majority are not tech savvy, understand anything about IP, DNS, DHCP, Gateways and all the rest... they want the apple experience... put something I can connect my phone/laptop too and it just "works"... well, product delivered...while the rest who can/could actually self service are froze out because of the lowest common denominator... that isn't meant to be mean... just the facts.

So there's that....

[trsvax]

Peplink products are designed for corporate use and maintained by an IT department. If set up that way the local admin interface is not available and the admin interface is projected over the Internet to the "owner".

It seems the ones supplied with Airstream Connect are setup that way which effectively means Airstream is your IT department. Whether or not that is more complicated depends on many things. In an ideal world it should be simpler for the end user.

The updates will come over the WAN interface whatever that is. Given that Airstream configures the WAN interface it's unlikely to be your wifi.

I would say if Airstream can see the admin interface they should be able to fix it unless it's a hardware problem. It they can't see the interface it's effectively a hardware problem because other than power cycle it there is not much you can do.

[kittmaster]

Originally Posted by trsvax

Peplink products are designed for corporate use and maintained by an IT department. If set up that way the local admin interface is not available and the admin interface is projected over the Internet to the "owner".

It seems the ones supplied with Airstream Connect are setup that way which effectively means Airstream is your IT department. Whether or not that is more complicated depends on many things. In an ideal world it should be simpler for the end user.

The updates will come over the WAN interface whatever that is. Given that Airstream configures the WAN interface it's unlikely to be your wifi.

I would say if Airstream can see the admin interface they should be able to fix it unless it's a hardware problem. It they can't see the interface it's effectively a hardware problem because other than power cycle it there is not much you can do.

Almost entirely true except for one little nagging point. If you don't have a valid cellular plan that is compatible with the device, then NO ONE has admin access to the device by your definition.

There have been those here who could not have their firmware updated because they had no cellular access and THAT had to be rectified BEFORE JC could perform the update. That is a very GLARING issue in my mind, no matter what the intent is.

EDIT ADD: This also is under the assumption that you plan to stay with ATT forever by their standards, which most have not... and now leading to all kinds of compatibility issues... even though the device is meant to work on an array of systems.

And I will say, I have family in Ohio, but I will also say, Airstream does NOT have a proper IT department group of personnel who can support this... even on my last trip, techs were scratching their heads asking how to do XYZ to each other... Yes, I was there, I heard it for myself, and I stood there shaking my head... to which I interjected... do it this way... and then... "oh yeah... that worked... thanks".

So please, while the hardware intent is one thing, the execution here is quite another.

[trsvax]

Agree and in the corporate world a "bad" sim would be a hardware problem and IT would fix it and the IT department would be the admin again. The problem here is it's kinda unclear who is responsible for what.

IMHO: The owner of the device should be responsible for the sim. If Airstream is selling a service that's fine and the sim/data comes with that and they own it. I think that was the original intent. Trying to find a working sim plan without knowing what to get is going to be difficult especially if you don't have admin rights. The config could be locked to a carrier and the plans change so often there is really no way to even recommend one.

I can see how it would be nice to have a service that provides working Internet in a Airstream. Clearly it can be hard and you make money doing it?

Lastly it is possible to have both local admin and inControl. That's how I run mine. There is always factory reset but then you own it for sure.

FYI: My truck is getting a software update so I can feel your pain.