USB Modems! Random Disconnect Fix (kinda)

jimmyco2008

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Admins, you've done a grand job getting the non-smartphone device forums going, good stuff. Until there is a dedicated USB Modem forum (That will happen, right?), I thought I would share a fix for the random disconnects all us USB modem owners experience.

VZAccess Manager notifies that you're now surfing on EVDO Rev.Ae, LTE, NationalAccess, what have you. And then seconds, minutes, perhaps an hour later, bam, random disconnect. Now you have to restart that download, a convenient (for Verizon) waste of data for thousands, if not millions of users.

Windows 8 (Consumer Preview) offers some hope- 2 days straight with no random disconnects, which is about 2 days more than my record connection time of about 45 minutes. Windows 8 uses some kind of integrated system for configuring and connecting to the internet via our USB Modems (in my case the LG VL600 4G Modem), and I am completely independent of VZAccess Manager.

Upon inserting the VL600 on my laptop's new Windows 8 installation, a driver installation window popped up, and within minutes I laid eyes upon the fabled green light on success on my modem. Could it be? Connected without VZAM? Lo and Behold.

Some notes:
  • Under Network Connections (Network and Sharing Center -> Change Adapter Settings on the left side panel), the VL600 shows up as a LAN connection via NDIS (the same protocol that lets us USB tether with our beloved Android phones)
  • The modem connects automatically when inserted, and can be disabled and enabled manually via that Network Connections menu.
  • While the random disconnects have gone away, I have spotty coverage at home, and you, like me, may experience service drops just from being in a borderline dead zone.
  • VZAccess Manager does not detect the modem when it is in use through Windows 8.
  • Yes, you can share this connection via Ad-Hoc through your laptop's WiFi to make a "MiFi" Hotspot. lol.
  • Keep in mind I have a VL600, I do not know if this works for the Pantech or Verizon-branded 4G Modem counterparts, or 3G modems for that matter.
If you're looking to ditch VZAccess Manager altogether with Windows 8, keep in mind you will lose the ability to send and receive text messages, however data usage can be monitored through the new Windows Task Manager. And as always, if anyone has any contributing information, especially regarding the other modems out there, do share!

EDIT: VZAccess Manager works with Windows 8, but it really hadn't before today... So it's iffy stuff, but anyway, I used VZAccess Manager and the random disconnects were back... I would definitely say VZAM is to blame, not that Verizon will do anything about it.
 
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jimmyco2008

jimmyco2008

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If the modem drivers do not install, you need to download VZAccess Manager, run it, wait until the "welcome" to setup window, then cancel the install. In between, it installs drivers.

So don't use VZAM, just close it after it installs drivers.
 
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