Page 1 of 1

Possible to repurpose an old 4Gcommunity ZTE Pocket Wi-Fi to PCS4P ?

Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2018 7:26 am
by CAL77
As I posted in another thread, I have new Franklin R850 modems that I can't get to tether (either to a Pc or to a ROOter). One thought I had was to move one SIM to a Pocket Wi-Fi hotspot that has been out of use since 4GC shut down. Initial attempts at that modem with the (known good) PCS4P SIM do not connect to Sprint. I can experiment more, but I thought I'd first ask if this is a hopeless exercise?

If so, I'm curious why. They are both Sprint re-sellers.

Re: Possible to repurpose an old 4Gcommunity ZTE Pocket Wi-Fi to PCS4P ?

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 1:47 pm
by bjames
Swapping SIM cards in Sprint provisioned hotspots do not work since the IMEI is tied the SIM Card and plan.

It is possible to "call" Sprint (I used the business phone number), and tell them you need to change out a non-working device.

Sprint will need the phone number assigned to the Franklin 850, and possibly the IMEI. You can find these somewhere in the web user menu.

They will need the IMEI and the corresponding SIM Card ICC ID number for the Pocket WiFi.

I tried this several times using Chat. All suggested I needed the PIN for the account to change the device. Very frustrating.

Someone suggested I call Sprint business. The first person I spoke with seem to be having a bad day and quickly blew me off.

The second time I called, the rep took the information, swapped the device and activated it while I was on the phone. Took her all of 5 minutes.

Re: Possible to repurpose an old 4Gcommunity ZTE Pocket Wi-Fi to PCS4P ?

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 8:36 pm
by CAL77
Sounds like good advice. I'll set aside an afternoon to call (and call and call). Thanks.