AT&T Beam / Aircard 340U not recognized by Ultrabook PC (Windows 10)

[Mi3keB]

MY 340U is not recognized by my machine when inserted. It appears as though it is stuck in some kind of constant restart loop - The AT&T logo will appear of its screen for a couple seconds, then go blank, then the logo appears agian, then it goes blank agian, etc.

I have a Dell 9350 (XPS 15) Ultrabook that I purchased from Dell Outlet less than a year ago.  I upgraded the OS from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 the second day I had the machine.  I have updated the system BIOS and all drivers to the latest versions.

I also have a Netgear AC340U (AT&T Beam) that I recently purchased from AT&T.  I have updated the Firmware to the latest version available from Netgear at this site: http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/26983/~/aircard-340u-(at%26t-beam)-downloads-and-docum... 

I had to use a different laptop to do this- Yes, The 340U seems to work just fine on 3 other PC's in my house; just not this one.

Thinking this must be a Dell issue, I contacted Dell Tech Support.

After remotely connecting to my PC and re-installing all the same drivers I already had, they had me perform a few tests:

I plugged in a 1.5TB external USB 3 HDD - It worked just fine.

I plugged in a small 8GB flash drive - It worked just fine.

I plugged in my iPhone 6Plus - It worked just fine.

I plugged in an old AC313U - It worked just fine.

I plugged in the 340U - It did what it always does on this machine: Nothing.  

The Dell technician suggested I contact AT&T or Netgear to see if they could help.

AT&T Tech support is a joke - They told me that I needed to contact Dell or Netgear.

Netgear support told me that it sounded like a Dell issue and they would not help me becuase I purchased the device from AT&T. 

So nobody wants to help and apparently Customer Service in general died a long time ago!  😞

I did some more googling and found this community.

I read a couple other posts regarding the 340U (& 341U) where some folks were having similar experiences with an HP Ultrabook and a MS Surface Book.

So, now I am thinking this really is an issue with the 340U and that it might just not be getting enough power to start up properly.

In one of those other posts (which was closed), the poster seemed work around the issue by using a powered USB hub, or a cable that allows the device to draw power from two USB ports, instead of just one.  

The other person with the MS Surface Book issue did not yet seem to find a resolution.

I wat to see if there are any other folks out there with this device (340U or 341U) having issues or requiring some work-arounds to get it to work on an ultrabook.

Please add comments below.  Any help would be appreciated.

[Mi3keB · Accepted solution]

@zactly, Maybe this is just a matter of symantecs, but I don't feel like this is a "solution", but rather a "work-around".  

If you had read my further posts on this thread, I already explored the "usb hub" work-around.  While it is functional, and I use it in emergencies, it requires that I carry around yet another peice of hardware that I would much rather not have to carry with me.

So, I decided to get a usb 3.0 hub, with a built in ethernet port, since the XPS 15 does not have one of those either.  At least now this extra hardware that I must carry with me servce more than one purpose.

Thanks for your reply to this thread.

Mi3keB

[Mi3keB]

Here's a link to @Jlittle489's post where the issue was worked around:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/AirCard-LTE-Hotspots-Gateways/Aircard-340u-Problem-with-Windows-8-1...

[Mi3keB]

Here's a link to @Nati_S's post regarding the Surface Book and the 341U (Same device, but for T-mobile):

https://community.netgear.com/t5/AirCard-LTE-Hotspots-Gateways/341u-on-Windows-10-Surface-Book/m-p/1...

[Mi3keB]

Just for fun, here is the chat transcript of my worthless Netgear support session:

Case #: 27240072
Thank you for choosing NETGEAR.
Lyn: My name is Lyn with Expert ID 46383. How may I assist you today?
Lyn: Hello, Michael!
Mi3keB: Hi. I have a Netgear AC 340U that I purchased from AT&T
Mi3keB: It works flawlessly on 3 windows machines.
Mi3keB: However, I have my main Dell XPS 15 laptop that won't recognize it
Lyn: I see.
Mi3keB: Do you know if there is a common compatibility issue with certain dell laptops?
Lyn: Michael, since this unit is from your ISP, the service and support should come from them. Based on the information you provided, I think it would also be best to contact Dell regarding this case.
Mi3keB: I spoke to a Dell technician and after they did a remote access session to my pc for about 1 hour they came to the conclusion that the pc is functioning correctly.
Lyn: I do apologize, but since this unit is from your ISP, the support should be coming from them. You may try to contact them, Michael.
Mi3keB: AT&T told me to contact Dell.
Mi3keB: Dell told me to contact you.
Mi3keB: You tell me to contact AT&T.
Lyn: Michael, based on the information , I think this is really an issue from Dell since other devices work.
Mi3keB: This is the only device that does not work on my Dell laptop.
Mi3keB: I have several other usb devices, including another Aircard (313U) that work fine on it.
Lyn: I do apologize, but the support for your AirCard 340U should be coming from your ISP since it comes from them.

[Mi3keB]

@Wstyle1, Can you describe the compatibility issues you experienced?

I'm interested in seeing if the 340U behaves the same way as it does in my Dell XPS 15.

[Mi3keB]

I received some items from amazon today-time for some experiments...

First I tried a powered usb 3.0 hub:  I plugged in the AC340U and my Dell PC recognized it and it works perfectly.

I then tried a USB cable that allows the user to plug a single usb device into two usb ports to pull more power: I plugged in the AC340U and the PC recognized it, but I could not get it to connect to the net.  I think it still wasn't getting enough juice from the USB ports.  

All this tells me that the AC340U is a power hungry little brat. It's probably a design flaw that cannot be fixed via firmware.  However, at least I can still use it with the powered hub (a majorly inconvenient work-around) if I'm in a bind.

Maybe it's time to look for an unlocked Huawei device since it seems that Netgear (Sierra Wireless) will probably not be releasing any more LTE dongles.

[Mi3keB]

Further experimentation:

I removed the power adapter from the usb hub and plugged it into my PC, then I plugged in the AC340U.  It worked!!

Now I really am at a loss.  There was no additional power being supplied at all.  The only difference is that there was a 3 port hub in between the AC340U and my pc.  Perhaps, the chipset in the hub is somehow fixing whatever mis communication is taking place between the AC340U and my PC?

I don't know.  I'm stumped.  At least now I don't have to cart that power brick around in my laptop bag. 🙂

[zactly]

SOLUTION FOUND!

I have the same AirCard and the same Dell XPS 15 and having the same problem, but just got it fixed today.

First Problem.  

The card restarts over and over with the ATT logo.

SOLUTION: buy a cheap USB hub, and plug the AirCard into it.  For some reason, the AirCard doesn't like the USB 3.0 ports on the Dell XPS.  After I did this, the card said "Ready to Connect".

Second Problem

The computer would no reconginze the device.

SOLUTION: Download the drivers from Netgear and manually instal them in the Device Manager.  

Details:

Download the drivers and extract into folder on your desktop for ease of use. Hit Windows Key + X,  then choose Device Manager.  Look under Universal Serial Bus Controllers.  Then right-click, "USB Mobile Braodband Network Adapter Module", and choose "Update Driver Software". Then "Browse My Computer".  Then "Let Me Pick".  Then "Have Disk". Browse to downloaded drivers. Select Drivers->swnc8u00. Then choose "Sierra Wireless TRU-Install. Click YES to Install driver, even though its not recommended.  Now its says "Modem Detected".    Now just uplug the aircard and plug it back in and it WORKS!

Also, be sure and download the Netgear AirCard Wtcher.  It has a nice connect button when you're ready to go LIVE.

Download Drivers

http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/26983/~/aircard-340u-(at%26t-beam)-downloads-and-docum...

[Mi3keB · Accepted solution]

@zactly, Maybe this is just a matter of symantecs, but I don't feel like this is a "solution", but rather a "work-around".  

If you had read my further posts on this thread, I already explored the "usb hub" work-around.  While it is functional, and I use it in emergencies, it requires that I carry around yet another peice of hardware that I would much rather not have to carry with me.

So, I decided to get a usb 3.0 hub, with a built in ethernet port, since the XPS 15 does not have one of those either.  At least now this extra hardware that I must carry with me servce more than one purpose.

Thanks for your reply to this thread.

Mi3keB