How to setup and troubleshoot your Digicel 4G Broadband Modem

So you’ve just brought a Digicel 4G Broadband modem for home use? Congratulations! You’ve finally realized the importance of having Broadband Internet and you’re ready to connect to the much promised 10Mbps Wireless Internet. Buss a bag of St. Mary Banana Chips and celebrate as you’re no longer a part of the statistic that doesn’t have Internet Access as noted in Jamaica’s Low Net Penetration – Broadband Internet A Universal Right.

Digicel 4G Broadband: A View to Kill Digicel’s Customer Care

Those of you reading this may wonder why an article specially for the Digicel 4G Broadband Modem connecting to their Network after having done the article How to Access LIME or Digicel’s 4G Internet using an unlocked 4G LTE Modem Dongle, smartphone or Tablet. The reason is rather clear: this is NOT a 4G Broadband modem, but rather a WiMaX (IEEE 802.16d) Modem. Horace’s criticisms of Digicel’s Network as per his article Digicel Wimax: One Year After Launch aren’t so kind, but if you’re desperate and they’re your only option, then this article’s for you.

That’s because I brought myself one such, a Digicel Greenpacket Ex-250 in February 2013 in a nice deal price of JA$3500 from a nice little Digicel Customer Care Agent Downtown. I was lucky to get it, as it’s the last one of its kind; mostly the more expensive ones costing JA$5000 and up are available and are being sold, as can be seen in the chart below. Digicel has discovered what CLARO knew from experience: Jamaicans insatiable love for the Internet especially to help their kids makes price no object in buying modems to access the Internet.

The Digicel Greenpacket Ex-250 gave me no end of trouble to setup, especially as reaching a live person on Digicel Customer Care is so hard and when you do, they’re clueless and appear to be rushing you off the phone. The reason for this is because Digicel’s Call Center is now outsources to Fullgram Solutions, a Call Center located in Kingston that previously handled CLARO’s Customers.

When Digicel took over CLARO during that infamously orchestrated swap by America Movil for Digicel San Salvador and Honduras in 2013 as per my article CLARO’s Freeness ends 5th January 2012 – Digicel’s Bigger, Better with Data and Cloud, Fullgram Solution’s CLARO Account was converted to a Digicel Account and all CLARO Jamaica possesses became spoils of War. I worked on that Account from February 24th 2012 to April 1st 2012, a very desperate time during my job hunt here in Kingston, Jamaica.

The 411 on what you can and cannot do

So no SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) to change and you can’t buy your own modem from abroad to use on Digicel’s WiMaX Network – they don’t allow that, ever. Worse, due to the transmission frequency of 2.5GHz on which it operates, you’ll need to position the Modem near to a window that has a clear view of the WiMaX enable Cell Towers in your area, otherwise you’ll get lackluster Internet Performance. Bummer dude!!

But back to the matter at hand! There are several Digicel 4G Broadband Modems on Digicel’s website:

Key:

***** – Price varies from Store to store

For more information on the Digicel WiMaX Modems actually in Stock, visit a Digicel Store near you or check the website Digicel Broadband 4G, as you’ll wither away on the phone waiting on Customer Care to pick up.

The prices for 3G and 4G Broadband service can be read in the article above but for the sake of convenience I’ve reproduced them below:

Key:

** – Plan Cancelled

*** – Did not previously exist; they used Prepaid Plans on their Postpaid Devices

At this point you can buss your second bag of St. Mary Banana Chips!

Setting up a Digicel 4G Broadband Modem: Nuts and Bolts

So this article’s a DIY (Do It Yourself) for y’all who’re frustrated with Digicel’s impersonal Customer Care. So put yer brain in gear and Let ‘er rip people!

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We’re sticking it to Digicel with this one. You’ll need:

• Digicel 4G Broadband Modem (see list above)
• Computer or Laptop with at least 2GB RAM and 350GB Harddrive
• Ethernet Cable
• Credit Voucher
• Electrical power
• A Bag of St. Mary Banana Chips
• A Bible (no, I’m serious!) 

The instructions to setup are as easy as can be:

1. Unpack the Modem and connect and power up. Make sure all LED lights are green
2. Connect to the modem either via Wi-Fi or using the Ethernet Cable provided
3. Go to Control Panel then Internet Options
4. Select Connection and then LAN Settings
5. Check the checkbox Automatically Detect Settings and click OK
6. Go to Internet Options again
7. Select Delete Browsing history. Alternately run CCleaner to scrub the Browser memory
8. In the blank Windows Internet Explorer type http://173.225.240.133:8002/newuser
9. Restart computer and reset modem by pressing the reset button on the modem
10. Open a blank Internet Explorer Page.
11. Make sure you can pick up the Wi-Fi Signal from the modem
12. You’ll be automatically routed to their Digicel Broadband Web Self Care page with address http://173.225.240.133:8002/portal?macid=[modem MAC address]
13. Enter the information in the required fields
14. Accept the Terms AND Conditions of the service
15. You’ll be presented with an eleven digit service number (e.g. 1020xxxxxxx).
16. Use Prnt Scrn button to capture a screenshot of the page with the Service Number. You’re gonna need that!
17. Go to start then Select All Programs then Accessories
18. Select Paint and open
19. Once Paint’s open, use Ctrl-V or right click and paste the Screenshot unto Paintbrush and save it in a safe place in your computer
20. Restart the modem by disconnecting it from power for about 10 seconds or sing the RESET button and then reconnecting it again
21. Once you’ve set up your account you can then navigate to the Digicel Selfcare Website and login to your account
22. Choose how you plan to pay for Internet, be it via Credit Card, Prepaid Voucher or just get the whole hog and go Postpaid 

After this topping up is relatively easy:

• Go to the Digicel Selfcare Website
• Login to your account
• Top up via either Prepaid Voucher or pay for the service using a Credit Card, Prepaid Voucher or Postpaid using your Credit Card
• Follow the prompts and chooses which service you wish to have, based on the chart above
• Restart the modem by disconnecting it from power for about 10 seconds or sing the RESET button and then reconnecting it again 

Troubleshooting Problems – Head Scratching Stuff Made Easy 

This MAC (Media Access Controller) is the address for the Modem, not your computer. In case you delete it by accident, you can always verify this as fact:

1. Go to Start button
2. Type cmd to bring up the Command Prompt
3. Type ipconfig /all
4. Look for the first line that says Physical Address 

If the modem’s not connecting:

1. Check to see if you have full signal
2. If your PC or Laptop’s not picking up the Wi-Fi produced by the modem, connect physically using the Ethernet Cable
3. Type ipconfig /release to release the older connections to the modem
4. Type ipconfig /renew to renew the connections to the modem
5. Reset the Modem by powering down the modem either by holding down the Reset button provided or just unplugging the modem for 10 seconds
6. Restart the Computer or Laptop as well 

If you did the diagnostic and got a DNS (Domain Name Server) not found error, most likely you need to flush the DNS Cache:

1. Check to see if you have full signal
2. If your PC or Laptop’s not picking up the Wi-Fi produced by the modem, connect physically using the Ethernet Cable
3. Type ipconfig /flushdns to flush the DNS Cache and thus allow the Remote Server to reconnect you to the DNS
4. Reset the Modem by powering down the modem either by holding down the Reset button provided or just unplugging the modem for 10 seconds
5. Restart the Computer or Laptop as well 

Conclusion: St. Mary Banana Chips are great for Troubleshooting

That’s it. If at this point you’re online, then congratulations are in order as you can buss your third pack of St. Mary Banana Chips and just surf some Internet Waves. Just remember that traffic peaks after 6am so if you’re surfing in the middle of the day expect pages to stall or load slowly. The best time to go online really is after 9:59am, when everyone’s going to bed and Internet traffic’s cooled off.

If you have any problems, check the following resources in the following order:

Website Link:

• http://www.digicel4Gbroadband.com
• http://selfcare.digicelbroadband.com
• Email: broadbandsupport@digicelgroup.com 

Call (as a last resort):

• 142 from your Digicel Mobile
• 1-888-935-5142 from a landline 

Happy Trails, Dear reader, be ye Prepaid or Postpaid. And Remember, whenever you have problems with your Digicel WiMaX modem accessing the Digicel 4G Broadband Network, just buss your fourth pack of St. Mary Banana Chips and it’s easy solving from there.