Item Details

Novatel Ovation MC760 Broadband2Go Prepaid USB Modem (Virgin Mobile)

(14 Customer Reviews)

Price: $89.99
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Technical Details

• Prepaid USB modem provides mobile broadband speeds for your laptop via the EV-DO Rev. A 3G network
• Simple activation and megabytes can be added as often as needed with prepaid data plans ranging from $10 to $60
• Built-in usage meter lets you know how many megabytes you have left in your Broadband2Go Plan
• Compatible with Windows and Mac laptops; microSD memory card slot compatible with cards up to 8 GB
• What's in the Box: Broadband2Go USB Device, quickstart guide, lanyard

 

Product Details

Shipping Weight: 0.00 pounds

Model: Novatel Ovation MC76

Manufacturer: Virgin Mobile

Sales Rank: 4864

 

Accessories

Customer Reviews

Not for work use,
by Kevinmark, 2010-07-15

I purchased this device so I could keep up with my work on the occasional road trip I take. I found that installation and web browsing worked wonderfully, but it seems to have screwed up my Outlook to where it wouldn't even load, and I can't connect to my VPN at work at all, even though it connects perfectly when using WiFi or an AT&T 3G connection. Virgin Mobile tech support is not an accurate term, they can't support you in any way, they can only read off a card and refund your money if you ask. I'm not real happy with myself for not trying before buying, and for not retaining the packaging so I can't return it. But if you basically need web access, it works well. I also recommend using a 2 foot USP extension cable for optimum modem placement during use.

 

Great Mobile Broadband Option!,
by C.J, 2010-07-05

The prepaid Virgin Mobile broadband modem is a great option for those people who dont want contract, and need a quick internet connection when their is not a WiFi option. First of all, I am a full time student, and I travel (5 trips yearly) for work. I have WiFi at work, at school, and at home. But their are a few places where I frequent where I dont have WiFi like Disney World. I end up paying 20 dollars a day to connect to there hotel WiFi network. Also, when I travel for work, the hotels free internet connection is not very fast and not very safe.
So, I looked at mobile broadband from Sprint, Verizon, ATT and T-mobile. With all carriers, it seems like you need to sign a 2 year contract (even if you buy the modem for full price) and the monthly fee is around 60-80 a month for 2 years. I cant see myself wasting so much money on a service I use only so much of.
I walked into Best Buy and I found the Virgin Mobile prepaid broadband modem. I was shocked that their was even prepaid data in the U.S (its very popular in Europe). I thought the prices would be absurd and expensive, but it actually was not really. You pay for the modem which was $99.99. Then you hook up a credit card, or buy Virgin prepaid cards and to buy your data. The prices are comparable to the post paid (Sprint, Verizon, ATT, T-mobile). You can buy 5gb for $60. I purchased the $20 dollar plan for 300mb of data (15 hours of web browsing). I read a lot of complaints that the data does not roll over and that is true. If you do not use your data, you will loose it. But if that month your not going to use your wireless card, you can deactivate it and activate it again on a plan when your going to use it. Also, the post paid carriers dont let you roll over your data anyways. You pay 60-80 a month for 2 years use it or not.
Now, for those people who go online to stream you-tube, video chat,spend endless hours on face book and chatting because theirs nothing else better do to, then data goes very quickly. But if your like me who goes online to do online classes once in a while, email, send work documents, this is service for you. I have WiFi 90% of the time. Out of my 15 hours of data I get a month from Virgin, I use only 6-10 hours of that data.
Virgin uses Sprints home network. So if you have terrible Sprint coverage, or you travel to places where you know Sprint has no service, this is not for you. I am based in Orlando, Florida and Sprint has great coverage here. I have EVDO everywhere I go here, and when I traveled to Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Michigan it worked great. Its not lightning fast, but its probably 8-10 times faster dial up. If you do roam and are on the 1xrt signal (2g I think), it is very slow I must say.
I hooked up the software to my netbook (Windows XP) and my laptop (Windows 7) with no problems at all. I am unsure why everyone has software issues. I do keep my computers drivers and software up to date on a weekly basis though.

Here's how I see it. Here's what I pay 20 dollars a month for.

On a road trip working on homework or office work and being able to send them...
In a hotel submitting sensitive financial statements safely, and securely...
When the Florida hurricanes come and their is no power and still able to use my computer...
Knowing that where ever I go, I can connect to the web to get things done...

Its priceless :-)

Side Note: If your are a user that is always online constantly because of work or because you need to be part of the social electronic age constantly, then you will need to dish out the money for a 2 year contract. I use my pre-paid internet wisely. If I do school work or office work, I download what I need, disconnect from the internet, and connect again when I have to submit it. I do not leave my internet connection constantly on.

 

Tips for installing the modem and getting stable coverage,
by tmint, 2010-07-01

We needed broadband at a seasonal home only part of the year in an area where the phone lines are not even good enough to get DSL. Satellite internet was another option but we found it to be too expensive for what we needed. Plus, it required a year long commitment which we were not willing to do. Also, our next door neighbor complains that his satellite internet goes out when it storms.

We have found Broadband2Go by VirginMobileUSA to be a "good enough" solution for what we need. We can get pretty consistent 3.1 Mbps per second speeds which is good enough for most things on the web short of streaming video.

What is not good is the documentation that comes with the modem. For the benefit of new users, we offer these tips we learned from trial and error:

PROBLEM: In some areas of the home where we thought the connection was strong, we found that when we would start to really draw data down the pipe, the connection would switch from EVDO (good) to 1XRTT (bad). We liken the latter to switching from your cell carrier to roaming. The speed would drop from 3.1 mbps to 153kbps (do the math -- an order of magnitude slower). We had a feeling it was partly due to the location in the house and partly due to interference from our laptop itself and other peripherals.

SOLUTION: We attached the modem to a USB extension cord. We now hang the modem lanyard from a hook next to the window and we use the computer a few feet away. No more lapses into "roaming."

PROBLEM: We have multiple desktops and laptops on which we wanted to install the software for the device (realizing that we can only use one device at a time, but that's ok). The drivers and the software autoinstalled on the first device and that was it. After that, lots of "you're screwed" sounds from Windows when trying to connect the modem, and "No Device Detected" from the Broadband2Go software even after the modem was being recognized as valid hardware. (I mean, how could the computer not detect the very device it just got the drivers and software from??)

SOLUTION: Insert the USB modem into a computer in which it already works well (in our case, the first installation computer). And make sure that AUTO-everything is checked (on): AUTOINSTALL, AUTOLAUNCH, AUTOCONNECT. Just keep digging through those Broadband2Go software menus to make sure you find everything that has "auto" in front of it and make sure it's checked (yes/on). That way, when you insert the modem into a new laptop or computer Windows won't try to take it over and mess it up. Just put it in, ignore all the fireworks on the screen for a few minutes, and let it do its thing.

(As a PS to the last solution, if you have already had a "partial" but unsuccessful install on one of your machines where say, the device is connected according to your Safely Remove Hardware icon, but the software still insists "No Device Detected," go into Device Manager and right click to "update" any drivers that appear as yellow question marks.)

After all of this hassle we can now use our little device for exactly what we needed it for: seasonal internet access that is faster than dialup and with no commitment such as with satellite.

Overall, we recommend it. We were even told that Verizon had a better signal than Sprint in our area, but we tried both and we found Sprint (VirginMobileUSA) to be more reliable.

(We are using PCs, all running XP.)

 

Deceptive coverage map,
by J. J. Ramsey, 2010-06-22

I had bought this modem in an attempt to work around my hotel room's slow Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, the service I get with this product is no better than the hotel's. For checking e-mail, it's adequate, but for YouTube and such, it's pretty much worthless.

Judging from the positive reviews, it looks like the speed of this mobile broadband is very dependent upon where you are. However, Virgin Mobile's coverage map is useless for telling whether one is in a zone with good or bad download speed, and in fact, where I have been staying was supposedly in an area with "Increased broadband upload and download speeds."

If you like to gamble, maybe you'll like this product. Otherwise, forget it.

 

will not install on Windows 7 x64,
by P. William Bane, 2010-06-03

Device Driver says the driver cannot work. Virgin Mobile "tech" support did not know what a driver was (very nice guy but not tech). Novatel site says uninstall and reinstall. Did three times. Sprint has same modem so tried their software. It did not help.
I have been in Europe for the last 3 years for 6 months on a boat and used the equivalent devices there and they always worked.
The US Cellular companies are a problem.