Sierra Wireless MC7355 Sprint SIM Issues

Greetings!

Is anyone on here using Sprint for mobile data? Long story short, when trying to activate a Sprint SIM in-store, the Sprint system would not recognize any SIMs as compatible. They were at a loss and right now I’m stuck.

Has anyone activated a SIM on Sprint using a Sierra Wireless aircard? If so, was it straight forward or were there hoops that had to be hurdled?

 

For starters what is your full model and is this card a Panasonic one ?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/search/20816443/?q=MC7355&o=relevance&c[node]=1012

 

Ah, yes!

CF-31WBLAXLM

Card is a working pull from a CF-19 and shows up in Sprint’s system as a Panasonic version.

 

CF-31WBLAXLM
Description: WIN7 (WIN8 PRO COA),
INTEL CORE I5-3340M 2.70GHZ, VPRO,
13.1" XGA TOUCH,
500GB(7200RPM), 4GB,
INTEL WIFI A/B/G/N, TPM,
BLUETOOTH, DUAL PASS (UPPER:WWAN/LOWER:SELECTABLE),
EMISSIVE BACKLIT KEYBOARD,
NO DRIVE, TOUGHBOOK PREFERRED
Status: DISCONTINUED
MSRP: $4,179

ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/computer/guide/em_mc7355_gobi5000_guide.pdf

http://forum.notebookreview.com/search/20818723/?q=mc7355+sim&o=relevance&c[node]=1012

https://us.panasonic.com/business/iframes/toughbook-wireless-carrier-software.asp

 

Good morning,

Thank you for the replies thus far. The Panasonic instructions on the MC7355 activation may have proven helpful.

Let me clarify the issue. The issue is that Sprint is apparently unable to find a SIM in their stocks that matches the MC7355. In their internal activation system, with the MC7355's IMEI entered, it comes up as a Panasonic wwan card and is eligible for activation on the network. However, when entering in a SIM number, each and every one they tried came back as "incompatible". They were unable to figure it out further. Looking in the activation instructions that Shawn linked, I found the part number for the example SIM. That SIM is apparently unobtanium. The Sprint store did not have any, and there are none for sale on line.

Are these cards really that specific, that only one SIM part number will work with them? Or is there some sort of other issue? Hence why I was asking if anyone else is using Sprint as a mobile data provider with their Toughbook.

 

I am glad we made progress. I personally do not use a WWAN card.

A search for the UPC number got some more information.
UPC= 7 60494 00009 1

That led me to this thread.
https://forum.peplink.com/t/sprint-sim/5526/3

Part #: SIMGLW106R
UPC: 7 60494 00009 1

That led me to Amazoon.
https://www.amazon.com/Sprint-Worldwide-USIM-SIMGLW106R-Card/dp/B01LXZZ7XQ

Which shows this for sale.

 

Another page shows this.
SIMGLW106R is an (End of Life) Sprint SIM Card that is being replaced by SIMGLW116R Sprint SIM Cards.

Sprint SIMGLW106R SIM Cards (SKU: CZ2100LWR) function only with a select number of wireless modem devices. If you have a CradlePoint ARC CBA750B-LE2-SP, Sierra Gobi 5K Module MC7354, or Sierra Panasonic Toughbook C2 in need of connectivity, then this is the SIM for you. Please, double check compatibility before ordering, as we cannot guarantee fit or function with any device not listed. This is a GEM Worldwide 2FF LTE/GSM USIM.

• UPC: 760494000091
• SKU: CZ2100LWR
• Part: SIMGLW106R

==============================================================
Sprint SIMGLW116R SIM Cards

SIMGLW116R is the newer Sprint SIM Card that is replacing the (End of Life) SIMGLW106R Sprint SIM Cards. These cards enable PCS connectivity on Sierra Wireless modules. Order online from Best Cellular for Free Shipping! (UPC: 19962041440 | SKU: CZ2110LWR)

• Sierra Wireless Panasonic CF-54 (EM7355 – Embedded Computing)
• Sierra Wireless Panasonic FZ-G1 (EM7355 – Embedded Computing)
• Sierra Wireless Panasonic Toughbook C2 (EM7355 – Embedded Computing)
• Sierra Wireless Panasonic Toughbook C2 laptop – Sprint Postpaid / SPP
• Sierra Wireless Panasonic Toughbook CF-19 (MC7355 – Embedded Computing)
• Sierra Wireless Panasonic Toughbook CF-31 (MC7355 – Embedded Computing)

 

Shawn,

Holy cow. Thank you. When I searched for the SIM UPC, I left off the leading "7", thus, I found no results. Thank you for the link to the item available on Amazon. I have one on the way.

I had no idea that SIM cards could be so device-specific. My entire understanding of a SIM was that it was swappable between devices. The folks at Sprint had never even heard of a Toughbook, much less knew which card would work for it. Nor did they have either of the compatible SIM cards on hand.

To their credit, the in-store people at Sprint have bent over backwards to help. This began when I got a loyalty offer from Sprint for a free line for 15 months. I spoke with them on their customer chat, explained that I wanted to use this to activate a data plan, and they said that was no problem. In store, I was told that the offer was for a voice line only. However, since the customer care folks told me I could use it for data, they were going to basically comp me the offer -and- waive the activation fee. So, I'd be getting a $50 a month plan for free until January of 2020.

 

You guys in the USA are lucky. In Canada I get unlimited talk (local) and text and 4.5GB of data for only $140.00 a month plus another $50.00 for the girlfriends cel (talk & text & 1/2GB shared data)

 

yikes

 

Sooo. Last dummy question. For the time being, anyway.

The setup instructions state:
Connection Manager Support:
Sprint SmartView does not support the EM_MC7355 (Gobi5000) modem per Sprint. Here are the following connection managers to use per Windows OS versions:

1) For Windows 7, please use Windows Mobile Broadband

Am I correct in believing that this means to use the built-in connection manager in Windows 7 in Network and Sharing Center?

 

That's right, you don't need connection managers in Win7+
In real life it's convenient to install Sierra Skylight manager to have advanced modem settings.