Sierra Wireless AirCard 881 (AT&T)
Manufacturer: Sierra Wireless Part number: 1070083
- CNET Editor rating: Not yet rated
- Average user rating: 1.0 stars out of 9 reviews
- More product information:
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Description:
- The AirCard 881 offers tri-band UMTS/HSPA and quad-band GPRS/EDGE for global connectivity and worldwide roaming. With Sierra Wireless HSPA AirCard modems, mobile data customers will be able to send email attachments, upload information, and transmit data from portable devices at speeds up to a theoretical maximum speed of 2.0 Mbps. Downlink speeds are also improved over currently ... Read more
Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | In stock Free Shipping! | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/03/2009 |
User reviews
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Decent card if you know what you are doing
by BDUAres on July 9, 2009
Pros: Can provide decent speed, portable, and cheap
Cons: May require external antenna for home use, AT&T software has very poor performance.
Summary: This is/was AT&T's freebie mobile broadband card for a while. The price is good, the build quality is good and it is made by one of ...
Summary: This is/was AT&T's freebie mobile broadband card for a while. The price is good, the build quality is good and it is made by one of the best hardware companies that specialize in this type of thing.
However
In order to get the most from this card you have to do a bit of tweaking. Toss out the AT&T software and go straight to the manufacturer's website and download the latest Sierra Wireless Watcher 3.1x. Don't worry that the card is not in the list for this software. It works fine. Now you have decent drivers and a decent connection program.
Next head over to Speedguide and look for the posts on their forum which tell you the settings for this card for the TCP Optimizer program (Rollingstone's settings work fine) and apply those settings using that program, and reboot.
Once these things have been done you can enjoy a much faster connection. I live 10 miles from the nearest town, use a cheap 4 ft external magnet mount antenna, and get an average connection of 85 - 90 dBm. With this connection I average 150+ kps up and down, and have even at times managed speeds of over 290 kps.
In urban areas, with no external antenna, I have attained speeds of 1 mbps.
Remember that wireless connections, by default, are generally poor for gaming. You have to take into account your signal being sent to a receiver, then from there to your target, then it gets rerouted back to you through the wireless company to you. Hence you will rarely see a ping good enough for most FPS games. Think a 350 - 500 ms ping time is bad? Then this sort of connection is not for you, nor is a sat modem, and indeed dialup is often better for that genre of gaming. But if you want download and web surfing speeds several times greater than dialup, then this may work out fine for you if you understand all it's quirks.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Piece of junk. Even dial up is better.
by lilliamm on August 29, 2008
Pros: I guess you can use it in any computer.
Cons: slow, slow, slow. r\Rather have dial up. Disconects every 5-10 minutes on it's own.
Summary: This product is not compatible with my computer at all. It works better with my worlk lab top but I's rather no use this computer for personal use. In ...
Summary: This product is not compatible with my computer at all. It works better with my worlk lab top but I's rather no use this computer for personal use. In general i think it sucks. Conenction is horrible and my kids cannot even use the computer due to how slow this product is or thw frequent disconnections.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Wow, are they serious with this???
by truejourney on August 19, 2008
Pros: Convenient, sturdy
Cons: slower than molasses in January
Summary: Speed from the dark ages! I barely had the patience to wait for this review page to load! I only got this about a month ago, and I regret it. ...
Summary: Speed from the dark ages! I barely had the patience to wait for this review page to load! I only got this about a month ago, and I regret it. Signed a 2 yr. contract with at&t, too. Many times I have to refresh the page. starting out I always have to shut down the program and restart or it just continues to search for data connection. I rarely give reviews, but this one merrited it. Don't get this card unless you like sitting around refreshing the page and waiting for it to load! Sad but true.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Junk. One step above worthless.
by texasdon on January 12, 2009
Pros: I can't think of anything that I like about it.
Cons: S-L-O-W internet connectivity. Stop using your computer for fifteen minutes and you are disconnected.
Summary: Beats the post office. It's so slow that I often just log off out of frustration.
Summary: Beats the post office. It's so slow that I often just log off out of frustration.
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Liars and Cheaters
by olddirtrider on December 3, 2008
Pros: It installs easily
Cons: A case of marketing being ahead of engineering! Their advertising shows a guy in the what looks like the arctic. and he says, " I Found the Internet " which implies that it works ever where.
Summary: I ordered one online and took it on a 6 week trip to, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, California and Arizona! The few places I was able to sign on ...
Summary: I ordered one online and took it on a 6 week trip to, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, California and Arizona! The few places I was able to sign on it was slower than dial up. Most of the time it would load 2 or 3 pages and then I would get knocked off due to cellular traffic. This service is TOTAL CRAP!
So If you order it on line you cannot take it back to one of their stores. So when you are on the road you cannot get replacements or cancel the service. It cost me over $400 to get out of the contract!
I will never do business with AT&T again! They are "Liars and Cheats" -
This a very poor I S P I would not recommend it
by Wheelsteal on November 2, 2008
Pros: Had 881 for four months .It has no pros.
Cons: log you off sometimes in four minutes. It is the worst I S P a person can consider except Hughes net which is worse.
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The worst product ever!!
by smitty926 on September 30, 2008
Pros: Absolutely nothing
Cons: the slowest internet connection i've encountered, dial-up is faster; connects for maybe 30-60 minutes at a time, after no connection noted. Has been replaced 4 times, remains non-funtioning
Summary: The functionality was null and void. I have not had 5 hrs worth of connectivity since receiving the card in June 2008.
Summary: The functionality was null and void. I have not had 5 hrs worth of connectivity since receiving the card in June 2008.
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Att wireless sucks in Orange County (CA)
by m_specs on July 25, 2008
Pros: there are no pros about this product
Cons: limited connection, and device access
Summary: this air card sucks! I have never had a 3G connection with this broadband card. It takes forever to boot up on my computer and laptop, and thats if it ...
Summary: this air card sucks! I have never had a 3G connection with this broadband card. It takes forever to boot up on my computer and laptop, and thats if it can even be detected through the ATT communication manager.
Do not buy this card. Get the Verizon one. It's much faster and more reliable.
ATT customer service sucks too. I spent over an hour with them trying to cancel, and they keep giving me the run around. I would not recommend this device unless you like getting tossed around from department to department. -
Excellent broadband card.
by phatspeed7x on May 2, 2008
Pros: Great connection, fits into PC slot nicely, Broadband speeds
Cons: Referbished cards are avalible, and sometimes they don't work.
Summary: Ordered the "refurbished" AC 881 for AT&T. First one they sent me was defective, wouldn't read the SIM card. So they sent me a new one and ...
Summary: Ordered the "refurbished" AC 881 for AT&T. First one they sent me was defective, wouldn't read the SIM card. So they sent me a new one and I've had no problems with it. Great connection to the network, fits into the PC slot nice and tight, looks great. I'd recommend it if you have a laptop with a PC slot. They also have a USBconnect version of the 881 AC. Check them out at your local AT&T store.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Sierra Wireless
- Part number: 1070083
- Description: The AirCard 881 offers tri-band UMTS/HSPA and quad-band GPRS/EDGE for global connectivity and worldwide roaming. With Sierra Wireless HSPA AirCard modems, mobile data customers will be able to send email attachments, upload information, and transmit data from portable devices at speeds up to a theoretical maximum speed of 2.0 Mbps. Downlink speeds are also improved over currently available models, with a theoretical maximum download speed of 7.2 Mbps. The AirCard 881 is optimized for better fringe performance on North American networks.
General
- Device Type Wireless cellular modem
- Enclosure Type Plug-in module
- Width 2.3 in
- Depth 5.2 in
- Height 0.5 in
- Weight 2.1 oz
Modem
- Interface Type PC Card
- Connectivity Technology Wireless
- Max Transfer Rate 7.2 Mbps
- Cellular Enhancement Protocol GSM, EDGE, GPRS, UMTS
- Antenna Internal integrated
- Antenna Qty 1
Audio
- Audio Input None
- Audio Output None
Networking
- Type None
Expansion / Connectivity
- Compatible Slots 1
Miscellaneous
- Service Provider AT&T
- Compliant Standards CE, FCC
Environmental Parameters
- Min Operating Temperature -4 °F
- Max Operating Temperature 140 °F
Manufacturer info
- Sierra Wireless
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Sierra Wireless products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.sierrawireless.com/
- Address:
13575 Commerce Pkwy., Ste. 150
Richmond, BC
V6V 2L1 Canada - Phone: 604-231-1100
- Email: support@sierrawireless.com
- Fax: 604.231.1109
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