Sierra Wireless AirCard 753S, AirCard 754S User Manual

Sierra Wireless AirCard 753S /
754S Mobile Hotspot

User Guide

2400159

Rev 1

Preface

Important
Notice

Safety and
Hazards

Due to the nature of wireless communications, transmission and reception of data
can never be guaranteed. Data may be delayed, corrupted (i.e., have errors) or be
totally lost. Although significant delays or losses of data are rare when wireless
devices such as the Sierra Wireless modem are used in a normal manner with a
well-constructed network, the Sierra Wireless modem should not be used in
situations where failure to transmit or receive data could result in damage of any
kind to the user or any other party, including but not limited to personal injury,
death, or loss of property. Sierra Wireless accepts no responsibility for damages
of any kind resulting from delays or errors in data transmitted or received using
the Sierra Wireless modem, or for failure of the Sierra Wireless modem to
transmit or receive such data.

Do not operate the Sierra Wireless modem in areas where blasting is in progress,
where explosive atmospheres may be present, near medical equipment, near life
support equipment, or any equipment which may be susceptible to any form of
radio interference. In such areas, the Sierra Wireless modem MUST BE
POWERED OFF. The Sierra Wireless modem can transmit signals that could
interfere with this equipment.

Do not operate the Sierra Wireless modem in any aircraft, whether the aircraft is
on the ground or in flight. In aircraft, the Sierra Wireless modem MUST BE
POWERED OFF. When operating, the Sierra Wireless modem can transmit
signals that could interfere with various onboard systems.

Limitation of
Liability

Note: Some airlines may permit the use of cellular phones while the aircraft is on the
ground and the door is open. Sierra Wireless modems may be used at this time.

The driver or operator of any vehicle should not operate the Sierra Wireless
modem while in control of a vehicle. Doing so will detract from the driver or
operator's control and operation of that vehicle. In some states and provinces,
operating such communications devices while in control of a vehicle is an offence.

The information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not
represent a commitment on the part of Sierra Wireless. SIERRA WIRELESS AND
ITS AFFILIATES SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ANY AND ALL
DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, GENERAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL,
PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUE OR ANTICIPATED PROFITS OR REVENUE
ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE ANY SIERRA WIRELESS
PRODUCT, EVEN IF SIERRA WIRELESS AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES HAS BEEN
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR THEY ARE
FORESEEABLE OR FOR CLAIMS BY ANY THIRD PARTY.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall Sierra Wireless and/or its
affiliates aggregate liability arising under or in connection with the Sierra Wireless
product, regardless of the number of events, occurrences, or claims giving rise to
liability, be in excess of the price paid by the purchaser for the Sierra Wireless
product.

Rev 1 Nov.11 3

Sierra Wireless Mobile Hotspot User Guide

Patents This product may contain technology developed by or for Sierra Wireless Inc. This

product includes technology licensed from QUALCOMM
manufactured or sold by Sierra Wireless Inc. or its affiliates under one or more
patents licensed from InterDigital Group.

®

3G. This product is

Copyright © 2011 Sierra Wireless. All rights reserved.

Trademarks AirCard

Watcher and the Sierra Wireless logo are trademarks of Sierra Wireless.

Windows
Corporation.

Macintosh
the U.S. and other countries.

QUALCOMM
license.

Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

®

is a registered trademark of Sierra Wireless. Sierra Wireless,

®

and Windows Vista® are registered trademarks of Microsoft

®

and Mac OS X® are registered trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in

®

is a registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated. Used under

Contact
Information

Sales Desk: Phone: [phone]

Hours: 8:00
E-mail: [e-mail]

Post: Sierra Wireless

13811 Wireless Way
Richmond, BC
Canada V6V 3A4

AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Time

Fax: [phone]
Web: www.sierrawireless.com

Consult our website for up-to-date product descriptions, documentation,
application notes, firmware upgrades, troubleshooting tips, and press releases:

www.sierrawireless.com

4 2400159

Contents

Get Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Know Your Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Power Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Mute Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

LCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Power LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Power Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Set Up and Connect to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Insert the SIM Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Connect to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Homepage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Security Credentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Use Your Mobile Hotspot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Set Auto Connect Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

View Data Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Enable / Disable Wi-Fi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

View / Block Connected Users. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Add a Wireless Device to your Wi-Fi Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

View SMS Messages and Alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Use the GPS Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Battery Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Extend Battery Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Set Audio Alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Change Device Security Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

View Details About Your Mobile Hotspot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Use the microSD Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Recharge the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

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Sierra Wireless Mobile Hotspot User Guide

Advanced Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Show Help for Advanced Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Do not Automatically Install Driver for USB Tethering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Export / Import Router Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Set Display Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

View WAN Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Set Connection Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Enable SIM Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

View Wi-Fi Status and List of Connected Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Set Wi-Fi Network Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Set Wi-Fi Security Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Set MAC Filter Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Enable Port Forwarding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Enable VPN Passthrough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Set Router LAN Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Reset the Mobile Hotspot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Mechanical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Environmental Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Regulatory and Safety Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Notice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Safety and Hazards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Regulatory Information for North America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Regulatory information for EU countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

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Contents

Regulatory information for Australia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Rev 1 Nov.11 7

Sierra Wireless Mobile Hotspot User Guide

8 2400159

1: Get Started

LCD

Power button

Mute switch

External antenna connector 1

External antenna connector 2

This chapter provides an overview of the AirCard 753S / 754S Mobile
Hotspot features, and instructions on how to set up your mobile
hotspot and connect to the Internet.

Know Your Device

Your mobile hotspot enables you to create a Wi-Fi access point
anywhere there is cellular network coverage. You can use that Wi-Fi
access point to connect your laptop and other Wi-Fi capable devices
to your service provider’s mobile broadband network and connect to
the Internet.

You can also use your mobile hotspot in tethered mode by connecting
it to your laptop with the USB cable to access the Internet.

Additional features include:

• GPS

• Support for microSD memory card (up to 32 GB) for storing and

• Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)

1

sharing files (Depending on your service provider, the microSD
card may not be supported.)

Rev 1 Nov.11 9

Sierra Wireless Mobile Hotspot User Guide

Power Button

Desired result Action

Turn mobile hotspot on Press and hold the power button for a few seconds.
Turn mobile hotspot off Press and hold the power button for a few seconds.
Wake up LCD screen Press and quickly release the power button.
View WPS instructions Double-press the power button to access the Dashboard. If

necessary, double-press the power button again to cycle
through the Dashboard pages until the WPS instructions
appear.

Respond to prompts on
the LCD screen

Press and quickly release the power button when prompted
to do so by the LCD screen. (This is used to confirm an
action.)

Mute Switch

The mobile hotspot automatically beeps when the battery is low, when you
receive a message, etc. To turn these beeps off, move the mute switch so the red
rectangle is visible. On the homepage, http://swi.hotspot, you can customize your
hotspot to beep when specific changes in status occur. For more information, see

Set Audio Alerts on page 27.

LCD

As well as providing setup information (SSID and Wi-Fi Passphrase) the mobile
hotspot LCD displays:

• Instructions during setup

• Status messages such as “Searching for network”, “Connected”, etc.

• Status icons (See Icons on the LCD Screen on page 11 for details.)

• Data Usage information

• Network name

• Error messages (See Alerts on page 49 for troubleshooting suggestions.)

• Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) instructions — a fast, easy way to connect

WPS-enabled devices to your Wi-Fi network

To personalize the mobile hotspot and change the settings, go to the homepage
(http://swi.hotspot).

Dashboard mode

More detailed information and instructions are available in the LCD Dashboard
mode. To access the Dashboard, double-press the Power button. Double-press
the Power button again to cycle through the Dashboard pages.

The information and instructions available on the Dashboard varies depending on
your device and your service provider. Information available may include:

• Connect information (SSID and Wi-Fi Passphrase) and homepage URL

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Get Started

Network
SSID:MyMobileHotspot
Wi-FiPassphrase:12345678

ToconĮŐƵreyŽƵƌŚŽƚƐƉŽƚ

Signal strength

Network indicator

GPS

Wi-Fi

Battery

SSID

Wi-Fi Passphrase

Data usage

Messages
View at http://swi.hotspot

Status icons

 Wi-Fi on/off
Number of connected devices

Device homepage
Default login is swiadmin

Home Screen

To enter Dashboard mode and access additional LCD screens, double-press the power button.

Roaming indicator

DC

DC

3G

4G

LT E

3G

4G

LT E

G

G

E

E

• WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) — a fast, easy way to connect WPS-enabled
devices to your Wi-Fi network

• Messages / Alerts

• Billing information

• Information about the mobile hotspot such as the Wi-Fi network range,

network preference, firmware version, etc.

Icons on the LCD Screen

The icons on the LCD screen indicate the status of the mobile hotspot.

Rev 1 Nov.11 11

Icon Indicates

Signal strength
The more bars the stronger the RF signal.

No signal

Indicates the network type. (The icons that may appear depend on your
service provider and device.)

A Network icon with a black background indicates that service is
available, but the mobile hotspot is not connected to the network.

A network icon with a white background indicates that the mobile
hotspot is connected to the network.

Roaming

Sierra Wireless Mobile Hotspot User Guide

x

Icon Indicates

Alerts / Messages
You have alerts / messages. To view your alerts, go to the homepage
and click the Alerts / Messages icon.

GPS
When the GPS icon flashes, the mobile hotspot is trying to obtain a
satellite fix or is tracking a location.

Wi-Fi users
The number beside the Wi-Fi icon shows the number of users (devices)
connected to your Wi-Fi network.

Wi-Fi radio is disabled.
You can enable Wi-Fi on the device homepage. See page 47 — 

The Wi-Fi radio is disabled icon appears on the LCD screen.

Battery status
Indicates the charge status of the battery.
4 bars — 80 – 100%
1 bar — 10 – 29%

Battery outline (no bars) — 0 – 9%
Recharge immediately.

Battery charging

No battery
The mobile hotspot is powered on and connected to the AC charger.

The battery is charging through a USB connection.

The exclamation mark (!) in the battery outline indicates that the battery
is not recharging because the device is too hot to charge.
Make sure there is room for air to circulate around the device. If the
problem persists, move the device to a cooler environment.

Power LED

The blue LED on the top of the mobile hotspot flashes:

• Slowly to indicate that it is powered on

• Quickly when the firmware is being updated

Accessories

Depending on your service provider, the following accessories may be included:

• Micro USB cable — Used mainly for recharging the battery, although you can
also use it to tether the mobile hotspot to your computer

• AC adapter — Used with the USB cable to recharge the battery or to power
the mobile hotspot from a wall socket

• Charging cradle

12 2400159

Get Started

• Extended battery

Additional accessories are available from www.sierrawireless.com/wheretobuy/

onlinestore/default.aspx.

Power Sources

You can power your mobile hotspot from:

• Rechargable battery included with the mobile hotspot

• USB port on your computer

• Wall socket using the AC adapter and USB cable

Set Up and Connect to the Internet

Insert the SIM Card

Depending on your service provider, the SIM card may already be inserted. If you
need to insert it:

1. Remove the back cover.

2. Slide the SIM card cover to the Open position.

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Sierra Wireless Mobile Hotspot User Guide

3. Lift the SIM card cover, remove the existing SIM card and replace it with the
new one.

4. Lower the SIM card cover.

5. Slide the SIM card cover to the Lock position.

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Get Started

Battery

Gold contacts

Default
security credentials

Install the Battery

1. Insert the battery as shown in the illustration. Ensure that the gold contacts
on the battery are lined up with the gold contacts on the device.

2. Replace the back cover.

Note: Depending on your service provider, the battery may come partially-charged and
ready to go. When the battery needs recharging, follow the instructions in Recharge the

Battery on page 31.

Connect to the Internet

Note: Your mobile hotspot does not need to be connected to the computer with the USB
cable to connect to the Internet. The USB cable is used mainly for recharging the battery.
(You can also connect to the Internet with the mobile hotspot tethered to the laptop with the
USB cable.)

To connect to the Internet:

1. Turn on the mobile hotspot.
Press and hold the power button for a few seconds. Once powered up, the
mobile hotspot automatically searches for and connects to your service
provider’s mobile broadband network.

The first time you connect a computer to the mobile hotspot network, the LCD
screen displays the message “Connect your computer to Wi-Fi network”. The
SSID and the Wi-Fi Passphrase are shown on the LCD screen.

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Sierra Wireless Mobile Hotspot User Guide

Note: The LCD screen may go into sleep mode to save power. To wake up the LCD
screen, press and quickly release the power button.

2. Connect your computer or other device to your Wi-Fi network.

a. On your computer, view the list of available Wi-Fi networks.

b. Select the SSID displayed on the mobile hotspot LCD screen, and

connect to it.

c. When prompted, enter your Wi-Fi Passphrase, as it appears on the

mobile hotspot LCD screen.

3. Launch your browser to surf the Internet.

Optional: To personalize your mobile hotspot go to http://swi.hotspot.

Note: To make changes to the mobile hotspot settings on the homepage, you must first log
in as Administrator. Type swiadmin in the Admin Password field.

Homepage

Your mobile hotspot comes configured, perfectly secure and ready to use, but if
you want to change the security settings, the SSID and other settings, go to your
mobile hotspot’s homepage.

The homepage URL (http://swi.hotspot) is shown on the LCD during setup. You
can also find it in the Quick Start Guide that came with your mobile hotspot.

To make changes to the settings on the homepage, you must be logged in as

Administrator (default Admin Password is swiadmin).

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Get Started

Status and settings Virtual image of the device Connect / DisconnectPower off

Admin Login

You can view some information about the device without being logged in as
Administrator, but to view detailed information and to change any settings and use
some features, you must be logged in as Administrator.

To log in as Administrator:

1. Place your cursor in the Admin Login field and type swiadmin (the default

Admin Password).

2. Click Login.

The first time you log in, you will be asked to accept the terms and conditions.
Click Agree to accept.

Once you are logged in with the default Admin Password, you can view detailed
information and change mobile hotspot settings, such as:

• Change the SSID, Wi-Fi Passphrase, Admin Password, and Wi-Fi encryption

• Set autoconnect options

• Set GPS options

• Use GPS to track or map your location and find nearby amenities

• Set battery options

• View data usage

• Set audio alerts

• Change advanced settings such as security settings and router options

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Sierra Wireless Mobile Hotspot User Guide

Security Credentials

Two passwords are associated with the mobile hotspot:

• Wi-Fi Passphrase — Used to connect your computer or other Wi-Fi device to
your mobile hotspot network. This character string is unique to your device. It
is displayed on the main mobile hotspot LCD screen. If the screen is blank (a
power-saving feature), press and quickly release the power button to view the
information on the screen. The default Wi-Fi Passphrase is also printed on a
label under the battery.

• Admin Password — Used to log into the homepage as Administrator. You
must be logged in as Administrator to use certain features and to make
changes to your mobile hotspot settings. The default Admin Password,

swiadmin, is printed on a label under the battery. The Admin Password can

be 5 – 31 characters.

You can change both of these passwords on the homepage, http://swi.hotspot.
For more information, see Change Device Security Settings on page 28.

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2: Use Your Mobile Hotspot

This chapter provides information on how to use your mobile hotspot.

Note: To change settings you need to be logged in as Administrator. See Set

Up and Connect to the Internet on page 13.

Set Auto Connect Options

By default, the mobile hotspot automatically connects to your service
provider’s mobile broadband network. You can change this feature so
that the mobile hotspot automatically connects to another network
when you are roaming, or to never auto connect.

To select the auto connect options:

1. On the Mobile Hotspot Homepage, log in as Administrator.

2. Click the Signal Strength icon ( ).

2

3. Under Auto Connect & Roaming, select the desired option:

· Always auto connect — The mobile hotspot automatically

attempts to connect to the mobile broadband network when
powered on. You may incur additional roaming charges if you
are outside of your service provider’s coverage area.

· Always auto connect except when roaming — The mobile
hotspot automatically attempts to connect only to your service
provider’s mobile broadband network when powered on
(default).

· Never auto connect — The mobile hotspot will not attempt to
automatically connect to the mobile broadband network when
powered on.

Rev 1 Nov.11 19