Novatel MIFI 2372 Unlock Question

[mocomp]

After verifying our devices were eligible for unlocking our support rep 

provided us with instructions for unlocking our novatel mifi 2372.

Below are the instructions:

My question how do I get the utility? I tried downloading 

the drivers to see if the utility was bundled, however it 

was not. Any advice would be appreciated.

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MiFi 2372 - Using the SIMS Unlock Utility 1 Close any connection manager in use. 2 Novatel Wireless Driver must be installed. Run Driver Installer to install the Novatel Wireless Driver (NvtlDriverEthernet_V2.03.06.009.msi). 3 Run SimUnlockUtility.exe. 4 Connect the device with USB cable. 5 Waiting for Unlock Code Entry displays. 6 Enter the 10-digit unlock code. 7 Select Unlock. 8 Successful Unlock or Device Already Unlocked displays. Note: If Device Already Unlocked appears in the red banner, the device is already unlocked. 9 Wrong Unlock Code Entered displays - This message appears in the red banner if the unlock code is entered incorrectly. Example: Wrong number of digits entered - Unlock code must be exactly 10 characters including leading zeros.

[MiFi2372]

I wasted an afternoon/evening trying to unlock my AT&T-branded MiFi 2372... and succeeded.

There is no SimUnlockUtility.exe

Here's a not-so-brief walkthrough to save other people a lot of grief. Created a throwaway account here just for you guys

Preparations:

• Obtain a SIM card from a carrier other than AT&T
• Remove the battery and note down the IMEI
• Call AT&T Wireless customer service and request your free subsidy code (10 digits)

You need Novatel's MobiLink 3 software package suite to unlock the MiFi. No sketchy unlocking software necessary, nothing to buy if your device has been out of AT&T service for more than 90 days. There are two ways to guarantee that you obtain the proper MobiLink3 software package tailored for the MiFi 2372.

METHOD 1: Search for the ISO filename directly

• 20418676.Novatel.Multi-Product.001.iso (available in a ZIP archive)

METHOD 2: Locate and download the Novatel MiFi 2372 generic firmware package

• 20418764_MUU_MiFi23x2_FW5.26.2_ML3.00.57_NvtlGeneric_v1.2_pkg.exe
• Run it, make sure a window pops up, but DO NOT FLASH YOUR DEVICE'S FIRMWARE TO THE GENERIC VERSION
• With the program running, navigate to C:\Windows\Temp\MUU and locate the ISO file there
• Abort the upgrade process and close the program

Extract contents of the ISO using an appropriate program, e.g., 7zip.

• LiteAuto.exe - run this, it should silently install device drivers, if you haven't already
• Installer.exe - run this next, this should install MobiLink 3

The actual unlocking process:

1. Now put a non-AT&T SIM card into your MiFi and plug it into your computer via USB WITHOUT a battery inside the MiFi.
2. Run the MobiLink 3 software, it should say say that your device is network locked
3. Enter in your 10 digit subsidy code--the dialog window may say that you have 0 attempts remaining, that's normal, enter in your code anyways
4. Once accepted, your MiFi will restart. It's now unlocked!

Afterwards:

• You may want to upgrade to the latest AT&T firmware, you will still be able to use non-AT&T SIM cards and APNs
• As of this writing, 20419181_MUU_MSM7225_Arches.ATT_AMSS_7.11.02_Linux_2.7.0207_2010-02-10_pkg.exe
• You may need to change connection preferences to enable Roaming, depending on carrier

If you were unfortunate enough to flash your device to the generic version, you will encounter an unknown string error when attempting to flash back to AT&T. Here's how to fix that:

• Obtain 20419181_MUU_MSM7225_Arches.ATT_AMSS_7.11.02_Linux_2.7.0207_2010-02-10_pkg.exe
• Run it.
• Create a folder somewhere on your computer.
• Go to C:\Windows\Temp\MUU\
• Copy the contents to your folder.
• Create a copy/backup of 20419181_MUU_MSM7225_Arches.ATT_AMSS_7.11.02_Linux_2.7.0207_2010-02-10.xml
• Run MUU.exe, do the firmware update and you'll encounter your first error message (unknown string).
• Close it.
• Open the XML file.
• Delete the following, and save.

<Description>Update Sys_def_Config File</Description>
<NVItem ShowInWizard="YES">
<NV_Name ConfigRef="YES">Update Sys_def</NV_Name>
<WizardText LANGID="0x0409">0. Update config file Profiles</WizardText>
<Note>Upgrade firmware</Note>
</NVItem>

• Run the program again. You'll encounter the a different error message. Close it, delete the following and run it again.

<Description>FW Upgrade</Description>
<NVItem ShowInWizard="YES">
<NV_Name ConfigRef="YES">FUU FW_7.11.05.13</NV_Name>
<WizardText LANGID="0x0409">1. Firmware Upgrade (PN: 20419185)</WizardText>
<Note>Upgrade firmware</Note>
</NVItem>

• Do the same, this time removing:

<Description>Write Sys_def_Config File</Description>
<NVItem ShowInWizard="YES">
<NV_Name ConfigRef="YES">Write Sys_def</NV_Name>
<WizardText LANGID="0x0409">2. Write updated config files</WizardText>
<Note>Upgrade firmware</Note>
</NVItem>

• And again, removing:

<Description>Aop File Update</Description>
<NVItem ShowInWizard="YES">
<NV_Name ConfigRef="YES">Update Aop File</NV_Name>
<WizardText LANGID="0x0409">3. Aop file update</WizardText>
<Note>Upgrade firmware</Note>
</NVItem>

• Lastly, restore your backup of the XML file and run it again. This time there should be no error messages.
• After flashing, default WEP key is 12345 and default password is admin.

Hope this helps!

[rreif]

Great post mifi2372. I called AT&T and they weren't able to help me that quickly. While on the phone, I was able to do your steps to get the hotspot unlocked.