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3G Shutdown

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Solaredge recently sent out an email regarding a change in the communication system for your inverter.  In order to better serve our customers, we are reaching out to let you know how this will affect you.  With the upcoming shutdown of 3G wireless network, this will affect you because your inverter has a cellular card which uses the 3G network to communicate production & inverter faults.   It also gives SolarEdge the ability to push important firmware updates, provide our customers with access & visibility to monitor their solar systems production performance.  A cellular card renewal is mandatory every 5 years for solar customers to maintain their inverter’s communication & monitoring capabilities as well as your manufacturer warranties. This required renewal is simply taking place earlier in your cycle, along with a modem upgrade.  

What should your next steps be? 

SolarEdge has an approved partnership with a company called 365 Pronto who will be coordinating all the cellular network installation upgrades for all customers who are affected by this all across the country including our Sol-Tek customers.  

You have 2 options to choose from to ensure you will not be at risk of losing certain warranty coverages from both Sol-Tek’s labor warranty & your SolarEdge inverter manufacturer warranty.  

Option 1 Purchase a new cell-kit for your system through 365 Pronto:

SolarEdge will be sending out an email to our customers with a link to 365 Pronto registration page to place the order for your new cell-kit and shipping. The estimated cost for a cellular data card/modem renewal is starting at $575 which includes a communication plan until 2028.   When going through the order process, you will see the final price of the cost of the equipment as well as the installation price. 

The technicians will reach out to schedule the installation date once they receive confirmation of the modem delivery.

Option 2 Have Sol-Tek install a Hardwired Solution with a Zigbee: 

One of our technicians will need to do a site visit to prepare a customized quote for this project. This will have a minimum cost of $750.00 & maximum cost of $1,350.00.  The quote will include running cabling as well as a Zigbee gateway device & requires the customer to provide their own internet service provider connection. Cost variation depends on attic access, modem location, the number of technician hours as well as distance between inverter & modem. This option is recommended for clients with multiple inverters & will prevent having multiple cellular card upgrades. Warranty Consideration: This option will include a truck roll fee of $179.50 for subsequent service calls related to communication issues resulting from a customer’s internet service provider interruptions or a customer’s mishandling of installed communications equipment.

*By declining all options, by default you will be accepting loss of access to SolarEdge inverter monitoring as well as losing warranty coverage from SolarEdge*

 

Why isn’t this covered under my contractor warranty?

Sol-Tek Solar proudly provides installation, workmanship, and equipment that includes manufacture warranties to our clients to ensure peace-of-mind in relation to their solar investment. However, Sol-Tek Solar does not provide warranty coverage against advancements in technology related to the communications networks in the cellular industry. This issue is not the result of faulty or poorly manufactured equipment nor of improper workmanship on part of the contractor. This is the result of a nationwide cellular communications network shut down & is not covered under your installation warranty with Sol-Tek Solar.

 

When Will 3G Shut down?

Every major US carrier has announced its own respective 2G and 3G network shutdown schedules:

  • T-Mobile will discontinue its 3G UMTS network by July 1, 2022, but has not yet announced a shutdown date for its 2G network.
  • Sprint and Boost customers on T-Mobile’s network will lose 3G connectivity in March 2022.
  • Verizon will finally shut down its 3G network on December 31, 2022.
  • By New Year’s Day 2023, no major carrier in the US will support the 3G standard or earlier.

 

Time line:

After you make your purchase you will be given an estimated delivery time frame for your equipment.  If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office at 559-325-6907. You can also contact 365 Pronto at 480-690-4851 or connect with a live person on their chat option on their website

 

We appreciate your patience through this process and hope you know that we are doing everything in our power to make this a smooth transition and to stay informed of the necessary steps to ensure the updates take place on-time for all of our clients.