Difference between Device and Tower/Network failures?

Question

I could not use the MiFi 4510L device last night. I tried multiple computers and each was assigned an IP address, correctly. The modem status appeared to be normal when I used the mifi.admin management console, but I could not ping and I could not load web pages. The same problem happened if I tried to use 4G (LTE only) or 3G (CDMA etc.).
I'm thinking the network was overloaded. I think the network failed. I restarted the MiFi 4510L device multiple times with the same scenario. I am accessing the Internet this morning (it's 6:15 am right now where I live). It appears to be ok. Until the device starts hanging up again.
Is it possible to know when the failures are due to the device versus when they are due to the towers? As far as I could tell, I had Internet and connectivity, but no traffic. Are there tools that can be used to determine whether this is the problem? I did not get in my car and start driving around to see whether I had connectivity elsewhere. Next time this happens, I will do that.

Answer 1

statdetective wrote:
Thanks for taking the time to reply. It's hard to know whether the problem is with the device because the device has intermittent failures as we all know.
On the other hand, I should have been more specific. Ping/ICMP did not work, either. This morning, I didn't have 4G connectivity, but I did have 3G connectivity. Speed test for 3G gave about 1.2Mbps download and about 0.10 MBps upload. The upload speed was especially painful.
It seems like one of the reasons the 4G problems have been so difficult to resolve are due to multiple failure points which include devices, towers, network, and probably Internet software (such as DNS lookup problems).
It would be helpful to be able to have scenarios of symptoms that could determine the failure point.
Keep in mind that this is no different a situation than any network/communications issue.  If you're on your corporate network, situations such as this could be the result of problems with firewalls, proxy servers, authoritative DNS, NAT rules, PAC files, core, distribution or access switches, border routers, choke routers, and the list goes on. 
In this case it "seems" as though the MiFi is acting as a combination of access/distribution switch, router, and firewall.  It's also I guess sort of a bridge router.  Because we have very limited access to any technical data around the network at large, we have a very limited ability to troubleshoot except for on the client side.  I would disagree that a "network problem should be resolved for you, where a device problem will not" to some extent.  I think BOTH "should" be resolved for you - the former without your participation, the latter requiring your participation in some fashion.  However, in this particular situation I don't believe Verizon is resolving either.
The bottom line here is that due to the very proprietary nature of the MiFi and its integration with the LTE network there is yet a further level of abstraction which makes troubleshooting difficult - and as a result I doubt we'll come up with any conclusive "test cases" which could really accurately point us in the right direction.  Until such time as Verizon actually SOLVES some of the recurring and systemic issues which have not been addressed or resolved since day one, we have no consistent functioning baseline to measure again.  In other words, since it's never worked properly so far, we really don't know how much of the issues are resulting from HW design issues with the 4150L for example, how much are from firmware issues loaded on the 4150L, and how much are in the design/implementation of the LTE network at large (including all of its components).