We installed a Vesper Cortex December 2020. Initially, it reported a faulty
antenna, but after an update the
antenna indicator went solid green. I participated with their Beta program, and installed several
software updates. Vesper was quick to respond to questions and issues.
Last summer I noticed that the
wifi connection to my
phone was intermittent and clunky to get Cortex Onboard to reconnect. It's about 30 feet from the base unit to the v-berth. We were in the
Bahamas with crappy AT&T International
service (another sad story), so I deferred doing anything until we returned to
Florida.
The latest update I downloaded would fail to install. After several emails, I was eventually put in touch with the Vesper folks in NZ. My final attempt was to do a factory reset. That worked, but the hub still refused to update.
At this point, it was time to RMA the unit with Garmin, for $700 with a 90 day warranty. I declined. Garmin eventually replaced/exchanged the hub at no cost. Once swapped out, the MMSI was installed via
remote access through the cellular connection.
I can't say enough good things about Vesper personnel & their support. Garmin support has been very disappointing on several levels, and now I'm not inclined to buy an
AIS replacement from Garmin when the time comes.
Good luck. YMMV.