Basis of Presentation	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2016
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The information contained herein has been prepared by Novatel Wireless, Inc. (the “Company”) in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The information at June 30, 2016 and the results of the Company’s operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 are unaudited. The condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting of only normal recurring accruals, which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair statement of the results of the interim periods presented. These condensed consolidated financial statements and notes hereto should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements from which they were derived and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. Except as set forth below, the accounting policies used in preparing these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are the same as those described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K. The results of operations for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any other interim period or for the year as a whole. For the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, the Company incurred a net loss of $2.7 million and $9.2 million, respectively. The Company’s ability to transition to attaining profitable operations is dependent upon achieving a level of revenues adequate to support its evolving cost structure. If events or circumstances occur such that the Company does not meet its operating plan as expected, the Company may be required to reduce planned research and development activities, incur additional restructuring charges or reduce other operating expenses which could have an adverse impact on its ability to achieve its intended business objectives. These additional reductions in expenditures, if required, could have an adverse impact on the Company’s ability to achieve certain of its business objectives. The Company’s management believes that its cash and cash equivalents and availability under its senior secured revolving credit facility, together with anticipated cash flows from operations, will be sufficient to meet its working capital needs for the next twelve months and the foreseeable future. Principles of Consolidation The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. Segment Information Management has determined that the Company has one reportable segment. The Chief Executive Officer, who is also the Chief Operating Decision Maker, does not manage any part of the Company separately, and the allocation of resources and assessment of performance is based solely on the Company’s consolidated operations and operating results. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent liabilities. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates. Significant estimates include allowance for doubtful accounts receivable, provision for excess and obsolete inventory, valuation of intangible and long-lived assets, valuation of goodwill, valuation of debt obligations, royalty costs, accruals relating to litigation and restructuring, provision for warranty costs, income taxes and share-based compensation expense. New Accounting Pronouncements From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”), which are adopted by the Company as of the specified date. Unless otherwise discussed, management believes the impact of recently issued standards, some of which are not yet effective, will not have a material impact on its unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements upon adoption. In March 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which affects entities that issue share-based payment awards to their employees. The guidance is designed to identify areas for simplification involving several aspects of accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, an option to recognize gross stock compensation expense with actual forfeitures recognized as they occur, as well as certain classifications on the statement of cash flows. This guidance is effective prospectively for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this guidance. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which establishes the principles to report transparent and economically neutral information about the assets and liabilities that arise from leases. This guidance results in the Company providing a more faithful representation of the rights and obligations arising from operating and capital leases by requiring lessees to recognize the lease assets and lease liabilities that arise from leases in the statement of financial position and to disclose qualitative and quantitative information about lease transactions, such as information about variable lease payments and options to renew and terminate leases. This guidance is effective prospectively for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this guidance. In September 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-16, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Simplifying the Accounting for Measurement-Period Adjustments, which eliminates the requirement for an acquirer to retrospectively adjust provisional amounts recorded in a business combination to reflect new information about the facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date and that, if known, would have affected the measurement or recognition of amounts initially recognized. As an alternative, the update requires that an acquirer recognize adjustments to provisional amounts that are identified during the measurement period in the reporting period in which the adjustment amounts are determined. The update requires that the acquirer record, in the financial statements of the period in which adjustments to provisional amounts are determined, the effect on earnings of changes in depreciation, amortization, or other income effects, if any, as a result of the change to the provisional amounts, calculated as if the accounting had been completed at the acquisition date. The Company implemented this guidance during the first quarter of 2016. This guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements upon adoption. In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-05, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Fees Paid in a Cloud Computing Arrangement. Under this standard, if a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license, the software license element of the arrangement should be accounted for consistent with the acquisition of other software licenses. If a cloud computing arrangement does not include a software license, the arrangement should be accounted for as a service contract. The Company implemented this guidance during the first quarter of 2016. This guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements upon adoption. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which provides guidance for revenue recognition. The new standard will require revenue recognized to represent the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration the company expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. The standard also requires new, expanded disclosures regarding revenue recognition. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Deferral of Effective Date. The standard defers the effective date of adoption of ASU 2014-09 to interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is permitted but not before the original effective date of December 15, 2016. There are two adoption methods available for implementation of this guidance. Under one method, the guidance is applied retrospectively to contracts for each reporting period presented, subject to allowable practical expedients. Under the other method, the guidance is applied only to the most current period presented, recognizing the cumulative effect of the change as an adjustment to the beginning balance of retained earnings, and also requires additional disclosures comparing the results to the previous guidance. The Company is currently evaluating the adoption methods and assessing the impact of this guidance.

Basis of Presentation

The information contained herein has been prepared by Novatel Wireless, Inc. (the “Company”) in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The information at June 30, 2016 and the results of the Company’s operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 are unaudited. The condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting of only normal recurring accruals, which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair statement of the results of the interim periods presented. These condensed consolidated financial statements and notes hereto should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements from which they were derived and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. Except as set forth below, the accounting policies used in preparing these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are the same as those described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K. The results of operations for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any other interim period or for the year as a whole.

For the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, the Company incurred a net loss of $2.7 million and $9.2 million, respectively. The Company’s ability to transition to attaining profitable operations is dependent upon achieving a level of revenues adequate to support its evolving cost structure. If events or circumstances occur such that the Company does not meet its operating plan as expected, the Company may be required to reduce planned research and development activities, incur additional restructuring charges or reduce other operating expenses which could have an adverse impact on its ability to achieve its intended business objectives. These additional reductions in expenditures, if required, could have an adverse impact on the Company’s ability to achieve certain of its business objectives. The Company’s management believes that its cash and cash equivalents and availability under its senior secured revolving credit facility, together with anticipated cash flows from operations, will be sufficient to meet its working capital needs for the next twelve months and the foreseeable future.

Principles of Consolidation

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

Segment Information

Management has determined that the Company has one reportable segment. The Chief Executive Officer, who is also the Chief Operating Decision Maker, does not manage any part of the Company separately, and the allocation of resources and assessment of performance is based solely on the Company’s consolidated operations and operating results.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent liabilities. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates. Significant estimates include allowance for doubtful accounts receivable, provision for excess and obsolete inventory, valuation of intangible and long-lived assets, valuation of goodwill, valuation of debt obligations, royalty costs, accruals relating to litigation and restructuring, provision for warranty costs, income taxes and share-based compensation expense.

New Accounting Pronouncements

From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”), which are adopted by the Company as of the specified date. Unless otherwise discussed, management believes the impact of recently issued standards, some of which are not yet effective, will not have a material impact on its unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements upon adoption.

In March 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which affects entities that issue share-based payment awards to their employees. The guidance is designed to identify areas for simplification involving several aspects of accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, an option to recognize gross stock compensation expense with actual forfeitures recognized as they occur, as well as certain classifications on the statement of cash flows. This guidance is effective prospectively for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this guidance.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which establishes the principles to report transparent and economically neutral information about the assets and liabilities that arise from leases. This guidance results in the Company providing a more faithful representation of the rights and obligations arising from operating and capital leases by requiring lessees to recognize the lease assets and lease liabilities that arise from leases in the statement of financial position and to disclose qualitative and quantitative information about lease transactions, such as information about variable lease payments and options to renew and terminate leases. This guidance is effective prospectively for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this guidance.

In September 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-16, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Simplifying the Accounting for Measurement-Period Adjustments, which eliminates the requirement for an acquirer to retrospectively adjust provisional amounts recorded in a business combination to reflect new information about the facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date and that, if known, would have affected the measurement or recognition of amounts initially recognized. As an alternative, the update requires that an acquirer recognize adjustments to provisional amounts that are identified during the measurement period in the reporting period in which the adjustment amounts are determined. The update requires that the acquirer record, in the financial statements of the period in which adjustments to provisional amounts are determined, the effect on earnings of changes in depreciation, amortization, or other income effects, if any, as a result of the change to the provisional amounts, calculated as if the accounting had been completed at the acquisition date. The Company implemented this guidance during the first quarter of 2016. This guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements upon adoption.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-05, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Fees Paid in a Cloud Computing Arrangement. Under this standard, if a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license, the software license element of the arrangement should be accounted for consistent with the acquisition of other software licenses. If a cloud computing arrangement does not include a software license, the arrangement should be accounted for as a service contract. The Company implemented this guidance during the first quarter of 2016. This guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements upon adoption.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which provides guidance for revenue recognition. The new standard will require revenue recognized to represent the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration the company expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. The standard also requires new, expanded disclosures regarding revenue recognition. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Deferral of Effective Date. The standard defers the effective date of adoption of ASU 2014-09 to interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is permitted but not before the original effective date of December 15, 2016. There are two adoption methods available for implementation of this guidance. Under one method, the guidance is applied retrospectively to contracts for each reporting period presented, subject to allowable practical expedients. Under the other method, the guidance is applied only to the most current period presented, recognizing the cumulative effect of the change as an adjustment to the beginning balance of retained earnings, and also requires additional disclosures comparing the results to the previous guidance. The Company is currently evaluating the adoption methods and assessing the impact of this guidance.