This a good router option for Tmobile?

[Grizz]

relatively new to this.. have been using ATT ipad plan in CBA850 for the last 6 months and with the current question of that plan I am looking at Tmobile. Question is will this router be a good option for Band 71 with Tmobile? It appears I will have the ability to set the TTL on this one as well and would be using this as a modem for my mesh network in home.

https://store.gl-inet.com/collections/4 ... art-router

available on amazon also

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RQ6JXJC/re ... B07MB5GMWG

[BillA]

relatively new to this.. have been using ATT ipad plan in CBA850 for the last 6 months and with the current question of that plan I am looking at Tmobile. Question is will this router be a good option for Band 71 with Tmobile? It appears I will have the ability to set the TTL on this one as well and would be using this as a modem for my mesh network in home.

https://store.gl-inet.com/collections/4 ... art-router

available on amazon also

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RQ6JXJC/re ... B07MB5GMWG

If you're gonna get the Spitz and want band 71 support, then you should go with the EC25-AF modem. Its drawback is that it's only a CAT-4 modem (bands: B2/B4/B5/B12/B13/B14/B66/B71). If you go with the EP06-A CAT-6 modem, it's lacking band 71 in favor of higher overall throughput (bands: B2/B4/B5/B7/B12/B13/B25/B26/B29/B30/B66).
In my opinion, I would give up band 71 which is only a 5Mhz bandwidth in most areas for a higher CAT modem. Unfortunately not many low or mid range modems support band 71, you'll have to spend above 200 bucks to get it in a high end modem like the Telit LM960 CAT-18 / FN980 5G M.2, or Simcom SIM8200EA CAT-22,

[Grizz]

ok good info.. I am getting a tmobile test drive sent to me so I can check speeds at my house. Should I just stick with the CBA850 I have with the Tmobile SIM, provided that I get good speeds? I am unsure of how to set the TTL since I only use the CBA850 as a modem and run an amplifi mesh network in the house.

[BillA]

ok good info.. I am getting a tmobile test drive sent to me so I can check speeds at my house. Should I just stick with the CBA850 I have with the Tmobile SIM, provided that I get good speeds? I am unsure of how to set the TTL since I only use the CBA850 as a modem and run an amplifi mesh network in the house.

If you stick with the CBA850, then you don't have much choice in modems, and not sure if you can even set the TTL on it (probably not). OpenWRT routers are more flexible, they have replaceable modems AND the all important TTL settings, which is a must for certain carriers such as Tmobile.

[terryjett]

ok good info.. I am getting a tmobile test drive sent to me so I can check speeds at my house. Should I just stick with the CBA850 I have with the Tmobile SIM, provided that I get good speeds? I am unsure of how to set the TTL since I only use the CBA850 as a modem and run an amplifi mesh network in the house.

T-Mobile test drive SIM will not work outside the coolsurf hotspot or at least for me. Even called T-Mobile and asked if could try it in another hotspot since coolsurf was not connecting to network. Nope, it is locked to that hotspot.

I wanted to test speeds before committing to another plan using test drive SIM. But seems that is not possible.

[Grizz]

I was just going to run speedtest.net to see if the speeds are decent. If so, I figured I could always improve on them by aiming my directional antennas when I get a usable SIM. I have never built a router for this though.. i purchased the cba850 from The Wireless Haven.

[terryjett]

I figured I could always improve on them by aiming my directional antennas when I get a usable SIM.

From my tests using a t-mobile test drive hotspot SIM, the SIM will not work in any router (no matter where you buy the router) except one provided by t-mobile for the test drive.

I even called t-mobile test drive team. Begged the lady to let me try in another hotspot since the cheap one they provided would not connect to tower 1.5 miles away. Her exact words to me were "sorry, there is nothing we can do, SIM is locked to that device".

When you get the test drive hotspot, pop SIM into your cba850 and it will show connected. But when you open browser and try to surf, message will appear saying something like does not work with this device.

[BillA]

From my tests using a t-mobile test drive hotspot SIM, the SIM will not work in any router (no matter where you buy the router) except one provided by t-mobile for the test drive.

I even called t-mobile test drive team. Begged the lady to let me try in another hotspot since the cheap one they provided would not connect to tower 1.5 miles away. Her exact words to me were "sorry, there is nothing we can do, SIM is locked to that device".

When you get the test drive hotspot, pop SIM into your cba850 and it will show connected. But when you open browser and try to surf, message will appear saying something like does not work with this device.

Tmobile uses imei lock on that service/hotspot, and with a "special" command on certain modems you could clone it, but I don't condone it, and that's my rhyme for today. lol

[terryjett]

Tmobile uses imei lock on that service/hotspot, and with a "special" command on certain modems you could clone it, but I don't condone it, and that's my rhyme for today. lol

Funny man, lol. But, very interesting info. Have to think about this...

[gscheb]

Hello all,
Currently use T-Mobile with a MC7455. 2 way carrier aggregation with band 2 and 12. Been thinking of upgrading myself at times to more powerful modem.
So I called T-Mobile and asked what bands my local tower has? Was told it has bands 2, 3, 12, 71.
Does anyone know what band 3 is? Not listed on T-Mobile website.
Also does anyone have any advice on what modem could move to with this info?

[terryjett]

Hello all,
Currently use T-Mobile with a MC7455. 2 way carrier aggregation with band 2 and 12. Been thinking of upgrading myself at times to more powerful modem.
So I called T-Mobile and asked what bands my local tower has? Was told it has bands 2, 3, 12, 71.
Does anyone know what band 3 is? Not listed on T-Mobile website.
Also does anyone have any advice on what modem could move to with this info?

Best of my knowledge band 3 is not available in the United States. Things do change fast in the LTE world and one would think T-Mobile knows what bands they use... But based on current info online:

https://www.4g-lte.net/about/lte-freque ... te-band-3/

Do not think it in USA.

[gscheb]

Well all employees make mistakes though.

For example had a new tower go up thought it was AT&T. Called them they say no not ours.
Get ahold of the property owner yep it's AT&T.

[terryjett]

Well all employees make mistakes though.

For example had a new tower go up thought it was AT&T. Called them they say no not ours.
Get ahold of the property owner yep it's AT&T.

Everyone makes mistakes ( i have already made 3 today) and was not trying to point that out, only that band 3 might not be available. In my past telecom experience, the support person on other end of line very rarely knows what is happening in other departments - especially physical cell sites / towers / antennas.

Anyway, was trying to help you with your question.

[gscheb]

You think maybe I should call again? See if I get a different answer.

[terryjett]

You think maybe I should call again? See if I get a different answer.

Heck yea, call them. If you can get to an "engineer" as they call themselves, then you are likely to get some good solid info.

On a serious note, there are some very knowledgeable technicians that know where to find information requested. For instance I called T-Mobile about a hotspot and tech spent 30-40 minutes and could not fix issue. I called back two hours later - was helped, fixed and on my way within 10 minutes. There be some smart people on the other end on line very often

[BillA]

Hello all,
Currently use T-Mobile with a MC7455. 2 way carrier aggregation with band 2 and 12. Been thinking of upgrading myself at times to more powerful modem.
So I called T-Mobile and asked what bands my local tower has? Was told it has bands 2, 3, 12, 71.
Does anyone know what band 3 is? Not listed on T-Mobile website.
Also does anyone have any advice on what modem could move to with this info?

That must be a typo, band 3 is strictly used overseas, they likely meant band 4 which is one of their main 20Mhz wide bands. A modem upgrade would be the Sierra EM7511/7565, Quectel EM12 CAT-12, EM20 CAT-20, SIM7912G-M2 CAT-12, Telit LM960 CAT-18, etc.

Current US LTE Bands
*Primary bands
ATT = *2, 4, 5, 12, 14, 17, 29, 30, 46, 66
TMO = 2, *4, 5, 12, 46, 66, 71
VZW = 2, 4, 5, *13, 66
SPR = *25, 26, 41

Europe = 3(1800), 7(2600), 20(800)

[gscheb]

Hello Again,
Called T-Mobile again.
This time was told that tower has bands 2, 4, 12, 46, 66, 71.

Located 4.7 miles from this tower currently using a MC7455 on bands 2 & 12.
Does anyone know what by best option is getting more speed out of these options here?
What band is more likely to be faster?
Guessing maybe 66 is the one to strive for?

[BillA]

Hello Again,
Called T-Mobile again.
This time was told that tower has bands 2, 4, 12, 46, 66, 71.

Located 4.7 miles from this tower currently using a MC7455 on bands 2 & 12.
Does anyone know what by best option is getting more speed out of these options here?
What band is more likely to be faster?
Guessing maybe 66 is the one to strive for?

I would lock the modem to each one of those bands one at a time, check the signal quality via AT!GSTATUS?, then create a short list by including only two or three of the best bands, and let the tower manage the CA. One important tip, don't go by what "they" say or any cell mapping websites shows about the signal in your area. While they give you a general idea, there's nothing better than testing it yourself in the real world. That's all you can do besides having a pair of high gain antenna aligned properly towards the tower.

[gscheb]

Do you know what the equivalent of AT!GSTATUS? is on a Quectal EC25-af?

Just got one of these to test out band 71.
My hope is to get a simple mobile set up for someone with out the need for exterior antennas. They had the cool pad surf test thing from T-Mobile and it worked good for them.

While got this thing can test all these bands maybe one at a time.

Also BillA could you tell me how to get the simple mobile to work? Do I have to activate it in a phone first?

[BillA]

Do you know what the equivalent of AT!GSTATUS? is on a Quectal EC25-af?

Just got one of these to test out band 71.
My hope is to get a simple mobile set up for someone with out the need for exterior antennas. They had the cool pad surf test thing from T-Mobile and it worked good for them.

While got this thing can test all these bands maybe one at a time.

Also BillA could you tell me how to get the simple mobile to work? Do I have to activate it in a phone first?

Here are some useful commands for the Quectel modems:

Modem Status
AT+qnetdevstatus
AT+QNETDEVSTATUS


Set Connection Modes
AT+QCFG="usbnet",0 < QMI/PPP/Default
AT+QCFG="usbnet",1 < ECM
AT+QCFG="usbnet",2 < MBIM


Change to auto-scan
AT+QCFG="nwscanmode",0,1


Change to 4G only
AT+QCFG="nwscanmode",3,1


Factory reset
AT&F
AT&F1
AT+CFUN=1

AT+CFUN=0 < Turn off modem


To get the modem's status in UQMI mode:
Install the opkgs kmod-usb-net-qmi-wwan, luci-proto-qmi, and uqmi.
A "/dev/cdc-wdm0" device node should appear after installing the qmi-wwan kmod.

uqmi --get-status
uqmi --sync < Clear modem status
uqmi autoconnect < Autoconnect whenever the connection drops (or by AT+QCFG="qmisync",1)
In the above, you may have to substitute "uqmi" with "uqmi -d /dev/cdc-wdm0", and "wdm<#>" with your modem#.

uqmi -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --get-current-settings
uqmi -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --get-capabilities
uqmi -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --get-data-status
uqmi -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --get-serving-system
uqmi -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --get-signal-info


It's always a good idea to have any sim service tested in a phone first. If you'd like I can help you activate and test it in a phone remotely as long as you have a new unused SimpleMobile sim card with you (just pm me).

[gscheb]

Thanks allot.
Just an odd thing really that happened. Have Verizon wireless phone service. Have the lowest unlimited data plan "start unlimited". Which has no hot spot feature at all. Have tried that Sim card in several Sierra wireless mc7455 modems and had never worked. But for some reason it works in that Quetal EC25-af.

[BillA]

Thanks allot.
Just an odd thing really that happened. Have Verizon wireless phone service. Have the lowest unlimited data plan "start unlimited". Which has no hot spot feature at all. Have tried that Sim card in several Sierra wireless mc7455 modems and had never worked. But for some reason it works in that Quetal EC25-af.

Cuz the Quectel EC25- is cool AF! lol (hope you got the humor in the model #).

[gscheb]

Hello Again,
Seems T-Mobile told me wrong again on the bands available in my area. Just got a Quectel EC25-AF modem. Yes it is only a cat 4 modem one band at a time but it has all of the T-mobile bands. Band locked the bands one at a time and only have access to bands 2, 12, 71.
Don't mind the Quectel modem and getting good results out of it for it being a cat 4. Better signal strength than the MC7455 for some reason. Really miss the AT!GSTATUS? that gives all the good signal info. Does anyone know if Quectal modems have something similiar?
Also wondering what modem could I try passed the MC7455 to get more speed with the bands I have? Don't think that expensive Telit lm960 one to just add band 71 is worth it at all.
Have seen on the The Wireless Haven site that some modems say they have intraband carrier aggregation? Think that means like you can get band 2 plus another band 2? Is their a chance I could go that route?
Thanks for any advice

[BillA]

Hello Again,
Seems T-Mobile told me wrong again on the bands available in my area. Just got a Quectel EC25-AF modem. Yes it is only a cat 4 modem one band at a time but it has all of the T-mobile bands. Band locked the bands one at a time and only have access to bands 2, 12, 71.
Don't mind the Quectel modem and getting good results out of it for it being a cat 4. Better signal strength than the MC7455 for some reason. Really miss the AT!GSTATUS? that gives all the good signal info. Does anyone know if Quectal modems have something similiar?
Also wondering what modem could I try passed the MC7455 to get more speed with the bands I have? Don't think that expensive Telit lm960 one to just add band 71 is worth it at all.
Have seen on the The Wireless Haven site that some modems say they have intraband carrier aggregation? Think that means like you can get band 2 plus another band 2? Is their a chance I could go that route?
Thanks for any advice

Try these Quectel commands:

Modem Status
AT+qnetdevstatus
AT+QNETDEVSTATUS
AT+QCAINFO < CA Info
AT+QNWINFO < Current band info

Here are some more useful commands.
https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=5763#p5763
https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=5752#p5752

An inexpensive upgrade from your EC25-AF would be the Quectel EP/EM06-A which is a CAT-6 modem, able to CA two bands at the same time. I've gotten over 100Mbps with it on Tmobile. Currently there are very few modems which support band 71, they are usually high end, expensive models (with the exception of the EC25-AF CAT-4 and LE910C4-NF CAT-4).
As far as intraband CA, there's really nothing you can do, it all depends if the tower instructs your modem to do so.

[gscheb]

Modem Status
AT+qnetdevstatus
AT+QNETDEVSTATUS
AT+QCAINFO < CA Info
AT+QNWINFO < Current band info

The top the of these give me an error. The last one tells me what band I am on but without all the info I am used to.

Now the band lock info you gave me was golden! That worked great and easily.

When it comes to intra band carrier aggregation do you need a certain modem to make that happen? Like higher than a cat 6?

And yes and considering the Quectel EP/EM06-A since this Quectal modem seems to work better than the MC7455 at the moment. Figure give it thru the weekend. Bought this to test band 71 originally but think it was worth it to just finally know the truth of what bands I have.

[BillA]

The top the of these give me an error. The last one tells me what band I am on but without all the info I am used to.

Now the band lock info you gave me was golden! That worked great and easily.

When it comes to intra band carrier aggregation do you need a certain modem to make that happen? Like higher than a cat 6?

And yes and considering the Quectel EP/EM06-A since this Quectal modem seems to work better than the MC7455 at the moment. Figure give it thru the weekend. Bought this to test band 71 originally but think it was worth it to just finally know the truth of what bands I have.

Well those are generic Quectel commands, so it's possible that not all of them will work.
Intraband CA just like regular CA has to be supported by the modem AND the tower for it to work. Look at the spec sheet of the particular modem you're interested in, to see if it has that feature. Again, there's nothing you can do to "force" it or enable it. Of all the CA status screens I've seen so far on many different phones, modems, and carriers, I've never noticed an actual intraband CA in affect in the US. Maybe it's primarily used by overseas carriers, who knows.
Most Samsung phones have keypad test commands to display the full carrier status including CA (*#0011#), and to also change bands (*#2263#), without having to buy extra modems for testing purposes.