Trouble Setting Up 4G/LTE Home Network

[luke.cd1]

Hello all,

Long post, but I would really appreciate any help you can give. I am at a dead end.

 

So due to locational restraints, my only viable option for a decent high speed connection is 4G/LTE. Presently, the best I can do is a 1.5Mb/s DSL connection. It's absolute trash at the best of times, and if more than one person wants to use the internet at a time, forget about it.

 

So I recently switched to AT&T's unlimited data plan, which allows "unlimited" data usage to both mine and my fiance's phones (22GB per device per month before they start throttling speeds based on cell tower traffic). So far so good.

We also added a third SIM card to the plan: This SIM would ordinarily go into their little mobile hotspot thingy that you can buy at the ATT store for $150. I didn't want to use this dinky little modem, so I purchased a more robust modem that has ethernet ports and options for future antenna expansion. The specific modem I purchased is the D-Link DWR-921. The DWR-921 had pretty good reviews. What research I did before I purchased the modem seemed to reveal that this was a solid unit that would do everything I needed it to. I could just pop in the SIM card, and I'd be up and running off of my 4G network. It wasn't as premium as some of the modems from Asus for example, but I didn't want to spend much more than $150 on this setup.

 

Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/LTE-HSPA-ROUTER-DUAL-MODE/dp/B00BN36NMM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496330631&sr=8-1&keywords=d-link+dwr-921

 

Product page link:

http://www.dlink.com/uk/en/products/dwr-921-4g-lte-router

 

So I ordered from a UK vendor that I hadn't heard of before. They seemed legit and had a professional website. They were cool, and it only took about 3 days to get to Texas. There was some weird labeling on the box that was a little bit fishy (it said a different model #), but I have no reason to believe that I received a bootleg unit or anything like that. I assumed that this was kind of a  warehouse surplus stocking type scenario. The unit powers up and detects a signal as it should.

 

So I connect it to my PC via ethernet, and follow the instructions to set up the network. I open chrome and type in the IP address listed in the manual. This takes me to the D-Link router setup page. The same page that I assume all D-Link routers deal with. This is where things start to get weird: I don't have internet access yet. The internet icon in the lower righthand corner (Windows 10) shows the ethernet symbol with the yellow triangle, NOT the red X that you see when your computer is unplugged.

 

I go through the setup Wizard, which prompts me to select the type of connection (4G), and then it asks me to set up a username and password, select encryption type, blah blah blah, standard stuff. After selecting "4G/LTE" for my connection type, it gives me the option to auto-detect my cellular network, or to manually enter all of the information. The auto detect feature does not seem to do anything for me, so I start filling out the options manually. It asks me to select country, and then carrier. So after selecting USA, I open the drop-down menu for carriers. They have a couple I have never heard of before, a bunch for T-Mobile, a few for Cingular (who was acquired by AT&T some 10 years or so ago), and an 'Other' option. It then asks for additional information such as 'Dial Up Number', which defaults to *99#. I have tried that as well as the phone number I see associated with the SIM card on my devices page on the ATT website. I still show 0% connection, and it is not even displaying that it detects a network at all. The signal light on the front of the modem is blinking orange, which I take to mean that it has a signal, just not a very strong one.

 

BUT WAIT - There's more.

 

So I called AT&T tech support, because I thought that the SIM might not be activated. The SIM card IS activated, but the IMEI number that they had associated with it was not the IMEI number of my router. I assume that the store tech just assigned it an obligatory one that was SUPPOSED to correspond with the mobile hotpot thing that they sell. So I give the tech support person the IMEI number printed on the bottom of my unit. They tell me that this is a 2G IMEI number! This makes no since to me, because the DWR-921 is definitely a 4g/LTE modem. Whatever. I tell them to go ahead and change it, just to see if it works. It does not.

 

So I call D-Link customer support and make it to a tech services guy. He tells me that the D-Link DWR-921 is not an officially supported product (at least by their tech support), and that it is the sort of device that a phone company would provide to their customers. I don't know why this is, as this product can be purchased on Amazon, and can be found on D-Link's website (although the .uk site only, NOT the US website).

 

So that's where I am right now... Did I just not do my homework well enough and end up with a modem that doesn't support AT&T's network? Is there a chance I got some weird bootleg unit (2G IMEI number????) or something? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have little to no networking experience, and I just want to play video games without spiking up to 500 ping.

 

Thanks.

 

[luke.cd1]

I will try to upload some screenshots of the IP address setup page later tonight.

[brwainer]

It sounds to me like you got a European version of the modem. 4G/LTE varies by country (which bands are allowed) and by GSM vs CDMA. What is the exact model that you received, and what is the website you bought it from?

 

EDIT: Actually, it looks like this is a product only sold in the EU. Personally, I wouldn't have bought it since I would have known in advance that cellular stuff varies by country. But we can see if we can help you get it working.

 

EDIT2: I looked up AT&T's LTE bands and found this: "AT&T 4G HSPA and HSPA+ use 850Mhz(Band 5) and 1900Mhz(Band 2) " whereas the router you bought only supports " 900/1800/2600/800 MHz ". I believe that "800MHz" and "850MHz" are considered separate bands. So it looks like this router can't connect to AT&T.

[luke.cd1]

5 minutes ago, brwainer said:

It sounds to me like you got a European version of the modem. 4G/LTE varies by country (which bands are allowed) and by GSM vs CDMA. What is the exact model that you received, and what is the website you bought it from?

 

EDIT: Actually, it looks like this is a product only sold in the EU. Personally, I wouldn't have bought it since I would have known in advance that cellular stuff varies by country. But we can see if we can help you get it working.

 

EDIT2: I looked up AT&T's LTE bands and found this: "AT&T 4G HSPA and HSPA+ use 850Mhz(Band 5) and 1900Mhz(Band 2) " whereas the router you bought only supports " 900/1800/2600/800 MHz ". I believe that "800MHz" and "850MHz" are considered separate bands. So it looks like this router can't connect to AT&T.

Thanks for the speedy reply! So then, it sounds like my best bet might be to return the unit and try to get my money back. Do you have a suggestion for a similar product that will do what I need it to do, and will work in the States?

 

Here's the website where I bought it from:

http://pacetech.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=dwr-921

[brwainer]

37 minutes ago, luke.cd1 said:

Thanks for the speedy reply! So then, it sounds like my best bet might be to return the unit and try to get my money back. Do you have a suggestion for a similar product that will do what I need it to do, and will work in the States?

 

Here's the website where I bought it from:

http://pacetech.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=dwr-921

I don't know anything about this company but they seen fine. I would return the router. Unfortunately, I haven't been following this market so I don't have any recommendations for you.

[luke.cd1]

1 hour ago, brwainer said:

I don't know anything about this company but they seen fine. I would return the router. Unfortunately, I haven't been following this market so I don't have any recommendations for you.

Yeah I will contact them today.

Do you happen to know anything about using a USB SIM card modem with a compatible router? I know that is a possible solution, but I always assumed that having a physical SIM slot on the modem/router itself would be preferable.

[brwainer]

1 hour ago, luke.cd1 said:

Yeah I will contact them today.

Do you happen to know anything about using a USB SIM card modem with a compatible router? I know that is a possible solution, but I always assumed that having a physical SIM slot on the modem/router itself would be preferable.

i know that Mikrotik routers are compatible with almost all USB modems. If its a new model, then sometimes you have to send them a support request for them to update the OS for better speeds or compatibility, but most of them are plug and play (Mikrotik RouterOS is linux based, so any USB modem that works with Linux can work with RouterOS).

 

Beyond that, I don't know anything to recommend.

[luke.cd1]

10 minutes ago, brwainer said:

i know that Mikrotik routers are compatible with almost all USB modems. If its a new model, then sometimes you have to send them a support request for them to update the OS for better speeds or compatibility, but most of them are plug and play (Mikrotik RouterOS is linux based, so any USB modem that works with Linux can work with RouterOS).

 

Beyond that, I don't know anything to recommend.

Thanks for the help. I'll probably just have to bite the bullet and order a more expensive model that I know will work on the ATT network.

[Jarsky]

4 hours ago, brwainer said:

It sounds to me like you got a European version of the modem. 4G/LTE varies by country (which bands are allowed) and by GSM vs CDMA. What is the exact model that you received, and what is the website you bought it from?

 

EDIT: Actually, it looks like this is a product only sold in the EU. Personally, I wouldn't have bought it since I would have known in advance that cellular stuff varies by country. But we can see if we can help you get it working.

 

EDIT2: I looked up AT&T's LTE bands and found this: "AT&T 4G HSPA and HSPA+ use 850Mhz(Band 5) and 1900Mhz(Band 2) " whereas the router you bought only supports " 900/1800/2600/800 MHz ". I believe that "800MHz" and "850MHz" are considered separate bands. So it looks like this router can't connect to AT&T.

exactly what brwainer said ^

I work for a large telco (1.2m customers) and this is one of the biggest frustrations we have with customers buying devices from overseas.

This is why it was so important back in the early days that you had "tri-band" devices - which could support various frequences for short/long range, and cross network compatibility.

 

With modems, the modifiers on the end, denote the "region" that the device is for - the same is true for mobile phones. e.g If i had a Samsung Galaxy S3 I would have an i9300T while you would have an i9300. These are their region specific SKU's, but theyre still marketed by their general model name. This is due to the different broadband standards (which is why when you do a firmware upgrade, there are various files depending on your country), and different 3G/3GPP(LTE) standard. Even in my country, our LTE frequencies are different to Vodafones frequencies which (apart from high end expensive devices) means that your mobile will probably not be compatible with every frequency meaning coverage issues.

 

It's not so much that you need a more expensive model - but you do require a model that is compatible with your networks frequencies.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Cheat-sheet-which-4G-LTE-bands-do-AT-T-Verizon-T-Mobile-and-Sprint-use-in-the-USA_id77933

 

It looks like from this sheet, that you dont share any LTE bands with Europe, which is why you can't even connect on the high frequencies.

 

Keep in mind that the lower frequencies (e.g 700Mhz) are for short distance, high speed transmission - while the higher frequencies (e.g 1900Mhz) are for long distance, but slower transmission.

[luke.cd1]

10 minutes ago, Jarsky said:

exactly what brwainer said ^

I work for a large telco (1.2m customers) and this is one of the biggest frustrations we have with customers buying devices from overseas.

This is why it was so important back in the early days that you had "tri-band" devices - which could support various frequences for short/long range, and cross network compatibility.

 

With modems, the modifiers on the end, denote the "region" that the device is for - the same is true for mobile phones. e.g If i had a Samsung Galaxy S3 I would have an i9300T while you would have an i9300. These are their region specific SKU's, but theyre still marketed by their general model name. This is due to the different broadband standards (which is why when you do a firmware upgrade, there are various files depending on your country), and different 3G/3GPP(LTE) standard. Even in my country, our LTE frequencies are different to Vodafones frequencies which (apart from high end expensive devices) means that your mobile will probably not be compatible with every frequency meaning coverage issues.

 

It's not so much that you need a more expensive model - but you do require a model that is compatible with your networks frequencies.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Cheat-sheet-which-4G-LTE-bands-do-AT-T-Verizon-T-Mobile-and-Sprint-use-in-the-USA_id77933

 

It looks like from this sheet, that you dont share any LTE bands with Europe, which is why you can't even connect on the high frequencies.

 

Keep in mind that the lower frequencies (e.g 700Mhz) are for short distance, high speed transmission - while the higher frequencies (e.g 1900Mhz) are for long distance, but slower transmission.

Thanks! That is all good to know.

I didn't mean that I'm going to buy a more expensive one because I need a "better" modem, but rather it seems that the ones that will fulfill my needs are more expensive.

I did some looking and I found this:

http://mofinetwork.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=189

It seems to have the most consistent good reviews, and will definitely work on my network.

[luigi90210]

you can see if ATT offers a usb LTE modem and you can buy that and a pfsense router will allow you to configure that USB modem as a WAN connection and allow you access to your entire network

alternatively you can also pick up a cheap LTE phone with usb3 capability and put it in usb tethering mode and configure that like a USB modem on a pfsense router

[luke.cd1]

Thanks for all of the help guys.

 

I ended up going with the Mofi SIM4:

http://mofinetwork.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=189

 

It has been working excellently! I am getting speeds upwards of 20-30mb/s now, whereas before I was lucky to get 1.5.

It's a more expensive modem, but I'd highly recommend it to anyone who needs a 4G home internet solution. Setup was a breeze and so far the connection has been unwavering.