I need to change the IMEI on LTE18

Hardware MikroTik hardware general
1

TL;DR - how to change IMEI on LTE18? Step-by-step instructions needed.

Hello everyone,

Context:
I have recently obtained a MikroTik LHGGM&EG18-EA - LHG LTE18 kit (LHGGM&EG18-EA) and installed it at a remote site in Malawi.
Unfortunately I had not been able to get it working while on site and have now learned that the issue is that the SIM is locked to the IMEI of the old antenna (the antenna that was not working for us).
After plenty of back and forth with the telecom, I have learned that they cannot change the SIM lock to the new IMEI, but I have the go ahead to try changing the IMEI on the new MikroTik antenna to match that of the old one instead.

Problem:
The difficulty now is that I have to provide instructions written for someone on site who does not have a lot of technical experience, for how to change the IMEI on the LTE18 antenna.

I have found this post (Mikrotik LTE Change IMEI · GitHub) referencing older hardware. I wonder if this is the same for the LTE18?

Is that still the best guide? Will that work? Is there a better (official?) guide somewhere?

Thank you,
c.

2

Replace SIM card to the new fresh one. It could always "break somehow by itself", isn't it? :slight_smile:

3

IMEI and SIM are two separate things.

The IMEI is the media id of the hardware itself (or more specifically, the LTE module).

First try the guide. If that doesn’t work, drop MikroTik support an email. Otherwise, I’d switch to a carrier that allows third-party hardware.

Personally, I try to avoid carriers that lock customers into hardware that can only be bought from them.