I have a R11e-LTE6 in a LGH dish which is used as a backup Internet connection, when the primary (an AirFiber LR 60) goes down (rain can take it out, on account of the 60 GHz band). I live out in the boonies, at the bottom of a narrow canyon. This makes for very limited internet connectivity options.
In the case of the LGH, it is mounted up on the hillside (200 meters up from the house) at the only location I have ever found to have even the slightest hint of cell signal on the property. There’s no line-of-sight to any cell towers from that location (or any location on the property), thus I can only assume that the signal originates from reflections in the canyon. To say the least, this does not make for very good signal.
Still, I would like to make the most of what I have and I’m puzzled over what I’m seeing and was hoping that someone can explain it?
First, I using AT&T as the provider and this at least minimally works. In the past, I have tried SIMs from the other two providers in the area, Verizon and T-Mobile, and have not been able to connect to these.
When connecting to AT&T, there is only a single cell which I have been able to connect to, although when using “cell-monitor,” I can see many other cells, some of which have better signal strength and I’m trying to understand why the device will not connect to these?
I have used the cell-lock functionality to lock onto the one which works, but it does not work for any other cell.
Here is the connection status: Yes, the signal is terrible. The RSRP can be improve to -118dB, with proper alignment, but that’s it.
pin-status: ok
registration-status: registered
functionality: full
manufacturer: "MikroTik"
model: "R11e-LTE6"
revision: R11e-LTE6_V034
current-operator: AT&T
lac: 35614
current-cellid: 169850120
enb-id: 663477
sector-id: 8
phy-cellid: 389
access-technology: LTE
session-uptime: 3m8s
imei: ---------------
imsi: ---------------
uicc: ----------------
subscriber-number: ----------------
primary-band: B2@20Mhz earfcn: 800 phy-cellid: 389
cqi: 2
ri: 1
rssi: -80dBm
rsrp: -124dBm
rsrq: -19.5dB
sinr: -11dB
When using the “scan” feature, these are the reported values:
Columns: OPERATOR, MCC-MNC, ACCESS-TECHNOLOGY, RSSI, RSRP, RSRQ
OPERATOR MCC-MNC ACCESS-TECHNOLOGY RSSI RSRP RSRQ
AT&T 310410 LTE -82dBm -120dBm -17dB
AT&T 313100 LTE
AT&T 311480 LTE
I believe 311480 belongs to Verizon and I’m pretty sure 313100 is also not AT&T. While not a major issue, any idea as to why the “operator” is wrong?
When running the “cell-monitor” tool, what is listed is highly variable. Sometimes it shows nothing. Once, I have seen over 100 unique cells. Here are a few sample scans:
Columns: PHY-CELLID, BAND, EARFCN, RSRP, RSRQ, AGE
PHY-CELLID BAND EARFCN RSRP RSRQ AGE
270 B17 5780 -115dBm -17.5dB 6s
273 B2 800 -125dBm -19.5dB 9s
316 B2 800 -125dBm -19.5dB 2s
270 B12 5110 -130dBm -19.5dB 2s
...
Columns: PHY-CELLID, BAND, EARFCN, RSRP, RSRQ, AGE
PHY-CELLID BAND EARFCN RSRP RSRQ AGE
415 B12 5110 -117dBm -19.5dB 41s
270 B12 5110 -118dBm -19.5dB 1s
348 B12 5110 -120dBm -19.5dB 4s
102 B2 800 -121dBm -18.5dB 14s
380 B2 800 -121dBm -19.5dB 4s
461 B12 5110 -121dBm -19.5dB 53s
67 B2 800 -122dBm -19.5dB 8s
...
Columns: PHY-CELLID, BAND, EARFCN, RSRP, RSRQ, AGE
PHY-CELLID BAND EARFCN RSRP RSRQ AGE
270 B12 5110 -114dBm -19.5dB 2s
437 B12 5110 -118dBm -19.5dB 8s
209 B2 800 -120dBm -18.5dB 29s
273 B2 800 -121dBm -19.5dB 2s
291 B12 5110 -122dBm -19.5dB 2s
...
[admin@MikroTik] /interface/lte> cell-monitor lte1 max-age=10:00
Columns: PHY-CELLID, BAND, EARFCN, RSRP, RSRQ, AGE
PHY-CELLID BAND EARFCN RSRP RSRQ AGE
467 B2 800 -120dBm -19.5dB 1m45s
188 B2 800 -122dBm -19.5dB 1m51s
47 B2 800 -123dBm -19.5dB 1m45s
48 B2 800 -123dBm -19dB 1m42s
470 B2 800 -124dBm -19.5dB 1s
...
Columns: PHY-CELLID, BAND, EARFCN, RSRP, RSRQ, AGE
PHY-CELLID BAND EARFCN RSRP RSRQ AGE
249 B2 1150 -122dBm -17.5dB 1s
470 B2 800 -124dBm -19.5dB 1m56s
261 B2 800 -125dBm -19.5dB 1m56s
273 B2 800 -126dBm -19.5dB 1m56s
First, I would like to know which of these belong to my carrier? If I cell lock one which does not belong to AT&T, it would explain why it does not connect. Does anyone know if setting “allow-roaming=no” will restrict the list to only those which are belong to your carrier? If not, is there a good way to determine which belong do?
Oddly, the one I can connect to has never been listed by cell-monitor. Nor can I find that one listed on https://cellidfinder.com/ or https://www.cellmapper.net
Of these cells, CA-2 is always this one: “270 B12 5110 -114dBm -19.5dB 2s.” For reasons I am unable to explain, I can’t cell lock this as the primary via "at-chat lte1 input=“AT*Cell=2,3,5110,270” When I do this, it just sits there in this state:
13:09:47 lte,async lte1: sent AT*Cell=2,3,,5110,270
13:09:47 lte,async,event lte1: +CGEV: ME DETACH
13:09:47 lte,async lte1: rcvd +CGEV: ME DETACH
// No further output.
[admin@MikroTik] /interface/lte> monitor lte1
pin-status: ok
registration-status: unknown
functionality: full
manufacturer: "MikroTik"
model: "R11e-LTE6"
revision: R11e-LTE6_V034
...
[admin@MikroTik] /interface/lte> at-chat lte1 input="AT+CREG?"
output: +CREG: 2,0
OK
// +CEREG: <n>,<stat>... - The read command reads current network registration status.
// <n> 2 – Subscribe unsolicited result codes +CEREG:<stat>[,<tac>,<ci>,<AcT>]
// <stat> 0 – Not registered. User Equipment (UE) is not currently searching for an operator to register to.
There are no errors reported. It just sits there like this. If I switch it back, it will reconnect immediately.
13:20:45 lte,async lte1: sent AT*Cell=2,3,,800,389
13:20:45 lte,async,event lte1: +CGEV: ME DETACH
13:20:45 lte,async lte1: rcvd +CGEV: ME DETACH
13:20:45 lte,async,event lte1: +CPAS: 0
13:20:47 lte,async,raw lte1: +CEREG: 1,"8b1e","0a1fb508",9
13:20:47 lte,info lte1: registered home
// Leads to connection.
Occasionally, the registration status will be reported as “11,” which is an undefined value. Does anyone know what this means? e.g. “+CEREG: 2,11,“8b1e”,“0a1fb508”,7”
Anyhow, attempting to cell lock anything other than “800,389” results in the above, where it just sits there, and not attempting to connect. I’m trying to understand why this is? If these belong to another carrier, the explanation is straight forward, but in the case of the one used for CA-2 (5110,270), which presumably belongs to AT&T, that explanation does not suffice.
The other configuration info, which may be pertinent is:
[admin@MikroTik] /interface/lte> export verbose
# feb/26/2023 13:36:56 by RouterOS 7.7
# software id = AUNQ-LRS1
#
# model = RBLHGR
# serial number = D6B90CE1E63F
/interface lte apn
set [ find default=yes ] add-default-route=yes apn=Broadband authentication=none default-route-distance=2 ip-type=ipv4 name=ATT use-network-apn=no use-peer-dns=yes
add add-default-route=yes apn=Broadband authentication=none default-route-distance=2 ip-type=ipv4 name=ATT-Broadband use-network-apn=no use-peer-dns=yes
/interface lte
set [ find default-name=lte1 ] allow-roaming=no apn-profiles=ATT-Broadband band="" disabled=no !modem-init mtu=1500 name=lte1 network-mode=lte
/interface lte settings
set firmware-path=firmware mode=auto
Wondering if it could have something to with the IMEI used to register the device, from an old iPad, I have tried changing the IMEI of the radio to match. This does not change anything.