I just got hold of a couple of Sierra Wireless 8785V cards and I’m trying them out on an RB411UAHR board. I’m getting them to work just fine if I force them to use the 2G network (AT!SELRAT=02), but if I let them use the 3G network (AT!SELRAT=01 or =00), they connect to the carrier but the PPPOE session does not proceed beyond the ‘authenticated’ status.
This is just a test setup, so I’m using the MikroTik tilt/swivel antennas (the ones that stick to the Routerboard cases). I know they’re not optimized for cellular frequencies, but on GPRS (1800 in our case) I get around -60dbm while on 3G (2100) I get around -79dbm.
Any ideas? comments?
Card Firmware is J0_0_4_1AP
RouterOS v4.11 (also tried v3.30, same results)
Routerboard FW 2.27
I’m using the same hardware (RB411UAHR & MC8785V rev. J0_0_4_1AP) and so far I’m not able to make it work on ROS 4.xx and 5
What did you use for Data & Info channel?
It works, but only in 2G (GPRS) mode. If I allow 3G (UMTS), the PPP session stays on ‘Authenticating…’ until it times out.
To force GPRS-only, do the following:
[don’t type in any of the quotes > " "]
Disable PPP, close the Scan and Info window if you have them open.
Open a New Terminal window
type in “/system serial-terminal usb2 channel=3”, this should put you in direct command mode, if you type ATI and press enter you should get some info about the card.
type in “AT!SELRAT?” and press enter. This shows you the current card’s setting, it is probably set to “03: UMTS 3G Preferred”
type in “AT!SELRAT=02” and press enter. This sets the card to use GPRS (2G) only, even if there is a 3G network available.
Some more info:
I asked Sierra to provide me with a newer firmware, hoping it would fix the 3G issue, but they outright refused to assist me saying that the 8785 is not supported any more, and I should buy a MC8790 instead. I did this, and it works fine so far. Config for the 8790 is the same as for the 8785
