Upgrading the modem on MikroTik RBLHGR&R11e-LTE6?

Hardware MikroTik hardware general
1

I have a MikroTik RBLHGR&R11e-LTE6 dish that I was looking to upgrade to 5g and the ability to support Esim. Yes the ethernet speed is limited, but I thought a better modem may give me some better coverage in a weak rural area. Secondly I really would like ESIM as it sucks having to climb on top of the roof everytime I want to change a sim. I know I can get a physical sim that pretends to be an ESIM, but I would like native Esim abilities. Something that I could easily load Esim profiles to from the comfort of my living room. I did look into getting another dish but I like the mesh design of my MikroTik RBLHGR&R11e-LTE6 as it withstands the extremely high winds that we experience here.

For modems I have seen Quectel RM520F-GL and Foxconn T77W968 mentioned, but how well do they physically fit? How are they supported in router os? Can I easily load Esim profiles without physical access to the dish?

Interested in hearing from people who have made modifications. Maybe there is a better modem I should consider?

2

T77w968-esim works fine

T99w175-esim also works fine, but needs some hardware preparation

Both needs mpci>m.2 adaptor.

On both you can manage esims with winbox.

Both uses Ipex4 antenna connection.

3

T99w175-esim looks better as it can also connect to 5G towers. What extra hardware preparation is involved? What routerOS firmware version do I need? Do I have to flash any of the modem cards with custom firmware?

4

The t99w175 modem is hardwired for PCIe by default. To force it into USB mode, you need to manipulate the physical pins on the M.2 card:

  1. Short the USB detection configuration pads: On the PCB (usually near the M.2 edge connector pads), you need to join two specific configuration pads with a drop of solder or a thin wire.
  2. Isolate Pin 3: On the gold M.2 edge connector, you must isolate Pin 3.

The latest routerOS v7 works fine. Modems do not need any special firmware.

5

Thanks for your instructions on the t99w175. Is there a tutorial on this hardware mod with photos?

Secondly are there any other 5g esim modem cards confirmed 100% working without any hardware mod?

6

All information regarding the modification can be found on the internet.

7

Why do I have to force it into USB mode? It would be working via a Pcie to M.2 adapter, so I don't understand why I need USB mode for my Mikrotik dish?

In any case I found a polish youtube channel which seems to detail the process. It looks quite simple and as you describe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqAF7eqjJTg&t=6s

Problem is most of the cheap aliexpress listings for T99w175-esim have now sold out and the product seems to have risen in price. Any alternatives?

Out of interest are you happy with your swap to the T99w175-esim? How is the card performing compared to the previous modem?

8

Because MikroTik pcie slot works in usb mode only.

300 mbits in 5g n78 100mhz.

There is also t99w175 rev3 witch works in usb 3.0 mode (1gbit+ speed) and do not need modifications. But it's practically impossible to find it.

9

But the original modem was pcie? And if you get a pcie to m.2 adapter which passes the tracks perfectly then surely it must work over pcie.

What about this expensive adapter here, doe that change anything?

MPEX-134B Mini PCIe Adapter with M.2 Key B Slot - Support USB/PCIe / SATA Based M2 B Key or B-M Key Module for Mini PCI

https://www.amazon.ca/Ableconn-MPEX-134B-Mini-PCIe-Adapter/dp/B0779727FY?th=1

10

Despite the physical miniPCIe form factor, the R11e-LTE6 module communicates with the main CPU using USB 2.0 data lines routed through that slot.

11

Thanks for confirming. Out of interest are you using MikroTik RBLHGR&R11e-LTE6?

12

LTAP mini & just usb connection via adaptor box

13

Do I need anything else? Do the pigtails fit the card? If not what do I order?

14

R11e-LTE6 uses u.FL connectors (a.k.a. MHF or IPEX), while the T99W175 modem uses MHF4 connectors (a.k.a. IPEX4). It also needs 4 antennas, IIRC sockets 0 and 1 are LTE+5G, while sockets 2 and 3 are 5G only.

So you will need:

two cables with u.FL on one end and MHF4 on the other (though I'm not sure how well the LHG antennas will work above 3 GHz);

two 698-6000 MHz flex adhesive antennas with MHF4 connectors. You could also experiment with Wilkinson/Magic-T combiners to use just the two LHG antennas (edit: DO NOT USE simple Y-splitters, they don't prevent one transmitter from backfeeding into the other transmitter, also they do not match impedance properly), but I haven't tested such a setup and I'm not sure how well it would work (some of the spatial diversity that 5G benefits from would be gone).

15

Thanks for your reply, it is extremely helpful

  1. I think I will go for two extra antennas rather than just trying to make do with the existing 2, as that sounds a better setup . I guess with 4 antennas I just space them around the dish every 90 degree so that there is equal spacing between them all. With this in mind, I guess I should connect 0 and 1 to the existing antennas and 2 and 3 to the new antennas?

  2. for the two cables with u.FL on one end and MHF4 on the other how long should I order these? Also how long should I order the two 698-6000 MHz flex adhesive antennas with MHF4 connectors? Unfortuantely the dish is currently on top of the roof, so I can't compare at the moment. I want to order all the parts before I start the mod.

16

1 - yes, though keep in mind that the T99W175 uses all 4 antennas for 5G and only two fo LTE, while the LHG's antennas were designed with only LTE in mind, so they might not perform well at 3.5 GHz (n78) for example. In this case you might have to replace them with two additional flex adhesive antennas.

2 - the length of the MHF4-u.FL cables can be the same as the u.FL-u.FL cables that you have inside the LHG, maybe slightly longer just in case. As for the antenna size, try to find something that would fit well inside the LHG enclosure and wouldn't be too close to other antennas or other metal parts. The larger antennas might have a bit better parameters (higher gain, lower SWR) but that won't help if they won't be placed well. Make sure that they cover the 700 MHz - 6 GHz range (They can cover a larger range, but less wideband antennas are usually better, it would be even better if you found antennas that only covers the NR bands that the T99W175 can use).

Edit: unfortunately I don't own a LHG so I can't check the cable lengths myself, I only own and did some tests on a T99W175.