does anyone have some experience on choosing USB 4G "dongles" that they would like to share?
I'm looking for a USB modem to use as a backup to our 2 load shared DSL lines and it would be good to know what works well (on an RB951)
(I was looking at the E3372 as it can have external antennas but there seem to be a lot of postings about "issues" with them)

probably looking at three as a carrier as they seem to have the cheapest data only options (but we can pick up a good 4G signal from most of the carriers)

Issue with the E3372 is only when you have a loaded network. If it is for one or two people, "only surfing"... it should be fine.

you can also look at a Teltonika solution (the WaP LTE is still not available). The Teltonika is a 3G or 4G modem (depend on model), with WiFi and LAN. It can even do automatic failover if your primary connection failes. Also it can do static routes, OSPF etc...

https://www.eurodk.com/en/products/3g-4g-routers

Scroll down a bit. There you see the Teltonika version. Do NOT take the automotive version since it does not have a LAN port.


The EU and UK version are only different in the power adapter plug. The frequency bands are the same in UK and the EU.

thanks.
the network would have up to 25 office users on it (not heavy ones individually but they add up)
Is the issue with the E3372 itself or Mikrotik's side of things?

I'll have a look at the Teltonika RUT950 as well... they are substantially more money (this is something of an experiment... and I'm trying to find a reasonably priced SIM+plan)

It is a "problem" of the Huawei stick. Since it cannot pass the real internet IP to the Mikrotik, so it does it's own NAT. Not really a problem, but the processor in the device is not powerful for a lot of people. That it is why it is a USB stick. It is meant for one laptop / device.

I know that Teltonika is more expensive, but from the other point: You install and forget. If you do the "el cheapo" version with the Huawei stick, you might end up walking around, resetting the stick ./ Mikrotik etc....

And most of it: The users will be not happy. That is something users DO care about, is that the internet is STABLE. It does not have to be super fast, as long as they do not need to stop working when the Huawei stick get's stuck, call you, wait for you to come and fix it.....


For 25 people, I would definitely NOT recommend the Huawei stick. It will be overloaded and it will stop working after a lot of traffic.


So really, consider the Teltonika, since you can do a LOT of nicer things than with the Huawei stick.

understood... and many thanks
(i see that there is some difference between the E3372S and E3372H... but not sure if that actually helps or if MT works with both... I'm in no way wed to them; just saw there were lots on eBay
anyone else have any recommendations and experience to share?

for those following this I clearly missed something in my search as this topic has been covered here:
viewtopic.php?t=124360

there is some suggestion that using the latest firmware and the E3372H on a powered hub might be a working solution
might we worth an experiment (anyone else happen to have tried?)

would love to hear more views though