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ZaxLofful
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Support for LTE Band 66 (1700 MHz)

Fri Dec 17, 2021 10:22 am

I recently encountered a "problem" with my LHG LTE6 devices, the inability to connect to USA band 66 (1700 MHz).

I have used MikroTik for a few years now and love RouterOS. I started using the LHG/LHGG LTE6 a few months ago while I was in the middle of the woods at my new cabin, but I found that one of the bands I knew well (band 66 in the USA [AT&T and Verizon mainly]) would not connect and was not listed as an available band on the MikroTik https://mikrotik.com/product/lhgg_lte6_kit.

In my area band 66 gets the best coverage and I can connect with my phone and other LTE Hotspot devices (just not MikroTik).

Does anyone know why, this is not supported?

My first idea was to either make a support ticket or post here, I went for the easier route.

How do I got about reporting this officially to MikroTik hardware staff, so that maybe they can include it in the future?
 
killersoft
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Re: Support for LTE Band 66 (1700 MHz)

Wed Dec 22, 2021 4:04 am

Indeed band 66 is not part of the physical hardware you have installed in your LHG LTE6 and cannot be 'software fixed'
Your best bet if you want to use that band is to remove the LTE card inside your LHG and replace it out with a suitable card that supports band 66.
Something like a Quectel EP06-A will do band 66 and a bunch more
That said, replacing the card is not always straight forward as there may need to be some settings applied to the new card( as well the the routerboard / Router OS settings ) for the new card to work.
There are a few forum links on doing this, and you may need to get some additional items ( usb to mini-pcie ) board from ebay etc and depending on your skill level and patients you can usually get it working. Usually the main issues I see with putting in cards is newer minipcie card use usb-3 protocols which can sometimes be set to usb 2 mode, by way of software(on the card itself(e.g the use of a minipcie to usb board and fix it on a PC ) or via taping off specific pins on the usb3 minipcie-lte card to force it to run at usb 2.0 mode, and the routerboard itself which may only have a usb2 chipset, but some of the newer router boards have chipsets that are usb3 compatible, and makes like easier when using alternate 4g/lte & upcoming 5g cards.

There are other cards too like the Telit LM960 with I think is has very basic support in very recent updates.

Have a look at these posts for some ideas on what you need to do.
viewtopic.php?t=150368
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=173749
 
ZaxLofful
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Re: Support for LTE Band 66 (1700 MHz)

Sun Dec 26, 2021 3:39 am

Thank you for your reply, but I am already aware of the issue; and how to "work around it". Not only did it not answer any of my question ,it just seems to be a generic reply....

I came to this forum not for a workaround, but for a direct answer from the MikroTik team as to why they do not support it and if they intend to support it in the future.
 
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mkx
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Re: Support for LTE Band 66 (1700 MHz)

Sun Dec 26, 2021 11:47 am

I believe @killersoft answered your first question:

In my area band 66 gets the best coverage and I can connect with my phone and other LTE Hotspot devices (just not MikroTik).

Does anyone know why, this is not supported?
.
Indeed band 66 is not part of the physical hardware you have installed in your LHG LTE6 and cannot be 'software fixed'

Then he went on and proposed a workaround (which you may or may not like but that's not problem of @killersoft):
Your best bet if you want to use that band is to remove the LTE card inside your LHG and replace it out with a suitable card that supports band 66.



as to the second question:
My first idea was to either make a support ticket or post here, I went for the easier route.

How do I got about reporting this officially to MikroTik hardware staff, so that maybe they can include it in the future?

The easy way is not the correct way, this forum is user forum where MT staff may share some information and knowledge, but their response is not guaranteed. The only official support is done through support tickets.
 
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Amm0
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Re: Support for LTE Band 66 (1700 MHz)

Wed Dec 29, 2021 12:58 am

Thank you for your reply, but I am already aware of the issue; and how to "work around it". Not only did it not answer any of my question ,it just seems to be a generic reply....

I came to this forum not for a workaround, but for a direct answer from the MikroTik team as to why they do not support it and if they intend to support it in the future.
Mikrotik rarely discloses their future plans – wish they did. And, the LHG doesn't list Band 66 as supported. I'd too wish the R11e-series has better band support, but they don't.

So MT's answer may very well be: buy an upgraded device that lists Band 66, like the Chateau 5G, whenever it comes out. It will have better band support, including 66, see:
https://i.mt.lv/cdn/product_files/Chate ... 210344.pdf

Will they make a 5G LHG? probably, but don't think you'll see some firmware upgrade for Band 66 on the current LHG modem, ever.
 
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Amm0
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Re: Support for LTE Band 66 (1700 MHz)

Sun Jan 30, 2022 5:24 pm

Thank you for your reply, but I am already aware of the issue; and how to "work around it".
Since I was testing v7.2rc3 with various modems/boards, and clearly saw the effects of lack of Band 66, thought of this thread. Didn't mean to sound like I disagreed with Band 66 support: it's a 90Mhz wide channel that ignored by any of Mikrotik's LTE offerings today. And agree Mikrotik's inability to even provide their product roadmap is frustrating if you're trying to use Mikrotik commercially.

But annotated a screenshot comparing a Mikrotik with modem that has Band 66 support (via Telit & 4x4 MIMO antenna), to a "stock" Audience with LTE6 without it might add fodder to the Band 66 cause. Both units were placed near each other, but certainly the antennas make a huge difference. But do imagine most of the difference in speed (e.g. latency/#retransmits) is due to the band selection.

Image

One note here untested is a R11e-LTE-US modem device that does supports Band 4, which is half of Band 66 (similarly to Band 17, which is part of Band 12). Since LTE6 modem does NOT support Band 4, you can't even use the lower half of Band 66 on the LTE6 modem. That MAY be beneficial in your area. I can't say I'd recommend "-US" LTE products, but if Band 66 was significantly better than Band 2 and/or Band 12, using the "US" variant might be better than the "LTE6" based MTs. And, possible that Band 4 of R11e-US might in a directional product perform better (since the SXT and LHG are mentioned). The Audience has an omni internal antenna, so B2+B12 carrier aggregation is almost certainly better than getting Band 4 R11e-US. Harder to know if you "pointed" a R11e-US based Mikrotik with Band 4 at the tower.

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