Community discussions

MikroTik App
 
WirelessRudy
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Topic Author
Posts: 3119
Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:54 pm
Location: Spain

LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:46 am

I recently switched from provider so had to insert a new sim in the LtAP mini.
After configuring the device with the new APN settings it connects to the network like it should. Internet browsing etc. and it states 'connected' etc.
But it only connects to 3G. Not to LTE (4G) which it should.
The sim is defenitely 4G equipped since in a tablet it connects to 4G without problems.
The 4G network is also available since my mobile or any others have no issues connectiong to 4G.
According the technician of the provider (Orange, Spain) if it works on 3G it should work on 4G unless some setting in the device is wrong.

All possible options are checked (channels, GSM / G3 / LTE)

Any ideas?
 
User avatar
mkx
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Posts: 11439
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2016 10:23 pm

Re: LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Thu Nov 18, 2021 8:28 am

Verify that broadband modem in LtAP mini supports LTE band used by new MNO in your area. List of supported bands for R11e-LTE card (the one shipped with LtAP mini LTE kit) does contain all the usual European LTE FDD bands (B20 - 800 MHz, B8 - 900 MHz, B3 - 1800 MHz, B1 - 2100 MHz, B7 - 2600 MHz) and a couple of TDD bands, but your new MNO might be using something else (e.g. TDD B42). Typical LTE phones support much longer list of bands ...
 
WirelessRudy
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Topic Author
Posts: 3119
Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:54 pm
Location: Spain

Re: LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:11 pm

Verify that broadband modem in LtAP mini supports LTE band used by new MNO in your area. List of supported bands for R11e-LTE card (the one shipped with LtAP mini LTE kit) does contain all the usual European LTE FDD bands (B20 - 800 MHz, B8 - 900 MHz, B3 - 1800 MHz, B1 - 2100 MHz, B7 - 2600 MHz) and a couple of TDD bands, but your new MNO might be using something else (e.g. TDD B42). Typical LTE phones support much longer list of bands ...
Ok, this answer raises more questions then it answers..: What is MNO? Is that the cell operator?
"but you new MNO might be using something else...."? Are you meaning this LtAP is not compatible with one of Europe's main cell providers?

rgds
 
sindy
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Posts: 10205
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:19 pm

Re: LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:49 pm

MNO - Mobile Network Operator, yes, it is the cellphone operator. And yes, LtAP mini, or rather the R11e-LTE used in it, may not cover some bands the operator is using in your particular country. There's the "united market" but still quite some regulations remain country-specific.

If the phone that has no problems with LTE is an Android one, install the Network Cell Info Lite app to see what band is being used by that operator - no idea what is the equivalent app for iOS. And to avoid any doubts, I'd recommend to do this test with the SIM you use in the LtAP mini.
 
User avatar
mkx
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Posts: 11439
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2016 10:23 pm

Re: LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Thu Nov 18, 2021 5:30 pm

There's the "united market" but still quite some regulations remain country-specific.
Indeed. Every country auctions its own set of frequency bands, some auction more than others. And, BTW, it's not "one of Europe's main cell providers", Orange is a group (tightly connected as in grandmother owns all subsidiaries and centralizes quite a few tasks) of MNOs, each operating in one single country. Orange Espagna is different operator than Orange France and uses different frequency bands.
 
WirelessRudy
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Topic Author
Posts: 3119
Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:54 pm
Location: Spain

Re: LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Thu Nov 18, 2021 7:12 pm

MNO - Mobile Network Operator, yes, it is the cellphone operator. And yes, LtAP mini, or rather the R11e-LTE used in it, may not cover some bands the operator is using in your particular country. There's the "united market" but still quite some regulations remain country-specific.

If the phone that has no problems with LTE is an Android one, install the Network Cell Info Lite app to see what band is being used by that operator - no idea what is the equivalent app for iOS. And to avoid any doubts, I'd recommend to do this test with the SIM you use in the LtAP mini.
Ok, installed the android app.
WhatsApp Image 2021-11-18 at 6.00.37 PM.jpeg
What is now the frequency? Is this the "Fc" number? So in this case; 1869,9 MHz, (or KHz, or GHz?)?
(Would be nice if the program would tell what all these numbers and codes mean....)

According the MT manual thes channels are supported:
Captura de pantalla 2021-11-18 180718.jpg
So, does the 1800 (CH3) LTE FDD means this device does cover the 1869,9 frequency?

(What does "FDD" and "TDD" stands for?)

Sorry, lots of questions but I am here to learn..... thanks for the answers...
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
 
sindy
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Posts: 10205
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:19 pm

Re: LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Thu Nov 18, 2021 7:40 pm

What is now the frequency? Is this the "Fc" number?
So in this case; 1869,9 MHz, (or KHz, or GHz?)?
Yes, Fc looks like Frequency channel; since the fancy 7-segment digits indicate the band and Band 3 is indeed the 1800 MHz one (1.8 GHz).
Also one of the small dials below (indicating neigboring cells) says Band 1 which is 2100 MHz, so also a match.
On my phone the Fc field is missing, but I guess it depends on what information the Android version reveals to the app.

So, does the 1800 (CH3) LTE FDD means this device does cover the 1869,9 frequency?
Yes, it does.

What does "FDD" and "TDD" stands for?
Frequency-Divided Duplex uses a different frequency for network->client and client->network direction, which means these transmissions can take place in parallel and there is no need to coordinate them in time; this is how traditional radio systems, both analog and time-division-multiplex, usually work as they are designed for symmetric traffic volumes; Time-Divided Duplex means that the same frequency is used for both direction in turns (this is how WiFi usually works). Since a typical mobile phone user uses much more download than upload, TDD is somewhat more efficient in bandwidth use for this kind of application because a given amount of spectrum, e.g. 20 MHz, can be distributed between the two directions in different ratio, whilst for FDD, the same amount of spectrum is always shared 1:1. But for TDD, the time synchronisation of the clients to the network must be very precise to minimize the guard times needed for direction reversal.

Nothing you could affect as a user.

So now to your actual issue, since it doesn't seem to be a band support issue, what exactly does /interface lte monitor info 0 show on the LtAP mini, esp. the field access-technology?
 
WirelessRudy
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Topic Author
Posts: 3119
Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:54 pm
Location: Spain

Re: LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Fri Nov 19, 2021 11:53 am

So now to your actual issue, since it doesn't seem to be a band support issue, what exactly does /interface lte monitor info 0 show on the LtAP mini, esp. the field access-technology?
screenshot #3.png
screenshot #2b.png.jpg
screenshot #1.png
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
 
WirelessRudy
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Topic Author
Posts: 3119
Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:54 pm
Location: Spain

Re: LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Fri Nov 19, 2021 12:00 pm

Oh, and this is a screenshot of the cell-monitor (there is no menu with only "monitor" in ROS v. 4.49.1)
screenshot #4 cell monitor.png
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
 
sindy
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Posts: 10205
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:19 pm

Re: LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Fri Nov 19, 2021 12:10 pm

I would say let's start from pulling your R11e-LTE into 2021 as it is almost over now. As I could not find how to do firmware upgrade using Winbox, you'll have to try using the command line (you can get a command line window by pressing the [New Terminal] button in Winbox).

Make sure that the power supply to the LtAP mini will not interrupt (even if you had to power the LtAP mini from your car battery), and then run

/interface lte firmware-upgrade lte1 upgrade=yes

in the command line window. And pray the whole time until the LTE card re-appears.
 
WirelessRudy
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Topic Author
Posts: 3119
Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:54 pm
Location: Spain

Re: LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:07 pm

I would say let's start from pulling your R11e-LTE into 2021 as it is almost over now. As I could not find how to do firmware upgrade using Winbox, you'll have to try using the command line (you can get a command line window by pressing the [New Terminal] button in Winbox).

Make sure that the power supply to the LtAP mini will not interrupt (even if you had to power the LtAP mini from your car battery), and then run

/interface lte firmware-upgrade lte1 upgrade=yes

in the command line window. And pray the whole time until the LTE card re-appears.
What do you mean with "pulling it into 2021"? The LtAP mini runs ROS v. 4.49.1 with latest firmware so it runs the latest 'stable' version.......
 
WirelessRudy
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Topic Author
Posts: 3119
Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:54 pm
Location: Spain

Re: LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:13 pm

Anyway, we swapped the sim from my mobile (runs G4/LTE) with the LtAP mini and verse versa and found that the sim is the culprit. My 'master' sim run G4 in the LtAP mini now and the 'duplo' (or duplicate) runs only G3 in my mobile.
I had it double checked with an Orange salesrep and after trying in his own mobile he confirmed me that my duplo sim is not capable of connecting to LTE networks. While it should. He made an incident report towards the technicians in the aim they correct it or we will have to activate a new sim.
In the 15 years he is in the business he has never seen this. Any duplicate sim will apart from the SMS messaging have the same capabilities as the 'master'.
We have some other 'Master + child' sim sets and they all work fine indeed. G4.

So, it seems it has nothing to do with the hardware, all with the sim card.
 
sindy
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Posts: 10205
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:19 pm

Re: LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:34 pm

What do you mean with "pulling it into 2021"? The LtAP mini runs ROS v. 4.49.1 with latest firmware so it runs the latest 'stable' version.......
Yeah, but the R11e-LTE has its own firmware (don't confuse it with the RouterBoard "firmware" which is actually a bootloader for RouterOS), and yours is running MikroTik_CP_2.160.000_v008 whilst the up-to-date one is MikroTik_CP_2.160.000_v018.
 
WirelessRudy
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Topic Author
Posts: 3119
Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:54 pm
Location: Spain

Re: LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Fri Nov 19, 2021 5:13 pm

Yeah, but the R11e-LTE has its own firmware (don't confuse it with the RouterBoard "firmware" which is actually a bootloader for RouterOS), and yours is running MikroTik_CP_2.160.000_v008 whilst the up-to-date one is MikroTik_CP_2.160.000_v018.
Ok, but your line; "And pray the whole time until the LTE card re-appears" doesn't make me very confident in upgrading. If it doesn't I'm doomed.... what would be the benefit of the new firmware?
It seems to work now on G4/LTE....
 
sindy
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Posts: 10205
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:19 pm

Re: LtAP mini only connects to 3G

Fri Nov 19, 2021 5:29 pm

what would be the benefit of the new firmware
That's what nobody knows, as no patch notes/release notes for LTE modems firmware seem to be published.

Over time, people complain about various issues with different operators, and the advice is "keep the modem firmware up to date".

Since you've found the issue is linked to the SIM (which makes me curious why the very same SIM did show "4G" in the tablet), maybe none of the fixes since v008 to v018 is necessary for you.

BTW, many operators and equipment manufacturers freely interchange the terms "LTE" and "4G", but strictly speaking it's not the same. With 3 G, I've seen "3.5G", "3.75G" and "3.9 G" on my mobiles. With LTE, many mobiles show 4G, so maybe your tablet just stretches this approach even further, and isn't shy to indicate HSDPA as 4G?

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Amazon [Bot], holvoetn, jvanhambelgium, lurker888 and 78 guests