HUAWEI B315 router. Advice pls on sim type and voice calls

I've just bought a HUAWEI B315s-22 mobile router intending to use it in a remote area in Wales where I am unable to get a fixed phone line installed. It will be used primarily as a phone as it has a RJ11 socket and the adverts says..

"TELEPHONE PORT - This will enable the connection of a normal analogue telephone to make and receive GSM calls - this means that if you insert a SIM card that provides both Voice and Data you can make and receive calls using a normal telephone with call charges as per your call plan."

I am testing it first down south near Cambridge with a good mobile signal.

A couple of questions please

(1)
I've put in a PAYG O2 voice & data sim card with £10 on it, the same as you would use in a mobile phone. It connects to the mobile signal with three bars but my computer reports there is no internet available. The admin page of the router says 4G - no internet. Have I bought the right type of sim or should it have been a data only sim? (Some web sites say either work, some say you must use data only)

(2)
If I use a data only sim and that gets me connected to the internet, how can I use the analogue phone I have (actually its a small payphone) to make and receive calls? Do I just plug it in or do I need to mess around with VOIP contacts etc?

Has the SIM card being activated? Generally for voice/sim a text or similar registration is needed, i.e. does it work in an unlocked handset.

Also are you sure the Huawei is unlocked too? i.e. will work on any network?

4G and 3G use different frequencies from different operators, so you need to also check the Huawei supports the bands used by the operator you are trying to use.

A data SIM would not allow phone calls, since they don't do GSM calls when used in a mobile, but only mobile access.

The router was bought as unlocked for any network (I guess if it wasn't then I wouldn't be able to connect at all)

I bought the sim card in an O2 shop, after explaining what I wanted to use it for. They assured me it was activated and ready to go. Also the router was able to get sms messages and several were from O2 saying it was activated and how much I had left on it.

The router supports LTE: Band 1/3/7/8/20/38, FDD 2100 MHz / 1800 MHz / 2600 MHz / 900 MHz / 800 MHz / TDD 2600 MHz, UMTS: Band 1/8 2100 MHz / 900 MHz, GSM: Band 2/3/5/8 1900 MHz / 1800 MHz / 850 MHz / 900 MHz so I think it does support O2.

This is so confusing. The O2 shop says this sim will work but it doesn't seem to. The O2 support phone line says it won't work and I need a data only sim. Now you say the data only sim won't work for phone calls.

However I haven't yet tried phone calls at all as I assumed with no internet there was no point (also need to get a female BT socket to male RJ11 plug adapter first)

Ok so it has the bands for 4G and 3G plus the GSM

Have you set the APN settings
e.g. http://www.3grouterstore.co.uk/3G/O2.html

I have now. I set them to ...

APN : payandgo.o2.co.uk
User Name: payandgo
Password : password

... and the router connected to the Internet and I could get to Google.

Strangely though, the network connection icon in the status bar on my laptop, which is connected to the router via a cable, still shows the no internet asterisk against the icon. But clearly that's wrong as it does now connect.

Now to try to get the analogue phone bit working!

I don't know how we are supposed to know about all these things. The manual for the router didn't even mention APN, whatever that is. Still, it looks like the problem is solved

Thank you for your help.

did you sort the analogue phone part ? if so please also update the thread on the o2 community you started as well as that is where the advice about this devoice came from

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

A data SIM would not allow phone calls, since they don't do GSM calls when used in a mobile, but only mobile access.

EE contract data SIMs can make phone calls but at standard rates (which are quite high).