Cheap But Decent Way Of Trying 4G BB (WAN/2nd Hand Fine)?

I would like to give 4G broadband a try (it is likely to be not great but will be fine as a backup to my FTTC).

I do not want to be spending much but would like the hardware to be suitable to connect to a WAN port of an existing router.

Something fully unlocked with good reception and diagnostic information (bands used/dbs) so I can see what is going on and 2nd hand solutions are fine.

Any suggestions for models I can search for and pros/cons?

Thanks

Have a look for the ZTE MF286D, it is Three branded but not locked to their network. They sell on eBay for as little as £25 as 5G routers are now the latest craze. It can be run in Bridge Mode, so you can connect it to the WAN port of your existing router (mine is connected to the WAN port of a FritzBox 7590).

The web interface that comes with the Three branded version is somewhat limited, but you can flash a different firmware version (Nordic) to get SNR, RSRQ, signal strength etc. Have a look at the ISPReview Forum https://www.ispreview.co.uk/talk/ for more.

Doesn't fit your requirements of being unlocked, but Three Broadband has a 30-day "no quibble" guarantee. I saw them advertising a "very good" 4G service in my area which was strange because I knew where the mast was and had been on Three before, it turned out their network coverage was based on upgrade work they are doing in the next few months we promise, it will definitely happen, and so their home broadband service wasn't any use.

They did try a little bit to stop me cancelling but really once I made it clear they sent the returns envelope for the router and a final bill with nothing owed on it. So you could go down that route.

This looks promising.

Have you applied the different firmware version?

If you have do you know of an "idiots" guide with the latest information with safe downloads?

Thanks

Have a look at some of the posts on ISPreview, in particular this one https://www.ispreview.co.uk/talk/threads/zte-framewo...

I tried OpenWRT on my MF286D, but could not get bridge mode to work, so I moved to the Nordic firmware. It has some more detail on signal parameters like Signal Strength, eNB ID/Cell ID, LTE Frequency Band, SNR, Main band RSRQ. The Three stock firmware only has Signal Strength.

The Nordic firmware also allows band locking, but the web GUI does not include band 32, so if you chose a network that uses band 32 (Three do and maybe Vodafone, not sure), then it is a little tricky because you might unintentionally disable band 32. But if you don't touch the band settings then band 32 will be available.

Any chance of you doing a sanity check?

1. From the thread mentioned there are two archives to apply. The first "play to nordic.zip" will debrand and "nordic to nordic b11" will sort out the password to the web gui?

2. Always a bit wary of running arbitary exe files is the ZTE_Sales_Update_Framework.exe a safe file to run?

3. Do you need to set the IP address of the local PC to anything special, use specific ports or install any Windows drivers to get the ZTE_Sales_Update_Framework.exe application to detect the router?

4. The above does not update the modem driver you can't do that unless you do some soldering and use a serial adapter?

5. Reading around it says the bridge mode uses IPoE do you need to do anything special to get this to work on the router you are plugging into the ZTE WAN/LAN1 port?

Thanks

In reply to a post by think26872:

5. Reading around it says the bridge mode uses IPoE do you need to do anything special to get this to work on the router you are plugging into the ZTE WAN/LAN1 port?

I am using bridge mode on the ZTE and got a Fritzbox 7590 as the main router. Is quite simple to set up. However, you will need a second ethernet cable to get at the web interface of the ZTE.

regarding questions 1 to 4, you might want to ask these in the Ispreview forum (if you get no response here). I flashed my ZTE using the serial connection to enter the relevant commands, so won't be able to help you with the ZTE framework.

In reply to a post by essex_man:

regarding questions 1 to 4, you might want to ask these in the Ispreview forum (if you get no response here). I flashed my ZTE using the serial connection to enter the relevant commands, so won't be able to help you with the ZTE framework.

I am beginning the think I may go this route and solder.

Did you follow a specific guide and the files needed or is it just read the thread again?

Thanks

Make sure that you get the correct USB-Serial converter, there are some that don't work properly.
The ones based on the PL2303HX chip work ok, I have got this one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265245622487

There is plenty of info in the Ispreview forum and also on a Polish forum (use Google translate if necessary) if you want to try OpenWRT.

I am about to give up. Am I being blind? If I have to re-read the two main threads again I am just confusing myself more and more.

I think I have found the files at https://dl.eko.one.pl/orig/zte_mf286d/NORDIC B11

Then is it this https://www.ispreview.co.uk/talk/threads/zte-mf286d-...

I feel I am close but I am just that bit of information missing?

Where are you typing those setenv and tftp commands? Does the router need to be put in a special mode?

Thanks