Question

Using the TMobile ISP Box sim in a Netgear LB1120

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G
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Working on the same issue.  Put together the following build to move the Home Internet SIM to a better device and experienced the same failure.  A vanilla account SIM on the fast.t-mobile.com APN connects fine and the Home Internet SIM on fbb.home does not work at all (no network association).  I have gone so far as to reprogram the modem IMEI to match the T-Mobile Home Internet Gateway IMEI without resolution.  I do this for a living and it does not make sense.

  • Build:
    + MikroTik RouterBOARD RBM11G
    + Quectel EP06-A mPCIe LTE modem
    + Case, antenna, connectors, etc.

Couple of questions, if I may.  One, did you contact TMobile about doing this separate modem and getting it to work?  Second, what exactly did you put together, and what was the cost?  I’m thinking of trying the same.

bob916
Userlevel 3
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When I spoke to T-Mobile tech, that tech said any unlocked device should take the sim. Maybe he wasn’t fully aware of the service, but it seemed reasonable.

N
Userlevel 1

You CANNOT use the SIM from inside the gateway.

As long as the device you are transplanting it to has the same IMEI, you absolutely can.  I use a Mikrotik RB and a Quectel LTE modem (see my posts above), which I now have working.

The TMobile ISP box does NOT have a bridge mode and it does NOT have external ports for external antennas.

TMO’s major limitation is that even if you do get a gateway device with bridge mode (or any other NAT function), TMO’s CGNAT implementation makes life difficult.  Possible solution = OpenVPN on a $2/mo VPS.

So I prefer my Mikrotik router, and my Mikrotik AP’s standing alone on the network.

I recommend you try my solution above if you like Mikrotik (I used the smallest board, but there are several other options).  Works great and the management across my network is consistent and easy if you are already familiar w/ Mikrotik.  Also, there are many other modem choices out there depending on what bands and technology (LTE / 5G) you wish to accommodate (and your budget, of course!).

N
Userlevel 1

Did you ever solve this? 

Working great now - simple configuration error was holding me up.

M
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When I spoke to T-Mobile tech, that tech said any unlocked device should take the sim. Maybe he wasn’t fully aware of the service, but it seemed reasonable.

That’s funny “bob”. The day I was ordering and get mine ready to ship, I called the local TM store near here. First, the girl who answered said she had never heard of such a thing, but that she had only started a few weeks ago. She then asks the store manager who said “That type of service doesn’t exist in Ohio”..lol. I told her that I would call back after getting it running. I did exactly that. She said they were having a meeting about it the next day. Hilarious.

M
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I talked to Tech Support last week, asking if the SIM card is locked to the RTL0102, however, they weren’t able to answer that and suggested I go ahead and try with a different modem. I’m currently running an OpenWRT platform with a EP06 modem on AT&T. The only T-Mobile band I receive at my location is band 71 (600MHz) when I take the box up on the roof or string it up 40 feet in the air on a tree. So I went ahead and purchased an EC25-AF, which covers Band 71. Long story short, it does not work with the T-Mobile Home Internet SIM. Another call into tech support today confirmed that the SIM only works in the RTL0102 it was shipped with. There are no plans to change that. The new 5G version of the modem-router likely will have no external antenna ports either. So unfortunately, T-Mobile Home Internet is not for people in rural areas, which is ironically who this service was aimed at. 

Sorry buddy, but how can you say it is not for people in rural areas? I am in the middle of Corncob County, Ohio. Barely two lane roads, some still nearly gravel. I guess it depends on EXACTLY where you are located. As I sit here, I can see the tower “two fields” over (roughly 2 miles). Has been almost a month and has performed great. Never below 60Mbps, and up to 140Mbps. Hasn’t dropped out one time.

Yes, not being able to connect my outdoor Yagi antenna is a negative, but I don’t think it would add much really. The other options here are Frontier DSL with speeds rivaling dial-up, and satellite (no way). Just wanting to put it out there that this may be a GREAT option for SOME in rural areas.

ultimately his statement may have been generalized but there are a great many of us in rural settings that are not designed like yours...i can in no way get a cell signal in my home without the booster antenna i currently use because i don’t have nice clear line of sight to towers as i live in the mountains, i also cannot get any wired nor satellite options as the nearest lines to me are a mile away and i have too many trees and am too far north for southern sky line of sight so for many of us we absolutely have no other options and we NEED external antennas.   I found your response “sorry buddy” crap to be offensive and short sighted

Seriously? Crap and offensive? No way. Of course I want to use my outdoor antenna.  You can’t compare flat farmland in the middle of Ohio to the hills of North Carolina or anywhere else. Just need to know what you are getting into and the options available. It may take a little research as to your own personal location and the many factors that will determine your own outcome. 

M
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8

I talked to Tech Support last week, asking if the SIM card is locked to the RTL0102, however, they weren’t able to answer that and suggested I go ahead and try with a different modem. I’m currently running an OpenWRT platform with a EP06 modem on AT&T. The only T-Mobile band I receive at my location is band 71 (600MHz) when I take the box up on the roof or string it up 40 feet in the air on a tree. So I went ahead and purchased an EC25-AF, which covers Band 71. Long story short, it does not work with the T-Mobile Home Internet SIM. Another call into tech support today confirmed that the SIM only works in the RTL0102 it was shipped with. There are no plans to change that. The new 5G version of the modem-router likely will have no external antenna ports either. So unfortunately, T-Mobile Home Internet is not for people in rural areas, which is ironically who this service was aimed at. 

Sorry buddy, but how can you say it is not for people in rural areas? I am in the middle of Corncob County, Ohio. Barely two lane roads, some still nearly gravel. I guess it depends on EXACTLY where you are located. As I sit here, I g GB see the tower “two fields” over (roughly 2 miles). Has been almost a month and has performed great. Never below 60Mbps, and up to 140Mbps. Hasn’t dropped out one time.

Yes, not being able to connect my outdoor Yagi antenna is a negative, but I don’t think it would add much really. The other options here are Frontier DSL with speeds rivaling dial-up, and satellite (no way). Just wanting to put it out there that this may be a GREAT option for SOME in rural areas.

Not as many as you would think. I'm 1.8 miles to one tower and 1.5 to another. Works ok for a week or two then system switches to the other tower that's no closer but has hills and valleys plus a lake in between myself and the weak tower. 

Therefore a bit of forethought should have been used to make these with pop up or fold up antenna arrays as well as an external antenna port.

Simply put their tower systems are not set up right and correctly managed. As well as the routers not having antennas or ports for such to work correctly in a rural setting as specified. (MM Wave 5G is line of sight not Rural 4G LTE or 5G Sub 6)

 

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