I currently live in the country side in France, with a very limited DSL speed (3,9 Mbps...) and a kinda good LTE coverage, upstairs near a window.
As I got a lot of spare mobile data(but not unlimited!), I'm thinking of setting up a dual wan router with OpenWRT.
I don't want to have the 4G available all the time for all my connected device. Ideally I want to be able to connect to my router with my phone or via SSH and tell it to give a boost(use 4G instead of default DSL) to only one device on my network at a time.
Before making a choice with this router, I need to know something.
To cut the cost, I was considering using the wifi of my ISP box or the 4G+ router. Is it possible to use one of them and still be able to switch between DSL and 4G?
Do you guys have any router recommendation for such setup ?
I actually thought about doing that, but I haven't found a 4G+ USB dongle, only 4G.
And I would like to get the most of it, by having proper antennas, thus a dedicated 4G+ router.
Any router with a USB port and OpenWrt can USB tether a smartphone. Then you can plug in your already active phone instead of buying a separate line of service.
I don't need to buy a separate line, just order a multi sim option from my provider for about 2€ a month.
It will use my mobile phone data, so no need to use my phone as a modem.
And I don't want to use my phone as a modem (I'm already doing it spontaneously to download big files on my PC), one of the reason is I can't use it to stream on my Chromecast downstairs if my phone is tethering on my box or PC upstairs, or missing call or text.
As for a USB dongle, 4G only is a bit bad, I get up to 15 Mbps with a 4G only phone, I think it will be the same, maybe less, with a USB.
With 4G+, my phone get somewhere between 25 and 45 Mbps, with spike of 80 Mbps. Using a dedicated 4G+ router will probably give me more or at least more stable.
In any case, what I'm looking for is a router with OpenWRT that will combine both WAN, use DSL as default, and 4G on specific device of my network when I want it to. And without Wifi if you think I can use the WLAN of the others routers with this setup.
Those speeds are because of your ISP/their (lack of) coverage.
The hw itself is capable of much more, I've managed to go up to 80-90mbit with an E3276, and the USB based MC7455s are faster, read the whole thread I posted earlier.
I know it depends on my ISP coverage, but it also depends on the receiver's quality .
That's why after looking at those speeds, I think LTE cat6 would be the best solution.
But you're right those modules are quite interesting indeed, especially the MC7455. And yes I could connect it to my Raspberry or another router.
But I can't find one under 100€, except aliexpress but I don't know if I can trust this website.
The TP-link Archer MR600 seems cheaper and easier to use, or am I missing something?
I'd say that a much better option in the long run is getting a Huawei B818, put it in bridge mode (not all variants supports this) and you have a reliable and fast LTE gateway to use with * without any hassle.
@diizzy My bet is on the optical fibre in the long run, I'm supposed to be connected in a year or two. The setup I want is kinda temporary. Huawei B818 is a beast, but a bit over-budget IMO.
@frollic After carefully looking at the specs, I fear it will not perform great where I live. It doesn't support B28 (700MHz) which is the frequency that covers most of countryside due to long range and good wall penetration. If I'm not wrong, 4G+ aggregate multiple band, so there a good chance B28 will be one of them in my house.
I suppose you live in UK right? Does your country use this band? Also, will you using your module bare bone, or with antennas and proper placement?
I talked too fast, B28 is urban area, it's B20 the most used, which MC7455 support.
This setup is pretty interesting, what router are you connecting it to? Is it easy to setup with OpenWRT? I heard it was simpler to separate modem from the router, by just using them as bridge via ETH.
Could you tell me in the future how your used MC7455 perform?
Don't forget that you need antennas etc too, the cheap way would be Huawei E3372 and flash it into stick mode but I don't think it'll be very reliable in the long run but feel free to prove me wrong.
I'm totally agree with you about having to add antennas, and also the not so reliable USB stick, at least where I live.
As I said earlier, I think a good compromise is the Archer MR600. Fast enough, easy to use and not that expensive.
But I'm open to other solution if those are reliable and more or less the same budget.
Especially if its a good modem without any unnecessary functionalities that could be redondant with the OpenWRT router I'm looking for.
In my experience Huawei have by far the most reliable USB modems/routers. I wouldn't touch TP-Link and Zyxel with a stick irregardless of software/firmware
I don't like Huawei and other Chinese brand that much.
Their products are really good I can't deny that, but since rumors of hardware spy\backdoor, I'm not very fond of getting one. I know it's a bit stupid knowing a lot of line multiplexer (DSLAM, OLT, CMTS) are Huawei made, but if I can avoid it, the better.
That's why I'll choose TP-Link over Huawei, even if I know from experiences that they are not really good products.
