TL-MR6400 built-in LTE modem

Installing and Using OpenWrt Network and Wireless Configuration
1

Hello everyone,

I'm new to OpenWrt so bear with me on my question.

I have a TP-Link MR6400 version 1 and I'm planning to shift to OpenWrt. But before I flash the latest stable version for my router, I just wanted to confirm something. This router has its own SIM card slot, so the LTE modem is built-in (unlike other 3G/4G routers which use an external USB dongle). I sifted through the documentation and only found guidance on routers which use USB dongles.

My question is if the OpenWrt firmware available for my router includes/fully supports the built-in LTE modem. I had to ask before trying it out because (1) my country is still on lockdown due to COVID-19 and I can't afford to end up without an Internet connection after flashing my router since I only have LTE for Internet service, and (2) I had a bad experience with DD-WRT wherein I flashed their firmware on an old TP-Link MR3220 and am still unable to use my USB dongle with it because the packages for using the external modem is not included in the firmware (and am having problems using ipkg to install the required packages, so it's technically useless at the moment).

If there are users of the same router out there, any insights from you would be greatly appreciated. I just wanted to be sure I don't inadvertently end up being off the grid during the lockdown, so I decided to ask. Thanks in advance

2

Yes, supported.

3

See also https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tp-link_tl-mr6400_v1.0#lte_module

4

Hi @cezary , thanks for confirming. I forgot to include this in my question: is the SMS module also supported? My service provider still uses SMS for promo registrations and account balance checks, so that one is also something I need to make sure. And by any chance, is the use of USSD codes supported in OpenWrt?

5

Hi @tmomas, thank you for that link. I checked it out (I failed to notice the Device Page column in the Table of Hardware - only the tech data).

Quick question though because this part confused me: The included modem in this device is running it's own Android OS and has a hidden (disabled in the stock firmware) web interface. Does this mean I still have to enable the stock firmware separately in order to use the LTE module?

6

Hi,

does anyone knows if TL-MR6400-V5 is so different from V1 that it would not work?

Thanks
Christian

7

If in doubt, yes. There are no generic images, aside from very few exceptions every device needs its own firmware image.

8

You already got a reply in your other thread.

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