Cell C RTL30VW LTE-A home router (all we know about)

sajunky

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Here is a new LTE Advanced router, replacing in Cell C stores Huawei E5186.

From the box:
CAT6 Band 1,3,7,8,20,38 CA 1+3 (probably means Channel Aggregation with channel 1 and 3)
UMTS 900/2100 WiFi802.11n/ac, 2.4GHz/5GHz

It is an OEM stripped down version of ASKEY RTL0030VW http://www.askey.com.tw/wireless_RTL0030VW.html

There is one substantial difference:
- no support for Telkom TDD Band 40

Specification from the box:
WAN interface: LTE modem and Ethernet RJ45 port
LTE compliance: 3GPP LTE release 10 CAT 6 (DL: 300Mbps, UL:50Mbps - should read: in FDD mode)
LTE channel bandwith: 5, 10, 15, 20
LTE antenna: 2x 3dBi external detachable dipole
WiFi: 802.11ac (867Mbps), 802.11n (300Mbps), etc...
WiFi frequency: concurrent 2.4GHz and 5GHz operation
LAN interface: 1x RJ45 WAN/LAN port, 1x RJ45 LAN port, both speed 1Gbit 802.3U (1000 Base-T)
IP Routing: TCP, UDP, ICMP, ARP, RIP V1 and V2
Features: DHCP, NAT/NATP, DNS Proxy
Web management
WPS, Reset buttons
PSU: 19V/1.75A (apparently 12V is marked on the router's enclosure and PSU is matching 12V/2A)

Only two Ethernet ports, but specification is very modern. More details on hardware/software:
- Qualcom low cost IPQ4018. It is fully integrated SOC (System on Chip) with integrated A7 quad core CPU with FPU&NEON, WiFi/ac, L2/3 switch/router and hardware NAT engine.
- Modem chipset MDM9230
- RAM 256MB, ROM 16MB NOR + 128MB NAND Flash
- Firmware v0.0.14 (svn-r327)
- Kernel 3.14.43

Unpacking brings a positive impression. A small enclosure with attention to efficient cooling. There are two large heatsinks inside and loorking more reveals empty connector which looks like a laptop's PCIe. Two paddle antennas inluded in the box need to be attached, otherwise router do not pickup any cellular signal.

Router has extra features not mentioned on the box:

1. Quick-start Guide gives descripton for RJ11 connector and associated LED indicator on the front.
It is supposed to serve VoIP devices. It is not like in Huawei B315s - there is no VoIP client service implemented in the current firmware. Analog (Telkom) phone do not pickup any line presence tone from the router either. My SIM card is CS enabled.

2. There is one user configurable RJ45 Ethernet port for LAN or WAN interface with optional automatic fallback to LTE, explained in the Quick-start Guide. Important feature. It should be present in every LTE router. The second RJ45 port is for LAN only.

3. USB Type A port - No description. I inserted FAT-32-formatted 4GB USB stick, it is recognised. Unfortunately there is no access control to the media. All files are accessible for everybody - read and write. To access router's SMB shares type "\\192.168.1.1" (without quotes) in Windows Explorer address bar or Web browser.

Web management:

- It requires to login to access very basic page having very little meanful information. Amateur design.
- No manual cellular network search, there is a roaming option and three network modes Auto, LTE and 3G. That's all.
- DHCP server allows to define static leases. Automatic assigment for some reason keeps allocating addresses outside of defined range.
- WiFi: No additional SSID's, only a single one for each of two frequency bands. There is a WiFi client separation option, so at least a one of the frequency band can be used by visitors and keep your private network secure.
- Basic static routes page
- Some basic options for NAT: DMZ, Port Forwarding, Passthrough selectable by protocol (FTP, TFTP, RTSP, SIP, H323, PPTP - all enabled by default, so user definitely should visit this page to keep network secure)
- Diagnostics page: ping, traceroute and nslookup
- DDNS page with a dozen and half preconfigured servers and a custom settings too. A nice feature.
- No manual DNS
- UPnP option called MiniUPnP
- USSD
- SMS with custom phonebook
- Logging feature by using external port
- It allows to backup and restore router's settings
- System Overview page is very useful, but it has to be magnified 50% to read small text. It gives signal RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, Tx Power, PCI, Cell ID and Radio Frequency Channel information. Also memory usage. Much more information than found on Huawei routers.
- Realtime Load, Traffic and Connections graph, but no total usage stats. I repeat: - no data usage counters!

In summary, a mixed bag of good features and essential missess. A lack of data usage stats is a critical on my list.

Lets power it on. Getting only one signal bar with bunny ears paddle antennas. B315s had two bars. System Overview page confirms that signal quality is much lower comparing to my B315s with its internal antenna. Radio unit is a piece of s^$t in my opinion.

I received this router for testing as my neighbour complained that router was constantly loosing signal. It happens also in my place with this router. Network generally is unstable in our area, but Huawei B315s is able to cope with grace. Switching Network Mode from Auto to LTE helps little bit. I think this option disable LTE-A Channel aggregation feature, as Cell ID is changing accordingly.

Screenshots will follow, but I am afraid, I won't be able to participate in this thread. A reason is that my neighbour is cancelling a contract and router is going back to Cell C.
 
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RTL 30VW LTE - A as a slave?

Hi SAJunky,

Great write up.

I used to have a 3G modem but I decided to purchase the RTL 30VW LTE-A because LTE is much better right? I also thought so. I buy CellC's prepaid 100 Gig data package and on my old TP Link MR3420 3G router data lasts me around 9 months. On the LTE router, it lasts around 2 months. For this reason, I am going to either sell the LTE router (its a couple of months old) or use it as a slave to my 3G TP link router. The reason for slaving it is because it has better wifi reach within my home than the old TP link.

Do you know where and how on the web-based interface I need to make changes to the dafault settings so that I can use the RTL 30VW LTE-A as a slave?

Cheers
 
Hi,

Your data usage depends on speed of the connection. When visiting streaming sites like YouTube video quality is automatically adjusted to your speed. On the Web page have control of video quality, Lower the quality to reduce data usage.

As you don't complain on the stability of LTE router, I suggest to keep LTE as a main Internet. However if you insist otherwise, it is very simple.

1. Connect TP-link LAN port to the LTE router WAN/LAN port #1 using Ethernet cable.
2. Follow Quick-start Guide as mentioned:
2. There is one user configurable RJ45 Ethernet port for LAN or WAN interface with optional automatic fallback to LTE, explained in the Quick-start Guide.
I recall, you will need to:
- On the Web management page configure Port #1 as a WAN port
- There will be very close an option to make WAN port as a primary Internet and also fallback enable/disable option
- Now it escapes my memory, in the same place it will be an option to get IP address on the WAN interface by external DHCP server. Enable it. Disable option where you see PPoE on the list.

If you configure above properly, it should work in fully automatic configuration assuming TP-link connects automatically to the Internet. You must only make sure that TP-link LAN interface (router's IP address) is in different LAN segment than LAN interface of LTE router. By example if default address of both routers is 192.168.1.1, you should change one device to 192.168.2.1, network mask 255,255,255,0 as usual.
 
Thanks for this. and yes, Youtube is the culprit. I use most of my data to watch youtube. I do adjust the resolution setting down, but youtube defaults back to high resolution, and I forget to turn it down again.
 
Hey guys... so I took out a data contract with Cell C, R280/month and they gave me this router, 10 gigs anytime data with 10 gigs night owl. The default router dashboard is completely useless and I cannot see what device or where my data is going. I see that the router can use OpenWRT which I'm told is a more informative user interface but cannot find the right software version to load. Can anybody please help me basically try to monitor the data usage on this router and see which device is killing me
 
Neither can I... very frustrating... cannot seem to find the correct OpenWRT version to install. If one even exists..
 
I have the cell c router and did software upgrade etc... but when I put it on it has 2 bars signal then works for about 20mins then all bars go red and says no connection and stays there. What could be the issue?

When I put the sim in my old Huawei router I had with my telkom lte contract it works fine and picks up 4 bars signal constantly but speed is a little slower. Download speed is then a bit slower than upload speed which is weird.
 
Hello All,
Has anyone figured out how to configure manual DNS on this router. The GUI is just useless or is it CellC trying to block us from configuring manual DNS?
 
I have the cell c router and did software upgrade etc... but when I put it on it has 2 bars signal then works for about 20mins then all bars go red and says no connection and stays there. What could be the issue?

When I put the sim in my old Huawei router I had with my telkom lte contract it works fine and picks up 4 bars signal constantly but speed is a little slower. Download speed is then a bit slower than upload speed which is weird.

Same here - RED bars, then no external connection although all devices can still connect to this unit. Looks like Cellc as again selling cheap rejects to local customers. (please don't tell me to send this in for a replacement - already have my third one)
 
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Hi all

Similar issues with this router, which I have had ~10 days. It regularly loses signal or disconnects from the network and will not reconnect for lengthy periods. Setting LTE as the preferred option (vs 3G & Auto) marginally improved reliability, however it is unusable 80% or more of the time.

Externally the LEDs seem fine, but it's just no go. Often I cannot connect to the admin interface due to the WiFi signal being down.

It did work very well when tested in Century City and in Ottery for an hour each. Where I am near Muizenberg it is almost useless.

Can this unit be flashed with OpenWRT? I've been looking too.

From the Kernel Log:

[ 0.000000] Linux version 3.14.43 (cme@rd8sw2-System-Product-Name) (gcc version 4.8.3 (OpenWrt/Linaro GCC 4.8-2014.01 unknown) ) #1 SMP PREEMPT Thu Jun 15 17:22:07 CST 2017
[ 0.000000] CPU: ARMv7 Processor [410fc075] revision 5 (ARMv7), cr=10c5387d
 
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Hi all

Similar issues with this router, which I have had ~10 days. It regularly loses signal or disconnects from the network and will not reconnect for lengthy periods. Setting LTE as the preferred option (vs 3G & Auto) marginally improved reliability, however it is unusable 80% or more of the time.

Same issue here. I have had this router (Cell C Askey RTL30VW) for a total of 2 days (new contract), and can already see how B-grade this hardware is. :mad:

I'm arranging to return this router and relplacing it with something more reliable.
 
Me too!

I have the cell c router and did software upgrade etc... but when I put it on it has 2 bars signal then works for about 20mins then all bars go red and says no connection and stays there. What could be the issue?

When I put the sim in my old Huawei router I had with my telkom lte contract it works fine and picks up 4 bars signal constantly but speed is a little slower. Download speed is then a bit slower than upload speed which is weird.

Hi there! I'm having the same issue with my router now... have you figured out what the issue and solution is?
 
Get the B618s-22d. Works well with Cellc and aggregates band 1 and 3 properly. Won't say the speeds are good because it's horrible but LTE-A works on it.
 
The update is a bit hidden, go to "System > Backup / Flash Firmware > Flash new firmware image > Fota CPE" then click "Check Image", wait a bit, then click "Download Image" and wait a bunch more.
 
The update is a bit hidden, go to "System > Backup / Flash Firmware > Flash new firmware image > Fota CPE" then click "Check Image", wait a bit, then click "Download Image" and wait a bunch more.

Thanks. 0.0.23 is available.
 
Anyone figured out what the root password is for ssh on these routers? Generally the admin password for the web GUI should work, but that doesn't work for me.
 
Seems there is 2 sections
the CPE board - that works fine and my connection to the router is stable
then there is the LTE board - it says i can upgrade that firmware but never completes
that is the issue here, the LTE drops and doesnt recover.
 
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