MTN fixed LTE allowed routers

[deweyzeph]

I understand their logic with 'approved routers' but this should be a baseline "low spec" recommendation (routers which can connect to their preferred bands or have alternates, and are atleast 4g / 5g capable)
Expensive routers like the Chateau is a no-brainer that it should work, but yet these dimwits don't see it that way.

The Chateau LTE12 is approved for use, but they are as scarce as hen's teeth to get hold of in South Africa. Very few of the normal Mikrotik suppliers I buy from have them in stock, or even plan to have them in stock. It's by far the best and most capable router in that list.

 

[Jason-ZA]

Would be nice if MTN could add some Teltonika devices to the approved list.

Sucks that you can't use any industrial grade devices on mtn fixed LTE / 5G

 

[William1102]

Have the Tp-Link Nx510 from Afrihost MTN Pure 5G, when the 5G is down in the area it falls back to LTE no problem and does not get blocked but when I wanted to downgrade to the Fixed LTE offering, the router is not on the compatible list which is odd

@Afrigirl anyway to sort this out or is MTN the issue here

 

[deweyzeph]

Have the Tp-Link Nx510 from Afrihost MTN Pure 5G, when the 5G is down in the area it falls back to LTE no problem and does not get blocked but when I wanted to downgrade to the Fixed LTE offering, the router is not on the compatible list which is odd

@Afrigirl anyway to sort this out or is MTN the issue here

The issue with the fixed list of routers is very specific to MTN's Fixed LTE offering and the ability of the routers in question to aggregate certain LTE bands. Therefore, it doesn't affect any of MTN's other offerings, like 5G or normal LTE. In fact, I'm really starting to wonder if it's even worth having Fixed LTE anymore from MTN, because normal MTN LTE works just as well, and is similarly priced now, and doesn't require any specific router.

 

[Peon]

MTN wont listen or budge. @Jan & Co would need to write a full article about this issue to get vaguely get MTN's attention it seems.

 

[Anthro]

Plainly:
ICASA certifies routers for SA and that should cover it.

I kind of understand their logic with the specifics, but they are losing clients.

 

[xera]

The Chateau LTE12 is approved for use, but they are as scarce as hen's teeth to get hold of in South Africa. Very few of the normal Mikrotik suppliers I buy from have them in stock, or even plan to have them in stock. It's by far the best and most capable router in that list.

Can also use this:

cAP LTE12 ax | MikroTik

A powerful ceiling access point that offers true Wi-Fi 6 mobility for your pop-up business - now with a CAT12 LTE modem!

mikrotik.com

MikroTik cAP LTE12 ax 1800Mbps WiFi 6 Ceiling AP | cAPGi-5HaxD2HaxD&EG12-EA

MikroTik's RB-CAPLTE12AX is a WiFi 6, indoor, ceiling mount Access Point with integrated LTE 12 modem. It features a quad-core 1.8GHz CPU, 2x Gigabit Ethernet Ports with PoE in and PoE out, and an aggregate WiFi data rate of up to 1800Mbps.

scoop.co.za

 

[Voldemort]

MTN wont listen or budge. @Jan & Co would need to write a full article about this issue to get vaguely get MTN's attention it seems.

If he does write his article, he needs to include that this practice is undertaken by the various competitors too, this is not unique to just MTN.
Brass tax explanation - these routers on the lists are what the testing labs have deemed most suitable, and what the most predominant routers are that are currently being used on the market, those are the routers that the networks would focus on to be able provide support on. If there is a new router that pops up that the multitude are embracing, then that is a different story, and would merit consideration, not just any router.

 

[Peon]

If he does write his article, he needs to include that this practice is undertaken by the various competitors too, this is not unique to just MTN.
Brass tax explanation - these routers on the lists are what the testing labs have deemed most suitable, and what the most predominant routers are that are currently being used on the market, those are the routers that the networks would focus on to be able provide support on. If there is a new router that pops up that the multitude are embracing, then that is a different story, and would merit consideration, not just any router.

Fair enough, after programming APN settings and Wifi settings there is not much more the average home user would query a support rep in my opinion.

2007 back in the day I recall with Vodacom, the internet APN didnt allow in-bound for port forwarding. One used the unrestricted APN and could get port forwarding to work for example. Vodacom would recommend this when queried or asked. The providers I feel should cater for the more tech savvy and SME market who know who to configure correctly a MT LHG for example.

I have a customer who uses Telkom LTE on MT LHG and it works reasonably well if only Telkom LTE performed better. If I could use a MT LHG on a MTN Fixed LTE offering it would be immensely useful.

Another exceptionally irritating issue is putting these approved routers in bridge mode on the WAN. Customers with VoIP issues usually can be found to be running double-nat.

Essentially MTN and other should cater for or allow the use of these routers and let the user accept the risk associated.

 

[Voldemort]

Fair enough, after programming APN settings and Wifi settings there is not much more the average home user would query a support rep in my opinion.

2007 back in the day I recall with Vodacom, the internet APN didnt allow in-bound for port forwarding. One used the unrestricted APN and could get port forwarding to work for example. Vodacom would recommend this when queried or asked. The providers I feel should cater for the more tech savvy and SME market who know who to configure correctly a MT LHG for example.

I have a customer who uses Telkom LTE on MT LHG and it works reasonably well if only Telkom LTE performed better. If I could use a MT LHG on a MTN Fixed LTE offering it would be immensely useful.

Another exceptionally irritating issue is putting these approved routers in bridge mode on the WAN. Customers with VoIP issues usually can be found to be running double-nat.

Essentially MTN and other should cater for or allow the use of these routers and let the user accept the risk associate

I remember port forwarding, forgive my lack of knowledge (or memory, I'm getting old now...) but that was port 8080 for this?
I also had to Google what a MT LHG was ( again, age ) , and that never bodes well when you're trying to get a router, or in this case a point to multipoint as an approved device for something like FWA..

 

[zork]

I need to move away from Webafrica and their non-existent customer support.

I currently have the 50mbps fixed lte package with them which is as slow af in the evenings but that's most likely a saturated tower.

Now, I want to get the 50mbps package at Openweb but they refuse to sell it to me because my router, a TP-Link Archer MR600, isn't one of MTN's allowed routers (Huawei B525, Huawei B612, Huawei B618, ZTE MF286, Huawei B535-932, Huawei B818-263, VIDA CPE4000-PRO and Billion BiPAC 8206 AZ, and ZTE 5G CPE MC801A.)

Someone please ELI5. Why would Webafrica, Afrihost and Axxess sell the TP-Link router and have it work with the MTN package but Openweb can't?

I do not know how bad Webafrica has to be to consider MTN! MTN (contracts) are beyond terrible (think lack of service and zero response, fraud with multiple accounts opened months later on the original document, unable to update CC info and having to get ICASA involved to make them do anything). If you want to use MTN, do prepaid.
Anyhow on to the MR600, I recently got one of these (V3) to replace my old TP-Link Archer MR200 (EU) that was getting a bit flaky and needed rebooting every couple of days. I eventually had to go back to to the MR200.
The MR600 (V3) does not have nearly the WIFI range of the MR200. Gets through about 1 (thick) wall and that is about it.
It also consumes about twice as much power as the MR200; that might not be an issue for many users but mine has to operate off a 12V battery supply.

 

[Peon]

Try find V5 edition of the MR600, works much better with reception I found.

 

[zork]

Try find V5 edition of the MR600, works much better with reception I found.

Thanks, I got mine from Incredible Connection at the end of June 2025. The sales guy said it was V5 but when I checked it was V3 but I decided to stick with it. A mistake then.
NB: I was talking about WiFi range not GSM reception, is that what you meant?

Not sure V5 is actually easily avialable, is it?

 

[cavedog]

Try find V5 edition of the MR600, works much better with reception I found.

Thanks, I got mine from Incredible Connection at the end of June 2025. The sales guy said it was V5 but when I checked it was V3 but I decided to stick with it. A mistake then.
NB: I was talking about WiFi range not GSM reception, is that what you meant?

Not sure V5 is actually easily avialable, is it?

This router will not be supported going forward unless you get it from MTN or an ISP with a pre-approve IMEI number.

 

[Peon]

Thanks, I got mine from Incredible Connection at the end of June 2025. The sales guy said it was V5 but when I checked it was V3 but I decided to stick with it. A mistake then.
NB: I was talking about WiFi range not GSM reception, is that what you meant?

Not sure V5 is actually easily avialable, is it?

Both GSM and WiFI. I made the mistake of purchasing from Cash Converters a V2 or V3. Suffice to say I stress-tested it with my boot after a month and got a V5. Very noticeable difference in LTE speeds as well as WiFi range.

 

[That Guy]

I've had the most frustrating time over the past few weeks trying to navigate this insanity...

Initially my brother signed up for Afrihost PureLTE based off of my recommendation, having used them in the past in the same location. They had an existing Mikrotik LtAP with an older R11e LTE card in it which I had hoped we would be able to reuse as they have been using it on the MTN network for years without issue.
Long story short, it worked until Afrihost/MTN blocked it.

OK fine - its a Category 4 LTE router and they are only approving CAT 6 routers on these packages.
Still annoyed but willing to accept this as I have a spare ZTE MF286 which I actually purchased from Afrihost about 2 years ago on a similar Fixed LTE package.
It was even on the 'supported' list on the email they sent when they blocked the Mikrotik - ok solved right? Nope...

Ship the spare to my brother only to find out that Afrihost wont lift the block because as of 1 July aparently that router is no longer supported.

What? Why? Im assuming the thousands of exising users are still enjoying service through the same ZTE routers

 

[xera]

I've had the most frustrating time over the past few weeks trying to navigate this insanity...

Initially my brother signed up for Afrihost PureLTE based off of my recommendation, having used them in the past in the same location. They had an existing Mikrotik LtAP with an older R11e LTE card in it which I had hoped we would be able to reuse as they have been using it on the MTN network for years without issue.
Long story short, it worked until Afrihost/MTN blocked it.

OK fine - its a Category 4 LTE router and they are only approving CAT 6 routers on these packages.
Still annoyed but willing to accept this as I have a spare ZTE MF286 which I actually purchased from Afrihost about 2 years ago on a similar Fixed LTE package.
It was even on the 'supported' list on the email they sent when they blocked the Mikrotik - ok solved right? Nope...

Ship the spare to my brother only to find out that Afrihost wont lift the block because as of 1 July aparently that router is no longer supported.

What? Why? Im assuming the thousands of exising users are still enjoying service through the same ZTE routers

R11e modem is not LTE+/Advanced, it will not work with this.

Basically your modem needs to support 4 x 4 MIMO, and be LTE+. So probably CAT12 is more like it, like the Chateu LTE12 and cAP LTE12

 

[That Guy]

I know, I mentioned that the R11e is a CAT4 modem. I most recently tried a CAT6 ZTE model that is LTE-A, supports CA etc etc. (AND was on the supported list until a few days ago, I even purchased it from Afrihost themselves)

Frankly the most irritating part is that this install is in a rural area so congestion is not a concern. We don't need 4x4 MIMO or Carrier aggregation. We had consistent speeds and stability on the same MTN tower with the older LTE modem using MTN directly for years.

 

[AfriNatic]

I've had the most frustrating time over the past few weeks trying to navigate this insanity...

Initially my brother signed up for Afrihost PureLTE based off of my recommendation, having used them in the past in the same location. They had an existing Mikrotik LtAP with an older R11e LTE card in it which I had hoped we would be able to reuse as they have been using it on the MTN network for years without issue.
Long story short, it worked until Afrihost/MTN blocked it.

OK fine - its a Category 4 LTE router and they are only approving CAT 6 routers on these packages.
Still annoyed but willing to accept this as I have a spare ZTE MF286 which I actually purchased from Afrihost about 2 years ago on a similar Fixed LTE package.
It was even on the 'supported' list on the email they sent when they blocked the Mikrotik - ok solved right? Nope...

Ship the spare to my brother only to find out that Afrihost wont lift the block because as of 1 July aparently that router is no longer supported.

What? Why? Im assuming the thousands of exising users are still enjoying service through the same ZTE routers

Hi

From the 1st of July we no longer support ANY LTE routers on our Pure Wireless services on MTN. Only a select few routers that have their IMEI whitelisted will work. Those include routes that has been active on the Afrihost/MTn Fixed LTE prior to 1st of July or any of the remaining stock we have in warehouse.

If the ZTE was active prior to the 1st of July it should work. If it wasn't, then that could be the reason it's getting blocked.

You can send @Afrigirl a message so we can have a look why it is getting blocked.

 

[DTBA]

Hi

From the 1st of July we no longer support ANY LTE routers on our Pure Wireless services on MTN. Only a select few routers that have their IMEI whitelisted will work. Those include routes that has been active on the Afrihost/MTn Fixed LTE prior to 1st of July or any of the remaining stock we have in warehouse.

If the ZTE was active prior to the 1st of July it should work. If it wasn't, then that could be the reason it's getting blocked.

You can send @Afrigirl a message so we can have a look why it is getting blocked.

I had my sister order a package with a router included from your website. Is this still old stock?

Any other routers you guys going to offer for 5G?