Router for (Afrihost) MTN Fixed LTE-A

[RichardZA7]

Hi all,

I need to help a non-IT savvy person get internet access via WiFi for a digital photo frame and it looks like Afrihost's MTN Fixed LTE-A 5GB + 5GB for R49/month will suit them best (their usage will be very limited and low and budget is important).

Please help me choose a router?

Requirements:

• Must be set and forget - family member must not need to do anything (after I do initial config)
  • NB WiFi must come back on automatically after power failure (I am not sure if some of those cheaper 'mobile' ones switch back on when power is restored rather than switch to 'charge only' mode)
• WiFi range needed is very small - essentially a single room
• Will be kept in one place ie. does not need to be mobile/battery powered

I see Afrihost offer the ZTE MF286C for R1 499 otherwise Takealot has the ZTE MF286R (difference appears to only be R lacks a battery?) for R1 349.

Is one of those the best option or something else?

Thanks

 

[AfriNatic]

Hi all,

I need to help a non-IT savvy person get internet access via WiFi for a digital photo frame and it looks like Afrihost's MTN Fixed LTE-A 5GB + 5GB for R49/month will suit them best (their usage will be very limited and low and budget is important).

Please help me choose a router?

Requirements:

• Must be set and forget - family member must not need to do anything (after I do initial config)
  • NB WiFi must come back on automatically after power failure (I am not sure if some of those cheaper 'mobile' ones switch back on when power is restored rather than switch to 'charge only' mode)
• WiFi range needed is very small - essentially a single room
• Will be kept in one place ie. does not need to be mobile/battery powered

I see Afrihost offer the ZTE MF286C for R1 499 otherwise Takealot has the ZTE MF286R (difference appears to only be R lacks a battery?) for R1 349.

Is one of those the best option or something else?

Thanks

Morning,

Any for the below routers will work on the MTN Fixed LTE package. Please note that only these routers will work and once you insert the sim into another no approved device it will be blocked.

HUAWEI 5G CPE PRO 2
HUAWEI B2368
HUAWEI B2368-22
HUAWEI B2368-57
HUAWEI B2368-66
HUAWEI B525S-23A
HUAWEI B525S-65A
HUAWEI B525S-95A
HUAWEI B535-932
HUAWEI B612-233
HUAWEI B612-533
HUAWEI B612S-25D
HUAWEI B612S-51D
HUAWEI B612S-52D
HUAWEI B618S-22D
HUAWEI B618S-65D
HUAWEI B618S-66D
HUAWEI B818-263
MIKROTIK CHATEAU LTE12
TP-LINK ARCHER MR600(EU)2.0
VIDA CPE4000-PLUS
VIDA CPE4000-PRO
ZTE 5G CPE MC801A
ZTE MF286
ZTE MF286A
ZTE MF286C
ZTE MF286C1
ZTE MF286D
ZTE MF286R
ZYXEL LTE7460
ZYXEL LTE7480-M804

 

[Stokstert]

RSAWeb black friday deal

If you have no router, you can buy a TP-Link MR600 4G+ AC1200 Gigabit Router from RSA Web for R500
or rent it together with the SIM only package for R49. The Sim only (5Gb day +5 Gb night data per month)is R45 without a router.

If you want to buy a router outright, just slide the black DOT in the link to the right, and it will be available at checkout with the SIM only.

Link

 

[RichardZA7]

RSAWeb black friday deal

If you have no router, you can buy a TP-Link MR600 4G+ AC1200 Gigabit Router from RSA Web for R500
or rent it together with the SIM only package for R49. The Sim only (5Gb day +5 Gb night data per month)is R45 without a router.

If you want to buy a router outright, just slide the black DOT in the link to the right, and it will be available at checkout with the SIM only.

Link

Thanks, I tried that but the router is coming up at R1395 for me?

 

[Stokstert]

Thanks, I tried that but the router is coming up at R1395 for me?

View attachment 1210810

Is this on the 5GB day + 5GB night data?

I got this on completion of the request.

 

[RichardZA7]

Is this on the 5GB day + 5GB night data?

I got this on completion of the request.

View attachment 1211008

Yes it was on the 5GB + 5GB. I tried again but couldn't come right

Since then a friend offered his Huawei B315 router for free so I've instead signed them up for a 500MB Afrihost Mobile Data package (R39/month) to try else if enough data for the usage proves too costly via Mobile Data I'll go the Fixed LTE route.

 

[Brother Dusk]

Morning,

Any for the below routers will work on the MTN Fixed LTE package. Please note that only these routers will work and once you insert the sim into another no approved device it will be blocked.

HUAWEI 5G CPE PRO 2
HUAWEI B2368
HUAWEI B2368-22
HUAWEI B2368-57
HUAWEI B2368-66
HUAWEI B525S-23A
HUAWEI B525S-65A
HUAWEI B525S-95A
HUAWEI B535-932
HUAWEI B612-233
HUAWEI B612-533
HUAWEI B612S-25D
HUAWEI B612S-51D
HUAWEI B612S-52D
HUAWEI B618S-22D
HUAWEI B618S-65D
HUAWEI B618S-66D
HUAWEI B818-263
MIKROTIK CHATEAU LTE12
TP-LINK ARCHER MR600(EU)2.0
VIDA CPE4000-PLUS
VIDA CPE4000-PRO
ZTE 5G CPE MC801A
ZTE MF286
ZTE MF286A
ZTE MF286C
ZTE MF286C1
ZTE MF286D
ZTE MF286R
ZYXEL LTE7460
ZYXEL LTE7480-M804

So the B315 is no longer supported? I was hoping to slap a sim in it and use it in Durban over the holidays....

Also you guys do not allow collection of sims? I doubt my sim will be here (Centurion) before thursday..

 

[AfriNatic]

So the B315 is no longer supported? I was hoping to slap a sim in it and use it in Durban over the holidays....

Also you guys do not allow collection of sims? I doubt my sim will be here (Centurion) before thursday..

The B315 was never on the approved list for MTN unfortunately. It can work on our Telkom simcards.

We need to supply the simcards as it's simcards that do not have voice and other capabilities. Centurion is not so far from Afrihost hq so if you have ordered the sim today it should be delivered before or on Wednesday.

 

[Howzit42]

The B315 was never on the approved list for MTN unfortunately. It can work on our Telkom simcards.

We need to supply the simcards as it's simcards that do not have voice and other capabilities. Centurion is not so far from Afrihost hq so if you have ordered the sim today it should be delivered before or on Wednesday.

Morning,

Any for the below routers will work on the MTN Fixed LTE package. Please note that only these routers will work and once you insert the sim into another no approved device it will be blocked.

HUAWEI 5G CPE PRO 2
HUAWEI B2368
HUAWEI B2368-22
HUAWEI B2368-57
HUAWEI B2368-66
HUAWEI B525S-23A
HUAWEI B525S-65A
HUAWEI B525S-95A
HUAWEI B535-932
HUAWEI B612-233
HUAWEI B612-533
HUAWEI B612S-25D
HUAWEI B612S-51D
HUAWEI B612S-52D
HUAWEI B618S-22D
HUAWEI B618S-65D
HUAWEI B618S-66D
HUAWEI B818-263
MIKROTIK CHATEAU LTE12
TP-LINK ARCHER MR600(EU)2.0
VIDA CPE4000-PLUS
VIDA CPE4000-PRO
ZTE 5G CPE MC801A
ZTE MF286
ZTE MF286A
ZTE MF286C
ZTE MF286C1
ZTE MF286D
ZTE MF286R
ZYXEL LTE7460
ZYXEL LTE7480-M804

 

[Howzit42]

Hi Afrinatic

Tis is a little off topic but I would appreciate some advice on which model router to purchase.
The routers will be installed in a holiday home where signal strength is mediocre around -95dBm.

I purchased 2x ZTE MF286R routers with external 5dB antennas. The router hardware is great but the firmware is up to shite. The dashboard configuration options cripple what is otherwise a fine router (hardware wise)
Issues I have with these routers is no DDNS config, no remote option to connect to dashboard remotely from the internet to configure, no config option to select the external antennas that ship with the unit (go figure) and one cannot change virtually any options while the router is connected to the internet. One has to first disconnect before any changes can be made, but then you lose connection to the router and cannot configure it.

In comparison to my Huawei B618s router (unfortunately discontinued now) that has DDNS support, can connect to the config dashboard from the public internet IP, can select internal or external antennas from the config dash and can change any of the settings remotely, which is the saved and activated by a reboot of the router.

What I am looking for is a recommendation of routers to replace the ZTE MF286R routers with similar capabilities as the Huawei B618s. These routers must be able to be managed remotely, support DDNS, APN and antenna selection.

I can get the Huawei B535 4G Router 3 Pro or the B612-233 Huawei Wi-Fi 4G Router 2 Pro. I'm familiar with the TP-Link products but there is an issue how they allow one to configure class IP addresses. I have very ltiile exposure to the Zyxel range.

Which make and model can you suggest? I guess my preference would be Huawei routers as I am more familiar with them although I'm not familar with the firware config options available on theB535 and B612 routers.

Thank you for your time and recommendations.

Regards
Pete

 

[AfriNatic]

Hi Afrinatic

Tis is a little off topic but I would appreciate some advice on which model router to purchase.
The routers will be installed in a holiday home where signal strength is mediocre around -95dBm.

I purchased 2x ZTE MF286R routers with external 5dB antennas. The router hardware is great but the firmware is up to shite. The dashboard configuration options cripple what is otherwise a fine router (hardware wise)
Issues I have with these routers is no DDNS config, no remote option to connect to dashboard remotely from the internet to configure, no config option to select the external antennas that ship with the unit (go figure) and one cannot change virtually any options while the router is connected to the internet. One has to first disconnect before any changes can be made, but then you lose connection to the router and cannot configure it.

In comparison to my Huawei B618s router (unfortunately discontinued now) that has DDNS support, can connect to the config dashboard from the public internet IP, can select internal or external antennas from the config dash and can change any of the settings remotely, which is the saved and activated by a reboot of the router.

What I am looking for is a recommendation of routers to replace the ZTE MF286R routers with similar capabilities as the Huawei B618s. These routers must be able to be managed remotely, support DDNS, APN and antenna selection.

I can get the Huawei B535 4G Router 3 Pro or the B612-233 Huawei Wi-Fi 4G Router 2 Pro. I'm familiar with the TP-Link products but there is an issue how they allow one to configure class IP addresses. I have very ltiile exposure to the Zyxel range.

Which make and model can you suggest? I guess my preference would be Huawei routers as I am more familiar with them although I'm not familar with the firware config options available on theB535 and B612 routers.

Thank you for your time and recommendations.

Regards
Pete

Hi,

So to be 100% honest I don't have hands on experience with either.

Maybe other mybroadband members can advise which is a better model. I still do like the B618. Have you looked at the B525? It's also the same age as the B618 about but has SMA ports for the antenna.