MOFI5500-5GXeLTE-EM7690 with second modem for failover.

[deweddude]

Total newb here, and I know there is some hate here for mofi, and I didn't read those things until after I bought and set it up, so bear with me if there are better ideas for what I am trying to accomplish, but I already spent the money for the router, and am hoping to still use it for awhile at least. however, I recently purchased a MOFI5500 EM7690 router that works really well with visible, I am also getting another at&t unlimited data plan, and from what I am reading the EM7690 doesn't play well with at&t at the moment to connect to 4g due to it showing up as a phone and not a data only device. What I am curious about is if anyone has added an external modem to the mofi5500 via usb 3.0 (USB3 box from The Wireless Haven?), and how I would go about that? I have tried searching all over to find the support docs, but unfortunately there isn't much for the 5500 and support for other modems via the usb 3.0 port.
- Would I need to use different firmware that the stock mofi 5500 firmware to support the drivers for a different modem via the usb 3.0 connection?
- How would I go about loading those drivers on the current firmware if that is even possible?
- Would this even work with what I am thinking?

Essentially, I want to have it setup to use the at&t sim card from the usb modem load balance/failover to the internal em7690 modem on the visible sim, that way I can switch out the modem in the USB3 box from The Wireless Haven down the road if I want to go to 5g in the future, or different carriers without replacing the router? Any if anyone has any suggestions for a good modem that has 4x4 mimo and CA with the at&t sim cards that would be helpful.

My other thought was to build a NEXQ6GO based router with the proper modem for the at&t sim, and set it up in bridge/ip passthrough mode or disable wireless, and plug that into the wan port of the mofi5500 and load balance/failover that way? but it seems like a waste to get another router, and to limit it to 100mbps via ethernet. I do have an old mofi 4500 sim8 that I was going to try the wan setup with just to prove out the theory that it could work, but I would prefer the first method to use a usb 3.0 modem with the 5500 if possible.

Also, down the road I will be using starlink in my rv as well, and would like to load balance between the wan port (starlink) and this setup in the mix as well. I plan to work from my camper in some remote places and would like to ensure minimal downtime so it doesn't impact my job. is it even possible? am I crazy or this idea? I just started digging into some of this stuff recently, so excuse me if these sound like terrible questions.

[Didneywhorl]

You may be better off getting either another EM7690, an EM7411, or an EM9191 an install it inside the router, since it is a dual m.2 router. The drivers on the MOFI I do not believe are loaded for any other modems, and MOFI doesn't seem supportive of customizations. I don't see why it wouldn't work with a modem adapter enclosure with one of those modems though. As the modems on these routers run on the USB bus. The Question is are they the same bus or separate busses. That I don't know.

The Wireless Haven has EM9191s and EM7411s, but no EM7690s yet.

https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/modem ... ss-em9191/

https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/modem ... ced-modem/

USB3 Adapter Enclosure:
https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/mini- ... new-style/

[deweddude]

Yeah, I suppose that is an option too. For some reason I didn't consider that, because its the only router I haven't taken apart yet to see what's inside. But I did get my at&t sim card today, and i had read a few reports of users not connecting to LTE. The reports were from 6 months ago, so they must have updated something because I plugged it in and set the APN and its been working just fine, ended up seeing about 140 mbps down and about 16 up with the stock mofi antennas. I tested my old mofi 4500 with i.p passthrough enabled and the visible sim, and plugged it into the WAN port f the 5500 and it fails over nicely and seems to do what I would want for now, so that is good.

I guess at this point ill wait until i find a flaw in this setup, or the 100 mbps ethernet on the 4500 actually causes a bottleneck for me and go from there. I appreciate the advice though!