EM12-G Carrier Aggregation AT&T

Post by **jolly** » Fri Jan 31, 2020 6:38 pm

Greetings all, I recently purchased the EM12-G, enclosed in the USB3 enclosure, and have it connected to a Raspberry Pi. I currently have the modem locked to B2+B14, which gives me good speeds and signal. One thing I have noticed, over an extended amount of time, hours not days, it will no longer connect to CA frequencies, and will only use the main band. Re-binding USB driver or performing a modem disconnect and reconnect in rOOter appears to temporarily resolve the issue. I've loaded the latest firmware EM12GPAR01A18M4G but the issue reamins. I've tried the modem connected to a Linux workstation as well as a Windows 10 workstation, with similar results. I've reached out to Quectel for assistance. They've asked me to connect the modem to a Windows 10 workstation load the drivers and use their log capture tool. When I load the supplied Quectel Windows 10 drivers I’m able to access the COM ports, but I’m not able to connect to the internet. When looking at network connections the modem continuously appears and disappears. I'm currently waiting on feedback from Quectel on this issue. If I remove the Quectel drivers and let Windows 10 load it's driver I'm able to access the internet but not the COM ports.

When everything is working I see the following:
AT+QENG="servingcell"
+QENG: "servingcell","NOCONN","LTE","FDD",310,410,4F04908,250,1000,2,5,5,4603,-114,-13,-82,11,0,210,-
OK
AT+QNWINFO
+QNWINFO: "FDD LTE","310410","LTE BAND 2",1000
OK
AT+QCAINFO
+QCAINFO: "pcc",1000,100,"LTE BAND 2",1,250,-114,-13,-81,11
+QCAINFO: "scc",5330,50,"LTE BAND 14",2,127,-104,-12,-77,5
DL
OK

After several hours I see the following when I’m no longer able to connect to the CA band:
AT+QENG="servingcell"
+QENG: "servingcell","NOCONN","LTE","FDD",310,410,4F04908,250,1000,2,5,5,4603,-113,-13,-81,13,0,210,-
OK
AT+QNWINFO
+QNWINFO: "FDD LTE","310410","LTE BAND 2",1000
OK
AT+QCAINFO
OK

Is this what the modem is seeing via scans etc., or is the carrier no longer advertising the CA info? I'm wondering if the provider, AT&T in this case is disabling CA? If so strange that a modem reset would bring it right back.

Appreciate any feedback!

Post by **BillA** » Fri Jan 31, 2020 7:00 pm

jolly wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2020 6:38 pm Greetings all, I recently purchased the EM12-G, enclosed in the USB3 enclosure, and have it connected to a Raspberry Pi. I currently have the modem locked to B2+B14, which gives me good speeds and signal. One thing I have noticed, over an extended amount of time, hours not days, it will no longer connect to CA frequencies, and will only use the main band.

When everything is working I see the following:

AT+QCAINFO
+QCAINFO: "pcc",1000,100,"LTE BAND 2",1,250,-114,-13,-81,11
+QCAINFO: "scc",5330,50,"LTE BAND 14",2,127,-104,-12,-77,5
DL
OK

After several hours I see the following when I’m no longer able to connect to the CA band:
AT+QCAINFO
OK

Is this what the modem is seeing via scans etc., or is the carrier no longer advertising the CA info? I'm wondering if the provider, AT&T in this case is disabling CA? If so strange that a modem reset would bring it right back.

Appreciate any feedback!

CA usually kicks in during data usage, such as heavy page fetches or large file downloads, and even then at the exclusive control of the tower. There's really not much you can do to "force" it, other than having at least two bands configured or leaving it on auto-scan (if there's no second band available in your area or with extremely low signal then it will never kick in), so it's normal for CA not to be active at all times. Just for testing after several hours have passed by, download a large file and during that session issue the "AT+QCAINFO" command to see if it's active... it should be.

Post by **jolly** » Fri Jan 31, 2020 7:04 pm

Thanks for the reply. I've been testing via large data pulls 1G+, CA still won't kick in. If I reset the modem and perform the same test immediately after it enables CA and I see the increased download speed.

Post by **BillA** » Fri Jan 31, 2020 7:46 pm

jolly wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2020 7:04 pm Thanks for the reply. I've been testing via large data pulls 1G+, CA still won't kick in. If I reset the modem and perform the same test immediately after it enables CA and I see the increased download speed.

Hmm... then not sure why it doesn't kick in during data sessions after some hours have passed by, the only other suggestion is to upgrade the modem to the latest firmware. There's also a possibility that the modem drops into a low power saving mode after some time, thus disabling its CA (just a speculation). By the way, the router itself doesn't have much control over CA, so there's no need to upgrade it (unless you want to).

Post by **Didneywhorl** » Sat Feb 01, 2020 2:13 pm

Are you powering the usb enclosure separately or are you relying on the usb from the pi to power it?

Post by **nedyah70** » Fri Feb 07, 2020 10:49 pm

I am having the same issue. Both with an EM12 and EM20. Connects, CA holds for awhile, drops and never recovers unless I reboot.

Post by **jolly** » Tue Feb 11, 2020 8:32 am

nedyah70 wrote: Fri Feb 07, 2020 10:49 pm I am having the same issue. Both with an EM12 and EM20. Connects, CA holds for awhile, drops and never recovers unless I reboot.

Interesting... So far with all the research and testing I've done, it appears to be something AT&T is doing, perhaps as part of traffic management. I have no issues when using the T-Mobile network with the exact same setup. If part of traffic management, you would think they would want to spread the load across the entire available spectrum if capacity is available. I have tried running all traffic through a VPN as well with the same results. One thing I have found and can't yet explain, if I disconnect Ethernet for a few minutes and reconnect, CA comes back, or if I connect another computer CA, comes back. I'm currently running on a Linux workstation and the only thing I see is the logs is a change in status on the Ethernetport and the iptable change associated with it.

I have worked with Quectel a bit, sent them a log capture, the only feedback they provided was to try and find better signal. While not great signal, it has good consistent speeds.

Have you tested any other carrier?

Post by **Didneywhorl** » Tue Feb 11, 2020 8:53 am

Might want to try loading up in the car, use a portable inverter or similar power source, or take it to another house/work, and test it on another tower. Ensure you have top signal. Also may want to drive right up to your tower with your rig and see if it changes.

Testing if its signal strength issues, and testing if its a tower issue

Post by **jolly** » Tue Feb 11, 2020 1:30 pm

nedyah70 wrote: Fri Feb 07, 2020 10:49 pm I am having the same issue. Both with an EM12 and EM20. Connects, CA holds for awhile, drops and never recovers unless I reboot.

What does your signal look like?

Post by **jolly** » Tue Feb 11, 2020 8:12 pm

Didneywhorl wrote: Tue Feb 11, 2020 8:53 am Might want to try loading up in the car, use a portable inverter or similar power source, or take it to another house/work, and test it on another tower. Ensure you have top signal. Also may want to drive right up to your tower with your rig and see if it changes.

Testing if its signal strength issues, and testing if its a tower issue

Good idea, I'll have to try that.
Thanks.

Post by **BitHaulers** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 8:51 pm

Same problem with an SINR of 15~18dB. It's not a signal thing. I think it's AT&T plus a firmware thing. I also don't have a problem on T-Mobile.

Same issue, it stops working, and it comes back if I fiddle with the band locking or if I to a USB power reset or a full reboot, but then goes out a few hours later. Doing it with B66+B66, I've seen it do it with B2+B66, then just stop. Pretty sure it's not a tower issue.

Latest firmware.

Post by **BitHaulers** » Sat May 09, 2020 9:34 pm

I've confirmed this behavior on EP06A, Mikrotik LTE6, EM7455, and EM12G.

After a set amount of time, the link goes "stale". AT&T turns off the CA for that link.

Anything that resets that link re-establishes CA immediately. No need to "download a large file"...CA doesn't work like that anymore. With T-Mobile and Sprint and Verizon, it's always on. With AT&T, it's always on, until the link goes stale.

I've confirmed this on over 10 towers, congested or not congested, on B2, B14, B66, B12, with SINRs generally above 12dB up to 22dB.

I've seen a link go stale in only 5 minutes, others can make it almost an hour. I haven't seen links keep CA capability past one hour yet.

A band change, tower change, modem reset, or reboot will 10% the time bring CA back, immediately as the new link is established with the tower.

I've seen this behavior with over 30 deployed radios, at all hours of the day/night.

The solution would be to reset the LTE link with a script on a timer, but every method I know of will drop at least 5 seconds of packets. You can't do that every 5 minutes.

Post by **BillA** » Sun May 10, 2020 7:25 am

BitHaulers wrote: Sat May 09, 2020 9:34 pm I've confirmed this behavior on EP06A, Mikrotik LTE6, EM7455, and EM12G.

After a set amount of time, the link goes "stale". AT&T turns off the CA for that link.

Anything that resets that link re-establishes CA immediately. No need to "download a large file"...CA doesn't work like that anymore. With T-Mobile and Sprint and Verizon, it's always on. With AT&T, it's always on, until the link goes stale.

I've confirmed this on over 10 towers, congested or not congested, on B2, B14, B66, B12, with SINRs generally above 12dB up to 22dB.

I've seen a link go stale in only 5 minutes, others can make it almost an hour. I haven't seen links keep CA capability past one hour yet.

A band change, tower change, modem reset, or reboot will 10% the time bring CA back, immediately as the new link is established with the tower.

I've seen this behavior with over 30 deployed radios, at all hours of the day/night.

The solution would be to reset the LTE link with a script on a timer, but every method I know of will drop at least 5 seconds of packets. You can't do that every 5 minutes.

From my experience CA does NOT stay on all the time at least on Tmobile. It's a repeatable behavior, when I first power on the phone or router and pull a modem status (or turn on test mode on a phone) it clearly shows PCC (S0 on a phone) is on, while SCC (S1 on a phone) is off. As soon as I fetch large pages or in the middle of the download, SCC kicks in, then it disconnects after some seconds once the connection is no longer pulling data, and keeps repeating based on data volume. It's perfectly logical that a carrier doesn't want to tie up two channels at all time when data is idle, instead engage it dynamically based on usage. Course it's not supposed to just disappear and never come back till a modem/router has been rebooted. It's either a firmware or carrier issue which is hard to pin point unless one tries a couple of different brand/model modems. If it's happening with several different modems, then chances are it's a carrier and vice versa.

Post by **Sebastiii** » Sun Jun 14, 2020 10:41 am

Hello,
I'm french, and we have the same issue on operator "FREE 4G" as soon as we disable lte1 interface, reboot the modem, in fact when a new session is up (so a new WAN IP).

The CA didn't work until we cut the connection, this is really weird.

It happens on :
EG12
Revision: EG12EAPAR01A06M4G

So it's not only related to EM12-G.

The signal is good and happen with other tower, so clearly, there is something wrong with it, the EG12 is a SoC and integrated in Mikrotik CHATEAU LTE12.

I just found your thread, so will try the ethernet disconnection to see how it goes

What I can tell you it's that it happen very fast, only few minutes after the session is UP.
Regards.

Post by **Sebastiii** » Sun Jun 14, 2020 1:29 pm

BitHaulers wrote: Sat May 09, 2020 9:34 pm I've confirmed this behavior on EP06A, Mikrotik LTE6, EM7455, and EM12G.

Same with CHATEAU LTE12 (EG12)

After a set amount of time, the link goes "stale". AT&T turns off the CA for that link.

Anything that resets that link re-establishes CA immediately. No need to "download a large file"...CA doesn't work like that anymore. With T-Mobile and Sprint and Verizon, it's always on. With AT&T, it's always on, until the link goes stale.

I've confirmed this on over 10 towers, congested or not congested, on B2, B14, B66, B12, with SINRs generally above 12dB up to 22dB.

Done it also on french FREE operator

I've seen a link go stale in only 5 minutes, others can make it almost an hour. I haven't seen links keep CA capability past one hour yet.

Most of the time, the CA stop after 5 minutes

A band change, tower change, modem reset, or reboot will 10% the time bring CA back, immediately as the new link is established with the tower.

Confirmed too here.

I've seen this behavior with over 30 deployed radios, at all hours of the day/night.

Confirmed also !

The solution would be to reset the LTE link with a script on a timer, but every method I know of will drop at least 5 seconds of packets. You can't do that every 5 minutes.

How did you do that ?
On my side, I did try a script for Band change to B3 and back to B3+B7+B28 all 5 minutes, it gives a disconnection and new WAN IP, it's for testing but this is not a solution !!!

About the Ethernet test, if I unplug the ethernet for at least 5 minutes (need to take the exact value) and connected back, CA is back too without doing nothing else, does an "IDLE" does something ?

It could really nice to get an AT command to send all 3 minutes to reactivate something

Post by **Sebastiii** » Sun Jun 14, 2020 1:33 pm

jolly wrote: Tue Feb 11, 2020 8:32 am One thing I have found and can't yet explain, if I disconnect Ethernet for a few minutes and reconnect, CA comes back, or if I connect another computer CA, comes back. I'm currently running on a Linux workstation and the only thing I see is the logs is a change in status on the Ethernetport and the iptable change associated with it.

I have the same as you, this is really strange, I have try to play with TTL, no change !!

Post by **Didneywhorl** » Fri Jun 19, 2020 12:38 pm

The network operators do this to trick customers into thinking they are getting full speed CA. ATT does this here in the US for sure. You see the general network is setup/optimized for cell phones, not stationary full time internet gateways.

A cell user is generally nit concerned with long term full time bandwidth speeds. They are mobile and tend to hop from radio to radio as they move about. The method of short term CA access is fine for them, as they dont even notice when it isnt activated. This keeps the network looking super fast and the network can support more users without spending money on upgraded radio site equipment.

Post by **Sebastiii** » Fri Jun 19, 2020 1:54 pm

Hi

Thanks for your answer, I'm agreed for sure but still other product used full time internet gateways works correctly.
It can sometimes happen, that there is no more CA too but it's after few hours and not like on EG12 after few minutes.

So there some bug to fix on modem side too

But the CA revive related to Ethernet thingy is a road to analyze.too and really strange !

Post by **BillA** » Wed Jul 01, 2020 6:30 pm

jolly wrote: Tue Feb 11, 2020 8:12 pm Good idea, I'll have to try that.
Thanks.

If you don't wish to use a car power inverter (up-converting 12V to 110V then down-converting to 12V again is quite inefficient plus it could introduce some noise into the power line, depending on the quality of the inverter), you could plug the router in directly into the 12V cigarette lighter socket (if they still have that thing lol). I bought one of those all-in-one cigarette lighter adapters from Walmart with a bunch of barrel connectors and a voltage range from 3V-12V (set it to 12V and make sure the middle pin is +) . One of the larger diameters fit the router perfectly.

Post by **gscheb** » Wed Jul 15, 2020 1:35 am

Just built my first WG3526 with Quectel EM12. It is doing same thing no CA! Because of this it is being out performed by a WE826 with Quectel EP06.
So far not empressed by this higher cat modem supposed to be better.

Post by **Sebastiii** » Thu Jul 16, 2020 5:40 pm

gscheb wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2020 1:35 am Just built my first WG3526 with Quectel EM12. It is doing same thing no CA! Because of this it is being out performed by a WE826 with Quectel EP06.
So far not empressed by this higher cat modem supposed to be better.

So with Quectel EP06 no more CA issue right ?
With EM12, does CA start to work and failed after a while (directly or few minutes) ?
Mikrotik Chateau LTE12 has an EG12 it's like the EM12 and has the same issue

Post by **gscheb** » Thu Jul 16, 2020 10:08 pm

Well the EP06 never had the issue always worked with Carrier aggregation.
But this EM12 still causing issues. It like never does CA. Been trying to figure out why with no resolution so far.
My data is ran on T-Mobile.

Post by **Viper67857** » Fri Jul 17, 2020 5:49 am

What firmware versions do you guys have on your em12s? I think mine is on A17 (even though quectel sent me the a19beta, I haven't tried it yet), and my CA stays up all the time on AT&T. Up until my modem went completely non-responsive and had to be rebooted last night, I had 7 days of straight uptime with no issues.

Post by **gscheb** » Fri Jul 17, 2020 6:23 am

Viper67857 wrote: Fri Jul 17, 2020 5:49 am What firmware versions do you guys have on your em12s? I think mine is on A17 (even though quectel sent me the a19beta, I haven't tried it yet), and my CA stays up all the time on AT&T. Up until my modem went completely non-responsive and had to be rebooted last night, I had 7 days of straight uptime with no issues.

Are you talking about this?
ATI
Quectel
EM12
Revision: EM12GPAR01A15M4G
OK

Post by **Viper67857** » Fri Jul 17, 2020 6:30 am

Yes, you're on A15... I can't guarantee that's the problem, but going up to A17 or A18 probably couldn't hurt...

Post by **gscheb** » Fri Jul 17, 2020 10:16 am

Viper67857 wrote: Fri Jul 17, 2020 6:30 am Yes, you're on A15... I can't guarantee that's the problem, but going up to A17 or A18 probably couldn't hurt...

Alright never done that before. How about you go doing that? Is there a tutorial or something for that? Where do you get the firmware?

Post by **Viper67857** » Fri Jul 17, 2020 11:56 am

It needs to be in a USB enclosure connected directly to a PC... Quectel support can send you the firmware and the loader if someone else here doesn't already have it.. I only have the a19 beta and I'd be wary to install beta firmware.

Post by **Sebastiii** » Fri Jul 17, 2020 1:49 pm

gscheb wrote: Thu Jul 16, 2020 10:08 pm Well the EP06 never had the issue always worked with Carrier aggregation.
But this EM12 still causing issues. It like never does CA. Been trying to figure out why with no resolution so far.
My data is ran on T-Mobile.

Ok thanks

Mine is EG12 from Mikrotik Chateau LTE12 and has the latest firmware but still there is issue for CA

Post by **gscheb** » Sun Jul 19, 2020 11:21 pm

Sebastiii wrote: Fri Jul 17, 2020 1:49 pm Ok thanks
Mine is EG12 from Mikrotik Chateau LTE12 and has the latest firmware but still there is issue for CA

Who is the Carrier you are using?
Hear that A16 version is best for TMobile & at&t. That A17 version best for Verizon. If you want to try that.

Post by **Sebastiii** » Mon Jul 20, 2020 8:26 am

gscheb wrote: Sun Jul 19, 2020 11:21 pm Who is the Carrier you are using?
Hear that A16 version is best for TMobile & at&t. That A17 version best for Verizon. If you want to try that.

I'm in France, it's "FREE", carrier and it's EG12 not EM12, still seems to have the same bug and CA recover after unplug LAN for 5 minutes based on my test and reports from here, really weird.

It's like CA AT command is too much send (per seconds) and disconnected the RJ45 LAN permit to EG12 to recover because not much traffic is used.

But when reconnecting, CA is back but not for long time

Sorry for slow answer, but I didn't receive notification for new answer even if it's set !

Post by **gscheb** » Sun Jul 26, 2020 12:41 am

Viper67857 wrote: Fri Jul 17, 2020 11:56 am It needs to be in a USB enclosure connected directly to a PC... Quectel support can send you the firmware and the loader if someone else here doesn't already have it.. I only have the a19 beta and I'd be wary to install beta firmware.

Hello again,
Now have a USB adapter to do this firmware update to Revision a16 for T-mobile. Does anyone have the firmware files or know where to get them?

Post by **Didneywhorl** » Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:14 am

Youll have to ask Quectel directly. I only have A13, A15 and , A18.

Post by **gscheb** » Mon Jul 27, 2020 6:57 am

Didneywhorl wrote: Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:14 am Youll have to ask Quectel directly. I only have A13, A15 and , A18.

Is there a certain place and a certain way to ask for this?
Already sent message to support found on their website.
Got a goofy message from someone in china asking me allot of odd questions like I am some kind of company or something.

Post by **Viper67857** » Mon Jul 27, 2020 9:27 am

I got that same message when I first registered on there, and just ignored it. When I asked about firmware updates, another person got back with me pretty quickly with the a19beta and the software to load it.. She also said they'd send me the release version once it's complete. Support seems pretty decent considering it's a PRC company.

Post by **gscheb** » Mon Jul 27, 2020 9:39 am

Viper67857 wrote: Mon Jul 27, 2020 9:27 am I got that same message when I first registered on there, and just ignored it. When I asked about firmware updates, another person got back with me pretty quickly with the a19beta and the software to load it.. She also said they'd send me the release version once it's complete. Support seems pretty decent considering it's a PRC company.

Register?
Sent message at this location here.
https://www.quectel.com/support/technical.htm
Is this the right thing to do?

Post by **Viper67857** » Mon Jul 27, 2020 10:26 am

gscheb wrote: Mon Jul 27, 2020 9:39 am Register?
Sent message at this location here.
https://www.quectel.com/support/technical.htm
Is this the right thing to do?

Yeah, that's where I asked about the firmware updates, but before that I registered here: https://www.quectel.com/member/register ... l=/member/

Post by **Viper67857** » Mon Jul 27, 2020 2:33 pm

On another note, on A17, though my CA stays working even after a week without reboots, I can't seem to get any intraband CA working at all. I thought it was just my tower, but my phone seems to do band 2 + 2 just fine. If I lock the modem to band 2, then there's no CA at all. Opening all bands it always goes to 2 + 12 + 30, with only 10mhz channel on 12 and 5mhz on 30. The speeds are only slightly better than a single b2 connection.

The neighborcell report shows there are 4 b2 channels I can receive, 2 at -87-89 db, 1 at -96db, and the other not so good... The modem specs allow for 2 + 2 + 2 CA. Anyone have any luck getting 2 + 2 + 2 on an em-12g? And if so, what firmware version?

Post by **gscheb** » Tue Jul 28, 2020 9:10 am

Didneywhorl wrote: Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:14 am Youll have to ask Quectel directly. I only have A13, A15 and , A18.

Hello Again,
Asked for the A16 version from them and this is what they sent. Looks like an A20 version. Haven't seen anyone mention this one. Think I should try it?

A20 Version.PNG

Post by **Viper67857** » Tue Jul 28, 2020 9:40 am

Well didney has a15 for you to revert back with if goldenorb doesn't like a20.. I'd go for it if it were me. Also, could you paste that link? I don't want to try typing it from the picture

Post by **gscheb** » Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:11 am

Viper67857 wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2020 9:40 am Well didney has a15 for you to revert back with if goldenorb doesn't like a20.. I'd go for it if it were me. Also, could you paste that link? I don't want to try typing it from the picture

FW link will be expired in on week.

EM12GPAR01A20M4G:
https://cnquectel-my.sharepoint.com/:u: ... g?e=plpjUF

QFlash_V4.18 for upgrading:
https://cnquectel-my.sharepoint.com/:f: ... g?e=fDVS2L

USB driver:
https://cnquectel-my.sharepoint.com/:u: ... g?e=vVf7sn

Post by **Viper67857** » Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:38 am

Awesome... I may give it a shot myself if I find time to pull my modem out of the wg1608.. That isn't a fun job with the length of those pigtails

Post by **Yipzy** » Tue Jul 28, 2020 12:59 pm

Viper67857 wrote: Mon Jul 27, 2020 2:33 pm On another note, on A17, though my CA stays working even after a week without reboots, I can't seem to get any intraband CA working at all. I thought it was just my tower, but my phone seems to do band 2 + 2 just fine. If I lock the modem to band 2, then there's no CA at all. Opening all bands it always goes to 2 + 12 + 30, with only 10mhz channel on 12 and 5mhz on 30. The speeds are only slightly better than a single b2 connection.

The neighborcell report shows there are 4 b2 channels I can receive, 2 at -87-89 db, 1 at -96db, and the other not so good... The modem specs allow for 2 + 2 + 2 CA. Anyone have any luck getting 2 + 2 + 2 on an em-12g? And if so, what firmware version?

Try A18 (what I have) or latest A20 and see if 2 + 2 CA works. It works for me but the bands have to be on the same PCI if your tower has them, B2(5Mhz) + B2(10Mhz) for me. 2 + 2 + 2 CA is not supported according to its config file. This modem is wonky and CA doesn't always work right. I keep losing B14 and sometimes it comes back and CA with B2+B66 but it's not consistent like my EM20-G. Will have to keep waiting for them to fix it properly seeing there are many revisions to the firmware.

CA Combos

Code: Select all

1A2A-3A2 4 
1A2-3A2A 4 
1A2A-5A2 4 
1A2-5A2A 4 
1A2A-18A2 4 
1A2-18A2A 4 
1A2A-19A2 4 
1A2-19A2A 4 
1A2A-20A2 4 
1A2-20A2A 4 
1A2A-26A2 4 
1A2-26A2A 4 
1C2C 4*
2C2C 4*
2A2A-2A2 4 
2A2A-4A2 4 
2A2-4A2A 4 
2A2A-5A2 4 
2A2-5A2A 4 
2A2A-12A2 4 
2A2-12A2A 4 
2A2A-13A2 4 
2A2-13A2A 4 
2A2A-17A2 4 
2A2-17A2A 4 
2A2A-29A2 4 
2A2A-30A2 4 
2A2-30A2A 4 
2A2A-66A2 4 
2A2-66A2A 4 
3C2C 4*
3A2A-3A2 4 
3A2A-5A2 4 
3A2-5A2A 4 
3A2A-7A2 4 
3A2-7A2A 4 
3A2A-8A2 4 
3A2-8A2A 4 
3A2A-19A2 4 
3A2-19A2A 4 
3A2A-20A2 4 
3A2-20A2A 4 
4C2C 4*
4A2A-4A2 4 
4A2A-5A2 4 
4A2-5A2A 4 
4A2A-12A2 4 
4A2-12A2A 4 
4A2A-13A2 4 
4A2-13A2A 4 
4A2A-17A2 4 
4A2-17A2A 4 
4A2A-29A2 4 
4A2A-30A2 4 
4A2-30A2A 4 
5A2A-7A2 4 
5A2-7A2A 4 
5A2A-30A2 4 
5A2-30A2A 4 
5A2A-66A2 4 
5A2-66A2A 4 
7C2C 4*
7A2A-7A2 4 
7A2A-20A2 4 
7A2-20A2A 4 
7A2A-28A2 4 
7A2-28A2A 4 
12A2A-30A2 4 
12A2-30A2A 4 
13A2A-66A2 4 
13A2-66A2A 4 
19A2A-21A2 4 
19A2-21A2A 4 
20A2A-32A2 4 
29A2-30A2A 4 
38C2C 4*
39C2A 4 
39A2A-39A2 4 
39A2A-41A2 4 
39A2-41A2A 4 
40C2C 4*
40A2A-40A2 4 
41C2C 4*
41A2A-41A2 4 
66C2A 4 
66A2A-66A2 4 
66A2A-12A2 4 
66A2-12A2A 4 
66A2A-29A2 4 
66A2A-30A2 4 
66A2-30A2A 4 
66A2A-5A2 4 
66A2-5A2A 4 
2A2A-14A2 4 
2A2-14A2A 4 
14A2A-30A2 4 
14A2-30A2A 4 
14A2A-66A2 4 
14A2-66A2A 4 
1A2A-3A2-7A2 6 
1A2-3A2A-7A2 6 
1A2-3A2-7A2A 6 
1A2A-3A2-19A2 6 
1A2-3A2A-19A2 6 
1A2-3A2-19A2A 6 
1A2A-3A2-20A2 6 
1A2-3A2A-20A2 6 
1A2-3A2-20A2A 6 
1A2A-3A2-5A2 6 
1A2-3A2A-5A2 6 
1A2-3A2-5A2A 6 
1A2A-3A2-8A2 6 
1A2-3A2A-8A2 6 
1A2-3A2-8A2A 6 
1A2A-3A2-28A2 6 
1A2-3A2A-28A2 6 
1A2-3A2-28A2A 6 
1A2A-7A2-20A2 6 
1A2-7A2A-20A2 6 
1A2-7A2-20A2A 6 
2A2A-4A2-5A2 6 
2A2-4A2A-5A2 6 
2A2-4A2-5A2A 6 
2A2A-4A2-13A2 6 
2A2-4A2A-13A2 6 
2A2-4A2-13A2A 6 
2A2A-5A2-30A2 6 
2A2-5A2A-30A2 6 
2A2-5A2-30A2A 6 
2A2A-12A2-30A2 6 
2A2-12A2A-30A2 6 
2A2-12A2-30A2A 6 
2A2A-29A2-30A2 6 
2A2-29A2-30A2A 6 
3A2A-7A2-20A2 6 
3A2-7A2A-20A2 6 
3A2-7A2-20A2A 6 
3A2A-7A2-28A2 6 
3A2-7A2A-28A2 6 
3A2-7A2-28A2A 6 
3A2A-7A2-8A2 6 
3A2-7A2A-8A2 6 
3A2-7A2-8A2A 6 
4A2A-5A2-30A2 6 
4A2-5A2A-30A2 6 
4A2-5A2-30A2A 6 
4A2A-12A2-30A2 6 
4A2-12A2A-30A2 6 
4A2-12A2-30A2A 6 
4A2A-29A2-30A2 6 
4A2-29A2-30A2A 6 
5A2A-66A2-2A2 6 
5A2-66A2A-2A2 6 
5A2-66A2-2A2A 6 
13A2A-66A2-2A2 6 
13A2-66A2A-2A2 6 
13A2-66A2-2A2A 6 
66A2A-12A2-30A2 6 
66A2-12A2A-30A2 6 
66A2-12A2-30A2A 6 
66A2A-29A2-30A2 6 
66A2-29A2-30A2A 6 
66A2A-5A2-30A2 6 
66A2-5A2A-30A2 6 
66A2-5A2-30A2A 6 
2A2A-14A2-66A2 6 
2A2-14A2A-66A2 6 
2A2-14A2-66A2A 6 
2C2A-5A2 6 
2C2-5A2A 6 
2C2A-13A2 6 
2C2-13A2A 6 
3C2C-7A2 6*
3C2-7A2A 6 
3A2A-7C2 6 
3A2-7C2C 6*
3C2A-20A2 6 
3C2-20A2A 6 
3C2A-28A2 6 
3C2-28A2A 6 
3C2C-1A2 6*
3C2-1A2A 6 
4C2A-5A2 6 
4C2-5A2A 6 
4C2A-13A2 6 
4C2-13A2A 6 
7C2C-28A2 6*
7C2-28A2A 6 
5A2A-66C2 6 
5A2-66C2A 6 
13A2A-66C2 6 
13A2-66C2A 6 
66C2A-2A2 6 
66C2-2A2A 6 
39C2A-41A2 6 
39C2-41A2A 6 
39A2A-41C2 6 
39A2-41C2C 6*
14A2A-66C2 6 
14A2-66C2A 6 
40D2A 6 
41D2A 6 
66D2A 6 
40C2A-40A2 6 
41C2A-41A2 6 
66C2A-66A2 6 
5A2A-25A2 4 
5A2-25A2A 4 
12A2A-25A2 4 
12A2-25A2A 4 
25C2A 4 
25A2A-25A2 4 
25A2A-26A2 4 
25A2-26A2A 4 
25A2A-41A2 4 
25A2-41A2A 4 
25C2A-26A2 6 
25C2-26A2A 6 
25A2A-41C2 6 
25A2-41C2A 6 
25A2A-25A2-26A2 6 
25A2-25A2-26A2A 6 

Number of combos: 222
Max streams per combo: 6

Post by **Didneywhorl** » Tue Jul 28, 2020 2:28 pm

Thanks for the new firmware

Issue is some firmwares are approved for carriers as others are not.

Post by **Didneywhorl** » Tue Jul 28, 2020 2:29 pm

Viper, your running an EM12 in your WG1608? Or an em20?

Post by **Viper67857** » Tue Jul 28, 2020 4:10 pm

It's an em-12 for now... I know the 1608 is overkill for the modem, but I wanted the internal m.2 slot for future proofing...

Post by **Viper67857** » Tue Jul 28, 2020 4:39 pm

@Yipzy you're right... Idk where I saw that 2+2+2 spec, but everything I'm finding now only shows 2+2+5 or 2+2+13... My tower doesn't even seem to have 5 or 13 so I guess 2+12+30 is the best I'm gonna do... Thanks for saving me the headache of tinkering with firmware updates...

Post by **gscheb** » Tue Jul 28, 2020 8:44 pm

Hello,
Trying to do this firmware update and never done it before and having issues.
Issues on the step with the Huawei Modem Terminal.
The terminal I have copied it from the link in the "QUECTEL EM20-G: DOWNGRADING FIRMWARE" instructions.
Get some errors when opening and it is blank shown below.

Empty Modem Terminal.PNG

Modem Error.PNG

Update on this. Was able to get it done by using my sons computer. My computer is older and has USB2 ports. Could that be an issue?

Post by **gscheb** » Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:31 pm

Now got EM12 installed back in WG3526 and tested it and it worked.. Now doing CA bands 2 & 12 on T-mobile with the new version A20 firmware.

Post by **Viper67857** » Wed Jul 29, 2020 3:50 am

Great news... Maybe your success can be shared by the others having CA problems with these modems.

Post by **bkcberry** » Thu Jul 30, 2020 3:48 pm

Didneywhorl wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2020 2:28 pm Thanks for the new firmware

Issue is some firmwares are approved for carriers as others are not.

I've heard that a16 is approved for verizon, do you know if there are any others that are as well? I can't find anyone that has a copy

Post by **BillA** » Thu Jul 30, 2020 4:59 pm

gscheb wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2020 8:44 pm Hello,
Trying to do this firmware update and never done it before and having issues.
Issues on the step with the Huawei Modem Terminal.
The terminal I have copied it from the link in the "QUECTEL EM20-G: DOWNGRADING FIRMWARE" instructions.
Get some errors when opening and it is blank shown below.Empty Modem Terminal.PNG
Modem Error.PNG

Try to update the .Net framework. Sometimes the latest version may not work, so you could try installing previous versions one at a time.
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework
If that didn't help, try selecting a different modem port, or there could be some driver issue.

Post by **prideauxx** » Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:18 pm

gscheb wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:31 pm Now got EM12 installed back in WG3526 and tested it and it worked.. Now doing CA bands 2 & 12 on T-mobile with the new version A20 firmware.

I'm having similar CA issues with a EM12-G running firmware reported as 'EM12GPAR01A18M4G' (TMobile). Thankfully I was able to download the shared files for version A20 before they expired. Any recommendations for the USB to M2 enclosure I need to purchase, or are they pretty much standard?

Thanks,

Justin

Post by **gscheb** » Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:32 pm

prideauxx wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:18 pm I'm having similar CA issues with a EM12-G running firmware reported as 'EM12GPAR01A18M4G' (TMobile). Thankfully I was able to download the shared files for version A20 before they expired. Any recommendations for the USB to M2 enclosure I need to purchase, or are they pretty much standard?
Thanks,
Justin

I bought the adapter inside the modem from the Facebook store. Didn't want another thing outside the router to deal with.
Eventually mine will be in the attic again.

Post by **prideauxx** » Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:40 pm

gscheb wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:32 pm I bought the adapter inside the modem from the Facebook store. Didn't want another thing outside the router to deal with.
Eventually mine will be in the attic again.

The facebook store would be my first choice as well. They are offline for the immediate future however, so no joy there. Looking into M2 to USB SDD enclosures; current assumption is it may work as the data interface is likely the same, but not sure. Doing more research. What was the brand name/model ID of what you purchased from the facebook store, if you don't mind me asking?

Post by **prideauxx** » Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:52 pm

With the intention of using it only to upgrade the firmware on the EM12-G, I recently purchased this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PD ... 90J1GP6HGX

I'll report back with results when it arrives.

Post by **gscheb** » Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:56 pm

prideauxx wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:40 pm The facebook store would be my first choice as well. They are offline for the immediate future however, so no joy there. Looking into M2 to USB SDD enclosures; current assumption is it may work as the data interface is likely the same, but not sure. Doing more research. What was the brand name/model ID of what you purchased from the facebook store, if you don't mind me asking?

No name or anything on the adapter. This is what it looks like installed in an WG3526.

IMG_20200714_201942832.jpg

And for the record that picture is of it installed wrong. Those white posts shouldn't be there should just see screw heads there.

Post by **Didneywhorl** » Wed Aug 05, 2020 1:09 am

bkcberry wrote: Thu Jul 30, 2020 3:48 pm I've heard that a16 is approved for verizon, do you know if there are any others that are as well? I can't find anyone that has a copy

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rqEQBh ... sp=sharing

Post by **bkcberry** » Wed Aug 05, 2020 11:45 am

Didneywhorl wrote: Wed Aug 05, 2020 1:09 am https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rqEQBh ... sp=sharing

Thank you, I uploaded that file

Unfortunately it still wouldn't connect to verizon

Post by **Didneywhorl** » Fri Aug 07, 2020 12:13 am

bkcberry wrote: Wed Aug 05, 2020 11:45 am Thank you, I uploaded that file

Unfortunately it still wouldn't connect to verizon

According to Quectel, that is the only "Certified" Verizon version of firmware for the EM12G.

Post by **Yipzy** » Fri Aug 07, 2020 2:10 am

bkcberry wrote: Wed Aug 05, 2020 11:45 am Thank you, I uploaded that file

Unfortunately it still wouldn't connect to verizon

Have you tried this method I posted? https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?f=19 ... 593#p10327

Post by **prideauxx** » Fri Aug 07, 2020 3:12 pm

Does anyone have the A20 firmware available for the EM12-G? I thought I had downloaded it when the link was still valid, but the download is corrupt. Very. Stuck. Thank you for your time and the trouble, if you can help.

Post by **Yipzy** » Fri Aug 07, 2020 4:53 pm

EM12GPAR01A20M4G_01.001.01.001.zip

Post by **jolly** » Fri Jan 01, 2021 3:29 pm

Is this still an issue for everyone using an EM-12G with AT&T? I’ve recently tried with software release 21 and I’m still experiencing the same issue with CA dropping out and not coming back. Any modems or release that CA works correctly on AT&T?

Post by **Didneywhorl** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 7:26 pm

Its not you its them. Ill bet your CA works within the first few minutes of reboot. Then after a bit, it stops working. If it doesnt work on a fresh boot, then you may not have CA available on your tower.

ATT is known to disable CA on any connection that has been active for more than a certain period of time. Cell phones dont notice generally because they are mobile and pass from tower to tower, but a router sitting in one location will get stuck and stop getting CA.

Post by **BitHaulers** » Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:09 pm

What we need is a method of reinitializing the LTE session with no packet loss.

Disabling and reenabling the interface takes too long.

If you have it set for B2/B66, and it flips the anchor bands between the two, it will reinitialize the session without any packet loss. I've seen it countless times. So it is possible.

The fastest I've been able to manually redo an LTE session is about 3 seconds.

I've seen this issue on other modems, so I think this is an AT&T problem, not a Quectel problem.

I've seen Verizon turn off CA based on provisioning, but only once. I haven't been able to look into that more.

Post by **Didneywhorl** » Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:18 am

ATT also turns off CA, but typically after a set timeframe. You can test it. They are lowkey about it, but it does happen.

Post by **BitHaulers** » Sun Apr 11, 2021 8:32 pm

That's what I'm talking about. They turn it off, but the trigger to turn it back on is just to reinitialize the LTE session. If you could do that without dropping packets, it'd prevent the CA from ever going off (with proper scripting).

Post by **Didneywhorl** » Tue Apr 13, 2021 1:59 pm

I've seen some talk of doing this. Something akin to forcing it to re-anchor bands from one to another.

Post by **am888** » Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:49 am

gscheb wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2020 9:10 am Hello Again,
Asked for the A16 version from them and this is what they sent. Looks like an A20 version. Haven't seen anyone mention this one. Think I should try it?
A20 Version.PNG

Hi Gscheb,
Do you mind reposting these links again? I need to update my em12-g.

Thanks!

Post by **gscheb** » Wed Jul 07, 2021 11:43 pm

Those links where from Quectel. Can't just post them again.

QFlash_V4.18.zip

Post by **websiteperson** » Sat Jul 10, 2021 2:24 am

I'm not sure if I'm experiencing the same issue or not, but after lots of speed tests & single/multi band locking, it seems when CA shows as active, the speeds do not increase versus that of a single band.

Example tests @ 2-3am:
B2: 27mbps
B14: 45mbps
B66: 37mbps (picks up 2 cells, 10mhz+5mhz)

If I lock any of these together, it will not go over ~45mbps. I've tried 2+14+66, 2+14, 14+66, 2+66.

Hypothetically, I should be able to do B14+B66 & get up to ~82mbps, right? Or B2+B14+B66 and get similar speed?

Post by **Didneywhorl** » Sun Jul 11, 2021 5:15 pm

Potentially, yes, but if the tower manages your connection, then no. You might see the speed test spike up higher then come immediately back down, this is usually management at the tower.

I have personally gotten over 300Mbps on the EM12G with all normal settings, basically stock, nothing special. It is capable, but the tower has to give it to you.

Spreading the same speed out over multiple bands relieves inter/intra-band congestion.