Best CAT6+ modem for T-Mobile bands 4*, 12, 66 (and maybe 71)?

[viviandarkbloom]

Hi all, I've been a T-Mobile Home Internet subscriber for about 6 months, and it's great. I've been happily downloading ~400GB/mo. However the included router is a bit limiting (forced NAT) and I'm only getting 2/5 bars according to the admin panel. I've read several posts from people who have swapped their T-Mo Home Internet SIMs into their own modems with no issue, so I'm looking to build my own with external antenna support.

What's the best CAT6 or faster modem card with bands 4, 12, and 66? We don't have 71 in my area yet but hopefully will soon, so band 71 support would be a bonus. So far, the Quectel EM-12G and EM-06A look like good fits. Would appreciate any input.

[gscheb]

The Quectel EP06 can be cheaper than EM06.
Can look at this post here
https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=278
And in my opinion Band 71 isn't very fast at all from what I have seen.
Sure you don't have band 2?

[viviandarkbloom]

Thanks for the reply, I'll check out that post. Yes, according to cellmapper my tower only has bands 4*, 12, and 66.

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[Didneywhorl]

Just make sure you get the A version of the Quectel, the E version has none of those bands.

[BillA]

Thanks for the reply, I'll check out that post. Yes, according to cellmapper my tower only has bands 4*, 12, and 66.

Screen Shot 2020-03-11 at 4.06.22 PM.png

You really can't trust any of those online "cell mappers". I've seen in many locations where the online map showed only bands 2 and 4 available, yet in a real world test when I forced the modem to band 66 and 71, they were both available and perfectly usable. In fact, it doesn't hurt to test ALL available bands (supported by the modem's hardware, not just by the carrier's band list), by locking the modem to each band one by one and testing the connection. Keep in mind that most online cell maps are usually "crowd sourced", meaning they rely on regular cellphone users to collect data, which is not always the most accurate, coupled with the dynamic nature of the mobile network (towers/bands can be switched on/off at any time of the day). While they can give you a general idea about nearby towers, there's nothing more accurate than actually trying it each band individually yourself.