PSA: AT&T Doing away with $35 iPad Unlimited.

Post by **thejohnfist** » Thu Feb 20, 2020 3:10 pm

Lots of people seem to no longer have the option to renew the plan. CSRs are saying it's gone. People on auto-renew seem to be okay for now, but we'll see how it goes (I'm on it.).

Anyone have a decent unlimited alternative to suggest that's on any network other than Tmo?

Post by **BillA** » Thu Feb 20, 2020 5:10 pm

.
.
Here's a list of currently available unlimited prepaid plans for mobile routers

1. ATT

ATT iPad/tablet plan $35/mo, 30Mbps speeds, 40ms latency, deprioritized after 30GB, has been discontinued.
ATT unlimited prepaid $65/$75/mo, 30Mbps speeds, 40ms latency, deprioritized after 30GB
ATT based Cricket $65/mo, 8Mbps speeds, 40ms latency, deprioritized after 30GB
ATT based H2O $60/mo, 8Mbps speeds, 40ms latency, deprioritized after 30GB

Note: Must be used in a router with the TTL set to 65 such as the WE826, WG3526, or any OpenWRT flashable router like an Asus or Netgear, it will not work in others like the Netgear M1 Nighthawk, LB112x modem, etc.
According to reports, the ATT iPad/tablet, and $65/$75 prepaid plans are not working in mobile routers due to ATT blocking modems by their IMEI. As a workaround, you could put the sim card into an Android or iPhone (maybe an iPad), and tether it to the router via USB cable. You see, when carriers give you lemons, you gotta make lemonade!;) Here's a step by step guide on how to do it > https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=10303#p10303

2. Tmobile

Tmobile unlimited prepaid $60/mo, 100Mbps speeds, 30ms latency, deprioritized after 50GB
Tmobile based MetroPCS $50/mo, 100Mbps speeds, 30ms latency, deprioritized during congestion
Tmobile based SimpleMobile $50/mo, 100Mbps speeds, 30ms latency, deprioritized during congestion

Note: Must be used in a router with the TTL set to 64 or 65 such as the WE826, WG3526, or any OpenWRT flashable router like an Asus or Netgear, it will not work in others like the Netgear M1 Nighthawk, LB112x modem, etc. MetroPCS requires registration of the modem's IMEI/SIM by calling their customer service which may or may not work. None of the other carriers require IMEI registration.

3. Verizon

Verizon unlimited prepaid $70/mo, 50Mbps speeds, 40ms latency, deprioritized during congestion
Verizon based Visible $40/mo, 10Mbps speeds, 150+ms latency, deprioritized during congestion
Verizon based PagePlus $55/mo, 50Mbps speeds, 40ms latency, deprioritized during congestion

Note: Must be used in a router with the TTL set to 100/117 such as the WE826, WG3526, or any OpenWRT flashable router like an Asus or Netgear, it will not work in others like the Netgear M1 Nighthawk, LB112x modem, etc. There seems to be a 200GB high speed data limit per month (slow speeds thereafter) on PagePlus and every other reseller, imposed on them by Verizon. To get the high speed data back immediately, the monthly billing cycle can be restarted early.

4. Sprint

Sprint doesn't offer any prepaid plans themselves, but you should be able to use one of their unlimited postpaid plans. Boost Mobile does have a Sprint based unlimited prepaid service with some coverage and speed restrictions. Tmobile has announced that the takeover of Sprint should be completed by April 2020. The actual integration of Sprint's towers and spectrum will likely be completed during the course of a year, which should provide both company's customers improved coverage and speeds.

5. Other
Walmart has their own StraightTalk service at $45/mo using various carriers, but they add on a bunch of taxes and fees, and throttle pretty aggressively to the point of being almost unusable. As they say "You get what you pay for."
Then there are a bunch of other smaller prepaid providers, but they are all just reselling the major carrier's services at higher prices.

*** Please note, all mobile carriers may change their terms of service at any time, disallowing modem/router use on their network without a prior notice or refund. ***

Note#1
The above speeds/latencies are real world experiences using a Quectel EP06-A CAT-6 modem, with good signal, and no congestion or deprioritization. Your results may vary depending on the equipment used, location, and time of day.

Note#2
Most prepaid services offer an auto-pay discount, but they also add on a bunch of taxes and 911/FCC fees, so your final cost will end up to be around the regular listed prices. Nowadays using credit cards online is risky, with companies getting hacked every day. You can usually find a local dealer on the carrier's website, therefore it's recommended to pay locally if possible, they usually offer a cash discount along with complete anonymity.

Note#3
You can purchase a PagePlus (red packet) or SimpleMobile (green packet) activation sim kit at your local BestBuy, Target, Walmart, DollarGeneral, Sam's Club, Kroger/KingSoopers, or online from Amazon or Ebay. If you don't have a compatible phone with a clean imei for activation/testing, I can help you activate it remotely, disable video throttling, make the necessary test calls and data testing.
As of Aug. 1st 2020, PagePlus/Verizon and SimpleMobile/Tmobile seem to be blocking non-Sierra modems pretty aggressively. Currently there's a solution for Quectel and Simcom modems only, uniquely customized to each router using multiple parameters at the time of a new activation (not for existing lines). If anyone needs some help, click on the contact icon/bubble below my profile pic.

Here's all the hardware you need to get started with a mobile router.
If The Wireless Haven is out of stock, try https://www.facebook.com/netsolution.shop/

Mobile router/modem
https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=6272#p6272

Antennas
At first you can try your service with the "stubby" antennas which comes with the router, and if you'd like to improve your signal/speed, you may want to get a pair of high gain external antennas.
https://thewirelesshaven.com/product-category/antennas/

And finally, to make it all work together, you need to flash the router with OpenWRT firmware.
https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=6007#p6007

Post by **swwifty** » Thu Feb 20, 2020 5:39 pm

oh man i hope this doesn't happen for real. I have a bunch of customers on this, and they are gonna be pissssed, if it gets canceled on them.

Post by **swwifty** » Thu Feb 20, 2020 6:05 pm

ughh it is gone for new accounts, great.

Post by **BillA** » Thu Feb 20, 2020 7:59 pm

swwifty wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2020 5:39 pm oh man i hope this doesn't happen for real. I have a bunch of customers on this, and they are gonna be pissssed, if it gets canceled on them.

Being a short-term/prepaid service even if it's auto-paid, the carrier is under no contractual obligation to honor the initial signup price, and the TOS states that they may cancel at any time without a prior notice. Unfortunately that's just the way it is, and as the saying goes "All good things must come to an end."

Post by **swwifty** » Thu Feb 20, 2020 8:16 pm

BillA wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2020 7:59 pm Being a short-term/prepaid service even if it's auto-paid, the carrier is under no contractual obligation to honor the initial signup price of the service, and the TOS states that they may cancel at any time without a prior notice.
Unfortunately that's just the way it is, and as the saying goes "All good things must come to an end."

yeah, must be good being a bully as a carrier.

Post by **BillA** » Thu Feb 20, 2020 8:19 pm

swwifty wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2020 8:16 pm yeah, must be good being a bully as a carrier.

I have updated the initial post with some alternatives.
https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=5790#p5790

Post by **gscheb** » Thu Feb 20, 2020 8:45 pm

Hello
My parents be & my sister are on on this and have been very happy with it. It is a AT&T unlimited hotspot data reseller. It cost a $30 activation fee then $55 per month after that. There is no streaming data caps with it either. What you are able to connect to you get.
Believe you can't game with it because they now offer something else that is higher for gaming.

If you use this link I get small commission from it. Don't cost you anymore. All customers can share the service for commission. So you could do it as well once you have service.
Hope it works for you.

https://traveldata.page?affiliate=43

Post by **gscheb** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 6:00 am

According to this video existing $35 ipad customers will be grandfathered in but only if you are not using it in a hotspot device. Using as it was intended to be used as terms and conditions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqiRXx10YQo

Post by **thejohnfist** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 7:49 am

I'm using the auto-pay plan currently, we'll see if AT&T kicks me or not. Avg about 150-200GB a month. I don't think that's absurd but it is probably pretty high for a mobile use.

Thanks for the link gscheb, if I get dumped I'll likely be contacting your linked company.

Post by **Factor** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 9:36 am

BillA wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2020 5:10 pm Supposedly ATT will be coming out with new data plans, but my feeling is that it will be tiered by gigs and/or speed, and won't be cheap. There really aren't too many cheap and completely unlimited plans out there, and the ones from the main carriers are the most expensive.

Here's a rundown of currently available unlimited prepaid plans.

ATT's own unlimited prepaid $65/mo, 30 Mbps speeds, 50ms latency, deprioritized after 30GB
ATT based Cricket $60/mo, 30 Mbps speeds, 50ms latency, deprioritized after 30GB
ATT based H2O $60/mo, 8Mbps speeds, 50ms latency, slowed down after 30GB to 128Kbps

Tmobile's own unlimited prepaid $60/mo, 100Mbps speeds, 40ms latency, deprioritized after 50GB
Tmobile based MetroPCS $50/mo, 100Mbps speeds, 40ms latency, deprioritized during congestion
Tmobile based SimpleMobile $50/mo, 100Mbps speeds, 40ms latency, deprioritized during congestion

Verizon's own unlimited prepaid $70/mo, 40Mbps speeds, 50ms latency, deprioritized during congestion
Verizon based PagePlus $55/mo, 40Mbps speeds, 50ms latency, deprioritized during congestion
Verizon based Visible $40/mo, 5-10Mbps speeds, 100+ms latency, deprioritized during congestion

Note: The above speeds/latencies are real world experiences using a CAT-6 modem, with good signal, and no congestion or deprioritization. Your results may vary depending on the equipment used, location and time of day.

Where are these plans? When I look on the noted companies website I don’t see these plans.

Post by **BillA** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:05 am

gscheb wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2020 8:45 pm Hello
My parents be & my sister are on on this and have been very happy with it. It is a AT&T unlimited hotspot data reseller. It cost a $20 activation fee then $55 per month after that. There is no streaming data caps with it either. What you are able to connect to you get.

https://traveldata.page?affiliate=43

After looking at that website, I got the feeling that TravelData is either reselling the old and soon to be discontinued ATT $35 iPad/tablet plan, or the regular prepaid plan $65/$45 on auto-pay.
Either way, by charging customers $55/mo they are making a nice profit, and let's just hope that they are using the regular $65/45 prepaid plan which probably won't be nixed anytime soon.
Course I could be wrong, but I'm always right even when I'm wrong. jk! lol

Post by **gscheb** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:40 am

The plan was $49 per month and just changed to $55 after the Ipad plan went away. It is hard to tell if some one is scamming on these things or not. They could be legitimately getting data from AT$T. If they are not legit they will be out of business soon for sure.

Post by **BillA** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 11:39 am

gscheb wrote: Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:40 am The plan was $49 per month and just changed to $55 after the Ipad plan went away. It is hard to tell if some one is scamming on these things or not. They could be legitimately getting data from AT$T. If they are not legit they will be out of business soon for sure.

There are really no other data plans available from ATT, as I've mentioned earlier most likely using one of those two plans, unless they have signed up on a corporate account (though I doubt it). Even if the ipad/tablet plan goes away, they could still stay in biz as long as they manage to auto-pay the $65 plan, basically costing them just $45 and reselling it for $55. It's called arbitrage, as scummy as it may seem, it's completely legal.

Post by **gscheb** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 11:45 am

This plan does work though without any TTL settings. It is a unlimited hotspot plan no calling included. Can runt it even in a portable hotspot device. Is that what this auto-pay the $65 plan, costing them only $45 is as well? Does this have unlimited hotspot?
If so where do I get it?

Post by **BillA** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 3:40 pm

gscheb wrote: Fri Feb 21, 2020 11:45 am This plan does work though without any TTL settings. It is a unlimited hotspot plan no calling included. Can runt it even in a portable hotspot device. Is that what this auto-pay the $65 plan, costing them only $45 is as well? Does this have unlimited hotspot?
If so where do I get it?

Well, I think you've just solved the riddle... the old $35 iPad/Tablet plan has no calling, only data and works without TTL, so they will likely have issues activating new accounts, unless they recycle some of their old accounts.
The regular $65/45 prepaid does have unlimited calling too and don't think it needs TTL settings either.
If you switch to the new $65 prepaid, on auto-pay it will only cost $45 which is not too far off from the old $35 iPad/tablet plan.

Post by **gscheb** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 5:36 pm

Time will tell if they are scamming or not. You are right if they don't take new customers they are scamming. Here is a different company. See what their site says.

Screenshot_20200221-183122.png

Post by **BillA** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 5:55 pm

gscheb wrote: Fri Feb 21, 2020 5:36 pm Time will tell if they are scamming or not. You are right if they don't take new customers they are scamming. Here is a different company. See what their site says.

Screenshot_20200221-183122.png

Like I said earlier "I'm always right even when I'm wrong!" lol jk
Been around the cellular block for over 20 years, and can tell when something is fishy.
While some may consider it a scam, what they are doing is perfectly legal.
They simply buy low and sell high, it's done at WalMart, on Wall Street, at pretty much any business, that is if they want to stay in business.

They could now resell the $65/$45 auto-pay plan, and still make a $10 profit at $55, course it's not as good as reselling the $35 plan.

Post by **gscheb** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 6:36 pm

So are saying that there is no actually resellers of Data that have legit relationship with the company? That actually buy the data from at&t and sell it? This is what net buddy said they did. Actually talked to them. Had my parents on it originally. Untill they raised the price.
That is when I went to this new company.

Post by **BillA** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 7:31 pm

gscheb wrote: Fri Feb 21, 2020 6:36 pm So are saying that there is no actually resellers of Data that have legit relationship with the company? That actually buy the data from at&t and sell it? This is what net buddy said they did. Actually talked to them. Had my parents on it originally. Untill they raised the price.
That is when I went to this new company.

It's possible that a larger company could sign up for a corporate account with ATT (requires certain monthly minimums and good credit), but more than likely they are simply reselling the iPad/tablet or the regular prepaid plan. Probably NetBuddy has raised the price since they could no longer sign up new $35 accounts and switched to the $65/45 plan.
They can "say" whatever they want to, the same way I can "say" that I'm Martian (even though I'm not), hope you get my drift.

Post by **gscheb** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 7:45 pm

Yes I do. And that why I say it is scamming. Cause I asked them. If that is what they are doing. And at&t do cancel all those they will be gone for sure.
Do you have any idea why at&t don't shut these places down? Like netbuddy was advertised all over you tube that is how I heard of them. If they are not "legit" allegedly why would they let it go? They have to know they exist.
I knew about the iPad plan. Just chose not to do it.

Post by **BillA** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 8:10 pm

gscheb wrote: Fri Feb 21, 2020 7:45 pm Yes I do. And that why I say it is scamming. Cause I asked them. If that is what they are doing. And at&t do cancel all those they will be gone for sure.
Do you have any idea why at&t don't shut these places down? Like netbuddy was advertised all over you tube that is how I heard of them. If they are not "legit" allegedly why would they let it go? They have to know they exist.
I knew about the iPad plan. Just chose not to do it.

Again, they aren't doing anything illegal or unlawful (maybe unethical, if that). Just like you can go to Walmart and buy an ATT sim card for $10 and resell it on Ebay for $15 or whatever price you choose. After all you have paid for it, and if someone is a dummy to buy it at a higher price without doing their own research, so be it. As far as ATT, they were more than happy to sign up all those customers, though I'm sure they weren't expecting the higher than normal data usage, which is probably one of the reasons why they are stopping this plan. No contract means that they are under no obligation to provide the service beyond the last prepaid month, and they also have the right to stop auto-pay at any time (and probably will). Life is temporary, so are prepaid plans.

Post by **gscheb** » Tue Feb 25, 2020 7:20 am

If is find for people to buy low and sell high. But when you are buying something and reselling it and breaking the terms and conditions from the person you bought it from that is the issue for me.
That is why I never had a Ipad plan trying not to break the terms and conditions. "do it the right way"
Reason why asking you all these questions was wanting to know if it was possible to get a legit one.

Post by **thejohnfist** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 8:10 am

Anyone have any experience with the $65/$45AP plan? Seems okay, but no HD Streaming? Not good there. I'm approaching my renewal date for the iPad plan and am hoping to have another option lined up just in case.

Post by **BillA** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 6:57 pm

thejohnfist wrote: Thu Feb 27, 2020 8:10 am Anyone have any experience with the $65/$45AP plan? Seems okay, but no HD Streaming? Not good there. I'm approaching my renewal date for the iPad plan and am hoping to have another option lined up just in case.

Check out this post for possible solutions to bypass video throttling.
https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=5971#p5971

Post by **gscheb** » Thu Mar 05, 2020 6:34 am

Hello
Seems netbuddy is taking customers again. And have a new option for service. Anyone understand what this is?

Screenshot_20200305-072957.png

Post by **Factor** » Thu Mar 05, 2020 8:21 am

gscheb wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2020 6:34 am Hello
Seems netbuddy is taking customers again. And have a new option for service. Anyone understand what this is?
Screenshot_20200305-072957.png

They are going to sell you a preexisting account. The entire username and all. Hoping you will buy it thinking ATT will grandfather you in. Essentially transfer in the account from owner A to owner B (you). What you would need to find out is do ATT TOS allow a transfer. If not they will have the right to cut owner b off... Its done a lot in the Software License world as a way to recoup losses.

Post by **gscheb** » Thu Mar 05, 2020 10:48 am

Well hear they are shutting down people violating TOS. So if you buy one and put it in a hotspot device you are probably going to get shut down?

Post by **thejohnfist** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 12:43 pm

I'll be finding out in the next couple days if my internet is going to tank. Suppose we'll see. I think I'm around 150GB of usage currently.

Post by **thejohnfist** » Wed Mar 11, 2020 9:42 am

Well - the good news is that, at least for now, my auto-renew of the ipad plan is still working. Last month's usage was somewhere between 170-200GB. Vast majority of that is streaming TV content. If that matters.

Post by **rwilkerson** » Wed Mar 11, 2020 4:53 pm

Is there a trick to getting the AT&T $65 prepaid plan working from a WE826 with a Sierra modem? I ordered $65 plan ($45 with autoplay) from here https://www.att.com/prepaid/plans.html. Got the sim card working on a phone, but doesn't allow hotspot. and it doesn't connect when used in the router.

So is this not the plan mentioned earlier in the thread or maybe I activated it wrong.

Thanks,
Rick...

Post by **JimHelms** » Wed Mar 11, 2020 6:05 pm

What firmware are you using on the WE826, and with what modem?

Post by **kkruse** » Wed Mar 11, 2020 6:13 pm

I too am curious, I got the my we826-t2 in, flashed wifix on it and proceeded to set up. It seems to pick up broadband apn with the AT commands issued in the debug modem page, but it loops trying to connect.

I did flash AT&T firmware on it before installing it(sierra wireless 7455) as I tried to make this all work in a USB to Mini PCI-E from amazon but had to send it back since they had a very crummy build design. Short is usb plug arrived pre-bent for me on that so back to PRIME with that junk.

FIgured this would just drop in. Are we out of luck?

I'd be happy to open a new thread if need be with my details.

Post by **JimHelms** » Wed Mar 11, 2020 6:23 pm

The first task is to check each and everyone of these steps in the troubleshooting guide.

Also, and depending on modem, it is most times best to use the generic firmware.

Post by **BillA** » Wed Mar 11, 2020 11:54 pm

rwilkerson wrote: Wed Mar 11, 2020 4:53 pm Is there a trick to getting the AT&T $65 prepaid plan working from a WE826 with a Sierra modem? I ordered $65 plan ($45 with autoplay) from here https://www.att.com/prepaid/plans.html. Got the sim card working on a phone, but doesn't allow hotspot. and it doesn't connect when used in the router.

So is this not the plan mentioned earlier in the thread or maybe I activated it wrong.

Thanks,
Rick...

Try these...
First, make sure the ATT sim works in a phone by making both a call and going online on the phone's browser without WiFi turned on, visiting at least two different websites which you have never visited (to avoid prior caching).

Second, make sure the APN is set to "nxtgenphone" (without the quotes) both on the phone and router.
Unlike the ATT tablet plan which uses "broadband" as the APN, the $65 plan's APN should be set to "nxtgenphone".

Post by **rwilkerson** » Thu Mar 12, 2020 10:10 am

BillA wrote: Wed Mar 11, 2020 11:54 pm Try these...
First, make sure the ATT sim works in a phone by making both a call and going online on the phone's browser without WiFi turned on, visiting at least two different websites which you have never visited (to avoid prior caching).

Second, make sure the APN is set to "nxtgenphone" (without the quotes) both on the phone and router.
Unlike the ATT tablet plan which uses "broadband" as the APN, the $65 plan's APN should be set to "nxtgenphone".

SIM card works from phone and does have an APN of 'nxtgenphone'. Did several speed tests from the browser to verify I was communicating (with Wifi turned off)

Setup a connection profile in WiFix to set the APN to 'nxtgenphone'. After swapping cards and starting up the lights indicated that it was connected, but could never access the internet.

Wasn't exactly sure where to find the firmware versions, but this looked likely
ZBT-WE826 (16M) 4.14.131
P: Vendor=1199 ProdID=9071 Rev= 0.06
S: Manufacturer=Sierra Wireless, Incorporated
S: Product=Sierra Wireless MC7455 Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X7 LTE-A

I also have a Mofi 4500 SIM4 with up-to-date firmware from them with no joy after changing APN to 'nxtgenphone'

Thanks,
Rick...

Post by **JimHelms** » Thu Mar 12, 2020 3:42 pm

If you are using AT&T for data, the APN is most likely:

Code: Select all

broadband

You will need to do a power off/power on reboot after changing the APN in the connection profile.

Post by **rwilkerson** » Thu Mar 12, 2020 4:58 pm

JimHelms wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 3:42 pm If you are using AT&T for data, the APN is most likely:
Code: Select all
broadband
You will need to do a power off/power on reboot after changing the APN in the connection profile.

Unfortunately, I started with 'broadband' and that didn't work. Using 'nxtgenphone' was encouraging, because the connection light was On but couldn't browse anywhere.

Post by **BillA** » Thu Mar 12, 2020 6:14 pm

rwilkerson wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 10:10 am SIM card works from phone and does have an APN of 'nxtgenphone'. Did several speed tests from the browser to verify I was communicating (with Wifi turned off)

Setup a connection profile in WiFix to set the APN to 'nxtgenphone'. After swapping cards and starting up the lights indicated that it was connected, but could never access the internet.

Wasn't exactly sure where to find the firmware versions, but this looked likely
ZBT-WE826 (16M) 4.14.131
P: Vendor=1199 ProdID=9071 Rev= 0.06
S: Manufacturer=Sierra Wireless, Incorporated
S: Product=Sierra Wireless MC7455 Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X7 LTE-A

I also have a Mofi 4500 SIM4 with up-to-date firmware from them with no joy after changing APN to 'nxtgenphone'

Thanks,
Rick...

Looks like you're connected to the network with the "nxtgenphone" APN, but there's some packet filtering on the ATT server. Try these TTL settings in the router 64/65/66, make sure to click SAVE, then do a full restart by re-powering the router.
I would also try to go online using both a pc connected via an ethernet cable (yellow LAN port on the router), and a phone via WiFi during all three TTL changes.

Post by **kkruse** » Fri Mar 13, 2020 11:40 am

BillA wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 6:14 pm Looks like you're connected to the network with the "nxtgenphone" APN, but there's some packet filtering on the ATT server. Try these TTL settings in the router 64/65/66, make sure to click SAVE, then do a full restart by re-powering the router.
I would also try to go online using both a pc connected via an ethernet cable (yellow LAN port on the router), and a phone via WiFi during all three TTL changes.

For me at least, brand new at&t prepaid plan, its sim works in a crappy $40 at&t prepaid phone but not the mc7455. I tried every iteration of nxtgenphone or broadband for APN, another site suggest it may need to be upper cased (e.g. NXTGENPHONE).

Well I thought my issues were firmware related, I flashed ATT, since OP doesnt note what firmware he has in mC7455 I can only post mine. Mine is the latest rev from sierra for ATT. Maybe this helps, but I will reflash generic firmware on the mc7455 later.

Code: Select all

ati
Manufacturer: Sierra Wireless, Incorporated
Model: MC7455
Revision: SWI9X30C_02.20.03.22 r6827 CARMD-EV-FRMWR2 2016/10/11 16:03:14
MEID: scrubbed
IMEI: scrubbed
IMEI SV:  6
FSN: scrubbed
+GCAP: +CGSM,+DS,+ES


OK

Other than that not too sure what life is left in at&t prepaid on this endeavor but I will try the generic firmware next.

Would not mind comparing notes with OP tho if it helps but combing this forum for bits and pieces on this matter has not been too fruitful so far.

Post by **kkruse** » Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:41 pm

Hello,

OP you should try to reflash your mc7455 with the latest revision from sierra wireless marked generic.

From the https://source.sierrawireless.com/resou ... w-packages page, please download the firmware "SWI9X30C_02.33.03.00 002.072_000" for your respective OS.

After I think it would have reset ANY custom modem AT programming you may have done back to defaults, but set your APN to nxtgenphone. IT works for me, but I cannot PING google.

I hope this helps you. For flashing I ended up going to Windows 10, taking the modem OUT of the 826 and installing it temporarily onto this: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EMIOBD2

I had almost given up and this was my last ditch effort on this but as JimHelms stated previously to me in another post, sometimes GENERIC works better.

Post by **TheGuy** » Mon Mar 16, 2020 4:34 pm

So I activated the $75($55 with autopay) att prepaid plan last night on an old iPhone. All works well on it. Pulled the sim and popped it in my netgear lb1120 modem. Both APNs (NXTGENPHONE and Broadband) seem to connect fine but I get no traffic to or through the modem. I tried the “check for firmware update” on the modem itself and that failed. So, do I have the wrong plan all together or do I have another problem?

Post by **BillA** » Mon Mar 16, 2020 4:40 pm

TheGuy wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 4:34 pm So I activated the $75($55 with autopay) att prepaid plan last night on an old iPhone. All works well on it. Pulled the sim and popped it in my netgear lb1120 modem. Both APNs (NXTGENPHONE and Broadband) seem to connect fine but I get no traffic to or through the modem. I tried the “check for firmware update” on the modem itself and that failed. So, do I have the wrong plan all together or do I have another problem?

For testing purposes in order to eliminate the modem issue, remove the internal modem, then try tethering your phone to the router via a usb cable. On the phone go to Settings > Mobile/Wireless > Hotspot > Turn on USB tethering.
On the router go to settings and select the usb tether device as the internet source.
This will tell us, whether it's the modem/carrier or the router causing the no internet issue.
Report back your results.

Post by **TheGuy** » Mon Mar 16, 2020 5:33 pm

I have a MikroTik router behind the netgear modem but I’ll see if I can anything working via tethering the iPhone to the MikroTik. This is the same setup I was using without issue on the iPad plan.

Post by **Woolaroc** » Tue Mar 17, 2020 12:27 pm

I'm currently on the iPad plan with a Nighthawk M1. If/When I get booted will the $65 or $75 AT&T phone plan be viable with the M1? Also I use this for my total internet solution and my kids stream TV (Youtube TV, Prime, Netflix etc.) Is the $75 plan better since it doesn't have the HD streaming restriction or is that an easy work around?

Are there other plans out there I should consider that would work with the M1? Cost isn't a big limitation, but would like to stay under $100/month and have unlimited data. I never been throttled on the iPad plan as I'm rural and not many people on my towers.

Post by **BillA** » Tue Mar 17, 2020 10:56 pm

Woolaroc wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 12:27 pm I'm currently on the iPad plan with a Nighthawk M1. If/When I get booted will the $65 or $75 AT&T phone plan be viable with the M1? Also I use this for my total internet solution and my kids stream TV (Youtube TV, Prime, Netflix etc.) Is the $75 plan better since it doesn't have the HD streaming restriction or is that an easy work around?

Are there other plans out there I should consider that would work with the M1? Cost isn't a big limitation, but would like to stay under $100/month and have unlimited data. I never been throttled on the iPad plan as I'm rural and not many people on my towers.

From all the reports I've read so far, people are having an issue running the ATT $65/75 plan in a router. It works fine in a phone but it seems to be blocked in a router (likely due to modem blocking by ATT). Hoping someone can figure it out soon. As a workaround, you could put the sim into a phone and tether it to the router via a usb cable as a modem replacement (must disable or remove the internal modem first).

The difference between the two plans is the video resolution restriction on the $65 plan, which normally is not an issue watching it on a phone, but on a larger computer/laptop screen 480p doesn't look too pleasing, which you might be able to bypass it using a VPN or possibly even a simple proxy. Here's a list of prepaid services > https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=5790#p5790

Post by **gscheb** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 8:05 am

I have noticed allot of data resellers are switching from AT&T to T-Mobile. Does anyone have an idea of what T-Mobile plan they are reselling? Would need to be something that doesn't require TTL setting. Is there something comparable to that old AT&T ipad plan on T-Mobile?

Post by **thejohnfist** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 3:12 pm

BillA wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 10:56 pm From all the reports I've read so far, people are having an issue running the ATT $65/75 plan in a router. It works fine in a phone but it seems to be blocked in a router (likely due to modem blocking by ATT). Hoping someone can figure it out soon.

Is there any sort of way to rename a sierra modem hardware? I don't see how they can identify what's communicating other than text broadcast over. The IMEI they would see would be that of a phone device. Can providers see/request/compare IMEIs of devices against the original device set up with the SIM?

Post by **BillA** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 6:03 pm

thejohnfist wrote: Wed Mar 18, 2020 3:12 pm Is there any sort of way to rename a sierra modem hardware? I don't see how they can identify what's communicating other than text broadcast over. The IMEI they would see would be that of a phone device. Can providers see/request/compare IMEIs of devices against the original device set up with the SIM?

They can certainly block your router/modem based on various parameters, but changing imei is illegal in the US so I would highly recommend staying away from that. There are other carriers and methods to bypass it legally.

Post by **gscheb** » Fri Mar 20, 2020 12:52 pm

Well I said before time will tell if places are legit resellers with AT&T.
If you read this message seems they where more than likely selling the ipad plan.

Got this message today thru email.
https://traveldata.page/?na=v&nk=41-b981308a6f&id=3

Seems all these resellers are moving to T-Mobile and don't require any special TTL setting so what plan are they using thru T-Mobile? Does anyone know what they are doing?

Post by **BillA** » Sat Mar 21, 2020 10:43 am

gscheb wrote: Fri Mar 20, 2020 12:52 pm Well I said before time will tell if places are legit resellers with AT&T.
If you read this message seems they where more than likely selling the ipad plan.

Got this message today thru email.
https://traveldata.page/?na=v&nk=41-b981308a6f&id=3

Seems all these resellers are moving to T-Mobile and don't require any special TTL setting so what plan are they using thru T-Mobile? Does anyone know what they are doing?

Hey Gscheb, you may recall my post a while ago about all ATT resellers using the same old tablet/iPad plan. Of course they were all using the same, that's why they all went down at the same time, With a few exceptions which charged $90/mo, those were ATT corporate accounts reflected by the higher price.
Tmobile also offers corporate plans which requires a certain minimum number of lines (which is not an issue for resellers to maintain), at higher prices, no special TTL settings needed, but even those lines may be deprioritized during network congestion. By the way, the same unlimited Tmobile service can be had through SimpleMobile for only $50/month;).

Post by **gscheb** » Sat Mar 21, 2020 11:10 am

Yes I remember you saying that. Why I posted this to let you see what is going on with this vendor.
Think we are going to ride the wave out on this one. See how long it last.
The simple mobile requires TTL I believe.
Bad situation for someone who really needs AT&T. Seen this company that is very expensive still selling AT&T. Must be a corporate one like you mentioned.
https://bixwireless.com/service-packages/
Just Incase someone absolutely needs AT&T.
Haven't been doing this super long time this ordeal has changed my mind set on this stuff for sure.
Be nice if the companies would offer people something. Where I live litteraly don't have service available to us. Now with the virus schools closed and people need it.
When I started this really didn't want to break TOS do it the "right" way. Guess there isn't really any right way with this stuff.
Set my uncle and Aunt up with Verizon service when they had the prepay unlimited mifi jetpack plans. Which is good but it is depriortized allot at times.

Post by **AndrewHusband** » Sat Mar 21, 2020 9:14 pm

Hey BillA! I sent you a PM but it's showing in my outbox and not showing in the sent messages so I'm not sure if it sent or not. Lemme know if you get it

Post by **AndrewHusband** » Sun Mar 22, 2020 11:06 am

Now the PM is not showing in the sent or outbox. Wtf! Lol. Could you PM me so I have something to reply to? I need to get this simplemobile set up today.

Post by **BillA** » Mon Mar 23, 2020 2:54 pm

AndrewHusband wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2020 11:06 am Now the PM is not showing in the sent or outbox. Wtf! Lol. Could you PM me so I have something to reply to? I need to get this simplemobile set up today.

Resent the PM, check your inbox again.

Post by **afrey1982** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 6:15 am

I was on the AT&T ipad plan and setup simple mobile with ttl 65. Worked fine for a day then the 5gb hotspot data ran out and now nothing. Also tried ttl 64.

Post by **BillA** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:54 am

afrey1982 wrote: Tue Mar 24, 2020 6:15 am I was on the AT&T ipad plan and setup simple mobile with ttl 65. Worked fine for a day then the 5gb hotspot data ran out and now nothing. Also tried ttl 64.

For testing purposes on your pc copy and paste these commands one line at a time into a CMD window.
Press the Win-key + R then enter:
cmd
netsh int ipv4 set global defaultcurhoplimit=65 store=persistent
netsh int ipv6 set global defaultcurhoplimit=65 store=persistent

I use over 300gigs per month streaming TV 24/7, and others are using it too beyond the 5gig hotspot limit.
Something may not set up properly in your router.
I would do a full factory reset on the router, set up the time zone, time/date, TTL to 65, APN to "simple", then try again.

Post by **afrey1982** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 7:53 am

BillA wrote: Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:54 am For testing purposes on your pc copy and paste these commands one line at a time into a CMD window.
Press the Win-key + R then enter:
cmd
netsh int ipv4 set global defaultcurhoplimit=65 store=persistent
netsh int ipv6 set global defaultcurhoplimit=65 store=persistent

I use over 300gigs per month streaming TV 24/7, and others are using it too beyond the 5gig hotspot limit.
Something may not set up properly in your router.
I would do a full factory reset on the router, set up the time zone, time/date, TTL to 65, APN to "simple", then try again.

Ok let me start with the hardware i am using WE826-T2 with EM7455. I just did all the steps and still wont work. If i put the sim in the phone the data works. However there is something i just noticed. I went to play store to install speed test and it wont download. Play store loads fine but wont download any apps. I connected to wifi to download the app, then turned wifi off ran the speed test on 4g and it works. I also ran the commands on my pc and connected to the phones hotspot, still nothing. Not sure what i am missing here.

I really appreciate the quick response BillA. This is my first time with dealing with simple mobile and a cap on the hotpot data.

Post by **BillA** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 12:29 pm

afrey1982 wrote: Wed Mar 25, 2020 7:53 am Ok let me start with the hardware i am using WE826-T2 with EM7455. I just did all the steps and still wont work. If i put the sim in the phone the data works. However there is something i just noticed. I went to play store to install speed test and it wont download. Play store loads fine but wont download any apps. I connected to wifi to download the app, then turned wifi off ran the speed test on 4g and it works. I also ran the commands on my pc and connected to the phones hotspot, still nothing. Not sure what i am missing here.

I really appreciate the quick response BillA. This is my first time with dealing with simple mobile and a cap on the hotpot data.

Well, there are some weird things going on with the GPS on many networks, sometimes it shows that I'm in Mexico when I'm clearly in the US. I made a post about that on how to fix it:
https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=6361#p6361
The incorrect location could be causing both your data and especially PlayStore not working (since there's a region lock Google enforces).

Post by **enroberts** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:28 pm

@billA I tried to message you but the forum says "You're too new here"! Anyway, I'd like to ask you a few questions. Would you mind sending me a PM to see if I can respond to it? Thanks!

Post by **afrey1982** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:31 pm

BillA wrote: Wed Mar 25, 2020 12:29 pm Well, there are some weird things going on with the GPS in many networks, sometimes it shows that I'm in Mexico when I'm clearly in the US. I made a post about that on how to fix it:
https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=6361#p6361
The incorrect location could be causing both your data and especially PlayStore not working (since there's a region lock Google enforces).

So i replaced the charging port in my laptop today and had to shut it down. Tried connecting to the phones hotspot tonight and it works. I am assuming the problem was me not rebooting the laptop after the CMD settings. I have 3 routers here with goldenorb and it wont work with any of them. Tried the hotpot manager. Usb tether and sim card in the we826. All settings have been checked and are correct. Its like the ttl settings doesn't work in the routers.. But at least we know for sure the ttl settings in the laptop are doing the trick. Any help here is much appreciated.

Post by **BillA** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:38 pm

afrey1982 wrote: Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:31 pm So i replaced the charging port in my laptop today and had to shut it down. Tried connecting to the phones hotspot tonight and it works. I am assuming the problem was me not rebooting the laptop after the CMD settings. I have 3 routers here with goldenorb and it wont work with any of them. Tried the hotpot manager. Usb tether and sim card in the we826. All settings have been checked and are correct. Its like the ttl settings doesn't work in the routers.. But at least we know for sure the ttl settings in the laptop are doing the trick. Any help here is much appreciated.

They could be blocking the modem on the network.
Try connecting your phone to the router via usb cable. First disable or remove the internal modem, then once the phone is connected, go to Settings > Mobile/Wireless > Hotspot/USB Tethering and turn on USB Tethering.
In the router's settings select the USB tethered modem as your internet connection, set the TTL to 65, reboot both the phone and router for good measure then try it again.

Post by **afrey1982** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 10:48 pm

BillA wrote: Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:38 pm They could be blocking the modem on the network.
Try connecting your phone to the router via usb cable. First disable or remove the internal modem, then once the phone is connected, go to Settings > Mobile/Wireless > Hotspot/USB Tethering and turn on USB Tethering.
In the router's settings select the USB tethered modem as your internet connection, set the TTL to 65, reboot both the phone and router for good measure then try it again.

Already tried all that. I have been using rooter firmware and lte devices for years and am pretty familiar with them. When i first activated this sim it was in the we826, we were watching netflix and i had the simple mobile account pulled up and every time i refreshed the data i could see the hotspot usage going up. As soon as it hit 5gb it shut off. TTL was set at 65. Not sure what you mean by they could be blocking the modem? I have other routers without modems that all work perfect with usb tether and wifi hotspot manager. Just not with simple mobile. All leads to ttl not working in rooter firmware. Works fine on a pc with the CMD settings. For a test i just connected the phone hotspot to my sons PC and no go, i then did the CMD settings and restarted, works perfect !

Post by **BillA** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 11:06 pm

afrey1982 wrote: Wed Mar 25, 2020 10:48 pm Already tried all that. I have been using rooter firmware and lte devices for years and am pretty familiar with them. When i first activated this sim it was in the we826, we were watching netflix and i had the simple mobile account pulled up and every time i refreshed the data i could see the hotspot usage going up. As soon as it hit 5gb it shut off. TTL was set at 65. Not sure what you mean by they could be blocking the modem? I have other routers without modems that all work perfect with usb tether and wifi hotspot manager. Just not with simple mobile. All leads to ttl not working in rooter firmware. Works fine on a pc with the CMD settings. For a test i just connected the phone hotspot to my sons PC and no go, i then did the CMD settings and restarted, works perfect !

Gotya, I thought the modem's imei was being blocked like on ATT prepaid.
Never mind, it's clearly the hostpot being used up, though a bit puzzling since you have the TTL set correctly.
As a test try all these TTL settings 63, 64, 65, 66, 117.
Make sure press Save/Apply after each change, and restart the router.
The reason I was suggesting to connect the phone to the router, is to bypass the restriction.

There's a workaround which involves setting the modem to PPP dial-up instead of the usual RMNET/RNDIS connection in the router. For Tmobile, the dial string is *99#, and the APN is "fast.t-mobile.com". A PPP connection bypasses any restrictions regardless of TTL settings. You can also try this with the phone connected to the pc, and you have to set up a new dial-up connection using the above parameters. Also the phone must be set to expose its COM ports (usb modem ports) by enabling ADB debugging (it's beyond the scope of this post, just search for it).

First try the above then this:
Under Network > Firewall > Custom Rules, copy and paste the following rules by overwriting any existing TTL rules.
Make sure press Save/Apply after every change, and restart the router.

iptables -t mangle -I PREROUTING -i wwan0 -j TTL --ttl-set 65
iptables -t mangle -I POSTROUTING -o wwan0 -j TTL --ttl-set 65

OR

ip6tables -t mangle -I PREROUTING -i wwan0 -j HL --hl-set 65
ip6tables -t mangle -I POSTROUTING -o wwan0 -j HL --hl-set 65

OR

iptables -t mangle -I PREROUTING -i wwan0 -j TTL --ttl-set 65
ip6tables -t mangle -A POSTROUTING -o wwan0 -j HL --hl-set 65

For good measure, try these DNS settings (it won't hurt in any case):
On WAN1 uncheck "Use builtin IPv6-management" and "Use DNS servers advertised by peer", then set the DNS to 8.8.8.8/9.9.9.9.9

Post by **shwaba** » Fri Mar 27, 2020 6:07 am

BillA wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2020 5:10 pm
Verizon based PagePlus $55/mo, 40Mbps speeds, 50ms latency, deprioritized during congestion

Anyone have experience with this plan?

On their website "At 60 GB, we reserve the right to review your account for usage in violation of Page Plus's terms and conditions."

My options are ATT or Verizon. Tmobile is very limited in my area.

Both of my Ipad plans at ATT are still functioning for now. Just being proactive since the Wifey is working from home for the next month. Thanks for any advice

Post by **BillA** » Fri Mar 27, 2020 7:21 am

shwaba wrote: Fri Mar 27, 2020 6:07 am Anyone have experience with this plan?

On their website "At 60 GB, we reserve the right to review your account for usage in violation of Page Plus's terms and conditions."

My options are ATT or Verizon. Tmobile is very limited in my area.

Both of my Ipad plans at ATT are still functioning for now. Just being proactive since the Wifey is working from home for the next month. Thanks for any advice

Just like every other company, they all put up some kind of disclaimer, but usually you won't notice any throttling unless the network is really congested (which could last from just a few seconds to minutes or hours). It really depends on your local towers at peak usage times of the day. It's just the nature of 4G-LTE mobile data, till 5G gets more widespread.

Post by **Twoods196** » Fri Mar 27, 2020 9:10 am

Has anyone's att iPad plan with autopay stopped working? Yesterday mine just stopped working. The signal is showing zero, I've done a ton of different things trying to get it to work. I also can not login to the att iPad plan but it's been doing that for awhile saying I need to login from a different place. I took the sim card out an put it in a phone an couldn't get it to work either. Even forced it to LTE only an the first time I forced it onto it, it worked for about 5 seconds an then quit. Can anyone confirm the apn you use for a cellphone, or anything you have to do on a cellphone to make it work. Just wanna make sure it's the account an not the router/modem. Thanks

Post by **thejohnfist** » Fri Mar 27, 2020 11:24 am

My Autopay Prepaid iPad plan is still working currently. I don't think they've cut anyone off mid billing period yet. Usually if it keeps renewing you may be safe.

My guess is they have a threshold for data usage and if you pass that it's game over.

Post by **shwaba** » Fri Mar 27, 2020 12:17 pm

thejohnfist wrote: Fri Mar 27, 2020 11:24 am My guess is they have a threshold for data usage and if you pass that it's game over.

A reseller told me if you exceed 700GB in a 30 day cycle they'll terminate the service. Take that for what it's worth.
One of my accounts is up for renewal and it will be around 400GB so we shall see if it's game over for that one or not...

Post by **thejohnfist** » Fri Mar 27, 2020 2:16 pm

I'm usually between 150gb and 250gb. Rarely over that. So here's hoping it's not below 400gb.

Post by **lloyd.arms** » Fri Mar 27, 2020 6:58 pm

Ok folks, I've switched over to travel data. Received a msg stating I have used up all of the hotspot data. I was under the impression I had unlimited. WE826 T2 and MC7455 modem. Did I miss a setting? Its been working great for a couple weeks. Laymans instructions please. I searched for other issues such as mine. No luck.
Thanks!

Post by **BillA** » Fri Mar 27, 2020 7:16 pm

lloyd.arms wrote: Fri Mar 27, 2020 6:58 pm Ok folks, I've switched over to travel data. Received a msg stating I have used up all of the hotspot data. I was under the impression I had unlimited. WE826 T2 and MC7455 modem. Did I miss a setting? Its been working great for a couple weeks. Laymans instructions please. I searched for other issues such as mine. No luck.
Thanks!

If Travel Data is simply reselling the ATT $65/$75 plans (which it quite likely), then once you've used up the included hotspot data, I'm afraid you might be out of luck. Lots of other users are having issues with those plans. Till a solution is found for the ATT plans, you may have to pick another carrier from this list. > https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=5790#p5790

Post by **lloyd.arms** » Fri Mar 27, 2020 7:19 pm

Sorry. I also changed carriers to T-mobile. speeds dropped to less then half a mb.

Post by **BillA** » Fri Mar 27, 2020 7:42 pm

lloyd.arms wrote: Fri Mar 27, 2020 7:19 pm Sorry. I also changed carriers to T-mobile. speeds dropped to less then half a mb.

With Tmobile/SimpleMobile using a CAT-6 modem I get between 50-100Mbps depending on the time of day, congestion, etc, however I've noticed that since this stay-at-home trend started, all mobile networks have slowed down considerably, so it's not unusual. The only thing you can do is have good signal via external antennas, and upgrade your modem to something higher than a CAT-6 (like a Quectel EM12/20, Sierra EM7511).

Post by **lloyd.arms** » Fri Mar 27, 2020 7:50 pm

I have great external antennas. Before receiving the message from t-mobile I was getting about 30 mbps down. Is there a setting I need to check/change? TTL is set for 65. I'm far away from home and my mailing address so I need to use the equipment I have. I think its because travel data sold me a plan that is limited despite claiming unlimited. That or I may have a setting wrong. Hoping for the latter.