Debugging SimpleMobile connection (APN?) on WG3526 / EP06-A

[slacker]

Thanks already for a lot of useful information on these forums. I'm trying out several sims in my router to determine what works best. SimpleMobile is unlikley to win because my iphone 6 doesn't even get signal when the SIM is in the phone. That said, the EP06-A is a little stronger, and I'd expect to at least be able to get some pings going given that I am connected to the tower, leading me to question whether my APN settings are correct. First, here is the signal strength reported in GoldenOrb (TTL set to 65 throughout the below):

RSSI: -91 dBm
RSRQ: -13 dB
RSRP: -118 dBm

If I try using APN "simple" or "SIMPLE" as indicated on these forums, I am unable to even resolve a host name when I ping google.com. simpleMobile.com suggests I should be using settings with "Name" = SIMPLE_MOBILE and APN=wap.tracfone. I've tried both of those as the APN name in GoldenOrb. When I do that, I at least get a name/ip resultion, but 100% packet loss. Can someone confirm the correct APN setting? The signal is obviously in the fair-poor range per the troubleshooting tutorial, but I'd at least like to confirm that everything is set correctly and/or that it is not that they are denying because the IMEI doesn't match the phone's SIM.

It could just be the signal, but when I use an ATT sim, which doesn't have much better strength, I get 8.5 Mbps down / 0.6 Mbps up with the following signal stats after simply inserting the sim and changing the APN to "broadband":

RSSI: -87 dBm
RSRQ: -12 dB
RSRP: -112 dBm

clearly this signal strength is not much better, so why can't I at least get ping's working with SM? Thanks!

[slacker]

I'll solve my own newbie mystery (at least partially) in case it helps someone in the future: it turns out that when I check my account online, it shows that my device is in "invalid status", and that I need to call SM, likely to reactive service with the sim back in my phone. Of course I can't do that yet because my phone does not get strong enough signal, even though my router looks like it does (see above).

My hypothesis is that, because I used the wrong APN when first connecting (fast.t-mobile.com instead of something SM specific, like "simple"), the SIM/account somehow got blocked. Perhaps that just emphasizes the importance of using the correct APN from go. Once I reactivate this with my phone, the remaining question is whether my router IMEI is now blocked, even with the correct APN. I'll update once I'm able to test this.

[BillA]

I'll solve my own newbie mystery (at least partially) in case it helps someone in the future: it turns out that when I check my account online, it shows that my device is in "invalid status", and that I need to call SM, likely to reactive service with the sim back in my phone. Of course I can't do that yet because my phone does not get strong enough signal, even though my router looks like it does (see above).

My hypothesis is that, because I used the wrong APN when first connecting (fast.t-mobile.com instead of something SM specific, like "simple"), the SIM/account somehow got blocked. Perhaps that just emphasizes the importance of using the correct APN from go. Once I reactivate this with my phone, the remaining question is whether my router IMEI is now blocked, even with the correct APN. I'll update once I'm able to test this.

The correct APN for SimpleMobile is "simple" (without the quotes, all lower case).
As far as I know, they don't block modems just because of a wrong APN, but they WILL deactivate accounts for using data while roaming on another network (roaming calls are allowed but not data). If you see "Inactive" in your account status, most likely what happened was that your modem was roaming on a different network (thus the better signal), and they have deactivated your account. To resolve this issue, you need to do the following:

1. Insert the sim into a Tmobile compatible phone, call customer service from a different phone (877-878-7908), and ask them to reactivate it. Tell them they you were traveling into a bad signal area and your phone was showing "Roaming" while browsing the web, just to make it easier for them to realize what exactly has happened. Once it has been reactivated, walk outside or drive somewhere where there's enough signal to make a call and go online.

2. After that, DO NOT insert the sim into the router yet. First you MUST disable roaming via this AT command:

Code: Select all

AT+QCFG="roamservice",0,1

3. Insert the sim into the router, change the APN to "simple" (without the quotes, all lower case), the TTL to 65 (you may also try 63/64/66/100) then see if you can browse the web. If your signal is really so bad that you can't even make a call, chances are that it won't work in the router either, but it's worth a try. Keep in mind you are no longer roaming and are using the actual Tmobile signal, so if it doesn't work, then you will have to try a different carrier instead.

Hope that helps.

[slacker]

Thanks for the reply, I meant to update on this after contacting SM. Who was right? The newbie APN theory or BillA's roaming hypothesis?

The correct APN for SimpleMobile is "simple" (without the quotes, all lower case).
As far as I know, they don't block modems just because of a wrong APN, but they WILL deactivate accounts for using data while roaming on another network (roaming calls are allowed but not data). If you see "Inactive" in your account status, most likely what happened was that your modem was roaming on a different network (thus the better signal), and they have deactivated your account.

Of course BillA has the correct conjecture: I called SM from a hilltop where I have reception, front-line far-east CS rep had to escalte me to eastern-european tech support, who told me my phone had roamed / connected to a tower it shouldn't have, reactivated me, and told me my service would be terminated if it happened again.

2. After that, DO NOT insert the sim into the router yet. First you MUST disable roaming via this AT command:

Code: Select all

AT+QCFG="roamservice",0,1

This command actually returns an error, the parameters are reversed, but this put me on the right track with the help of the Quectel manual...

Code: Select all

AT+QCFG=?
...
+QCFG: "roamservice",(1,2,255),(0,1)
...

AT+QCFG="roamservice"
+QCFG: "roamservice",255

which shows the modem was in "Auto" roaming mode (255). The proper reset command was

Code: Select all

AT+QCFG="roamservice",1,0

and, while I was at it, I limited scanning to LTE only via

Code: Select all

AT+QCFG="nwscanmode",3,0

After resetting APN and reboot with new SIM, I have no service now that roaming is off (and things are limited to LTE only), as expected given that my phone has no signal:

Code: Select all

AT+QNWINFO
+QNWINFO: No Service

I can see some kind of connection to a nearby tower, it has almost the same code (suffix with a B rather than an A) of a nearby VZ tower, but the signal is too weak or this tower would also involve roaming (it's different than the initial tower accidentally roamed to in my first attempt):

Code: Select all

AT+QENG="servingcell"
+QENG: "servingcell","LIMSRV","LTE","FDD", [xxx], [yyy] , [zzzzBcc],...,...

where [zzzzAcc] is the VZ tower/cell.

Sorry if this is TMI, but I'm having too much fun hacking around with AT commands on the Quectel. Moral of the story: it's a good idea, at least with TM/SM, to make sure roaming is disable via the above command before trying to connect in order to avoid raising the hackles of SM/TM minions. I didn't see this mentioned in some of the other tutorials I mentioned, so it might be worth adding as a good practice.

The better news is that, after borrowing a Verizon sim from a friend to briefly test signal in my router, the results are more promising:
Signal Strength : 77%
RSSI : -65 dBm
ECIO : -10 (RSRQ) dB
RSCP : -93 (RSRP) dBm
not surprising because the tower is much closer. I did notice hotspot data leakage and have some follow up questions on this configuration because I want to get it right the first time, but will post them in a more appropriate thread. Thanks again to BillA!

[BillA]

Thanks for the reply, I meant to update on this after contacting SM.
After resetting APN and reboot with new SIM, I have no service now that roaming is off (and things are limited to LTE only), as expected given that my phone has no signal.

No problem, glad I could help... you might still have a chance with Tmo/Smo if you get a pair of high gain directional antennas (thewirelesshaven.com) and point it towards the tower (you may have to test it in a full 360 degrees at 10 degree increments to find the best one). In many cases a good antenna can pull in a surprisingly decent signal. You could also try to use a different modem with support for band 71 (Quectel EC25-AF or Telit LM960), which might be able to pick up some additional signal in the lower 600Mhz band. With the Tmobile/Sprint merger finalized, Tmobile is planning on adding the Sprint bands at some point which may provide you with a better signal. I will post it in this forum once it's available and tested.