Wireless Joint

Hello, I apologize if something like this has been covered somewhere else please direct me if so.  The LBR 20 worked well for about 3 mo and all of a sudden constantly disconnecting in the last few months, and at first it would reconnect when it could, but now once the magenta ring comes on I need to unplug it or restart to fix it.  Sometimes it won't come back up at all for hours and hours.  My suspicion is that this has something to do with the data traffic in the area as it seems to happen a lot in the evenings and afternoons.  This past Saturday it wouldn't come back up at all until the next day. To preface this I live in an area where I have zero options for internet access.  The LBR 20 is a true god send when it works and makes things possible in my home I never thought I could achieve, smart TV, cameras, etc.  I have ATT service, we have a booster for the house that helps with signal, and I run my Orbi off an ATT unlimited phone sim that by the grace of god I never had any issues with.  I use more data on my phone than the sim connected to the orbi so I don't understand why they would throttle it.  I have blink cameras, and a smart TV I run off of it mainly just in the evenings- I try to use low data streaming when I can. I also have one satellite in my garage for one of the blink cameras that is further away from the house.  I utilize our phone hotspots as much as possible if i'm using my laptop etc. and mobile data just to conserve stress on the orbi.  Does anyone have any suggestions on how to stop these disconnects or optimize the performance?  I already understand I'm asking a lot about this orbi.  I am a novice when it comes to anything of the programming sort.  I did try to buy antennas to connect to it off of amazon and they only made my dl and upload speeds worse.  Thanks in advance.   

Like you I am in a rural area in southern Indiana with no cable or fiber and very few phone lines. Getting into 4G LTE internet off cell towers has saved the day for me as well. The Netgear Orbi LBR20 has been a Godsend for me too. Mine is modified with 4 external 4X4 MIMO SMA antenna ports so I can use a 4X4 MIMO antenna.

I think you explained that you are using the SIM out of a cellphone? Is the device (phone?) from which you took the SIM 3G only, 4G only or 5G? If it is 3G only, that is being phased out. Also, do you still use this SIM in your phone? Finally, Is the IMEI of the device (phone?) from which the SIM you're using set into the Orbi LBR20? If not, AT&T will shut you down. BTW, is your LBR20 updated? Check the Orbi app, if an update is available, an orange button, UPDATE will appear. You might want to check for an update anyway...

Regarding antennas, you did not mention any modifications to your LBR20 so I am assuming that it is "stock." In that case I would definitely recomment an EXTERNAL 2X2 MIMO antenna be connected by low loss cables to the 2 external SMA ports on your LBR20. Generally, the higher you mount an external antenna, the better the signal. You must point the antenna at the tower you are using for AT&T. 2X2 MIMO antennas come in two ways...first there are 2 separate antennas that together make up the 2X2; then, there is a single 2X2 antenna which is what I recommend. Specifically, I recomment one Panel 2X2 Mimo antenna mounted on your roof or gable end or higher and connected to the two stock SMA ports on your Orbi. Panel antennas are more forgiving on aiming and also deal better with trees and similar obstructions. I hope this helps you.

You may also want to look into getting a VPN for your ATT based lines.

Given the OP's description this sounds very much like a tower issue in the area due to maintenance or upgrade issue. It would be good to examine the connection info page in the web interface to see what the output shows there. Also a good test to place the SIM in an actual tablet device during one of these outages to see if it is able to connect or not for comparison.