Had an NBN outage today and was looking around for backup options for next time. Stumbled across this deal on the NetGear LM1200. It is CAT4 (Up to 150Mbps DL, 50Mbps UL). It supports automatic fail over if there is no WAN connection and can operate in bridge mode. Typically retails for around $229 at Officeworks, HN, etc.
For homes with a slow Internet option (DSL) or no Fixed-line broadband service, NETGEAR LM1200 4G LTE Modem provides reliable Internet connection via the 4G network.
Plus monthly on-going mobile broadband cost. Unless if you get the prepaid like Boost sim card…
I opted for a 365 day sim from amaysim. This is a last resort rather than something I'm planning to use with any regularity.
When I was using 4G for internet I had a Huawei E5186s on Optus, which was OK and is Cat6 IIRC. I was going to get a GL.iNet GL-X750, which are currently $185 on amazon, to replace it as that is more flexible. Would be a good option as it can do dual WAN too and cheaper/faster than this.
The GL.iNet GL-X750 is exactly what I have for this purpose (with 365 day sim).
For just cat 4 speed, just buy a cheapb4g USB modem.
At 200 $ you can almost buy a 5g phone and use ts hotspot
A phone for $200 would be a terrible hotspot device.
I use a USB modem ($15) and use the cheapest mobile plan at the time (using cashback) for short term needs.. USB Modem plugs in the back of my ASUS modem to do an automated failover if main connection fails.
Telstra Smart Modem Gen 1 or 2 (DJA0230 or DJA0231) are about $50 bucks delivered surplus stock on eBay. By default locked to telstra but reasonably easy to root and unlock functionality https://github.com/seud0nym/tch-gui-unhide .
I use one for daily driver VDSL modem that automatically fails over to the Boost prepaid 4g if the DSL drops at all… great for working from home etc. Have set them up for family members as full time modem routers and they're quite fully featured once you cleanse the Telstra bloat haha
Thanks for the tips.
Do you know if there is any speed limiter on the 4g part?
Also can it do dual WAN concurrently?
Thanks in advance.
Not sure about the speed limiter but I was getting 90mbs down and 30mbs up on Boost with only 4/5 bars of reception on the DJA2031 and my father gets similar with Optus with his DJA2030 (that model also has external antenna connections which is big plus, but the unit is much larger). That is about double the speed of my FTTN connection so I wasn't complaining lol.
Err not sure on the dual WAN front… I think it would be possible but you would need to mess with the config files etc. if you want to set up static routes ie. PC goes through DSL and server through 4g? Mine has both 4g and DSL connected at once. or do you want to aggregate the connections to combine speed, in which case I doubt it and unsure of any other device that will do this
Huge multithread regarding rooting and mods here on whirlpool haha any issues you can ask there and might get someone more knowledgeable than me!
Thank you heaps Frankyman!
CAT 4 is pretty slow. Huawei B818 is CAT 19 and got plenty of listing on Facebook Market.