Manual:Interface/LTE
Applies to RouterOS: v6+,v5.12+
Summary
Package: system
Support for Direct-IP mode type cards only. (QMI Support may be possible in future)
To enable access via a PPP interface instead of a LTE Interface, change direct IP mode with /port firmware set ignore-directip-modem=yes command and a reboot. Note that using PPP emulation mode you will not get the same max speeds as using the native lte interface.
LTE Client
Sub-menu: /interface lte
Properties
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| add-default-route (yes | no; Default: no) | Whether to add default route to forward all traffic over the LTE interface. |
| authentication (pap | chap; Default: ) | Allowed protocol to use for authentication |
| apn (string; Default: "") | Service Provider's Access Point Name |
| band (; Default: "") | Frequency band used in communication LTE Bands and bandwidths |
| comment (string; Default: "") | Descriptive name of an item |
| default-route-distance (integer; Default: 1) | Since v6.2, sets distance value applied to auto created default route, if add-default-route is also selected |
| disabled (yes | no; Default: yes) | Whether interface is disabled or not. By default it is disabled. |
| mac-address (MAC; Default: "") | Media Access Control number of an interface. |
| modem-init (string; Default: "") | Modem init string |
| mtu (integer; Default: 1500) | Maximum Transmission Unit. Max packet size that LTE interface will be able to send without packet fragmentation. |
| name (string; Default: "") | Descriptive name of the interface. |
| network-mode (3g | auto | gsm | lte; Default: auto) | Select/force mode LTE interface is to operate with |
| password (string; Default: "") | Password used for authentication. |
| pin (string; Default: "") | SIM Card's PIN code. |
| user (string; Default: "") | User name used for authentication. |
Scanner
It is possible to scan LTE interfaces with /interface lte scan command
Available read only properties:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| duration (integer) | Duration of scan in seconds |
| freeze-frame-interval () | time between data printout |
| number (integer) | Interface number |
User Info command
It is possible to send special "info" command to LTE interface with /interface lte info command.
Properties (Up to 6.40)
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| user-command (string; Default: "") | send a command to LTE card to extract useful information, e.g. with AT commands |
| user-command-only (yes | no; Default: ) |
User at-chat command
It is possible to send user defined "at-chat" command to LTE interface with /interface lte at-chat command.
[admin@MikroTik] > /interface lte at-chat lte1 input="AT*mrd_imei\?" output: *MRD_IMEI:356159060388208 OK
You can also use "at-chat" function in scripts and assign command output to variable.
[admin@MikroTik] > :global "lte_command" [/interface lte at-chat lte1 input="AT*mrd_imei\?" as-value ] [admin@MikroTik] > :put $"lte_command" output=*MRD_IMEI:356159060388208 OK
Quick setup example
Set correct parameters on LTE client interface (provided by network provider):
/interface lte set [ find ] apn=phoneprovider.net authentication=chap name=lte1 network-mode=auto password=web user=web
Add a DHCP Client to LTE Interface just created:
/ip dhcp-client add default-route-distance=1 disabled=no interface=lte1
If required, add NAT Masquerade for LTE Interface to get internet:
/ip firewall nat add action=masquerade chain=srcnat out-interface=lte1
After interface is added, you can use "info" command to see what parameters client acquired (parameters returned depends on LTE hardware device):
[admin@MikroTik] > /interface lte info lte1 once status: call in progress pin-status: no password required functionality: full manufacturer: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. model: ME909u-521 revision: 12.631.07.01.00 current-operator: vodafone ES current-cellid: 44436007 access-technology: Evolved 3G (LTE) signal-strengh: -79 dBm frame-error-rate: n/a earfcn: n/a imei: 860461024123456 imsi: 234012555034981 uicc: n/a rssi: -79dBm rsrp: -109dBm rsrq: -13dB sinr: -1dB [admin@MikroTik] >
Passthrough
Starting from RouterOS v6.41 some LTE interfaces support LTE Passthrough feature where the IP configuration is applied directly to the client device. In this case modem firmware is responsible for the IP configuration and router is used only to configure modem settings - APN, Network Technologies and IP-Type. In this configuration the router will not get IP configuration from the modem. The LTE Passthrough modem can pass both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses if that is supported by modem. Some modems support multiple APN where you can pass the traffic from each APN to a specific router interface.
Passthrough will only work for one host. Router will automatically detect MAC address of the first received packet and use it for the Passthrough. If there are multiple hosts on the network it is possible to lock the Passthrough to a specific MAC.
Examples.
To configure the Passthrough on ether1:
[admin@MikroTik] > /interface lte set lte1 apn=apn1/ether1
To configure the Passthrough on ether1 host 00:0C:42:03:06:AB
[admin@MikroTik] > /interface lte set lte1 apn=apn1/ether1/00:0C:42:03:06:AB
To configure multiple APNs on ether1 and ether2:
[admin@MikroTik] > /interface lte set lte1 apn=apn1/ether1,apn2/ether2
Troubleshooting
Enable LTE logging:
[admin@MikroTik] > /system logging add topics=lte
Check for errors in log:
[admin@MikroTik] > /log print 11:08:59 lte,async lte1: sent AT+CPIN? 11:08:59 lte,async lte1: rcvd +CME ERROR: 10
search for CME error description online,
in this case: CME error 10 - SIM not inserted
Locking band on Huawei and other modems
To lock band for Huawei modems /interface lte set lte1 band="" option can't be used.
It is possible to use AT commands to lock to desired band manually.
To check all supported bands run at-chat command:
[admin@MikroTik] /interface lte at-chat lte1 input="AT^SYSCFGEX=\?"
output: ^SYSCFGEX: ("00","03","02","01","99"),((2000004e80380,"GSM850/GSM900/GSM1800/GSM1900/WCDMA BCI/WCDMA BCII/WCDMA BCV/WCDMA BCVIII"),
(3fffffff,"All Bands")),(0-2),(0-4),((800d7,"LTE BC1/LTE BC2/LTE
BC3/LTE BC5/LTE BC7/LTE BC8/LTE BC20"),(7fffffffffffffff,"All Bands"))
OK
Example to lock to LTE band 7,
[admin@MikroTik] /interface lte set lte1 modem-init="AT^SYSCFGEX=\"03\",3FFFFFFF,2,4,40,,
Change last part 40 to desired band specified hexadecimal value where:
4 LTE BC3 40 LTE BC7 80000 LTE BC20 7FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF All bands etc
All band HEX values and AT commands can be found in Huawei AT Command Interface Specification guide
Check if band is locked:
[admin@MikroTik] /interface lte at-chat lte1 input="AT^SYSCFGEX\?" output: ^SYSCFGEX: "03",3FFFFFFF,0,2,40 OK
For more information check modem manufacturers AT command reference manuals. [ Top | Back to Content ]