Vodafone 5G in Germany - GL-X3000

Technical Support for Routers 4G LTE, 5G NR, USB modems
1

Hello everyone,

I've only found similar topics for T-Mobile and Firmware versions that are ages old so I'll try to get some fresh advice here.

I've set up our new GL-X3000 to use with a Vodafone 5G SIM in Germany.
First I've struggled to get any connection at all as it would keep saying "SIM card not registered", after changing the devices IMEI and playing around with APN settings I finally got it to work with 4G by switching to SIM Slot 2.
When I lock it to a 5G tower it says "SIM-card not registered" as well.

As we need more bandwidth than 4G can provide I would really like to fix this without downgrading to older Firmware versions as that might compromise security. Maybe someone has had similar issues and can point me in the correct direction.

Here are some details:
RM520NGLAAR03A03M4G
OpenWrt 21.02-SNAPSHOT r15812+911-46b6ee7ffc
0704release5
APN: web.vodafone.com

Thank you!

2

Hello,

Please try inserting this SIM card into the mobile phone, to see if it works on 5G with the APN or without APN?

If the phone is Android, please install the APP Cellular-Z and check the 5G/NR attached bands.

4

Just my 2cents to your Vodafone question.

I only tested the GL-X2000 LTE and I had the same performance issues download rates around 100MBit/s (absolute Maximum). With a recent iPhone I had download rates from (200 to 300 MBit/s) in the LTE only band.

So I started investigating , got SIM cards from O2 and Vodafone and some eSIM profiles for the EIOT CLUB physical Sim besides my Telekom SIM card. No big changes. Then I got Zyxel NR7302 5G NR same performance range :dizzy_face:.

I was close giving up with external routers but then the Outdoor 5G Box vom Berliner Platzhirsch was available and I order one to test....

Wow - SIM card plugged in and... (fasten your seat belts)
(all SIMcards had download speed > 230 MBit/s) from the first second.
(liming factor were 2.4GHz WIFI for the first 10 Minutes because of DFS scanning - so keep an eye on this while testing).
(the limiting factor in Germany is the 300 MBit/s download cap in all of the German providers. (if you get the free O2 Testkarte for 30 days you will have a 500 MBit/s cap.
In some inner city areas you will reach download rates >800 MBit/s.... - tested with a Vodafone prepaid SIM !!!!!)
if you use reprogrammed eSim profiles in you will also get faster download speeds (100MBit/s-200MBit/s), but the Ping times will often be >100ms. If you trace route the connections all of the eSIM, IP data traffic seems always to be routed via the US.
So if you need a low latency connection you it seems to be better to get a SIM card from the local provider.

There were some more factors I got aware using this another brand 5G router.

  • You will have IP6 support and a functioning firewall
  • The Router infrastructure (in GL.INet case Goodcloud) is also capable of IP6
  • You will have good monitoring capabilities so you don`t need to use external tools like Cellular-Z
  • you will have APN configuration for Germany and other EU countries working by just selecting them
    (in some circumstances you need a combination of APNs & DNS and IP4/IP6 configurations - another feature GL.INet is not supporting......)
  • PoESupport is really nice to have
  • Band-Steering (especially when you are on DFS 5,8Ghz WiFi channels)
  • Phone & Fax Support

So my take away of this journey was:

  1. Cannel aggregation is not working well with the GL.Net (and Zyxel) routers (If this is a hardware limitation of the 4G/5G modem or a firmware one needs to be investigated by GL-Inet)
  2. a reliable IP6 support & firewall is a must for cellular - especially if you will use more advances features (like fixed IP addresses or a VPN server running on the mobile router).
  3. the hardware of all GL-iNet cellular routers is anything but future proof. limited CPU power (cores), limited RAM / limited NAND storage.

In my case I use the GL-INet X-2000 router as an (expensive) eSIM programming station.

Unfortunately there are no good 5G travel router comparisons on YouTube. You will either have the usual suspects (getting $$$ for their reviews or other click bait ones comparing the routers by reading their data sheets).
If you do it right you could get easily 250MBit/s to 700 MBit/s connection by 4G/ 5G in Germany and Europe, today.

And...
Dear GL-Inet support - I am open to support you for debugging / improving these behaviors here in the EU. especially in advanced features like VPN Servers, IPV6, fixed IP(6) addresses, APN config....

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