OTR Mobile Internet?

119,498 Views | 660 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by BrazosDog02
labmansid
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Question about the cradlepoint. How do you choose which SIM you actively use in your modem? I assume you can leave two in at a time like mine, but if you leave both the AT&T and T-Mobile SIMs in how can you switch between them and compare? Just curious. Thanks.
tfunk02
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AG
I was a legacy customer and my TMobile sim was NOT already activated. It took me 5 hours to get into chat after getting booted once.

Here's a video on setting up failover and fallback. I'm pretty sure the modem uses the sim card that is higher in the list, but I'm not sure. Also adding a link to their knowledge database. There's some good stuff there too.



https://customer.cradlepoint.com/s/article/NCOS-Effectively-utilizing-2-SIM-modems
labmansid
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Thanks for the links and info, tfunk. I actually had my T-Mobile SIM on Monday, but had too many errands to run, including a leaky car tire, before I had to go into lockdown mode today. Thanks, Covid!

I put the new SIM in the second slot of my modem yesterday, and it didn't appear to be activated. I finally had time to wait on OTR chat this morning, and got it activated. The agent did say the new SIMs were supposed to be pre-activated before going out, but obviously that didn't happen for us.

Long story short, I wasn't real optimistic at first about the new service, but it does seem to work. I still have my external antennas pointed to the south of me where the closest AT&T tower is, about two miles away, and it still works. As far as I can tell, the nearest T-Mobile tower to my location is about 3.5 miles to my east-northeast.

My limited time testing so far shows down speeds of 5-10Mbps, and up speed is less than 1Mbps. I was getting usually at least 6-15 down, and as high as 20-50 down during low demand hours with AT&T. Up speeds were much better with AT&T, usually at least 5-10, sometimes better than down speeds. I guess I will have to bite the bullet and get back up on the roof and try pointing my antennas a new direction in an attempt to get better signal again. Thanks AT&T!
JHejl10
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AG
I just had OTR Mobile activate 2 T-Mobile sims for me, 1 for me and 1 for my parents. Wow, did it take forever and still don't have it 100% fixed.

I have my old unlocked Velocity 2 and my unlocked nighthawk and installed both sims into them. I did the factory resets on both devices like they said. The Velocity 2 started working quickly after support told me to change the APN Name to OTR Mobile and the APN to fast.t-mobile.com. The nighthawk, however, still isn't working after doing everything they told me. I tried adjusting the APN to the same as the velocity 2 with no luck. They eventually gave up and said they might need to update the sim that was in the Nighthawk to static IP, which takes 48 - 72 hours.

Anyone else have this much trouble with the Nighthawk? Any advice to get it working, or is the static IP the only route? I'm just extremely frustrated because I'll probably have to talk to support again about getting the other one on a static IP as I will ultimately have both of them in Nighthawk routers. I just wanted to do some testing and comparisons while my AT&T sim was still working.
labmansid
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JHejl10 said:

I just had OTR Mobile activate 2 T-Mobile sims for me, 1 for me and 1 for my parents. Wow, did it take forever and still don't have it 100% fixed.

I have my old unlocked Velocity 2 and my unlocked nighthawk and installed both sims into them. I did the factory resets on both devices like they said. The Velocity 2 started working quickly after support told me to change the APN Name to OTR Mobile and the APN to fast.t-mobile.com. The nighthawk, however, still isn't working after doing everything they told me. I tried adjusting the APN to the same as the velocity 2 with no luck. They eventually gave up and said they might need to update the sim that was in the Nighthawk to static IP, which takes 48 - 72 hours.

Anyone else have this much trouble with the Nighthawk? Any advice to get it working, or is the static IP the only route? I'm just extremely frustrated because I'll probably have to talk to support again about getting the other one on a static IP as I will ultimately have both of them in Nighthawk routers. I just wanted to do some testing and comparisons while my AT&T sim was still working.

IIRC, they had some issues with SIMS when I got my first one for AT&T. I think several of us on this thread had some issues. It's not uncommon, apparently. I am using a cradlepoint router, BTW. Hope you get it working.

This morning I got back up on my roof to re-aim my external antennas to the T-Mobile tower nearest to my location. I'm getting too old for that s#%t! It did obviously help my signal strength. I am now generally getting download speeds in the 20s and 30s. Upload is still not that great, generally in the 1-3 range. So far I am pretty pleasantly surprised with the switch in service, even though the tower is nearly twice as far away. .
GIF Reactor
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AG
Our new T-Mobile SIM card arrived yesterday, but unfortunately when removing it from the credit card sized plastic holder, the micro SIM size card came out of the standard/mini SIM holder. That probably doesn't make sense, but they sent us a SIM card that could be reduced from standard/mini to nano. That won't fit the Cradlepoint. So I had to order a SIM adapter from Amazon, which won't be here until Sunday. First world problems, I know, but it was just added to the frustration this whole ordeal has caused.

I am frustrated with OTR Mobile as well. I didn't recall receiving an email stating the transition to the Blast plan was mandatory. I found it in their March 16th email, which was titled "OTR Mobile - COVID 19 Statement". I find that to be somewhat deceptive. Every company was sending emails detailing their new operating hours, staff reduction notices, etc. in emails titled similarly. I think the information about the plans was important enough to warrant a separately titled email. Sorry, just venting here.
khkman22
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AG
Just put the SIMs together how they came and tape the back. I don't think you would actually need to order an adapter.
GIF Reactor
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AG
khkman22 said:

Just put the SIMs together how they came and tape the back. I don't think you would actually need to order an adapter.
It gets pretty hot inside the modem, so I would think that the tape would quickly fail. Thoughts?
UmustBKidding
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I regularly tape them back into one piece using kapton tape
MaroonBloodedAg2010
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I confirmed with OTR that AT&T is shutting them out, so they can't continue the Legacy plans like they were planning on doing. I was told that all Legacy plans will be shut off at the end of their current billing cycles. I guess I have to make the switch since my billing cycle ends in a week. Hopefully T-Mobile service is decent at my house, so I don't have to start searching for a new internet service again.
tfunk02
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AG
Brought the TMobile based OTR plan to the lake. Fire it up and it's not registered anymore. Not sure why having it unplugged and moved for 2 hours caused it to drop service but... Here's to another 2 hours in the queue.

OTR has had plenty of time to iron this thing out. I think I'm going to make a switch to another vendor. In the last month I've pretty much had a full day of waiting in chat.

Should have never given you all my secret. When I was first on OTR chat was instant.
khkman22
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AG
tfunk02 said:

Should have never given you all my secret. When I was first on OTR chat was instant.
Is this the first unsuccessful TexAgs hookup?
JHejl10
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AG
T-Mobile seems to be a no-go at my house, as expected. Signal is pretty weak. AT&T or Verizon seem to be my only route. Are any of you considering any other 3rd party AT&T resellers? Or do you believe that all AT&T resellers might get the boot soon making it a lost cause to find a replacement?

I've been looking at this list https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/gear/att-unlimited-rental-plans/ and BixWireless, NeverThrottled, and Nomad Internet look promising. They are between 85 and 100 a month and some steep activation fees though... NeverThrottled and Nomad Internet are in Texas, too which is a pro I guess. Lol

I chatted with Nomad, and they said they have so many new customers coming from OTR Mobile and NetBuddy apparently. They said they have to send the sim card because it has their company name on it. You can't buy a prepaid AT&T sim and get it activated. They said that's why companies like OTR were getting booted from AT&T. I don't know if that's actually true or them speculating. Also, they say you will be throttled at 250 GB by the carriers, not by them. Or is this them just complying with new AT&T guidelines?
khkman22
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AG
I'd be curious as to what happens to the people who purchased a year up front at the end of last summer. I wouldn't be surprised if the were doing the prepaid SIM to skirt the rules. I know they told me I had to buy a postpaid SIM for T-Mobile when they said I could just go into a store and buy one and not have to wait for them to mail it to me. Of course then T-Mobile told me in store that I couldn't just buy a SIM without activating a plan for it.
GIF Reactor
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AG
MaroonBloodedAg2010 said:

I confirmed with OTR that AT&T is shutting them out, so they can't continue the Legacy plans like they were planning on doing. I was told that all Legacy plans will be shut off at the end of their current billing cycles. I guess I have to make the switch since my billing cycle ends in a week. Hopefully T-Mobile service is decent at my house, so I don't have to start searching for a new internet service again.


Careful. Ours shut off before the end of our billing cycle. The representative on the chat told us there is a difference between the billing cycle in the service cycle. She said it shuts off at the end of the service cycle, which can differ from the billing cycle.
The Collective
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AG
Think ours bit the dust today (use AT&T via Gypsy Wireless). I am working from home right now... really pissed at AT&T.
black_hat_ag
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I Have Spoken said:

Think ours bit the dust today (use AT&T via Gypsy Wireless). I am working from home right now... really pissed at AT&T.


They should be shamed during this difficult time.

Use your social media and make some phone calls to legislators.
JHejl10
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AG
I went with BixWireless and am using their AT&T service. It's $85/month and was only a $10 activation fee. Support is available everyday. They don't have published hours, but normally are between 8AM-11PM CT, they said. I was able to chat with them through Facebook which made it quick. However, the bottleneck right now is AT&T. It did take a few hours for AT&T to activate the sim.
black_hat_ag
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Could the same thing happen to bix like with otr?
chaca5151
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Looking for some help. I had to make the change from ATT to T-mobile today and activated my sim card. The person who I was chatting with (after 4 hours) gave me directions to change the APN setting on my cradlepoint mbr1400. So I followed the instructions to a T. However, still didn't work I purchased the cradlepoint from LTEfix and it's an all carrier system.

Anyone have any idea how to fix it?

Not everyone gets the same version of me. One person might tell you I have an amazing beautiful soul. Another might tell you I’m a cold-hearted a$$^ole. Believe them both. I don’t treat people badly. I treat them accordingly - unknown
JHejl10
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AG
It could happen, but I guess it's up to AT&T. These resellers keep making it seem like they just have to follow more guidelines to comply with AT&T. Not sure if it's true or it's just added precautions to not abuse it. I had to provide my brand of modem, IMEI, and MAC address along with sim card upon activation. Seemed excessive compared to the "plug-in-play" style I'm used to. They said the info was needed so AT&T wouldn't throttle or deprioritize me. Who really knows.
The Collective
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AG
Gypsy was able to get me going again; I'm back, baby!
tfunk02
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AG
chaca5151 said:

Looking for some help. I had to make the change from ATT to T-mobile today and activated my sim card. The person who I was chatting with (after 4 hours) gave me directions to change the APN setting on my cradlepoint mbr1400. So I followed the instructions to a T. However, still didn't work I purchased the cradlepoint from LTEfix and it's an all carrier system.

Anyone have any idea how to fix it?


I would try to factory reset the modem. If all of your settings are on automatic like mine were, it just took a few minutes for the Cradlepoint to figure out what sim was in it. Now the OTR service on the other hand... They've been having issues with TMobile already and told me there should be an update on Monday. I haven't even tried to mess with it since my Verizon is still going. I'll get back to it today.
chaca5151
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Thanks! Gave your recommendation a try but still didn't work.
Not everyone gets the same version of me. One person might tell you I have an amazing beautiful soul. Another might tell you I’m a cold-hearted a$$^ole. Believe them both. I don’t treat people badly. I treat them accordingly - unknown
tfunk02
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AG
On chat they are recommending B2B.static as the APN. It doesn't work on my setup but the fast.t-mobile does.

Also, it says you have a configuration module error. If you click Modem on the left there make sure your "carrier select" is set to Auto, T-Mobile, or Generic.

Here's some more help: https://customer.cradlepoint.com/s/article/Carrier-Mismatch-Error
chaca5151
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Thanks, tfunk02! I'll give that a shot tonight.
Not everyone gets the same version of me. One person might tell you I have an amazing beautiful soul. Another might tell you I’m a cold-hearted a$$^ole. Believe them both. I don’t treat people badly. I treat them accordingly - unknown
MaroonBloodedAg2010
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Just got mine all set up on T-Mobile. I had some issues where it would say everything was connected, but no websites would load. I just saw your post saying to use B2B.static for the APN and it works now.

Signal strength is staying in the -70 range, which is about the same as it was with AT&T. I haven't done any speed tests yet, but it seems pretty comparable so far.
labmansid
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I'm using a Cradlepoint modem as well, the cba850. I'm not sure about yours, but mine has two SIM slots. At first I just put my T-Mobile SIM in the second slot and left my AT&T in the first since it was still active. The T-Mobile never looked like it was active, even after chatting with OTR to activate it. Finally I took the AT&T SIM out and put the T-Mobile in its place, so it was the only SIM installed. That seemed to do the trick, as shortly afterwards it suddenly started working. Mine automatically went with the fast.t-mobile.com APN, so that seems to be the one to use. It could be possible there is a problem with your SIM, I suppose. Good luck.
MaroonBloodedAg2010
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After trying stuff out for a couple hours, this isn't gonna work. It is fine for browsing websites, but pretty much useless for anything more. It will stream regular shows ok, but 4k won't even come close. I'll most likely be looking for a new service. Is there any similar services that use Verizon?
khkman22
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AG
There are some, but they are more expensive. I think they start at $100 and go up from there for various vendors.

I cancelled my service with OTR today. I don't know how other vendor's websites work and customer service is, but I'm not confident in OTR being straightforward with you, going all the way back to having the wrong SIM that only had 3G capabilities when first signing up. If it were just me, I would have chalked it up to a mistake. But with multiple people at the same time having the issue, it seems like somehow it was on purpose and they were trying to get some benefit out of it if people didn't notice or expect better speeds.

I would encourage any new person looking to sign up for the service to look at another vendor first.
MaroonBloodedAg2010
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I'd be fine with paying more for quality and consistency. I was happy with OTR on AT&T, so I know AT&T has good service where I'm at, but I don't know if I trust going to another AT&T service if AT&T is cutting ties with them.
chaca5151
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Thanks for the help my internet is up and running with the T-mobile card after using your link.

I can tell you my internet is no where close to what I had with ATT.

It ****ing sucks now..... i went from a 25-40 download to a 9 and my signal is at -85
Not everyone gets the same version of me. One person might tell you I have an amazing beautiful soul. Another might tell you I’m a cold-hearted a$$^ole. Believe them both. I don’t treat people badly. I treat them accordingly - unknown
Willie Lane
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I received my Tmobile sim card last week, but my AT&T service is still running. I haven't decided when I will make the switch over to Tmobile and cross my fingers. Safe to assume that even if I get the Tmobile going, I could swap back to AT&T until it quits working?
black_hat_ag
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Willie Lane said:

I received my Tmobile sim card last week, but my AT&T service is still running. I haven't decided when I will make the switch over to Tmobile and cross my fingers. Safe to assume that even if I get the Tmobile going, I could swap back to AT&T until it quits working?


I'm in the same boat. I've had the T-Mobile sim for a few weeks but att still working. So I'll just keep going until those *******s shut me down.
MaroonBloodedAg2010
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Has anyone used Never Throttled or heard much about them? They are $85 per month, and based out of San Antonio. I talked to them and Bix today, and both kinda hinted that OTR got shut down by AT&T for doing some shady stuff.
 
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