Question Anyone rolling a Pepwave MaxTransit CAT-20 5G?

[MapNerd]

I just received mine from Santa Neal today too. Haven't opened the box yet.

Let me know what antenna you decide on. Was going to order pepwave, but then the parsac conversation started, so I am holding.

I use the pepwave wifi as a client only. My Lan wifi system is separate. Still want a 7 in one on the roof for this modem, and my cat 6 redundant will be in the mid bath.

I also have the Husky Parsec, but I need to get on the roof the figure out the placement. I pulled the above using just the paddle antennas. When I connected the Husky, my speeds took an 80% hit. Not sure why. I have had great experiences with it previously, but something is up so I have to figure that out. In the mean time, the paddles will more than do.

 

[redbaron]

Was the husky inside? The dB gain is most likely too much for interior, as the rf interference will be amplified.

 

[MapNerd]

Was the husky inside? The dB gain is most likely too much for interior, as the rf interference will be amplified.

No. I have had it mounted on my roof for about 6 months now.

 

[redbaron]

No. I have had it mounted on my roof for about 6 months now.

Ouch...then the speed decrease doesn't make sense at all.

 

[Neal]

I believe it's his placement and Girards blocking. Mine on the AC with no obstruction 360 line of site are ideal. The pepwave 421 would be my other recommendation for smaller and lower profile. Just pay attention to cable length that comes on the antenna per your needs. Pepwave I think is 6.5ft, Parsec's have different options. Shorter is obviously better but it depends on your needs.

 

[Neal]

View attachment 9865
Well I got a Pepwave Max BR1 Pro 5G CAT-20 unit and if I haven’t caught up to @Neal’s download speeds yet, he must be dragging a fiber optic cable behind his rig

This surpasses my best but I think it's because yours is a 5G connection. Next time I travel I'll get the AT&T 100 GB plan again as it's 5G.

 

[MapNerd]

I wanted to see if a large portion of my speed gains in the MaxTransit BR1 Pro 5G could be associated with the unit, or the antenna setup (Husky Parsec v Paddles).

The best the MaxTransit Duo CAT-12 could do, sitting in the exact same spot as the BR1 Pro, with the same SIM cards, connected to paddle antennas was 16mbps down/3mbps up which is useable but barely.

Meanwhile, the MaxTransit BR1 Pro 5G beat most home internet connections last night. It’s nuts. Streaming sites loaded instantly, no buffering, no drops, no issues and the WiFi Is strong.

The BR1 Pro 5G is worth every single penny. I am excited to see what it does when I get my rooftop antenna placement issues sorted.

 

[lemondrop9344]

MapNerd, redbaron,
Congrats on your purchase of the BR1 Pro 5G CAT-20. MapNerd.........awesome results on the speed test.
In another post, Neal & I were discussing the setup of the Peplink CAT-20 devices, specifically on the Verizon network. Based on what I've been reading on various forums, some people have not had any trouble utilizng a Verizon plan & others do nothing but struggle. My assumption has been the issue is somehow associated with the lack of certification.
Neal advised (Neal correct me if I mis-state this)he had no trouble using an existing Verizon data plan sim when he moved it to new Peplink devices, including his new 5G device. He has yet to attempt provisioning a non-certified Peplink with a new data plan (new sim & phone #) from Verizon.
This would seem to suggets, if you have an existing Verizon data plan in a Peplink device, it will most likely go into & function in one of the 5G devices. This is the route I ultimately had to take when I provisioned with my CAT-18 prior to certification in May of 2020.
With all that said, I have a question. Have any forum members successfully provisioned a Peplink 5G device with a new data plan from Verizon?
Please understand, my intent is to try & understand why some users apparently have no issues with the Peplink 5G products & others come away frustrated. Verizon is the cellular phone carrier, as well as, a secondary provider, for data only plans for myself & our HQ,s location. We do not really want to drop Verizon & it's not yet been necessary to add T-Mobile service to the existing mix.
Please humor me. Thanks!

 

[Neal]

I wanted to see if a large portion of my speed gains in the MaxTransit BR1 Pro 5G could be associated with the unit, or the antenna setup (Husky Parsec v Paddles).

The best the MaxTransit Duo CAT-12 could do, sitting in the exact same spot as the BR1 Pro, with the same SIM cards, connected to paddle antennas was 16mbps down/3mbps up which is useable but barely.

Meanwhile, the MaxTransit BR1 Pro 5G beat most home internet connections last night. It’s nuts. Streaming sites loaded instantly, no buffering, no drops, no issues and the WiFi Is strong.

The BR1 Pro 5G is worth every single penny. I am excited to see what it does when I get my rooftop antenna placement issues sorted.

 

[MapNerd]

MapNerd, redbaron,
Congrats on your purchase of the BR1 Pro 5G CAT-20. MapNerd.........awesome results on the speed test.
In another post, Neal & I were discussing the setup of the Peplink CAT-20 devices, specifically on the Verizon network. Based on what I've been reading on various forums, some people have not had any trouble utilizng a Verizon plan & others do nothing but struggle. My assumption has been the issue is somehow associated with the lack of certification.
Neal advised (Neal correct me if I mis-state this)he had no trouble using an existing Verizon data plan sim when he moved it to new Peplink devices, including his new 5G device. He has yet to attempt provisioning a non-certified Peplink with a new data plan (new sim & phone #) from Verizon.
This would seem to suggets, if you have an existing Verizon data plan in a Peplink device, it will most likely go into & function in one of the 5G devices. This is the route I ultimately had to take when I provisioned with my CAT-18 prior to certification in May of 2020.
With all that said, I have a question. Have any forum members successfully provisioned a Peplink 5G device with a new data plan from Verizon?
Please understand, my intent is to try & understand why some users apparently have no issues with the Peplink 5G products & others come away frustrated. Verizon is the cellular phone carrier, as well as, a secondary provider, for data only plans for myself & our HQ,s location. We do not really want to drop Verizon & it's not yet been necessary to add T-Mobile service to the existing mix.
Please humor me. Thanks!

I have not tried as a mix of AT&T & T-Mobile has been perfect for me. In my travels, the few places where AT&T has not been good enough, T-Mobile has been great, and vice versa. I am in Orlando currently and the BR1 Pro can only manage to get 25-30mbps down from AT&T but from T-Mobile, we’ll you saw it. That said, AT&T is my primary because they have just proven to have the best coverage and speeds in the majority of places compared to T-Mobile. I can’t speak to VZW because I haven’t used them. I would not make T-Mobile my primary though. Their coverage is still too spotty. That might get better with the Sprint merge though. If I couldn’t use AT&T tomorrow, I would first look to VZW and try to make it work.

5GStore has a 30-day return policy so you could get a 5G pepwave, play with it for a couple weeks and if you can’t get satisfactory results, return it.

 

[Neal]

@MapNerd when you are connected to T-Mobile does the Pepwave Admin connection show 5G or LTE/LTE-A?

 

[lemondrop9344]

MapNerd,
Thanks for the reply.
As much as I would like to join in the quest for additional internet speed, I am going to hold off until the 5G cellular offerings (by the providers as well as the manufacturers) have had more time to mature. Y'all have my admiration for going at it.

 

[Neal]

I will be listing my CAT 18 Max Transit soon (sold). My prospective buyer went with the BR1 Pro 5G.

 

[MapNerd]

@MapNerd when you are connected to T-Mobile does the Pepwave Admin connection show 5G or LTE/LTE-A?

5G for TMobile.
AT&T shows LTE-A

I noticed that if I set the T-Mobile connection type to “LTE Only” then it doesn’t connect to 5G

 

[Neal]

Cool - glad to see it's getting 5G as I suspected with those speeds. I certainly would not limit to LTE only but you know you can.

 

[redbaron]

I just fired up my Pro5G. Where I am currently testing is not a 5G area, so speeds are based on LTE-A for AT&T and LTE for Verizon. I am using the antennas, and the radio is sitting on my desk inside.

First -- This is a test of Wifi6. Connected WAN interface to my home internet, and mobile in airplane mode, with wifi enabled and connected to Peplink. Shows max speed

Now for AT&T Sim in the Peplink
Grandfathered unlimited Corp plan

Verizon Sim in Peplink --- these numbers are very good for Verizon, as my verizon hotspot won't even connect, same desk, same location.
Prepaid Verizon Sim - unlimited data

AT&T Phone using Cellular---same location. This is a Samsung Galaxy S21, with 5G provisioning -- unlimited data.

AT&T Mobley Sim in the Netgear Nightwawk router.
This is more of an equipment comparison vs SIm provisioning, as they are both same speed during testing in same scenarios.

The Peplink is definitely the best hardware. Can't wait to get on the road and test 5G

 

["EZ"]

View attachment 9865
Well I got a Pepwave Max BR1 Pro 5G CAT-20 unit and if I haven’t caught up to @Neal’s download speeds yet, he must be dragging a fiber optic cable behind his rig

That's awesome MapNerd!

 

[MapNerd]

Behold! The insanity of the Max BR1 Pro 5G