Back on board with TTL 65 (Pepwave)

[Neal]

In recent months I've been all over the place trying to dial in my Pepwaves and cellular connectivity. My plans consist of the AT&T Mobley (no longer available), Verizon Prepaid Unlimited (I think it's available), T-Mobile 100 GB hotspot (no longer available at 100 GB offer, it's now 50 GB). I have 2 x Pepwave MAX TRANSIT CAT 18 routers and I'm using my former Pepwave MAX BR1 MK2 (CAT 6) for T-Mobile to have all 3 active at once.

I've been back and forth on the TTL override, it's purpose, the results. Long story longer, TTL 65 IS back and set and I do think it's helping. I did some testing yesterday, after the change speeds have been good such as AT&T seeing over 30 down which I didn't see on arrival here.

So in summary, I have TTL 65 set for all carriers, still using the pepwave roof antennas on the CAT 18's, the Panorama on the front air conditioner shroud for the CAT 6 and all is good "here".

 

[Chuggs]

You might have to put a warning sign on the entryway to the coach. "Persons with pacemakers or metal fillings may notice discomfort...watts and watts of rf emissions are resident in this fully wired coach!!! Enter at your own risk!!"

 

[Neal]

Actually people like parking next to me as for somehow I'm able to clear the clouds above. My site always has the sun shining through

 

[Chuggs]

See that bright spot? Yep, that's where Neal parked...

 

[Joe Hogan]

There are some basic settings that can help manage download speeds. Here is one..

 

[Neal]

@Joe Goodxrvn aka Mr. YouTube You could just spell it out for us ya know. As to MTU, I suggest not touching it with Pepwave's. I did experiment with this and what Pepwave sets IS correct (I think it's 1420).

 

[lemondrop9344]

I see a lot of posts where people change the TTL value in their devices & somehow this change equates to improved download speeds. One could assume the increased download speeds equates to improved performance.
I searched the Peplink forum regarding the modification of the TTL setting & the responses are a mixed bag from the results are inconclusive to people experiencing improvements based on the carrier. The latter responses seeming to imply the carrier's TTL settings could have an impact if your device does not match the TTL the carrier is looking to receive. A variety of opinions put forth as to how the carriers are using the TTL to 'prioritize' the user's data. However, what I came away with from the forum was somewhat subjective.
I use AT&T & Verizon data only SIMs in my CAT-18. The device was brought on line May of 2020. Aside from a few false starts with Verizon (the product was not certified for use by them yet), installation/activation was accomplished by installing the SIMs, connecting the paddle antennas, powering up the device & it worked with the default settings. TTL was set to AUTO
OK, I've been sheltering in place due to COVID, so I only know how it performs in this location. As near as I can determine the tower for both carriers is around 5 miles away. Speed tests vary with download speeds between 20Mbps - 95Mbps. Upload speeds vary between 2Mbps - 10Mbps. I attribute the variances to a variety of factors ( # users, who the data is coming from, weather conditions, & all that stuff), but, since I can accomplish what I need to accomplish on line, I'm not inclined to fix something that doesn't appear to be broke.
The Peplink supplier seem to suggest I leave the settings down in the bowels of the device to the 'default' values as the firmware is more or less designed to optimize the performance of the device. I've been around long enough to believe when someone tells you that something is optimized, it means they have tired to 'idiot proof' it so it works in most situations. It doesn't necessarily mean they have optimized the product's performance for a particular situation.
With all that said..... you move from location to location. You have 3 different carriers & multiple devices. When you relocate to a new location, do you start with the hardware default settings & then try to tune it for that specific location & carrier, or do you go with the last configuration used & tune if for that specific location & carrier?
Thanks,

 

[Neal]

I've been using Pepwave products since Nov of 2018 and they are a drastic improvement over the Weboost option which in my opinion is a total waste of money. Get a good system such as Pepwave or whatever your flavor....and with that said I've experimented with various antennas and locations, short line vs. extensions (signal loss) and I as well as others requested Peplink add TTL support to their Pepwave's and they did. Does it work? Is it implemented properly? What do carriers use to do their algo's? Who knows to all of the above, it's cellular, it's not fiber to your house, it's frustrating. Yes, one location one antenna works better than the other, I used to switch to my roof mounted Omni's instead of panorama or paddle and switching antennas can change things, a reboot can change things. It's friggin cellular and it's painful BUT it's typically good enough. I've gotten to the point where I'm tired of changing things both antennas and settings to where my only remedy for something I don't like is a reboot and hope for the better. While I do have daily reboot set in the /support.cgi page (hidden area) I also reboot on arrival to a new campground location and that's it for now. Tired of tweaking. I've decided to leave TTL of 65 in play as I don't see degradation from that. I also tested MTU settings and Pepwave has those dialed in as well, anything other than that will get packet loss.

Moral of the story as proven by my location. It is very important for your safety and all those within your RV to have a good Cellular system such as a Pepwave. Case in point, my location currently I have no AT&T signal on my phone so I would have no way to call out. With WiFi calling and a good cellular/wifi setup such as Pepwave I do have connectivity through an alternate carrier such as Verizon which works well here so I can call in case of emergency, etc. People think of these systems as a luxury for streaming, internet, working from your RV. NO - they are SAFETY devices. Just like I suggest getting an Apple Watch (with LTE) for iPhone users, it's not a luxury, it is a SAFETY device as it detects falls and can automatically call for help.

Having two different carriers in your RV is also smart. Maybe your phone is on one carrier, having an alternative in your RV wifi device (MiFi, Pepwave, etc.) gives you some diversity for the situation like I'm in now. A little off topic from the TTL 65 thread but I cannot preach enough on your safety and Internet is a part of safety these days. We are truly lucky in today's tech to have something such as WiFi calling!