Alert Peplink has updated the Verizon certification status, or lack there of, for a variety of their latest products.

[lemondrop9344]

 

[Neal]

I now have a Pepwave BR1 Pro 5G - no issues with Verizon noted.

As the AT&T Mobley SIM is not nano sized I have it in my CAT 18 Pepwave. I learned from @redbaron of a SIM cutter tool but as I don't need this "yet" I am avoiding cutting the Mobley SIM down to nano size.

WiFi 6 on the Pepwave BR1 Pro 5G is proving as expected, significantly longer range (paddle antennas) than previous router. I have not tried it on the Parsec Husky roof antenna yet and won't for some time as I'm in storage until at least late January for now.

 

[lemondrop9344]

Neal,
Very interesting experience with the BR1 Pro 5G & Verizon. Out of curiosity, did you acquire a new Verizon sim & phone #, or, did you use an existing sim?
Can you determine if you are receiving some sort of 5G signal with Verizon, or, is it a 4G LTE signal?
The link below states the product is certified for various carriers (including Verizon).
It's tough to get a consistent answer.

MAX BR1 Pro 5G

The 'classic goes sonic', why? The BR1 Pro 5G router is integrated with the new generation multi-core CPU ensuring delivery of gigabit speeds. Achieving 800% faster speeds than the original BR1 Classic.

www.peplink.com

 

[Neal]

I put my Verizon Prepaid Unlimited SIM in and it worked fine as it has in 3 Pepwaves now (BR1 MK2, Max Transit CAT 18, and now BR1 Pro 5G). I see in the settings there is no 3G/LTE option now but instead it's 5G/LTE which is great to see. I always blocked 3G by specifying LTE only.

As I've offered in the past I'm not sure who certifies who and what it really means. I don't see Pepwave releasing any unit that wouldn't work with the top carriers. Mobley SIM is circa 2017, no issues ever with that, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile SIM's have all worked fine for me.

 

[lemondrop9344]

Ooops, did not read the fine print! Happy you have it working.

 

[lemondrop9344]

Neal, In reading the posts on the Peplink forum, I get the impression the carrier (Verizon, AT&T, etc) has some control over certification (what ever that actually is) on their network.
That you did not acquire a new sim & activate it with the new equipment is somewhat telling to me with regards to the whole certification process at Verizon. It also supports the process I went through when I brought my CAT-18 on line with Verizon prior to certification. Is the IMEI populated in the status screen consistent with the new device?
I would be interested in knowing if any of the members have had success in activating a new Verizon sim on any of the Peplink products which have not been certified by Verizon (see list above).
Please understand, I'm not trying to be a contrarian espousing doom & gloom on lack of Verizon certification. I'm looking for patterns associated with users who have successfully activated these non-certified devices on the Verizon network. I think we all agree, these (non-certified) devices will work if you know how to configure them.
If my memory serves me correctly, EZ has experienced some difficulty with connecting to Verizon with his 5G device. Perhaps there are some clues here that will assist him.
Just a thought.

 

[Neal]

No worries, it may be provisioning new SIM's, I just have no experience with it. If you already have your Pepwave I highly recommend taking a picture or screenshot of your cellular screen so you can give the cell store clerk your IMEI and they can put it in the system. I did that with both Sprint and T-Mobile although it wasn't necessary but if you have it they'll enter it. I had an issue with Sprint, can't remember what, but had to call support and they fixed something. But for the most part it's been a non issue for me but others can certainly chime in with their experiences as they want to offer.

 

[Neal]

I would imagine carriers have to have some method of controlling what accesses their network. I'd think the SIM card is that key but maybe IMEI registrations have to be loaded into their system and that's what certification is?

 

[lemondrop9344]

Agreed!
IMHO, there are a finite number of chip makers supplying to Peplink & others in the industry, Chip A, for example, could be used in a Peplink device, as well as a device for SAMSUNG, INSEEGO, ORBIC or gosh knows what else that Verizon sells. Verizon is going to get the IMEI's for the products they sell in their data base so they can push the product with significant markups.
Some interesting information on IMEI's here:

International Mobile Equipment Identity - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Neal]

I used the SIM cutter to cut my Mobley SIM. No lives were lost in this process. Mobley is running great in the BR1 Pro 5G where it will live forever.