Looking for 4G MiFi with at least one RJ-45, recommendations please

[Chris Green]

I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.

It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.

I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.

I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.

So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

[Andy Burns]

Post by Chris Green
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector

Probably ethernet ones will be fewer available than USB/RNDIS based ones
(e.g. some EE models) so you get power and virtual ethernet over a
single cable, I think Linux should cope with it.

[Tweed]

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

teltonika do a range of cellular routers, ranging from cheap ish to very
expensive. They have Ethernet and most have WiFi.

[Woody]

Post by Tweed

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

teltonika do a range of cellular routers, ranging from cheap ish to very
expensive. They have Ethernet and most have WiFi.

Currys or Argos, TP-Link Archer MR600 at £120 less 1p. Should be
unlocked so you can use any 4G SIM. Has good external aerials so you an
maximise the signal.

[Chris Green]

Post by Woody

Post by Tweed

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

teltonika do a range of cellular routers, ranging from cheap ish to very
expensive. They have Ethernet and most have WiFi.

Currys or Argos, TP-Link Archer MR600 at £120 less 1p. Should be
unlocked so you can use any 4G SIM. Has good external aerials so you an
maximise the signal.

See my previous reply. I can get TP-Link Archer or Huawei for **far**
less than that, refurbished from CEX for example are in the £40 to £50
range.

What I'm after is something much more basic and simpler so I can just
test the SIM. If the SIM is dead then my TP-Link MR200 is probably
perfectly OK so I don't need to replace it.

Sorry if I hadn't made my requirement quite clear.

[Andy Burns]

Post by Chris Green

Post by Woody
Currys or Argos, TP-Link Archer MR600 at £120 less 1p. Should be
unlocked so you can use any 4G SIM. Has good external aerials so you an
maximise the signal.

See my previous reply. I can get TP-Link Archer or Huawei for **far**
less than that, refurbished from CEX for example are in the £40 to £50
range.

TP-Link M7350 (and presumably others) have the RNDIS ethernet over USB
functionality

<https://www.tp-link.com/uk/support/faq/758>

Ignore what it says about windows-only, that's just the extent of their
supp

[Chris Green]

Post by Tweed

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

teltonika do a range of cellular routers, ranging from cheap ish to very
expensive. They have Ethernet and most have WiFi.

The 'cheap ish' end seems to be around £100 which is a lot more than
(for example) TP-Link and/or Huweii 4G routers. I'm specifically not
after a full-blown 4G router with a 4-port switch etc., my TP-Link
MR200 may still be working and not need replacing. I'm after a quick
and dirty (and cheap) way to see if my free.fr SIM works and get a
connection.

[Chris]

Post by Chris Green

Post by Tweed

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

teltonika do a range of cellular routers, ranging from cheap ish to very
expensive. They have Ethernet and most have WiFi.

The 'cheap ish' end seems to be around £100 which is a lot more than
(for example) TP-Link and/or Huweii 4G routers. I'm specifically not
after a full-blown 4G router with a 4-port switch etc., my TP-Link
MR200 may still be working and not need replacing. I'm after a quick
and dirty (and cheap) way to see if my free.fr SIM works and get a
connection.

Your requirement for ethernet pushes options to router territory. A simple
mifi is definitely at the cheap end. Some have usb sockets which /may/ work
with a usb-ethernet adapter, but I've never tested it.

[Chris Green]

Post by Chris

Post by Chris Green

Post by Tweed

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

teltonika do a range of cellular routers, ranging from cheap ish to very
expensive. They have Ethernet and most have WiFi.

The 'cheap ish' end seems to be around £100 which is a lot more than
(for example) TP-Link and/or Huweii 4G routers. I'm specifically not
after a full-blown 4G router with a 4-port switch etc., my TP-Link
MR200 may still be working and not need replacing. I'm after a quick
and dirty (and cheap) way to see if my free.fr SIM works and get a
connection.

Your requirement for ethernet pushes options to router territory. A simple
mifi is definitely at the cheap end. Some have usb sockets which /may/ work
with a usb-ethernet adapter, but I've never tested it.

Yes, maybe I'm looking for the non-existent! :-)

How about - "does anyone know of a 4G dongle that definitely works in
a Raspberry Pi (and preferably also in a Thinkpad laptop running
Linux)?".

[Chris]

Post by Chris Green

Post by Chris

Post by Chris Green

Post by Tweed

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

teltonika do a range of cellular routers, ranging from cheap ish to very
expensive. They have Ethernet and most have WiFi.

The 'cheap ish' end seems to be around £100 which is a lot more than
(for example) TP-Link and/or Huweii 4G routers. I'm specifically not
after a full-blown 4G router with a 4-port switch etc., my TP-Link
MR200 may still be working and not need replacing. I'm after a quick
and dirty (and cheap) way to see if my free.fr SIM works and get a
connection.

Your requirement for ethernet pushes options to router territory. A simple
mifi is definitely at the cheap end. Some have usb sockets which /may/ work
with a usb-ethernet adapter, but I've never tested it.

Yes, maybe I'm looking for the non-existent! :-)
How about - "does anyone know of a 4G dongle that definitely works in
a Raspberry Pi (and preferably also in a Thinkpad laptop running
Linux)?".

Pretty sure the RPi store has those e.g.
https://thepihut.com/products/sim7600g-h-4g-usb-dongle

Not in the cheap category, mind.

[Chris Green]

Post by Chris

Post by Chris Green

Post by Chris
Your requirement for ethernet pushes options to router territory. A simple
mifi is definitely at the cheap end. Some have usb sockets which /may/ work
with a usb-ethernet adapter, but I've never tested it.

Yes, maybe I'm looking for the non-existent! :-)
How about - "does anyone know of a 4G dongle that definitely works in
a Raspberry Pi (and preferably also in a Thinkpad laptop running
Linux)?".

Pretty sure the RPi store has those e.g.
https://thepihut.com/products/sim7600g-h-4g-usb-dongle
Not in the cheap category, mind.

Exactly my problem with that one! Far more expensive than a 'proper'
4G router with several LAN connectors etc.

[Mark Undrill]

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

The Huawei 5200 is a reasonable 3/4g MiFi. It has one RJ45 port and can
be powered by USB or its internal battery. The one thing to be aware of
is that it doesn't offer DHCP on the RJ45 port so you may have to
configure the Beaglebone Black to use a static IP address.

[Chris Green]

Post by Mark Undrill

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

The Huawei 5200 is a reasonable 3/4g MiFi. It has one RJ45 port and can
be powered by USB or its internal battery. The one thing to be aware of
is that it doesn't offer DHCP on the RJ45 port so you may have to
configure the Beaglebone Black to use a static IP address.

Thank you, that's getting towards what I want. :-)

[Mark Undrill]

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

The Huawei E5570 is a reasonable 3/4g MiFi. It has one RJ45 port and can
be powered by USB or its internal battery. The one thing to be aware of
is that it doesn't offer DHCP on the RJ45 port so you may have to
configure the Beaglebone Black to use a static IP address.

Corrected the model number from my earlier post. I was reading the
battery capacity, Doh!

[Chris Green]

Post by Mark Undrill

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

The Huawei E5570 is a reasonable 3/4g MiFi. It has one RJ45 port and can
be powered by USB or its internal battery. The one thing to be aware of
is that it doesn't offer DHCP on the RJ45 port so you may have to
configure the Beaglebone Black to use a static IP address.
Corrected the model number from my earlier post. I was reading the
battery capacity, Doh!

Ah! :-) No wonder I was having trouble finding them. There's one in
Google Shopping that seems to be suffering from the same problem as
you though. :-)

[Chris]

Post by Mark Undrill

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

The Huawei E5570 is a reasonable 3/4g MiFi. It has one RJ45 port and can
be powered by USB or its internal battery. The one thing to be aware of
is that it doesn't offer DHCP on the RJ45 port so you may have to
configure the Beaglebone Black to use a static IP address.
Corrected the model number from my earlier post. I was reading the
battery capacity, Doh!

Thanks for the correction. I wasn't finding anything matching your previous
suggestion.

[Chris]

Post by Chris

Post by Mark Undrill

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

The Huawei E5570 is a reasonable 3/4g MiFi. It has one RJ45 port and can
be powered by USB or its internal battery. The one thing to be aware of
is that it doesn't offer DHCP on the RJ45 port so you may have to
configure the Beaglebone Black to use a static IP address.
Corrected the model number from my earlier post. I was reading the
battery capacity, Doh!

Thanks for the correction. I wasn't finding anything matching your previous
suggestion.

Actually I can't find a model E5570 currently available. There's an E5577,
but no RJ45 port?

[Andy Burns]

Post by Chris
I can't find a model E5570 currently available. There's an E5577,
but no RJ45 port?

The E5577 does have RNDIS (virtual ethernet over USB).

[Mark Undrill]

Post by Chris

Post by Chris

Post by Mark Undrill

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

The Huawei E5570 is a reasonable 3/4g MiFi. It has one RJ45 port and can
be powered by USB or its internal battery. The one thing to be aware of
is that it doesn't offer DHCP on the RJ45 port so you may have to
configure the Beaglebone Black to use a static IP address.
Corrected the model number from my earlier post. I was reading the
battery capacity, Doh!

Thanks for the correction. I wasn't finding anything matching your previous
suggestion.

Actually I can't find a model E5570 currently available. There's an E5577,
but no RJ45 port?

There are a few on Ebay. I am surprised at the price of some of them.
More than I paid a few years ago. Maybe that is because the RJ45 port is
seen as a desirable feature.

[Roger]

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.

I know nothing about French mobile telecoms but I have been
wondering about alternative explanations for your experience.

Is free.fr mobile a virtual supplier? Lycamobile in this country
started "upgrading" their network in June 2023. It consisted of
moving from O2 to EE and so some customers found their service
degraded.

What about 3G/4G? Some people in this country are finding that
with 3G switch off their service deteriorated.

There is also the possibility of a local mast being out of order
and you are having to rely on a weaker signal from further away.

Good luck.

[Chris Green]

Post by Roger

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.

I know nothing about French mobile telecoms but I have been
wondering about alternative explanations for your experience.
Is free.fr mobile a virtual supplier? Lycamobile in this country
started "upgrading" their network in June 2023. It consisted of
moving from O2 to EE and so some customers found their service
degraded.

No, free.fr is one of the three (or is it four) main mobile netweorks
in France.

Post by Roger
What about 3G/4G? Some people in this country are finding that
with 3G switch off their service deteriorated.

I'm pretty sure it was on a 4G signal.

Post by Roger
There is also the possibility of a local mast being out of order
and you are having to rely on a weaker signal from further away.

That's quite possible I guess.

I'll be back there next Thursday so I'll be able to investigate
properly.

[Roger Mills]

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

If all you want to do initially is to test the SIM, why not test it in
an unlocked phone?

[Chris Green]

Post by Roger Mills

Post by Chris Green
I have a free.fr SIM in a TP-Link MR200 router on our little boat in
France, it provides WiFi in the boat while we're there and it allows a
Beaglebone Black to send monitoring information home when I'm not on the
boat.
It has worked reliably for some years but I think the damp may have
finally got to either the SIM or the router. It was decidedly flakey
the last time I was on the boat (in March), I had to keep restarting
and/or power cycling the router.
I am going out to the boat again in a week or so and, obviously, I want
to fix the problem. However I'm not sure if it's the SIM or the
router at fault and I don't want to buy a new router if that's not the
problem.
I'm thinking that maybe a basic 4G MiFi device would be useful at
other times so would like to buy one to take with me so I can test
the SIM fairly easily.
So, recommendations please for a MiFi that will work on Free 4G in
France (maybe 5G too, would future proof it a bit) and has at least
one RJ-45 connector for the Beaglebone Black. It doesn't need to be
super fast, I never stream or anything like that and while I'm not
there the data volume is tiny. It can be powered by USB or 12 volts
or anything really (except mains).

If all you want to do initially is to test the SIM, why not test it in
an unlocked phone?

I'm not sure I have a phone which takes the same size SIM. Also, if
the SIM is OK and the router is dead then I'd like to leave a working
connection on the boat.

... but, yes, testing in a phone is of course possible.

[Roger Mills]

Post by Chris Green

Post by Roger Mills
If all you want to do initially is to test the SIM, why not test it in
an unlocked phone?

I'm not sure I have a phone which takes the same size SIM. Also, if
the SIM is OK and the router is dead then I'd like to leave a working
connection on the boat.

Unless it's a very old SIM, it will have push-out bits for the various
SIM sizes, so you should be able to make it smaller (micro or nano) to
fit your phone. It's easy to re-assemble it back to the original size to
fit the router.

You should have enough bits to be able to make your phone SIM fit the
router, so you can test that too.

I appreciate your desire to leave a working connection in place, but you
won't be able to do that if the router's ok but the SIM is duff unless
you've got a replacement SIM. I thought you may like to diagnose the
problem without spending any money.