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Forum Discussion
ORBI LBR20 on AT&T
A bit confused. I called AT&T with the IMEI number and was told the LRB20 was not compatible - and therefore could not be activated. I called back a second time to see if the answer would change - but no luck. However, I'm reading in the forum a few folks have gotten AT&T SIMS to work.
Anyone had this issues & what are some workaround? Where's the best place to get an AT&T Nano SIM card that will actuatlly work?
Thanks in Advance
30 Replies
smithrd wrote:A bit confused. I called AT&T with the IMEI number and was told the LRB20 was not compatible - and therefore could not be activated. I called back a second time to see if the answer would change - but no luck. However, I'm reading in the forum a few folks have gotten AT&T SIMS to work.
Anyone had this issues & what are some workaround? Where's the best place to get an AT&T Nano SIM card that will actuatlly work?
Thanks in Advance
Search the forums, as there have been posts on how to make ATT work.
Also, I have searched the forums (as mentioned) and can't seem to find a solution. If there is one out there, please link to it!
Thanks!
Totally agree with you regarding not finding the info on the forum. I think it's important to note, that we're referring to the NEW Orbi LBR20: 4G LTE Tri-band Router, and not one of the other Orbi products which are not 4G LTE routers, like this one is.
This router was only released in recent months, so those threads regarding ATT hotspots aren't actually applicable here.
I am having exactly the same problem and can't get a SIM card to actually work. AT&T appears completely flummoxed by third-party hardware.
I have tried a few different SIMs from AT&T, the closest I have gotten to having it work was a pre-paid data plan (DataConnect).
The LBR20 recognizes the carrier as AT&T LTE, the signal is good, but its status is always "disconnected." AT&T support is non-existent - I tried!
Anyone who had had success: what AT&T plan did you get? Any special settings on the router you used? Thank you.
- You need to manually edit the APN on the Orbi app to Broadband
Thanks for the tip. I'll give this a try today. I'm still confused why I didn't need to do this on the t-mobile sim provided in the box. I'll check my APN settings.
Just a heads up for others who attempt to all Netgear. IMHO, it's probably not worth the investment. I spent almost 2 hours being passed from department to department.
If you still feel adventurous, here's some breadcrumbs:
- Go ahead & fill out a support case form - you'll need to ticket number.
- Have your Orbi serial number - 15 digits.
- Netgear folks overseas are also working from home - so voice connections suffer in most cases.
- Ask to be transferred to the Orbi Air department straight away. Avoid departments: Air Card, Orbi Mobile Router, and Orbi Router. Each department required ~15-20 minutes on hold - and then informed they did not have the training & transferred.
- Caveat - in all the above departments when I tried to esalate to management, I was told it was not possible. Additionally, when I informed each department how much time I'd spend on hold - I was ironically put on hold for "...just a minute or two.." to talk with their supervisor.
- Caveat - after 20+ minutes on hold by Orbit Air - I was disconnected. So bottom line, I never got an answer.
Hi, All,
LBR20 should work with AT&T as long as the SIM has the right plan.
Please provide the following information:
- Firmware version
- APN settings
smithrd CactusHill lilsadone, I will PM you requesting for more information.
Regards,
Blanca
Community TeamBlanca,
Appreiate your help. The information you requested is below. As a matter of context, I currently have three Orbi systems across family residences. This unit is going into a rural home with no cable/DSL, etc..
As I mentioned, I spent a grand total of 3 hours on the phone across NetGear & AT&T. Everyone I spoke with was unfamiliar with the LBR20 LTE settings. Netgear Customer Service said IMEI was meaningless; only the APN mattered for setup.
AT&T entered the IMEI into their systems which came back & said it was unsupported device.
The issue is lack of training & information on this very new product. My preference for the rural location is AT&T given the coverage although now I'm going to see how well t-mobile service is now that I have it installed and working. I would be very grateful for the correct process to use an AT&T SIM. More choices are better.
Settings
APN: Default
Serial Number: 6H3 107 5PA A48 8
IMEI: 355 866 110 137 715
Thanks for getting involved and helping!
What is the "right plan" for AT&T? I have tried asking them and no one seems to have an answer.
Thanks
are you facing trouble with a specific plan?
did the plan you choose have "hotspot" as a feature in it?
No it doesn't work. I had the LBR20 since day 1 and AT&T has turned mine off twice. They do it every 30 days. I have to buy a new sim chip, activate a new plan and I pay $300 a month for my 100gig plan. They say "unrecognizable IMEI."
- So after spending several hours on this, I finally got my LBR20 to work using a AT&T Prepaid nano SIM card, with the $50 100GB hotspot data plan. I tried setting up the router using my iPhone and my PC to no avail. Changing the APN settings to broadband wasn’t working for me either.
What did work? I happened to have a spare Galaxy Note 10+ and said “Let’s try setting it up using that.”
Powered down the Orbi and then brought it back up.
Opened the Orbi app and ran through the setup again using the android phone. (I did not reset the Orbi prior to doing this.)
It took me through the network settings and security questions as I did on my iPhone, but at the end of the setup the device was provisioned and the mobile data is online, wifi is working beautifully.
Testing 130MB download, 28 upload. Very content with this for $50/mo. - Hi all,
Turns out I’m having the same issue - so frustrated and dejected after spending hours of valuable time on this and still unable to get it to work. I have the Orbi LBR20 and bought a prepaid sim ($55 for 100gb plan) this afternoon from an ATT store. They activated it using the Orbi IMEI and told me it would be plug and play. No matter what I do I can’t get the Orbi to detect the sim. So far I’ve tried:
- running Orbi setup using my PC, iphone, and galaxy tab - can never detect SIM card and internet never connects
- updating firmware and LTE module
- changing APN to “broadband”
- entering various combinations of the SIM card phone number, my ATT username (my email) and password in the Orbi router setup
The SIM card works fine when I put it in my iPhone, but I can’t figure out how to get it to work in the Orbi. My Verizon sim (from my phone) works seamlessly in the Orbi, but at this point I’ve already invested time and money on the ATT sim and really want it to work..please help!FINALLY! As I was about to admit defeat it finally worked. Surprisingly did have some crucial help from ATT customer support over the phone. The agent directed me to this link - https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1062162/
I used the information here to program my Orbi settings (following the instructions from the LBR20 user manual page 10). Here are the steps:
1) log in to Orbi administrator dashboard
2) navigate to the advanced tab > Setup > Internet Setup > Mobile Broadband Settings
3) Enter "NXTGENPHONE" in the APN field
4) Select PDP-IPv4v6 from the dropdown list for Authentication Type
5) Click apply
6) Reboot the router
Disclaimer - there was a lot of rebooting and changing settings with the sim inserted vs removed, but I think as long as you enter the above settings and appy, turn the power off, insert the sim, and turn the power on, you should be good to go.
Hope this works for others!
Attached pic showing final mobile broadband settings
Just bought the LBR20 and purchased sim CArd from AT&T with 100gb pland for $55 per month, prepaid. I also have an external antenna, 9db, connected to antenna 1, nothing connected to antenna 2,
installed card and tried to do set up. App indicated "Sim registered" but "No LTE"
tried rebooting, re inserting card, checked AT&T online support and verified Sim was activated.
I called Netgear support and was given a case number, told to hold a few minutes and was disconnected after 35 minutes. Called back, was told I needed new case number and was again put on hold for 59 minutes with no response. During that time I read these posts and went back to try changing the APN. I first tried "NEXGENPHONE" which is common for AT&T, No success. I then tried "Broadband" , hit save and retried the setup, This time it detected the LTE and then went into a firmware upgrade. The unit rebooted and I now have very good internet signal.
The APN for AT&T doesnt use a username or password, just leave blank. make sure to hit save.
Speed tests show Download 132Mbps, 57Mbps upload. I have since added the Orbi outdoor extender and it synced right away.
Will install on our boat next week and hopefully remote Internet access will be greatly improved and available for most devices on board.
