MR7500 (M7 Ultra Telstra) not connecting to 5G on Optus – firmware restriction?

Update (for anyone facing the same issue):

I wanted to share my final findings, as I was experiencing exactly the same problem — MR7500 (M7 Ultra Telstra firmware) connecting only to 4G on Optus while the same SIM worked on 5G in a mobile phone.

Initially, I also thought this might be a firmware restriction. However, after proper testing, that does not appear to be the case.

I sent my device to Telstra under warranty. They tested and confirmed:

- The device is not network locked

- 5G functionality is not restricted by firmware

- Hardware and modem are fully functional

I also contacted Netgear, and they confirmed there is no global/unbranded firmware available and no firmware-based 5G restriction.

The actual issue turned out to be on the network side (Optus).

After contacting Optus support, the front-line troubleshooting (APN, reboot, network reset) did not fix the issue. However, once the case was escalated, the technical team performed a backend reprovisioning / profile refresh on my service.

This likely involved refreshing the subscriber profile and reapplying 5G entitlement on the network.

Immediately after that, the device successfully attached to 5G (NSA), and everything started working normally.

Interestingly, after performing a factory reset on the modem, the same issue happened again (stuck on 4G). This confirms that on fresh network attach, the provisioning state may not always be correctly applied for this device.

I contacted Optus again and directly requested a 5G reprovisioning / backend refresh, and the issue was resolved instantly again.

Since then, the device has been working perfectly on Optus 5G with stable performance.

Conclusion:

This is not a firmware lock issue — it is a network provisioning issue where the device is not correctly recognised for 5G until the backend profile is refreshed.

If anyone else is facing this issue, I recommend contacting your carrier and asking for:

“5G reprovisioning / backend refresh on the service”

Hope this helps others.