The Balance 20X does not appear to support the Alcatel Linkzone 2. We purchased the 20X specifically for the combination of upgradable cellular modem and the USB tethering.
The Alcatel Linkzone 2 is being provided by a large number of the T-Mobile data providers, and the contracts typically require that you only use the Linkzone (i.e., you are forbidden from removing the SIM card and putting it in the 20X – if you do, you will be banned from the network). The Alcatel Linkzone 2 specifically supports USB tethering by a USB-C connection (which also serves to charge the Alcatel’s large-capacity battery).
There have been reports of the Linkzone 2 connecting via USB tethering to the SURF SOHO, but it apparently will not to the 20X (we’ve tried, and Peplink support was totally unable to help). How can this be supported?
@Fairview_Hill, it looks like you have a support ticket with us, do you mind sharing the ticket number here, so we can revisit and follow up on the case?
To make the Alcatel work, we used a USB-C splitter (one end is a USB-C PD/power AND data, the other end has a USB-C PD port and a USB-A / USB3.0 data port). That way, we plug the USB-C end into the Alcatel, plug the charger’s USB-C plug into the USB-C PD port on the splitter, and plug a USB3.0/USB-A cable into the USB-A port on the splitter and into the Peplink’s USB port.
Then, you just go to the Peplink dashboard and click “Setup Wizard.” Step through the prompts and select that you want to configure the USB port, and keep following the prompts.