Great, thank you for that info. I’ll download and update it now. I figured since it wouldn’t automaticlly find an update that it didn’t have one.
Another question - is the only way to use the Speedfusion bonding with another VPN appliance? If so - would any of the Pepwave routers work? I do have data center space in Tampa I could use if that would really double my bandwidth.
Hello,
You are correct in that you would require another VPN Peplink appliance to take advantage of SpeedFusion. The BR1 does support SpeedFusion but it doesn’t support bonding. So you would be able to setup SpeedFusion to another Peplink/Pepwave/FusionHub, but you wouldn’t be able to get greater speeds with bonding. Our Multicellular routers suppot SpeedFusion with bonding out of the box.
Hi there, brand new here and just saw this as I have exactly this problem with BR1.
I hope it’s ok to jump straight in to an old thread?
I see these upgrades are now 6.3.5 and 8.0.2 respectively, and assume same process to get my BR1 up to date?
This would be why my Verizon SIM is not getting more than a few Mbps?
Thanks in advance
Ash
Hello! I’m also experiencing this issue, but with T-mobile. On my phone, I’m getting at least 30mbps down, but our (new) BR1 Mini is getting <1mbps. Were you guys able to come to a solution?
Thanks,
Jake
What band is your phone connecting on?
The BR1 mini may not support the t-mobile band that is performing fastest on the tower near you.
The max transit mini and the max transit support more t-mobile bands.
I’m not 100% sure which band my iPhone was connecting on, but I did just try the same T-mobile SIM card in our (old) Mofi 4500 and the speed was tremendously better (30mbps in the Mofi vs 0.48mbps in the Peplink). Meanwhile, it seems like the Peplink is performing comparably on Verizon to an iPhone (similar speeds in each), so I think you’re on to something with the T-mobile band compatibility.
Is there any possibility Peplink will be able to improve the BR1 Mini with a software update to support these additional T-mobile bands, or will it have to be a hardware upgrade at some point in the future? I’m honestly surprised this is a problem, I’m testing with an iPhone X, which is a few years old at this point. Is the BR1 Mini even older?
Figured out that the Mofi is connecting to the T-mobile network using band 4. Looks like band 71 is the one not supported, per this thread? 600 Mhz T-Mobile bands - #2 by TheMissingLink
Apologies for double-posting, and thanks so much for your help so far, @aquablue.
I think the BR1 mini doesn’t support 66 or 71 t-mobile bands.
Also is your t-mobile sim a hotspot sim or a phone sim? I remember reading something about a phone sim’s hotspot data being limited to a slow speed on some t-mobile phone plans.
@rvcoders Jake: 1 really salient question – is your BR1 Mini a LTE or LTEA model? (Makes a difference.) - Rick
Hello, I am having the same issue. I mistakenly shut that device off a month ago. Called Verizon and reactivated it and now all I get is 2.5 x 2.5. Verizon says they can’t help me. I have an AT&T Enterprise Pre-Paid account I could use but I would like to have a Verizon option as well.
Model: MAX-BR1-MINI-LTE-US-T
Hi. OK. That’s good. One thing you might try if you have a bit of time … The carriers do not seem to assign subscriber units to bands based on probable throughput. Rather, they tend to steer you to bands where they have the most uncongested spectrum, among other criteria. We have found, time and time again, if we disable certain bands we can actually improve throughput. Example: Last week we were working with a LTEA modem and AT&T. Once we disabled 2300MHz (where the carrier has a lot of spectrum and where log-normal fading is quite significant) the throughput increased markedly. Like I said … if you have time … 
I’m having the same issue here in the Seattle area. Getting 40-50Mbps on AT&T through iPhone X Max but down under 10, usually more like 5-7 Mbps down through my MAX BR1 LTEA. Connected to AT&T on band 12:
LTE Band 12 (700 MHz)
RSSI: -66dBm SINR: 0.6dB RSRP: -98dBm RSRQ: -13.0dB
Model: MAX-BR1-MK2-LTEA-W
Firmware: 8.0.2 build 1480
Seems to be a common problem. I’m ready to throw mine out the window…
Today on band 12:
Download: 13.65 Mbit/s
Upload: 1.98 Mbit/s
iPhone:
Download: 57.4 Mbit/s
Upload: 1.41 Mbit/s
Here are a few steps I would try.
Verify that your SIM card in the MAX-BR1 is on a machine to machine plan. If it is not on the correct plan, carriers will either throttle or block the data.
Try manually switching between bands on the MAX-BR1. You may get better results on a different band.
Depending on the where the MAX-BR1 is located (be it stationary or mobile) it might be worth looking in upgrading the antenna, directional if you are stationary, omni-directional if you are mobile.
It would also be worth reaching out to your point of purchase to see if they have any suggestions. If need be, can always start a support ticket with peplink.
When I just purchased mine from 5g.com, NOBODY informed me that the data plan needs to to “machine to machine”. I don’t even know what that means. The sales team there acted as if I could add almost any plan. That is not the case and it’s just a paperweight right now. Now I know why they kept stressing the “restocking fee” that ranges from 20-90% or something. I feel totally scammed.,
For what it’s worth, I’ve used my BR1 mini and now my max transit category 18 with ATT and Verizon shared data plans, Verizon prepaid hotspot plan, and T-mobile reseller hotspot plans so far. You probably can’t use it with a phone-only unlimited plan but a plan that is meant to work in a hotspot device seems to work fine.
I see machine to machine M2M plans mentioned on the forum here, but I don’t see where I could purchase a machine to machine plan with a reasonable amount of data in the USA.
no, you do not need a machine to machine plan
what you need is a plan that allows a hotspot device / hotspot data. some carriers are strict about it, some aren’t.
Did anyone figure anything out here. I purchased an older BR1 SLIM and at best Im getting 5 Down 10 UP USING AIMED DIRECTIONAL ANTENNA. I checked the modem firmware and its at the latest version as is the BBR1 SLIM.