Hello all,
I am new to the forum and appreciate any feedback. I am getting a mobile router for our RV as we will soon start traveling more. We need good internet since my wife has gone back to school. We have a grandfathered Verizon unlimited plan that is truly unlimited. I am looking at the Transit MAX Cat 18 as I have read some reports of it working better in outlying areas because of 4X4 Mimo. However, I am concerned that it has not been Verizon certified. I read it was supposed to be certified in April but here we are in July. Covid may be the reason. I want to be sure it will work with my already activated SIM and the good folks at the 5G store can’t guarantee it will. Also, I do not want to jeopardize my Verizon plan. I could go with the MAX CAT 12 with single modem but it is more expensive… go figure… why spend more for older tech. I do not need two modems. I have tried the BR ENT but had issues with it and am returning. One kind forum member has told me he is using a Verizon Sim in his CAT 18 without issues but I thought I would see if there were others as well before making the leap. We will use this for our home internet as well since we live out on a farm. I appreciate any thoughts, advice and/or experience with this CAT 18 model. Not much info about this out on the Net yet. Thank you so much.
Farmdoc
Hey @farmdoc55.
I have the MAX Transit with CAT 18 modem and I use a Verizon prepaid SIM in it. It works, but I did have to edit my APN. (Very simple, in the settings menu.)
I can’t say if this would “endanger” your VZW SIM. I doubt it though. I would think you’d be in the most danger if you start pushing obscene amounts of data…like way more than you do on your current device.
I go back and forth on if I did the right thing with the CAT 18. It performs…fine I suppose. I can get over 100mbps on Verizon and i’ve seen in the 150s with an AT&T SIM.
If you have dual SIMs, then I’d prob go with CAT12 and bond them. You have to be fairly knowledgeable to get this setup. It’s not crazy, but there also isn’t super detailed instructions on everything you need from start to finish. Folks around here are helpful though.
My CAT-18 modem only rarely locks on to 4 bands. I’ve seen it once with Verizon. This is totally up to the modem and the towers (and your location/reception, i think)
In the end, this thing is fine for what I’m using it for, which is the same use case as yours.
I have used a grandfathered unlimited sim in a hd1 dome with a CAT18 modem and it works great.
If you haven’t already purchased the transit you might look at the hd1 dome, as it has integrated antennas. If you don’t mine your sim being permanently in the device. If you want to still have occasional access to the sim you would need a simbank as well to keep access to the sim inside the vehicle.
This would also allow you to easily change the sim card if you are in a region not covered by verizon.
I don’t know if peplink has done a landing page for this yet.
Best information is on this page: CAT-18 LTE: Best Signal, Blazing Fast, Available Now!
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netwOrks,
Thank you for the info. We just have the one SIM and for now, I believe that two modems would be overkill for us. I might have to rethink that as we start traveling. So far, Verizon has been available in most places we have gone. Good to know that the Verizon SIM is working for you. What antenna set up are you using?
Thanks,
Farmdoc
Thank you Jonathan. I will look into that.
Farmdoc
Hello All,
Just wanted to give you an update. I did decide to get the Transit Max CAT 18 and it is working great on Verizon. I had no issues connecting with my SIM from my post paid grandfathered data plan. Speeds are very good for where we live, about 30-40% faster than the ENT and no latency issues like we were having with the ENT. We may have just gotten a bad ENT ( Peplink issued a RMA ). So far we are very pleased. Hope this helps anyone considering getting a MAX CAT 18.
Mike
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