I will plug both a cable modem and a 5G modem into the device, and outbound will plug a mesh wifi into it. This is for home use, but need failover / smoothing / etc. for home office use.
Hi @Carl_Albrecht Well, some questions are suggested:
- What throughput is needed through the firewall?
- What do you mean by ā5G Modem?ā And, how will you connect it to the router?
The Balance One no longer appears on our price sheet. Too bad really, as its absence sorta leaves a hole in Peplinkās line-up. Iāll send you my contact information via PM if you want to talk about the alternatives.
Rick
Thanks Rick for a quick reply! Iām less sensitive to throughput and more sensitive to fail-over and load balance, lossy signals, etc. I live in a rural area and work on Videocons (Zoom, Teams, Webex) all day. I get unacceptable signal degradation. By 5G I mean Iāll buy a T-Mob or ATT hotspot for home Wifi and plug it into this device. I donāt have it yet but would presume it has a network cable output. Do you know? Iād love to talk about alternatives!
You guys are the closest thing Iāve been able to find to a āConsumerizedā multi-WAN setup with all the features that you might get with SDWAN or other corporate setups.
OK, Peplink has some good solutions for that. Your requirement is shared by a great many other folks. Peplink can do what you want with a very ācleanā solution ā no add-ons/hot spots/cobble-jobs/etc.
Give me a call when convenient.
-R
Super, what number should I call
Hi Carl. I sent you a PM with my contact info. Sometimes it is difficult to retrieve PMs but you should have received an e-mail with a link.
- R
Only email I got was to verify my email address ā¦ no links to PM.
I guess thatās a āfeatureā these days. I am at 330 677 0911. -R
Hey Rick can you send me that stuff at [email protected]
BR1 5G Pro and get rid of whatever is the current 5G modem and use the builtin.
Exactly.
Contrarian here.
Without knowing what equipment you presently have, or where you are located, I would take the the price difference between the BR1 5G Pro & BR1 LTE A & apply it to a Starlink. I believe this will provide you with better failover/smoothing/etc. than the BR1 5G Pro.
Rick/Eric, I have the upmost respect in your technical knowledge & opinions, however IMHO 5G service outside of T-Mobile appears to be more marketing hype than reality. I readily acknowledge both of your are way higher up on the technical curve than I am. Feel free to bash my proposed solution, I am always willing to learn something. I am thick skinned.
Please donāt take this comment in the wrong way, I like these goodies as much as anybody. The specs on these models appear to be the same except for the 5G modem.
@lemondrop9344: George, I respect all well-taken, informed views based on experience and real knowledge ā and youāre firmly in that group! :<) :<)
Just one data point: Within the last week I have seen both TMO and AT&T exceed 250/40; a few tests were far higher for both but I judge them to be outliers. For the longest time 5G was a pipe dream ā almost a marketing deception ā in most of the USA (major cities not considered) but that is starting to change. Startling toā¦ ;<) And, I, for one, am still waiting for Starlink (since 01/21). And waiting ā¦ and waiting. Not everyone can get it. Every situation is unique to some degree.
Rick,
Thanks for kind words.
I too am waiting on my own residential Starlink. Fortunate enough to be able to play with my sonās Starlink setup which exposed me to its potential for our particular situation. Yep, Iām a big fan.
Will readily admit I am sort of an aardvark & my ābean countingā mentality frequently over rides my desire to acquire the latest technology.
I certainly agree with everything you said & you are certainly exposed to many more situations than I see here in āBumpkinvilleā. As you indicated, every situation is unique to some degree. Your perspective is always appreciated & informative.
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A couple of thoughts (I can hold two at the same time):
- If the 5G modem is an absolute, then definitely do as @Rick-DC suggests: The first candidate to consider would be the MAX BR1 Pro 5G.
- If that is a negotiable, then the Balance 20X with the appropriate Flex Module should also be considered. The 5G module brings you onto the same price range as the BR1 Pro 5G, but if you are considering working with CAT-18 or less then the cost drops.
For a comparison, check out Peplink.com - Model Comparison
Just the usual $0.02
Z.
PS: I really liked the Balance one. RIP, I guess.
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Location, Location and Time of Day
Read the reddit Starlink Users forum. SL is over subscribed and speeds are not as advertised. 4p-10p is below streaming threshold. And if you are East of Colorado, you will find an issue just getting a residential account activated now.
On the otherhand, location also key for 5G. I have better connection TMobile LTE than 5G - and that is not saying much. Iām talking single digits. ATT works wonders here. Verizon is even worse than TMobile. Same smartphone/tablet to eliminate device bias (iphone 13 with 6.0.2 and ipad pro 5th gen ios 15.7) Overnight tests to avoid any congestion. Worse during the day.
Verizon head admitted they will not be at the top of their game until end of 2024 if all goes correctly.
And a friend of mine working on Verizon 5G Nationwide out of Dallas get 325Mbps at his house.
Again, location, locationā¦and time of day.
IF you have over 600Mbps combined service, donāt use Balance One. Balance Two Minimum. I used Balance One for years only to find the unit really could not handle over 600Mbps Connections as advertised. Check the specs closely for your needs. And do the research.
Rick-- what is the best replacement for the Balance One Core when looking for 600MB-1GB WAN and Dual-WAN ETH?
Thanks!
Hi Charlie @Obelisk_Co . I think the first ones Iād consider are the Balance Two and the Balance 20X. In the latter case youād have options as to āhowā to get your 2nd WAN:
- Use an USB-ethernet dongle (least expensive way ā if you donāt need more than āUSB speedsā from one of your WANs)
- Add the license for activation of the 2nd WAN
- Add the VDSL module to the expansion port or
- Add the module which will include a SFP port ā when/if Peplink releases it [can you hear me drumming my fingers on my desk? ;<) ] .
Iāve used Peplinkās ācompareā page to show you these options here. Iāve also sent you a PM.
- RIck
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