Teltonika cellular Routers

[Guigsy]

Monetary and speed I understand, but what usability issues should one expect with Teltonika?

They're designed to be incredibly flexible and to be configured via the Command Line Interface by network engineers as that's the market they're aimed at. Then, for the mortals like you and I that buy the product, they slap a web interface over it that tries to cover the basics. The web interface is very much of secondary importance.

 

[Randomstop]

They're designed to be incredibly flexible and to be configured via the Command Line Interface by network engineers as that's the market they're aimed at. Then, for the mortals like you and I that buy the product, they slap a web interface over it that tries to cover the basics. The web interface is very much of secondary importance.

Well, I played with OpenWRT and RutOS (Teltonika) and while both support command line interface you don’t have to use it, if you do not want to.
Thing is that web interface is not much harder to use vs regular router such as tp-link or netgear, but if you really need to dig deeper, you can do it with RutOS and OpenWRT based routers, but out of luck with tp-link or netgear.
I would not call it a usability issue. Just don’t dig deeper with CLI if not comfortable and you will be fine.

 

[Randomstop]

My experiences with cheap antennas have not been good (one actually reduced the signal I got!)

Roof mounted antenna will always be better in a PVC, but a temporary 'chuck it out of the skylight' one might be OK in the short term.

The Netgear M1 (and I think a lot of it's newer variants) had the option for external antennas.

To be honest, I'd spend a bit of proper money on a good antenna and make a hole in the roof. Do it properly, do it once.

I’m beginning to think the same way. There are quite a few holes in every motorhome’s roof already. A properly sealed extra hole won’t make much difference, but a few more dB of signal may help…

 

[fishplug]

I completely understand your hesitation in putting holes in vehicles. I'm very much the same.

That's why I started with a little Hwawei thing with a cheap antenna in the cab.

My journey led me through a disastrous series of antennas which got progressively more expensive and a couple of other cheap routers until I found the Nighthawk M1 and external Poynting A-XPOL-0001 combination.

That antenna wasn't designed for vehicle use so it was a bit fiddly to mount but it worked really well.

A few years later the option to 'work from van' became possible for me, so I went in search of something that would be able to get reliable signal in a few more places and ended up with my current Teltonika/Poynting Puck combo which I've been happy with.

In the last van I'd used that silver foil bubble wrap stuff as a vapour barrier, so the external antenna really did make a big difference.

 

[starquake]

In the last van I'd used that silver foil bubble wrap stuff as a vapour barrier, so the external antenna really did make a big difference.

Worth noting that in my case the wife started storing the tin foil in the cupboard next to the router. Funnily enough it stopped the wifi covering the rear of van as strongly and was quickly relocated to the cupboard above microwave instead.

Small items (we have a set of metal lights) made of metal stored in cupboard with your router can have a surpsiring impact. My advice is to avoid any metallic type items within a half metre ish.

Tin foil insulation would almost certainally require a external antenna as you say!

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[Andy from Sandy]

This is a very long thread so I have only really read the original poster's question. It may have been said already but here goes. Don't bother with 4g as it is in the process of being discontinued and the frequencies being used for 5G.

I use a Deco X50-5G(1-pack) which currently costs £209 from Amazon. It doesn't use eSims (I'm not bothered about that) and you can plug in an external antenna (two sockets) if you want, but the built in antenna is pretty good so doesn't make much difference to the signal strength in my motorhome. I actually use it with a 5G Ready Antenna (roof mounted) for £299 from motorhomewifi.co.uk.

The wifi coverage is unbelievably good and the router will run off your leisure battery, but you will have to purchase a 12v lead with a suitable plug on the router end.

I hope this recommendation is helpful.

 

[Randomstop]

This is a very long thread so I have only really read the original poster's question. It may have been said already but here goes. Don't bother with 4g as it is in the process of being discontinued and the frequencies being used for 5G.

I use a Deco X50-5G(1-pack) which currently costs £209 from Amazon. It doesn't use eSims (I'm not bothered about that) and you can plug in an external antenna (two sockets) if you want, but the built in antenna is pretty good so doesn't make much difference to the signal strength in my motorhome. I actually use it with a 5G Ready Antenna (roof mounted) for £299 from motorhomewifi.co.uk.

The wifi coverage is unbelievably good and the router will run off your leisure battery, but you will have to purchase a 12v lead with a suitable plug on the router end.

I hope this recommendation is helpful.

This is NOT helpful!
4G is not being phased out any time soon.

4G (LTE): This remains the backbone of global mobile connectivity and will co-exist with 5G for at least another decade, likely even longer.

Industry consensus suggests 4G may begin its slow decline around 2030–2035, if historical timelines hold (e.g., 3G lasted ~15–20 years)

In regions still rolling out 4G, it could remain dominant well into the 2040s, especially where 5G is slow to take off .

Unlike 2G/3G, no carrier has announced a firm timeline for 4G shutdown—expect updates years in advance.

So, please, do not mislead people.

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

Perhaps it was a typo and he meant 3g phase out to release bands for use by 4g/5g?

 

[starquake]

Perhaps it was a typo and he meant 3g phase out to release bands for use by 4g/5g?

Exactly, 3g phase out is releasing a consider amount of capacity. And it's replacing frequencies with a max of 50Mbit in perfect world on 3g with same being used for 1-2Gig on 5g.

Personally I have no issue with old technology retirement given the massive capacity it unlocks. Of course he was right in that without a 5g capable device you can't use this 3-5g replacement. And it's worth noting VodaThree are spending £11 billion on this upgrade program by their media reports.

4g will as stated likely last a long time, given 5g is for most part an evolution of 4g. Howeever the 5g standalone frequencies only allow 5g devices to connect to stop cell sites in this mode from needing to slow in effect to cope with old (cat4) type devices (in effect it makes no sense for operators to allow a 150mbit device to connect when in the same timeslot they could have served 2gbyte on 5g.

I've said it earlier in thread myself, but you really should consider a 5g device at this point, near all cell sites are now due to get the 5g upgrade in next year.

 

[JockandRita]

Don't bother with 4g as it is in the process of being discontinued and the frequencies being used for 5G.

Sorry Andy, but there is no way I'll be upgrading my router to 5G, whilst a very acceptable 4G/LTE reception exists well into the 2030s, unless of course the router becomes unserviceable. Any replacement would have to be 4G/LTE backward compatible for me.

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Cheers,

Jock.

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[Guigsy]

4G and 5G are arbitrary points on the continuous LTE development road. Each new Cat release adds new features to the LTE standard. And nothing supports all the features. 5G is just a marketing term that means it might be a bit faster.

 

[Randomstop]

4G and 5G are arbitrary points on the continuous LTE development road. Each new Cat release adds new features to the LTE standard. And nothing supports all the features. 5G is just a marketing term that means it might be a bit faster.

5G is substantially faster (where available), but this “faster” aspect might be irrelevant for most people, even potentially detrimental due to the following reasons:

1. Most individuals do not require more speed than the good reliable 4G LTE connection provides (e.g., 50Mbps+).
2. There is always a possibility of consuming more data on a faster connection. For instance, testing the speed of a good 5G connection twice could potentially burn around 1GB of data allowance. Downloading multi-GB files may also help burn the allowance faster (with less time to realize the error and stop the large download).

Let’s assume there exists mobile technology that allows you to have a 100Gbps connection (even at a reasonable price). Would you need it?

People don’t buy Lamborghinis to drive at speeds exceeding 200 miles per hour; they do it to show off.

 

[fishplug]

Need or want?

On 4G you're unlikely to get much more than 70Mbps download - but that translates to something like 22Mbps upload on a SIM

Plenty more than enough for most of us, but if you work on the road, or are a YouTuber etc then going for a 5G setup that lets you upload at 50Mbps can make a meaningful difference.

With the relative gap in costs between 4G and 5G kit having significantly narrowed, I think 5G makes sense personally, but we've all got different needs and different budgets.

 

[Guigsy]

5G is substantially faster (where available), but this “faster” aspect might be irrelevant for most people, even potentially detrimental due to the following reasons:

My understanding is that it's all LTE. And new specifications, referred to as the Cat (egory) are released a few times a year. I think we're now up to Cat20? But no device implements all of the parts of each Cat. It's perfectly possible for a device labelled 4G to be quicker than an early 5G device that had very few features implemented. Plus lots of UK masts are still broadcasting 5G radio in NSA (non stand alone) mode, so still using the 4G backhaul, which means you're limited to 4G speeds anyway.

Although people talk about the raw speed of 5G, most of the differences are that the network providers can support way more devices per mast, and that the latency is lower. As more people are using more data, speeds won't actually go up much because data bloat will offset it.

But yeah, most of the time, 30-50mbits covers pretty much all use cases. Including UHD TV streaming, Zoom and remote working. Just about the only time you need more is when you're uploading your hour long YouTube vlog, or you're a hardcore gamer and you get up at 5am to download 1TB for GTA6 on release day.

 

[Randomstop]

My understanding is that it's all LTE. And new specifications, referred to as the Cat (egory) are released a few times a year. I think we're now up to Cat20? But no device implements all of the parts of each Cat. It's perfectly possible for a device labelled 4G to be quicker than an early 5G device that had very few features implemented. Plus lots of UK masts are still broadcasting 5G radio in NSA (non stand alone) mode, so still using the 4G backhaul, which means you're limited to 4G speeds anyway.

Although people talk about the raw speed of 5G, most of the differences are that the network providers can support way more devices per mast, and that the latency is lower. As more people are using more data, speeds won't actually go up much because data bloat will offset it.

But yeah, most of the time, 30-50mbits covers pretty much all use cases. Including UHD TV streaming, Zoom and remote working. Just about the only time you need more is when you're uploading your hour long YouTube vlog, or you're a hardcore gamer and you get up at 5am to download 1TB for GTA6 on release day.

With all due respect,

Cat20 refers to 4G LTE, specifically LTE-Advanced Pro, not 5G.

The term “Cat” stands for Category and categorizes the speed capabilities of LTE user equipment. Cat20 is one of the highest categories in 4G LTE, offering:

Downlink speed up to 2 Gbps
Uplink speed up to 150 Mbps
These speeds are achieved through techniques such as:

5x Carrier Aggregation
256-QAM
4x4 MIMO

In contrast, 5G employs a different naming convention and is not categorized using the “Cat” system.

Devices supporting 5G often also support high-category 4G LTE (like Cat20) as a fallback and for enhanced coverage.

So, Cat20 =High-end 4G LTE, not 5G.

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[Randomstop]

My understanding is that it's all LTE. And new specifications, referred to as the Cat (egory) are released a few times a year. I think we're now up to Cat20? But no device implements all of the parts of each Cat. It's perfectly possible for a device labelled 4G to be quicker than an early 5G device that had very few features implemented. Plus lots of UK masts are still broadcasting 5G radio in NSA (non stand alone) mode, so still using the 4G backhaul, which means you're limited to 4G speeds anyway.

Although people talk about the raw speed of 5G, most of the differences are that the network providers can support way more devices per mast, and that the latency is lower. As more people are using more data, speeds won't actually go up much because data bloat will offset it.

But yeah, most of the time, 30-50mbits covers pretty much all use cases. Including UHD TV streaming, Zoom and remote working. Just about the only time you need more is when you're uploading your hour long YouTube vlog, or you're a hardcore gamer and you get up at 5am to download 1TB for GTA6 on release day.

Speaking about NSA vs SA - I recently got 1.2Gbps downstream on my phone (testing) while my phone reported staying on NSA connection. Center of Madrid. Do you need faster mobile connection?

 

[Andy from Sandy]

.... Don't bother with 4g as it is in the process of being discontinued and the frequencies being used for 5G.

Please accept my humble apologies for the error, I mis-remembered the timescale for 4G frequencies being re-allocated to the 5G service. As other posters have mentioned, and as web-research shows, this will probably start to happen from 2030.

Reading everybody's posts on this subject I would recommend, from my own experience:

1. If you currently have a 4G router and it is serving your needs, there's no need to upgrade it to 5G.
2. If you are buying a cellular router for the first time, why would you want to invest into technology that is due to start being phased out in as little as five years? My Deco X50-5G router only costs £209, so it's not that much more than a quality 4G router.
3. 5G routers will work much better on crowded campsites where dozens, or hundreds, of fellow campers streaming Netflix/Prime/YouTube on their Amazon Firesticks are contending for the limited bandwidth that 4G offers. I had e been there, and it's sometimes unusable.
4. 5G is backward compatible with 4G, so if you are in a 4G only area it will still work, albeit slower, especially if it's being shared between lots of users.

I hope my experience and opinion has been helpful to somebody.

Peace.

 

[Guigsy]

With all due respect,

Cat20 refers to 4G LTE, specifically LTE-Advanced Pro, not 5G.

The term “Cat” stands for Category and categorizes the speed capabilities of LTE user equipment. Cat20 is one of the highest categories in 4G LTE, offering:

Downlink speed up to 2 Gbps
Uplink speed up to 150 Mbps
These speeds are achieved through techniques such as:

5x Carrier Aggregation
256-QAM
4x4 MIMO

In contrast, 5G employs a different naming convention and is not categorized using the “Cat” system.

Devices supporting 5G often also support high-category 4G LTE (like Cat20) as a fallback and for enhanced coverage.

So, Cat20 =High-end 4G LTE, not 5G.

Ok. I stand corrected. But aren't lots of 5G features actually in the Cat specs? Which continued to be developed after 5G launched. 5G is just a very blurred line in the sand in the continuation of LTE.

 

[Randomstop]

Ok. I stand corrected. But aren't lots of 5G features actually in the Cat specs? Which continued to be developed after 5G launched. 5G is just a very blurred line in the sand in the continuation of LTE.

You’re right that later LTE specs—like LTE-Advanced and Pro—introduced features that overlap with what we see in early 5G. That’s part of why the transition feels gradual. But 5G, especially in its full form, isn’t just an upgrade to LTE—it brings a new core network, supports much lower latency, and uses new spectrum like mmWave. So while the line is blurred at first, 5G does mark a real step beyond what LTE was built for.

 

[Guigsy]

You’re right that later LTE specs—like LTE-Advanced and Pro—introduced features that overlap with what we see in early 5G. That’s part of why the transition feels gradual. But 5G, especially in its full form, isn’t just an upgrade to LTE—it brings a new core network, supports much lower latency, and uses new spectrum like mmWave. So while the line is blurred at first, 5G does mark a real step beyond what LTE was built for.

Yeah. So early 5G and late 4G were a smeared transition. And low latency and supporting the orders of magnitude more devices on each mast only comes with SA mode. Much of the network is still NSA.

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