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ZTE MC801A vs. Oppo 5G CPE T1 vs. Huawei 5G CPE Pro vs. Unicom VN007 for PLDT Home WiFi SIM

skand888

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I am using PLDT Home Prepaid WiFi that came with R051 modem. It has nice promos (Rocket SIMs are not forever), but is only LTE Cat 4 and is slow, especially on 5 Mhz channels that operators seem to use here. So I am looking for something better. No 5G reception in my area yet, but I expect it to be here in a couple of years. Still would prefer to buy 5G modem now so I don't need to replace it again soon. Newer chipsets with 5G also tend to have better LTE capabilities.

As I understand, PLDT Home SIM card locks to IMEI and will not work when transferred to another openline modem. So I will need to change IMEI on the modem I buy to my old R051's IMEI (or just any IMEI from a list). It's critical that the modem allows to change IMEI. Band/PID lock for LTE would also be a plus.

Here is the list I got:
Unicom VN007 - poor reception, proprietary (questionable) chipset. No information on IMEI change or band lock, The cheapest.
Oppo 5G CPE T1 - Snapdragon X55 chipset (good), LTE Cat 20/18 (good), external antenna ports, 8 antenna diversity (theoretically better reception), while some complained on poor reception when it was not able to see 5G while a phone was. Looks like not possible to band lock or change IMEI. Oppo firmware is a mystery.
ZTE MC801A - Snapdragon X55 chipset (good), LTE Cat 22/20 (highest of all), has antenna ports, but not clear if it's possible to change IMEI. Very little information about firmware in general.
Huawei 5G CPE Pro - fist iteration of problematic proprietary Balong 5000 chipset with no CA, LTE Cat 19/13 (lowest), no WiFi 6, but much more information on how to band lock or change IMEA, customized firmware is expected.
Huawei 5G CPE Pro 2 - improved Balong 5000 chipset and WIFi 6, but not antenna port. Too expensive.

Overall, Huawei 5G CPE Pro 2 is probably the best choice despite not having an external antenna port. Theoretically, they can be retrofitted (but I have doubts about how efficient it can be - connectors on the board are usually for measurement and tuning, not for feeding external antennas). Also if Smart uses Huawei equipment for base stations at Palawan, it will likely have better compatibility with Balong 5000 chipset. The problem is that it's overly expensive.

The cheaper choice is ZTE MC801A, which seems to be a great modem, but not being able to change IMEI would make it useless when Rocket SIM cards supply runs dry.

What would you recommend? Maybe there are tricks & instructions on how to change IMEI on those guys which I have not found?
 
Don't forget this one, the Mikrotik Chateau 5G 😍 You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.

It may not be the best modem out there, but if you know the brand, then it can only mean good, especially if you're a network technology enthusiast. 😊
 
Don't forget this one, the Mikrotik Chateau 5G 😍 You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.

It may not be the best modem out there, but if you know the brand, then it can only mean good, especially if you're a network technology enthusiast. 😊
Thanks for the recommendation! RouterOS seems like a good choice. Unfortunately, there is not much information about 5G chipset they use - it seems like they target operators for OEM/white label and will customize. I found that LTE modem is R11mL-RG502Q-EA, which I never heard about. Also almost as expensive as Huawei 5G CPE Pro 2 , but can be a good alternative if details are figured out.
 
Thanks for the recommendation! RouterOS seems like a good choice. Unfortunately, there is not much information about 5G chipset they use - it seems like they target operators for OEM/white label and will customize. I found that LTE modem is R11mL-RG502Q-EA, which I never heard about. Also almost as expensive as Huawei 5G CPE Pro 2 , but can be a good alternative if details are figured out.
Yes the Tik almost as pricey as the Huawei, but if you're choosing between the two, and you need the better modem, then you can't go wrong with the CPE Pro 2. Of course if you need advanced routing capabilities, then you could opt to add a Tik device downstream. But if you want the best in advanced routing capabilities, where the modem comes only after the router, then the Chateau 5G would be your best bet, rolled into one nice-looking package. 😎
 
Yes it's almost as pricey as the Tik, but if you're choosing between the two, and you need the better modem, then you can't go wrong with the CPE Pro 2. Of course if you need advanced routing capabilities, then you could opt to add a Tik device downstream. But if you want the best in advanced routing capabilities, where the modem comes only after the router, then the Chateau 5G would be your best bet, rolled into one nice-looking package. 😎
I have Linksys with dd-wrt for routing, so for the modem I'd need it to be a good modem first of all. With the must-have ability to change IMEI because I would not expect Smart to understand that better modems are better for their business and allow Home WiFi SIMs or promos to be used with them.

Alternatively, I might be able to buy Snapdragon X55 M.2 card and external antennas to use with PC or with a USB adapter to non-LTE router.
 
I have Linksys with dd-wrt for routing, so for the modem I'd need it to be a good modem first of all. With the must-have ability to change IMEI because I would not expect Smart to understand that better modems are better for their business and allow Home WiFi SIMs or promos to be used with them.

Alternatively, I might be able to buy Snapdragon X55 M.2 card and external antennas to use with PC or with a USB adapter to non-LTE router.
The ability to change IMEI is a convenient function, to have a device that can be flexibly used under different networks. But, this is also îllégâl in other places (I'm not sure if that's also the case here in the country), and is usually frowned upon in some forums, but not here. 😁
 
The ability to change IMEI is a convenient function, to have a device that can be flexibly used under different networks. But, this is also îllégâl in other places (I'm not sure if that's also the case here in the country), and is usually frowned upon in some forums, but not here. 😁
True, because IMEI also allows to track stolen phones. At the same time, when I legally own a device, why would not I be able to change its config? And it would not even be necessary with more sane operators, for example, if I could call Smart and tell them I'm transferring SIM to another router.

So it's all back to the questions if it's possible to change IMEI on ZTE MC801A. Otherwise, it can't be used instead of R051 for PLDT Home WiFi.
 
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It actually turned to be the other way: it looks like there's currently no way to flash or change IMEI on Huawei 5G CPE Pro (2). But I found a manual and tools for changing IMEI on ZTE MC801A on the 4pda forum (in Russian).

Unfortunately, I only found it a couple of hours after I already ordered Huwaei B818 as a temporary solution, which seems like does not have a known way to change IMEI either.
 
It actually turned to be the other way: it looks like there's currently no way to flash or change IMEI on Huawei 5G CPE Pro (2). But I found a manual and tools for changing IMEI on ZTE MC801A on the 4pda forum (in Russian).

Unfortunately, I only found it a couple of hours after I already ordered Huwaei B818 as a temporary solution, which seems like does not have a known way to change IMEI either.
Too little too late. 😅 Maybe you could try the existing ways on changing IMEIs from other Huawei devices. One of those could still work.
 
Does ZTE MC801A has band locking? Cpe pro 2 is too expensive for me. Torn between oppo or zte.


Btw both has 5G n1/n41 but ZTE has additional 5G bands like n28. I think those are NSA?
So ZTE might be the best choice when it comes to 5G NSA?

Edit:
Saw a video on YT that ZTE can band lock. Not sure about CA.

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I haven't tested ZTE 5G yet. currently using Oppo T1. advantage of this modem is external antenna ports are more effective than the rest. if you want to have good signal, better get the outdoor zte modem.
 
I haven't tested ZTE 5G yet. currently using Oppo T1. advantage of this modem is external antenna ports are more effective than the rest. if you want to have good signal, better get the outdoor zte modem.
That's what I think as well. But can you change IMEI or band/PCI lock on Oppo T1?
 
Yes the Tik almost as pricey as the Huawei, but if you're choosing between the two, and you need the better modem, then you can't go wrong with the CPE ρrø 2. Of course if you need advanced routing capabilities, then you could opt to add a Tik device downstream. But if you want the best in advanced routing capabilities, where the modem comes only after the router, then the Chateau 5G would be your best bet, rolled into one nice-looking package. 😎
hello I had Mikrotik chateau 5G but I don't have any idea how to use it?
 
hello I had Mikrotik chateau 5G but I don't have any idea how to use it?
Good for you. 😍 You should at least have a firm grasp on networking fundamentals, before you even try to study how to setup a RouterOS device.

There's plenty of resources online to help you setup the basic functions on ROS. You should use the Mikrotik Wiki pages for reference.
 
Best pa rin ZTE sa ngaun mga Lods, may bamdlocking sa debug page kung saudi firmware

Saka may pang bandlock ung Z manager na gawa ng Russian
 
Alin sa mga listed yung pwede gamitan ng external antennas without modification? Plano ko sana bumili VN007+ kaso need pa mg modify.
 
Alin sa mga listed yung pwede gamitan ng external antennas without modification? Plano ko sana bumili VN007+ kaso need pa mg modify.

Mag modify ka, Lods kung unicom vn007+, Marami tutz sa Yt. Medyo risky lang

Ung Oppo 5G T1 at Zte 5G mc801a

Bibili ka lang sa shopee ts9 connector to sma converter

Pinaka d best ung zte 5g mc801a may bandlocking at cell if locking, na hidden teknik inde mahahanap sa google
 

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Mag modify ka, Lods kung unicom vn007+, Marami tutz sa Yt. Medyo risky lang

Ung Oppo 5G T1 at Zte 5G mc801a

Bibili ka lang sa shopee ts9 connector to sma converter

Pinaka d best ung zte 5g mc801a may bandlocking at cell if locking, na hidden teknik inde mahahanap sa google


Salamat sa input lods. Yung sa ZTE nasan banda yung Ts9 port nya? D ko makita sa pics kasi kaya ng taka ako if meron ba or wala. Ganda rin sana if meron na tut sa band locking hehe.
 
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