4G Solar security camera internet connection

angranz wrote:

Tried using a XEGA 4G LTE security camera from Shenzen China (sold by Amazon) with a T Mobile SIM. Communicated 3 times with Amazon and the vendor that finally said their camera wold work with a T Mobile SIM. Called T Mobile three different times, they did not even know what APN stood for.  Unless I get a procedure from Amazon or the Shenzen vendor the camera will be returned."

@angranz Your problem is probably due to one of two things.

You need to put the SIM for the camera into another device, let it provision, and then enabled roaming (the roaming part is concerning, right from the get-go, when I looked at the specs).  After that, follow the below to set the APN.

For a decent 4G APN, you can use an older T-Mobile APN example, like this one: Conexiones y red | APN and data settings (t-mobile.com)

The other potential problem is that the camera supports (4G): B2 B4 B5 B12 B13 B25 B26.

T-Mobile uses (in the US): B2, B4, B5, B12, B25, B41, B66 (higher freq. B4, basically), and B71

My guess is that the reason the manufacturer is saying you need to enable roaming, is that it can fall outside their supported bands, in a given area/towers.  For example, if your strong tower-signal nearby is primarily B66, OR if the radio in the camera supports limited frequencies on those bands, it will fail to connect, hence them wanting you to enable roaming (to use limited TMO roaming data on that SIM/plan).

Honestly, I’d just return this camera if it were me, and get one that’s more solidly supported, from a manufacturer with a solid presence in the US, not because I’m opposed to CH-direct stuff (as an engineer I have a lot of one-off stuff like this around), but because if you have an issue, beyond something simple like fixing the APN, finding decent support will be VERY tricky (you might be able to find an English support site for discussion around this manuf. devices, looking around, maybe).

I’d also check the band/frequency crossover, of any future or replacements.

Tried using a XEGA 4G LTE security camera from Shenzen China (sold by Amazon) with a T Mobile SIM. Communicated 3 times with Amazon and the vendor that finally said their camera wold work with a T Mobile SIM. Started the installation with  an App on the phone as prescribed by the vendor. The first part of installation appeared rational on the phone, then asked to input the following for T Mobile:   APN,     APN Username,    APN Password,   Authorizations mode.

Called T Mobile three different times, they did not even know what APN stood for.  Unless I get a procedure from Amazon or the Shenzen vendor the camera will be returned.

My T-Mobile Sim card works with three different camera manufacturers, but not all of them. When it works, it works automatically. The two other cameras I have tried require that the user input three different settings:  MCC, MNC, and APN

T-Mobile says these are the settings:

MCC 310

MNC 260

APN Fast.t-mobile.com.
 

It's sometimes very difficult to find out where to enter the settings in the app you use for your camera. Give that a try and see what happens. Let us know if you actually manage to get it to work I never have.