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Is there a dual sim 4g router with channel bonding / bandwidth aggregation?

You will notice no difference in real life between full bonding and Draytek load balancing. The one exception is a large file that will only download in one section or session so that will be directed to one WAN, but even streams are now multi sessions. Currently this PC has 39 sessions so could use 39 Wans if that were possible. I have maxed out at 494 concurrent sessions this morning, normally it's a total of 60 at any one time.

Draytek load balancing shares the sessions out between the load balanced WAN's, in my case 2 WAN's. Later routers can do 3 and earlier more expensive ones such as the 3900 for rack mounting will do 4 load balanced WAN's but has no Wifi capability.
 
There is a significant difference between bonding and load-balancing/failover. Also have a look at multipath TCP (link below)

Bonding will actually do what the OP asked (combine the bandwidth of 2+ WAN connections). With failover the available bandwidth will never exceed the bandwidth of any single WAN connection, it will just switch between the connections if one goes down, or alternate between connections depending on clients or whatever. The only exception is when using bittorrent, where in my experience, most load-balancing routers will spread the individual the available WAN connections.

To the OP - have a look at this:
 
There is a significant difference between bonding and load-balancing/failover. Also have a look at multipath TCP (link below)

Bonding will actually do what the OP asked (combine the bandwidth of 2+ WAN connections). With failover the available bandwidth will never exceed the bandwidth of any single WAN connection, it will just switch between the connections if one goes down, or alternate between connections depending on clients or whatever. The only exception is when using bittorrent, where in my experience, most load-balancing routers will spread the individual the available WAN connections.

To the OP - have a look at this:
Yes. Agreed. Whilst load balancing is nice I need bonding / aggregation of wans. These routers exist and also do balancing of course. I am just looking for one than can do three wans via Ethernet inputs.
 
I have a slightly different use-case, where I believe that bonding of two SIMs on the same bands/frequencies would be beneficial.

My mobile carrier offers talk/text/data plans with unlimited hotspotted data at a throttled, but still quite ample, speed. In addition, it allows you to add-on a second, data-only SIM (I only use data anyway) linked to the same line for a trivial amount per month. The two SIMs use the same pool of high-speed data, and then once that is done with, they both continue on with the unlimited throttled data. Critically, however, they both can receive the full throttled speed simultaneously — using one throttled SIM does not in any way affect the experience of the other.

Being artificially capped at a certain speed, rather than pulling all that the network can give them, and given that the throttled speed is under half of the unthrottled speed, it seems to me that buying a dual-SIM router and putting both cards within it would yield double the throttled speed, assuming that they don't have some sort of block in place where two SIMs reporting the same IMEI only get half normal throttled speeds. Am I correct to think that this might work? If so, are there any consumer-grade dual-SIM LTE routers I could use to achieve this?

Cheers!
 
I have a slightly different use-case, where I believe that bonding of two SIMs on the same bands/frequencies would be beneficial.

My mobile carrier offers talk/text/data plans with unlimited hotspotted data at a throttled, but still quite ample, speed. In addition, it allows you to add-on a second, data-only SIM (I only use data anyway) linked to the same line for a trivial amount per month. The two SIMs use the same pool of high-speed data, and then once that is done with, they both continue on with the unlimited throttled data. Critically, however, they both can receive the full throttled speed simultaneously — using one throttled SIM does not in any way affect the experience of the other.

Being artificially capped at a certain speed, rather than pulling all that the network can give them, and given that the throttled speed is under half of the unthrottled speed, it seems to me that buying a dual-SIM router and putting both cards within it would yield double the throttled speed, assuming that they don't have some sort of block in place where two SIMs reporting the same IMEI only get half normal throttled speeds. Am I correct to think that this might work? If so, are there any consumer-grade dual-SIM LTE routers I could use to achieve this?

Cheers!
Which will work, only if your local mast isn't over contended.
 
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Hi all,

I'm moving down to rural devon the the FTTP has just been put back by 6 months so I've got to find a solution for short term internet. I've tested out a 4G modem down there with vodaphone and predicatably, first thing in the morning its nice and quick (30MBps) but as people wake up on the campsites etc it drops to nothing (05-2MBps)

Both vodaphone, EE and O2 have decent 4G coverage

From what I understand, your recommendation would be to buy a Draytek Vigor 2925 and use that to link two 4G modems. If I understand correctly I could use one simple USB dongle and one via the WAN port (and a 4G box with an ethernet cable). Does that sound about right?

I'll be using a Mac, is there much configuration at that end? Or you just connect as usual to the Draytek (wired or wireless) and get on with it?
The Draytek will manage the flow of different connections to the fastest 4G at the time? If you are doing 2 things at once, e.g. Dropbox and websearch, does it split the connection across the two?

I'm quite the networking noob, so feel free to point me to a big reading guide to get up speed on the differences between bonding and load balancing.

Thanks and any help,

NIck
 
Hi all. Resurrecting this thread (good background) as I am still looking for a solution to our UK mobile woes particularly on the move (from 5G to 3G and everything between) and I would be grateful for any feedback particularly as I am having a fresh look at Speedify.

As previously posted while I am still waiting for modem prices to come down in the meantime have two of the cheaper 5G dual SIM phones in my campervan which can be ethernet tethered with a simple failover between them (Beryl router). Previously I have tried load balancing but that's more kit (Draytek or Router X) as I am too lazy/thick to patch the Beryl (OpenWRT).

On a recent trip in the Highlands it has reinforced how variable UK mobile can be. The only FM stations were BBC, no effective DAB and mobile signal dropped on nearly every route we seemed to take, even wild camped one night where there was no RF of any kind.

But even back here out and about in the South East on a simple trip to say Brighton a stream will be invariably interrupted multiple times regardless of the network/SIM chosen for the day.

I am not looking for the fastest speeds, simply maximising the data capability of the different provider SIMs with prioritisation, resilience and consistency. The reality is that my remote data use is very moderate and I can live with cumulative limitations of USB, WIFI AP and server response/throughput speeds if it can at least deliver the best possible good up/down available on any given route.

In its basic mode the Speedify Android App can now "bond/balance" between Cell and WIFI connections. My first phone will be tethered via Ethernet to the Beryl and will have it's WIFI on. I don't want the second phone to have it's WIFI hotspot on (heat/charge cycles) so I will probably tether the second phone via ethernet to a spare TP-Link Travel router in AP mode which the first phone can connect to.

VM (Vodafone), ID Mobile (THREE) as well as both 5G and 4G EE SIMS which appear to connect differently.

My criteria is:
Simple power arrangements (USB)
The leisure battery provides power resilience
Compact network kit in breathable box and phones on USB extensions to inside roof of van.
The charging cycles of both phones reduced with a Chargie (currently 3 to 4 days but may now change if WIFI is on)
Speedify on a RaspberryPI an option but not now

So it looks like Speedify may provide what I want and provide a VPN IP address to the router. But any first hand experience or things I am unaware of regarding Speedify mobile apps very welcome.

Will test over next couple of days with a trial from weekend onwards.
 
Hi all. Resurrecting this thread (good background) as I am still looking for a solution to our UK mobile woes particularly on the move (from 5G to 3G and everything between) and I would be grateful for any feedback particularly as I am having a fresh look at Speedify.

As previously posted while I am still waiting for modem prices to come down in the meantime have two of the cheaper 5G dual SIM phones in my campervan which can be ethernet tethered with a simple failover between them (Beryl router). Previously I have tried load balancing but that's more kit (Draytek or Router X) as I am too lazy/thick to patch the Beryl (OpenWRT).

On a recent trip in the Highlands it has reinforced how variable UK mobile can be. The only FM stations were BBC, no effective DAB and mobile signal dropped on nearly every route we seemed to take, even wild camped one night where there was no RF of any kind.

But even back here out and about in the South East on a simple trip to say Brighton a stream will be invariably interrupted multiple times regardless of the network/SIM chosen for the day.

I am not looking for the fastest speeds, simply maximising the data capability of the different provider SIMs with prioritisation, resilience and consistency. The reality is that my remote data use is very moderate and I can live with cumulative limitations of USB, WIFI AP and server response/throughput speeds if it can at least deliver the best possible good up/down available on any given route.

In its basic mode the Speedify Android App can now "bond/balance" between Cell and WIFI connections. My first phone will be tethered via Ethernet to the Beryl and will have it's WIFI on. I don't want the second phone to have it's WIFI hotspot on (heat/charge cycles) so I will probably tether the second phone via ethernet to a spare TP-Link Travel router in AP mode which the first phone can connect to.

VM (Vodafone), ID Mobile (THREE) as well as both 5G and 4G EE SIMS which appear to connect differently.

My criteria is:
Simple power arrangements (USB)
The leisure battery provides power resilience
Compact network kit in breathable box and phones on USB extensions to inside roof of van.
The charging cycles of both phones reduced with a Chargie (currently 3 to 4 days but may now change if WIFI is on)
Speedify on a RaspberryPI an option but not now

So it looks like Speedify may provide what I want and provide a VPN IP address to the router. But any first hand experience or things I am unaware of regarding Speedify mobile apps very welcome.

Will test over next couple of days with a trial from weekend onwards.
No experience with speedify, but the one thing that I noticed in your story is how you do not have an antenna on the roof.
I think you should address this. I understand its hard to do this with phones, you need to buy some actual modem.
 
I will when the price comes down. Phones originally purchased to test 5g and will flow down to family members when I am ready. I do have Cat 4/6 routers and MIFI but they cannot deal in my view with the complexity we currently experience and on a campsite one of these phones performs as good as an antenna on a 5m telescopic pole. When inside it’s a fibreglass roof.

The forum is full of 5g router issues and antenna issues currently which I follow closely. We need more availability mature kit and more stability from providers.
 
@Meatball

My criteria is:
Simple power arrangements (USB)
The leisure battery provides power resilience
Compact network kit in breathable box and phones on USB extensions to inside roof of van.
The charging cycles of both phones reduced with a Chargie (currently 3 to 4 days but may now change if WIFI is on)
Speedify on a RaspberryPI an option but not now

2 x LTAP Mini without modem setup in passthrough mode
2 x Quectel EM12G
2 x M2 Key B adaptors
4 x ipx4 to sma male cables
2 x mANT LTE 5o
4 x SMA male to male cables of appropriate length
1 x hAP Lite to dual wan as detailed here: https://www.daryllswer.com/multi-wan-setups-with-retail-isps-part-2-implementation-using-routeros/

you could power the above off 3 usb sockets, if you wanted something more powerful than the hap lite, mikrotik sell the mqs that converts usb to passive poe: https://mikrotik.com/product/mqs you could then use a hap ac2 for the dual wan router with adequate 2.4 and 5g connectivity.
 
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Speedify is performing well when using a phone/tablet combining both Mobile Data and WIFI at the same time and has shown to be more resilient and instantaneous changing in low signal or not spots of the priority network. There are three bonding modes in Speedify Streaming/Speed/Redundant. Each has their advantages and disadvantages but if resilience on the move is important (interrupted Zoom live stream etc) it does work. Speedify naturally hits the performance of each network link (not recommended as a VPN) but then the bonding goes some way to counter this particularly on upload that currently appears so volatile on UK mobile.
However it does not work as I had hoped. When run on Android/iOS while the phone can utilise the bonded link if tethered to a router or PC (USB or Ethernet) the tethered device only sees the WIFI link not the bonded link.

If Speedify is loaded on a PC, MAC or LINUX then there are platform methods to share the bonded link to the ethernet ports. To compare Speedify with load balancing and failover properly I would need something like a Raspberry PI which I might just do.

Certainly initial indications are Speedify looks good, particularly on the move, and where the network is still there (connecting) but performance is insufficient and the stream will buffer or freeze.

Currently using MOTO G50 5G with EE SIM (5G) tethered to GL iNET Beryl. Then an old iPhone SE on the dash running Speedify bonding a Giffgaff (O2) SIM with priority to WIFI. Appears excellent combination on the routes I take in West Sussex. Works equally well using a EE Sim in a MIFI for slow speed Radio/Spotify.

Obviously the likes of a Teltonica RUTX14 4G LTE Cat12 would be more practical and elegant but prices remain high for this and going forward 5G modems. But it may not have the resilience afforded by Speedify. So a Raspberry PI (LINUX router) appears on the cards. Then I might be able to bond three providers and not have to check coverage maps for the best master/slave combination.

 
Slightly off topic but I remember reading an article a while back with regard to a Gobal Cloud Sim Provider (cant remember now if it was GlocalMe or uCloudLink / Hypercom now) who where looking into their next Mobile 5G Router with Auto Network Bonding, nothing new in the idea but where they come into play is currently thier Global, EU or UK Data Sims are not Network specific, so as you travel around the Mobile Router works out and picks the best Network in any one area, your not tied any particular Network you just pay for the Single Sim tariff, (bit like being able to Data Roam in the UK with a UK or EU Sim).

The point about the Network Bonding is they are already half way there, with there own Network agreements so they also currently do Dual Sim Routers so would be fairly easy to add either Software and or Hardware for Multiple Network Bonding, they also do a thing called a Sim Box, a small Device that can hold multiple Sims and connect to a Device, so again there on the right track for multiple Network use.

Interestingly most of there Routers are Network Free anyway, so your not necessarily tied into a Contract with the Cloud Sim Provider, but can use your own Sim, I recently played around with a Friends 5G Mobile Router (Numen U5 5g Mobile WiFi Router) interesting Device, you can either use the eSim (not sure if its Cloud Sim specific or any eSim) or put a Physical Sim in the Device and use as a normal 5G Router, I tested it on Voda, EE and O2 Sims and was getting some impressive 5G DL Speeds plus WiFi 6 all in a small Device, sadly never did test the Cloud Sim feature as I had no access to it at the time.
 
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