Teletonika configuration help. (1 Viewer)

[berni109]

Long time ago I might have cracked this myself but hopefully the usual helpful advice is at hand. Maybe Lee Rasberry but sure others will know.
It's a s/h rut240 with the early software but got it to factory reset and working with a popit sim so all good so far. Think it's a step to far for me to upgrade the firmware.

Question is - how do u get it to pick-up free open site Wifi without having to go into configuration mode every time?
I think it needs wifi setting as the default network with failover to mobile?
But if more that 1 open wifi how will it know which to connect to?
And if the site wifi is encrypted then cant see any option but to get into settings? Probably only worth doing if wifi is good and staying for a few days!

Subsidiary question will the default mobile parameters work throughout Europe or is necessary to tweak the settings for that as well?
Guess this depends which companys mobile mast it connected and what agreement they have with EE (popit provider I think).

TiA
Bern

 

[DavidCh]

Long time ago I might have cracked this myself but hopefully the usual helpful advice is at hand. Maybe Lee Rasberry but sure others will know.
It's a s/h rut240 with the early software but got it to factory reset and working with a popit sim so all good so far. Think it's a step to far for me to upgrade the firmware.

Question is - how do u get it to pick-up free open site Wifi without having to go into configuration mode every time?
I think it needs wifi setting as the default network with failover to mobile?
But if more that 1 open wifi how will it know which to connect to?
And if the site wifi is encrypted then cant see any option but to get into settings? Probably only worth doing if wifi is good and staying for a few days!

Subsidiary question will the default mobile parameters work throughout Europe or is necessary to tweak the settings for that as well?
Guess this depends which companys mobile mast it connected and what agreement they have with EE (popit provider I think).

TiA
Bern

I have used the RUT240's for many years. First thing to be aware of which I am sure you know is that it cant be both an access point and a client so if you are connecting to the site Wi-Fi then it cant provide Wi-Fi to your equipment so you need a second access point.

Assuming that you have a second access point then you have to go into the configuration to change it. If you already know the Wi-Fi name and any credentials you can set those and switch automatically but if not you need to scan and enter the details each time. I did spend sometime looking at creating an easier web page to do it but the complexity of doing that was far greater then the benefit of simply going into the configuration.

Generally it works automatically and will select itself the preferred supplier. Sometimes though its preferred provider is not the best signal so in that case you need to manually select the best signal and see if it will connect. It will only connect if the UK supplier has an agreement with that provider but it is a 99% probability they do (Gibraltar was a bit of challenge though!)

 

[berni109]

Thank you DavidCh
Looks like I should just forget any free wifi and hope that mobile just works or more research on possible mobile parameters.

 

[berni109]

DavidCh can I pick your brains a bit more?
Noted your comments about 2nd access point but from my further reading I think its suggesting setting the unit as a hotspot accessing a campsite wifi signal will give access to wifi devices in the van. Have you tried this mode of operation?
Lots of acronyms and unfamiliar terms to get my head around to setup as a hotspot so off for some more research.

 

[DavidCh]

To the best of my knowledge there is only one wifi unit in the teltonika so it can only be either an access point or a client. It can’t be both. What may have confused you (I did check in the Teltonika knowledge base) is there is a suggested configuration where you have two rut240’s, one in bridge mode to move the hotspot to the lan and the second as an access point.

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[Hagstrom]

DavidCh,
That perhaps explains why my 955 seizes up when I try to connect to a WiFi access point as client.
I read elsewhere that I should change the IP address of the router to 192.168.2.1 (for example) to get both client and access modes to co-exist. Does this sound right to you?

 

[DavidCh]

No, it only has one wifi unit so it can’t act as an access point and a client at the same time. Once you switch the WAN to wifi it disables the Access point. I upgraded one of mine to the latest firmware to make sure nothing had changed. However, it may be your question was not that. There is an issue with all routers that they really do not like the WAN and the LAN to be on the same subnet (like 192.168.1.1/24] so you would need your LAN range to be different. That’s why I usually use something like 172.28.16.1/24 for my internal range as most people forget that the 172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255 exists and the chances of a conflict are very low.

 

[Hagstrom]

Thanks DavidCh, you have cleared that up for me.
To use the 955 as a client of a local wifi access point, eg a campsite wifi, do I need to stop/disable the mobile SIM(s) service before connecting to the local wifi access point? (So there's no prospect of a failover facility from either SIM?)

 

[DavidCh]

On the teltonika you change the priority order of the WAN so it’s WIFI first, then mobile and the mode is set to wan failover. That way it will be connected to the hotspot unless this fails then it will connect mobile. You set the failover to ping an external address like google dns 8.8.8.8. If it can’t do that it will failover to mobile. It constantly checks the wifi connection, if that becomes active again it will fall back. Again, if you have a rut950 you can failover between the sim’s as well.

I have used these a lot to improve signals, they are very effective. A major issue with external aerials for 4g is the losses in the cable very quickly are greater than the gain in the antenna. This fixes it because the connection between the router and antenna is about 5cm.

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[Hagstrom]

DavidCh,
Thank you for that help. It's becoming clearer. (I'm going to ask Santa if he's down any chimneys of houses with 955s in that configuration, he'll PM me with a screenshot of the Interfaces & Failover menu pages so I know how they should look....)

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[DavidCh]

Just to turn this into real world usage, I assume from your location flag you are usually in Spain. Given the fact that in a Motorhome all I think you need for Internet is the ability to browse the Internet at reasonable speed, stream video, use message services and get email then the basic rut240 is more than adequate. I have a rut951 in the van but I very seldom use the two SIM cards as I am either local in Portugal or in other parts of the EU. A Spanish sim from Movistar in my experience last year works in Portugal, Spain, France and Italy. I have one I top up if I need to. My Portuguese sim works from NOS works in Portugal and Spain so I use one or the other. It is be no great hardship to change them over. If you have the rut240 and a cheap access point (you can get a netgear unit for about £30) you are covered. It’s well worth having an external aerial, I use a Poynting on the roof. I am happy to help you with the configuration if you need it

On the subject of performance I know that you can do all of the above useage on a reasonably solid 4mb down and 1mb up, you don’t need more, it’s just nice.

 

[Hagstrom]

In Spain, coming to the end of my 90 days.
955 connected to a Poynting 4g MIMO antenna has a Smarty and a Lebara SIM. No complaints about mobile speed and coverage in Spain but on a campsite with WiFi, would prefer not to use own roaming allowance.

 

[DavidCh]

So teltonika and a cheap access point

 

[Lee Rasberry]

Long time ago I might have cracked this myself but hopefully the usual helpful advice is at hand. Maybe Lee Rasberry but sure others will know.
It's a s/h rut240 with the early software but got it to factory reset and working with a popit sim so all good so far. Think it's a step to far for me to upgrade the firmware.

Question is - how do u get it to pick-up free open site Wifi without having to go into configuration mode every time?
I think it needs wifi setting as the default network with failover to mobile?
But if more that 1 open wifi how will it know which to connect to?
And if the site wifi is encrypted then cant see any option but to get into settings? Probably only worth doing if wifi is good and staying for a few days!

Subsidiary question will the default mobile parameters work throughout Europe or is necessary to tweak the settings for that as well?
Guess this depends which companys mobile mast it connected and what agreement they have with EE (popit provider I think).

TiA
Bern

Hi Bern,

Unfortunately you would need to enter the WebUI to connect to the site WiFi each time you go to a new site (or use the Maxview App if it's a Maxview Roam). Once you're connected though, you shouldn't have to enter the WebUI again, as you can set failover to switch between WiFi and mobile if you are leaving/returning to site. However, site WiFi can be a pain if they have a captive portal that you have to login through first, this can be hit or miss depending on what they are using.

If you are using the WebUI, I would strongly advise updating the firmware to 7.2.7 (first to 14.5 if you are running anything older than that). You can then use the INTERFACES page to drag and drop the various connections in a priority order and activate failover. Lots of information on the Teltonika WIKI on how to do all this.

RUT240 Wireless - Teltonika Networks Wiki

wiki.teltonika-networks.com

I'm not sure what DavidCh means on the WiFi. I currently have a RUT240 on my desk connected to the Maxview HQ WiFi. I then have my iPhone connected to the RUT240 via WiFi, and I get full internet access through it, can access the WebUI etc. I would also strongly agree however that giving your router an IP address that is NOT 192.168.1.1 is always a very good move when trying to connect to existing WiFi networks. This solves 90%+ of our support queries when people can't get connected to WiFi.

I also wouldn't worry too much about cable length with regards to antenna gain. You should always try to minimize this as much as possible, but having a roof mount antenna and the router underneath it inside the vehicle is no problem. There are so many factors affecting performance and speed, that unless you are into cable lengths over several meters, other factors will be much more significant (router CAT, network operator, LTE band etc.).

You shouldn't have to change any hardware settings when moving around Europe, except for perhaps APN settings, depending on what provider you have, what FW you are running etc.

Regards,
Lee

 

[berni109]

Thanks Lee.
Years since I have delved into networking and never at this level of technicality. (Had a small team that looked after that).
More reading required and then some hands on experimenting.
Theres always the reset to factory default button!

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[DavidCh]

I have a spare RUT240 here that I will check out later today. It is possible that later firmware has added this functionality that I am unaware of. I will take some screen shots if I can get it working.

Update that, I could not delay, I had to do this

I am embarrassed to admit that on a subject I consider myself to be an expert I did not know this :-( I have used the Teltonika's for years and I suspect just did not try it because other routers wont do this. I have configured my test unit and can confirm that it does works as Lee has described. Attached are two screen shots of my setup. I did do a factory reset and upgraded the software to the latest version before trying it out.

I stand corrected, many thanks Lee for pointing this out. I have run with this configuration for half an hour and it works perfectly. I did not change the default local IP address but obviously you would in a real setup. I removed the existing access point first, then got the WAN configuration working and finally added the access point but I suspect you don't need to do this.

 

[berni109]

Thanks again guys for trying to help me out.
A little knowledge they say is a dangerous thing!
So I got the mobile side of things sorted and it was all working well but then i thought i should give the wifi connection one more try. Should have looked up how to save the configuration because i managed to get the router totally locked.
Nuclear option - factory reset - oh how I laughed!
Still all working again now so that's how it's going to stay and if I ever find a site with worthwhile wifi I will use my phone as a hotspot.
Bern

 

[Hagstrom]

That's exactly the process I went through and the conclusion I reached!

 

[Lee Rasberry]

Are you both running Maxview Roams, or Teltonika RUT240s? Part of why we created the App was to make WiFi connections easy, but it only works on Maxview Roams, not all Teltonika routers.

If you are using Teltonika routers, what version of firmware are you on? Working with other WiFi networks is a lot easier on 7.2.X and beyond.

 

[berni109]

Rut240 with an old version of the firmware for me.
I expect it's quite a simple set of parameters that need tweaking but when you are working at the 'networking for dummies ' level it all becomes too much hassle.
I bought it to get mobile data on the move which is working so happy enough with that.

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[DavidCh]

The RUT 240's are easy to upgrade to the latest firmware and it makes no sense to keep it on an old version.

 

[Hagstrom]

I'm using a RUT955 with firmware updated to RUT9_R_00.07.02.7.

 

[DavidCh]

I'm using a RUT955 with firmware updated to RUT9_R_00.07.02.7.

Latest is 07.03.4