bmscott
Occasional Visitor
I'm using a Mercusys MB130-4G router with a (temporary) Lyca Mobile SIM. Lyca apparently uses the Vodafone network, FWIW.
In a nutshell, when I connect to the router from an Android phone, it complains "no internet access" - but I can log into the admin page with the phone, and see that the router thinks it's connected. When I connect to the router with a laptop, I CAN surf the web - but I can't ping anything.
When I swap the SIM cards with my phone, everything works. My (Amaysim/Optus) SIM in the router means both smartphones and laptops can surf, and ping. The LycaMobile SIM in my phone lets me surf and ping too.
I've tried forcing DNS to 8.8.8.8 and turning off the router firewall, even doing a factory reset.
I assume Lyca and/or Vodafone are doing something semi-hinky with their connection that Amaysim/Optus is not doing. Are these symptoms consistent with CG-NAT, or is something else going on? I notice the router is aware of its public IP when using an Amaysim SIM but the space is blank on Lyca.
I'm hopeful that once this router is installed in its final home - when it will be on a Telstra SIM, and providing service for security cameras - it'll behave normally. But I'd like to understand what's going on here, and why a router can serve a laptop but not a phone (I assume the phone tries to ping and fails, then writes off the connection) in case this happens again.
For background, I have a networking diploma but have forgotten most of it, so that's why I may seem to be about halfway to an answer...
In a nutshell, when I connect to the router from an Android phone, it complains "no internet access" - but I can log into the admin page with the phone, and see that the router thinks it's connected. When I connect to the router with a laptop, I CAN surf the web - but I can't ping anything.
When I swap the SIM cards with my phone, everything works. My (Amaysim/Optus) SIM in the router means both smartphones and laptops can surf, and ping. The LycaMobile SIM in my phone lets me surf and ping too.
I've tried forcing DNS to 8.8.8.8 and turning off the router firewall, even doing a factory reset.
I assume Lyca and/or Vodafone are doing something semi-hinky with their connection that Amaysim/Optus is not doing. Are these symptoms consistent with CG-NAT, or is something else going on? I notice the router is aware of its public IP when using an Amaysim SIM but the space is blank on Lyca.
I'm hopeful that once this router is installed in its final home - when it will be on a Telstra SIM, and providing service for security cameras - it'll behave normally. But I'd like to understand what's going on here, and why a router can serve a laptop but not a phone (I assume the phone tries to ping and fails, then writes off the connection) in case this happens again.
For background, I have a networking diploma but have forgotten most of it, so that's why I may seem to be about halfway to an answer...
