ingenium

Yeah this makes sense. I believe that band access is on a per site basis. So for example, on sites that are very congested on band 12, T-Mobile may not broadcast the Clear PLMN. But on a nearby site with light B12 usage, they do. There are some sites that allow Sprint roaming on all bands, and others that only allow maybe band 2 and/or 4/66. It varies. The one thing Sprint roaming does not allow for at the moment is carrier aggregation. You will always be on just a single carrier while roaming (domestic and international). Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

I've heard that now that the Airave 4 is released, they intend for Magic Boxes to be used for businesses, and Airaves for home users. So I guess they're finally starting to implement this policy. You could possibly claim that you don't have home internet, or that your internet is WiFi only provided by a landlord and you don't have access to a router to plug the Airave into. So then the Magic Box would be your only option. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

It would presumably go away if the non profits sell their licenses. Right now Mobile Citizen (and "resellers" like the Calyx Institute) give out normal Sprint accounts with access to all bands. These are technically lines with a 20 or 25 GB "mobile broadband" plan, but they are completely unthrottled, not deprioritized, and unlimited (there are "overages of $10/GB" that aren't actually charged), making them better than any plan Sprint currently offers. They're also assigned a routable, public IP, instead of using carrier grade NAT. You can even create a Sprint login for the account, though you can't change anything because you don't get the PIN. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

The Exynos is just the SOC. I'm pretty sure they still use Qualcomm modems. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

I'm curious what ISP in the US still use PPPoE? If you're using ATT they're using 802.1x with the certificate stored on the gateway. You can setup IP Passthrough on the gateway which will assign the WAN address to your Eero instead of a private address. It still uses the NAT table on the gateway though (so you're handicapped by it's low NAT table), but has none of the side effects of double NAT. You can also plug other devices into the gateway and they'll pull a private address. There is way to completely bypass the ATT gateway and just use it for the initial 802.1x auth (ie no traffic flows through it), but it's a bit technical and requires a standalone router like an EdgeRouter or pfsense and a managed switch. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Just to be clear, you're using a standalone cable modem right? And not a modem/router combo? I ask because if it's a combo, you'll have to do things a bit differently (the Eero would be performing something called double NAT, and this may make the Airave have difficulty connecting). The easiest way to check is to see if there is only 1 Ethernet port on the modem, or if it has multiple. If there are multiple, then it's a combo. If there's just 1, then it's a standalone modem. You can also Google the model number as well. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

No problem. For the extra $5 it might be worth getting this one instead https://smile.amazon.com/TP-Link-Ethernet-Optimization-Unmanaged-TL-SG108/dp/B00A121WN6/ref=asc_df_B00A121WN6 for the extra 3 ports. Then you don't have to worry about running out of ports. I have several of the managed version of it (adds some features that you don't need) and it works great. I actually have both of the switches that I linked to. As a general rule of thumb, if it's possible to plug in a device instead of having it use wifi, ALWAYS plug it in. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Your ISP only gives you 1 IP, you don't want or need more for this setup. And you would have to move to a business account with your ISP to get more than 1. Your Eero is acting as the router. So you need something like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002HH0W5W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_R2JoDbH4XR552 is fine. Or you can get one with more ports. Plug that into your Eero, then plug your TiVo and Airave into it as well. It basically expands the number of ports you have. You can get a switch with more ports if you want. Basically any cheap gigabit switch will be fine. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

How do you have your antennas oriented relative to one another? I'm assuming you have 4 antennas? Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Thought so. I'm excited for 4x4 modems to come out. When the providers actually implement Rank 4, it basically doubles throughput. Sprint has 4x4 on sites, but at least in Samsung markets, only does Rank 1 or 2, so there's no speed bump (just a more robust signal). I don't know off hand if AT&T or Verizon do Rank 3/4 yet, but I know T-Mobile does. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Nice set of CA combos! I'm guessing it's 2x2 only right? I'm waiting for a 4x4 modem with those CA combos or better (4x+ CA) to be more future proofed, since the AT&T tower I'm using now doesn't have 4x4 yet or even B4/66 (adjacent ones do). I'm just not sure how to orient the antennas for 4x4... Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

They're in a low enough orbit that they should burn up within a year or two I think if they don't boost their altitude. They're designed to deorbit quickly upon failure. And I believe they're also designed to only last like 5 years before needing replaced due to running out of fuel? At least SpaceX's are. They said they will have to continuingly replace them. So space junk shouldn't be a problem, unless they collide at enough velocity that some pieces are ejected to a higher orbit. But I think studied were performed to show the risk of this is minimal. The bigger issue I believe would be its effect on Earth based visual astronomy (see Starlink "train"). Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

A VPN will skew the results. You should not have a VPN on whole doing speed test mapping. VoLTE will not matter, they operate on different EUTRA sessions https://s4gru.com/entry/439-sprints-casting-call-of-voice-over-actors-an-in-depth-analysis-of-volte-calling-and-vowifi/ it shouldn't even be able to tell that you have VoLTE on. That being said, if you're on an active VoLTE call, then that may affect things. Recently, Sprint started preferring dropping to band 26 during tower handoffs while on a VoLTE call. So a call may start out on B41, but if you're moving, when it hands off to the next tower it often switches to B26. This improves VoLTE performance and quality, but will result in slower data speeds and showing B26 available instead of b25 or b41 in your mapping. Congestion on B26 has no effect at all on VoLTE calls, but will be reflected in speed tests performed while on the call Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Try temporarily sending all traffic over the VPN. It's possible the subnet route isn't being setup properly. Or it's an issue with IPv6 (does your RDP server have an IPv6 (AAAA) DNS record? If so, is that subnet also set to go over the VPN?). Tethering does not have IPv6, but native does. I've run into this issue at times as well, since AAAA (IPv6) records always take priority over A (IPv4). You can also run a packet capture on the RDP server and see if you see the incoming packets from the VPN client trying to connect. If not, repeat at the VPN server. If you don't see RDP packets passing through, then it's a routing or DNS issue at your device. But there are just too many variables at this point to narrow down the cause, there are tons of possibilities and it depends on your specific setup. You just have to go piece by piece and track down where exactly it's failing. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

It really depends on your config. It could be a firewall issue on your VPN server side, or it could be something else. It entirely depends on your setup. But if the VPN works for everything else, then the issue isn't on Sprint's end. It's just encrypted traffic to them that all looks identical, all going to the same place. I still say try forcing a lower MTU and see if that fixes it. There's a setting for it in the OpenVPN and Strongswan (ikev2 ipsec), and I imagine most other VPN apps. If that's not it, then it's not Sprint's fault. I guess one final thing, do you tunnel all traffic over the VPN, or just some subnets? I ask because if you are using a non public or custom DNS record for your RDP server, you need to ensure the DNS query goes over the VPN. Sprint intercepts DNS and responds with their internal resolver. It's not possible to use another DNS server on Sprint unless you're running it over a VPN or using DNS over TLS or HTTPS. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Hmm, well in that case I'm going to say it's something with your VPN or firewall rules. If the VPN connects and works, then the traffic is agnostic on Sprint's end. It all looks the same to them, VNC, RDP, SSH, etc. If some services work over it but not others, and you've ruled out the MTU / fragmentation issue, then it's not a Sprint problem, it's something with your config. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

SSH doesn't fill packets typically and won't exceed the MTU typically. I had the same issue until I clamped the MTU on the VPN to under 1000. Try transferring a large-ish file via SSH/SCP and see if it hangs or works. If it doesn't, use mssfix or the equivalent to keep the MTU at under 1000 and try again. I'm pretty sure this is your issue. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Do other things work on the VPN? If not, then it sounds like a VPN issue. Sprint has weird, variable MTU on LTE (I've seen it drop under 1000 before for 15+ seconds before going back up to 1300 range). But it jumps all over the place every few seconds. Really messes with VPNs in my experience, causing fragmentation. That could be partially at fault, but it would also apply to tethered data... Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Almost certainly nothing. Other than the hack Sprint is using to restrict VoLTE access on sites/markets. They probably didn't want to pay Samsung to implement it, when they thought it would be launched by now. So they just hold the update until they want to launch it. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

As a side note, you should never have an RDP server exposed to the internet. You will eventually get bitten in the ass. It should always be behind a VPN as an extra layer of security. Regarding your actual issue, one possibility is that your RDP server is listening on IPv4 only, but the hostname you're using for RDP has both A and AAAA DNS records. Tethering does not assign IPv6 addresses to clients. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

This is now possible with eSIM phones (Pixel 3 and 3a and XL). You just sign in with your Sprint account during setup and that's it. Presumably we'll see eSIM on more phones going forward, now that the next (unreleased) Qualcomm chip is certified for doing eSIM without a separate chip. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

It could be region based, sort of like T-Mobile roaming. Or set that if it sees a certain network to always prefer it. I know Movistar is definitely a preferred partner is all countries, but I've roamed off of them before. Maybe in more rural areas there is more roaming flexibility. At least in Barcelona, Movistar does have a more dense network it seems, and has 50% of subscribers, so it's fine. I'm using an Orange SIM now, and despite 20+20+10 (sometimes 20+20+10+10) FDD CA, it feels congested often. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

You'll need root and Network Signal Guru (NSG) for that. I don't believe that information is available via the Android API, and you'll have to interface directly with the modem's engineering interface to get it. NSG is one option, or if you can find carrier grade analysis software for Windows (TEMS, Actix, etc), then you don't need root and can plug your phone into your computer to retrieve modem engineering data. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

You can sometimes force it to use a different carrier. It worked for me in January in Costa Rica, but I'm in Spain now and while Sprint has roaming agreements with all 4 carriers here, it will only use the biggest one (Movistar). I can auth onto the others, but as soon as data tries to pass it overrides the manual network selection, goes back to automatic, and switches to Movistar. So they may have changed something recently, or it could just be country specific, but you can sometimes pick a different carrier. https://www.sprint.com/en/support/solutions/international/international-roaming-partners.html#S Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

It seemed fine, but it wasn't on a site that I connected to very often, and I didn't do a lot of testing. There are only a handful of sites that I've seen with the third carrier. If I remember correctly it seemed to load balance as expected, but it still preferred to use the 2 contig carriers if I did a speed test. Light web usage would allow me to stay on the third carrier. It wasn't wasn't very loaded at the time I tested (covered a major highway interchange that is very congested during rush hour), so I'm not sure how it would perform under load. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk