TABLE OF CONTENTS


Products Covered

All Peplink Max and Balance series Products with 8.3.0 firmware or higher



Summary

There are several benefits to having multiple data plans/internet sources. However, if you are not managing those connections properly, you may not be able to capitalize on all of those benefits. Please see below for a two-level explanation on this:

 


At the modem level

Every Peplink router has at least 1 cellular modem with two SIM slots. If you are using both SIM slots on a single modem, you can manage the priorities of those two SIMs on the cellular details screen:

(NOTE: If you are using Firmware version 8.2.1 or earlier, the details page will be accessed through a details button that will appear to the right of the bar)

 

 

While it is true that you can only run one data plan at a time per modem, you can still utilize the second SIM card as either a failover connection or for load balancing.

 

 

  • If you want to go through roughly the same amount of data per month on both plans, simply select the "Alternate between..." option above.
  • If you want to use ONLY one SIM with no auto failover, you would want to select "custom selection" and check only the connection you want to use.
  • If you want to designate one as your primary and one for auto failover for when the primary is not connection, set it exactly as shown above. (1=primary, 2=failover) This failover will NOT be immediate. Rather, they system will take up to a few minutes to connect to the new SIM.



Above you will see another setting in the details page: the signal threshold settings. Please note: for almost all customers this should be set exactly as shown above - toggled all the way to the left. Basically, this setting decides what is an "acceptable" connection (measured in bars of service) to the cell tower. If your connection is worse than where you have the bar set, the Peplink will cease using that connection until it obtains a better connection to the cell tower. If you have several different internet connections, this can be a useful way of only sourcing your strongest connections at any given time, but is less relevant the less connections you have.



At the dashboard level

Whether dual or single modem, most Peplinks have the ability to connect to multiple internet sources. This can be through cellular, hard-wired WAN, or WiFi as WAN connections. Each internet source you have offers the ability to bolster your internet setup's capabilities. 


Peplinks use a priority system to know which connections to utilize at any specific time. Simply put, it will look for any connections in the highest priority. If one or more connections there grant internet access, the Peplink will be content to utilize whichever connections are granting internet in that priority. If none of them grant internet, it will then look at the next priority down for the same thing. It will continue to go down the priority list until it finally finds internet or fails altogether. This is an ongoing process and any connection that is not in 'Disabled' will either be in use or be in standby for hot failover in a lower position. 


Contrary to the failover available at the modem level with two SIM cards, standby devices are always ready to take over as soon as your active connection drops. When this happens, you should see little-to-no lag or dropped internet as it switches. All it needs to do is switch over to a new IP address for the standby connection, so you may see a small blip in your connection, but it will only be for a moment. For TRUE hot failover with no connection drop whatsoever you would want to look into setting up SpeedFusion on your device.


If you are using a connection in priority 2 while a priority 1 connection reconnects to the internet, the Peplink will automatically reconnect you to that priority 1 connection.

 

 

To move connections between different priorities/disabled, simply click and hold the three bars shown above and drag to your desired location.

 

 

The setup above has one cellular connection active in priority 1 with a WAN connection in standby (connected to the internet, not in use) in priority 2.

 

 

Conversely, here is the same router with both connections in priority 1. 


When the router has multiple connections in priority 1, it will load balance between those connections. This means that the Peplink will distribute these connections among all devices connected to the WiFi. Because of this, no one connection is getting overloaded but it also means that some devices may be slower or faster than others based on the speeds available from each connection. there are further policies you can set in the Peplink to guide certain devices to one connection or another, but that is getting quite technical. If you would like to pursue that option, please see this guide: Configuring Pepwave Network To Utilize Specific WAN Source 

 

There is not one perfect setup. How you want to manage your devices really comes down to what you want to get out of them. You can really go down the rabbit hole making the ultimate setup utilizing every connection possible, and that might serve you well - especially if you are using SpeedFusion - but ultimately it's just about making sure you have reliable internet to meet your personal needs. The best part of Peplink devices is that they are very adaptable. That's why we love them as mobile internet options!

 


Requesting Assistance

If you feel you are not getting anywhere or there is another issue you can always reach out to our team directly by initiating a ticket here on the support portal or by emailing [email protected]


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