Is there any OS agnostic and operator agnostic 4G modem which receives SMSes?

S

Hi all,

Internet connectivity at my PG is terrible. That's the reason I have to use my phone to connect to the internet. I either do wifi tethering which consumes my airtel 4G data, or USB tethering which uses the PG's wifi. Both of which are unhealthy for my phone's battery

I am looking for a USB modem which takes in a SIM card and relays connectivity to my PC.

Requirements are:

- Should work on Linux. Fedora is my primary OS, but it would be nice if it on other's computers too.
- Should be able to receive SMSes. This number is liked with several accounts I don't remember. I will need to OTPs to access those accounts.
- Should be operator agnostic. Although I have airtel right now, an operator agnostic interface would be good in case I want to.

Note: If all the criteria don't meet, at least it should work on Fedora and receive SMSes.

PS: 8-10 years back I used a Micromax modem which has the last two functionality (2G era). Not sure if it worked on Linux too (the SMS part).

Get a fiber connection instead? Where are you located?

S

I am living a nomadic life, so fiber connection might not be the good option for me.

If there is no option available, I will have to consider carrying a LAN cable to connect to routers with weak wifi connection.

Then as you are a paying customer, ask your PG owner to give better wifi connectivity.

I am also in the requirement of this. As earlier I used Airtel hotspot, but now the device is dead and I am left with only SIM card.

If possible, Find the dongle below 1.5k.

W

Something like this but it needs a usb 4g dongle too & probably won't be able to send/receive sms.

*www.amazon.in/TP-LINK-TL-MR3420-Wireless-Router-Modem/dp/B003WK62OS

Better to just take jiofi & use that for net connectivity while use the other sim in mobile as usual to receive sms.

S

whitestar_999 said:
Better to just take jiofi & use that for net connectivity while use the other sim in mobile as usual to receive sms.

An Ethernet cable will be better in my case, as I already have 2 SIMs, maintaining another SIM will be hard on cash.

Which category cable do you suggest? 5E, 6 or 6E? They all seem to have similar prices and configs.

PS: I have this motherboard: M5A97 R2.0 | Motherboards | ASUS USA

W

sntshkmr60 said:
An Ethernet cable will be better in my case, as I already have 2 SIMs, maintaining another SIM will be hard on cash.

Which category cable do you suggest? 5E, 6 or 6E? They all seem to have similar prices and configs.

PS: I have this motherboard: M5A97 R2.0 | Motherboards | ASUS USA

5E is more than enough for a typical pc user.

Why do you need a modem that receives SMS? Perhaps you are looking for a 4G dongle that has a SIM card?

S

Desmond David said:
Why do you need a modem that receives SMS? Perhaps you are looking for a 4G dongle that has a SIM card?

Oh! I thought both were the same, I was talking about 4G dongle only.
Can I put my airtel SIM in this dongle: *www.amazon.in/JioFi-JDR740-150Mbps-Wireless-Portable/dp/B08DRR5D14

sntshkmr60 said:
Oh! I thought both were the same, I was talking about 4G dongle only.
Can I put my airtel SIM in this dongle: JioFi JDR740 (Dongle) 150Mbps Wireless 4G Portable Router - Buy JioFi JDR740 (Dongle) 150Mbps Wireless 4G Portable Router Online at Low Price in India - Amazon.in

No, it is limited to only jio sim.

I scratched the internet and found this (CLICK ME). It is TP-LINK WiFi Hotspot, exactly what you need.

And as I remember, Digit used to give this as a free gift with its subscription. But it was around 2015-16.

W

RumbaMon19 said:
No, it is limited to only jio sim.

I scratched the internet and found this (CLICK ME). It is TP-LINK WiFi Hotspot, exactly what you need.

And as I remember, Digit used to give this as a free gift with its subscription. But it was around 2015-16.

As far as I know only usb dongles receive/show sms & not such "portable hotspots".

whitestar_999 said:
As far as I know only usb dongles receive/show sms & not such "portable hotspots".

My Airtel 4G Portable Hotspot did receive messages. It can be seen in the special SMS tab. Also, It is very rare to find such Dongles.

W

RumbaMon19 said:
My Airtel 4G Portable Hotspot did receive messages. It can be seen in the special SMS tab. Also, It is very rare to find such Dongles.

I didn't know about Airtel portable hotspot but yes it does seem quite likely for it to receive sms. I was mainly talking about "universal/non-telecom brand" portable hotspots & I used to have a 3g usb dongle 3-4 years ago which was fully capable of sending & receiving sms from its dashboard software installed in pc.

S

RumbaMon19 said:
I scratched the internet and found this (CLICK ME). It is TP-LINK WiFi Hotspot, exactly what you need.

I searched on the customer question and answer section for Does it takes SIM cards?
And the responses are not affirmative.

sntshkmr60 said:
I searched on the customer question and answer section for Does it takes SIM cards?
And the responses are not affirmative.

I didn't read the Ques./Ans., But now on reading the review, I am amazed that they had provided wrong information about the device.

Actually I too was searching for this and the description had mentioned it. But the reviews are different.

Now, the only option left is to either buy Airtel 4G hotspot like this :-

Or to buy a Jio-Fi like device and then unlock/Flash a different firmware which will allow the use of all other sim cards with it.

But If you can wait for like 6 months AND live in a big city like Mumbai etc. 5G is on its way. So buying a 5G hotspot will be much more better option.

RumbaMon19 said:
But If you can wait for like 6 months AND live in a big city like Mumbai etc. 5G is on its way. So buying a 5G hotspot will be much more better option.

Not going to happen for at least 6 months till AFTER 5G spectrum auction takes place. Realistically, 2023 is when that should be.

W

RumbaMon19 said:
But If you can wait for like 6 months AND live in a big city like Mumbai etc. 5G is on its way. So buying a 5G hotspot will be much more better option.

Bullet Train between Mumbai & Ahmadabad will start operating before 5G reaches these cities.