topic Re: ZTE 5G MC888 in Mobile Broadband

ZTE 5G MC888

Highlandspring3 — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 16:42:38 GMT

Hi,

I purchased this router with an EE sim last October. It worked perfectly until last Monday.

It stopped working, i took the sim out and put in my phone and 5 g worked fine. I tried a Giff Gaff sim in the ZTE router and that worked fine. So there is a compatibility problem it would seem, but why suddenly after 5 months?

I called EE who sent me a new SIM. I called ZTE who couldn't understand it and sent me a new router.

Today i tried again , exactly same issue. The EE sim card works but not in the ZTE router and a different SIM card (both Voda and Giff Gaff ) work in the router.

Can someone throw some light on this absurd situation. Please don't suggest rebooting or factory reset i went through all that last week and it didn't work. The fact is the router works the SIM works, but they are no longer compatible,: but they were from September 2023 to February 2024 inclusive!

Thanks in anticipation

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

Leanne_T — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 17:43:55 GMT

Hi @Highlandspring3

Thanks for coming to the community.

Has there been any manufacturer updates on the router recently?

What happens when the EE SIM card is installed in the router? Can you connect devices but unable to access data?

Thanks 🙂

Leanne.

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

Highlandspring3 — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 17:52:28 GMT

yes it connect to all devices.

I get a red light on the router when i install the EE sim. No issue when i install GiffGaff

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

Highlandspring3 — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 17:53:17 GMT

The red light is for "network"

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

Leanne_T — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 17:54:37 GMT

Thanks @Highlandspring3

I would suggest speaking to the manufacturer again to see if there has been any updates at all since the SIM last worked for you.

Leanne.

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

Highlandspring3 — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 18:00:18 GMT

They sent me a brand new router, and it is installed with latest updates

The SIM card is brand new and the router is brand new.

I have contacted ZTE and will see what they say and revert.

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

Leanne_T — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 18:04:08 GMT

Let me know how you get on after contacting them again @Highlandspring3

Thanks.

Leanne.

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

Highlandspring3 — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 18:57:19 GMT

They confirmed the router is updated with latest software!

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

James_B — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 08:05:02 GMT

Hi @Highlandspring3,

I'm sorry to hear the manufacturer hasn't been able to resolve the compatibility issue you're experiencing.

Hopefully they'll be able to resolve it with a future update.

James

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

KGB72 — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 13:37:37 GMT

Hi,

I have had EXACTLY the same issue.

The SIM was provided by scancom, and they said that they have had a flood of these issues, because some companies/networks have shut down their 2G/3G capabilities, and as a result (though I don’t understand why!) the cards no longer work with certain routers (including ZTE and Huawei).

I bought the router from Amazon, and had an online chat with them. They have said that they will refund the cost of the router as it is no longer compatible.

I will now try to find a router that has not been affected by the recent changes (although I don’t know exactly what they are!).

Hope that helps!

KGB

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

Highlandspring3 — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 13:48:49 GMT

Thanks for the reply. Did this happen to you very recently?

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

KGB72 — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 15:13:43 GMT

Yes, the last two weeks. Between October and the beginning of February it was working perfectly.

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

Highlandspring3 — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 16:08:02 GMT

Ridiculous isn't it. What are you buying to replace it, any suggestions?

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

KGB72 — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 16:33:27 GMT

Very annoying, all the more so because I don’t really understand the issue. But I was impressed that Amazon are refunding the whole cost.

Have avoided ZTE and Huawei because of reports of the same issues with them, too.

Have just ordered https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C5RCQ8N5?tag=track-ect-uk-1739210-21&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1&ascsubtag=ecSEP1j9njlsnfmsrp

More expensive, but 25% off on Amazon until the end of Feb. It also come second in “best 5G routers of 2024” on bestproductsreviews.co.uk.

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

Vincent0207 — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 21:27:27 GMT

I've got the same issue! Owning ZTE MC888 5G router and scancom EE 5G unlimited SIM card from Amazon UK, the sim card worked perfectly until this Monday.

However, when I plug it into my iPhone, it works. It seems not compatible to ZTE MC888 only.

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

BillCarson — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 10:26:16 GMT

It won't work with this router either, I bought one then found it was still not working, I am now using a Vodafone sim. my conclusion is that its something to do with EE, as Smarty sim also works in the router. PS If you bought the sim EE card from Scancom don't expect much support.

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

BillCarson — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 10:29:00 GMT

Read above, its not only the ZTE. I wrote to Scancom and this was their reply:

We have had many users experience difficulties with 4 different makes of routers:
Huawei
TP Link
ZTE
GL-X3000.
It is something to do with their settings that does not fully allow the EE sims to function.
We have tried and tested our sims in these 2 routers and can confirm they work with no issues:
TP-Link Deco X50-5G (also known as AX3000)
EE Smart 5G Hub (but ensure it is the latest one)
You have been warned

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

thisaintgood — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 18:20:49 GMT

scancom really are useless. I reported same issue on two ee data sims from them on a teltonika rutx50 . They acted like im the only one with an issue and said my sims were not blocked on their side. So they know that my router also has this issue and didnt add it to the list they sent you. then they told you tp-link and huawei have the issue but then recommended a tp-link router and my sims work in a tp-link 4g router (TP-Link AC1200) and a Huawei E5885. Both are 4g routers so could this be 5g router specific? But the point is that list they sent you makes no sense. Blaming the routers is silly because for all of us everything worked till recently so for sure this is a change on the ee side.

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

Nigel123ramzy — Fri, 31 May 2024 20:40:26 GMT

I have just recently suffered the same fate. For the past 10-months post purchase, my ZTE MC888 worked perfectly fine with an EE sim card bought from EE directly. Then a few days my ZTE MC888 failed after randomly rebooting for no apparent reason for several weeks. It now just sits there with the Network light on red. I have noticed that the APN is incorrect, whereas before it show the correct EE APN and several alternative APNs, it now just shows the one called btonephone and of course I am not a subscriber to btonephone. I am in the process of returning the ZTE MC888 jn the hope the ZTE Engineers can fathom why this has happened

Re: ZTE 5G MC888

Nigel123ramzy — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 09:51:58 GMT

Today, I have solved the problem - it is the default network selection setting causing the red Network light. The default network selection setting is 5G/4G/3G. Change it to either 4G only or 5G NSA, and the Network light turns white after automatically rebooting.