Since FritzBox laboratory firmware version xx.05.07-21008 it should actually be possible to use the Huawei E398 LTE USB stick – sold by Telekom as the Speedstick LTE – with a FritzBox as the internet connection. This can be useful as a backup if the DSL line fails, or even as a permanent alternative. Unfortunately, after one of the more recent laboratory firmware updates my E398 suddenly stopped connecting.
The following changes to the FritzBox settings got it working again:
1. Connect the Speedstick LTE to the FritzBox and wait until it appears under “Home Network > USB Devices”.
2. Under “Internet > Mobile Communications”, make sure the following settings are used:
– Enable “Allow roaming onto other networks”. If you live near a national border and can also receive mobile networks from the neighbouring country, however, be careful with this setting!
– Under internet access, change the mobile network operator to “Other operator”. The access point must be “internet.telekom”, the dial-in number “*99#”, the username “t-mobile” and the password “tm”.
The connection to the Telekom network should now work again.
Anyone expecting full LTE speed will unfortunately be disappointed. According to speedtest.net, the E398 connected to the FritzBox 7270 achieves a data throughput of only just under 8 Mbit/s, compared with around 25 Mbit/s when I use the stick directly on a computer at the same location.
If you also want to make VoIP calls over the mobile connection, make sure your Telekom contract permits this function. If it does, VoIP works surprisingly well.
You may also want to disable compression. This can be done at speed.t-mobile.de (accessible only from the T-Mobile network). Even then, not everything seems to work as it does when the LTE stick is connected directly to a computer. With the configuration described above, for example, some services did not work reliably for me.
