Just joined today.
First time here on the Turris Forum.
First handle here too.
Learning the Forum Tools as I go.
So far I own two Omnia Routers from Turris.
Got both New from retail this year in July.
Both came with two WiFy modules inside.A large one and a small one.
I will not be using the small one from the third mPCIe slot from the right.Instead I chose to replace it with an mSATA SSD module to reduce the IO operations on the integrated eMMC storage unit.
So far itās recognized by the OS and I set it as an external sda1 1TB partition.Looking forward to make it completely bootable so I donāt have to rely on the eMMC.
I got two replacement enclosures for the Omnias.
They are both Black and more sturdy than the aluminium ones the Routers came with in the box.
Both Black enclosures came with one hole missing on each side.That means I have to drill two extra holes on each enclosure if hope to have 4 WiFy antennas installed along with two LTE antennas from the GSM module.Not sure yet if there are any benefits for running 4 antennas in an indoor setup.I mainly need a stable radio signal to pass through a concrete slab so I can stream footage from 5 2k indoor surveillance cameras at a distance of a maximum 8 meters.
Iāve got two large external LTE antennas to help with GSM signal reception but I havenāt installed them outside yet as Iām still trying to get the LTE setup in the OS working.Iām using the LTE kit from Turris that has the QUECTEL modem module installed on the first slot on the left side of the PCB (CZ11NIC23).
So far Iāve got two WiFy antennas in the middle flanked by the two GSM antennas on either side.
Still waiting to see if I need to drill two more holes in each Black enclosure to get any benefits.I wonāt be using the original grey aluminium enclosures.
So far Iāve set up WiFy on 2.4ghz with two antennas using the WPA2/WPA3 encryption and max wavelength option in ReForis (Omnia 7 OS).
No updates installed yet as I did not get the GSM set-up in the OS and itās quite confusing to follow the official Docs instructions.
I used an ethernet cable to establish the first handshake with the Router and set-up the passwords.From the official Turris Docs I learned that itās possible to set-up a LAN WiFy connection if I use a file on a usb-stick with a password key on first boot.
I also read about the procedure used to boot from external Drive but it seems complicated and not very safe just yet so Iāve decided to postpone that for now.
I had the items for a few months but Iāve had a busy summer so I havenāt had the chance to sit down and focus on everything this product can do.
I also havenāt had the chance yet to work with Schnapps from the CLI.I first have to get used to working with SSH.
Iāve been looking arround hoping to see some examples of internal wiring of antennas for the LTE kit + Wify 6 (large module only) for 6 antenna configuration (4 wify + 2 GSM).
So far iāve only seen the wiring for the WiFy 4 antenna configuration (large module in second slot + small module in third slot).This is the configuration that my Omnia shipped in but i do not wish to keep it since I need to use the GSM module in the first slot and the SSD in the third slot.
Last but not least.I need to move the support risers on the PCB for the third mPCIe slot (the one on the right) from the middle position to the top position so that i can securely use two screws to attach a longer mSATA SSD module to the board.Right now the only compatible module size is 30 mm Ć 26,80 mm.
I need to make it compatible with 30 mm Ć 50,95 mm
This is my first introductory post.
For more about me please see the about section in my profile.
Thanks for reading and cheers!
My GSM SIM Card slot is horizontally laid out and sits directly bellow the GSM Modem Card Quectel EP-06 which is not ideal.
This means I have to remove the Modem Card from itās slot every time I need to fiddle with the SIM Card.
The best option would have been to have an externally accessible spring loaded SIM Card Tray.
In my case the SIM card can only be inserted horizontally by pushing from the right side towards the left side untill the limit is reached and the card is resting firmly in position.
Underneath the SIM Card, inside the SIM Card socket on the PCB, there are a few conductors which I assume must make firm contact with the metal circuits on the SIM card in order for the Modem to be able to establish a Radio WAN connection to my ISP.
My Modem model is the Latest Quectel card which came with my LTE Kit supplied by Turris.
As far as wiring is concerned here:
left GSM Modem connector connects to the left LTE kit antenna.
right GSM Modem connector connects to the right LTE kit antenna.
middle GSM Modem connector is for GPS so I left it unconnected
So far I have attempted to create a new Network Interface for GSM within LuCi following the official Docs at Turris for LTE but no protocol for this type of connection is listed in the drop down choices from the GUI.No āmodem-managerā or anything like that appears listed as an option.
The above has been done with Omnia OS 7.00 factory image with no updates applied since I expect to be able to establish an internet connection to my ISP first, then update and configure further.
Local WiFy LAN main and guest appear to be working.
My next troubleshooting steps are :
Unsure how the SIM Card is supposed to sit in the SIM Socket correctly.
Is the SIM metal circuit supposed to sit to the right side of the conductors or directly above the conductors like in the above attachment ?
Is the SIM Card Metal Circuit supposed to be making contact with the bottom of the Modem Card directly.
There are no clear and detailed text instructions on how to correctly setup a GSM LTE for the Omnia.
With the standard blue RJ-45 ethernet cable supplied in the Omnia box I set-up a LAN connection to my Router.Pluged one end of the cable in my Laptop RJ-45 port and the other end in the RJ-45 port on my Omnia Router next to the WAN Port.This port is marked on my Black Housing as LAN4 and itās just left of the WAN RJ-45 port.
They are all RJ-45 ports.
Decided to factory reset so I connected to Omnia GUI reForis interface in my Brave browser in Debian GNU/Linux distribution by typing https://192.168.1.1 in the URL bar.Donāt forget to press ENTER/Return on the keyboard.The Browser needs an exception approval on the users part since this is not the best way to set-up https.Just follow the on-screen prompt and youāll be taken to the page where you can choose between :
reForis GUI ; needs non-root password
LuCi GUI ; needs root password for admin
or just one common password if you chose this option during your initial configuration.
On the left side of the page there is a list of GUI menu choices.
Left-Mouse-Click on Administration > Left-Mouse-Click on Maintenance > Left-Mouse-Click on the Red button that says āResetā on the right side of the screen > Confirm and wait.
My GUI does not alway update after Reset so after 15 minutes I exit the Browser program and then open it again and log back in.
Alternatively if you have root priviledges you can achieve the same from a CLI/Terminal Screen :
press ENTER/RETURN on the Keyboard then
type the password for the root account
press ENTER/RETURN
I do not recommend non-advanced-users to factory reset from the terminal ssh promp so to exit type exit then press enter.
After my Omnia Router successfully completed the Factory Reset I could see that the first LED on the left side is a steady green and the white one marked WAN in the middle sometimes blinks.This a good indication that the OS is back to factory settings and can be configured again.
Normally after each Factory Reset the user must retype a password for reForis/non-root-user and a separate one for LuCi/root-user or a single password for both can be selected in the first GUI wizzard after a factory reset.
The Turris GUI (reForis and/or LuCi) can only be accessed through a browser window and by visiting either : http://192.168.1.1
or https://192.168.1.1
or by simply typing 192.168.1.1 and confirming by pressing ENTER/RETURN on the keyboard
Both reForis and LuCi can be openened at the same time in the users prefered browser by opening a new tab (L-Ctrl+T) once the prefered GUI has been selected in the first.
Both interfaces can run in paralel in the Internet Browser program.
After my factory reset I re-introduced separate passwords for user and root.
The next GUI window prompted me to select a mode of operation for my Omnia OS 7.
I chose the Router mode since the other two are not clearly described in the GUI.
I chose the minimal mode the first time I configured my Omnia and that did not help setting up my GSM modem.
Next I set my time settings the way I wanted.
Next I selected a few non-experimental packages in reForis and Saved.
One of them is the first package for the GSM modem marked as deprecated in the GUI.
Next I enabled my Omnia Wify to connect as client to my mobile WiFy 2.4ghz GSM hotspot from the LuCi GUI > Interface > WiFy
Upon successfull connection to the internet I immediately updated the Omnia to the latest 7.0.2 version on the HBS branch.
A bunch of other packages and GUI options populated my screen after a reboot but the GSM interface in LuCi still reads as āModem Disabledā.
I cannot enable this connection from LuCi.
Next I started a LAN SSH connection to my Omnia and :
mmcli -m 0
Prints a bunch of information on the screen such as path, device id, firmware revision (EP06ELAR03A08M4G),state=disabled,power=on,imei,primary sim path, etc.
My ISP is Orange and the SIM has a PIN lock set.
This is a brand new SIM thatās never been inserted into a phone.
Is there an interface in LuCi where SMS messages from the carrier are stored and can be interacted with similar to phone messages ?
Is there a way to send USSD codes from the Terminal once the GSM modem has been enabled ?
Is the Omnia Router supposed to be powered off only from the Command Line ? I see no way to do so from the GUI.
Next Iāll try to insert a piece o plastic on top of the SIM Card to see if it makes a difference.I understand others have had some positive results with that.
Later edit :
I used a small round piece of compressible foam type thingy the likes of which are used on furniture feet to keep it from scratching the floor surface.
It works for a number of other things including pressing down on a SIM Card to push it against the underling socket connectors so that the electrical contact is solid.
This was a little thick so I had to press down on the screws holding the modem card in place while simultaneously turning the screws.
Itās a tight fit.A little to tight for confort but it works.
I Factory reset the Omnia again but it does not connect to the internet through the GSM wwan0 interface out of the box.
To work it needs to connect to the internet through the ethernet rj-45 port or through some other Access Point like a portable GSM hot-spot for example.
In my case the GSM LTE wwan0 interface was setup and correctly configured immediately after the updates were installed and after a reboot.
An important point for other users expecting to establish an internet connection through Omnia OS 7.0.0 with the LTE kit through the wireless GSM WAN interface directly without updating first from another internet connection is that it is NOT going to happen.
At least not yet and not on os 7.0.0
At the moment iām writing this, the Dashboard section from LuCi GUI is reporting a pleasing green light for the internet ipv4 connection.ipv6 is not active.
Protocol : ModemManager
The rest of the IPs are looking ok because they get auto-assigned during setup.
I did not have to enter the PIN for the SIM Card in the interface setting nor anything else.Itās all in there.
LibreSpeed Test from LibreSpeed plugin from Omnia 7.0.2 HBS Branch to a Serbian Server.
Orange ISP Clear IP no tunnel set-up just yet on the Router.
Benchmark test performed immediately after Reset to factory with nothing connected or anything using bandwidth in the background.
Speed
22.5 megabits/s down
2.5 megabits/s up
62 ms ping
3 PM.Close to peak hour.
As everyone can see using a VPN Tunnel or Tor installed on the router will not impact the speed perception significantly since the GSM WAN connection is already low enough.In other words users do not lose as much as they would on a wired WAN connection.
I will continue to update this thread from time to time when I can.For now I can say Iām reasonably satisfied with the Turris Omnia Router.I did not have to contact tech.support@turris.cz yet.
There is still much to configure but for now at least I got it in a place I can put it to work.
