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MikroTik LTE & 5G NR Band Locking

Select or restore LTE and NR bands with supported RouterOS properties while accounting for carrier aggregation and NSA anchors.

A band change can drop your connection. Use local access or another WAN, save the current values and confirm the modem reports band-selection support. Native properties are not a universal AT-command recipe for third-party modems.

Record the starting state

RouterOS 7
/interface/lte/print detail
/interface/lte/show-capabilities lte1
/interface/lte/monitor lte1 once

Record band, nr-band, network-mode, primary-band and ca-band fields where present. Verify the supported-band list for your exact modem variant. Some RouterOS and modem combinations expose fewer controls.

LTE: single band, multiple bands, automatic

These are three alternative experiments, not a script to run end to end. Use them only if the local network and modem support the selected bands.

RouterOS 7 · supported LTE band selection · B3 only
/interface/lte/set lte1 band=3
RouterOS 7 · supported LTE band selection · B3 and B7 allowed
/interface/lte/set lte1 band=3,7
RouterOS 7 · clear LTE band restriction
/interface/lte/set lte1 band=""

A single-band filter can remove inter-band CA; intra-band CA may still be possible. A multiple-band list permits choices but does not force aggregation. A coverage band such as B20 may be useful for reception yet slower than a wider or less loaded higher-frequency carrier. Test upload, latency and packet loss as well as download.

NR: allow n78 without removing the NSA anchor

RouterOS 7 · supported 5G modem · LTE/5G allowed
/interface/lte/set lte1 network-mode=lte,5g nr-band=78

The native NR list uses 78, not n78. This setting permits LTE and 5G, restricts NR to n78, and leaves the existing LTE band list unchanged. If that LTE list excludes the required anchor, clear or correct it before testing.

RouterOS 7 · clear NR band restriction
/interface/lte/set lte1 nr-band=""

FDD bands use paired uplink/downlink frequencies; TDD bands share a frequency block by time. Common labels include n1/n3/n7/n28 and n38/n40/n41/n77/n78, but modem support and operator service differ. n77 and n78 overlap spectrally; their band identifiers are not interchangeable capability claims.

When to force a RAT

RouterOS 7 · LTE-only comparison
/interface/lte/set lte1 network-mode=lte

LTE-only can help isolate whether 5G attachment causes instability. network-mode=5g is an SA-only choice, not “prefer 5G NSA.” Do not select it without confirming SA coverage and subscription. Restore the original network-mode list after testing; lte,5g is not a universal reset for older 3G/LTE devices.

Compare, then keep or revert

Use the same antenna position and traffic endpoint for each test. Record time, serving channel/PCI, component carriers under load, RSRP/RSRQ/SINR, download, upload and loaded latency. Repeat the automatic baseline afterward to catch changing network congestion. Clearing band lists does not remove an AT cell lock.

Print band frequencies · Read signal and cell fields · Remove a modem-specific cell lock

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Technical references

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