MikroTik LTE Cell Lock: Modem-Specific Commands

Match the command family

This is the selection of families explicitly covered here from the current MikroTik LTE manual. It is not a claim that all Qualcomm or all third-party modems accept QNWLOCK.

First collect a real candidate

/interface/lte/print detail
/interface/lte/monitor lte1 once
/interface/lte/cell-monitor lte1

Run cell-monitor only when supported. Record the serving operator, EARFCN and PCI. EARFCN selects the LTE channel; PCI selects the physical cell on it. PCI is reused, so the pair is not a worldwide tower identifier. The examples below use a hypothetical observed B3 EARFCN 1650 and PCI 120; substitute values actually measured at your site.

R11e-LTE and R11e-LTE6

/interface/lte/at-chat lte1 input="AT*Cell=2,3,,1650,120"

Mode 2 selects cell locking; network mode 3 means LTE in this AT command. The empty band field is intentional. R11e-LTE6 applies the lock to the primary carrier; additional CA bands can remain in use unless separately restricted.

/interface/lte/at-chat lte1 input="AT*Cell=0"

Confirm the resulting serving cell with monitor. The current MikroTik recipe does not document a common query command for this family, so one is not invented here. R11e-LTE loses its lock on reset; R11e-LTE6 retains it.

R11e-4G: startup configuration is different

/interface/lte/set lte1 modem-init="AT%CLCMD=1,1,1650,120,"

The final empty PLMN field is permitted by the manual. Alternatively use the intended operator’s MCC+MNC with the documented quoting. Save the previous modem-init string first: set replaces it. The modem must be non-operating for this command; schedule a modem restart from a local session rather than assuming an active connection changes immediately.

To return to automatic cell selection, remove this lock command from modem-init, restore the previous initialization string, and restart the modem from the local recovery path. The manual defines AT%CLCMD mode 0 as disabling the lock; no undocumented cross-family query syntax is provided here. A lock reissued by modem-init can survive router restarts even though the modem clears its volatile state.

Documented QNWLOCK LTE devices

/interface/lte/at-chat lte1 input="AT+QNWLOCK=\"common/4g\",1,1650,120"

After common/4g, the first number is the cell count. Each entry then supplies EARFCN and PCI. Multiple entries allow a set of candidates, not simultaneous connections to those cells.

/interface/lte/at-chat lte1 input="AT+QNWLOCK=\"common/4g\""

/interface/lte/at-chat lte1 input="AT+QNWLOCK=\"common/4g\",0"

These QNWLOCK locks are volatile. Reboot or modem reset clears them. The manual also warns that the network can redirect or hand over the modem to a different cell despite the lock. Do not describe this as a permanent tower lock or silently add a startup script to keep forcing it.

Retest aggregation and rollback

After locking, load the connection and record primary/CA bands, SINR, upload, download and latency. Locking the primary cell can change usable aggregation combinations. If performance or availability falls, remove the matching family’s lock, restore the previous band lists and operator selection, then repeat the automatic baseline.

5G SA locking and the NSA exception · Clear separate band restrictions