4G LTE module: Quectel EG25-G vs u-blox LARA-R6

[Martin F]

Hi all,

we are designing a product that will use a 4G LTE module (either Cat 1 or Cat 4). As part of this we're looking at two options:

1) The Quectel EG25-G: https://www.quectel.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Quectel_EG25-G_LTE_Standard_Specification_V1.3-1.pdf

2) The u-blox LARA-R6:https://www.u-blox.com/sites/default/files/LARA-R6_ProductSummary_UBX-20048923.pdf

We wanted to hear if anyone in here have experiences with Quectel modules vs u-blox and have any thoughts/comments on the above two modules vs each other?

Thanks!

[Thomas F]

Hello Martin,

1) Quectel is cheap but shows a lack of support, and only provides the module (no sim, no platform, ...).
2) U-Blox is new with those LARA-R6 and LARA-R8. They say LARA-R6 is the smallest CAT1 module in the world, which is not true. Sequans' CAT1 module is smaller. Also they don't provide great support for connectivity (for example they don't have eSIM / eUICC / platform)

I strongly suggest you have a look at the LTE CAT1 module C10GS of Cavli Wireless (https://www.cavliwireless.com/c-series/c10gs.html). It is Linux-based, have GNSS, eSIM inside, global coverage + platform to manage connectivity & module remotely : in short all you need to connect your end-device to your end-platform.
Check our bundle offer here for 0.99 euros / month : https://www.cavliwireless.com/hubble99.html.

Contact me if you need any additional details

Thomas FESQUET
thomas.fesquet@cavliwireless.com

[Martin F]

Thanks for the tip. I was unable to find details on regulatory certifications and provider approvals - is this something you can let me know where I can find on the site?

[blopblop]

I have used Quectel BG96 in the past. It was a real pain. The support is not great, the docs have many errors and the firmware has strange behaviors. Just to name one that took a week to find out : when you send a command to send a package, the module will respond "send Ok". As we were in a low power application, we shutdown the module right after. We were loosing 30% of the packages because "send ok" means the BG96 has received the message to be sent, not that the message has been sent over the network.
All the team had a bad time working with Quectel.

[Martin F]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Our understanding from Quectel is that they have a fairly large, dedicated support team in Serbia - but I guess you did not experience this as a help in this context. Can you share when you did this work?

[48X24X48X]

I used plenty of Quectel modules after testing many other brands in the past 15 years which includes SIMCOM, Cinterion, Sierra Wireless, and uBlox. I even prototype few other less known brands (some which already disappear). I think is probably the best in terms of balance between price and quality+support. I bought the modules from a mix bags of China distributor (which actually they are not supposed to sell to outside of China) and also directly from Quectel. I think Quectel's support is okay as long as you buy from legit channel. They will help you and figure out what goes wrong even for units already deployed out there even all the way to checking their server (I used their Quectel Location services). Documentation is also very good and excellent. Even before I was buying directly from them, there was an instance I was desperately needing the certification test results documents (not just the certificate) and they obliged to help. From there onward, I balanced the purchase ratio and split among them depending on the urgency just a token of appreciation. I really like Sierra Wireless modules but their packaging have a very bad yield during assembly. At first, I thought it was just me not doing a correct design but when I hear from my regular PCBA factory mentioning that even their customer that uses Sierra Wireless have a very low yield. Other than that, I think uBlox have a nice product line-up that maker likes due to it's slim form factor that fits into a *bread boardable* development board but they rarely have global band and they not cheap to begin with. SIMCOM on the other hand, it's a brand that if you are willing to work hard and get your hands dirty, it can be quite rewarding due to the fact their module is among the cheapest around and not too bad in terms of specification. Documentation wise, they are among the worst though.