Sierra Wireless AirLink routers and gateways, tested with ThingSIM.

Sierra Wireless AirLink routers, now made by Semtech, are long-lived kit, and plenty of RV50s and GX450s are still in service alongside the current RV55 and XR series. All of them take a ThingSIM with the APN set in ACEmanager.

How to set it up See the 11 models

Setting up a ThingSIM in ACEmanager (ALEOS) and AirLink Management Service

The APN goes in ACEmanager → WAN/Cellular (RV55, MP70); Hardware Interfaces → Cellular Interfaces (XR series). Copy it from the SIM's page in the ThingSIM portal; there is no username or password.

Activate the SIM in the ThingSIM portal, then insert it in the upper slot (SIM 1). On the RV55 the SIM cover takes a 2 mm hex key.
RV and MP models (ALEOS) — open ACEmanager, go to WAN/Cellular and enter the APN from the portal as the user-entered APN for SIM 1.
XR models (AirLink OS) — go to Hardware Interfaces → Cellular Interfaces → Configuration, set APN Mode to Manual and enter the APN.
Leave authentication as None, with no username or password.
On XR models set Data Roaming to On. A ThingSIM always connects as a roaming SIM.
Apply, then check the APN in use and the connection on the Status page.

Two SIMs for failover

Two-SIM models set a primary and secondary slot on the cellular configuration page. On XR models leave the Roaming Timeout for automatic SIM switching unset with a ThingSIM; dual-radio XR80 and XR90 use a Multi-WAN policy instead.

Checking it works

ACEmanager Status → Cellular shows the operator, roaming state and APN in use; on XR models, Status/Monitoring → System → Cellular Radio. AirLink Management Service shows a fleet.

More help

APN settings, signal but no data and setting up a 4G router.

Sierra Wireless AirLink models that work with ThingSIM

Every model below is compatible and tested with ThingSIM. Older models no longer sold are marked; plenty are still in service and work the same way.

AirLink

Tested with ThingSIM

RV55

Industrial router 4G LTE Cat 4/Cat 12 or LTE-M/NB-IoT Ultra-low-power rugged router for utilities, oil and gas.

Tested with ThingSIM

XR60

Industrial router · dual SIM · Wi-Fi 5G · 2 × Nano SIM Ultra-compact rugged 5G router.

Tested with ThingSIM

MP70

Vehicle router · dual SIM · Wi-Fi 4G LTE-A Pro Cat 12 · 2 SIM slots Single-radio vehicle router for police/fleet.

Tested with ThingSIM

MG90

Vehicle router · dual SIM · Wi-Fi 4G LTE-A Pro or 5G · Several SIM slots Multi-network vehicle gateway (FirstNet Band 14).

Tested with ThingSIM

LX40

Industrial router 4G LTE · 1 SIM slot Ultra-compact router for POS, lockers, IP cameras.

Tested with ThingSIM

XR80

Vehicle router · dual SIM · Wi-Fi 5G · 2 SIM slots 5G router for fixed and mobile mission-critical use.

Tested with ThingSIM

XR90

Vehicle router · dual SIM · Wi-Fi 5G x2 · Several SIM slots Dual-5G vehicle router for transit and public safety.

Tested with ThingSIM

LX60

Industrial router 4G LTE Dual-Ethernet LTE router for enterprise/industrial IoT.

Tested with ThingSIM

RX55

Industrial router · dual SIM 4G LTE · 2 SIM slots Rugged low-power IoT router for extreme environments.

Tested with ThingSIM

RX400

Industrial router · dual SIM 5G RedCap, LTE Cat 4 fallback · 2 × Nano SIM Power-efficient rugged RedCap router (solar, MIL-STD-810H).

Tested with ThingSIM

EX400

Branch router · dual SIM 5G RedCap, LTE Cat 4 fallback · 2 × Nano SIM Commercial IoT RedCap router for retail, manufacturing, agriculture.