Solution to send data via SIM card (RPi4)

Hardware
1

Hi,

I have HA on Raspberry Pi 4, of course connected to LAN/ethernet.
I would like to have an addon hardware with an SIM card (4G/5G, Sweden/Europe) for data traffic to do requests to e.g. Pushover in some cases.

Would this be possible?
Do you have any hardware reconnedations?
Do you have any examples/scripts to do such thing?

2

I am using the board below for some LLM voice to text from answering a phone call from humans. So a different use case than what you are interested in. That said, what I will offer is that the board was easy to configure 1st with at RPI4 then with a RPI5 hardware wise. I am using Tello as the SIM provider, the board connected to their network very easily. From what I read, a number of problems folks have is with getting the board to work with their selected SIM provider., so select carefully on this.

The documentation from WaveShare is okay, not super. You can find some additional Youtube tutorials on how to use the board as a IP fail over device. There are C and Python examples for various services using the board in the WaveShare github : SMS, Voice, IP, GPS.

Waveshare 4G/3G/GNSS HAT for Raspberry Pi Zero/Zero W/Zero WH/2B/3B/3B+ Jetson Nano Based on SIM7600A-H LTE CAT4 up to 150Mbps Support Phone Call Wireless Communication

Good hunting!

3

My usecase is also different, but I’m using a Waveshare 5G dongle with my Raspberry Pi4 (running OpenWRT). It’s cheap and it being a USB dongle, you can use it elsewhere too.

4

Thanks for the replies,

Maybe should have described my indented use case.
I am planning/testing to use HA + RPi4 as home alarm system and two main things to make it robust is

  1. Backup power supply/UPS
  2. Communication backup in case of #1 or if internet is unavailable
5

If all you need is backup internet for the device and its not going to be moved from the location then just invest in a fail over setup with the network switch/router so that WAN 2 becomes active when WAN 1 is down and then you can plug in a 5G modem into WAN 2.

1 Like
6

What Robert said for sure…

7

Thanks, that could be an option but likely more expensive.
I have a Ubiquiti Dream Machine but no UPS currently, so that would be needed (incl the switch)

8

For a Unifi gear there is this option for sim card modems if you can get one in stock in your region:

You plug that into say LAN 4 on the dream machine and designate it as the fail over WAN port in the settings.

9

Thanks @TH3xR34P3R
Maybe I should start with an UPS to power Unifi DM, switch and media converter, then I have protection for power outages.
Then add the UniFi LTE Backup you suggested (it is available locally)

10

I currently use a APC 1500VA Smart UPS that I got free with the rack and 24 port HPE swtich when a client liquidated a while back.

And I have the smaller 500VA basic unit dedicated to the Camera for the bedroom window and the AP its connecting through.

With the main UPS I get about 18-30min uptime with the main PC running and it goes up to 90min when the PC is off.

I posted my automation setup for it in another thread:

1 Like
11

If you’re looking to send data via SIM card on a Raspberry Pi 4, especially for tasks like sending requests to Pushover, there’s a pretty straightforward setup you can consider. First off, you’d need a compatible 4G/5G modem that can interface with your Pi. Something like the Huawei E3372 USB dongle could work, or you might explore options like the Waveshare SIM7600X Hat, which has support for 4G and is relatively easy to integrate.