--- title: Looking For A Cellular Modem? | daily.dev description: Three cellular modems stand out for cyberdeck and Linux portable projects: SIMCOM A7682E, Quectel EG25, and Quectel EC200. The A7682E is a cheap Cat 1 LTE... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/looking-for-a-cellular-modem--bkii4tagz twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Looking For A Cellular Modem? | daily.dev og:description: Three cellular modems stand out for cyberdeck and Linux portable projects: SIMCOM A7682E, Quectel EG25, and Quectel EC200. The A7682E is a cheap Cat 1 LTE... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/looking-for-a-cellular-modem--bkii4tagz og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/BkIi4tAGZ.png og:image:alt: Looking For A Cellular Modem? og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Looking For A Cellular Modem? **[Hackaday](https://daily.dev/sources/hackaday)** · 10 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Three cellular modems stand out for cyberdeck and Linux portable projects: SIMCOM A7682E, Quectel EG25, and Quectel EC200. The A7682E is a cheap Cat 1 LTE modem (up to 10Mbps) with a SIM800-compatible footprint and dual-sim support, but it has analog audio, LGA pads, 1.8V IOs, and risks flash corruption if powered off incorrectly without using PWRKEY or an AT command. The Quectel EG25 and EC200 are 4G modems with PCM audio, VoLTE, built-in GPS, and up to 150Mbps download over USB (LTE Cat 4); the EG25 is at the cellular core of a PinePhone and Linux software such as ModemManager and eg25-manager is likely to drive it. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What's a good cheap LTE modem for a DIY cyberdeck project with a SIM800-compatible footprint? The SIMCOM A7682E is a strong choice. It's a cheap, abundant Cat 1 LTE modem supporting up to 10Mbps download, dual-sim, and 2G fallback, and it shares the same footprint as the classic SIM800 so existing board designs can be reused. Its firmware also exposes HTTPS and FTP via AT commands, but audio is analog-only and IOs run at 1.8V. _Comparing modem options for a portable build is easier with daily.dev's roundup of hardware teardown write-ups._ ### Why does my SIMCOM modem brick after I disconnect the battery directly? SIMCOM modems like the A7682E require a proper shutdown using an AT command or the PWRKEY pin before removing power. Cutting power directly risks flash corruption and can brick the module, unlike many other modern modems that tolerate abrupt power loss. This behavior is documented but how often it actually triggers bricking in practice isn't fully confirmed. _Developers debugging flaky hardware power sequencing can find similar embedded gotchas on daily.dev._ ### Which modem is better for building a Linux phone with cellular voice and data, the Quectel EG25 or SIMCOM A7682E? The Quectel EG25 is better suited for a full Linux phone build. It offers PCM digital audio, VoLTE support, built-in GPS, and up to 150Mbps download (LTE Cat 4) over USB, plus strong Linux driver support through ModemManager and the eg25-manager project, since it's the same modem used in the PinePhone. The A7682E is cheaper but limited to analog audio and Cat 1 speeds. _Engineers weighing modem trade-offs for a Linux handset can track more hardware comparisons on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Show HN: A USB-C LTE modem that gives my computer a phone line](https://daily.dev/posts/show-hn-a-usb-c-lte-modem-that-gives-my-computer-a-phone-line-ndbgdb1vw) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Quectel SH602FA and SE505FE smart modules bring Android 16 to 4G LTE and 5G IoT devices](https://daily.dev/posts/quectel-sh602fa-and-se505fe-smart-modules-bring-android-16-to-4g-lte-and-5g-iot-devices-s7n4ddj7w) · CNX Software · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Using ThinkPad T480 as a mobile phone](https://daily.dev/posts/using-thinkpad-t480-as-a-mobile-phone-taaxnlzzv) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Pi Compute Module Powers Fully Open Smartphone](https://daily.dev/posts/pi-compute-module-powers-fully-open-smartphone-gkwkt8amj) · Hackaday · 47 upvotes · 2 comments - [Converting a $20 4G wireless hotspot into a texting device](https://daily.dev/posts/converting-a-20-4g-wireless-hotspot-into-a-texting-device-e0hns3ftf) · Lobsters · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#embedded](https://daily.dev/tags/embedded) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/looking-for-a-cellular-modem--bkii4tagz) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Looking For A Cellular Modem?","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/looking-for-a-cellular-modem--bkii4tagz","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/looking-for-a-cellular-modem--bkii4tagz"},"datePublished":"2026-11-02T15:16:03.814Z","dateModified":"2026-11-02T15:20:12.152Z","description":"Three cellular modems stand out for cyberdeck and Linux portable projects: SIMCOM A7682E, Quectel EG25, and Quectel EC200. 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