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Supported Cellular Modems (Wardriving Cell-Tower Capture)

Ragnar's wardriving cell-tower capture is built entirely around ModemManager (mmcli). To log cell towers you need a modem that presents as a real ModemManager modem in QMI / MBIM / serial mode — not a USB tethering / RNDIS / HiLink network interface, and not a self-contained hotspot (e.g. Orbic Speed) shared over USB.

Confirm any device with mmcli -L — if it lists the modem, cell capture works.

Quectel

  • EG25-G
  • EC25 (EC25-E / EC25-A / EC25-AF)
  • EC21
  • EP06
  • EM06
  • EM12-G
  • EM120K / EM160R-GL
  • RM500Q-GL (5G)
  • RM502Q-AE (5G)
  • RM520N-GL (5G)

SIMCom

  • SIM7600 (G-H / E / A variants)
  • SIM7100
  • SIM7080G (NB-IoT / Cat-M)
  • SIM8200EA-M2 (5G)
  • SIM8202G-M2 (5G)

Sierra Wireless

  • MC7455
  • MC7430 / MC7421
  • EM7455
  • EM7565
  • EM7690 (5G)
  • WP7607

Telit

  • LN940
  • LM940
  • FN980 (5G)
  • FN990 (5G)

Fibocom

  • L850-GL
  • L860-GL
  • FM150-AE (5G)
  • FM350-GL (5G)

Huawei (must be in QMI/MBIM/stick mode, NOT HiLink)

  • ME909s-120
  • MS2131
  • E3372 (only the "stick"/NCM-switchable variant, mode-switched off HiLink)

u-blox

  • LARA-R6
  • TOBY-L2

Notes

  • This is the practically-tested set, not ModemManager's full list — the official compatibility list is very large and grows each release.
  • Any modem must present as QMI / MBIM / serial, not RNDIS/HiLink tethering.
  • A SIM is required — serving-cell data (cell-id / MCC / MNC / LAC / operator) only appears once the modem registers on a network.
  • --3gpp-scan (neighbor towers) support varies by modem/firmware; without it you still get the serving cell. Some modems refuse the scan during an active data session.
  • Most 5G modules are M.2 / mini-PCIe → use a USB adapter/enclosure on a Pi.
  • Won't work: USB-tethered hotspots (Orbic Speed, MiFi units) and HiLink dongles — they expose a network interface, not a controllable modem.