Cisco MG52 AT&T eSIM Activation FAQ
General Questions:
What is Cisco AT&T eSIM digital buy flow?
AT&T and Cisco jointly developed an innovative, out-of-the-box experience on the MG52/E devices by offering a deep integration with AT&T Wireless services to help businesses get started even faster.
The digital buy flow provides operational simplicity by combining the MG52/E buying experience with purchasing a wireless service. After claiming devices on the Meraki dashboard, users can order/subscribe to data plans with AT&T completely digitally. For more information, please refer to the documentation page on how to purchase AT&T wireless services [eSIM Activation Guide].
What benefits does it offer?
Firstly, it provides an easy activation of wireless services on MG52/E devices. Secondly, customers buying the AT&T service through the digital buy flow will get 30 days of introductory data on the MG52/E devices. Users can cancel the service anytime within the 30 days with no extra costs.
What is the self-service activation platform (fastactivation.att.com)?
The self-service activation platform, internally known as Apollo, is a dedicated IoT platform that supports the purchase of AT&T Control Center (ACC) rate plans. Customers can manage their IoT connectivity from either their fastactivation.att.com account or via their Cisco Meraki account.
If a customer chooses to leverage the fast activation portal to provision their MG52, they will be guided through the credit check and rate plan selection process, in addition to accepting the terms and conditions. Once completed, this will bind their AT&T Control Center Account to the Meraki Dashboard, enabling them to leverage a single pane of glass to view and manage both the Meraki cellular connectivity and hardware configurations.
What is an eSIM?
The eSIM is the hardware component that is physically soldered on the MG52/E. It provides theft protection of physical external SIM cards and remote activation.
What is an eUICC?
The eUICC is the software component that allows the remote eSIM provisioning of multiple carrier profiles.
What is a communication (COMM) plan?
Comm plan tells you what kind of services are available on carrier eSIM profile that will be downloaded on the MG52/E. If the eSIM profile can support data or voice, SMS, roaming etc.
What is a rate plan?
Rate plans tell you the price, speeds, and data caps of the target data plan.
Is AT&T coverage available at all US business locations?
AVAILABILITY: When used indoors, the plan requires sufficient in-building cellular coverage to work optimally. Many things can affect the availability and quality of your wireless service including, but not limited to, your device and applications, your proximity to the cell site, cell site capacity, terrain, buildings, foliage, AT&T network management practices, and weather. You should assess whether there is sufficient cellular coverage (in the building or otherwise) at your desired location(s).
COVERAGE: Coverage map may include areas that are served by unaffiliated carriers & not on AT&Ts owned and operated network (off-net). Coverage is not available everywhere, subject to change without notice, and not guaranteed.
What if AT&T connectivity breaks?
Please perform basic troubleshooting such as rebooting the unit, check if the data plan is active on the AT&T fastactivation portal, APN provided is correct. Check Meraki MG documentation page for more basic troubleshooting steps.
If none of the options work, then please a ticket with Meraki support. Meraki support will do the necessary troubleshooting and hand over the ticket to AT&T support if it is deemed as a connectivity issue.
Where can I manage all my active subscriptions?
You can manage all your active subscriptions on the AT&T fastactivation portal. You can also verify the devices they are activated on the devices section on the fastactivation portal or via Meraki dashboard on the Organisation -> SIM cards page
Why does my IMEI in my Cisco Meraki account not match the IMEI in my fastactivation with AT&T account?
Cisco Meraki and AT&T match on the first 14 digits of the IMEI number, which is the true IMEI of the device. Cisco Meraki displays the check sum number (15th digit) to verify the correct IMEI. AT&T displays the software version of the IMEI (15th and 16th digit) to verify the IMEI software version.
Do I need to have access to an AT&T control center account?
No. You will be able to manage your connectivity, rate plans, submit support tickets and obtain your bills all from your fastactivation account.
I am an existing AT&T control center customer. Can I use my existing control center account with the AT&T fastactivation workflow?
Currently, it is not possible to use your existing AT&T Control Center account for fast activation. Please contact your AT&T account team to purchase rate plans for use with your existing account.
When will I receive my bill every month?
Your monthly bill period ends on the 18th of every month and your bill will be posted within your fast activation account by the 23rd of every month.
How do I pay my bill every month?
Your posted bill will include a payment voucher for you to mail in your payment to AT&T. Bill payments are due 30 days from the invoice date on the bill.
Will I be able to change rate plans on existing sites?
Yes, when AT&T adds new rate plans for you to purchase, you will be allowed to check eligibility per site and change rate plans for those eligible sites.
Where can I reach out for other AT&T products and services?
Yes, reach out to one of our fast activation experts at dl-fastactivationexperts@att.com with your needs and we will refer you to an AT&T sales representative.
What plans are available in AT&T’s Apollo/AT&T’s fastactivation portal?
Currently, AWB rate plan is the only plan available with expectations that AIA (AT&T Internet Air) to be available in 2025*. These plans are billed on a month-to-month basis and can be cancelled or reactivated as needed through fast activation portal.
Can I purchase roaming plans from AT&T?
No, roaming is not offered. Current Rate Plan(s) are available only in the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii.
What if I use the device outside the US?
No, roaming is not supported. Any attempts to use the MG52/E on bootstrap or AT&T profile will not work outside of continental US, Alaska and Hawaii.
Which SIM slot should I use?
You are free to choose whichever physical SIM slot. However, once you insert a physical SIM slot during initial boot, the eSIM will remain inactive until you change the preference of primary and secondary on the uplink tabs on the dashboard. Once you set the primary or secondary slots, the setting is persistent and will persist after software or hardware reboots. The important thing to remember is that the MG52/E can only work with 2 SIM cards as primary and secondary. If you have 2 physical SIM cards on the device including the eSIM and operating the device in US, then you must designate the slot that is primary and secondary. The 3rd slot will not be part of failover if both primary and secondary fail and will remain "Not in use”.
What should I keep in mind before canceling the AT&T plan on the eSIM?
You can deactivate the eSIM on the Meraki dashboard. Doing so will only deactivate the eSIM on the MG52/E and not the AT&T plan active on the device. You can reactivate the eSIM and regain connectivity back even if the MG52/E reports offline on the dashboard.
Deactivating the plan on the AT&T fastactivation portal will result in the rate plan getting deactivated. The device will become offline on dashboard. You will have to reinstate the rate plan back on the fastactivation portal. Once you reactivate the plan, you may have to reboot the device or wait until the device connects back to dashboard. The MG52/E has retry mechanisms to regain connectivity on the dashboard once the rate plan is activated.
The important thing to keep in mind is to have a secondary SIM on the physical slot if you wish to deactivate the AT&T rate plan via fastactivation portal to maintain cellular connectivity.
What is the initial bootstrap data and how much do I have?
MG52/E has a bootstrap data of 1Gb. The data is not accessible via LAN ports of the MG since the data is only meant for establishing dashboard connectivity and perform the swap to target AT&T profile.
Hence, it is important that you do not overuse the data by keeping the dashboard page open for the MG52/E. Keeping the dashboard page will pull live stats from the device consuming the initial bootstrap data. Once you have exhausted the bootstrap data, you have no choice but to contact Meraki support to reactivate the bootstrap data temporarily but at this point, you must swap your profile from bootstrap to target AT&T profile.
If you fail to move to target AT&T profile, then device will go offline and if you do not swap within 90 days. The device will remain offline until you ask Meraki support to make an exception and bring the MG52/E to active default bootstrap.
If you are intending to use the MG52/E with eSIM, please purchase the AT&T rate plan right away until the device gets shipped. You will only be billed once you activate them on the device and start using data. In addition, you have 30 days of data fully complimentary of AT&T.
Can I use the bootstrap data on the eSIM to run my network?
No, you cannot. As mentioned above, the initial bootstrap data on the MG52 eSIM is only meant for reporting to dashboard and swapping to target AT&T profile.
What do I do when my bootstrap data on the eSIM runs out?
If you exhaust your bootstrap data, you must call Meraki support to temporarily activate it before swapping your MG52/E eSIM to target AT&T profile
How can I reduce the usage on my bootstrap data?
You can reduce the initial bootstrap data by purchasing the AT&T rate plan through the fastactivation portal before the device even ships. AT&T will only start the billing process once you have activated them on the MG52/E units. In addition, you also get a 30-day free complementary data. You can cancel AT&T subscription anytime within 30 days and you will not be charged for it.
What should I do if my MG52/E does not come online via the bootstrap data?
Please use the troubleshooting guide here -> to perform basic troubleshooting. If unsuccessful, do reach out to Meraki support.
Is eSIM available on any other Meraki device other than MG52/E?
No, it is only available on the MG52/E.
Why can’t I use eSIM on any other Meraki device?
Because eSIM is a physical HW and it is only supported on the MG52/E.
How long is my bootstrap data valid?
It is valid for 90 days from the first day of powering on the device and reporting to dashboard. The other way to confirm is once you have powered on the MG52/E via eSIM (not physical SIM cards or made the eSIM slot primary), then LED shows purple (which means the device has established data connectivity).
I have "x" number of MG52/E devices in my inventory. Can I activate all of them with an eSIM plan from AT&T?
Yes, you can purchase rate plans from AT&T and move all the devices to those to similar or different rate plans.
When does the 30-day free trial start?
The 30-day free trial starts when you activate the first device on the AT&T rate plan. Suppose you have 5 devices in your inventory, and you swapped device 1 to AT&T plan on day 1. You will have 30 days of free trial on device 1. If you activate device 2 on day 3, you will have 27 days on device 2 and device 3 on day 5, then you will have 25 days on device 3.
The free trial starts when you activate the first device in your inventory.
Do all the MG52/E devices receive 30 days of free trial from AT&T?
Please see the explanation above on the 30-day free trial. If you have a fleet of devices, please make sure you activate them on the same day to avail yourself of the 30-day free trial.
What if I want to deactivate my AT&T subscription?
You can always deactivate the AT&T subscription on the AT&T fastactivation portal. If you cancel within the 30-day free trial period, then you will not be charged by AT&T. However, if you cancel after the 30-day trial period, then you will be charged on the active days of usage based on your contractual obligations. Please read more about it on the AT&T fastactivation portal.
Will I be able to purchase an AT&T subscription later if I cancel within the 30 day of free trial?
Yes, you can always come back. If you come back within 180 days, then you use the same AT&T login credentials. However, if it is after 180 days, then you need create a new AT&T fastactivation account.
How long will AT&T keep my account active when I cancel my subscription?
180 days.
Can I cancel my AT&T subscription after my billing has started?
Yes, you can cancel anytime. You will be charged based on your data usage and contractual obligations.
Can I cancel all my rate plans, or can I cancel individual rate plans?
You can cancel all or some. If you have questions, please create a support ticket on the AT&T fastactivation portal.
When will my billing reflect after cancelling certain rate plans?
It should reflect after the current billing cycle. Please check AT&T fastactivation portal for more information.
I am deploying more devices; can I activate more MG52 eSIMs on the fly?
Yes, once you have created an account on the fastactivation portal and purchased rate plans. You can absolutely activate any number of MG52/E devices.
What is the difference between deactivate button on the eSIM inventory from deactivating the AT&T rate plan?
The deactivate button on the eSIM inventory on Meraki dashboard only deactivates the eSIM slot temporarily but does not deactivate the AT&T rate plan. You can reactivate the eSIM slot anytime.
Deactivating the AT&T rate plan on AT&T fastactivation portal results in the rate plan getting deactivated.
In both cases, the MG52/E goes offline so please be fully aware of the behavior before deactivating the eSIM on the dashboard or eSIM subscription on the AT&T fastactivation portal.
Can I use eSIM in failover with another external plastic SIM card?
Yes, you can. Just be aware that eSIM can be used with another physical SIM card in a primary and secondary combination. If you have a 3rd physical SIM card, it will be inactive.
Can you change which SIM cards should participate in SIM failover?
Yes, you can change that via the SIM ordering on the dashboard
How do I monitor how much data that I have used?
You can monitor data consumption on the AT&T fastactivation portal. Meraki plans to present data consumption on the dashboard in future software iterations.
How can I monitor my billing?
Billing can be monitored on the AT&T fastactivation portal.
Should I check for AT&T coverage before deploying my MG52/E?
MG52/E cannot come online without AT&T coverage. To get a better cellular reception, it is best to mount the MG52/E outdoors. Please use the coverage map on the AT&T fastactivation portal. 
How can I get assurances that there is AT&T coverage?
Before deploying the MG52/E devices, it is better to understand the coverage on the AT&T fastactivation portal and test a handset with AT&T subscription.
Can I activate AT&T plans outside the US?
No, the AT&T plans are only available in continental US, Alaska, and Hawaii.
What is the TAX ID on the AT&T fastactivation portal?
TAX ID is the federal tax number of your business.
I haven’t received PIN code via email from AT&T, what should I do?
Wait for some time to receive the PIN code. If you do not receive it after considerable time, please submit a ticket on the AT&T fastactivation portal.
My credit check was moved to manual review, how long should I wait?
This depends on numerous factors. If it is pending for a considerable long time, please submit a ticket on the AT&T fastactivation portal.
Can I check with an AT&T representative when my credit check is still in pending state?
Yes, you can, or you can directly submit a ticket directly on the AT&T fastactivation portal
What should I do when I have issues on the AT&T fastactivation portal?
Submit a ticket on the AT&T fastactivation portal.
On the Meraki dashboard, the connect service provider account fails. What could be the reason?
It could be because the AT&T control center might be busy. Please retry after some time or reach out to Meraki support with the error code that you’re encountering.
My eSIM swap results in a failure, what should I do?
It could be because the AT&T control center might be busy. Please retry after some time or reach out to Meraki support with the error code that you’re encountering.
What’s the default APN provided by AT&T?
It is nrbroadband. If the APN is nrbroadband, then you do not need to anything but continue with the eSIM swap.
Will static and private APNs be supported?
Static and private APN are not supported. If you have questions about private/static APNs, please create a support ticket via fastactivation portal
What if the APN before the swap is not nrbroadband?
If it is nrbroadband, then you need apply that APN via the uplinks tab using the edit APN option before initiating the eSIM swap.
How can I apply any APN other than nrbroadband?
You can apply that APN via the uplinks tab using the edit APN option before initiating the eSIM swap.
Should the MG52/E be powered on before initiating the eSIM swap?
Yes, please make sure the MG52/E is powered on.
Can I activate all eSIMs at once?
At present, bulk swaps are not available on the dashboard and you can only do it one at a time. However, APIs can also be leveraged.
The reason bulk swaps are not available is because the MG52/E needs to powered on before initiating the eSIM swap.
Can I monitor all the devices activated on the AT&T fastactivation portal?
Yes, please navigate to the devices section on the AT&T fastactivation portal.
I would like to have a different rate plan than what I see on the fastactivation portal, what should I do?
AT&T plans to introduce the AIA rate plan soon. Actual timelines are not available now.
How do I provide feedback on any improvements or issues?
Please reach out to Meraki sales/TSA teams to provide additional feedback. We always value your feedback.
When will you support carriers outside the US?
Carriers outside the US are still TBD. Please reach out to your Meraki sales/TSA for more information.
My device is not working, and Meraki support has initiated an RMA, will my billing on the current device stop since I am not using it?
Yes, once the device is RMA’d the billing related to the device will also be stopped. Once you receive a new unit as a replacement, the billing will resume on the device as usual.
I have an issue with the activation of eSIM. Should I reach out to Meraki or AT&T?
Please review the MG52/E activation guide.
The data speeds on my MG52/E are slow, what should I do?
If the MG52/E is not deployed outdoors, then try deploying the MG52/E outdoors. Submit a ticket on the AT&T fastactivation portal if you find the speeds are slower than expected.
I do not see my MG52/E operating on a 5G SA network, what should I do?
The AT&T SA network is not available now. Please reach out to AT&T for more information.
I am using MG52/E in an SDWAN deployment, and I need some guaranteed QoS on MG52/E. What should I do?
Your best option would be the AT&T AIA rate plan. Please see the AT&T fastactivation portal for further updates.
I have activated x devices on Meraki dashboard, but I don’t x devices on the AT&T fastactivation portal but see y. what I should do?
Please wait for some time for the information to update on the fastactivation portal. If you do not see it after a day or two, please submit a ticket on the AT&T fastactivation portal.
How can I create a support ticket on AT&T fastactivation portal?
Navigate to the help section on the AT&T fastactivation portal and submit a ticket.
