Cisco Meraki Is Ending USB Modem Support: What to Do Before 30 June 2026

A timely heads-up for anyone running a USB modem on their MX

If your business relies on a USB cellular modem (a 4G dongle) plugged into a Cisco Meraki MX or Z appliance for internet backup, there's an important change coming that you'll want to plan for now — not in a panic later.

Cisco Meraki is ending support for third-party USB modems. This is happening in stages, and it's worth understanding the timeline so you can make a calm, sensible decision well before the deadline.

The good news: there are clean, well-supported alternatives, and we can help you pick the right one. Let's walk through exactly what's changing, who it affects, and what to do next.

What's changing — and the 30 June 2026 date

Meraki has been winding down USB modem support across several firmware releases:

• MX18.2 — ongoing support for third-party USB modems was deprecated.
• MX19.1 — USB-based cellular failover stopped being supported.
• MX26.1 — USB modem support is removed entirely.
• 30 June 2026 — USB modem support is fully deprecated.

In plain terms: once you're on the newer firmware, that USB dongle in the side of your MX will no longer provide cellular failover. And by 30 June 2026, this is the final word — there's no reprieve coming.

Who is affected?

This matters to you if you have an MX (or Z-series) appliance using a USB cellular modem for internet backup or failover. Common setups we see across Australian small and branch sites include:

• An MX64 or MX64W with a USB modem
• An MX67 with a USB modem
• An MX68 with a USB modem

If any of these describe your site — perhaps a retail shop, a regional office, or a branch where the fixed-line connection occasionally drops and the 4G dongle keeps you online — then this change applies to you.

If you don't use a USB modem for failover, you're not directly affected. But it's still worth reading on if you've been thinking about adding internet redundancy.

"Can't I just stay on the old firmware?"

Technically, yes. You could remain on an older firmware like MX18.2 to keep the USB modem working a while longer.

We strongly recommend against it.

Staying on deprecated firmware means:

• No security updates — you miss critical patches that protect against new threats.
• No bug fixes — known issues won't be resolved on your version.
• No new features — you're frozen in time while the platform moves on.

For a security appliance — the very device guarding your network — running unpatched firmware is a poor trade-off. It might buy you a few months, but it leaves your business exposed. Think of it as a short bridge, not a destination.

The honest truth about Meraki cellular failover

We want to be precise here, because there's a lot of vague advice floating around.

After the USB deprecation, there is no Meraki cellular-failover option that avoids both a built-in SIM and an MG gateway. Cellular failover now requires one of two things:

1. An MX with built-in cellular (which has its own SIM slot), or
2. A separate Meraki MG cellular gateway.

There's no longer a "plug a cheap dongle in and you're done" path. That's the reality, and it's better to know it now so you can budget and plan properly. Here are your three real options.

Option A — Replace the MX with a built-in-cellular model

The cleanest like-for-like replacement for a USB-modem setup is an MX with an integrated cellular modem and a built-in SIM slot. Two strong choices:

• MERAKI MX67C LTE Router/Security Appliance (MX67C-HW-WW) — integrated cellular, ideal for a small or branch site.
• MERAKI MX68CW LTE & 802.11ac Router/Security Appliance (MX68CW-HW-WW) — integrated cellular plus built-in Wi-Fi, great where you also want wireless on board.

With these models, the cellular failover is native to the appliance. You pop in a SIM, configure your failover, and you're done — no extra hardware hanging off a USB port. This is the tidiest option for a single-box site.

Option B — Add a Meraki MG cellular gateway

If your MX is otherwise fine and you'd rather keep it, Meraki's recommended path for models without built-in cellular is to add a dedicated MG cellular gateway alongside it.

Your options here:

• MERAKI MG41 Cellular Gateway (MG41-HW) — the current entry 4G LTE gateway, a sensible choice for most small sites.
• MERAKI MG41E Cellular Gateway (MG41E-HW) — the same 4G platform with external-antenna support, for sites where mobile signal is marginal.

The MG handles the cellular connection and feeds it to your MX as a WAN uplink. Your existing MX keeps doing its job, and you get proper, supported cellular failover. This is a great fit if you've recently invested in your MX and want to extend its life.

Option C — Skip cellular entirely with a second wired WAN

Not every business actually needs cellular failover. If you'd prefer no SIM and no MG at all, you can run a second wired internet service into the MX's second WAN port (or a LAN port configured as a WAN) and let the MX fail over automatically between the two links.

There's an important Australian caveat, though: whether you can actually run two concurrent fixed-line services comes down to your NBN technology.

• FTTP (Fibre to the Premises): the NBN connection box has multiple UNI-D ports (UNI-D1, UNI-D2, and so on), and you can have two services active at the same time — even from two different ISPs. That makes a genuine wired-only dual-WAN failover setup possible: one service on UNI-D1, another on UNI-D2, each into a WAN port on the MX.
• FTTN (Fibre to the Node): the most common technology at residential and many small-business addresses. FTTN typically supports only a single NBN service over the one copper line, so you generally can't run a second concurrent NBN connection for failover. At a commercial address, though, you can often order a separate direct fibre connection (a second, independent link — for example NBN business fibre or Enterprise Ethernet) to act as your failover path. Availability, lead times and cost vary a lot by location, so it's very much an "ask your ISP" conversation.

So Option C is a great fit if you have FTTP — or two genuinely independent links, such as NBN plus a separate fibre or fixed-wireless service from another carrier. On FTTN, a second wired NBN line usually isn't possible, which is exactly where cellular failover (Option A or B) earns its place.

Not sure which NBN technology your site has? Your internet provider can confirm it — and, on FTTP, activate a second UNI-D service if you'd like to go this route.

A bonus reason to act: ageing hardware

If you're running an MX64 or MX64W on a USB modem, there's a second issue worth flagging: the MX64 line is end-of-sale. That's ageing hardware, and it'll eventually run out of road regardless of the USB change.

The upside? Refreshing to an MX67C or MX68CW solves both problems in one step:

• You move off the deprecated USB modem onto native, supported cellular failover.
• You retire end-of-sale hardware for a current, fully supported appliance.

It's the kind of upgrade that's genuinely worth doing once, properly, rather than patching twice.

So which option is right for you?

A quick rule of thumb:

• Want the simplest single-box replacement? Go with Option A (MX67C or MX68CW).
• Happy with your current MX and just need cellular added? Go with Option B (MG41 or MG41E).
• On FTTP (or with two independent wired lines) and don't want cellular? Go with Option C (dual wired WAN). On FTTN you generally can't run a second NBN service — use Option A or B instead.
• Running an MX64/MX64W? Strongly consider Option A — you fix the USB deprecation and the ageing hardware together.

Let TYO Store help you get it sorted

You've got until 30 June 2026, but the smart move is to plan now while there's no pressure. We'd rather help you choose calmly than scramble at the deadline.

At TYO Store, we work with Australian SMBs and resellers every day, and we can:

• Review your current MX setup and failover needs
• Recommend the right option for your site and budget
• Supply the correct hardware — MX67C, MX68CW, MG41 or MG41E
• Help you deploy and configure it for smooth, supported failover

Every device here — the MX appliances and MG gateways alike — carries a lifetime hardware warranty, with free advance replacement via RMA while the device is licensed.

Get in touch with the TYO Store team today, and let's have your internet backup sorted well before 30 June 2026 — no dropped connections, no expired firmware, no last-minute stress.