User Guide

Hardware & LEDs

What shipped in the box, where to find your credentials, and what the lights on top are telling you.

What’s in the box

• 1x Spark 5G router
• 1x User guide
• 1x DC 12V charger
• 4x 5G NR / 4G LTE antennas
• 2x Wi-Fi antennas
• 1x Ethernet cable
• 1x Wall mounting bracket
• 4x Wall anchors and screws
• 1x Adhesive window mount

Hang onto the box and accessories in case the device ever needs to go back. If anything is missing, contact whoever you bought it from.

The label on the bottom

Almost everything you need during setup is printed on the sticker underneath the router:

• Serial number
• Gateway IP
• SSID (your Wi-Fi network name)
• Wi-Fi and admin password, labeled Key on some units
• IMEI
• MAC address
• Device ID

LED status codes

Ports and buttons

• 1x Power button
• 1x Reset button
• 1x LAN Ethernet, 1 Gbps
• 1x WAN Ethernet, 2.5 Gbps
• 2x Nano SIM slots (12.3 x 8.8 mm)
• 1x TF card slot, up to 1 TB
• 1x USB 2.0 Type-A
• 1x DC 12V power port (DC5521, 5.5 x 2.1 mm)

Initial setup

Three ways to deploy the Spark: as a cellular router, with a wired connection and cellular failover, or in IP passthrough mode. Start with cellular either way.

Cellular router mode

1. With the router powered off, angle the antennas upward and insert your SIM into slot 1 if one is not already installed. Match the orientation shown in the diagram on the device.
2. Connect to the router one of two ways:
   • Ethernet cable from your computer to the router’s LAN port, or
   • the router’s Wi-Fi, using the SSID and Key from the label on the bottom.
3. Open a browser and go to 192.168.8.1. You should land on the login page.
4. Log in with username root and the password from the Key field on the label.
5. Wait for the router to configure itself. If it has not connected after 10 minutes, hold the reset button on the bottom for 10 seconds and repeat from step 1.
6. Still not connecting? Your SIM may need a specific APN. Click Manual Setup at the bottom of the dashboard and enter the right one for your carrier.

If your carrier is not listed, call them and ask for the correct APN.

Adding a wired connection with cellular failover

Get cellular working first. Failover has nothing to fall back from otherwise.

1. Complete the cellular router setup above.
2. Run an Ethernet cable from your existing modem or router into the Spark’s WAN port.
3. The Spark uses the wired connection as primary and switches to cellular automatically if the wired link goes down. If it does not pick up the wired connection, check that the upstream device is working.

IP passthrough mode

Passes the carrier IP straight through to one connected device. This disables Wi-Fi and limits you to a single client on the LAN port.

1. Complete the cellular router setup above.
2. In the admin panel, open the Network menu on the left, then click Network Mode.
3. Select IP Passthrough, click Next, then Apply.
4. Confirm it worked by checking the IP on the connected device. On Windows, run ipconfig in Command Prompt and look for the carrier address.

Admin panel

The configuration portal runs in your browser. There is nothing to install.

Internet

The dashboard is the first thing you see after logging in. SIM configuration, connection status, and port settings all live here.

Internet

What the dashboard shows

At the top: a picture of your device with its active connections, internal temperature, and battery level.

Scroll down for connection details, including the network you are on, modem name, IMEI, active SIM, phone number, ICCID, data used this session, and your external IP. View More expands to show IP settings, gateway, and DNS servers. Cells Info gives you band-level detail on the cellular link.

Further down on the left is per-port Ethernet activity, where you can flip each port between WAN and LAN. On the right is the repeater panel for relaying an existing Wi-Fi network.

The icons at the top right of the dashboard handle SIM configuration profiles, signal statistics, tower locking, and modem AT commands.

Setting the APN manually

1. Click Internet in the left menu to reach the dashboard.
2. Click the box next to Active SIM Card to choose which SIM you are configuring.
3. Select the slot and click Apply.
4. Click Manual Setup at the bottom of the box.
5. Enter your carrier’s APN in the APN field.
6. Click Apply.

Automatic SIM switching

Lets the router fail over between your two SIMs on its own.

1. Click Internet in the left menu.
2. Click the box next to Active SIM Card.
3. Make sure your preferred SIM is selected, then turn on the Auto Switch slider. If the wrong SIM is selected while auto switch is off, choose the right one, click Apply, then come back and enable auto switching.
4. Pick your preferred SIM from the Preferred SIM Card dropdown.
5. Click Modify next to each slot to configure it.
6. Enter that SIM’s APN in the dialog and click Confirm.
7. Set your failover interval, which is how long the router tries the preferred slot before giving up and switching. You can also enable Checking Preferred Slot Status Scheduled and pick a daily time for the router to attempt a return to SIM 1 if it is sitting on SIM 2.

Switching SIM cards manually

1. Log in and click Internet in the left menu.
2. Click the box next to Active SIM Card. It will read SIM 1 or SIM 2.
3. Select the slot you want.
4. Click Apply.

Repeater mode

Relays an existing Wi-Fi network instead of using cellular or a wired connection.

1. Log in and click Internet in the left menu.
2. Scroll to the bottom and find Repeater (Wi-Fi as WAN) on the right.
3. Click Connect.
4. Choose the network you want to repeat and enter its password. You can also set MAC address selection, whether the router remembers this network, and static IP configuration here.
5. Click Apply.

Wi-Fi

The Spark broadcasts on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Out of the box your network is named KAT-xxxx, where xxxx is the last four of the device ID, and the password is the Key field on the label.

Wireless

Click Modify at the bottom of any band section to change it. You can set TX power, network name, randomized BSSID, security protocol, password, SSID visibility, Wi-Fi mode, bandwidth, and channel.

Guest networks have their own tabs with a smaller set of options: name, security protocol, password, and visibility.

Changing your network name and password

1. Connect to the router and open 192.168.8.1 in a browser.
2. Log in with the password from the Key field on the label.
3. Click Wireless in the left menu.
4. Click Modify under the band you want to change and enter a new name in Wi-Fi Name (SSID).
5. Change the password, security protocol, and SSID visibility here too if you want.
6. Click Apply.

Turning on a guest network

1. Open 192.168.8.1 and log in.
2. Click Wireless in the left menu.
3. Click the 5 GHz Guest WiFi or 2.4 GHz Guest WiFi tab, depending on which band you want.
4. Turn on the Enable Wi-Fi slider.
5. Click Modify to set the guest network’s name, password, security protocol, and visibility.

Combining both bands under one name

Give both bands the same SSID and connected devices will pick whichever is stronger.

1. Log in and click Wireless in the left menu.
2. Click Modify on each section and set both bands to the same SSID. Usually this means dropping the -5G suffix from the 5 GHz name so both read KAT-xxxx.
3. Click Apply on each.
4. Connecting to that single name now gets you either band. This works on the guest networks too, though guest bands cannot be merged with the main ones.

Clients

Everything currently or previously connected, with the controls to allow or block specific devices.

Clients

For each device you get the name, IP address, MAC address, how it connected, and traffic statistics. By default anything can connect. You can tighten that with either an allowlist or a blocklist.

Blocking specific devices

Everything connects except what you name.

1. At the top of the Clients page, click Blocklist next to Access Control.
2. Confirm the mode is set to Blocklist.
3. Enter the MAC addresses you want to block. To do a lot at once, click Import Clients and upload a .txt or .csv.
4. Click Apply.

Allowing only specific devices

Nothing connects except what you name.

1. At the top of the Clients page, click Blocklist next to Access Control.
2. Change Mode to Allowlist.
3. Enter the MAC addresses you want to permit, or batch import them from a .txt or .csv.
4. Click Apply.

VPN

The Spark supports OpenVPN and WireGuard, as either client or server. The VPN dashboard shows active connections; the client and server pages handle setup.

VPN

Running the Spark as an OpenVPN server

1. Open the VPN menu and click OpenVPN Server.
2. Click Generate Configuration. Set the IP address, port, and protocol, or leave the defaults.
3. Click Start.
4. Click Export Client Configuration to download the file you will load onto your VPN clients.

Connecting to an OpenVPN server as a client

1. Open the VPN menu and click OpenVPN Client.
2. Click Add Manually.
3. Upload the client configuration file you exported from the server.
4. Click Apply.
5. Enable or disable the connection from the VPN dashboard.

Running the Spark as a WireGuard server

1. Open the VPN menu and click WireGuard Server.
2. Click Generate Configuration, set your IP address, port, and protocol, then click Start.
3. Click the Profiles tab. WireGuard needs a separate profile for every client that will connect.
4. Click Add and name the profile. Set More holds the optional settings.
5. Click Apply.
6. Download the configuration file for that profile.

Connecting to a WireGuard server as a client

1. Open the VPN menu and click WireGuard Client.
2. Click Add Manually or New Group.
3. Upload this device’s configuration profile. Each client needs its own, generated on the server.
4. Click Apply.
5. Click the three dots next to the profile, then Start.

Using a commercial VPN provider

Open the VPN menu and pick the client that matches your provider: OpenVPN Client for NordVPN, WireGuard Client for AzireVPN or Mullvad. Then sign in to your provider.

Applications

Extra functionality most deployments never need. Skip this section unless something here solves a problem you actually have.

Applications

Plug-ins

Optional packages like speedtest and iperf. These are for advanced users. Contact Katalyst support before installing anything here.

Dynamic DNS

Keeps a domain name pointed at your router even when the IP behind it changes. Turn on the Enable DDNS slider and click Apply. Useful when you need to reach the router remotely but do not have a static IP.

Network storage

Shares a USB drive across the network. Plug the drive into the router’s USB port and enable your preferred file service: Samba, WebDAV, or DLNA.

AdGuard Home

Blocks ads and malicious domains for every device on the network. Once running it shows a dashboard of ads blocked, DNS queries, and blocked domains.

Parental control

Blocks specific IP addresses or websites, and can restrict when a given device gets internet access at all. Despite the name, it is the tool to reach for when you need time-based or content-based restrictions on any client.

1. Log in and open the Applications menu.
2. Click Parental Control.
3. Turn the slider on and click Apply.
4. Name your profile and click Next.
5. Select the devices this profile applies to, then click Next.
6. The default ruleset blocks internet access outright. Click Add a New Ruleset to build your own.
7. Name the ruleset and add the IP addresses or domains to block, then click Apply.
8. Choose the ruleset for this profile and click Finish.
9. Click Go to Set to add time windows, or Later to skip that for now.
10. The ruleset now applies to every device in the profile. Edit profiles and rulesets any time from the Parental Control page.

Network

Everything not covered by the dashboard or the Wi-Fi page: port forwarding, multi-WAN, LAN, guest network, DNS, port assignment, network mode, IPv6, and the advanced toggles.

Network

Port forwarding

Opens a path from the internet to a specific device inside your network. You need this when something outside has to reach something inside: a camera, a server, a remote desktop session.

Multi-WAN

Shows every connection currently available to the router, whether cellular, Ethernet, or a repeated network. Set which one the router prefers, or have it balance traffic across all of them.

Setting connection priority

1. Open the Network menu and click Multi-WAN.
2. Scroll down to Interface Priority.
3. Drag the interfaces into the order you want using the handle next to each. The number shows the order the router will try them.
4. Click Apply.

LAN

Change the router’s own IP address and subnet mask, isolate client networks, configure DHCP, and reserve addresses for specific devices.

Changing the LAN IP address

1. Open the Network menu and click LAN.
2. Enter your preferred private IP in Router IP Address.
3. Enter your subnet mask in Netmask.
4. Click Apply.

Configuring the DHCP server

1. Open Network then LAN.
2. Click Advanced under Private Network.
3. Set the range of addresses the router hands out to clients.
4. Click Apply.

Reserving an IP address

1. Scroll to Address Reservation at the bottom of the LAN page.
2. Click Add.
3. Enter the device’s MAC address and the IP you want it to always receive.
4. Click Submit. The client has to reconnect for it to take effect.

Guest network

Lets visitors online without putting them on your main network. Disabled by default. The guest network has to use a different IP range than your primary network.

Changing the guest network IP

1. Open Network then LAN.
2. Click the Guest Network tab.
3. Edit Default Gateway and set your netmask.
4. Click Apply.

Guest network DHCP

1. Open Network then LAN.
2. Click Guest Network, then Advanced.
3. Set the address range for guest clients.
4. Click Apply.

DNS

Choose which DNS servers the router uses.

1. Open the Network menu and click DNS.
2. Set Mode to Manual DNS.
3. Enter the servers you want.
4. Click Apply.

Network port management

Each Ethernet port can act as WAN or LAN. Out of the box you get one of each. WAN connects the router to an existing internet source; LAN connects a device or switch to the router.

1. Log in and scroll to the bottom of the dashboard.
2. You will see Ethernet 1 and Ethernet 2. Change to LAN and Change to WAN flip each port.
3. You can also do this from the Network Port Management page using the slider, then clicking Apply.

Network mode

Determines how the router operates overall.

Router

The default. Takes a connection from cellular, WAN, or a repeated Wi-Fi network and creates its own network behind it.

Bridge

Connects two network segments together.

IP passthrough

Hands the public IP straight to one device on the LAN port. Wi-Fi is disabled and only that single client can connect.

1. Open the Network menu and click Network Mode.
2. Select the mode you want.
3. Click Apply.

Drop-in gateway

Lets the Spark add features to a router you are not replacing. If you want VPN or content filtering on an existing network but the current router cannot do it, drop the Spark in to handle traffic filtering while the other router keeps the WAN connection.

1. Connect an internet source to the Spark’s WAN port by Ethernet.
2. Open the Network menu and click Drop-in Gateway.
3. Turn on Enable Drop-in Gateway Mode. The settings fill in automatically from what the WAN port sees.
4. Choose whether all clients or only some pass through the gateway.
5. Click Apply.

Advanced toggles

IPv6

Turn IPv6 on and set how the router handles it.

IGMP snooping

Reads IGMP traffic to work out which devices actually want multicast data, then sends it only to those. Keeps multicast streams off devices that did not ask for them.

Network acceleration

Reduces CPU load and speeds up throughput. It conflicts with per-client traffic statistics and parental control, so you cannot have both.

NAT settings

Controls Full Cone NAT and SIP ALG. Full Cone maps all traffic from an internal IP and port to one external IP and port, which means any outside host can reach that internal host through the mapped address.

System

Firmware, scheduling, passwords, logs, and the factory reset.

System

Overview

Charts for CPU load and memory usage over the last three minutes, plus battery status, an LED toggle, and flash memory usage. At the bottom: uptime, model, device ID, MAC address, and serial number. This is where to look first when the router is behaving strangely.

Updating firmware from the router

1. Open the System menu and click Upgrade.
2. The Firmware Online Upgrade tab tells you whether an update exists. If one does, click Upgrade.
3. To install a file yourself, click Firmware Local Upgrade and upload it. Firmware files live on the Katalyst firmware page.

Updating firmware through kCLOUD

Better when you are updating more than one device.

1. Go to cloud.katalystbrand.com and sign in.
2. Find the device by name, MAC address, or serial number.
3. Tick the box next to it.
4. In the bottom right, click Upgrade, then Upgrade Firmware.
5. Choose the version and click Next.
6. Click Apply.

Other system settings

Scheduled tasks

Automate recurring events. Set when the LEDs are lit, schedule a weekly reboot, or set hours for the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz networks to be active.

Admin password

Change the password for the admin panel. Do this on day one.

Time zone

Defaults to US Eastern (UTC-5:00). Set it correctly or your logs and scheduled tasks will be off.

Log

System logs for troubleshooting. Export Log at the top right saves them out, which is the first thing support will ask for.

Advanced settings

Opens the underlying configuration portal. More detail than the standard interface, and not recommended unless you know exactly what you are changing.

Factory reset

Wipes your configuration and returns the router to defaults. Two ways to do it:

1. Hardware: hold the RESET button on the bottom for 10 seconds. The power light blinks slowly, then faster, then rapidly. Release once it is blinking rapidly. Wait about 5 minutes for the router to come back up.
2. Software: log in, open the System menu, click Reset Firmware, then Delete All and Reboot.

Troubleshooting

Two things to try before anything else, then the specific fixes.

Reboot the unit. Clears the cache and the router’s attachment status on the cellular network. Fixes more than you would expect.

Factory reset. Resolves most problems caused by configuration that has drifted somewhere wrong. The router runs a batch of setup scripts on its first boot after a reset, which is often what fixes things.

No internet

Power light not on

Factory defaults

What the router reverts to after a reset.

Specifications

Power adapter

• Input: 100/240VAC, 50/60Hz, 0.6A
• Output: 12VDC / 2.5A

Attaching the AC plug head

The power supply uses a removable plug head that has to be installed before you connect to a wall outlet.

1. Line the plug adapter up with the circular mount on the power supply.
2. Insert it into the mount.
3. Rotate clockwise until it clicks into the LOCK position.
4. Confirm it is seated and does not rotate freely.

A correctly installed plug sits flush against the housing. If it will not rotate smoothly, do not force it. Pull it out and realign before locking.

To remove: push the button on the bottom left corner to unlock, rotate counterclockwise toward OPEN, then pull straight out.

Cellular

Maximum theoretical speeds

These are ceiling figures for the modem. Real speeds depend on your carrier, your plan, tower distance, and how many other people are on that tower.

Supported bands

5G NR (NSA & SA)

n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n13, n14, n18, n20, n25, n26, n28, n29, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n66, n70, n71, n75, n76, n77, n78, n79

LTE-FDD

B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B7, B8, B12, B13, B14, B17, B18, B19, B20, B25, B26, B28, B29, B30, B32, B66, B71

LTE-TDD

B34, B38, B39, B40, B41, B42, B43, B48

LAA

B46

Hardware

Wi-Fi

• 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 4x4 MU-MIMO
• 2.4 GHz: up to 574 Mbps
• 5 GHz: up to 2402 Mbps

Interfaces

• Ethernet: 1x 2.5 Gbps WAN, 1x 1 Gbps LAN (RJ45, 10/100/1000/2500)
• SIM: 2x nano SIM (12.3 x 8.8 mm)
• TF card slot: up to 1 TB
• USB: 2.0 Type-A
• Power port: DC5521, 12V / 2.5A (5.5 x 2.1 mm)
• LED indicators: power, battery, internet, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, signal strength
• Reset button: short press (under 3s) restores network settings, long press (8s or more) restores factory settings

Environmental

• Operating temperature: 32–104°F (0–40°C)
• Storage temperature: -4–158°F (-20–70°C)
• Humidity: 5–95%, non-condensing

Compliance

• FCC+DFS, CP65, PTCRB
• Certified carriers: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile