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Hi All,
Some issues with new 4G BB kit you might be able to help me with.
ATK-LOG LTE Antenna mounted outside on roof (pointed at Three LTE Mast located 2kms away). ATK-LOG LTE antenna connected to a Tenda 4G680V2.0 Router using supplied 10 metre antenna cable. Router connected via patch cable to Tenda 300Mbps Wireless N High Power Access Point.
Three payg voice sim placed in iphone and I get strong 4G signal and speed test results of between 40-70megs download. Happy days!
Place the same three sim into the Tenda router and speeds barely make it above 10megs download.
If I disconnect external antenna from the router and connect the 2 supplied antennae and place in upstairs window (approx 3 feet below where external antenna is on the roof) the router pointing at the same three mast and I'm getting speeds of 40megs download. I plan to get up on the roof tomorrow and turn external antenna and reset the router every 30 degrees or so and see if it improoves anything! Are there any setting s i should be changing on the router?
If anyone can shine a light on this for me, I'd much apprciate it!
RSRP: -112
SINR: -1.08 (varies between 0.8 - 2.5)
Many Thanks in advance!
Pilatus260
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Going by those signal readings, it appears that the router is either not picking up the external antennae or that mast they're pointing at is not where your Three signal is coming from. Basically you want to get the RSRP the least negative as possible (e.g. -100dB is better than -110dB) and the SINR figure as positive as possible, preferably above 10. A negative SINR number indicates a lot of interference being picked up.
To start with, I suggest checking what RSRP and SINR figures your iPhone reports. With the Three SIM in your iPhone, dial *3001#12345#* and touch the call icon to bring up the hidden field test page. Go into LTE, then into "Serving Cell Meas". Here you can see how the iPhone's RSRP and SINR readings. If your iPhone shows additional RSRP and SINR figures, these are for 4G+, which you can ignore as that Tenda model is not 4G+ capable.
You can stand against each outer wall of the house to check which side gives the best readings and this will give you a rough indication of the direction your Three signal is coming from.
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Hi Sean,
Many thanks for the reply. I got up on the roof with the laptop in hand and swung the directional antenna around 360 degrees in approx 20-30 degree increments. The RSRP figure generally stayed in and around -100dBm and the SINR figure was generally a negative figure except for once when it jumped between +4-7dBm. I turned the antenna around a couple of times but couldnt get the RSRP down below -100dBm or the SINR to remain a positive figure.
I put the sim into the iphone this morning and checked the 4 sides of the house to check the figures and the Serving Cell Measurements section of the field test. The 4 sides of the house "Measured RSRP" was -103dBm and didnt change at all really. I couldnt see any SINR figure on any of the pages on the field test. I also did a speed test while at each side and on the East side only I got a speed of 168Mbps download!...all the other sides were showing 50Mbps and below. Would it be possible that the iphone antenna are more sensitive and can pick up 4G more accurately then the directional antenna can or even that the iphone might be picking up a 4G+ signal that gives the such high speed? I will point the directional antenna eastwards and see if this improoves the situation? Can you tell me if I must reset the router everytime I move the directional antenna as I did notice when moving it and the waiting a few minutes the values would change without having to reset?
The options on the Serving Cell Measurements were; Measured RSSI 57dBm (never stayed on a solid figure) , Average RSRQ -30dB , Measured RSRP -103.75dBm, Measured RSRQ -30dB, Average RSRP -138.25dBm.
Let me know your thoughts,
Thanks again for your advice, much appreciated!
Pilatus260
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15/07/2020, 08:29 PM
(This post was last modified: 15/07/2020, 08:31 PM by Seán.)
That 168Mbps sure was phenomenal and definitely means your iPhone was picking up 4G+ on that side. The theoretical maximum speed for regular 4G is 150Mbps and usually peaks around 130Mbps with clear line of sight.
On Three, 4G+ consists of a 10MHz band 20 signal and a 20MHz band 3 signal. Some areas have a second 15MHz band 3 signal and possibly also a 15MHz band 1 signal until October (temporary for Covid-19.) Regular 4G only connects to which ever signal is stronger, usually band 20 once the band 3 (or 1) signal drops below around -108dBm. Band 3 and 1 do not penetrate objects as well as band 20, so tends to be much weaker when it passes through vegetation and obstacles.
So I suspect that the Tenda router is clinging on to the stronger band 20 signal. RSRP -100dBm is fine, however, it is still picking up a lot of interference going by the SINR going negative. Band 1 and 3 generally have much less interference even with a weak signal as it does not reflect or diffract off objects as much as the lower band 20 frequencies do.
You can try checking the configuration menus to see if there's any place to specify band #s to select band 3 only. From my limited searching, I had no luck finding if this is possible with the Tenda router, like what's possible with most other 4G routers.
If you are unable to lock the band # and you bought your router within the last 14 days, I suggest try returning it for a refund. Then get a 4G+ model or LTE Category 6 or higher, such as the Huawei B525 or B535. These will connect in 4G+ even with a weak band 3 signal.
