Mobile Phone SIM exceeds Mobile Broadband SIM - EIR Network

[Kevin]

Hi,

I would appreciate any help you can offer. I tested an eir sim card from a mobile phone unlimited data contract in my mobile router and got very good speeds of between 15 / 30 mbps throughout the day and evening. I decided to go for a contract with eir on the current deal thay have of €30 a month and the new router Huawei B628 €49. I came home set it up and was getting in excess of 30mbps, however as the evening progressed this dropped to 1mbps and below. The speeds went back up the next morning to 60 and 70 mbps. I appreciate that during peak periods that speeds will drop. However, when I put the other mobile phone sim into the router the speeds remain constant.

Last test I done today was:

SIM from Mobile Phone Contract (eir)
Ping 50ms
Download 0.35 mbps
Upload 0.35 mbps

SIM from Mobile Broadband Contract (eir)
Ping 17ms
Download 43.16 mbps
upload 5.34 mbps

Any help at all is greatly appreciated, I am on Google all morning and the forum trying to find answers or a solution. 
4 children with online schooling tomorrow and I was hoping to work from home.

Is this something the operators can control as I doubt I can change any settings to overcome this issue.

Many thanks.

[Seán]

I saw in your other post that you tried your phone SIM in a Vodafone router. If that was in another part of the house, it's quite possible it is picking up a different mast to what the other router was picking up with your phone's SIM. I suggest placing the Huawei B628 in the same room as your other router to see if there is any change in speed.

You can check what band # and cell ID it's using by following the steps in this post and repeat with the other router (assuming it's also a Huawei router):
https://confusedbird.com/thread-5.html

If the band #s are different, you can force the B628 on a different band using the Android App huaCtrl. In this App, go into Settings, touch the edit icon next to Auto and and deselect the band the B628 is currently using. For example, if it's currently on band 20, deselect band "B20-800MHz". This will force it to choose another band.

If the two routers are using the band #, but different cell IDs, then the only workaround here is to move the router to the side of the house your other router is located.

[Kevin]

I saw in your other post that you tried your phone SIM in a Vodafone router.  If that was in another part of the house, it's quite possible it is picking up a different mast to what the other router was picking up with your phone's SIM.  I suggest placing the Huawei B628 in the same room as your other router to see if there is any change in speed. 

You can check what band # and cell ID it's using by following the steps in this post and repeat with the other router (assuming it's also a Huawei router):
https://confusedbird.com/thread-5.html

If the band #s are different, you can force the B628 on a different band using the Android App huaCtrl.  In this App, go into Settings, touch the edit icon next to Auto and and deselect the band the B628 is currently using.  For example, if it's currently on band 20, deselect band "B20-800MHz".  This will force it to choose another band.

If the two routers are using the band #, but different cell IDs, then the only workaround here is to move the router to the side of the house your other router is located.

Seán,

Many thanks for the swift response, I am pulling my hair out at the moment.

There is no difference to anything only the SIM cards, one being a mobile phone plan SIM the other a mobile broadband package SIM.

I have tested with a B525 Huawei router and the new B628 I got with the contract in two seperate parts of the house.
The Band is the same, the tower is the sme only difference is the SIM card.

It would appear as if the Data Only SIM is set differently to the Mobile Phone SIM.
I had someone out in the week testing to see if the Vodafone could be amplified or boosted but the eir gave off the best reception, the guy testing also used a SIM from a mobile phone and got good results.

Using the Data Only SIM and changing the Band made minimal difference, the download speed from the Mobile proved strong throughout on both routers in two seperate locations.
The mast I am picking up is the same one throughout.

This seems very strange but are the providers giving a different allowance on the Data Only Sim to the Mobile Phone SIM.

Many thanks for the advice and help.
This is a fantastic forum and a wealth of information is in here.

[Seán]

The only other settings that could be different is the APN, which the router automatically sets depending on the SIM card. In the past, I know Three prioritised one APN over another, but am not sure whether switching APN will do anything for Eir.

With your phone SIM in the router, check what APN it is using:

1. Go into the router's web interface (http://192.168.8.1)
   
2. Go into the top Settings menu and log in.
   
3. In the left menu, go into Profile Management.
   
4. Take a note of what is in the "APN:" field.
   

Place your broadband SIM back into the router and repeat the above steps to check what APN it is using with your broadband SIM.

If the APN field is different, you can change it as follows:

1. Click "New Profile".
   
2. In the "Profile name:" field, enter a name like "Eir Phone SIM".
   
3. In the "APN:" field, type in the APN that your phone SIM was using, then click 'Save'.
   
4. In the "Profile name:" drop-down, choose the new profile, e.g. "Eir phone SIM".
   
5. Click 'Apply'.
   

If the router fails to connect with the phone's APN, then choose the original APN in the "Profile name:" field and apply.

You can try also the following in the "APN:" field: broadband.mymeteor.ie

If the speed still remains poor or the router only connects with the original APN, then it looks like Eir is prioritising mobile phone data over broadband SIM data, in which case you you would be better off cancelling your Eir broadband contract before the 14 day cooling period.

[Kevin]

"If the speed still remains poor or the router only connects with the original APN, then it looks like Eir is prioritising mobile phone data over broadband SIM data, in which case you you would be better off cancelling your Eir broadband contract before the 14 day cooling period".

Many thanks Seán,

Your assistance is greatly appreciated, unfortunately the APN settings are the same on both.
I will be cancelling the service.

[Kevin]

Bit of an update on the SIM issue:

After a couple of days of calling Eir, changing the SIM and the router, they eventually confirmed that the settings on the Mobile Phone Sim card are different to the Mobile Broadband SIM card, in that they have different HNR or H&R settings, a mobile SIM is capped at 120GB of data, (fair usage) whereas the broadband sim is capped at 750GB hence the difference in these settings I was told.
All in all they said there was nothing they could do, so I had no option but to cancel the contract and so I am back at square one.

I am now going to give GoMo a try and see if I get the same service as I get from my wifes eir mobile phone sim, if this works I may purchase another 2 and swap out the sim cards throughout the month, depending on my trial and see if they actually cut you off at 120GB of data usage, this would give me 360GB for €40, which although not ideal would be something at least.

Other than this I do not see any alternative options as I get no signal from 3 and Vodafone is very weak and only transmitting on Band 20. Despite the masts all being located approximately 2.5km from my house. It is the drumlins of Monaghan that are to blame I guess.

[boatbuilder]

Kevin I'm having the same problems near Shercock - have been using a three sim but recently the speeds have dropped to un-usable speeds.
I tested my son's gomo sim in the Huawei b818 router and I'm getting up to 30Mbps download and 18Mbps upload.
Three was €20. Even if you had to buy two or three gomo sims to get you through the month, it would be worth it for the better speeds.

[Seán]

I still wonder what was causing the Eir broadband SIM to perform so poor with everything else equal (same router, cell ID, APN, etc). It is like Eir was falsely deprioritising the SIM as having already exceeded the fair usage usage.

If you occasionally need to go over 120GB (or 240GB with a second SIM), another option would be to get an Eir prepay phone SIM. It costs €20 for 28 days and also provides 120GB fair usage. The SIM can be left unused for up to 6 months since the last top-up.

[boatbuilder]

I read somewhere that gomo have increased their fair usage from 80gb to 120gb thanks to coronavirus... not sure if that's true but I'll find out within a few weeks!

[Seán]

Indeed

6.4      The fair usage threshold in relation to data usage for the SIM Only Service is 120GB. Should your data usage exceed 120GB in a billing cycle and we consider that other users are likely to be adversely affected, we reserve the right reduce your speeds . We continuously monitor network performance to ensure that the SIM Only Service received by you is not impacted through a minority of users placing high demand on network resources (e.g. large bandwidths over long periods).

[Kevin]

Eir tried to say that there should be no difference in the speeds but there clearly was, then said that the settings were slightly different to facilitate the difference in the fair usage policies of Phone (120GB) v Broadband (750GB). Still does not explain the difference in the download / upload readings.

I got my GoMo SIM on Thursday and have been running on it since, speeds have not been as high as the eir mobile phone sim, but have been fairly decent coming in above 10mbps and up to 20+mbps.
Unfortunately as I run a test now the readings have dropped considerably:
Ping - 25ms
Down - 1.08mbps
Up - 1.65mbps

Hopefully it is a blip as we were all able to have teams meetings and online classes in the house yesterday. I just hope that GoMo are not monitoring my usage and have reduced my speeds ?‍♂️ "We continuously monitor network performance to ensure that the SIM Only Service received by you is not impacted through a minority of users placing high demand on network resources"

I will monitor today and if it remains low I might have to take out the GoMo SIM at off peak times and put in my old Vodafone SIM.
I will also check if the Band is changing etc.

Boatbuilder - Have you noticed any change in speeds with your GoMo SIM and do you leave the SIM in 24hrs and running. You would expect to have higher speeds in the morning before the peak kicks in, so I hope this is nothing to worry about.

[boatbuilder]

I've only been using the gomo sim for a few days but consistently getting at least 20mbps down and 10 mbps up, even at peak times. No sign of being slowed down yet.
I can see us easily going over the 120gb limit in about 2 weeks of usage because at those high speeds, videos play in hd by default. I'll update here if I get slowed.
B28 is faster for me than B20.

[Kevin]

Ok so now I am in a new situation, I tried to change back over to my old Vodafone SIM card and it would not connect, I then went in to the Profile Management and changed the APN settings back over to the Vodafone from the drop down. This would still not connect, unplugged router left off for a min or two then back on still nothing. Done a RESET on the router now it will not connect to either GoMo or Vodafone, there is a red light on the router (B525) second from left beside power indicator. Having to use mobile to post here for help, all router settings appear to be the same.

In addition to my earlier issue with the speeds, I had a look in the SMS section on the router and I had a message last night at approximately 11pm saying I had reached the 100% of my fair usage, not sure if this is based on daily amount usage or it could be pro rata until new billing cycle, I had used about 25 / 30 GB in the few days it’s been running.

However, not being able to connect to any provider now is my issue ??‍♂️

Help Required

[Seán]

The red light usually means no signal. I'm surprised it's showing this after a reset as it seems to indicate a problem with the router itself rather than a setting. Usually if there's an APN issue after a reset, it will show a signal, but not connect.

In the router's web interface, go into Settings, then in the left menu go into Dial-up -> Network Settings. Ensure both the "Preferred mode" and "Network Search" drop-downs are set to "Auto" and apply.

Then in the left menu, go into the System -> Antenna Settings. Ensure the Antennas drop-down is set to "Auto" and Apply.

[Kevin]

Thanks Seán,

I hit the reset button again when it was and it came up on the screen to set up the router from scratch again, with default settings I assume as per your instructions above as allare now set to that.

Bright side is I am connected again to GoMo, with reduced speeds, I will see how long this lasts, there is no way of seeing your data usage with GoMo, the MyGoMo does not provide much information, I just hope this is a pro rata issue and will go back up within a few days.

I will try and see if the Vodafone SIM will work later, but for now the house is quiet as everyone got connected again :-)

Many thanks for the help, it is greatly appreciated.

[boatbuilder]

Kevin, with my gomo sim, I got two text messages from them - at 80% and 100% of the 120gb usage.
After it reached 100%, my speed has been reduced to 5 or 6Mbps download and about 1Mbps upload.
Before this, it had never gone below 20Mbps download and 10Mbps upload, even at peak times.

I was going to try Eir's 750gb deal, but from your story there doesn't seem to be much point if its already throttled from day 1.
I'd rather have a consistent  5 or 6Mbps speed rather than an erratic fast/slow.
I've bought a second gomo sim.  I'll leave one sim for general use and I'll keep one to use if I need a decent speed for anything like a big Teams meeting or something.

[Kevin]

Well, I am running off 3 SIM cards at present. My Original Vodafone in the mornings until the afternoon, then speeds drop of significantly say from 10+ mbps to just between 1 or 2 mbps, then I put in the eir SIM from my wifes phone and it shoots up to between 15 or 20mbps, I also have the GoMo Sim which I have been told by GoMo will renew back to the 120GB (Fair usage) on February 1st. This was giving speeds of around 10 to 15 mbps. However, after getting the 100% text on the fair usage it dropped off to less than 1mbps in the evening. The eir SIM from my wife's phone is on 102GB of used data so not much left on the fair usage. But it all renews again from Monday so I am going to see how I get on then, if the GoMo is consistent as I hope it will be I will get another SIM card and possibly a 3rd and that would see me through the month and I will just suffer the cost of the Vodafone contract till it expires in June. The eir 750GB may work for you as I do not have a clear line of sight to the mast, surrounded by hills and high trees that all reduce my reception, though it does not explain why I get 30 mbps from my wife's Sim in the morning and afternoon and then 15 to 20 in the peak periods. eir did not give me a definitive answer on this but did admit there were different settings between Mobile Phone Contract SIM cards and Mobile Broadband Contract SIM cards to facilitate the difference in fair usage, (120GB mobilephone v 750GB mobile broadband). if it doesn't work you can always cancel, but as you say I would rather stick with a consistent reliable speed that be jumping from great to poor throughout the day. Another issue I have is if I put the eir or GoMo SIM in the router it automatically jumps across to that Network, when I put the Vodafone SIM back in I have to reset the Profile, not a big issue now that I know how to change that but it tested the patience last week on Saturday when it all went to pot........

Still the National Broadband Plan rollout is only around the corner (if only).

[boatbuilder]

I think I'll be waiting a long time for the National Broadband plan - I'm the last house on the line!
Think I'll stick with my two gomo sims for the next month and re-evaluate after that...

[Kevin]

Well boatbuilder,

I was just wondering how you are getting on with the GoMO SIM. I ran mine in the router from the start of the month and it reached the fair usage limit within 6 days. Not sure what the big usage was, I have Netflix and Disney all on standard data so it should not be an issue. I then tried my wifes eir SIM over a weekend and it knocked up 100GB of the 120GB fair usage. Two of my children play fortnite on the Nintendo Switch, (the older usually hotspots from the phone for this) so unless this is heavy on the data I am at a slight loss. There were a couple of Zoom calls, (football training etc) and also a bit of facetime between cousins so another contributing factor. The Vodafone is completely useless now in the evenings after 5pm it starts to drop away off. I have ordered another GoMO SIM and I intend to run the GoMO from 6pm until about 10 - 10:30pm sun - Thurs and bit later at the weekends and see how long it lasts that way.

In any case, I have signed up for the Starlink Satellite Broadband now and am willing to give it a shot, although it will not be available until the later part of the year. It sounds promising but costly at €99pm, plus approx. €660 to get kit and register etc.

[boatbuilder]

Gomo is still working well, getting speeds up to 50Mbps at times which is amazing considering my location in the middle of nowhere.
I reckon I'd use at least 10GB of data per day and go through 3x sims per month - I noticed this month that it seemed to reach the limit sooner than I expected - maybe something to do with February only having 28 days?
The problem with the online gaming is that they issue game updates every week or two, which requires a download and some of those downloads can be massive. We had one big download at the start of February of about 40GB for one game, so that has put a big dent in our allowance straight away.
I find that the slowed down speed is fine for general browsing and netflix but Teams meetings tend to be a bit blurry.
I'm trying to swap the sim cards around to save the fast speeds for when they're really needed - and if there are any big downloads needed, I swap in one of the "slow" sims and let it download away overnight.