I'm looking for advice for my elderly parents, they are currently with eir, but are not in a fiber area and are so far from the exchange they are getting less then 1mb most of the time. I have tried test my Huawei B525 router there with 3, because of covid restrictions I'm not getting a proper chance to test it. I have the following readings from when I tested it:
RSRQ: -15dB
RSRP: -98dBm
SINR: -7dB
They are getting speeds of a about 8mb.
Would getting a 4G+ router improve it, if so what one would you suggest? They are in a rural area and about 3.3kms from the mast I think they are connecting to. Would a an areil help and if so what one would you recommennd.
With my limited knowledge, SINR looks very low to me, so I would imagine you're doing well to get 8MB. An external antenna would probably help a good bit.
I used a B593s-22 for a few years but recently upgraded to a B818-263, which allows you to select the exact bands to tune in to.
I'm getting good speeds on Gomo (uses Eir masts) on Band 28 in my area.
I think your B525 does allow you to select bands?
I would try an externa antenna first before upgrading the router.
I have been using this one and it has worked well for me for about 3 years so far.
Indeed that's a very weak SINR reading, which an outdoor antenna should improve. Have a check on ComReg's siteviewer to see which Three masts are in the area. The negative SINR reading usually indicates that the router is picking up two masts, where the mast it's not connecting to becomes a source of interference. This post explains how to identify which are 4G+ capable on Three.
Whenever you get a chance to test there again, try setting up the router outside temporarily on the side facing the mast. You can use the App HuaCtrl to select band 3 only to see if it will connect. If it connects on band 3, post the signal readings here. This will help us pick out an antenna.
If you don't pick up any signal on band 3, try band 1. If it only connects on band 20, check the SINR reading or post the readings here. If the SINR reading remains around zero, you may need an LOG antenna pair like the example above. If it remains well into negative values such as -5dB or lower, I suggest getting the Iskra P-58, which has a narrower beam angle (better isolation against interference) on band 20.
21/02/2021, 10:52 PM (This post was last modified: 22/02/2021, 08:50 AM by skyhigh.)
Thanks very much for the advice given. Here are the results that I have got with my own Huawei B525 outside on the upstairs window. The speeds varied between 1 to 28mbs. But I was able to get connection on band 1,3 and 20. Since I can get connection on all the bands, would it be best to buy a 4G+ router, since this is my own router. If so which router would you recommend? How can you tell if a Huawei router is 4g+, the TP link seems to say if they are. Is the Huawei b525 a 4g+ I presume it is connecting to the 3 mast 3.3 km away but no line of sight, maybe a high antenna might get a line of sight.
I have only had two routers - a b593s-22 and a b818-263.
The b818 is working great for me - better than the b593 because you have more control over which bands to select.
Your money might be better spent on an external antenna first though.
For the router, I suggest going for either the Huawei B535-232 or the B818-263 if cost is not an issue.
The B535 series can aggregate two bands, whereas the B818 can aggregate all 3 bands for potentially faster speed, depending on the backhaul capacity to the mast.
With the poor / negative SINR in each screenshot, I suggest going for a pair of LOG antennae such as the above or the Iskra P-58. If you go for the B818-263 router, you will also need a pair of TS9 to SMA adapters to attach the antenna's SMA leads to the router. With the Huawei B535, the SMA leads can directly attach to the router.
Thanks a million for all the very helpful information. I did some more checking with cell mapper and the mast is the one I was thinking it was. Here is the line of sight from the mast to the house, I have put them both at being 5 meters above the ground, maybe that is too much. If I went for the Iskra P-58 router am I correct in saying that is limiting the signal to Band 20 or Band 28 which it doesn't seem to be picking up? If this is the case is this ruling option carrier aggregation?
As you were getting better than -100dBm signal strength with the router on its own, the antennae should improve this further even at gable height. The main purpose of the directional antennae is to try isolating the mast from interference coming from other directions. By mounting the antennae on the gable or below the roof line, the house itself will also help isolate the signal from interference coming from behind.
If you mount it above the roof tip, it's more susceptible to catching wind and birds perching on it. Peep at a few rooftops with TV antennas mounted above the chimney and you'll see buckled elements. They certainly were not installed like that.
Before drilling any holes, I suggest doing a temporary loose setup such as with a camera tripod or clothesline pole. This way you can determine which way they need to point just in case the CellMapper point is out. When aligning them, try to maximise the SINR on either band 1 or 3 (which carry more bandwidth band bands 20 and 28), even if it means the RSRP drops a little e.g. an RSRP -95dBm with an SINR 10dB is better than an RSRP -92dBm and an SINR 5dB.
04/04/2021, 05:44 PM (This post was last modified: 04/04/2021, 09:29 PM by skyhigh.)
Thanks for all the very helpful advice. We went ahead and ordered https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B08H7Y7...UTF8&psc=1 . We are getting speeds of around 35mbs, which we are happy with if it can be sustained. The SINR value was fluctuating a huge amount with the mast stable and no one near it, it could fluctuate from -9 to +7. Do you think there something that we are doing wrong to cause this?
I was testing it out using my huawei b525, on band 20 I was only getting about 2mbs. So I presume it is not worth spending the money on the Huawei b818? I am thinking about going with the huawei b535, is there any benefit in going with a TP Link?
Edit to post, we are now getting 3mbps.. I was trying to post a short video from HuaCtrl, showing the it going from -10, -13, -10, -9, -7, <-20, -9, -11, 10 in 14 seconds.
Just in case the router is flicking between its internal and external antenna ports, go into the Antenna Settings section and set it to external for both ports.
If the SINR fluctuation is still severe on band 20, try selecting band 1 or 3 only in HuaCtrl. These are more sensitive to the antenna alignment than band 20, so if the SINR is poor on these, you can try fine tuning the antenna direction.
Unfortunately, with your speed dropping to 3Mbps, this is very likely due to a congested backhaul to the mast, so you may not get much improvement in speed if this is the case. I suggest also testing 3G mode as most Three masts use a different backhaul for 3G and tends to be less congested due to most people leaving their devices to automatically connect in 4G mode.
The B818 would still be worth getting to try aggregating all three bands for future proofing, i.e. 20 + 3 + 1 or 28 + 3 + 1 (if band 28 is in use). Whenever Three upgrades the backhaul to the masts as they get them 5G Ready, you should see a dramatic improvement in speed.
I have checked the antenna settings and they are set at external.
I would need to get the lend of the van with crane arm to move the antenna again, but wanted to get myself more educated before doing that. I just tested this morning at 6:30 and got speeds of around 75mbps, so it probably does sound like congestion is part of the problem. Should the SINR value stay the same even if the mast is congested?
Do you know the plan for upgrading the masts, can we see somewhere how soon it will happen? Will Band1 and band 3 be left there?
06/04/2021, 08:33 PM (This post was last modified: 06/04/2021, 08:34 PM by Seán.)
The SINR should hold fairly stable regardless of the congestion. The main thing that causes the SINR to drop is interference such as from masts in other directions. I suggest selecting band 1 or 3 only first to see whether the SINR is any more stable on these bands. If the SINR maintains positive values on either band 1 or 3, then you can hold off adjusting the antenna, especially with how awkward it is to reach.
Unfortunately, Three discontinued the page where it announced planned upgrades, so you will not know until you get an SMS that upgrade works will be taking place. Usually when this happens, the mast will be down for most of the day.
The existing bands should be left intact. Three actually has two pieces of band 3 spectrum, where they are using one block for 4G and in the process of reprovisioning the second block for 5G in some areas. Like band 28, Band 1 is a temporary reprovisioning of the 3G band 1 for 4G use during the pandemic and this will expire in October. Depending on the outcome of the upcoming multi-spectrum auction, Three may get to continue using band 1 for 4G.
Yes it's a genuine Huawei alright, just a branded version for a service provider in Finland called DNA.
It has DNA branded firmware on it but you can still access all the settings and it works fine with the Huactrl app.
Have used mine with gomo, vodafone and three sims, so it's not locked to any network.
If the seal is still intact on the box, it's worth contacting the seller with a photo of the front of the box asking to confirm that it's a SIM unlocked router before you open it. With it being sold on Amazon France, it should be fine. One downside with network branding is that it could have a custom web interface that might not be in English, like how Three and Vodafone have their own branded web interfaces.
Edit: Didn't see boatbuilder's reply until after posting. At least that confirms it's ok.
I contacted them and they came back to me with the following:
The product works with all carriers, please enter APN of your carrier inside interface. There is English language inside, the router is unlocked of course.
So I have gone ahead and opened the router. Boatbuilder can you tell me what username you use for his ctrl? I'm struggling to get connected to this.
![[Image: antenna1.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/90rJgg6D/antenna1.jpg)
