NR5103e VS NR5103eV2 Testing
Whilst I had the opportunity, I went deeper into testing the two routers to see which one I wanted to keep for my new contract. The new router is much smaller which is a plus point, it is also worryingly much lighter, does that speak for the quality of the components?
I placed each router in the exact same space on my windowsill where I get the best signal. It didn’t take long to notice that the NR5103e (V1) had a better and much more stable signal than the newer NR5103eV2 (V2). I will refer to them as V1 & V2 moving from now on.
The V1 would be at a constant 87-89 RSRP, 15 SINR, 2/3 RSRQ and it would always be on a continual 5G connection, rarely dropping to 4G.
In comparison the newer V2 was so temperamental with the signal. It would generally stick at around 93RSRP but occasionally dip to 88 at random, then up to 96 and moving around all over. SINR 13, RSRQ was worse at 11. But what was really noticeable was the constant jumping between 5G, 4G+ and 4G. There was rarely a moment when I was looking at the signal where it was on 5G constantly and would change every 30 seconds or so and would dance about between them all, which can’t be great for a reliable connection surely?
The speed tests were actually ok for both. The download speed was noticeably quicker on the V1 which regularly would hit 200mbps higher than the V2, this could simply be down to the fact the signal was more reliable. But to put in perspective, even the lowest download on the V2 was still 300mpbs. The highest on V2 was 575, highest on V1 was 860mbps! One thing where the V2 did sometimes shine though was the upload speed. At times the upload speed would be 90-110mbps on the V2 where as the V1 could only manage 75-85mbps. The V1 was a constant upload speed though with no dips, whereas the V2 dropped as low as 60 sometimes. All I can think of here is the V2 is better at handling uploads compared to the V1, so when it has a strong, constant signal, it will achieve a higher upload speed. Either way 60 being the lowest recorded upload speed, it still incredibly quick and more than enough!
Overall, either router would probably work fine for most people, although this depends on your signal and how close you are to the mast. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am very lucky, that although I don’t have clear line of sight to the mast and there are a couple of houses in the way, it’s almost irrelevant as I am approx. 50m away from it. For me, the extra 20mbps that I sometimes get on upload with the V2, is negligible in comparison to the constant reliable signal that the V1 gets, and the extra download speeds it regularly achieves over the V2 are more useful. There have been a number of posts backing up my findings on the V2 that the signal is all over the place and not reliable and drops out, and for that reason, I am sticking with the trusty V1 for my new 24-month contract.
I hope you find my post useful!
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