3G Modem to use as home internet connection

v3llr

v3llr

v3llr

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Joined
12 Apr 2013
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143
Location
Birmingham
Hi there guys,
i live in the middle of know where and the 3g on my phone is faster than the copper connection that is coming into my house...

I am looking for a device that would output to an Ethernet connection that would allow me to use my existing router.

I am not sure if there is anything out there with a large antenna to maximize the signal strength and hopefully increase the speed to be a bit faster than that of my phone and hopefully could be mounted externally. any ideas ?
Thanks
 
If you don't find anything then you could always look at a replacement router that supports USB 3G/4G modems. I know Draytek do quite a decent range (we use them for pop-up remote sites at work)
 
Most routers these days will support usb 3g modems as secondary wan connections. We've used the dsl-n55u as a cheap option in the past but you have to ensure you get a supported 3g/4g modem, though saying that if its a decent manufactor it will most likely work.

However my experiences of using a 4g modem as a sole connection are not particular good. great for speedtests but you get stupid ammounts of random dropouts even in a good signal area.
 
I'm using an ASUS RT-N56U with an android phone, tethering its 4G connection via USB.
Gives me around 25Mbps on wifi, and is far more stable than when the phone was managing the local routing.
I've got a 10m active usb extension cable connecting the router to the phone, because the phone gets the best signal on the top floor next to a window, but the wifi router's signal is crap there.
I've also installed the 'Pushbullet' app which lets me see my phone's notifications in google chrome, so I don't miss calls or texts.

If you want any help setting it up, send me a trust email, because it wasn't as simple as the manual makes it look.


If you're sold on using a usb modem instead of a phone, make sure its on the supported devices list for the router. Some of them support external 3g/4g antennas, e.g., http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mixed-Gadge...TF8&qid=1427456413&sr=8-2&keywords=4g+antenna
 
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I am really looking for a more dedicated solution rather than a phone, and something with a larger antenna as well.
I have a separate router all ready, the device that I am looking for is the actual 3g/4g receiver its self.
I am not however looking for a portable option. I am looking for something that an external antenna could be plugged into which could for example be mounted on an exterior wall of a building.
Thanks so far, what kind of devices would be compatible with the antenna shown above?
 
v3llr said:
Also another side note, would something like the Huawei E5372 work with this antenna and could this then act as the WAN on a usb modem?

And would the items in this amazon wish list work together with my existing router ?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/3TYNBS6V612VB/ref=cm_wl_huc_view
Click to expand...

The E5372 has dual TS9 connections, so yes it would plug in.
However it's only LTE Cat4, so is not very future proof for faster LTE speeds that are currently available in the UK (e.g., carrier aggregation).
Also, the reason it's expensive is because it has a wifi router too, - I thought you wanted to use your existing router?

Haven't checked compatibility for that ZTE modem, but it doesn't look great (no mention of external antenna ports). Stick with the popular ones on amazon and it's likely to be supported.
 
rickh said:
Also, the reason it's expensive is because it has a wifi router too, - I thought you wanted to use your existing router?
.
Click to expand...
That would be better yes, are there any products that offer the T9 and output to a cat5e or something like that?
 
BigPond 3G9WB 54 Mbps 4-Port 3G GSM/UMTS/HSPDA Wireless G Router Unlocked

I use one of these as a secondary network to access the net when needed.it has a few lan ports so you could use a cable from this to your own router if needed or just use this as an all in one solution
Sim card slots into the router and it has RSMA ,i think they are connections for large external antennas
 
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