****The Official 5G Home Broadband Thread**** (Three/EE/Vodafone/etc)

[rob77]

Well the zyxel NR5101 turned up and it was faulty on arrival. It came with no outer box and something was rattling inside. I tested it and it would only pick up a 4g signal. The speeds were OK for 4g but when I set it to prefer 5g it wouldn't find anything. My phone gets a good 5g signal in the same spot. Perhaps it was an internal antenna rattling around inside

 

[Firegod]

Well the zyxel NR5101 turned up and it was faulty on arrival. It came with no outer box and something was rattling inside. I tested it and it would only pick up a 4g signal. The speeds were OK for 4g but when I set it to prefer 5g it wouldn't find anything. My phone gets a good 5g signal in the same spot. Perhaps it was an internal antenna rattling around inside

It maybe just that the 5G signal you receive on your phone, as I do, is not SA. So I think setting the NR5101 to only accept 5G means it can't work with 5G NSA. 5G NSA depends on the 4G network.

But it probably definitely shouldn't rattle!

 

[rob77]

Cheers Firegod

So yours does not function either if you set to '5G preferred' due to no SA?

I'm still a bit baffled as to why the speeds are a third of what I get on my phone.

Many thanks

Rob

 

[Firegod]

Cheers Firegod

So yours does not function either if you set to '5G preferred' due to no SA?

I'm still a bit baffled as to why the speeds are a third of what I get on my phone.

Many thanks

Rob

Aye same for me. If I force to 5G preferred I get nothing. But I believe it is using 5G NSA (i.e over 4G) because of the colour of the led on the unit. I don't have the paperwork to hand but I'm sure it's blue if "5G" and green if not. Or something like that.

You could try manually picking the bands the unit is allowed to use as well. It could be (not sure on your SIM provider) that it's using a lower frequency band for stability. So mine usually prefers band 3 with EE because of the distance from the tower but with the antenna on the roof I can use band 7 (turn off band 3) and get a signal from the tower about 4KM away. Obviously, band 7 is higher frequency = more throughput. I do get more lag and jitter though. But band 3 isn't slow, I easily get 250Mbps.

So perhaps that may be a reason for the speed difference? Or perhaps placement?

Future FW updates may help, you can check here - https://www.zyxel.com/support/download_landing.shtml and pop NR5101 in the search box (https://www.zyxel.com/support/DownloadLandingSR.shtml?c=gb&l=en&kbid=M-03419&md=NR5101). Nothing available yet.


EDIT: Just checked the Cellular info from the Router:

• Access Technology
• 5G NR-NSA EN-DC

That's with the preference left on "Auto".

EDIT2: Yep and if you force 5G - you get nothing. And if you force 4G you just get, 4G (see below). So it defo is best on "Auto" as that does make it use 5G.

• Access Technology
• LTE

 

[rob77]

Aye same for me. If I force to 5G preferred I get nothing. But I believe it is using 5G NSA (i.e over 4G) because of the colour of the led on the unit. I don't have the paperwork to hand but I'm sure it's blue if "5G" and green if not. Or something like that.

You could try manually picking the bands the unit is allowed to use as well. It could be (not sure on your SIM provider) that it's using a lower frequency band for stability. So mine usually prefers band 3 with EE because of the distance from the tower but with the antenna on the roof I can use band 7 (turn off band 3) and get a signal from the tower about 4KM away. Obviously, band 7 is higher frequency = more throughput. I do get more lag and jitter though. But band 3 isn't slow, I easily get 250Mbps.

So perhaps that may be a reason for the speed difference? Or perhaps placement?

Future FW updates may help, you can check here - https://www.zyxel.com/support/download_landing.shtml and pop NR5101 in the search box (https://www.zyxel.com/support/DownloadLandingSR.shtml?c=gb&l=en&kbid=M-03419&md=NR5101). Nothing available yet.


EDIT: Just checked the Cellular info from the Router:

• Access Technology
• 5G NR-NSA EN-DC

That's with the preference left on "Auto".

EDIT2: Yep and if you force 5G - you get nothing. And if you force 4G you just get, 4G (see below). So it defo is best on "Auto" as that does make it use 5G.

• Access Technology
• LTE

Thanks Firegod

There are some firmware files here https://support.zyxel.eu/hc/en-us/articles/4403365084818-Advanced-Downloads-for-5G-devices

It's a shame as the router ticks all the boxes for me. I've tried everything and I can only get a third of the speed of my phone. I am going to try a cpe pro 2 next I think. I know it doesn't have external antenna connectors (they can be modified and added) but it's worth a go.

Cheers

Rob

 

[Firegod]

Thanks Firegod

There are some firmware files here https://support.zyxel.eu/hc/en-us/articles/4403365084818-Advanced-Downloads-for-5G-devices

It's a shame as the router ticks all the boxes for me. I've tried everything and I can only get a third of the speed of my phone. I am going to try a cpe pro 2 next I think. I know it doesn't have external antenna connectors (they can be modified and added) but it's worth a go.

Cheers

Rob

Thanks Rob, updated mine last night and bookmarked that link. I wonder why it won't go any faster for you. I've just tried mine on a speed test post-upgrade. Hitting 300Mbps down and 30Mbps up on a Band1 connection (this is with EE). I wonder if the rattle is the cause.

 

[rob77]

Thanks Rob, updated mine last night and bookmarked that link. I wonder why it won't go any faster for you. I've just tried mine on a speed test post-upgrade. Hitting 300Mbps down and 30Mbps up on a Band1 connection (this is with EE). I wonder if the rattle is the cause.

No worries. I updated the modem and the firmware just incase but it made no difference.

I was having a play last night and it was just really inconsistent. Last night around 12am I was getting 220Mb on fast.com. But then downloading any random file would only get 150Mb like it was capped. I connected my VPN and the speedtest only shows 60Mb. But if I connect to the vpn and download from usenet it came down at 400Mb. It just seems to be really random. Perhaps some traffic shaping going on.

It's going to have to go back anyway due to the loose part inside. I'd like to try another router just to test.

 

[Firegod]

No worries. I updated the modem and the firmware just incase but it made no difference.

I was having a play last night and it was just really inconsistent. Last night around 12am I was getting 220Mb on fast.com. But then downloading any random file would only get 150Mb like it was capped. I connected my VPN and the speedtest only shows 60Mb. But if I connect to the vpn and download from usenet it came down at 400Mb. It just seems to be really random. Perhaps some traffic shaping going on.

It's going to have to go back anyway due to the loose part inside. I'd like to try another router just to test.

Totally understandable. It took me 2 previous 5G Routers before I decided on the Zyxel. I had the Huawei CPE Pro (not the 2nd one) and then the TCL / Alcatel Linkhub, and now the Zyxel NR5101. For info D-Link and Billion may be worth a look at.

 

[rob77]

Totally understandable. It took me 2 previous 5G Routers before I decided on the Zyxel. I had the Huawei CPE Pro (not the 2nd one) and then the TCL / Alcatel Linkhub, and now the Zyxel NR5101. For info D-Link and Billion may be worth a look at.

Did you find the performance as good on the TCL and cpe pro as good?

 

[Firegod]

Did you find the performance as good on the TCL and cpe pro as good?

Nah sadly not. The TCL just didn't work with the external antenna (even though it should have done). So it was returned. And the CPE Pro I think I had too early before 5G really came to the area so struggled for a signal and returned that as well. I'd imagine if I tried it again, it would work well though.

 

[ooMAGIKoo]

@rob77 I met over on ispreview forum. @Firegod I come to share my experience here too.

My situation is: I live in an area where the broadband speeds I can get is 10mb DL and 2mb UL. So I needed to find an alternative internet option.

For the last 16 months I have been using a mobile broadband connection on an unlimited data plan with EE. Recently moved over to 5G speeds from 4G-LTE-A

I was using a Huawei B818 for my 4G connection and speeds were decent. No external aerial used and speeds on hard wire was around 250Mb DL & 10Mb UL. A considerable difference from with conventional BB can offer down the copper line.
I used this device and connection for just over a year and was perfect for my needs.

Since 5G became available, I upgraded to the Huawei CEP Pro 2 Modem. No external aerial option but I was hitting pretty decent speeds. 400+Mb which I was very happy with.
I found that this modem was dropping connection a couple of times and sometimes froze (requiring a reboot), Had WiFi connection but not internet at the end....
I was looking for a more stable modem so I ordered the Zyxel NR5101. It arrived and I was very disappointed with the speeds.
With the internal antenna's I was getting a connection of about 72dbs so in the Excellent range and was hitting no more than 100Mb DL.
I purchased the Poynting 5G external 4x4 MIMO antenna but it made zero difference.

I am now going to stick with the Huawei CE Pro 2 as it out performs anything I have tried. Signal is around 65dbs with the internal antennas.
I do have circa ~100 devices connected to my home network and the CE Pro 2 struggled to handle the DHCP and continuous connections for all devices so I had to make some changes to the network setup.

This is the setup I have now and I will stick with it.

Huawei CE Pro 2 - Running 5G connection (Bridge Mode)
DrayTek Vigor 2927 - Used as the router providing DHCP
Ubiquity AC Pro x2 - These are the Access Points I use to connect via WiFi.

The Huawei is doing very little work, simply providing the internet and since using the DrayTek to handle all the connections, the Huawei has performed considerably better than before with little to no drop outs.
The DrayTek 2927 is a fabulous router and can handle dual WLAN so you can connect up your Mobile Route and home broadband to combine speeds if you need more.
Ubiquity AP's are solid and monitoring them using the cloud platform helps with device connections and statistics.

Speeds:
Hard wired connections to my MacBooks are seeing 650Mbps DL and 40Mbps UL
Wifi on 5Ghz is approx 550Mbps on the same Mac and 20Mbps UL
Wifi on 2.4ghz is approx 200Mbps on the same Mac and 15Mbps UL

I Hope this helps those of you reading. If you have any questions, im no network expert but I can advise on what I have learnt.

 

[Tim Mortlock]

Well, my setup of DLink 2101 in IP pass through and Unifi Dream Machine was giving me decent speed but dropping connectivity several times a day, requiring unplug and replug of the Ethernet cable. Not ideal working from home.

I suspected the Unifi Dream Machine as I've never been 100% happy. Swapped to pfSense for firewall and routing duties via a VM in my UnRAID server and not had a drop out in 3 days so far... I will keep you posted...

For clarity, still using the Unifi switches and APs as they are solid.

 

[gpuerrilla]

@Tim Mortlock so you suspect the Unifi but the hardware is solid? Tring to get my head round that.

 

[Tim Mortlock]

Sorry, suspected the Unifi Dream Machine. The Unifi switches and access points seem OK.

The Dream Machine used to freeze up before I had to jump to RC versions of firmware, and was never quite right. Seems like they tried to make it a jack of all trades (security gateway, controller, switch and AP), but master of none.

Have edited the above post for clarity.

 

[gpuerrilla]

Sorry, suspected the Unifi Dream Machine. The Unifi switches and access points seem OK.

The Dream Machine used to freeze up before I had to jump to RC versions of firmware, and was never quite right. Seems like they tried to make it a jack of all trades (security gateway, controller, switch and AP), but master of none.

Have edited the above post for clarity.

Thanks, I knew you knew but the terminology and translation was contradictory lol - I have a Unifi AP and slowly replacing the other hardware devices round the house when I get a better opportunity. Currently only have the 4G Mikrotik SXT as the connection but they are slow rolling out fibre in the rural areas here.

 

[Firegod]

@rob77 I met over on ispreview forum. @Firegod I come to share my experience here too.

My situation is: I live in an area where the broadband speeds I can get is 10mb DL and 2mb UL. So I needed to find an alternative internet option.

For the last 16 months I have been using a mobile broadband connection on an unlimited data plan with EE. Recently moved over to 5G speeds from 4G-LTE-A

I was using a Huawei B818 for my 4G connection and speeds were decent. No external aerial used and speeds on hard wire was around 250Mb DL & 10Mb UL. A considerable difference from with conventional BB can offer down the copper line.
I used this device and connection for just over a year and was perfect for my needs.

Since 5G became available, I upgraded to the Huawei CEP Pro 2 Modem. No external aerial option but I was hitting pretty decent speeds. 400+Mb which I was very happy with.
I found that this modem was dropping connection a couple of times and sometimes froze (requiring a reboot), Had WiFi connection but not internet at the end....
I was looking for a more stable modem so I ordered the Zyxel NR5101. It arrived and I was very disappointed with the speeds.
With the internal antenna's I was getting a connection of about 72dbs so in the Excellent range and was hitting no more than 100Mb DL.
I purchased the Poynting 5G external 4x4 MIMO antenna but it made zero difference.

I am now going to stick with the Huawei CE Pro 2 as it out performs anything I have tried. Signal is around 65dbs with the internal antennas.
I do have circa ~100 devices connected to my home network and the CE Pro 2 struggled to handle the DHCP and continuous connections for all devices so I had to make some changes to the network setup.

This is the setup I have now and I will stick with it.

Huawei CE Pro 2 - Running 5G connection (Bridge Mode)
DrayTek Vigor 2927 - Used as the router providing DHCP
Ubiquity AC Pro x2 - These are the Access Points I use to connect via WiFi.

The Huawei is doing very little work, simply providing the internet and since using the DrayTek to handle all the connections, the Huawei has performed considerably better than before with little to no drop outs.
The DrayTek 2927 is a fabulous router and can handle dual WLAN so you can connect up your Mobile Route and home broadband to combine speeds if you need more.
Ubiquity AP's are solid and monitoring them using the cloud platform helps with device connections and statistics.

Speeds:
Hard wired connections to my MacBooks are seeing 650Mbps DL and 40Mbps UL
Wifi on 5Ghz is approx 550Mbps on the same Mac and 20Mbps UL
Wifi on 2.4ghz is approx 200Mbps on the same Mac and 15Mbps UL

I Hope this helps those of you reading. If you have any questions, im no network expert but I can advise on what I have learnt.

Similar to me, the broadband here is copper only and gives ~2Mbps down and similar up. I used to use the B818 on 4G and found it was a good router - interface a bit lacking though. Gave me mid 100Mbps speeds. Which is terrific. I'm suprised about your results with the Zyxel and Poynting external aerial. I use the Poynting 5G 11dB High Gain Cross Polarised antenna on the roof (5G-XPOL-A0002 XPOL-2-5G). It gives great results over the built in antenna. A quick speedtest result (I'm also on EE) and this is over WiFi 6 (5Ghz):

That's with a SINR of 22dB (Excellent) and RSRP -85dB (Good) and RSRQ -11dB (Good) through the Poynting antenna.

Nevertheless, everyone has to do what works for them. I'd imagine the CPE Pro / CPE Pro 2 will work well - I really liked the Huawei B818 Router. Similar to you I don't use the Zyxel for anything other than to bring the connection in. The main bulk of work in my setup is handled by the Netgear Orbi kit.

Appreciate you sharing your details thoughts. Very informative I'm sure it'll help a lot of people.

 

[gpuerrilla]

Those 4G speeds are all I need.

Unfortunately my regular speeds are:

 

[THX1138]

Those 4G speeds are all I need.

Unfortunately my regular speeds are:

That`s bad which carrier are you on.

 

[gpuerrilla]

That`s bad which carrier are you on.

This is with 02, been on 3 for while before that. Best download is about 40Mb but that's few and far between. Even family that are on Vodafone/EE when visiting run tests and get no better scores.

 

[rob77]

4g in my area is abysmal too. I've had to turn off volte on my phone because it keeps cutting out on phone calls. The upload speed is something like 0.1mbps