4/5g LTE Router

peterpies

peterpies

peterpies

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17 Jan 2017
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I need a lte 4/5g router. I know 5g is not rolled yet.

First thought is a Huawei b311 as they are cheap, then when 5g is rolled out buy a 5g router and hopefully prices have dropped on that tech as it will be 1-2 years away.

Is the ability to change frequency important when using LTE routers.

Or just spend the money now and buy a 5g LTE for around £300.
 
I wouldnt invest in a 5g one until you can be certain the signal is going to be there. Your plan of getting it set up with older stuff to test it out is a better one. Find out what you can download on your mobile, for example my connection will never get near 100Mb down so the router doesnt need to be 300Mb for example.
 
I'd be happy with 50Mb.

I won't be staying for very long where I live, but I will be moving in a city, so testing doesn't really apply. It's more go with a provider that has decent reviews. So avoid Three or Smarty.

I know it's a bit of a minefield.
 
I've just done this thought process yesterday and bought the B311 from Huawei. I'm planning to use it as a failover connection for my USG as Bt's been a bit iffy here last few weeks.
 
TP-Link TL-MR6400 - as long as it is on a recent firmware* it should just work (older firmware had a bug which would cause them to lock up around once a month requiring a restart) - it is almost entirely plug and play out the box with minimum configuration required, very solid little router with a good feature set for general consumer use and the stock antenna setup gives very good results for a stock setup - not far off what you'd get with an after market higher gain setup. I've so far found it also avoids some of the CGNAT, etc. issues you can get for some reason while tethering via a mobile phone or some cheap travel routers.

Unless you have a need for advanced features (like faster WIFI) there is no need for something more expensive.

Save the rest of the money until 5G comes along.


* Anything on sale now should be on the latest firmware in theory unless somewhere is holding old stock - firmware update is a pretty painless procedure through the web management however.
 
I am currently using an MR6400 it is easy to work with. You can turn off the wifi if you dont need it, less noise/interference in the house and a neighbour cant codge onto it.
 
peterpies said:
Thanks for the replies.

I like the look of the TP-Link TL-MR6400, with 2 stock antennas that should help. I don't use WIFI.
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The antennas are setup so one is the 4G RX/TX and the other works as WIFI and diversity (improves the 4G reception by filtering EMI noise essentially). If you do want to change the antenna at a later date i.e. to use an external one IIRC the antenna socket by the sim card slot is the main 4G one.

(Explanation of diversity here if anyone cares http://www.antenna-theory.com/design/diversity.php )

EDIT: Personally I find it pretty decent for 4G performance - I'm getting around 30MBit down, 10Mbit up with a 2.5km distance to the tower and a whacking great hill with a wood on it blocking my direct line of sight which I find pretty impressive - the FTTC connection here only does 30MBit down, 6MBit up with a 1200m cable length.
 
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Rroff said:
EDIT: Personally I find it pretty decent for 4G performance - I'm getting around 30MBit down, 10Mbit up with a 2.5km distance to the tower and a whacking great hill with a wood on it blocking my direct line of sight which I find pretty impressive - the FTTC connection here only does 30MBit down, 6MBit up with a 1200m cable length.
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Interesting info about the antennae, I thought the two were to assist in a xpol fashion like on had horizontal the other vertical waves.

Anyway, I have 75% signal according to the router, sometimes it says 100% and it would deviate between 10-30 down and the up seems more stable about 15. The tower is a long way even as crow flies it would be 2.5 miles I reckon with no los undulating terrain.
 
Another TP-Link user here, but I use the Archer MR600 which is Cat6 compared to Cat4 of the MR6400. Nevertheless, it's been rock solid and reliable. Coupled with an unlimited EE sim on the faster 4G+ plan, I'm getting between 45-65Mbps download and between 20-30Mbps upload. That's with a 100% signal with a beefier external aerial mounted inside in the loft. And after speaking with EE recently about 5G, I believe the mast I connect to is about 4 miles away. But agree with @Rroff it's decent performance on 4G. For me it's this, or 2Mb fixed broadband. I think not!

On the 5G front, I tried the Huawei 5G CPE Pro Router recently with the Huawei external aerial and 5G was on/off/on/off all the time (hence my call to EE as they said I could get it). Seems I'm right on the edge of the signal. But I tried the Huawei Router in normal 4G mode and weirdly the speeds were worse than when using the TP-Link Router. Yet the Huawei is something crazy, I'm sure it's a Cat13 or there abouts. But yeah, returned it all for a refund but I was surprised at the poor performance. Might have just been unlucky.
 
Yeah the Archer is another good option - TBH I've seen any real difference between those tp-link models in operation so just went for the one I could get cheapest at the time.
 
Firegod said:
That's with a 100% signal with a beefier external aerial mounted inside in the loft. And after speaking with EE recently about 5G, I believe the mast I connect to is about 4 miles away. But agree with @Rroff it's decent performance on 4G. For me it's this, or 2Mb fixed broadband. I think not!
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Can I ask what aerial you used as I can mount this externally or in the loft? I have the router in the loft but its fixed to a joist with the supplied bunny plastic small aerials.
 
Th0nt said:
Can I ask what aerial you used as I can mount this externally or in the loft? I have the router in the loft but its fixed to a joist with the supplied bunny plastic small aerials.
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Of course. So I bought the Taoglas Gemini LMA100. Looks like that has been refreshed to the LMA101 now as it mentions 5G support. So it must be an updated model.

https://www.taoglas.com/product/gemini-lma101-2lte-mimo-antenna/

When I bought the older LMA100 (looks identical) I bought it direct. It came over from Ireland and cost (inc. delivery) 87 euros. But it's been really good for me. I tried a one from Amazon before this one (Poynting 4G-XPOL-A0001 Cross Polarised 4G Omni LTE Antenna) and I couldn't get a decent signal. With the Taoglas antenna you have some flexibility to have it on the little base stand (which now appears to also be magnetic), or mount it once you find a good spot. I just kept moving it until I got full bars on the TP-Link Router. Refreshed the web page as well to make sure it was at 100%.




Hope this helps.
 
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