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

[tsinc80697]

Is it the device needing a reboot? Does the speed come back if you pull the SIM out and put it back in?

Tried removing the SIM and putting it back in but the router doesn't like it and wouldn't do anything until it was rebooted.

 

[Troop]

Help for my Brother in Law please.
He's recently had the Three Hub.

1) In the kitchen he gets a download of 750meg + download, in the living room 550meg +.
2) The router is in the living room and many years ago he bought a WiFi Extender for Talk Talk and put it in the kitchen, this only gets 30 meg download from the Three router.
3) He has an ethernet cable that goes in the router all the way to the kitchen which is currently plugged into a Firestick with an ethernet adapter.
4) We did try the WiFi Extender with the ethernet cable thinking we would now get a very fast WiFi but it didn't.

Is there a much better WiFi Extender he can plug the ethernet cable into that will give him a very fast WiFi in the kitchen?
Or perhaps he needs one of these devices that uses his electricity cables!
Somebody must already be doing this.

Just use an access point in the kitchen connected to the ethernet cable.

I use one of the GL-Inet travel routers as they use so little power, easy to set up and can be had quite cheaply.

Mine is the GL.iNet GL-SFT1200(opal)
Impressive little thing with all the things it can do

Old stone house here with very thick walls, so wifi struggles to get far with the 5G router upstairs on the windowsill at the other side of the house.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Just use an access point in the kitchen connected to the ethernet cable.

I use one of the GL-Inet travel routers as they use so little power, easy to set up and can be had quite cheaply.

Mine is the GL.iNet GL-SFT1200(opal)
Impressive little thing with all the things it can do

Old stone house here with very thick walls, so wifi struggles to get far with the 5G router upstairs on the windowsill at the other side of the house.

Thanks for that he might give it a go.

I'm being a bit thick here looking at the pictures.
So the Lan/Wan ports can be fed by the router on a cable at full speed ?

 

[Troop]

Thanks for that he might give it a go.

I'm being a bit thick here looking at the pictures.
So the Lan/Wan ports can be fed by the router on a cable at full speed ?

iNet router model dependant on what speeds you can get, the one I have is 300mbps on 2.4GHz,......864mbps on 5GHz (max speeds)

I just connect to the wall Lan socket with a patch lead into the Wan port on the router, then from the routers admin menu, chose to use as "access point"
it then just configures itself, and you're done.

Watch a couple of YouTube vids, fair few there.

 

[gazzaman2k]

i had the zte mc801a since august at first it was a great bit of kit, until october they pushed a b12 firmware out for it and since then it freqently disconnects for 10-30minutes at a time unless i manually reboot it i rang three they said it was network issues, on their forum hundreds of others having same issue, the fix was getting the zyxel router but they dont have them in stock, so they cancelled the contract and wanted the modem back.
i just went to cex and got a zyxel and a smarty sim, but problem now with this setup is for some reason my duck dns and cloudflare services on homeassistant do not work with it?!?! worked fine on the ZTE
the zte was in bridge mode, and the zyxel is in ip passthru mode (same thing) but yet the zyxel wont allow the dns to connect to homeassistant

 

[maxbloom]

Hi all,
I could really use your sage advice. I am planning on moving to a new flat for 6 months (work purposes). I've just found out that the flat only has ADSL connection (max 15 mbps download, most likely 11mbpsish average, 1 mbps upload), even though it's fairly close to London's city centre.

I work from home 3 days of the week, having video calls, and just generally connecting to the company's servers to access files etc (nothing massive, mostly word documents and presentations). I can't imagine how I'd consistently work on such speeds without tearing out my hair, and not to mention video streaming, general downloads etc etc, since I'm a techy guy and I like having a good connection.

I've been looking into 5G Broadband - EE and Three claim to have a good 5G connection in my area (W1C 2AH), both indoors and outdoors. Looking at Cellmapper, it looks like there's a EE cell tower right on top of the apartment building, and a Vodafone tower in the building on the other side of the street. I think it's a 4G tower from the Cellmapper data, but I'm not really an expert at Cellmapper, it might be 5G as well, I only discovered Cellmapper by reading this thread. The flat I'm staying is on the top floor, has its own terrace + a seperate balcony surrounding the flat from all directions. The terrace is quite spacious (1.5 x 7 sqm), and even if I can't reach the roof for some reason (hadn't really considered it), I can easily place whatever I want there.

I am ashamed to admit I've never really had a 5G device, I've always used WI-FI and 4G was sufficent for everything I've needed, so I feel anxious about relying on a cellular device for all of my browsing, particularly relating to stability and a minimal consistent speed. I'm not asking for much - I'd be fine with 50 mbps download and 5-10 mbps uploads, but I fear that while at times I might get great speeds, congestion or other weird glitches would, on a daily basis, cause some hickup to disconnect me or cause some other daily annoyance for me to deal with. I just don't want to have to worry about the baseline stability of the internet - I don't want to have to worry and take care of it every other day. Using wired internet, it's always been very stable, maybe once a week or two you have to restart the router after it gets slow for no reason, but it's not a daily concern.

I know there is no way to know this, but if I buy the correct router, and do what I can to find a good position (I'm fine with putting external antenna outdoors), what would you say my odds are of getting a good connection? I'm just really anxious about getting stuck with a terrible connection and have no way to solve the issue. I even considered getting multiple Sims from different cell networks to have as backup, in case one suddenly stops working. Would the closeness of the EE 4G Tower/Mast help ensure I'd get a good signal?

Any thoughts or personal experiences would be truly truly appreciated.

 

[Journey]

Using wired internet, it's always been very stable, maybe once a week or two you have to restart the router after it gets slow for no reason, but it's not a daily concern.

Wow, that is poor for wired. Even my 5G router only needs resetting once in a blue moon, or if I have been tinkering with the settings for some reason or another.

Any thoughts or personal experiences would be truly truly appreciated.

Get a 5G compatible mobile, make it a hotspot, and test it using which ever network you are on now and see how it goes for a few days. Or if you have little to no data then grab a Smarty SIM (Three) and test that. Or if you want to go feet first, get a Three 5G hub on a 30 day rolling contact for £24, and send it back after 30 days if it is pants.

Link - https://www.three.co.uk/store/broadband/home-broadband/threeonly5ghomebroadband?affiliates=true

 

[maxbloom]

Sorry, I meant once or twice a month, to be honest it's probably closer to once a month. Wired is just stable and reliable, last 5 years I've always had 500 maps or upwards, though I'm really fine with anything over 50 or so.

Your idea makes sense - I'll just get a bunch of Sims from various providers and see which ones work best.

Thing is, I've not signed the Tenancy agreement yet (agent needed time to prepare the agreement etc), so I'm debating whether to put myself through this. I've never had to consider taking a chance on proper internet access, so it's just not a decision I'm used to making. If the internet ends up being crap, WFH might end up being difficult.

Well, now I've veered off into a whole unrelated topic, but I guess I have my answer - maybe I'll try and have the agent let me in the flat and run some basic tests. It's certainly not comparable to a few days' worth of tests, but it's better than nothing.

 

[Firegod]

I am ashamed to admit I've never really had a 5G device, I've always used WI-FI and 4G was sufficent for everything I've needed, so I feel anxious about relying on a cellular device for all of my browsing, particularly relating to stability and a minimal consistent speed. I'm not asking for much - I'd be fine with 50 mbps download and 5-10 mbps uploads, but I fear that while at times I might get great speeds, congestion or other weird glitches would, on a daily basis, cause some hickup to disconnect me or cause some other daily annoyance for me to deal with. I just don't want to have to worry about the baseline stability of the internet - I don't want to have to worry and take care of it every other day. Using wired internet, it's always been very stable, maybe once a week or two you have to restart the router after it gets slow for no reason, but it's not a daily concern.


Any thoughts or personal experiences would be truly truly appreciated.

I've been using 5G for working from home since Covid. And it has been great. TBH i see more people at work with issues with their Sky and Virgin connections, than I have with my 5G connection. That's not to say that outages or performance issues don't occur, they do, but they are very few and far between. Weather does impact performance as well. TBH though, power cuts have impacted me at home more than the 5G failing.

 

[Balb0wa]

Hi all,
I could really use your sage advice. I am planning on moving to a new flat for 6 months (work purposes). I've just found out that the flat only has ADSL connection (max 15 mbps download, most likely 11mbpsish average, 1 mbps upload), even though it's fairly close to London's city centre.

I work from home 3 days of the week, having video calls, and just generally connecting to the company's servers to access files etc (nothing massive, mostly word documents and presentations). I can't imagine how I'd consistently work on such speeds without tearing out my hair, and not to mention video streaming, general downloads etc etc, since I'm a techy guy and I like having a good connection.

I've been looking into 5G Broadband - EE and Three claim to have a good 5G connection in my area (W1C 2AH), both indoors and outdoors. Looking at Cellmapper, it looks like there's a EE cell tower right on top of the apartment building, and a Vodafone tower in the building on the other side of the street. I think it's a 4G tower from the Cellmapper data, but I'm not really an expert at Cellmapper, it might be 5G as well, I only discovered Cellmapper by reading this thread. The flat I'm staying is on the top floor, has its own terrace + a seperate balcony surrounding the flat from all directions. The terrace is quite spacious (1.5 x 7 sqm), and even if I can't reach the roof for some reason (hadn't really considered it), I can easily place whatever I want there.

I am ashamed to admit I've never really had a 5G device, I've always used WI-FI and 4G was sufficent for everything I've needed, so I feel anxious about relying on a cellular device for all of my browsing, particularly relating to stability and a minimal consistent speed. I'm not asking for much - I'd be fine with 50 mbps download and 5-10 mbps uploads, but I fear that while at times I might get great speeds, congestion or other weird glitches would, on a daily basis, cause some hickup to disconnect me or cause some other daily annoyance for me to deal with. I just don't want to have to worry about the baseline stability of the internet - I don't want to have to worry and take care of it every other day. Using wired internet, it's always been very stable, maybe once a week or two you have to restart the router after it gets slow for no reason, but it's not a daily concern.

I know there is no way to know this, but if I buy the correct router, and do what I can to find a good position (I'm fine with putting external antenna outdoors), what would you say my odds are of getting a good connection? I'm just really anxious about getting stuck with a terrible connection and have no way to solve the issue. I even considered getting multiple Sims from different cell networks to have as backup, in case one suddenly stops working. Would the closeness of the EE 4G Tower/Mast help ensure I'd get a good signal?

Any thoughts or personal experiences would be truly truly appreciated.

Im on EE , i have a ZTE MC801A 5G Wifi 6 Router from CEX i paid £125 , but they are £130 now, they are in and out of stock all the time.

I also use a SCANCOM EE unlimited sim (600gb a month fair usage) , i get 5G with it (150-200 down) and i bought it outright, paid £230 from Amazon.

They have a couple on there one running till May 2024 and one till September 2024, works out about £11 or £12 a month, and no price rises.

If you lose the sim thats it though , no replacement.

 

[Cromulent]

I pay £72 a month for Virgin broadband and could save a lot of money switching to 5G unlimited data, but I really need the speed and reliability I get with Virgin broadband.

 

[Journey]

I pay £72 a month for Virgin broadband and could save a lot of money switching to 5G unlimited data, but I really need the speed and reliability I get with Virgin broadband.

I agree with the consistency of speed part, but the reliability of 5G has been way better for me in the last 2+ years on 5G than I ever had with Virgin. Sadly my speed hasn't been consistent in the last 6 weeks, since they did the hardware upgrades I now get slow downs to under 500Mbps, vs the average 1100Mbps+ I was seeing for the most part. I am not complaining too hard though as it costs me £3 per month.

 

[GIBURROWS]

My 5G is terrible and Three have been fixing issues in my area since I got it(2 months ago) connection drops more than double figures a day & they're putting the price up, my Vodafone broadband is constant but max speed is 38mb, three is between 240mb and 70mb when it works.

 

[maxbloom]

Im on EE , i have a ZTE MC801A 5G Wifi 6 Router from CEX i paid £125 , but they are £130 now, they are in and out of stock all the time.

I also use a SCANCOM EE unlimited sim (600gb a month fair usage) , i get 5G with it (150-200 down) and i bought it outright, paid £230 from Amazon.

They have a couple on there one running till May 2024 and one till September 2024, works out about £11 or £12 a month, and no price rises.

If you lose the sim thats it though , no replacement.

Thank you for the info, that's very useful - I didn't know a person could get EE 5g unlimited contracts by a reseller, saving me money and reducing the length of commitment significantly.

I'll probably try both 3 and EE 5G deals (those were stated to be available in my area), having one as a backup to the other.

I'm planning on running some tests on the flat both outside and inside, just need to get a 5G phone to do it. My phone's old anyway (my beloved Galaxy s10e) and I was going to upgrade at some point, might as well be now, probably going to try Galaxy S21, I hope it's 5G modem is good enough for testing purposes.

 

[Firegod]

Might be better to go Smarty not Three as you get cheap one month rolling contracts. So if Three is rubbish for you, it's no worries or hassle. Just let the SIM lapse after 30 days. Just remember to turn off auto renew.

 

[Journey]

Might be better to go Smarty not Three as you get cheap one month rolling contracts. So if Three is rubbish for you, it's no worries or hassle. Just let the SIM lapse after 30 days. Just remember to turn off auto renew.

Three is a better offer if you want to try a standalone 5G router/modem as they offer £24 per month, 30 day rolling contact with money back offer if you're unhappy, and obviously they supply the hardware. If go Smarty if you only want to test a phone, as it is £16 still for unlimited data.

 

[Firegod]

Three is a better offer if you want to try a standalone 5G router/modem as they offer £24 per month, 30 day rolling contact with money back offer if you're unhappy, and obviously they supply the hardware. If go Smarty if you only want to test a phone, as it is £16 still for unlimited data.

Thanks for clarifying.

 

[j4ska]

Guys is latency constant on your 5g? Or it jump from what I can see as low on some of your speed tests (~20ms) to something like 50-100?

 

[--44--]

Guys is latency constant on your 5g? Or it jump from what I can see as low on some of your speed tests (~20ms) to something like 50-100?

I consistently get 20-30ms so I can cloud stream perfectly fine on it as well speeds of 200-300Mbps

My biggest issue is losing 5G connectivity twice a day requiring a router restart doesn't matter what bands or apn I turn off or switch too still a daily issue.
Wish I could lock onto cell ID's

 

[maxbloom]

I consistently get 20-30ms so I can cloud stream perfectly fine on it as well speeds of 200-300Mbps

My biggest issue is losing 5G connectivity twice a day requiring a router restart doesn't matter what bands or apn I turn off or switch too still a daily issue.
Wish I could lock onto cell ID's

That's my exact nightmare tbh, disconnection throughout the day and having to reboot the router, since I am currently looking at 5g to replace a slow ADSL connection.

But from reading a lot of this thread, along the really helpful knowledge and tips (which router to use, how to get better service from your mast), there's a lot of speed measuring contests. 600, 800, 1000 mbps, but I want to hear about day to day experiences, good or bad, and consistency is key to that.

I've seen threads in other Internet Provider subgroups within larger tech sites that have a simple template people fill out about their internet deal -

1) What provider do you use? How long have you been using them?

2) What is your internet package? (Download/Upload Speed, 4G/5G, Data Capped or Unlimited?)

3) How much did it cost you?

4) How has been your experience with the service? Pros/Cons?

5) General Comments (link to the sale they got it under, anything else worthy to note).

I think it might be useful to have such a thread started here, to give people information about various good deals members might have secured and to get a little database of experiences with a provider.