Wildly Variable Speeds Over 4G

Hussman · 16 Jul 2019 at 09:37

Hi,

My home fixed-line broadband is topping out at about 20mbps.

When I run Speedtest on my iPhone (3 network) I get about 30-40mbps.

I have therefore purchased an "unlimited" data SIM from SMARTY (which use the 3 network) and a 4g router (Huawei B315).

Connection speeds were less than I'd hoped, basically matching my home broadband, so I purchased a 4G aerial (Poynting 4g-xpol-a001), and connect it.

I ensured the router was using the external aerial.

My problem is this....no matter where I place the aerial I seem to get wildly variable download/upload speeds. I know the speed will not be as constant as a fixed-line, but I am getting as low as 4mbps and then running the test immediately after (in the same location etc) and getting 40mbps.

This is the same whether I run the test during peak times or at 3am-4am.

I'd hoped to move away from fixed-line broadband but I need a fairly constant speed.

Can anyone explain these huge differences?

Thanks in advance

Hussman

Hussman · 16 Jul 2019 at 12:51

No, wi-fi. But the router is in the same room as myself when doing the speed tests...

Do you think cable from the router would improve things?

Hussman · 16 Jul 2019 at 13:43

Ok, thanks. I'll give that a go.

Appreciate your input mate

Hussman · 16 Jul 2019 at 14:08

Wizzkidy said:
I'm not sure what you are expecting. You have over the air internet and then are using an over the air internal network connection. Did you expect consistent speeds in this environment?

I was expecting something more consistent, yes.

I did not expect the speeds to fluctuate so greatly when testing them within seconds of each other, hence my question.

As an update I've now connected an ethernet cable to the router and so far (been testing for around 30 mins) I now have a fairly stable 30mbps.

If the stability holds fairly constant it looks like the issue has been resolved.

Thanks

Hussman · 17 Jul 2019 at 06:36

Ok, how do I analyse my wifi signal please?

Note : I'm using an iMac, not a Windows-based PC.

Thanks in advance

Hussman

Hussman · 18 Jul 2019 at 08:19

No, sorry, iPhone X

Hussman · 26 Jul 2019 at 11:31

Hi,

All done thanks fellas

Getting a stable 35Mbs sometime 40-45Mps.

This is faster than my landline so when that contract expires I'll be cancelling that.

Fasters speeds and less cost - what's not to like?

Cheers

Hussman · 30 Jul 2019 at 22:20

Hi,

After installing a 4G aerial (Poynting 4g-xpol-a001) I tested my 4g router in various locations around my home. Surprisingly, the nearest window to the 3 mast (SMARTY use the 3 network) didn't produce the best results.

Once I worked out the best place for the aerial and router I connected the 4G router (Huawei B315) directly to my iMac using an ethernet cable. This gave me a more constant speed of around 32Mbs. I changed the cable for a cat6 one and found the speed increased to around 35Mbs.

A friend of mine came over and used his Android phone to work out the least occupied channel for the wi-fi and I set my laptop to use this channel only.

Finally, I plugged my Google wi-fi into the router using a Cat6 patch lead and that was about it.

Over wi-fi Google indicates I have a speed of 29 down and 16 up

Over the cat 6 (on my iMac) I get reported speeds of 35 and 17 respectively.

My old landline fibre gave me about 30 and 7.

Thereofore, not a huge differecne. However, the SMARTY sim costs me £18.75 a month for unlimited data and my broadband was costing me £33 a month.

I'm therefore getting about the same speeds for almost half the price.

I don't recomend this set up for gaming, but as I no longer do that, I pleased with the result.

Cheers

Hussman