Huawei 5577S Mobile WiFi Performance...help please!

[Max_W]

Hi there, I've just bought a Huawei 5577S and to say I'm hugely disappointed is a gross understatement! The Vodafone sim in my phone gives download speeds of 70-120 Mbps, but when that same card is put in the Huawei 5577 and I connect the phone to it, I only see download speeds of approx 5 Mbps.

Can anyone shed light on why this might be the case? Many thanks!

 

[Otter Spotter]

Have you sent it up with a booster and aerial ?

 

[Max_W]

No, its just on the desk at home, comparing phone with sim to MiFi router with the same sim. I would have expected the 4G connection and download speed to be roughly similar...but 70 Mbps vs 5 Mbps suggests something aint right!

 

[Jev88]

Best google possible settings? I hve an older Huawei Buzzard and it works pretty much same speed as phone but with better reception in weaker areas and easier signal sharing.

 

[Stanbrook]

Strange how two devices treat the same signal, try resetting the mifi?

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[DBK]

Download the Huawei Hilink app and use this to get a better idea what the MiFi is up to. But it might be your phone simply has a better antenna. Some of the iPhones and other high end phones have very good mimo internal antennas. You could try another test outside and I would use the Speed test app.

 

[Otter Spotter]

No, its just on the desk at home, comparing phone with sim to MiFi router with the same sim. I would have expected the 4G connection and download speed to be roughly similar...but 70 Mbps vs 5 Mbps suggests something aint right!

Not sure that it is expected to speed up connection much but you should be able to use multiple devices. But you may need an aerial. There will be more capable Funsters than I who will know better.

 

[Tiny]

It should give better than 5Mbps, E5577S has spec

SPECS:
Download speed: 150Mbps
Upload speed: 50Mbps
Sim Card Size: Standard Sim Card
Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1 cm
Battery life: 12 hours
Share: Connects up to 10 WiFi enabled gadgets

Send it back

 

[Max_W]

Thanks for the ongoing comments!

I'm not expecting the MiFi device to give better speeds per se, the hope is that with an external antenna in due course it will help get a workable signal when the phone's antenna isn't enough. But in side by side tests (where the phone shows 3 bars of 4G signal), the difference in download speeds shouldn't favour the iPhone by a factor of 14x!

I've downloaded and used the HiLink app but it doesn't do anything extra that's of much use in this instance, and its the Speedtest app I've been using to measure download speeds.

I'll play for a bit longer but suspect it'll be going back to Amazon.

 

[funflair]

Our Huawei was slow until I changed the WiFi setting to 5Ghz and all was good, changed it in the app.

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[Max_W]

Our Huawei was slow until I changed the WiFi setting to 5Ghz and all was good, changed it in the app.

Thanks, I changed to 5GHz and it definitely made a noticeable difference, but the download speed through the 5577S was still only a third of what the phone was getting in the same spot. I've initiated a return and ordered another of the same, so time will tell if this one was faulty!

 

[Max_W]

Quick update...the 2nd one I ordered works far better. The MiFi internal antenna enables download speeds roughly the same as can be achieved directly via the phone, but where the signal isn’t strong and download speeds are below 20-30 Mbps, the use of an external antenna adds approx 50% to the download speed that can be achieved. I just bought a cheap (£18) 4G MIMO antenna with TS9 connectors off EBay and will see if that is good enough to suffice without needing a weatherproof one fitted permanently to the roof.

I’m chuffed though because this will hopefully allow me, once restrictions allow, get away from the house for a few days and work remotely, with reliable internet connection.

 

[Stacetop]

Quick update...the 2nd one I ordered works far better. The MiFi internal antenna enables download speeds roughly the same as can be achieved directly via the phone, but where the signal isn’t strong and download speeds are below 20-30 Mbps, the use of an external antenna adds approx 50% to the download speed that can be achieved. I just bought a cheap (£18) 4G MIMO antenna with TS9 connectors off EBay and will see if that is good enough to suffice without needing a weatherproof one fitted permanently to the roof.

I’m chuffed though because this will hopefully allow me, once restrictions allow, get away from the house for a few days and work remotely, with reliable internet connection.

View attachment 461389

Could you add a link please to the one you purchased as we may be looking to do the same! Just considering a roof mount as well but that’s not an easy fix!

 

[Max_W]

Price was actually £20 but link here:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=291135143126

 

[DBK]

Just be careful if you leave the antenna in the window on s sunny day, especially if you trap it between the window and blind. I did that and it partly distorted with heat. This did not improve its performance.

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[Lenny HB]

One problem you do get is that cell phone masts broadcast on more than one channel at different frequencies. The phone will log onto one and the mifi onto another. So worth trying another mast.

Another problem I found when I was experimenting with a TP Link home router I found the TP Link was giving 35mb/s the same as my 5577 but my phone was getting 50mb/s. This was inside the house. Moving to the conservatory which has direct line of site to the mask speeds were the same. Conclusion phone is better at picking up data signals through walls.

Outside in the van with the roof mounted aerial the Mifi was far better than the phone. Download speed 30%, faster, upload 100% faster.

 

[Lenny HB]

Our Huawei was slow until I changed the WiFi setting to 5Ghz and all was good, changed it in the app.

That can have no effect at all on the data speed it is only effective on the WiFi side of the router. What was probably happening was your WiFi transfer rate was slow and by change to 5 g you avoided some interfearance possible from your neighbours router on the same or close channel. Changing the WiFi channel may have given similar results.

 

[funflair]

That can have no effect at all on the data speed it is only effective on the WiFi side of the router. What was probably happening was your WiFi transfer rate was slow and by change to 5 g you avoided some interfearance possible from your neighbours router on the same or close channel. Changing the WiFi channel may have given similar results.

I am sure you are right Lenny but I only care about better performance not really why

 

[Max_W]

I equally have no interest in why, but have done a very simple experiment in the middle of the countryside with no other WiFi networks to get in the way.

Using the Huawei 5577S with external antenna attached, and an iPhone connected to it with mobile data and Bluetooth turned off, I got the following download speeds according to Speedtest:

5GHz - 12.9, 14.8, 11.5, 14.2, 11.4 (average 12.96 Mbps)
2.4 GHz - 8.51, 8.12, 8.51, 8.31, 7.25 (average 8.14 Mbps)

For whatever reason, it tells me that I got 59% faster download speeds when using the 5GHz setting than the 2.4 GHz setting. Even if its potentially because of interference from afar, its the real world and the 5GHz setting seems to make a discernible performance difference. In as much as this simple experiment can prove...!

 

[Lenny HB]

I equally have no interest in why, but have done a very simple experiment in the middle of the countryside with no other WiFi networks to get in the way.

Using the Huawei 5577S with external antenna attached, and an iPhone connected to it with mobile data and Bluetooth turned off, I got the following download speeds according to Speedtest:

5GHz - 12.9, 14.8, 11.5, 14.2, 11.4 (average 12.96 Mbps)
2.4 GHz - 8.51, 8.12, 8.51, 8.31, 7.25 (average 8.14 Mbps)

For whatever reason, it tells me that I got 59% faster download speeds when using the 5GHz setting than the 2.4 GHz setting. Even if its potentially because of interference from afar, its the real world and the 5GHz setting seems to make a discernible performance difference. In as much as this simple experiment can prove...!

Changing from 2.4 to 5g can not affect the download speed it has nothing to do with it. More lightly the problem is your phone or the Mifi doesn't work that well on the 2.4g frequencies.
Try changing channels on the 2.4g to see what effect that has.

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[2657]

Changing from 2.4 to 5g can not affect the download speed it has nothing to do with it. More lightly the problem is your phone or the Mifi doesn't work that well on the 2.4g frequencies.
Try changing channels on the 2.4g to see what effect that has.

I have no idea of the technicalities of this but it seems to me that the download speed to the mifi may be unaffected by the change but by observed results the useable speed at the device is, which is surely the most important.
What is meant by changing channels?

 

[Lenny HB]

Just been out to the van and got my Mifi and done some comparisons.
I got Identical download speeds on both 2.4 & 5g which is what I expected.

 

[kevenh]

What is meant by changing channels?

"What is a Wifi channel?
WiFi channel is a medium through which our WiFi networks can send and receive data. Every network will be using one of the channels. The 2.4 GHz router will have 11 or 13 channels and each will be 20MHz wide."

Lots of newer routers & phones auto select a channel but manual selection can get better results.
It will be a router setup option. Maybe hidden until 'Auto channel' deselected.

If you and a neighbour both use channel 3, the closest devices to the areas of the overlapping different wifi networks will work poorly.
In that scenario, trying channel 6 or higher will cure.

 

[Lenny HB]

I have no idea of the technicalities of this but it seems to me that the download speed to the mifi may be unaffected by the change but by observed results the useable speed at the device is, which is surely the most important.
What is meant by changing channels?

But unless you know what the problem is it is difficult to solve it.

All routers broadcast the wifi on various channels (frequency bands) in Europe there are 11 bands on 2.4g and 233 on 5g.
For example of when you need to change the channel on a router, your neighbor has the same router as you therefore the default setting both routers will be on the same band which can cause interference and can slow down your wifi connection.

On the Huawei 5577 you have a choice of 9 channels on 2.4g 1, 6, & 11 do not overlap so they are the preferred choice. On 5g the channel setting is on auto and can't be overridden.
To access the settings you need to log into the 5577 via a web browser, they are not assessable via the app.