Improving MiFi in PVC from Huawei E5795 With 5G Ready Antenna (1 Viewer)

[Kannon Fodda]

So, fitted by yours truly, I have the Motorhome Wifi, 5G Ready package fitted to my PVC. That is the "5G ready roof antenna" puck type which has two 90cm long aerial leads connected to the Huawei E5975 compact 4G LTE router (this has a docking station for USB power). I currently use a Smarty data only sim, which claims to be 5G capable (APN settings, etc, are all correct). But connection speeds on 4G can be quite slow, often barely adequate to stream TV in SD, and streaming TV is my main desire, along with a little interweb browsing. WiFi reception from the router to the TV's Firestick is not the problem, its reception quality from the cellphone mast. So how to improve?

I am often in remote locations where I may be on the limits of a mast reach. I accept you can't actually boost something that isn't there to start with. I know different providers can have different coverage, and most rural areas will only be 4G. So I do hedge bets with the MiFi and phone being different networks. I often struggle on New Forest campsites on any network. But in February, apparently a reasonable locality, I only just got 5mb when on the C&CC in Devizes. Last year (and the year before) despite being close to the town centre where there must be a good signal, at Hereford rowing club rallies the Mifi really really struggled to connect. Malvern showground can also be diabolical.

I do need the MiFi system for the roof aerial. The smartphone, on a Tesco network (currently unlimited data), often will not work once inside the van, due to the faraday cage effect. A suggestion to stick the phone as a hotspot in a rooflight isn't that practical when I use the phone to browse the web, and so often tell the phone to use the Wifi from the MiFi. No point even suggesting Starlink with it's exhorbitant monthly £85 data connection fees.

Would swapping out the Huawei E5975 make a difference, or is it the roof puck type "5G ready antenna" on which I can't really find any specs the issue?

I've seen references to the ZTE MU5001, a 5G capable compact mobile router, which I can get versions of for around £260 off ebay, and which should be able to reuse the USB docking station. Is it any good, and might it make a worthwhile difference?

Belt and braces appears to be to move to the much more expensive Teltonika RUTX50, but that needs 4 aerial connections, so also needs me to upgrade the roof aerial. Plus not really sure the Teltonika would fit in the space I currently have available.

Any device needs to work off the 12V system (or USB power), rather than being 240V, as I don't want an inverter running just for the MiFi.

 

[Lenny HB]

I have a Huawei 5577c and a Poynting MIMO roof aerial always been great in the past been in mountain areas with no signal to the phones and been able to get 3G via the MiFi.

Last year I found a lot of the time I was getting 6 - 12mb/s in the Mifi but 35 - 95 mb/s in the phone tried different sims with the same result.
I thought it was the MiFi, with the Huawei if there is more than one band being transmitted there is no provision for selecting the band so I splashed out on Teltonika RUT 950,I had exactly the same results.

I have come to the conclusion that the networks are throttling phone sims when in a MiFi or Router so I think it needs to be a data sim in future.

In rural areas the masts are often operating in the 800 mhz bandwidth, the Puck has very low gain or even negative gain in the 800 mhz bandwidth, it is really only suitable for urban use.

First thing I would try is a Data sim and see how you get on, next to try would be replacing the Puck.

 

[Riverbankannie]

I am just going to try an IQ data only sim in my Huawei. We were on Cirencester Park last week and had neither phone nor TV reception and the moans from the other half …….. It was recommended by others in another thread. I don’t have an antenna for the mifi though. Not yet activated the sim as you buy a 30 day bundle. This wouldn’t normally suit us as we might only go away in UK for a week in any 30 days but going to Spain/Portugal for 4 weeks soon.

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[Lenny HB]

I am just going to try an IQ data only sim in my Huawei. We were on Cirencester Park last week and had neither phone nor TV reception and the moans from the other half …….. It was recommended by others in another thread. I don’t have an antenna for the mifi though. Not yet activated the sim as you buy a 30 day bundle. This wouldn’t normally suit us as we might only go away in UK for a week in any 30 days but going to Spain/Portugal for 4 weeks soon.

IQ Go - 4G and 5G WiFi on the go for Caravan, Motorhome & Tents

The WIFI SIM designed for those who like to travel. IQ Go was designed specifically for the holiday market. Whether you need WIFI for a Caravan, Motorhome, Tent or just for days out in remote areas. We have a sim solution that provides flexibility to work around your holiday calendar. One Annual...

helloiq.co.uk

I'm looking at one of them for our next trip.

 

[Kannon Fodda]

I have come to the conclusion that the networks are throttling phone sims when in a MiFi or Router so I think it needs to be a data sim in future.

First thing I would try is a Data sim and see how you get on, next to try would be replacing the Puck.

Thanks. The Smarty sim I am using is the data only version, rather than phone.

Interestingly the IQ mobile sim, suggested above, is on the EE network. At least one of the sites I regularly use in the New Forest would be outside of the EE coverage area according to various mast location maps.

 

[Lenny HB]

Thanks. The Smarty sim I am using is the data only version, rather than phone.

Interestingly the IQ mobile sim, suggested above, is on the EE network. At least one of the sites I regularly use in the New Forest would be outside of the EE coverage area according to various mast location maps.

I think I've won the lottery if I get a signal in the New Forest.

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[Manic]

First thing I would try is a Data sim

I had a live chat with Smarty last year and they reckoned there was not difference in phone and data sims, but then their don’t always no what what

 

[ChrisL]

These work off 12 volts and have been getting some favourable attention recently, although some reviews say a firmware update was required. Note they are dual sim so can be set to use the sim with the strongest signal if you have two installed, or to sum the data increasing your bandwidth or to use either as user preferred. I don't have one myself yet though.

Deal of the day: GL.iNet GL-X3000 (Spitz AX) 5G NR AX3000 Cellular Gateway Router, Wi-Fi 6, Multi-WAN, & Detachable Antennas, Dual-SIM, OpenVPN & WireGuard Client/Server, OpenWrt, MU-MIMO, Secure RV Internet https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C5RCQ8N5/?tag=mhf04-21

 

[Gellyneck]

We've now got similar to Lenny HB with a 5577cs and Poynting MiMio aerial. The aerial just recently replaced a Poynting Puck and it has performed better albeit still only temporarily mounted however given his comments on data throttling might be better looking at the sim first.

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[Carpmart]

I don’t think there is anything wrong with your kit, indeed it sounds very good. Sadly I think it’s network issues that are causing the problems for you. As has been said, Three (Smarty as the MVNO in your case) even with a data tariff, are you sure it’s a real mobile data tariff (?) have shaping and throttling on everything now.

They have had chronic underinvestment in the last five years and delays in delivering critically needed fibre upgrades on the back haul network. This has lead to a continuous degrading of their service in many geographic areas where they don’t have the bandwidth available for the service that’s needed. Contended service, shaping and algorithms which aren’t conducive to the best customer experiences = unhappy Mr Kannon Fodda

 

[Lenny HB]

I had a live chat with Smarty last year and they reckoned there was not difference in phone and data sims, but then their don’t always no what what

Although the sim providers say there is no problem it's the networks that are doing the restricting.

 

[Carpmart]

I have a Huawei 5577c and a Poynting MIMO roof aerial always been great in the past been in mountain areas with no signal to the phones and been able to get 3G via the MiFi.

Last year I found a lot of the time I was getting 6 - 12mb/s in the Mifi but 35 - 95 mb/s in the phone tried different sims with the same result.
I thought it was the MiFi, with the Huawei if there is more than one band being transmitted there is no provision for selecting the band so I splashed out on Teltonika RUT 950,I had exactly the same results.

I have come to the conclusion that the networks are throttling phone sims when in a MiFi or Router so I think it needs to be a data sim in future.

In rural areas the masts are often operating in the 800 mhz bandwidth, the Puck has very low gain or even negative gain in the 800 mhz bandwidth, it is really only suitable for urban use.

First thing I would try is a Data sim and see how you get on, next to try would be replacing the Puck.

So, going back to 1985, some 900mhz spectrum was provided to Celnet and Racal for their new cellular networks to launch. 900mhz is still the prized frequency that all the networks want to have as it gives the best propagation characteristics for in building service.

Unfortunately the later entrants had much less access to 900mhz spectrum as it simply wasn’t available. They therefore built around 1800/1900Mhz which gives much poorer in building coverage. All the networks now have some 900mhz but it’s still not a level playing field and the older networks still have a disproportionate share…

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[RowleyBirkinQC]

I think I have the same supposedly 5G ready roof puck antenna, used with a Huawei E5785 mifi and Smarty unlimited data sim with variable results. As Departmental Management refused my application for Starlink, I secured a RUTX50 from Solwise (discount code ‘EXPLOREVAN’ on checkout) to enable use of a second sim. I also intend to replace the current puck antenna with one of these…

Solwise - Poynting 7-in-1 Transportation & Automotive Antenna; 410 – 3800 MHz; 4X4 LTE (MIMO), 6.2 dBi; 2X2 Wi-Fi (MIMO), 7 dBi; GPS/GLONASS, 21 dBi MIMO-3-V2-17 | Solwise Ltd

www.solwise.co.uk

 

[Sasbo]

I'm looking at one of them for our next trip.

I've been using an IQ SIM in the motorhome with a Teltonika Rut240 and Poynting MIMO and it's provided a signal when touring the Scottish Highlands and a number of English regions from the North East to South West

Also used it in a Huawei Mifi in France, Austria and Switzerland over the past couple of months and again, no problems.

Dead easy to top up when you need to and really good customer service, to boot.

 

[Kannon Fodda]

Not sure how you can confirm if the Sim is seen by the phone network as data only, or phone, and if it would make much difference?

Physically a sim is a sim. They all look the same. To work on the cellphone network I understand all sims whether phone or just data have to be allocated a mobile number, so no difference there. So it is behind the scenes programming.

Most providers with Data only have separate tariffs to the phone system, and data only oddly can often cost more. With Smarty data only adds a couple of pounds per month. I haven't tried to put the data only sim in the phone to see if calls are blocked, yet somehow, I know that sms messages can be issued on data as the Huawei router web page can display them (usually you've activated for another month type thing).

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[Lenny HB]

I've been using an IQ SIM in the motorhome with a Teltonika Rut240 and Poynting MIMO and it's provided a signal when touring the Scottish Highlands and a number of English regions from the North East to South West

Also used it in a Huawei Mifi in France, Austria and Switzerland over the past couple of months and again, no problems.

Dead easy to top up when you need to and really good customer service, to boot.

What speeds are you getting?

 

[Lenny HB]

Not sure how you can confirm if the Sim is seen by the phone network as data only, or phone, and if it would make much difference?

They can detect it, a few years ago a lot of phone sims would not work in Mifi's then there was an Ofcom ruling that said phone sims have to work in a Mifi but this does not apply to routers. All the Teltonika devices are routers not Mifi's.

The latest problem appears to be the phone sim works in a Mifi so they are adhering to the Ofcom ruling but they are working at very slow speeds due to the networks throttling them.

 

[Guigsy]

I've got the Poynting MIMO 5G shark fin style antenna with an RUTX50. It's robust and reliable, and can always get a signal, but not that quick. I'm using Smarty data and EE unthrottled data SIMs. It's plenty fast enough to do Teams video calls (because that only requires about 5Mb down, 2Mb up), so I can work. But it's rare that I see 50Mb. Most of the time it sticks to 4G frequencies.

Starlink would be good, but there's just too many compromises at the moment. I can leave my 5G router on all the time. Maybe the rumoured mini dish will be lower power and ok on the move.

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[Sasbo]

What speeds are you getting?

To be honest, I've never checked but in the motorhome good enough to play YouTube videos on the smart TV with no buffering and no problems with internet browsing on 2 android tablets simultaneously.

I guess if I had experienced problems I would have checked.

 

[AdrianChen]

Thanks. The Smarty sim I am using is the data only version, rather than phone.

Interestingly the IQ mobile sim, suggested above, is on the EE network. At least one of the sites I regularly use in the New Forest would be outside of the EE coverage area according to various mast location maps.

I swapped from Smarty last year to EE and have had better speeds through our Huawei 5577 and dealer fitted puck. Seems the puck makes little to no difference in good signal areas (tested with and without antenna), but does add some value in weaker areas. If I were to have issues again as we did with wifes o2 data sim and Mifi/Smarty, I would be tempted by one of the Netgear MiFi's which one depends on how confident I am that I can hide the cost from Julie.......

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

If I were to have issues again as we did with wifes o2 data sim and Mifi/Smarty, I would be tempted by one of the Netgear MiFi's which one depends on how confident I am that I can hide the cost from Julie.......

Be careful about buying an EE branded Netgear mifi, some people had issues with the standard Netgear firmware updates being incompatible with the EE versions of the M2 devices, meaning no bug fixes for long known issues (see the Netgear forums). This may have since been circumvented and now a non-issue though…

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