Three UK - 4G Home Broadband - any users here?
Discussion
After being a banger of the three 4g drum for a while now, I might be stopping the beat...
For the past month or so my speed has fallen off a cliff. With the router in 4g mode it's sh*te to the point of web pages not loading at all, in 3g mode I get maybe 5/6mb down, 2mb up... I used to regularly get 20/30mb down and 10/15 up...
Router has not moved position, is showing full signal and the 192.168 web page shows a very strong connection.... But it's atrocious!
Not sure wether to turn into a complainer and find three on facebook or twitter to complain, or hit a live chat with them but I expect to be fobbed off... It's slightly annoying as I only renewed a few months ago so to get out of this I'll basically need to pay twice for bb, once with 3 and not use it and once with someone else!
Anyone had a big moan at 3 and got anywhere with their 4g speed? Or is it just so over subscribed now it's all falling down?
For the past month or so my speed has fallen off a cliff. With the router in 4g mode it's sh*te to the point of web pages not loading at all, in 3g mode I get maybe 5/6mb down, 2mb up... I used to regularly get 20/30mb down and 10/15 up...
Router has not moved position, is showing full signal and the 192.168 web page shows a very strong connection.... But it's atrocious!
Not sure wether to turn into a complainer and find three on facebook or twitter to complain, or hit a live chat with them but I expect to be fobbed off... It's slightly annoying as I only renewed a few months ago so to get out of this I'll basically need to pay twice for bb, once with 3 and not use it and once with someone else!
Anyone had a big moan at 3 and got anywhere with their 4g speed? Or is it just so over subscribed now it's all falling down?
beko1987 said:
After being a banger of the three 4g drum for a while now, I might be stopping the beat...
For the past month or so my speed has fallen off a cliff. With the router in 4g mode it's sh*te to the point of web pages not loading at all, in 3g mode I get maybe 5/6mb down, 2mb up... I used to regularly get 20/30mb down and 10/15 up...
Router has not moved position, is showing full signal and the 192.168 web page shows a very strong connection.... But it's atrocious!
Not sure wether to turn into a complainer and find three on facebook or twitter to complain, or hit a live chat with them but I expect to be fobbed off... It's slightly annoying as I only renewed a few months ago so to get out of this I'll basically need to pay twice for bb, once with 3 and not use it and once with someone else!
Anyone had a big moan at 3 and got anywhere with their 4g speed? Or is it just so over subscribed now it's all falling down?
No idea if this will help you, but every now and again my speeds drop to 15 or thereabouts. I reboot the B618 and it climbs back to the usual speeds of between 30 & 50.For the past month or so my speed has fallen off a cliff. With the router in 4g mode it's sh*te to the point of web pages not loading at all, in 3g mode I get maybe 5/6mb down, 2mb up... I used to regularly get 20/30mb down and 10/15 up...
Router has not moved position, is showing full signal and the 192.168 web page shows a very strong connection.... But it's atrocious!
Not sure wether to turn into a complainer and find three on facebook or twitter to complain, or hit a live chat with them but I expect to be fobbed off... It's slightly annoying as I only renewed a few months ago so to get out of this I'll basically need to pay twice for bb, once with 3 and not use it and once with someone else!
Anyone had a big moan at 3 and got anywhere with their 4g speed? Or is it just so over subscribed now it's all falling down?
My Three connection to my B818 has been more or less stable for a couple of years, not fantastic speeds during that time (10-15mb) but fairly steady. Recently though the speeds have increased to 22-30 mb BUT it's become horribly unstable at certain times of the day like often losing connection multiple times between 8 and 10am and even worse between 4 and 7pm. It's really irritating as we normally have internet radio on all day so it's a sequence of powering off the radio at the wall and rebooting the B818, sometimes it's successful first time but often it takes several attempts to get it going again. I did wonder if it was a problem with competing wi-fi channels so loaded a wi-fi channel analyser onto an old android tablet and changed the B818 to a less congested channel but it's made no difference that I can tell so it has to be something external on the Three network. It's been getting so bad that I've been looking at alternatives but can't anything particularly attractive to our situation.
beko1987 said:
After being a banger of the three 4g drum for a while now, I might be stopping the beat...
For the past month or so my speed has fallen off a cliff. With the router in 4g mode it's sh*te to the point of web pages not loading at all, in 3g mode I get maybe 5/6mb down, 2mb up... I used to regularly get 20/30mb down and 10/15 up...
Router has not moved position, is showing full signal and the 192.168 web page shows a very strong connection.... But it's atrocious!
Not sure wether to turn into a complainer and find three on facebook or twitter to complain, or hit a live chat with them but I expect to be fobbed off... It's slightly annoying as I only renewed a few months ago so to get out of this I'll basically need to pay twice for bb, once with 3 and not use it and once with someone else!
Anyone had a big moan at 3 and got anywhere with their 4g speed? Or is it just so over subscribed now it's all falling down?
probably a fault in your local mastFor the past month or so my speed has fallen off a cliff. With the router in 4g mode it's sh*te to the point of web pages not loading at all, in 3g mode I get maybe 5/6mb down, 2mb up... I used to regularly get 20/30mb down and 10/15 up...
Router has not moved position, is showing full signal and the 192.168 web page shows a very strong connection.... But it's atrocious!
Not sure wether to turn into a complainer and find three on facebook or twitter to complain, or hit a live chat with them but I expect to be fobbed off... It's slightly annoying as I only renewed a few months ago so to get out of this I'll basically need to pay twice for bb, once with 3 and not use it and once with someone else!
Anyone had a big moan at 3 and got anywhere with their 4g speed? Or is it just so over subscribed now it's all falling down?
I've been lucky enough to bag myself an unlimited 5G SIM with Virgin Media for £16pm, they currently use the Vodafone network.
The Huawei B818-263 won't support 5G, and so i was looking to upgrade to the Huawei CPE PRO2, however there are very thin on the ground.
The ones that i have found for sale are around £499, which i think is about £120 more than the RRP.
Alternatively i was also looking at the Zyxel R5103, but i cannot find them anywhere. I think that EE now use these as their 5G router, after moving away from Huawei.
Apart from Amazon, where else would i be able to search for a new 5G router?
The Huawei B818-263 won't support 5G, and so i was looking to upgrade to the Huawei CPE PRO2, however there are very thin on the ground.
The ones that i have found for sale are around £499, which i think is about £120 more than the RRP.
Alternatively i was also looking at the Zyxel R5103, but i cannot find them anywhere. I think that EE now use these as their 5G router, after moving away from Huawei.
Apart from Amazon, where else would i be able to search for a new 5G router?
I note that Virgin's Ts&Cs explicitly stae you cannot put that SIM in a router, though this is in direct contravention of section 3.1 of the Open Internet Regulations.
quote
3.7 Your mobile SIM card is for use in a personal mobile or mobile broadband device, such as a dongle or mobile Wi-Fi device. It is not intended for use in any other type of device, including 4G routers. We reserve the right to suspend your services if we believe abuse is taking place and if you are using an unlimited tariff, we may ask you to move to a plan with a fixed data allowance.
endquote
quote
3.7 Your mobile SIM card is for use in a personal mobile or mobile broadband device, such as a dongle or mobile Wi-Fi device. It is not intended for use in any other type of device, including 4G routers. We reserve the right to suspend your services if we believe abuse is taking place and if you are using an unlimited tariff, we may ask you to move to a plan with a fixed data allowance.
endquote
Edited by GDL on Monday 29th November 04:02
I have a mate who has just moved, my EE phone gets a terrible signal at the new house, and his Three one does too. It’s down in a rural valley where there is no decent broadband either.
I brought my EE 4G router over as a potential solution and that struggles too. I use it will excellent results, but I have very good 4G coverage, so much so, I’ve never had the need to upgrade the router from the one EE supplied.
Does anyone think if he tried a Huawei B818 router it would help, or would a router like mine with an omni directional external aerial be a better option ?
(No external aerial option with the B818)
The external could be pole mounted to try to get some height, unfortunately it’s not possible to get direct sight of a mast either!
Just make things even worse, Starlink isn’t available until mid ‘22 according to their site, or that would easily be the best solution.
I brought my EE 4G router over as a potential solution and that struggles too. I use it will excellent results, but I have very good 4G coverage, so much so, I’ve never had the need to upgrade the router from the one EE supplied.
Does anyone think if he tried a Huawei B818 router it would help, or would a router like mine with an omni directional external aerial be a better option ?
(No external aerial option with the B818)
The external could be pole mounted to try to get some height, unfortunately it’s not possible to get direct sight of a mast either!
Just make things even worse, Starlink isn’t available until mid ‘22 according to their site, or that would easily be the best solution.
Stussy said:
I have a mate who has just moved, my EE phone gets a terrible signal at the new house, and his Three one does too. It’s down in a rural valley where there is no decent broadband either.
I brought my EE 4G router over as a potential solution and that struggles too. I use it will excellent results, but I have very good 4G coverage, so much so, I’ve never had the need to upgrade the router from the one EE supplied.
Does anyone think if he tried a Huawei B818 router it would help, or would a router like mine with an omni directional external aerial be a better option ?
(No external aerial option with the B818)
The external could be pole mounted to try to get some height, unfortunately it’s not possible to get direct sight of a mast either!
Just make things even worse, Starlink isn’t available until mid ‘22 according to their site, or that would easily be the best solution.
The B818 can have an external aerial.I brought my EE 4G router over as a potential solution and that struggles too. I use it will excellent results, but I have very good 4G coverage, so much so, I’ve never had the need to upgrade the router from the one EE supplied.
Does anyone think if he tried a Huawei B818 router it would help, or would a router like mine with an omni directional external aerial be a better option ?
(No external aerial option with the B818)
The external could be pole mounted to try to get some height, unfortunately it’s not possible to get direct sight of a mast either!
Just make things even worse, Starlink isn’t available until mid ‘22 according to their site, or that would easily be the best solution.
It really depends on where the house is in relation to the nearest mast, but if your phone and another router can't get a decent signal, it's unlikely (but not impossible) a B818 will give you that much more IMO. That said, mine does give better results than my Galaxy Note 10+5G...but the latter does give decent results so I'm clearly not in a totally dead area (2 bars signal on the phone). If you can get a B818 from somewhere you can return it after giving it a go it might be worth it.
Anecdotal evidence on here suggests external aerials don't make a huge amount of difference with a B818. That may be the aerials being tried, or poor positioning etc. Who knows.
Have you tried the signal you can get all over the house, including in the loft? (Or up a ladder outside maybe if you fancy it
Does the signal improve anywhere near the house?).Presumably the router had an EE sim in it too? Can you try the other networks? (O2/Vodafone/3). You can get data sims for not much money (£10 or so), You may be lucky that the others give a better go of it (can you see whose mast it is? There's a checker online).
Are people like County Broadband anywhere in the area??
Murph7355 said:
The B818 can have an external aerial.
It really depends on where the house is in relation to the nearest mast, but if your phone and another router can't get a decent signal, it's unlikely (but not impossible) a B818 will give you that much more IMO. That said, mine does give better results than my Galaxy Note 10+5G...but the latter does give decent results so I'm clearly not in a totally dead area (2 bars signal on the phone). If you can get a B818 from somewhere you can return it after giving it a go it might be worth it.
Anecdotal evidence on here suggests external aerials don't make a huge amount of difference with a B818. That may be the aerials being tried, or poor positioning etc. Who knows.
Have you tried the signal you can get all over the house, including in the loft? (Or up a ladder outside maybe if you fancy it Does the signal improve anywhere near the house?).
Presumably the router had an EE sim in it too? Can you try the other networks? (O2/Vodafone/3). You can get data sims for not much money (£10 or so), You may be lucky that the others give a better go of it (can you see whose mast it is? There's a checker online).
Are people like County Broadband anywhere in the area??
Unfortunate it’s a bungalow in a valley, so nothing to mention of any decent height. I mentioned an external aerial as a hope to gain some height and better signal if it was mounted on a pole?It really depends on where the house is in relation to the nearest mast, but if your phone and another router can't get a decent signal, it's unlikely (but not impossible) a B818 will give you that much more IMO. That said, mine does give better results than my Galaxy Note 10+5G...but the latter does give decent results so I'm clearly not in a totally dead area (2 bars signal on the phone). If you can get a B818 from somewhere you can return it after giving it a go it might be worth it.
Anecdotal evidence on here suggests external aerials don't make a huge amount of difference with a B818. That may be the aerials being tried, or poor positioning etc. Who knows.
Have you tried the signal you can get all over the house, including in the loft? (Or up a ladder outside maybe if you fancy it
Does the signal improve anywhere near the house?).Presumably the router had an EE sim in it too? Can you try the other networks? (O2/Vodafone/3). You can get data sims for not much money (£10 or so), You may be lucky that the others give a better go of it (can you see whose mast it is? There's a checker online).
Are people like County Broadband anywhere in the area??
Yes, the router has an EE aim, and is locked to it, so unable to try any other networks in it.
I’d have thought a B818 would give better results than my crappy router?
BT high speed broadband is available in the area, unfortunately not to these few remote houses though.
I suppose the only other solution is to wait for Starlink.
Stussy said:
Unfortunate it’s a bungalow in a valley, so nothing to mention of any decent height. I mentioned an external aerial as a hope to gain some height and better signal if it was mounted on a pole?
Yes, the router has an EE aim, and is locked to it, so unable to try any other networks in it.
I’d have thought a B818 would give better results than my crappy router?
BT high speed broadband is available in the area, unfortunately not to these few remote houses though.
I suppose the only other solution is to wait for Starlink.
Can you try different sims in your phone to see if they give anything better?Yes, the router has an EE aim, and is locked to it, so unable to try any other networks in it.
I’d have thought a B818 would give better results than my crappy router?
BT high speed broadband is available in the area, unfortunately not to these few remote houses though.
I suppose the only other solution is to wait for Starlink.
I would expect the router may well be an older Huawei (525 or something). A B818 *might* give you better results, but if there's no signal at all, there'll be nowt it can do. They're not cheap, so buy from somewhere that will stick to the distance selling rules. You'd also be able to put a different sim in it
Whether an aerial on a pole would work any better would be entirely down to the topography. How deep's the valley? Where is the mast? etc.
All of the masts are a fair distance away, it literally couldn’t be worse! A valley in the middle of nowhere.
My phone is locked to EE but his (Three) and mine were able to get 1 bar near the house.
My router is a crap Alcatel HG70, so terrible in comparison to a B818, which means me think one of those would see an improvement
My phone is locked to EE but his (Three) and mine were able to get 1 bar near the house.
My router is a crap Alcatel HG70, so terrible in comparison to a B818, which means me think one of those would see an improvement
Stussy said:
All of the masts are a fair distance away, it literally couldn’t be worse! A valley in the middle of nowhere.
My phone is locked to EE but his (Three) and mine were able to get 1 bar near the house.
My router is a crap Alcatel HG70, so terrible in comparison to a B818, which means me think one of those would see an improvement
Probably. But I'd still want to be able to return it so it costs you nothing to try. You're looking at £250 new I think My phone is locked to EE but his (Three) and mine were able to get 1 bar near the house.
My router is a crap Alcatel HG70, so terrible in comparison to a B818, which means me think one of those would see an improvement
I now use a Three 5G phone SIM in a Huawei 5G router. My landline speed is woeful: our house, despite being in London, is in a black hole - far from the nearest cabinet, and in a block of houses where for commercial reasons was missed out by G-Network installing fibre. Literally we are the half of one street on the whole area that missed out. I was pretty cross about this.
That said, the 5G performs well, sometime it is blistering - but like the old 4G Internet I was using before, occasionally it just drops off a cliff.
The old Plusnet landline is slow, but stable. So I still have it, using it to run home automation etc on a secure network, and as backup for when the 5G fails.
A stable fibre connection would have been really welcome. I cannot believe I live in the capital and have to put up with 15mbps landline speeds. Its pretty silly.
That said, the 5G performs well, sometime it is blistering - but like the old 4G Internet I was using before, occasionally it just drops off a cliff.
The old Plusnet landline is slow, but stable. So I still have it, using it to run home automation etc on a secure network, and as backup for when the 5G fails.
A stable fibre connection would have been really welcome. I cannot believe I live in the capital and have to put up with 15mbps landline speeds. Its pretty silly.
After some playing with HuaCTRL I have it fixed! Been a week or so now and it's been pretty consistent
The upload is misleading as it rises up as it goes. I have my youtube uploads start off saying 4+ hours but they get down to about 45 minutes after a short while of pushing data. Guess it allocates it on the fly at a network level. The TV defaults to 4k youtube and doesn't buffer now which is nice
What caused me issues was trying to connect to it via my seperate access point... Turning the 3 router's wifi back on and connecting to that and boom, instant.
I should probably research some sort of logger for it, I have my unraid server running 24/7, and pihole already in an ubuntu VM.... Any free options out there with a decent guide?
TL:DR £18/Month for uncapped 20mb broadband (with a free nest speaker which I use every day as the PC speaker so added value there!), happy again!
The upload is misleading as it rises up as it goes. I have my youtube uploads start off saying 4+ hours but they get down to about 45 minutes after a short while of pushing data. Guess it allocates it on the fly at a network level. The TV defaults to 4k youtube and doesn't buffer now which is nice
What caused me issues was trying to connect to it via my seperate access point... Turning the 3 router's wifi back on and connecting to that and boom, instant.
I should probably research some sort of logger for it, I have my unraid server running 24/7, and pihole already in an ubuntu VM.... Any free options out there with a decent guide?
TL:DR £18/Month for uncapped 20mb broadband (with a free nest speaker which I use every day as the PC speaker so added value there!), happy again!
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