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Slow internet connection/Download speeds with Huawei B535

Buddha123

Member
Hi,

I recently purchased the Huawei B535 4G Router 3 Pro, with an unlimted mobile data sim from Three. I received the device last week, and have for the first few days, had a pleasurable experience, decent download speeds and good, stable connections. I predomitley use my internet for online gaming so I need a good, reliable connection for obvious reasons. Over the last few days, I have noticed the odd moment where it gets really unstable, and I 'lag' in games etc. It has got worse over the last few days and is now rendering online gaming unplayable. I perform internet speed tests both on my PC and my Console and get average of 3 - 4mbps download, and not even 1mbps upload. When I first set up the device I was getting around 30 down, and 8 - 10 upload. This is no where near the advertised amount of "upto 300mbps down" but I could live with it, however, in its current state of affairs it is not suitable for purpose.

All LED indicators are as they should be, and I am get between 4-5 on the signal bar, out of the possible 5 LEDS, it flickers between 4 and 5. I use and ethernet direct to my console or PC depending on what I am using to try and help establish a better connection but it is no better, nor is it better over WiFi when I set the bandwidth to 5Ghz.

I have obviously tried contacting Three for technical help but it is getting me nowhere with online tools, and with the current state of the global pandemic I am struggling to speak to a real person, any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
 
Three advertise their broadband as having average speeds of 14mbps - the 300mbps you referred to is the theoretical maximum speed the router can support. I’ve never in my life seen a 4G speed close to this. I’ve seen about 100 but that’s not exactly everyday.
The issue really arises because it’s a 4G network and depending on what other users are doing, the weather, capacity/demand plus which way the wind is blowing apparently causes speeds to drastically differ.

4G for online gaming is probably not the best choice because it’s not really a stable connection compared to even basic wired connections because they tend to keep their speed consistently even if it is low.
 
TTJJ,

Thanks for your reply, so there is nothing I can do or there is nothing wrong with the device? I understand the speeds are theoretical but they're advertised quite largely and I am getting no where near them, whereas I was when I originally installed the device.

I am aware 4G broadband isn't the greatest for gaming, I unfortunately do not have another choice in my current circumstance, otherwise I would have gone for hardwired/fibre broadband.

My console/PC is the only thing connected to the device so there is no chance of bottlenecking the bandwidth etc. And as I said, less than a week ago it was working exceptionally, and it's now not yet still reporting full signal on the router.
 
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I understand the speeds are theoretical but they're advertised quite largely
router.

No provider would be advertising speeds that high - I think what you were seeing were the router specifications not the estimated 4G speeds.

The problem with Three is they offer the best pricing by a mile on unlimited home internet packages and so the uptake is huge. Couple that with the most data hungry customers on their unlimited plans compared to other providers and their network really takes a bashing. Three have got great network tech but it's a cat and mouse game with capacity.

If Three's not working for you, can you try perhaps Vodafone? They've got a very stable 4G network that doesn't take quite the bashing. If you've got good signal, it tends to stay alright. I'd stay away from EE for the time being just because they've set up IPv6 on their network in a non-standard way which can cause some things to break.

The main point from all of this is not to expect a great deal of stability from a 4G network and expect that things like drastic speed changes even during the same day are going to be common.

Just to add - I've got two of these installed at parents/grandparents houses and it's very much the same. Speed fluctuates but the most they do is browse the internet and occasionally stream from the likes of Netflix which tends to handle the speed changes fairly well without them noticing that's going on. Gaming on the other hand is very sensitive to sudden speed/latency changes.
 
I think there is something wrong with these routers. Mine was fine until March then became very fustrating (possibly after firmware update) I read in one forum its something to do with lagging when setting up TLS / SSL connections. So its not so much the connection speed its the lag - sometimes the hiccups making it so fustrating its unusable. Click on a few pages they go fine then one will lag on a black browser screen for 10 seconds. I put my SIM in a B311 and its back to running amazing so not netwwork

Good luck getting the hub replaced. I can see no way of doing this
 
My B535 router on Three is exactly the same. I've got a B311 also which has worked flawlessly for over a year with fairly consistent download speeds of around 30 to 40. I recently acquired a B535 router and initial start up I get consistent speeds of around 60 to 70. However this slows after a couple of hours to around 15. Restart the B535 and speeds go up again. Also the 2.4ghz capability is way below that of the B511. With the B511 I can maintain connection and normal speeds in the back garden but not so with the B535. No signal at all in the back garden but then when I do get a weak signal the speeds are down to around 2 to 4. This is not the case with the B311 that seems to be able to deliver consistent speeds even with a weak signal. Speeds are better on 5ghz but range very limited. Despite better speeds on 5ghz it still slows right down after a few hours. Restart it and it's back to normal. I've tried everything I know of. I even have the huactrl app to force bands on the router but slowing down occurs regardless of band whether it be band 1, 3 or 20 or all of them aggregated. If anyone else has experienced similar problems with the B535 I'd like to hear from you or is it just my router? Even better still I'd be delighted to hear from anyone who has found a solution. The signal is a good 5 bar signal from Three btw.
 
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My B535 router on Three is exactly the same. I've got a B311 also which has worked flawlessly for over a year with fairly consistent download speeds of around 30 to 40. I recently acquired a B535 router and initial start up I get consistent speeds of around 60 to 70. However this slows after a couple of hours to around 15. Restart the B535 and speeds go up again. Also the 2.4ghz capability is way below that of the B511. With the B511 I can maintain connection and normal speeds in the back garden but not so with the B535. No signal at all in the back garden but then when I do get a weak signal the speeds are down to around 2 to 4. This is not the case with the B311 that seems to be able to deliver consistent speeds even with a weak signal. Speeds are better on 5ghz but range very limited. Despite better speeds on 5ghz it still slows right down after a few hours. Restart it and it's back to normal. I've tried everything I know of. I even have the huactrl app to force bands on the router but slowing down occurs regardless of band whether it be band 1, 3 or 20 or all of them aggregated. If anyone else has experienced similar problems with the B535 I'd like to hear from you or is it just my router? Even better still I'd be delighted to hear from anyone who has found a solution. The signal is a good 5 bar signal from Three btw.

Hi,

I have the B535 router and I have the same issue. I never get to have steady speeds no matter what. I keep changing between APN's, the speeds go high to 60-80, sometimes even 100Mbs but after 10-15 mins they drop back to 20-40Mbs. The cell tour is very close to my house and I have a full signal on the router. I am thinking to buy a new router. I am looking to buy TP-Link Archer MR600 from amazon but I am not sure how well will this router work. If the router is the same as the B535 router than is no point of buying it. Have anyone tried using the TP link router?

Thank you!
 
I don't think its the router, I think its the infrastructure behind it. I have the 535 and unlimited data with Three. Over the past couple of months esp. now we're all in 'lockdown', the service has been diabolical. However, I have noticed that if you run a 'traceroute' the traffic routes through some 'private' networks (probably Three's backbone, DNS etc) and the responses are awful. However, switch on a VPN like HMA and the response times are instant.
My data rates vary between 20Mb/s and 80Mb/s. But the webpages take ages to load, but through a VPN the web pages are there with a click of the fingers. I think this is because the VPN bypasses Three's infrastructure.

I know not why, but it works and that's good enough for me :)
 
I also have that router and 3 Unlimited SIM on contract. I just did a test. Connected to the VPN, and routing all traffic through the VPN - I get good responses to a traceroute. Disconnected it is dire. This indicates that it is a Three backbone problem and not a problem with the router.
It's only really been a problem recently, and in the last few weeks getting to the point where it is unusable.
Now that I know I can use a VPN to get around the problem, at least I have a workaround until I can find a different provider.
 
Exact same issue with the Three 5G and the Huawei CPE Pro router it comes with. Three have confirmed there is a known fault and raised a case with Huawei, who have not responded.
 
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Hi,

Just wanted to say I'm having the same problems with my Huawei B525.

Version numbers:


Hardware version: WL1B520FM
Software version: 11.189.63.00.1217


Just this morning, when I first started using my PC (my router had been left on all night), my speed test results showed a download rate of 18mbps.

After restarting the router (power cycling), I ran the speed test again and received a download speed of 72mbps.

This has been happening for months. If I feel I'm getting slow speeds I just restart my router and everything goes back to normal for a while (I haven't measured how long).

I'm not sure if this is 3 throttling the connection or a problem with the router.

I'd be interested in other peoples experiences.
 
Exact same issue with the Three 5G and the Huawei CPE Pro router it comes with. Three have confirmed there is a known fault and raised a case with Huawei, who have not responded.
I guarantee this isn’t the case. They’re fobbing you off. The routers work fine. It’s Three and their network management. Put another network’s SIM in your Huawei router and it’ll sing.
 
Hiya, I've signed up just to reply to this thread. I also have a B535 on three and am experiencing the same issues. I have a severe lag when it comes to resolving domains. Speed tests seem to take an age to "find a server" when I'm trying to use speedtest.net (and even fast.com, regardless of that site's true purpose).

I put my Phone's SIM in the router and experienced the same issues - I had to use a SIM adapter to make the sim up to Micro SIM size. A decent test here would be to use the router's SIM in my phone, but I don't want to cut it down and it's not one of those multi-size cards.

Sometimes after a reset (Power out, rather than a software reboot) it works for a few hours then ends up the same.

When I encrypt the traffic via a VPN. it does seem better to respond. Ping, resolution times decrease, though the overall speed is reduced. Unfortunately this isn't a solution for me, as I use netflix too.

All of this does indeed point to the issue being three. The SIM I took from my phone to test in the router is also three. But here is the peculiar part: The three network works much better from my phone (Pixel 3). Speedtest finds servers almost instantly and often has much lower ping and much better down speeds.

I'm working from home at the moment and I'm doing a lot of online training and whilst connected to the LTE network via the huawei, it's a nightmare; failure to resolve, failures handling the TLS handshakes, videos not loading. If I set up my phone as a wifi hotspot, it all seems to work fine. Both devices are set to only use 4G networks.

If another provider's SIM works fine in this router, perhaps there is some incompatibility?

In another thread elswhere, I learnt about an unofficial Huawei app (Hua CTRL) for android, which exposes some menus I don't have in my own GUI. I also read that if I tried to lock it to either band B3-1800Mhz or B7-2600MHz (whichever was more stable) I may get better results; neither of those work for me though. I get no connectivity at all. It appears I'm using FDD and binding multiple frequencies?

Anyway, sorry this post isn't particularly well structured. I do feel that even though some of the issues I have with the router are also present on my phone, they are to a much lesser degree and perhaps it's not solely a network issue and that perhaps there is something in this being a router issue too, if even only partially. Perhaps this router exacerbates the network issues

Edit> For what it's worth, both devices are using the same APN "3internet"
 
I am looking to buy TP-Link Archer MR600 from amazon but I am not sure how well will this router work. If the router is the same as the B535 router than is no point of buying it. Have anyone tried using the TP link router?

Thank you!

I've just bought the MR6400 from Amazon and it is arriving tomorrow. I'll feed back in a few days.
 
I've just bought the MR6400 from Amazon and it is arriving tomorrow. I'll feed back in a few days.
Do keep us informed.

Three's network does Deep Packet Inspection on the packets coming from your PC for example, not the router, to determine which device you're using and it seemingly gets routed in different ways so I very much doubt an alternative router will make a whole deal of difference.
 
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In another thread elswhere, I learnt about an unofficial Huawei app (Hua CTRL) for android, which exposes some menus I don't have in my own GUI. I also read that if I tried to lock it to either band B3-1800Mhz or B7-2600MHz (whichever was more stable) I may get better results; neither of those work for me though. I get no connectivity at all. It appears I'm using FDD and binding multiple frequencies?

Three don't own any spectrum on B7 (EE and Vodafone are the only providers with that spectrum) - forcing this will lose connectivity if using a Three SIM.

If you are not getting any signal with B3 either than that would suggest you're only able to receive B20 - if so, the speeds for that are likely to be very low - you don't say what speeds you are able to achieve so can't be certain.
You might might be aggregating B20+B32 which would give a higher download speed.
 
Do keep us informed.

Three's network does Deep Packet Inspection on the packets coming from your PC for example, not the router, to determine which device you're using and it seemingly gets routed in different ways so I very much doubt an alternative router will make a whole deal of difference.
Will do.

Yeah they do the packet analysis which is why VPN works. They also as you say, use the user agent from your browser. But that's why it's odd that if I connect my phone to the router I get totally different performance compared to my phone using its own connection.

Although I'm not particularly hopeful a new router will solve the issue, it's worth a try. I can return it if it doesn't work out and I had Amazon credit anyway.

I'll post back in a few days.

I've just done another cold boot (several minutes without power to the router) and everything is rosy again for now..
 
The way it works isn't quite like that with Three. All the way back in the days of the One Plan they implemented the DPI system to prevent tethering in a way that wasn't easily bypassed.

If you connect your phone and your laptop tethered to it - the DPI system will run what I assume few checks on some packets and then decide the prioritisation etc. of your 'line'. It'll at some arbitrary point later check it again and possibly make a change then. It's possible because on your phone most of the packets are for your phone itself, I think if you had zero data usage on your phone and just used your laptop continuously you'd eventually see the performance drop.

+ You could bypass this system for quite some time by using your phone for the internet whilst tethering a device and it'd work for a few hours before it'd realise and block your internet entirely on both your phone and tethered devices until you stopped tethering and the system checked it again at some point, or you restarted your device (The One Plan prohibited tethering entirely)
 
Three don't own any spectrum on B7 (EE and Vodafone are the only providers with that spectrum) - forcing this will lose connectivity if using a Three SIM.

If you are not getting any signal with B3 either than that would suggest you're only able to receive B20 - if so, the speeds for that are likely to be very low - you don't say what speeds you are able to achieve so can't be certain.
You might might be aggregating B20+B32 which would give a higher download speed.

Ah that may explain it then. It was just something I read in another thread which I believed pertained to three.

I'm not using B20. I can lock it to B20 via the app I mentioned, but it gets about 2mbps.

Typically I get between 40mbps to 120ish if speedtest.net is to be believed. Streaming seems to work ok most of the time, but only after a lot of dilly dallying.

I've (hopefully) attached the screenshot of the app I mentioned. I'm not sure exactly what that string means in the FDD field

OK, it appears the moderation process perhaps removed the screenshot.

The app says the router is on band B3-1800Mhz and the F/TDD (presumably F in our scenario) value is "80800C5"
 
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