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Three Huawei CPE Pro 5G router does not function properly with Three SIM card (UK)

James293

Casual Member
I have a very specific and confusing issue with my Three 5G WiFi service. Essentially I am using a Huawei CPE Pro 5G router from Three, with a Three SIM card. After working perfectly for a month to begin with, suddenly last week I began experiencing problems. The WiFi kind of works, but not really. Specifically, the symptoms include (but are not limited to):

· Zero (or very low kbps) upload speed when using phone, despite up to 300 Mbps download speed (using multiple speed test apps), however upload speed shows as up to 100 Mbps using Macbook

· Internet very slow and unreliable (all devices), sometimes things work find and load fast, other times it just doesn’t work at all

· Whatsapp messages not sending but receiving messages is fine

· Youtube app not loading on Android phones (three tested so far, this is actually the most consistently reproducible symptom so I kind of use it as a test of whether the internet is “fixed” yet or not)

Here’s where it gets weird.

· Three sent me a new router, the problem persists

· I ordered a replacement SIM card, problem persists

· Putting the Three SIM card in my phone, it works perfectly, Youtube app loads, great upload speed, etc.

· Putting the SIM card in an older Android phone, it does not seem to get a 4G signal, and data is very slow

· Putting an ID Mobile SIM (uses Three signal) in the router works perfectly

· As implied by the above, the signal is great, this is absolutely not a signal issue

· Hard resetting the router, factory resetting, etc. has no effect

Therefore it seems to me, as everything that can be replaced has been replaced, and using a different SIM card (that also uses the Three signal) or putting the Three SIM card in my phone works perfectly, there is something relating to my Three account that is causing this problem. However, their first- and second-line technical support basically had no idea what was causing this. There is some kind of investigation that is meant to have been completed by tomorrow but I am really not holding my breath that this will resolve it.

Does anyone have a clue what could be causing this?

Other things I have tried already:

· Manually setting DNS to 80.80.80.80 and 80.80.81.81, which I saw as a suggested solution on another thread
 
JAMES

looking through what you have written . you seem to be quite thorough with your testing.

1: are you using a VPN. ?? Because Most VPN's don't work on IPv6
If you are you need to create a IPV4 APN.
Some of the VPN protocols also have crap upload speeds.
You would have to try all the different protocols.
2: has the Router had some kind of firmware update lately which may have caused the problem???

From everything you've described it seems that your 3-5g sim is incompatible with your 3 -5g router.
??? But how is this possible.???

Do you have a mate that lives near that has a 3 sim and 5g kit etc that you could try.???

hey you would be bored without little problems like this to sort out.

Good luck
 
Hi heinzbean, thanks for replying to my thread.

I am not using a VPN. I assume there must have been some kind of update that affects how the Three network specifically interacts with Android phones when in the Huawei router. Since my original post, it now seems that the internet is fine on my Mac, so the problems are limited to Android phones, but they are essentially unusable with the router. Even Google search doesn't work!

I don't know anyone nearby with a Three SIM but I find it particular surprising that I haven't been able to find any other examples of this problem, as this combination of network and phones cannot be too uncommon. Which is why I wonder if there is something specific about my Three account that is causing the problem.

Three have absolutely no idea by the looks of things, I keep talking to their second line technical support and they seem just as confused as I am. But the fact remains that if I can't use the WiFi with my phone then it's not very useful as I tend to watch YouTube videos etc on my phone.
 
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James
i am finding 5g so new you don't seem to be able to get any answers for little problems.
So your problem now is just Android phones wont work on the routers wi-fi.
Ok have your thought of the 2 different bands 2.4ghz and 5.0ghz. on the router....and do the phones have both 2.4ghz and 5g.hz I had an old android box that was 2.4ghz that was incompatible with my 2.4ghz/5.0 ghz router.
 
I had this problem and the quickest solution for me was to switch the router to 5ghz . which meant that the only device that i could not connect was this old android tv box. but everything else switched to 5ghz all working properly now
 
Page 13 of your manual.
  • Does my router support 5 GHz Wi-Fi? How do I
connect to its 5 GHz Wi-Fi?

1 Yes. Your router supports 5 GHz Wi-Fi, which is faster and

less sensitive to interference. However, it does not penetrate

walls as well as 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and can only be used on

devices that support 5 GHz Wi-Fi.

2 If you have enabled the feature that prioritizes 5 GHz on

your router, the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks will share the

same network name and you will be automatically

connected to the faster network. If this feature is disabled,

two Wi-Fi network names will be displayed. Connect to the

Wi-Fi network ending with "_5G". You can manage this

feature in your router's web-based management page.

If you are experiencing any other issues with the

router:

1 Restart the router.

2 Restore the router to its factory settings.

3 Contact your carrier.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. This didn't work but at least I can add it to the list of things I've checked! It's just so bizarre that putting an ID mobile SIM in (that uses the Three signal) causes all the problems to go away, which is why I'm very doubtful that it's a hardware issue.
 
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Could be a good idea to get the free inSSIDer to check for wi-fi band contention. You will need to create a login id but it's free unless you want the extra bells and whistles. My neighbourhood is well connected, and when I was with Virgin I regularly had instances when the wi-fi just failed because a neighbour's router would grab the same band. Forcing the router to only select the 5ghz band helped.
Now even that frequency has got busier and the newer routers from BT and Virgin have got more powerful. I get a stronger 5ghz signal from next door than I get from my B818 that is upstairs on the landing. But I can preselect a higher band from the router's wi-fi menu that is not frequently used. These higher bands are sometimes used at airports for radar so there's an automatic check by the router when switching the router on. If you don't live near an airport then there won't be a problem.
 
Last edited:
Hi eccles, thanks for the suggestion. As the problem is solved when a different SIM card in the router I don't think that is the issue.

Minor update: Three sent me a third router (I told them there was no point but they insisted) and the problem is still identical. So I make that over £1000 of routers sent to me in exchange for £29, of which £25 has so far been refunded. What a business plan!
 
To me it seems like there must have been some kind of software update that went live on the day the problem started, and affects how the router works with Android phones when using the Three network. As everything has been replaced that can be replaced I feel like this issue cannot possibly be unique to me and there must be other Three customers with similar problems.

Something interesting: if I try and load a webpage when connected to WiFi on my phone it doesn't work BUT if I load the page while using mobile data and then switch to WiFi I can load other pages by clicking links but not by entering an address in the address bar.
 
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You need to go to the mobile section APN on the router web setup and create a new profile with IPV4 only and this will resolve your problem. Google it to find how to set this up.
 
Hi pras1011 I am using a CPE PRO provided by Three and as such I do not have access to this setting, however I don't think that would fix the problem anyway because it works fine with a different SIM card.
 
Hi James, I have notice similar issue with my CPE PRO. I bought my Three router early this year from CEX, and got one of the £16 per month unlimited contracts. 5G had been working perfectly fine until last week of May. Silly me had forgotten to disable software update on the router as it was still on an earlier software version. Then internet speed slowed right down to 2mb/s, and an now only have 4G light on my router. Even when the 5g light comes on every now and then, my internet speed drops further. I do suspect Three have done something other by way of software update or some sort of restriction on my sim. Cannot get an answer from there 2nd line support other then they telling me that I wont be charged should I wish to leave mid 12 month contract. I had been searching for similar user experiences almost a month ago with no success. I guess my suspicions about Three may prove correct.
 
I am experiencing the exact same issues described in your original post. I'm currently on fibre with BT and they've built a Three 5G mast 20 metres from my house, so I thought why not switch when my BT contract ends, my contract ends in August so I thought I'd get the Three 5G home broadband now to test. It went live on Saturday and I noticed the issues straightaway, I couldn't get on any streaming apps like Netflix or YouTube on my Samsung S10+, and when I did a speed test I got 500mbps down but 0mbps upload, I also got these same results on other Android devices that I have. I phoned Three and they advised that I reset the router, that did nothing, I then got transferred to second line who said they've logged an investigation that will take 7 days, so I'm hoping for an answer this Saturday

I've been doing more troubleshooting in the meantime and I've found some really odd symptoms. My girlfriend has an iPhone, she can get on Netflix etc and upload speed is fine. If I take the Three sim out of the router and put it in my S10+ it all works fine. If I put an EE sim in the router, all works fine on the S10+. If i connect to NordVPN on the S10+ then connect to the Three router, it works fine. If I connect my laptop via Ethernet, all works fine. If I connect a wireless access point to the router and connect my S10+ to the AP, it does not work with 0 upload speed again

All of the above just doesn't make any sense. If I get any fix from Three on the weekend I will update you, but I'm not holding my breath
 
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Maybe worth disabling PMF (advanced WiFi settings). On my B818 (and other Huawei routers) doing this has improved compatibility/responsiveness.
 
Hi adamalbison, as you say that is the exact same problem I've been having! I eventually gave up on Three being able to fix this issue and asked them to release me from the contract, which they agreed to. I wasn't sure if the issue was with the Three network or specifically with my Three account, but if other people are having this problem the former seems more likely. I don't know how they managed to screw their service up so badly.
 
Maybe worth disabling PMF (advanced WiFi settings). On my B818 (and other Huawei routers) doing this has improved compatibility/responsiveness.
Hi hornseye, I've already disabled that, thinking the same thing, but it makes no difference :(
 
Hi adamalbison, as you say that is the exact same problem I've been having! I eventually gave up on Three being able to fix this issue and asked them to release me from the contract, which they agreed to. I wasn't sure if the issue was with the Three network or specifically with my Three account, but if other people are having this problem the former seems more likely. I don't know how they managed to screw their service up so badly.
I agree, I don't think I'll be keeping Three longer than my 14-day cooling-off period, which is a shame because, other than with Android devices, the service works really well and I get really fast speeds
 
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