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5G router roundup

That's the dream.
Have you noticed any improvement in performance?
With so many antennas though, you'll need a mast of your own. :)

At this point though I can sort of understand why Huawei let go of the external antenna idea. It might be more feasible to just risk it and put the whole thing in a weatherproof box outside, call it a day. :)
 
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Whilst I am so impressed with the 8 output antenna mod, I doubt mast contention won't go away even if you have 20 directional antenna along your roof top pointing to the same mast.
 
@Buggerlugz I think it's pretty clear this is not for Three customers, if that's what you're suggesting. :-)
 
After much reading.. I've narrowed my 5G router down to a couple of choices. It's really hard to find one that actually covers the UKs 5G bands and also get as many 4G bands in there as I can.

If anyone is interested, this is what I've narrowed them down to ,perhaps it will help someone make their decision. I based this from spec sheets, manuals, websites that sell them so I take no responsibility for the accuracy but i did my best.


View attachment 710

I still can't decide, but it's going to be one of the above.
Antenna? means can it accept an external one. N/A if it's an external router.
Have registered specifically so I can say "thank you" for this thread and your post @dabigm and also to you @Lucian for your various posts about the CPE Win, which I'm going for.

Comparative detail on 5G modems is so thin on the ground. I need bridge mode for easy integration with my mesh system and live on the 3rd floor with a drainpipe by the kitchen window so external mounting will should be simple. Voxi's £30 unlimited 30-day rolling plan looks good so going to try that and if it sucks I'm lucky enough to have options.

To pay it forward a little to anyone in the same predicament, the best price I could find for the CPE Win was ~£300 inc. shipping from this AliExpress vendor. Everywhere else is £400+ seemingly.
 
That's the dream.
Have you noticed any improvement in performance?
With so many antennas though, you'll need a mast of your own. :)

At this point though I can sort of understand why Huawei let go of the external antenna idea. It might be more feasible to just risk it and put the whole thing in a weatherproof box outside, call it a day. :)
There wa a cool Huwei model, external POE, but the sim was in the device.
Esim would have been better.
Never ever seen it for sale in the UK.
It removed the requirement for an external antenna.
 
@dws1900 I got one of those, Huawei CPE Win. Got it from a1smartshop back whey they had it in stock for £250.
 
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Glad it helped!
 
After just getting the B818-263 4G Router, and spending the best part of a week messing around with it, I have come to realise that Three (3) are the issue with capacity.

I am not looking towards getting the 5G equivalent router an hopping on to EE if I can find a good deal with it included. I noticed that there is no option for the external antenna on the 5G version, and the EE maps show average/poor outdoor coverage only. How good are the internal antenna on the 5G CPE Pro, what are the chances of getting decent speeds with the coverage listed? Or it's going to be a buy an find out for yourself type answer?
 
After just getting the B818-263 4G Router, and spending the best part of a week messing around with it, I have come to realise that Three (3) are the issue with capacity.

I am not looking towards getting the 5G equivalent router an hopping on to EE if I can find a good deal with it included. I noticed that there is no option for the external antenna on the 5G version, and the EE maps show average/poor outdoor coverage only. How good are the internal antenna on the 5G CPE Pro, what are the chances of getting decent speeds with the coverage listed? Or it's going to be a buy an find out for yourself type answer?

I think its exactly that. And there in lies the problem with the UK's 4g/5g, for me there is too many variables coupled with the carriers continually not putting enough capacity into their masts, as every evolution creeps in the capacity issues will continue to get worse and worse.
 
It's not just the UK, you can look at other countries too (perhaps other than China/Japan/Korea).
Providers are always fighting increasing demands for data capacity. Network planning teams have carefully balances to do to calculate the future demands along with maximising ROI - I don't envy their job. Often hardware can remain in place for many many years but providing it 'works' for the majority (i.e. phone calls can be made and mobile phones can load web pages) then it's unlikely to be considered a high priority - at least until something starts hitting their bottom line (i.e. high number of customers lost in a given area due to signal/capacity issues).

It just happens that we're trying to leverage mobile for a home broadband replacement, you can't expect the same promises as a fixed line provider (mobile providers just won't give you an estimated speed and nor to they don't promise what technology is available, it could just be 2G!)

Radio, by it's nature is a highly variable medium - you can't change physics.
 
That's the dream.
Have you noticed any improvement in performance?
With so many antennas though, you'll need a mast of your own. :)

At this point though I can sort of understand why Huawei let go of the external antenna idea. It might be more feasible to just risk it and put the whole thing in a weatherproof box outside, call it a day. :)
You won't use all 8 inputs at any given time. If you want 4g you use then 4g inputs, and the same for 5g.

Or if you wanted to use carrier aggression 4g and 5g then you use 2 of each inputs.

Any configuration you chose can be done with 2x 2x2 mimo antennas.

But to answer your question, yes I have a massive speed increase using 4x4 mimo and carrier aggression on 2600mhz and 1800mhz.
 
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Whilst I am so impressed with the 8 output antenna mod, I doubt mast contention won't go away even if you have 20 directional antenna along your roof top pointing to the same mast.
It's about carrier aggression, better signal 4x4 mimo = faster speeds.
 
@Buggerlugz I think it's pretty clear this is not for Three customers, if that's what you're suggesting. :)
Well I used to be with 3

2x2 mimi I was getting 60dl
4x4 mimo I was getting 250dl (with my mod)
Then I switched to EE now 4x4 mimo and carrier aggression I get 350+ dl (with my mod)

3 is a budget network they haven't spent as much on their infrastructure compared to the other networks but you can still better your speeds and signal with 4x4 mimo
 
After just getting the B818-263 4G Router, and spending the best part of a week messing around with it, I have come to realise that Three (3) are the issue with capacity.

I am not looking towards getting the 5G equivalent router an hopping on to EE if I can find a good deal with it included. I noticed that there is no option for the external antenna on the 5G version, and the EE maps show average/poor outdoor coverage only. How good are the internal antenna on the 5G CPE Pro, what are the chances of getting decent speeds with the coverage listed? Or it's going to be a buy an find out for yourself type answer?
I'm 4 miles away from my 5g mast. The cpe as standard won't pick up 5g.

However with my modification I can get a good 5g signal using external antenna despite EE saying I'm out of 5g area.

Also to mention my antenna is up on the roof and is facing the wrong direction to my 5g mast (I switched provider) I'm waiting for a sunny day so I can access the roof to rotate it and install another antenna for 4x4 mimo on 5g. Despite it facing the wrong direction, as mentioned above I still get a good signal and speeds of 250+dl.....waiting for that perfect sunny day 😁
 
Yes thanks to everyone for the details.

I'm trying to find out what version of the Huawei CPE Pro Three (3) supply with their 5G broadband deal, as it is only £302 including a years unlimited data. Ideally I need a bridge mode support and would like the option to have a external antennas connected, but I guess I can always do a mod like the ones from Router-mods if I need to. I'd like to keep using my current router/wi-fi solution, if at all possible so the bridge mode is probably more important assuming I can actually get a 5G signal from it.

It's like researching EV's lots to know that is hidden under the surface, but once you uncover it all you feel in a much better place and I like to be well informed!
 
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Three disabled bridge mode on the B535 router I got from them, I suspect they do this on all of them..
 
Three disabled bridge mode on the B535 router I got from them, I suspect they do this on all of them..
My Vodafone CPE Pro also had bridge mode removed.
Just in case anyone was wondering.
My Amazon purchased CPE Pro 2 has it though.
Just in case anyone was wondering about that too. :giggle:
 
Three disabled bridge mode on the B535 router I got from them, I suspect they do this on all of them..

In the words of my son, MEH!

Maybe I can flash it with a custom/stock firmware. If not maybe I can just sell it and a get a CPE Pro 2, but that I believe doesn't have external antenna support.

So much to learn, it reminds me of when I first started dealing with Wi-Fi routers and AP{'s back in the 802.11b days, and you always had to compromise somewhere.
 
Hi dabigm,

I have the Huawei CPE Pro 2 and I'm on the 3 network.

Best router ive had so far for pulling in a signal, had about 4 various Huawei routers throughout the years, B525, B618, B818 and the original CPE Pro.

Speeds vary from 90-140. No 5G here so far, probably won't arrive for a long time yet either.

Love the router, no antenna socket if you want to tinker. I don't need external antenna luckily enough. I did try one with my CPE Pro but it just made things worse for me.
Thanks for sharing. So are you saying even for 4G it's worth getting CPE Pro 2? How do the CPE Pro 2 speeds compare to B818 ones?
I own a B818 and thinking whether it's worth upgrading...
 
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