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Advice needed

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Deleted member 28858

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So I'm with three and have been for many years, however recently (the past 6months) their signal has gone from 4 bars to practically nothing.

I have had many phone calls to three who claim they have made no changes in the area what so ever, nor can they see a problem. The address apparently says I should get nothing indoors on their map now, where as previously it didn't.

I suspect it's to do with switching one mast to 4G and not the other so the signal strength has been compromised, but that's just a theory.

On to my point.


Is there a way I can boost the signal to my home using an Ariel and how would I do this ?
 
We used to get a five bar signal, now, we get a three bar 3G signal at best from one transmitter and sometimes the modem will flip to a more distant one with one bar strength - which now has 4G. What was a good primary service is now just a backup service to EE or Vodafone.

I was also told that nothing had changed, when clearly, it has. Though to be fair the coverage map always said "no indoor coverage".

If you have line of sight or near-as to the transmitter(s) then yes, you can have a roof mounted directional antenna as we have, this will boost the signal. It will mean the modem will always latch to the cell the transmitter points at.

If you do not have line of sight then an omni-directional antenna may work better accepting that the modem will pick the strongest signal and not necessarily the one that works fastest. We can lock our modem in 4G mode which effectively forces it to select the one that has 4G which would get around that.

In third place, a smaller antenna on a window sill *may* boost the signal though this isn't as effective - height has a lot to do with it especially in a hilly area.

4G requires a specific type of antenna, actually, two antennae, to work best. Solwise have a range of these though last time I looked the product range was fairly out of date.

Our modem, an Huawei B593, has good internal antenna and may also bring improvements all by itself over a dongle helped by placing it in an upstairs window sill facing the right way.

Have a look and if you want advice on kit or more detail post again.
 
Just to say that I've noticed the same impact, when 4G went live the apparent signal strength actually went down, although it's important to stress that the number of "bars" you might get on a phone isn't always the best gauge of actual service quality. Mind you, one bar or none is IMO usually equal to a poor service.

Now, as DTMark says, if we're talking about a mobile broadband device and you can actually attach an antenna then there are options.

But if you're talking about a normal phone / Smartphone then such connectors don't normally exist. In the latter case Three UK do offer a 'Home Signal' (femtocell) device, which uses your home broadband connection to boost the mobile signal, and they also have a WiFi calling app that might help.

[video=youtube;msNZp6wmQUk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msNZp6wmQUk[/video]
 
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I realised I've posted this in the wrong area.

I wanted to boost the signal to my mobile phone not any mobile broadband.

Can this be moved and help given ?
 
It's ok Shane, this forum category caters for all things wireless. See my previous reply.
 
there is one problem. I don't have Internet nor can we get internet here.... I suppose that was an important point I maybe missed off sorry guys
 
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In that case I'm out of ideas :( other than to find a network that works better for you where you are. Different mobiles are better or worse with borderline signals - for instance my iPhone is a bit better with a weak signal than my old Samsung one was, but still not as good as a £10 basic handset that only does phone and nothing else.

Because we live in a cottage with thick walls, there are no networks which work perfectly downstairs here. The only one that gets a faintly reliable signal downstairs is O2 and even that will drop the network altogether if you put the phone in your pocket.

However upstairs they all work to some extent and we get very good mobile broadband speeds. Which seems very strange though height is the key in some locations especially if there are hills in the way.

Though the roof antenna boosts that, too. I don't know of something similar for voice calls though, the offerings that I see are based on using an internet connection to route the calls.
 
So am I understanding this right, if I get a omni Ariel and that huwawei router, can I tuconnect to the router and get better 4g signal or does the router have to have a SIM card in to work
 
The Huawei router takes a SIM card. It will then connect to the phone network (if available) and produce a wifi hotspot. It will not improve your phone's signal by default.
 
As above - you'll need a data SIM. It may improve the signal all by itself if you can find the "sweet spot" in your house where the signal is strongest. It will also give you the option to use an external antenna/antennae to boost it. This is likely to be successful, but be prepared to spend a few hundred pounds with no total guarantee of success. If you can find where the transmitter is (drive about with your phone and observe the signal strength, look at Google Earth) you may be able to evaluate your chances by seeing what is in the way.

On the other hand if it does work you could see good speeds and you can plug a landline phone into the back of the B593 and configure a SIP (VOIP) service on it giving you a "landline phone" which is what we have - voice is crystal clear and flawless, people can dial in - just like any normal phone. But one thing at a time.. :)
 
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You are not alone, O2 has become unusable around Malvern for internet use; I hope I dont ever have to rely on it because of a landline failure.
(3-7KBps down and 60-130+KBps up - go figure!!)
 
Thanks for all the advice, I may have to stick it out for a while as my three contract is not due to expire for at least 12 months...ironically enough three has gotten worse in the area yet providers like EE have gotten better.

I also noticed I had a Mobile BB sim with a MIFI device that was with Mobi Data and they piggyback of three and the signal with that was pretty good, yet three signal sucks
 
The Mi-Fi devices have two internal antennae and can make more of whatever signal is available - same logic as with the B593 modem. If I put an EE SIM card in my mobile phone it won't achieve the same sorts of speeds as the B593 with an EE data SIM even in the same location.

Since they're dedicated to the task you can leave them on whichever window sill works best, they don't have to make and take calls so you don't have to walk around the house with them.

One of the biggest issues with Three is that it's too cheap (relative to the other networks for data, not in itself), and in areas where there is only poor fixed line broadband you compete for bandwidth with others who have had the same idea. Their network began to go downhill when they launched their "All You Can Eat" unlimited data packages. Because there is not unlimited bandwidth.

Another issue with their 3G is the frequency range which doesn't penetrate buildings very well so the location of your modem is more important though with all of them you want the modem in the part of the house with the best reception near a window.
 
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