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Advice on 4g/5g broadband

karambajani

Casual Member
Hi all,

I found this forum whilst doing my research on internet options and you lot seem like you really know what you're talking about so I was hoping you could help me. Long story short - I am moving into a flat in London in 2 weeks and have stupidly not checked the internet options before. I have now found out that I cannot get fibre and, having called a few providers, the best speeds I can get were 7.2 - 14.1 mbps download and 1-3 mbps upload. I'm worried this isn't enough to work from home for 2 people and to stream / play light video games.

As a result I'm thinking of 4g/5g broadband. I went back to the property the other day and tested the speeds on my phone. Vodafone had excellent 4g and spotty 5g, which would work in some places in the flat but revert to 4g in others. O2 does not have great coverage. I checked BIDB as per the recommendations here and EE should have good 4g and 5g there as well but I haven't been able to test that in person. As it's a flat I'm unable to hang an antenna outside to improve signal / get starlink.

I'm now thinking of either getting Vodafone's gigacube. The representatitve advised 5g is up to 430 mbps down / 20 mbps up and 4g is up to 36mbps down, 18 mbps up, which seems enough. I would also be open to buying my own 4g/5g router and getting an unlimited sim card from another provider myself if that is substantially better.

Does anyone have any advice on this? Has anyone tried Vodafone's gigacube and is it any good? Is there an option that I missed I should consider? As my partner and I both work from home I don't mind to spend some money to get good internet. The flat is in SE23 somewhere and is on a hill if that makes any difference. Our requirements are general WFH, including video calls on Teams and accessing/editing files from a shared drive, as well as light gaming on MMORPGs and video streaming (no FPS or heavy games).

To add, the rest of my street all has fibre, called / emailed the companies and they currently have no plans to sort it for our building - not sure why.. We are also unable to get Virgin or Sky options.

Grateful for feedback/thoughts/advice if anyone can spare some on this Sunday!
 
The standard advice would be to get a ZyXEL NR5103E (V1) from CeX with it's free 2 Year warranty, and then your own SIM separately.

If Vodafone has a good signal and speed, their sister brand TalkMobile via Uswitch is the way to go. £16 a month for a 30 day rolling contract with unlimited data.

For Three, their value brand Smarty has unlimited data at £15 a month on a rolling contract.

EE Is typically regarded as the best network but they are also one of the most expensive. Even going through cheaper brands you'll still be paying more. CMLink have 30 day rolling contracts with Unlimited* data for £24 a month. Something like 600-650Gb fair use policy before they reserve the right to impose restrictions like slowing you down or cutting you off.

O2 as well as being quite a slow and congested network don't really like people putting phone SIMs in a router. They don't really have a cheap way of getting an unlimited SIM so I probably wouldn't recommend even trying them for this use case in all honesty.
 
The standard advice would be to get a ZyXEL NR5103E (V1) from CeX with it's free 2 Year warranty, and then your own SIM separately.

If Vodafone has a good signal and speed, their sister brand TalkMobile via Uswitch is the way to go. £16 a month for a 30 day rolling contract with unlimited data.

For Three, their value brand Smarty has unlimited data at £15 a month on a rolling contract.

EE Is typically regarded as the best network but they are also one of the most expensive. Even going through cheaper brands you'll still be paying more. CMLink have 30 day rolling contracts with Unlimited* data for £24 a month. Something like 600-650Gb fair use policy before they reserve the right to impose restrictions like slowing you down or cutting you off.

O2 as well as being quite a slow and congested network don't really like people putting phone SIMs in a router. They don't really have a cheap way of getting an unlimited SIM so I probably wouldn't recommend even trying them for this use case in all honesty.
Hi Koda,

Thank you for that detailed reply - it is much appreciated. Please excuse my low level of knowledge of the subject. I have some questions based on your recommendations.

Is there a difference between taking out a regular SIM meant for a phone and plugging it into a router like you're describing above vs buying 'home broadband' from a carrier like Vodafone through their gigacube or something similar that Three offers? Any downsides?

Is the router you mention above better than the routers the carriers offer through things like gigacube / Three home broadband?

Is the speed you'd get on your phone with a sim card inside comparable to the speed you're likely to get once you have said sim card into the router you mention above? Would it be similar in terms of stability

Sorry - absolute beginner here who always had the privilige to live in a place with fibre so trying to wrap my head around the situation and what will be required :)
 
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You save money by doing your own thing than a combined deal. A lot cheaper and you own the hardware.

Check 3 coverage. They have some of the Best MBB around. Im a user.
 
You save money by doing your own thing than a combined deal. A lot cheaper and you own the hardware.

Check 3 coverage. They have some of the Best MBB around. Im a user.
Ah thank you - that makes sense. If it's the same thing but you save money doing it yourself rather than buying the combined deal that sounds like a good shout.

Bidb lists Three as limited 5g coverage, but good 4g coverage so might not be as good as the other networks. Will order a sim on their network and check when I move in - thank you.
 
Youd be surprised, coverage maps can lie to you
 
Hi Koda,

Thank you for that detailed reply - it is much appreciated. Please excuse my low level of knowledge of the subject. I have some questions based on your recommendations.

Is there a difference between taking out a regular SIM meant for a phone and plugging it into a router like you're describing above vs buying 'home broadband' from a carrier like Vodafone through their gigacube or something similar that Three offers? Any downsides?

Is the router you mention above better than the routers the carriers offer through things like gigacube / Three home broadband?

Is the speed you'd get on your phone with a sim card inside comparable to the speed you're likely to get once you have said sim card into the router you mention above? Would it be similar in terms of stability

Sorry - absolute beginner here who always had the privilige to live in a place with fibre so trying to wrap my head around the situation and what will be required :)
As has already been said by others who have replied before I had the chance, it's all about cost savings. It's cheaper in the long run to have your own router and separate SIM. Since they are rolling contracts too - Should anything go wrong with that network's signal or speed in your area you are then free to cancel and order a SIM from another network and jump ship rather than being tied to one specific brand for the next 2 years.

The ZyXEL Router I mentioned is a favourite model for many of us on here. It's well made, has a lot of features to help you get the most out of your connection, and has nice strong antennas built in compared to some other models out there to hopefully make the most of the signal available.

The only time that you'll see a difference is if you were specifically comparing Three broadband with a Smarty SIM. In this case Three don't have CGNAT (Sharing one IP Address with multiple users) whereas Smarty do use this. But you're saving a considerable amount of money and for the most part not likely to notice any problems arising from this. Speed and stability should be comparable.

I'd personally try and get the cheapest SIMs you can find from Vodafone, EE and Three to compare them all before you commit to one so you can see what signal and speeds are available. Lebara run on Vodafone and generally have a promotional offer with plenty of data to test with for £1 or less. TalkHome run on EE and have a 99p promotional offer for 5GB. And Smarty have a 5GB for £5 offer. See which gives you the best speed (Try testing speeds in both the front and back of the home) This is going to cost a little more to experiment with but will help ensure you're picking the best option for you specifically before you order an unlimited SIM from whoever you choose.
 
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@karambajani pretty much what was said above, just wanted to stress that coverage maps can't be trusted and don't sign up to years of contract.

Test, test and test. Counterintuitively when you do it, the best places aren't necessarily by the window, so go around your house with your smartphone and do speed tests, especially at peak times.
 
Thank you both @Koda and @Lucian - this is all really helpful.

I'm going to follow the advice, buy the above mentioned router and try with cheap SIMs from EE/Three/Vodafone networks to see which works best once I move in in 2 weeks. If the router + sim cards work well, this works out to saving hundreds of pounds vs the Vodafone Gigacube so it seems like a no brainer really.

Really appreciate everyone's time and feedback - truly a great forum with lots of knowledge to go around. I'll update when I move in with the speeds!
 
Sorry - can I just confirm this is the router that was mentioned? There's so many of them on the website want to avoid getting the wrong one!

Zyxel NR5103E 5G Dual Band Indoor WIFI Router, Unlocked - £140 on CEX​


 
Sorry - can I just confirm this is the router that was mentioned? There's so many of them on the website want to avoid getting the wrong one!
Yes. But it's worth noting that you can save even more money by buying the non-unlocked one. All of the NR5103's are unlocked, even if they carry EE or Three branding.

 
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Yes. But it's worth noting that you can save even more money by buying the non-unlocked one. All of the NR5103's are unlocked, even if they carry EE or Three branding.

For the avoidance of doubt - what is the difference between unlocked / non unlocked? Will I be able to use sims from all carriers in the non unlocked ones too?
 
For the avoidance of doubt - what is the difference between unlocked / non unlocked? Will I be able to use sims from all carriers in the non unlocked ones too?
If CeX say it's locked to 3 then normally it means the device would only accept Three network SIMs (And brands who piggyback on their network like Superdrug, Smarty. ID Mobile etc.)

In the case of the NR5103/NR5103E specifically though, EE and Three slapped their logos on the front of them but they aren't actually SIM Locked. So people took them to CeX and they assumed by the branding that it must be locked to their network. Even though in reality they will accept any network's SIM Card.

While I am confident that none of them come with a lock, just for peace of mind in case you are worried about it, if you buy from CeX Online you can return items for a full refund back to the original payment method for any reason within the first 14 days. So you wouldn't be stuck and have the chance to save another £30 by doing so.
 
If CeX say it's locked to 3 then normally it means the device would only accept Three network SIMs (And brands who piggyback on their network like Superdrug, Smarty. ID Mobile etc.)

In the case of the NR5103/NR5103E specifically though, EE and Three slapped their logos on the front of them but they aren't actually SIM Locked. So people took them to CeX and they assumed by the branding that it must be locked to their network. Even though in reality they will accept any network's SIM Card.

While I am confident that none of them come with a lock, just for peace of mind in case you are worried about it, if you buy from CeX Online you can return items for a full refund back to the original payment method for any reason within the first 14 days. So you wouldn't be stuck and have the chance to save another £30 by doing so.
Thank you very much - this has been so useful. I will try the locked one first to potentially save £30 :)
 
When you get to London and your new place do experiment with the location of the router. For each network there will be a different sweet spot of coverage, and in some cases due to the way multipath and reflections of the mobile signal occur a difference of 6" can sometimes make a difference. Putting the router in various windows is a good place to start, if you have windows on different sides of the building then you will have more options for coverage from different cell sites.
 
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Does anyone know what v the EE 5G router is, is it v1? How can I check. Thanks.
Do you mean the ZyXEL NR5103? It's the non-E version. There was only one version. It's the same hardware as the NR5103E V1, but the software is locked down by EE and much more basic. No band locking features for example.

The EE 5G Router that's currently being issued isn't a ZyXEL at all though. That's the Askey HH20C Now.
 
The E version is better?
I wouldn't necessarily say it's better. Like I said the hardware is literally identical. But the software on the Three branded E version has more settings to tweak like setting your own DNS, using IP Passthrough, or band locking for example.

If you don't care about any of that then the EE branded non-E version will work exactly the same in terms of performance with standard configuration. So if you can get one of these for cheaper and don't care about these extra features and just want to use it as a router and not mess about with the settings then go for it.

Zyxel over the Huawei or any other router?
I'd personally not entertain any of the Huawei ones. Their 4G Routers were decent but the 5G Ones in my experience haven't performed so well, and some models lack support for all of the bands that are used in the UK. ZyXEL and ZTE are the two brands that I commonly recommend for indoor 5G Routers, and Askey for outdoor ones.
 
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