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Antenna for Three 5G Hub?

sizmax

Regular Member
Hi, I have the Three 5G Hub (ZYXEL NR5103E) with the 4 external antenna ports on the back direct from Three.

I'm about 1m / 1.84km from the mast. I can pick up 5G with it on the window sill with the window open (and get over 100mbit download) but its rubbish with window closed so just need an external antenna.

I was thinking of going for a Bluespot antenna from Amazon but didn't know whether to go for the 4G/5G version or 5G only. Someone on there said the firmware is locked down by Three?

I've also read in the UK you need 4G to get 5G or something, not sure what that means and if that means I need to get an antenna that does 4G and 5G anyway?

What do you guys use if you have the stock Three 5G hub?

Please help!

Thanks
 
Hi, I have the Three 5G Hub (ZYXEL NR5103E) with the 4 external antenna ports on the back direct from Three.

I'm about 1m / 1.84km from the mast. I can pick up 5G with it on the window sill with the window open (and get over 100mbit download) but its rubbish with window closed so just need an external antenna.

I was thinking of going for a Bluespot antenna from Amazon but didn't know whether to go for the 4G/5G version or 5G only. Someone on there said the firmware is locked down by Three?

I've also read in the UK you need 4G to get 5G or something, not sure what that means and if that means I need to get an antenna that does 4G and 5G anyway?

What do you guys use if you have the stock Three 5G hub?

Please help!

Thanks
For me it made very little difference with my Huawei Router.
I tried and tested locations for well over 2 weeks
The massive difference was putting the router as high in the loft as possible.
maybe try experimenting with that first?
It doubled my upload speeds and increased 5G and 4G signal strength
The better the signal the more stable the router has become. for me anyway
 
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Hi, I have the Three 5G Hub (ZYXEL NR5103E) with the 4 external antenna ports on the back direct from Three.

I'm about 1m / 1.84km from the mast. I can pick up 5G with it on the window sill with the window open (and get over 100mbit download) but its rubbish with window closed so just need an external antenna.

I was thinking of going for a Bluespot antenna from Amazon but didn't know whether to go for the 4G/5G version or 5G only. Someone on there said the firmware is locked down by Three?

I've also read in the UK you need 4G to get 5G or something, not sure what that means and if that means I need to get an antenna that does 4G and 5G anyway?

What do you guys use if you have the stock Three 5G hub?

Please help!

Thanks
You need to connect all four TS9 ports, see my reply on the other thread.
 
For me it made very little difference with my Huawei Router.
I tried and tested locations for well over 2 weeks
The massive difference was putting the router as high in the loft as possible.
maybe try experimenting with that first?
It doubled my upload speeds and increased 5G and 4G signal strength
The better the signal the more stable the router has become. for me anyway
Interesting thanks I'll try it. How did you fix it high in the loft? Did you cover it with anything? Everything in my loft gets very dusty and dirty
 
Interesting thanks I'll try it. How did you fix it high in the loft? Did you cover it with anything? Everything in my loft gets very dusty and dirty
I bent an old speaker bracket, screwed it to the be beam. I stapled a small piece of plastic just as a dust shield for it.
It's been fine, even in the freezing temperatures
 
unnamed.webp


So with external antenna I can get speeds like this and amazing ping but upload is always rubbish and I need more upload speed for online backups and video uploads, thats even worse than my broadband upload speed.

So is there anything I can do to improve it?

Thanks
 
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View attachment 5783

So with external antenna I can get speeds like this and amazing ping but upload is always rubbish and I need more upload speed for online backups and video uploads, thats even worse than my broadband upload speed.

So is there anything I can do to improve it?

Thanks
Switching from 5G NSA to 4G LTE-A can sometimes improve upload throughput.

Alternatively, manual band selection can help in a location dependent way. E.g. EE B7 is good for download throughout, whereas EE B3 helps with upload throughput.

Can also prefer a closer mast to a more distant mast to favour client transmission.
 
Switching from 5G NSA to 4G LTE-A can sometimes improve upload throughput.

Alternatively, manual band selection can help in a location dependent way. E.g. EE B7 is good for download throughout, whereas EE B3 helps with upload throughput.

Can also prefer a closer mast to a more distant mast to favour client transmission.
Thanks for the suggestions, will i be able to manually select band in the Three 5G hub? I've seen people mention its locked down by Three a bit
 
Thanks for the suggestions, will i be able to manually select band in the Three 5G hub? I've seen people mention its locked down by Three a bit
No idea, I'm afraid. I steer clear of devices provided by service providers due to their locked-down, closed nature, and lack of clarity regarding ownership.

I considered getting a retail Zyxel device but ended up going with Teltonika due to the flexibility of RutOS/OpenWRT. Sometimes, to get such freedom and functionality, one must pay for it as service providers are horrid; and it also takes a lot of research to ensure something that looks like it has certain functionality actually does (e.g. dual-SIM does not imply dual-LTE for load-balancing).
 
No idea, I'm afraid. I steer clear of devices provided by service providers due to their locked-down, closed nature, and lack of clarity regarding ownership.

I considered getting a retail Zyxel device but ended up going with Teltonika due to the flexibility of RutOS/OpenWRT. Sometimes, to get such freedom and functionality, one must pay for it as service providers are horrid; and it also takes a lot of research to ensure something that looks like it has certain functionality actually does (e.g. dual-SIM does not imply dual-LTE for load-balancing).

I agree, of course once I know I can get the speeds I need then I will invest in my own device and get a sim only plan but that upload speed is awful and useless.

This was in my garden so will it be better when I mount it on the roof much and therefore be much higher?
 
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The asymmetry is pretty extreme. I average about 80 Mbps down and 70 Mbps up at the moment. Feels like a router issue more than an antenna issue. I would try the loft first, without adding an antenna, to see if height buys you anything. Search for the Solwise elevation tool to check line of sight to each nearby mast.

OpenSignal app will indicate if your upload number is far below the average and have potential for improvement.
 
View attachment 5783

So with external antenna I can get speeds like this and amazing ping but upload is always rubbish and I need more upload speed for online backups and video uploads, thats even worse than my broadband upload speed.

So is there anything I can do to improve it?

Thanks

Which Antenna did you use?

You can band select on the 5103e Three router.
 
The asymmetry is pretty extreme. I average about 80 Mbps down and 70 Mbps up at the moment. Feels like a router issue more than an antenna issue. I would try the loft first, without adding an antenna, to see if height buys you anything. Search for the Solwise elevation tool to check line of sight to each nearby mast.

OpenSignal app will indicate if your upload number is far below the average and have potential for improvement.

Yep I tried in the loft and couldn't get 5G. Only works outside or on window sill with window open.
 

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Which Antenna did you use?

You can band select on the 5103e Three router.

I got this one... is it ok?
 
I wouldn't know, never used an external antenna, but one needs to know the gain figure for the particular 5G band and VSWR ideally needs to be near 1.5. That one is Omni-Directional rather than directional.
 
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Reading another thread, would a directional antenna actually be better for me even without LOS?

 
Last edited:
I got this one... is it ok?
Pants. Uses RG58 cable which is known to be rubbish at higher frequencies

Don't buy Bluespot. It's over priced for a made-up-brand antenna.

Your upload is pants likely because you've not got good LOS OR the router is picking up whichever reflection it finds is the best.

Remember, it can download from many antennas at the same time, but upload (usually) only from one.

If you know where the mast is, buy directional even without direct los, the extra forward gain from the antenna, even reflected from another surface will be significantly greater.

Should only ever buy Omni when you don't know where it is.
 
Pants. Uses RG58 cable which is known to be rubbish at higher frequencies

Don't buy Bluespot. It's over priced for a made-up-brand antenna.

Your upload is pants likely because you've not got good LOS OR the router is picking up whichever reflection it finds is the best.

Remember, it can download from many antennas at the same time, but upload (usually) only from one.

If you know where the mast is, buy directional even without direct los, the extra forward gain from the antenna, even reflected from another surface will be significantly greater.

Should only ever buy Omni when you don't know where it is.

Thank you, thats really helpful.

Please can you suggest some good directional?

I saw this one but its very expensive and also large looking at the dimensions!
 
Thank you, thats really helpful.

Please can you suggest some good directional?

I saw this one but its very expensive and also large looking at the dimensions!
Yeah that's ridiculous. Try placing the router to the edge of the window, behind the PVC frame. (Assuming you've got pvc windows)

Glass blocks RF quite well, PVC not so much.

What are your current signal stats?
 
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