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Best router with cell lock to separate 3 close masts

Divinell

Casual Member
Hello, after months of trying and having help from other members on the site I managed to establish a decent 4g connection of 60-100mbs on the mast the problem I'm having is there is 2 masts next to it and they are awful 0-10mbs and I am unable to stream or do anything when it keeps changing to these masts. the router must change about 20-30times a day to all 3 of these constantly switching.

my equipment is a directional antenna

cpe pro 2 modded
zyxel 5103e

after waisting a lot of money I realised I could only band lock with these and not cell lock which is what I require.

I have been doing research and am I correct in thinking all non-branded zyxel routers have the cellular lock such as 5101 and even the lte before it, other routers im looking at are zte mc801a and mikrotik lte 12

any help would be great as I cannot use the internet at all I need to permanently lock to a cell which is the one what delivers 60-100mbs

TOWER 22624 is the good tower with speeds of 60-100mb

TOWER 18766 is awful

TOWER 18765 is awful

any advice on router and how to lock onto the tower would be great

IMG_1254.webp
 
Hello, after months of trying and having help from other members on the site I managed to establish a decent 4g connection of 60-100mbs on the mast the problem I'm having is there is 2 masts next to it and they are awful 0-10mbs and I am unable to stream or do anything when it keeps changing to these masts. the router must change about 20-30times a day to all 3 of these constantly switching.

my equipment is a directional antenna

cpe pro 2 modded
zyxel 5103e

after waisting a lot of money I realised I could only band lock with these and not cell lock which is what I require.

I have been doing research and am I correct in thinking all non-branded zyxel routers have the cellular lock such as 5101 and even the lte before it, other routers im looking at are zte mc801a and mikrotik lte 12

any help would be great as I cannot use the internet at all I need to permanently lock to a cell which is the one what delivers 60-100mbs

TOWER 22624 is the good tower with speeds of 60-100mb

TOWER 18766 is awful

TOWER 18765 is awful

any advice on router and how to lock onto the tower would be great

View attachment 7436
I recently bought a ZTE MC888 for just this reason. There’s a hack that includes cell locking, and mine has been locked onto the same tower for 2 days now, so I think it may have solved my problem.
 
VN007+ with super admin can cell lock.

I've got a Mikrotik RBM11G with an NL952 modem and RBM33G with an RM500Q modem that can cell lock via AT commands.

Those are the only devices that I have used that allow cell locking.
 
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@Evanz @dazmatic - I have just looked into these routers mc888 and vn007+ are these straight forward to lock in the router login page also I see they have no external ports on the back so would cost an extra £100 to get it modded. Is there any more which can do this with built in ports already?


@EssexBoy im about 5km from the mast 22624 I forgot to add this naturally im not in a 5g area however even though im just connected to 4g on my modded cpe pro 2 every time I connect to mast 22624 the 5g does show up signal. So maybe I would be able to connect to 5g once I can cell lock onto this mast with an extra antenna?

here is my attached info for the good mast when connected do you think these stats are good and stable enough to rely on it once I invest in a cell locking router?

IMG_1281 4.webp

thanks for all the help guys
 
I am fortunate to have two 5G sources operating with Three Mobile within range, but like you the router can switch between the two. I have two ZTE MC801A routers, a box that crashed and was recovered with custom firmware, and an unmodified Sotel version.
I cell-lock to band 3 of the higher performing mast and get typically 450mb/s down 60mb/s up.
Points to note:
The Three version of this box has had updates with cell-locking disabled. If you absolutely need cell-locking then this version should be avoided.
My Sotel version self updated a couple of months back to version B16 and the secret menus including cell locking are still active.
PCI numbers representing individual cell IDs can very occasionally be changed by the mobile owner without warning. If this happens while you have a cell lock in place you'll either find the box switching to 3G or losing internet altogether. To date this has only happened to me one cell at a time so I note down all cell PCIs for the mast so I can switch the lock to a different band if necessary. I also have the cellmapper app for my phone to keep an eye out for band changes. Band PCIs have changed a couple of times in the last year.
The miononno java script was written for, and works well with the Sotel router.
 
@EssexBoy im about 5km from the mast 22624 I forgot to add this naturally im not in a 5g area however even though im just connected to 4g on my modded cpe pro 2 every time I connect to mast 22624 the 5g does show up signal. So maybe I would be able to connect to 5g once I can cell lock onto this mast with an extra antenna?

here is my attached info for the good mast when connected do you think these stats are good and stable enough to rely on it once I invest in a cell locking router?
Your Stats are reasonable looking at the RSRP of -94dbm but the SNIR is not very good at -11db, you are connected to eNBID 22624 (the Site that is also 5G,) your connected to Cell Sector 5791749, although this Sector is not showing up on Cellmapper so I an unable to confirm which band you are connected to, could be the Site has recently been upgraded.

The 5G Signal from this Mast is unlikely to be n78 (3500Mhz) but more likely n28 (700) or n1 (2100), so you may need to address this if your using External Antennas.

If you log into your Huawei Router Admin WebUI, once looged in, open another Page Tab and go to, or hit this link - http://192.168.8.1/api/device/signal
this will bring up another String of Info, Copy the Text and Post up (Note the Signal Info will time out after a while and you will need to log back in again).

When you say you are using a Moded CPE, I take you mean one that has had All or Some of the Internal Antennas removed ?, if so what's that status on the Internal / External Ports and Bands now? also the Status Info you posted is this with Internal or External Antennas?

Although Huawei have there on take on how the Internal Antennas work together for Signal Direction and 2x2 0r 4x4 MiMo, the main advantage of using External Antenna Mods is to facilitate the Routers use for External Antennas within Edge Coverage and or increase to ability for 4x4 MiMo DL Speed increase.

Without knowing your Locations Signal Quality as a whole, if you can obtain a reasonable Signal Quality and Speed, another alternative over an Router with External Antennas could be to look at an Outdoor 4/5G Router which provides you with Band and Cell Locking.

An Outdoor Device that springs to mind is the ZTE MC7010, Ive actually got one of these being despatched next week for another Location. This Device is Network Unlocked and Unbranded ZTE Device, if you wish I could give it a quick test for Cell Locking etc prior to Installation which is not planned till Mid August.
 
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@eccles thanks for this info I will look into this router only thing is I do not have a windows pc at this time can the script be done on MacBook.

@EssexBoy thanks for the reply, the cpe pro is fully modded all internal antennas have been transferred to external.

the directional antenna I have is near 4m high im currently staying in a holiday home for 8 months so the internal signal was awful I could not pick anything up. so using external antenna is only the option.

I have connected to the good mast now randomly and its the only time the internet works im able to use the MacBook,stream tv, play xbox with the ping mostly low.
The weather is very bad now its raining and windy so im confident I can use this mast all the time once I cell lock.

So its vital I cell lock to this mast only. Here is the info you requested

247 5791749 -5.0dB -99dBm -73dBm -10dB 7 20MHz 20MHz PPusch:2dBm PPucch:0dBm PSrs:2dBm PPrach:2dBm mcsUpCarrier1:17 mcsDownCarrier1Code0:16 mcsDownCarrier1Code1:13 DL:1815 UL:19815 1 11493 3 23430 0 17715 18665 TM[4] 0022624 32639 32639 1771500kHz 1866500kHz


regarding the zte router for outside yes please check however I think it will be too low for me to use here.


thanks
 
@eccles thanks for this info I will look into this router only thing is I do not have a windows pc at this time can the script be done on MacBook.
The short answer is "I don't know". The script uses java and I use it in a Chrome browser. I presume it is more dependent on the browser than the operating system but I don't know if Apple supports Java. The hidden debug menu also allows cell locking and is not dependent on the Java script, but the script is useful for monitoring what the router is connecting to. I think ios Safari *might* work with javascript.
 
PCI numbers representing individual cell IDs can very occasionally be changed by the mobile owner without warning.
PCI numbers don't represent individual cell IDs, they are/will be duplicated on the network somewhere else.in the country. When looking at a single site they will be all different for each sector of each band. The processes for the PCIs changing is an automated one as the network readjusts itself. This happens independently for each band to minimise interference at each frequency. As it's automated it can happen at anytime. A couple of weeks back my site's B3 PCIs all changed and then less than 48hours later the PCI on just my B3 sector changed again.
 
PCI numbers don't represent individual cell IDs, they are/will be duplicated on the network somewhere else.in the country. When looking at a single site they will be all different for each sector of each band. The processes for the PCIs changing is an automated one as the network readjusts itself. This happens independently for each band to minimise interference at each frequency. As it's automated it can happen at anytime. A couple of weeks back my site's B3 PCIs all changed and then less than 48hours later the PCI on just my B3 sector changed again.
Thanks for that Gavin. PCIs are the means by which cell locks are made however, so changes to them affect these locks. Perhaps it would be better if the mast eNB ID was used in combination with a band number to lock a cell if that was possible.
 
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Hi every one so I've been experimenting with my router and the zyxel picks up 5g band n28 which gives around 100mbps peak speed. I'm still having the issue of the masts constantly switching annoyingly so its not stable however when I restart the device it goes back to the strong mast 5791749.

Now interestingly I went close to the mast was around the area and on my phone I was getting 300mbps+ so I know this mast is fully capable of delivering good speed and a good ping assuming it was the same one. However my zyxel nr5103 only picks up the n28 slow speeds and worse ping why is this? I currently have iskra-p60 plugged into my zyxel nr5103 can I add also a Poynting xpol2 v3 ?

can they work together to provide a stronger connection and receive the speeds my phone gets when in the town?

im still looking for another router for the cell locking but would first like to see what I can achieve in terms of speed before wasting more money.

here is the good mast in first photo im using ee scan com

I appreciate the help the other weaker masts has worse signal which is why I don't understand why this one is not preferred 24:7

I can upload more photos if it helps.

thanks

IMG_2332 2.webp
 
Stats are a little poor not to mention your only getting 30Mhz of bandwidth - there's likely more available hence why is faster on your phone.

Which antenna are you using?
 
hi, I’m using the pair of iskra p-60 plugged into 2 of the ports. There is still another 2 available so wondered if I got the ponyting v3 xpol 2 this would help stabilise it and improve speed but didn’t know if they could be used together?

Regarding the phone that was when I was closer to the mast but it confirms that it’s not just the slow n28 at the mast as I was getting 300+ speeds.

Thanks
 
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VN007+ with super admin can cell lock.

I've got a Mikrotik RBM11G with an NL952 modem and RBM33G with an RM500Q modem that can cell lock via AT commands.

Those are the only devices that I have used that allow cell locking.
I came across your post by doing a search, I'm looking to build the exact same thing, Mikrotik RBM11G using a donor sercomm LTE2122 router for the Fibocom NL952 modem, Alot of Mikrotiks information is missing from their site when trying to open datasheet pages and the OS Level are confusing,

Is RouterOS 7 supported? (I guess it is because you mention the NL952)
Did you have to buy a licence for version 7?
And are these the right type of SMA connectors I need for the modem to get my 4x4 sma connection?

If you have any links to building your own router with Mikrotik and a teardown of the sercomm lte2122 router that'd be awesome :)
 
Hello, after months of trying and having help from other members on the site I managed to establish a decent 4g connection of 60-100mbs on the mast the problem I'm having is there is 2 masts next to it and they are awful 0-10mbs and I am unable to stream or do anything when it keeps changing to these masts. the router must change about 20-30times a day to all 3 of these constantly switching.

my equipment is a directional antenna

cpe pro 2 modded
zyxel 5103e

after waisting a lot of money I realised I could only band lock with these and not cell lock which is what I require.

I have been doing research and am I correct in thinking all non-branded zyxel routers have the cellular lock such as 5101 and even the lte before it, other routers im looking at are zte mc801a and mikrotik lte 12

any help would be great as I cannot use the internet at all I need to permanently lock to a cell which is the one what delivers 60-100mbs

TOWER 22624 is the good tower with speeds of 60-100mb

TOWER 18766 is awful

TOWER 18765 is awful

any advice on router and how to lock onto the tower would be great

View attachment 7436

I have a ZTE (3 network) Mc801a from cex for £110. Can try that and if no luck simply return it. I think they are unlocked.

Love these devices, Three did block debug mode but you can use the java script hack to easily to achieve the same thing.

Just add the bands you want to use and lock the cell. I would always adjust to some poor performing combinations throughout the day beforehand but cell locked now to the best band combinations and so far so good.

Was getting a poor 10mbps and now a constant 250mbps which is the best I've seen in my area on a mobile network. £15 Unlimited 5G data from smarty I use, no contracts.

I'll always only get a 5g router that has cell lock now and band selection now, such powerful tools.

Just a note, the carrier branded disable the external antennas I think, possibly because they are so fragile and did not want to deal with all the returns, but the internal seems good for me.
 

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I have a ZTE (3 network) Mc801a from cex for £110. Can try that and if no luck simply return it. I think they are unlocked.

Love these devices, Three did block debug mode but you can use the java script hack to easily to achieve the same thing.

Just add the bands you want to use and lock the cell. I would always adjust to some poor performing combinations throughout the day beforehand but cell locked now to the best band combinations and so far so good.

Was getting a poor 10mbps and now a constant 250mbps which is the best I've seen in my area on a mobile network. £15 Unlimited 5G data from smarty I use, no contracts.

I'll always only get a 5g router that has cell lock now and band selection now, such powerful tools.

Just a note, the carrier branded disable the external antennas I think, possibly because they are so fragile and did not want to deal with all the returns, but the internal seems good for me.
Welcome along to the forums mcmoore, I think that was the biggest flaw of this router was how easy it was to break off the antenna sockets from the circuit board for anyone who used them.

I had this router before I got my soap dispensers (Zyxel NR5103E) and it was a great router.

That's a great speed you're getting too, lucky you, my top speed is 30 megs from EE, but I can get by on that.(Just) 😊
 
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