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Bluespot Mini 5G Antenna and MU5001 Mobile Router

Jamatu

Casual Member
I recently purchased a Bluespot Mini 5G antenna and a MU5001 mobile router and thought I'd share my experiences.

I'm using Three as my ISP and have been using the mobile hotspot feature from my mobile to run my home network for a while. Using a hotspot from a phone comes with a number of drawbacks, and so I was in the market for a 5G router. The MCT801A was my main choice, but then a cracking deal came up on a Vodafone branded MU5001 mobile router that I just couldn't ignore, so I bought it. After it arrived and was setup I undertook a few speed tests to determine throughput. The speeds were similar to my mobile phone at 10-30mbps down and 1-3mbps up.

One of the reasons I wanted to get a 5G router was the ability to use an external antenna. I live at the edge of a city centre with several masts within range. I get a good signal outdoors but indoors the signal is quite weak. The MU5001 has two TS9 external antenna ports so ticked that box. I had been researching antennas and had my eye on the Bluespot Mini 5G antenna. My thought process behind choosing this being
  1. It's a 5G only antenna (the frequency response is advertised as 3.3-3.8Ghz). The biggest chunk of frequency allocation (and therefore throughput) is in band N78. This is especially true for Three who have the largest amount of spectrum in this band and lowest combined in other bands. Band N78 utilisation should also be lower as it's still relatively new in addition to reduced penetration into buildings due to the higher frequency.
  2. It's an outdoor antenna which should help improve RSRP. Signal attenuation inside buildings is shocking, more so for the higher frequency of band N78. With my balcony doors shut (which are double glazed glass doors) I usually get no signal for 5G. Sometimes it will linger around -120 RSRP for a bit and then fall back to 4G. With the balcony doors open open I get around -94 RSRP.
  3. It's a directional antenna (advertised as 65 degree horizontal beam) so I can point it in the general direction of the mast I want to connect to. This should both improve RSRP and increase SINR by attenuating unwanted signals
I purchased the Bluespot mini the same day the MU5001 arrived. It got delivered the next day and I set it up temporarily by placing it on my apartment balcony with supports pointed towards a gap in buildings in the direction of the mast. I checked the signal and the 5G RSRP had improved from -120 to -87, there was no improvement in the 4G signal. I spent a few minutes moving it around a few times until I was satisfied at -84 RSRP. With everything setup I did some more tests. Throughput increased severalfold to 170-190 down and 30-35 up; latency decreased from 35-40ms average to 20-25ms average; Bufferbloat was significantly reduced and the connection in general was more stable. I'm quite pleased with the improvement and I'll likely be able to squeeze some extra throughput when I permanently mount the antenna and spend a bit more time adjusting the direction.

Next project will be opening up the MU5001 to gain access to the internal antennas!
 

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  • Bluespot Mini 5G box contents.webp
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MU5001 Router and network analyser output (not produced by me) for the antenna
 

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  • ZTE MU5001 - External antenna connected.webp
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Signal info before and after attaching the Bluespot Mini
 

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  • MU5001 - No antenna.webp
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  • MU5001 - Bluetspot mini outdoors.webp
    MU5001 - Bluetspot mini outdoors.webp
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Speedtest results
 

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  • MU5001 - Bluetspot mini outdoors - Speedtest 1.webp
    MU5001 - Bluetspot mini outdoors - Speedtest 1.webp
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  • MU5001 - No  antenna  - Speedtest 1.webp
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Packet loss test
 

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  • MU5001 - Bluetspot mini outdoors - packet loss test 1B.webp
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I purchased the Bluespot 5G mini antenna last week and also managed to get the MU5001 5G dongle deal I should imagine you got (HUKD). I have an MC801a router and experienced similar improvements to you. It's a good antenna for sure.

When you say about opening up the Mu5001, do you mean to access the 4G internal antenna ports? As the 5G ports are exposed/accessible behind flaps (TS9 ports)
 
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@Jamatu are the TS9 antenna ports only meant for 5G frequency.? Has that been documented somewhere officially. Or is you using a 5G only antenna so the 4G signal parameters didn't change..
 
I've tried the Bluespot 4g/5g antenna on the TS9 ports and 4G signal strength doesn't change. MC801a and MU5001 are basically the same thing so it stands to reason the ports are 5G only.
 
I've tried the Bluespot 4g/5g antenna on the TS9 ports and 4G signal strength doesn't change. MC801a and MU5001 are basically the same thing so it stands to reason the ports are 5G only.
Is this Bluespot Mini: a compact, highly-sensitive 5G MIMO broadband internet antenna for the UK, SMA connections, indoor and outdoor, 3200Mhz - 3800Mhz for 5G networks, pole mount https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08WZ2L719/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_CYJJ18GYMNH3RY22GJZG the antenna you are referring to. It doesn't support 4G frequency
 
I purchased the Bluespot 5G mini antenna last week and also managed to get the MU5001 5G dongle deal I should imagine you got (HUKD). I have an MC801a router and experienced similar improvements to you. It's a good antenna for sure.

When you say about opening up the Mu5001, do you mean to access the 4G internal antenna ports? As the 5G ports are exposed/accessible behind flaps (TS9 ports)
@bon Looks like we both went down the same route!

The MU5001 is advertised as 4x4 MIMO for 4G and 5G. There are only two external antenna ports so these will increase the signal but only for 2x2 MIMO. The other MIMO antennas don't have external connectors.

The MU5001 FCCID page has a document with internal photos.

bjjQb8A.png

On this side of the PCB there are 2 internal WiFi antennas labelled as
  • wifi0
  • wifi1
cCy0kb6.png

On this side of the PCB there are 6 mobile network connection antennas
  • Main 1
  • Main 2
  • MIMO1
  • MIMO2
  • MIMO3
  • DIV
On initial review it seems the external antennas are connected to MAIN2 and MIMO1.

I'm trying to find documentation which identifies the frequency responses for each

@Jamatu are the TS9 antenna ports only meant for 5G frequency.? Has that been documented somewhere officially. Or is you using a 5G only antenna so the 4G signal parameters didn't change..
I've tried the Bluespot 4g/5g antenna on the TS9 ports and 4G signal strength doesn't change. MC801a and MU5001 are basically the same thing so it stands to reason the ports are 5G only.
@rak093 @bon I searched for this everywhere and wasn't able to find much. It's a relatively new product so info and discussions are scarce. The only indication I could find was in the Vodafone manual which refers to the TS9 connector frequency range from 600Mhz to 6Ghz.

External antenna connector: Connect the antenna if necessary. E.g. Antenna with TS9 connector, frequency range 600Mhz~6000Mhz.

Read more: https://manuals.plus/vodafone/mu5001-5g-mobile-hotspot-manual

bon's findings indicate that they're 5G only though as there was no increase in 4G signal when connecting the standard (none mini) Bluespot which has a frequency response primarily in the LTE bands
 
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@Jamatu that's really interesting to know. I bought some U.FL to SMA connectors on eBay and was looking to mod my MC801a and hadn't considered 4x4 MIMO, not sure why I hadn't thought of that
 
@bon Looks like we both went down the same route!

The MU5001 is advertised as 4x4 MIMO for 4G and 5G. There are only two external antenna ports so these will increase the signal but only for 2x2 MIMO. The other MIMO antennas don't have external connectors.

The MU5001 FCCID page has a document with internal photos.

bjjQb8A.png

On this side of the PCB there are 2 internal WiFi antennas labelled as
  • wifi0
  • wifi1
cCy0kb6.png

On this side of the PCB there are 6 mobile network connection antennas
  • Main 1
  • Main 2
  • MIMO1
  • MIMO2
  • MIMO3
  • DIV
On initial review it seems the external antennas are connected to MAIN2 and MIMO1.

I'm trying to find documentation which identifies the frequency responses for each



@rak093 @bon I searched for this everywhere and wasn't able to find much. It's a relatively new product so info and discussions are scarce. The only indication I could find was in the Vodafone manual which refers to the TS9 connector frequency range from 600Mhz to 6Ghz.



bon's findings indicate that they're 5G only though as there was no increase in 4G signal when connecting the standard (none mini) Bluespot which has a frequency response primarily in the LTE bands
Thanks for the hard work for opening the modem. it looks like its for sub-6ghz 5G and 4G only. And there is no correpsonding mmWave antenna module for x55 inside to support the mmWave frequencies.

In my case I have an Optus modem. (https://www.optus.com.au/mobile/tablets/zte/zte-mu5001-5g)

But strange thing is that I couldn't access the debug page which is accessible on Vodafone Greece and UK MU5001 modem.

Any help in making the debug_page accessible on Optus ZTE 5G MU5001 wiuld be appreciated.

~Rgds
 
Thanks for the hard work for opening the modem. it looks like its for sub-6ghz 5G and 4G only. And there is no correpsonding mmWave antenna module for x55 inside to support the mmWave frequencies.

In my case I have an Optus modem. (https://www.optus.com.au/mobile/tablets/zte/zte-mu5001-5g)

But strange thing is that I couldn't access the debug page which is accessible on Vodafone Greece and UK MU5001 modem.

Any help in making the debug_page accessible on Optus ZTE 5G MU5001 wiuld be appreciated.

~Rgds
@rak093 I didn't take the internal photos, they were taken from the FCC page for the device. I haven't opened mine up yet

There is a javascript 'hack' that exposes some of the hidden functions if you're not aware (ZTE-MU5001-BROWSER-HACK)

Our Greek friends over at adslgr are also putting together an electron app which may expose some additional functions including bridge mode which is disabled on the Vodafone UK branded device
 
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I got this modem on the vodafone deal a month ago. Pretty neat little MiFi.
I'm using it with a Taoglas wideband omni (700-6000MHz) and it certainly improves the signal / speed a lot.

How have you all found the battery on it ? I've heard it turns off if you keep it plugged in. I've never used it for more than a couple of hours.
 
This device can be left on charge permanently but the battery charge will be limited to 65% capacity (please refer to Protected Charging Mode detailed on page 3 of this guide). This is to protect the battery from over-charging and is not a fault. If the unit is left on charge for more than 16 hours then
it will switch to Protected Charging Mode, limiting the battery to 65% capacity.

The same protected charging mode occurs on the MU5001. After being plugged in for a similar amount of time it will limit charging to 65%. This isn't reflected on the device as it will show 100% until you restart it (after which point it will correctly show 65%). I'm assuming this is a bug which may get fixed in a later update

 
The same protected charging mode occurs on the MU5001. After being plugged in for a similar amount of time it will limit charging to 65%. This isn't reflected on the device as it will show 100% until you restart it (after which point it will correctly show 65%). I'm assuming this is a bug which may get fixed in a later update

Ok thats not half as bad as what people told me then. Thanks.
 
@Jamatu that's really interesting to know. I bought some U.FL to SMA connectors on eBay and was looking to mod my MC801a and hadn't considered 4x4 MIMO, not sure why I hadn't thought of that
to add 4g external antennas to the mc801a there are 2 ways ..1- locate the a1 and a3 ports and use a connector ( but i believe different than what you purchased link to what i think is the correct one https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32600966129.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000060.1.69211b ) ..
the other way is to remove the 2 black antennas and find where they contact attach to 3 pins: you solder/stick to the middle pin as main and one of left or right to the coax mesh...
a1   a3.webp

pins a1 a3.webp

so you can still cut the cables you bought and solder them instead as a result you could have two 4g antennas plus 2 original 5g ones
 
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