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Huawei B818-263 just received, got a couple questions..

After some great advice the other week, I decided on the B818-263 after using a TP Link MR-200, I got it from Amazon, was labeled "Used(Like New)" and priced at £184.99 with Smarty Sim thrown in, I'm sure many of you know of this listing. It was despatched straight away, but took a few days to arrive due to a delay with Royal Mail, but turned up this morning.

Anyways, I set it up on Voxi, and first impressions were relatively positive, but I have some questions based on what I have read in the past, apologies if I get any assumptions wrong!

1) Device seems fussy with positioning - using it on Voxi and placing upright I may get 4Mbps, yet on its side aimed at the cell tower I get up to 72, definitely faster than 45 I'd get on the MR200 with repeated positioning of the antennas.. I have a few cell towers around me but thought the device would seek the fastest one, or give some control to do so..

2) I can't see any settings anywhere for Band selection. Is it only done via software such as LTE H Monitor? I could swear I have seen videos of it being done on the router as well. There's nothing to see on this one..

3) Router itself claims firmware is up to date (10.0.2.2) but on the system info page it also says the configuration file is a custom one.. is this a normal way of wording or has the seller changed something before selling the device?

So, the device overall matches expectations. I guess regional variations may mean some advice will be different but it just feels like something is missing on the settings, like I have a trimmed down firmware when it comes to the Band locking side of things.
 
1. Yes. absolutely! The positioning of the router for 4G access is all important and can change within inches. Go on testing and find the best spot.
2. Buy LTE H monitor it’s well worth the cost. Once you have it you can easily alter which band it is using and can alter which mast it is connecting to by altering the bands it should be using. It works well.
3. My software is the same
B818-263
Current version: 10.0.2.2(H190SP1C983)
No new versions available
Local Update

I don't think you will gain much by searching for a newer version.
 
1. The device will seek for the best radio signal. That may not be the cell, band or mast that gives the most throughput. It sounds that by placing it horizontally it's connecting to a different mast/cell/band versus when upright.

2. The LTE H-monitor software and some android apps are the only way to control the bands. There is no built in UI for it, it can only be done through the API that those softwares make use of. Be aware there is no way to select a mast (unless a band is on one mast and not another)
 
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You need LTE H-monitor to get the bands set up. It automatically will enable all bands and that can screw the speed up. You only want the bands enabled that your mast is pushing out. I would thoroughly recommend an external aerial and point it at the mast you want to connect too. That way you can be sure you get the maximum out of it.
 
You need LTE H-monitor to get the bands set up. It automatically will enable all bands and that can screw the speed up. You only want the bands enabled that your mast is pushing out. I would thoroughly recommend an external aerial and point it at the mast you want to connect too. That way you can be sure you get the maximum out of it.
Out of curiosity, in what way are you seeing your speeds screwed up? I'm getting the same speeds from my B818 as I did from my B618 (EE, B3 only from the mast). I don't use LTE H-monitor.
 
the configuration file is a custom one
All of the firmware's are custom ones as these devices do not get sold direct to the consumer in our markets. Whoever originally purchased these devices would have determined which features are or are not available.
 
Very helpful, thanks everyone for clearing those issues up, I was especially unsure of the "custom" wording in the firmware and just over-reacted when I saw it I think. I am currently in a rental property (apartment building) so its tricky to use an external antenna, but should be moving in the next couple of months to a bungalow, and then will be exploring options for the antenna. LTE H Monitor is something I will keep an eye on too.. atm it doesn't seem as necessary here with the current router placement, but I know that soon change.

As a side question out of curiosity, I have a NordVPN sub, but know I can't use that on the router. Do any of you use a VPN service on your B818, and if so which one?
 
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Out of curiosity, in what way are you seeing your speeds screwed up? I'm getting the same speeds from my B818 as I did from my B618 (EE, B3 only from the mast). I don't use LTE H-monitor.
I have found that I have to adjust the band settings in the router to get it to work at all. With all the extra bands set as useable it seems to get confused and slows right down. If I specifically set just those bands that the mast is pushing out it works fine.
 
As a side question out of curiosity, I have a NordVPN sub, but know I can't use that on the router. Do any of you use a VPN service on your B818, and if so which one?
Might be worth checking with your network provider to see if they've got some blocking going on? Couldn't get GhostVPN or Nord to work on Vodafone but ProtonVPN runs fine as do VPNs back to work networks.
 
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