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Improving 4G home Internet - where to start?

I'm wondering if it's to do with security issues between the laptop and the router, we were having a teams meeting with each other on the same wifi and it was only the NHs laptop getting kicked off. Need to repeat it and Google the error codes....

I googled Starlink, will probably roll out faster than 5G if Elon has anything to do with it!
 
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Is the nhs laptop using some sort of vpn? I'd expect it does, prolly this is the culprit or somehow related.

Re starlink, it'll probably arrive quicker than 5g in rural areas and small towns.
 
I have two apologies:
1. For the delay in testing the EE Sim card
2. For the results written on this scratty piece of paper and attached to this post!

As you can see, my TP link router seemed to go a bit wobbly for the last 5 tests with very bad upload and download speeds. Will repeat it again later this week! EE Ping times much better than 3.

Still need to resolve the issue between H818 and teams though. Yes I believe the NHS laptop is via. a VPN. I've googled it but not much luch so far. How is Huaweis customer service for these sorts of issues? Thanks.
 

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How is Huaweis customer service for these sorts of issues? Thanks.
Huawei don't sell the devices to end users - the agreement is that whichever network provides the device is the one to provide the support. Makes sense because a lot of operators make changes to or entirely replace the user interface and settings. I don't believe Huawei have a support team to help you with these devices.

The NHS VPN on the laptop should work fine with the router - on 3 the performance is going to be a bit unstable just because of their weird quirks but on EE you'd more than likely have a good experience.
 
Hi,

Glad you have good results with EE, with an external antenna you'd probably get significantly better results.
The Teams problem happen with this sim, too?

Can you check the MTU settings in both routers, are they the same? ( Not sure where you'd find this in the menu, but it's there, at least for Huawei).

There are a few things to try, though not without some risks:

1 - go in the adv settings and disable everything in the Firewall section

2 - put router in bridge mode from Router menu, this would enable you to use the archer as wifi & dhcp router: remove sim from archer, plug its wan port in the b818 lan port ( also read the instructions, as this will lock you out of the huawei i think)

If you have some older wifi router lying around, you could use that as well instead of the archer.

3 - put your wife's pc in the dmz host or virtual server in the b818 settings, that's almost as if having a public ip address, connected to the internet without a firewall, so make sure the windows firewall is on. The risk may actually be lower as EE uses cgnat in their infrastructure.

Still need to resolve the issue between H818 and teams though.
 
Huawei don't sell the devices to end users - the agreement is that whichever network provides the device is the one to provide the support. Makes sense because a lot of operators make changes to or entirely replace the user interface and settings. I don't believe Huawei have a support team to help you with these devices.

The NHS VPN on the laptop should work fine with the router - on 3 the performance is going to be a bit unstable just because of their weird quirks but on EE you'd more than likely have a good experience.

Hi, unfortunately I bought this direct from Amazon rather than via. a network so don't have the option of going back to them for support. I don't think it's an issue with the 3 network as Teams works of with the old TP-Link router! Haven't had a chance to try it with the EE Sim yet but will give that a go, along with delving into some of the router settings but to be honest it's new territory for me so will need to tread carefully - don't want to end up with a £185 brick!
 
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Hi, unfortunately I bought this direct from Amazon rather than via. a network so don't have the option of going back to them for support. I don't think it's an issue with the 3 network as Teams works of with the old TP-Link router! Haven't had a chance to try it with the EE Sim yet but will give that a go, along with delving into some of the router settings but to be honest it's new territory for me so will need to tread carefully - don't want to end up with a £185 brick!
I don't think you need to worry too much there's not much you could do to destroy it.

I'd recommend setting custom DNS settings in the router. Other than that there's not really a lot that needs changing.

Some advanced users like to set the bands etc. to get extra performance but on a good network the default settings generally perform quite well.
 
@madbroon sorry to have alarmed you, you can't brick it, it's got a restore to factory physical button.
 
Hi,

Glad you have good results with EE, with an external antenna you'd probably get significantly better results.
The Teams problem happen with this sim, too?

Can you check the MTU settings in both routers, are they the same? ( Not sure where you'd find this in the menu, but it's there, at least for Huawei).

There are a few things to try, though not without some risks:

1 - go in the adv settings and disable everything in the Firewall section

2 - put router in bridge mode from Router menu, this would enable you to use the archer as wifi & dhcp router: remove sim from archer, plug its wan port in the b818 lan port ( also read the instructions, as this will lock you out of the huawei i think)

If you have some older wifi router lying around, you could use that as well instead of the archer.

3 - put your wife's pc in the dmz host or virtual server in the b818 settings, that's almost as if having a public ip address, connected to the internet without a firewall, so make sure the windows firewall is on. The risk may actually be lower as EE uses cgnat in their infrastructure.

Thanks for the suggestions, I've tried to find the MTU settings on the TP Link router but with no luck, I've been through the online guide too but it wasn't there....

To be honest I'm a total novice with routers so I'm a bit reluctant to mess about with too much, I did some googling and changing the DNS doesn't seem too difficult, is this worth trying and is there a recommended DNS to try?

Thanks
 
I don't think it's the dns in this case, do try my points. Worst case scenario, you'll have to reset it to facty from the reset button. Don't be afraid, fortune favours the bold. :)
 
Hi,

Glad you have good results with EE, with an external antenna you'd probably get significantly better results.
The Teams problem happen with this sim, too?

Can you check the MTU settings in both routers, are they the same? ( Not sure where you'd find this in the menu, but it's there, at least for Huawei).

There are a few things to try, though not without some risks:

1 - go in the adv settings and disable everything in the Firewall section

2 - put router in bridge mode from Router menu, this would enable you to use the archer as wifi & dhcp router: remove sim from archer, plug its wan port in the b818 lan port ( also read the instructions, as this will lock you out of the huawei i think)

If you have some older wifi router lying around, you could use that as well instead of the archer.

3 - put your wife's pc in the dmz host or virtual server in the b818 settings, that's almost as if having a public ip address, connected to the internet without a firewall, so make sure the windows firewall is on. The risk may actually be lower as EE uses cgnat in their infrastructure.
Hi,

Started to have a play with this today, turned off the Firewall in the B818 and added the laptop into the DMZ host. I didn't try the bridge mode and with the old router as ideally I only want to use the one!

Unfortunately it is still dropping out of Teams constantly, have you got any other suggestions? I had a look at the virtual server but didn't really understand it to be honest! Thanks
 
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I'd try the bridge mode to the old one.. I know it's not ideal, but if it works..
 
I'd try the bridge mode to the old one.. I know it's not ideal, but if it works..
Ok, I've put the B818 into bridge mode and connected the TP link LAN cable from the WAN to the LAN 1 on the B818 but its showing as no internet. Currently googling it as guess I need to set up the TP Link somehow to be just for Wifi and not need a SIM card?

Update: Struggled to get it to work, connected the LAN cable from laptop back into the B818 but it wouldn't speak to it! App didn't work either so just did a hard re-set. Interestingly the EE Sim card in the B818 worked with Teams for 10mins without an issue!

I just did another load of speed test combos with the TP/B818 and 3/EE. Averages were:


B818/3 DL 27 UL 15 Ping 62ms Jitter 20ms
B818/EE DL 50 UL27 Ping 34ms Jitter 5ms
TP/3 DL 27 UL18 Ping 60ms Jitter 22ms
TP/EE DL 32 UL10 Ping 28ms Jitter 5ms

TBH I'm debating whether to just change over to EE and return the B818, not sure if the DL of 50 vs 32 is worth it.... The issues with Teams concerns me and not a of of good when the wife needs it 3days a week! I don't understand why it worked for 10mins ok on EE with the B818, would like to do more testing but nearly used the 10Gb of data I bought lol
 
Last edited:
Ouch, what an "adventure".

Well, with EE in both cases the latency is half that of 3, it may or may not matter to you. I'd definitely take the lower latency, but YMMV.

The download with the B818 on EE is also almost double that of 3, pretty sure you can do better than 50 with an external antenna (ready for another adventure?!).

That data goes up fast, doesn't it?.. I think I spent around £25 by the time I finished my tests with them cheeky buggers..

I bit the bullet the other day and subscribed to an 18 month contract with EE for an unlimited data sim @ £35, unless I am changing my mind in the next 14 days, it is going to replace my faulty BT line which I have already cancelled.
 
Bridge mode means your 818 acts like a dumb box and passes on the external IP address set by EE to the TP-Link, that needs a Dynamic IP WAN setup to obtain an IP address automatically.

Likewise on the Laptop set the network adaptor for the LAN port to accept a DHCP assigned IP address and it will take the EE assigned IP address. Set this to a public not private network.
 
Where did you get 18months for 35quid? Had a quick look online but could only see 24 month contracts for 37!
 
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Omg they change that one day to another.
I got mine at actually 37/m, sim only, 18 months, but via topcashback.co.uk, which gives 95 pounds back, thus bringing the cost overall at 31-ish/m.
Hth
 
Bridge mode means your 818 acts like a dumb box and passes on the external IP address set by EE to the TP-Link, that needs a Dynamic IP WAN setup to obtain an IP address automatically.

Likewise on the Laptop set the network adaptor for the LAN port to accept a DHCP assigned IP address and it will take the EE assigned IP address. Set this to a public not private network.
Thanks for this, think I'm going to buy an unlimited EE sim then will try again. Will probably wait for black friday as I also need a new phone so will hopefully get a good deal, buy a cheap sim only for the phone then use the unlimited contract for home internet!
 
Thanks for this, think I'm going to buy an unlimited EE sim then will try again. Will probably wait for black friday as I also need a new phone so will hopefully get a good deal, buy a cheap sim only for the phone then use the unlimited contract for home internet!
Not sure if your an iPhone user but there's a cashback one here,


It might be worth waiting until the iPhone 12 comes out though, maybe a better deal will appear.

The above deal ends up being £6 more a month than a normal unlimited EE plan.
 
Thanks, that looks like a pretty good deal, unfortunately I'm an Android man rather than iPhone! ;)
Not sure if your an iPhone user but there's a cashback one here,


It might be worth waiting until the iPhone 12 comes out though, maybe a better deal will appear.

The above deal ends up being £6 more a month than a normal unlimited EE plan
 
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