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Odd 4G+ problem on B535-232

B20 when it works gives me a consistent 70-90mbits with a peak of 110 but I have only seen this once!

Speeds are now down from 60 to 30, it's frustrating knowing you can get much faster speeds but with a huge sacrifice for stability.
B20 cannot deliver 70+ on its own for Three. Maximum theoretical for B20 is 37.5Mbps down, 12.5up (real life much less), B20 would have to be aggregated with another band (1, 3 or 32) to get any higher.
 
B20 cannot deliver 70+ on its own for Three. Maximum theoretical for B20 is 37.5Mbps down, 12.5up (real life much less), B20 would have to be aggregated with another band (1, 3 or 32) to get any higher.

This is what I see, B20 has carrier aggregation but bands 1 and 3 do not, maybe one day 3uk will upgrade the other masts in my area with carrier aggregation.
 
B1+B3 is a valid band aggregation that is supported by both Three and the B535.

B1 and B3 must be originating from the same mast for CA to occur - Three don't support intra-node CA.

You said the eNBID doesn't change regardless of the band you lock to, so in theory it should aggregate, providing the signal metrics are suitably high for both bands that are looking to aggregate.

I'd really want to know the metrics for each band individually to try understand what is going on at the band level.
 
The eNBID upstairs is always 1613, the eNBID downstairs is currently 10145.

Currently locked to B3-1800mhz with no aggregation.
Screenshot_20200604-095443_huaCtrl_downstairs.jpg
 
OK so that does explain things.

10145 mast doesn't have anything other than B3, so it cannot aggregate, but as it provides you the best signal when located downstairs that's what it connects to.

The only explanation as it why it then uses 1613 upstairs is the network is pushing you off the 10145 mast. That could potentially be because 10145 is over-subscribed/at capacity and they'd prefer you to be on any other mast, if there is one available, even though the signal level could be worse.

The reason why it then doesn't automatically connect to 1613 when downstairs would be the metrics are so poor that it falls outside of the prescribed network configuration levels that would allow it to connect (unless you force B1/B20 as you have above and are seeing -111 and -97 RSRP values).


Do you have the same set of individual band metrics but taken in the location where you do get CA/4G+?
 
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You've got 3 different cell towers. Your closest is the band 3 one, which the router will connect to first regardless of what settings you use. The band 20 is closer than the band 1 tower (though band 20 provides a better signal due to its frequency.)

Best option with your mast (like mine) is stay on band 3 until they upgrade it and then hope to connect to the same mast with band1 and 3 to get carrier aggregation.
 
@Buggerlugz only 2 different towers (eNBID 10145 and 1613), not 3.
1613 is serving all of B1, 3 and 20, but at a lower signal level than 10145 does at B3 - either due to the distance to the mast or obstacles in the signal path.

As you say though, the best option that provides a stable connection would be to ensure it uses 10145 as it has better connection metrics, even though it has lower speed than the less reliable 1613 mast when its able to connect to that with CA.

According to some sources Peter found, it sounds like the upgrade rollout (known as Chariot) has been paused/postponed/is being re-planned.
So I wouldn't expect much in terms of upgrades in the near-term.
 
Ah no worries! I really didn't set my expectations high, so wasn't expecting anything in the near term from three.

Looks like the wheels have already fallen off the chariot eh!
 
last question then guys would it be worth me getting an external poynting antenna and putting it on the roof if this could get a better SINR on Band 20 etc for the mast which is further away.

not sure this could be answered but worth asking anyway
 
Personally, I'd advise you to forget B20. Its just not got enough capacity to provide any meaningful throughput for the area it covers. Three use it for coverage rather than capacity - for mobile use its the band of last resort (assuming your device is VoLTE enabled/allowed onto it).
Its not going to get you good speeds and even when CA'd with another band the uplift isn't going to be much to shout about.

If you're wanting to get speed (rather than slower speed but better stability) then finding a way to connect to B3+B1 with CA is the way.

I cannot really advise if getting an external antenna would allow that to be achieved or not, every situation is unique - you'd have to be the one who decides if the time, effort and cost of trying an external antenna for potentially no/minimal improvement is worth it.
 
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last question then guys would it be worth me getting an external poynting antenna and putting it on the roof if this could get a better SINR on Band 20 etc for the mast which is further away.

not sure this could be answered but worth asking anyway

I agree with Gavin, Band 20 isn't worth the effort. Why of why OFCOM believe its beneficial to sell piddling little chunks of bandwidth to carriers and not bigger chunks is beyond me. Its not like there is a lack of bandwidth to use out there.
 
In an interested turn of events downstairs on B3 it was fluctuating like anything SINR going between 3 and 19 constantly, so I thought hell why not put it back upstairs....

Put it back upstairs and whacked it onto a bit of B20 and got speeds of 80-100 down and 10 up so all good in the hood.

Ran speed test a few times and like clockwork dropped down to 10mbits or so, but this time I downloaded Nperf on my iPad and S20 Ultra to verify what speedtest.net app was saying and 100% everytime the speeds never go below 70mbits.

Run speedtest.net app again with different servers on both my iPad and S20 and yup it hits this 10mbit ceiling.

Then I thought lets really push the boat out, downloaded meteor speedtest on both devices again and this hits a cap of 60 down and 10 up.

One last test back to speedtest.net.... still capped at 10mbits.

Then I tried speedof.me on my mac and ipad and they also hit about 60 - 70 mbits.

Conclusion is don't always believe speedtests specially not speedtest.net!
 
B1+B3 is a valid band aggregation that is supported by both Three and the B535.

B1 and B3 must be originating from the same mast for CA to occur - Three don't support intra-node CA.

You said the eNBID doesn't change regardless of the band you lock to, so in theory it should aggregate, providing the signal metrics are suitably high for both bands that are looking to aggregate.

I'd really want to know the metrics for each band individually to try understand what is going on at the band level.

Gavin, considering the contention at mast level and lack of bandwidth availability generally (on three), have you heard of any masts from Three that actually host both bands 1 and 3 simultaneously? Just wondering.
 
If you mean do any masts now have both B3 and B1 on them, then yeah, I get the impression quite a few of them now do - at least I've seen a fair number on cellmapper, though to be fair I haven't hunted specifically.
Peter documented the various types of upgrades here:
The addition of B1 is the minimum upgrade performed as part of that transformation project - my home mast got that minimum upgrade to add B1 back in December last year.

Edit: Three's plan was originally 12,500 sites to get an upgrade of some sort (i.e. at least the B1 addition) by 2023. IIRC they have ~16,000 sites total. Who knows what the plan is now.
 
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I have read somewhere (an online discussion from engineers doing the three 5g installations of Huawei kit) that its now been put on hold due to the U.S. ban on sharing tech with Huawei. So who knows if this will have any impact on the 4g mast upgrades from three?
 
I have read somewhere (an online discussion from engineers doing the three 5g installations of Huawei kit) that its now been put on hold due to the U.S. ban on sharing tech with Huawei. So who knows if this will have any impact on the 4g mast upgrades from three?
Problem is Huawei’s 4G and 5G equipment significantly outperforms other manufacturers and is very competitively priced for networks. Using other suppliers is more expensive and comes with a performance hit.
 
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