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Three 4G Home Broadband router questions

s8s

Casual Member
Hi,

Have ADSL at the moment (static IP and use port forwarding to run low traffic services), but am about to move house and thinking of switching to the 'central London' 4G home broadband from Three (previously Relish). Have spoken to customer support, who've said that port forwarding is possible with the router but the couldn't tell me if it integrates with any dynamic DNS services like NoIP. Anyone here tried it?

Also, how's performance and range generally? If I'm in a brick built house, am I likely to need an additional wireless access point to get signal all over?

thanks!
 
Can't comment on Three and the port forwarding I am afraid. On the WIFI front it really depends on position of the router in the property, 2.4 or 5Ghz and all manner of other variables. Thing to do is to try it. If it does not work out just buy a mesh system - one that can work in bridge mode and not insist on using its own router capability. I use the cheapo Tenda MW6 mesh setup bough at bargain basement price from Aliexpress in China and it works really well for my needs. Two nodes in a 2 floor 4 bedroom concrete block house is working fine for me. Both nodes are upstairs and the satellite is hard wired via Ethernet (facility for hard wired backhaul and bridge mode and cheap price was why I bought it) to the primary node through the loft space but it also worked OK using radio backhaul. I believe the Netgear Orbi kit is probably the best and has come down in price a lot since I bought my cheapo stuff - really depends on number of walls and desired speed etc. I am getting 100Mbps+ WIFI in all corners of the house which is OK for my needs. My router and Plex server and living room are at opposite corners of the house with a couple of walls in between but with the mesh I can stream UHD off my Plex server onto my TV without issue over WIFI.

The only issue I have had with the Tenda stuff is that every 8 months or so it craps its pants and stuffs up its config and needs to be re-configured which is a bit annoying but not enough of an issue to bother changing it.

On the dynamic DNS front, if you have a computer connected to the network then that can do the Dynamic DNS duty even if the supplied router does not have the necessary functionality built in. There are a few different apps that can detect the WAN IP and update a dynamic DNS service so that should not be an issue.
 
Can't comment on Three and the port forwarding I am afraid. On the WIFI front it really depends on position of the router in the property, 2.4 or 5Ghz and all manner of other variables. Thing to do is to try it. If it does not work out just buy a mesh system - one that can work in bridge mode and not insist on using its own router capability. I use the cheapo Tenda MW6 mesh setup bough at bargain basement price from Aliexpress in China and it works really well for my needs. Two nodes in a 2 floor 4 bedroom concrete block house is working fine for me. Both nodes are upstairs and the satellite is hard wired via Ethernet (facility for hard wired backhaul and bridge mode and cheap price was why I bought it) to the primary node through the loft space but it also worked OK using radio backhaul. I believe the Netgear Orbi kit is probably the best and has come down in price a lot since I bought my cheapo stuff - really depends on number of walls and desired speed etc. I am getting 100Mbps+ WIFI in all corners of the house which is OK for my needs. My router and Plex server and living room are at opposite corners of the house with a couple of walls in between but with the mesh I can stream UHD off my Plex server onto my TV without issue over WIFI.

I have friends who live in old properties with thick stone walls and in that scenario if you must use radio backhaul for the satellites then a mesh with dedicated, separate, backhaul radio is probably best. I know a couple of people who are using Netgear Orbi to good effect in this kind of property.

The only issue I have had with the Tenda stuff is that every 8 months or so it craps its pants and stuffs up its config and needs to be re-configured which is a bit annoying but not enough of an issue to bother changing it.

On the dynamic DNS front, if you have a computer connected to the network then that can do the Dynamic DNS duty even if the supplied router does not have the necessary functionality built in. There are a few different apps that can detect the WAN IP and update a dynamic DNS service so that should not be an issue.
 
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On the dynamic DNS front, if you have a computer connected to the network then that can do the Dynamic DNS duty even if the supplied router does not have the necessary functionality built in. There are a few different apps that can detect the WAN IP and update a dynamic DNS service so that should not be an issue.

Thanks for the info. Am moving from a 2 bed Victorian flat to a 3 bed Victorian house. At the moment my bog standard Plusnet ADSL router is located at the front of the flat and just about reaches the back. Am hoping that the Verve router is at least as good, but looking for someone with experience. Had thought about a mesh network, but looking to get something basic that works then upgrade as needed.

Still not sure when I'm moving, but probably very soon, so if I move my current broadband I'll probably be without it for 2 weeks until they get the new place set up which is why I'm looking at alternatives.

Wasn't aware of the applications to detect the WAN IP, will take a look as I've got a Linux server which is always on.
 
"Have spoken to customer support, who've said that port forwarding is possible with the router but the couldn't tell me if it integrates with any dynamic DNS services like NoIP. Anyone here tried it? "

Three's HomeFi B311s router supports dynamic DNS and works fine with No-IP. The Wifi performance is basic, no 5GHz and limited range but it works fine as a 'modem.' One Gigabit Ethernet port means adding a switch if you need more. (I use Powerlines to get ethernet in the office.)

The B311s also works with No-IP and port opening for remote services like FTP. It also works with VOIP phones, I have two Sipgate VOIP lines on Grandstream desk phones running off the Three service.

The alternatives are an unlimited SIM plan and your own 4G Wifi router, there's a lot of choice now.

As to London 4G congestion: it's a bit of a lottery. Some people are pleased to get 20Mbs down, others complain (on Twitter) about 'congested London masts'. Certainly, D/L speeds and pings vary a lot depending on time of day.

It's probably better not to spring for a 24 month contract until you've tested the service at the location. Smarty - an offshoot of Three, offer 1 month contract unlimited SIMS, or you can test with a phone and a PAYG SIM.

In my rural area, with a B311s HomeFi I get up to 65 Mb/s down, it drops to about 40 in the evenings but I've had no connection losses or drop-outs so far. I'm 1000 metres from the mast. :)

The Three service has been my main (only) broadband connection for some months now, I do use a TP-Link MR400 router (rabbit ear antennas) with it for the improved Wifi and extra features like timed Wifi scheduling.

Some colleagues bought the Three Huawei Alexa Cube. It doesn't support external antennas and I think they are now wishing they had that facility.

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Pretty sure that I'll be getting a Verve router rather than Huawei and the reviews and feedback that I've seen on it are 3+ years old. Would expect that some of the criticisms will have been sorted through firmware updates, but only way to be sure if to find out from someone who's got one. It's got a couple of ethernet ports, so as you said, can connect some better wifi hardware.

Three claim that I'll get up to 35Mbps, which is about double my current ADSL and similar to the fibre option I've been offered by plusnet, but I know that I'll have higher latency and hard to know how much congestion will affect it.

Trying to decide whether I go 1 month and eat the £70 device cost or sign up for 12 months (both options £22 per month) to get the device for free. As you suggested, would be prudent to try it for a month, and see how it goes.
 
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Three, on their HomeFi page say there's a 14 day cooling off period, so at the moment the best deal seems to be the 'half-price for six months' offer for the HomeFi B311s.

I don't know if the Verve router offer is to get rid of old stocks of Relish Verve gear, now owned by Three, or whether asking for a B311s will work.

Testing first is very wise.
 
Three, on their HomeFi page say there's a 14 day cooling off period, so at the moment the best deal seems to be the 'half-price for six months' offer for the HomeFi B311s.

I don't know if the Verve router offer is to get rid of old stocks of Relish Verve gear, now owned by Three, or whether asking for a B311s will work.

Testing first is very wise.

Will give them a call and see what they say. There is a cooling off period, but if they're expecting the router to go back 'as new' in packaging, that's probably not gonna happen.

Think I might take the plunge. However it goes, sure I can live with it for 12 months and having thought about it a bit more, running my own server isn't super critical, thought I would like to if possible. Looks like Three have a new Huawei router now, http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Devices/Huawei/AICubeB900 which is not really something I'm interested in.
 
One of the 'selling' points that Three's PR department blurt out is on the lines of 'Want Wifi in your garden? Just move your HomeFi router!"

Er yes. The AI Cube doesn't have external antenna sockets. Some say it talks to you, and can order pizza. :)

My HomeFi was an upgrade from an old Mifi contract, ordered over the phone. They wouldn't give me any further discount, but did chuck in free delivery.

Be interesting to hear back if you do go ahead.

Bon chance!
 
Think I'll go with the Verve option as it's a 12 month contract. After that, can see if I want to stay and whether 5G is an option. Even if the built in wifi isn't great, can always "fix" that with more hardware.

I'm not going to use the Alexa functionality of the AI Cube, so the main benefits would be better 4G and wifi hardware, but I doubt I'd be maxing out the Cat6 modem (or even the Cat4 of the Verve).

Waiting to get the go ahead on the move before taking the plunge. Thanks for the advice everyone
 
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