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Three mobile 4G + Huawei B535 weirdness

De-selecting B20 (forcing B3 only) would be your only current way. Have you re-done the testing around the house with just B3 enabled?

A directional antenna might work (and would be better for 'targetting' the mast you want versus an omni) but there is no guarantee it would improve things as every situation is unique.
 
I feel like taking the time to do all of this stuff isn't going to help as it's just the characteristics of Three's network.. No point wasting money on antennas.
 
Thanks - again - to all responders. Going away for a few days but will back on this when I return. You guys ROCK, I am blown away by your depth of knowledge.
 
@GavinAshford @MrDave
You were so helpful to me before I wonder if I could blitz you (and anyone else who wished to chip in) with another question.

I finally had a chance to get into my attic and try my B535 router there.

The improvement to the signal quality was considerable.

RSSI went from -80 (in upstairs bedroom) to -67 in the attic
RSRQ went from -9 to -7
RSRP went from -107 to -92
SINR went from -2 to 11

The B535 went from a 3 bar signal to a 5 bar. This is on Three network, using the HUACTRL app to remove channel B20, so locked to B3.

The improvement to download speed was modest: from a typical 10-15 Mbps when in the house to 20-30 Mbps when in the loft. A doubling, but nothing like to 40+ speeds I was hoping for.

My question:

Given that I'm already getting a 5 bar signal in the attic, would an external antenna mounted on a pole likely improve my download speed much? Do you think this indicates that adding more altitude and removing absorption in walls would improve the signal further and result in an increased average download speed?

What do your instincts say?

For comparison, I've also been trying a MiFi dongle with an EE PAYG SIM in it. The EE cell tower is closer than the Three one and I can get 20-30 Mbps download speeds. Oddly, it showed NO improvement when moved to the attic. I'd rather stick with Three because the cost of their unlimited broadband package is so competitive - I'm paying £17 a month (exiting customer discount) compared with £50 a month for 500GB/month with EE.
 
@GavinAshford @MrDave
You were so helpful to me before I wonder if I could blitz you (and anyone else who wished to chip in) with another question.

I finally had a chance to get into my attic and try my B535 router there.

The improvement to the signal quality was considerable.

RSSI went from -80 (in upstairs bedroom) to -67 in the attic
RSRQ went from -9 to -7
RSRP went from -107 to -92
SINR went from -2 to 11

The B535 went from a 3 bar signal to a 5 bar. This is on Three network, using the HUACTRL app to remove channel B20, so locked to B3.

The improvement to download speed was modest: from a typical 10-15 Mbps when in the house to 20-30 Mbps when in the loft. A doubling, but nothing like to 40+ speeds I was hoping for.

My question:

Given that I'm already getting a 5 bar signal in the attic, would an external antenna mounted on a pole likely improve my download speed much? Do you think this indicates that adding more altitude and removing absorption in walls would improve the signal further and result in an increased average download speed?

What do your instincts say?

For comparison, I've also been trying a MiFi dongle with an EE PAYG SIM in it. The EE cell tower is closer than the Three one and I can get 20-30 Mbps download speeds. Oddly, it showed NO improvement when moved to the attic. I'd rather stick with Three because the cost of their unlimited broadband package is so competitive - I'm paying £17 a month (exiting customer discount) compared with £50 a month for 500GB/month with EE.
It is extremely unlikely you’ll see an improvement with an external antenna.
I’ve seen countless people on this forum try this just to have wasted their money.

If your speeds are 20ish on 3 this is actually very good for their network. A lot of people experience stability issues so you seem to be a lucky one.
 
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Thanks, @TTJJ . Hmm, disappointing. I wouldn't say I was hopeful of getting 20ish Mbps consistently. I know how up-and-down speeds can be. Today was just a good day.

As I say, I can get ~20-30 Mbs with a MiFi dongle on EE in the house, but this *didn't* improve when in the loft. So presumably again, there would no point moving to (much more expensive) EE and getting an outside antenna either. Looks like I can never get more than this speed.
 
Thanks, @TTJJ . Hmm, disappointing. I wouldn't say I was hopeful of getting 20ish Mbps consistently. I know how up-and-down speeds can be. Today was just a good day.

As I say, I can get ~20-30 Mbs with a MiFi dongle on EE in the house, but this *didn't* improve when in the loft. So presumably again, there would no point moving to (much more expensive) EE and getting an outside antenna either. Looks like I can never get more than this speed.
This may sound crazy, but it worked for me. Wrap some tin foil around a bit of cardboard or wood about the same sized as the router and place it behind the router, point the front of the router to the nearest 3 tower, does it improve your connection (SINR etc)? This might help you determine if a directional antenna will improve your download speeds :cool:
 
Doesn't sound crazy at all, @MrDave . I'll pop back to the loft tomorrow and try that.

TBH I am prepared to spend ANYTHING within reason to get a good, consistent download speed. The cost isn't the problem, it's knowing whether any particular expenditure will generate results.

I wouldn't mind if I lived in the countryside. I don't. I live on the edge of a city in the West Midlands. Edge being the crucial word. I was shopping just three miles away yesterday and obtained a download speed of 65 Mbps on my phone with Three.
 
Oh, another question: is it possible to stop the router from switching to HSPA+? I have ONLY channel B3 selected but if I move the router it has a habit of switching from LTE to HSPA+ and only a reboot will cause it to switch back to LTE . To be fair, download speeds on HSPA+ are as good as my crummy 4G.
 
Oh, another question: is it possible to stop the router from switching to HSPA+? I have ONLY channel B3 selected but if I move the router it has a habit of switching from LTE to HSPA+ and only a reboot will cause it to switch back to LTE . To be fair, download speeds on HSPA+ are as good as my crummy 4G.
You can lock it to 4G when you select the band in HuaCtrl
 
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D'oh! How could I have been so blind! Thanks!

Will report tomorrow what effect a signal reflector has.
 
One other thing to note is that EE and Three use the same masts so the signal may be reliably similar - have you tried a Vodafone SIM?

Speed wise it’s almost always EE first for the highest speeds but Vodafone comes in second and both of them tend to beat other networks. If you’re looking for even more speed Vodafone could be a touch better if you have a mast closer to you.

Three’s prices are unbeatable especially compared to EE but if you look into cash back SIM only deals you can get some amazing pricing
 
So, @MrDave and @TTJJ the results are in...

With my B535 in the attic on the Three SIM : no change with a home-made reflector panel (piece of wood covered in aluminium foil). All the signal specs stayed constant.

Typical download speed 20 Mbps, SINR ~5

BUT

When I put a EE PAYG SIM in the router, the results were amazing.

RSSI -57
RSRQ -9
RSRP -82
SINR 17

and download speeds of 40 - 55 Mbps. I hadn't expected these to be so good because yesterday I tested with the EE SIM in a little Huawei E5573 mifi dongle in the attic and the results were no better than when in an upstairs room, download speeds of ~20-25 Mbps. Clearly the B535 router is much more capable of exploiting the better signal environment in the attic than the dongle was.

It's NOT the case that Three and EE are using the same towers. Not for me anyway, the EE tower ( I can tell from LTEHmonitor) is much closer.

I think I now have everything I need.
What I need to do is

-keep the B535 router in the attic,
-don't bother with external antenna
-use LTEHMonitor or HUACTRL to lock to channel B3 and 4G
-Buy myself out of my Three contract
-Get myself an EE contract

and I should be good for speeds of 40 - 55 Mbps.

Thanks so much for all your assistance, and to everyone else who contributed. My knowledge of the topic has increased exponentially.
 
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What would that mean for me in practical terms?

Hi bud, its just Three. My speed collapsed from 50-70mbps+ in May down to a barely able to load 1-10mbps. Shocking, but no point in wasting any money or any more time for miniscule potential gain.

Their network is truly in tatters. Apparently there is a problem with my local mast also, so they've known about it and didn't bother their asses the past few months to fix it until I contacted to complain... have been working on it now for two weeks, jokers haven't managed anything other than constantly flick it on and off.
 
What would that mean for me in practical terms?
If you’re running your own web server or you play some online games you could run into issues. Otherwise you’d probably never notice. Depends what type of a user you are.
 
If you’re running your own web server or you play some online games you could run into issues. Otherwise you’d probably never notice. Depends what type of a user you are.

Gotcha. Yes, not likely to adversely affect me.
 
Now have my EE SIM on 18 month, 500GB/month contract.

Using same B535 router that Three sent me, but with EE SIM, getting download speeds of between 40 and 60 Mbps, compared to 12 - 20 available with Three.
So basically, the answer to all my woes was "ditch Three, move to EE". And put the router in the attic.

Question: EE have sent me a new B625 4G router.
Is there any advantage to using this over the B535 I already have?
Is the B625 compatible with the HUACTRL app and LTHMonitor software I am using?

I could answer these questions myself but it means getting the ladder out and going back into the loft to retrieve the SIM from the B535...
 
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