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Tplink and Smarty not working. Help please.

I think that applied to the earlier (v1) version of the MR600. See https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/205912
Ah, i think that's the post i came across while doing my research on it. So i maybe skipped ahead a bit and was wrong about band selection being available on that specific model, not with official firmware anyway. You may still need to download the beta firmware. It appears that all versions still need the beta firmware
 
Adam is right. There is no option to change the band, which is a shame. My postcode IS BS23 2JR and I could be served by two masts according to cell mapper. One with band 3 only and one with bands 1, 3 and 20.

I'm not sure what to do next. I'm getting 2mbs on SMARTY now. Do I try other SIMs in the current router from one of the MVNOs on Vodafone or O2 like lyca or lebara, in which case I'll have to sign up to a cheap £5 deal to try them out or do I try sending this router back to Amazon for a refund and swap it for a router that gives me more flexibility with band changing?

I seem to be endlessly throwing money on trying to find out if I can get better mobile broadband than the copper fixed line that I'm currently on with no assurance that I will and it's really frustrating.
 
Adam is right. There is no option to change the band, which is a shame. My postcode IS BS23 2JR and I could be served by two masts according to cell mapper. One with band 3 only and one with bands 1, 3 and 20.
You can definitely change bands with your current router, you'll just need to install the beta firmware. It may come with hiccups here and there but if you are adamant about trying different bands, that'll be your only option. Have a read of this thread below and find the right beta version for your router. Then consult the manual for your router on firmware upgrades
 
Thanks Adam. Our posts crossed in the post! I have no idea about how to install firmware onto a router and as it's BETA and I'm clearly not router tech savvy, it's making me nervous.
 
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Thanks Adam. Our posts crossed in the post! I have no idea about how to install firmware onto a router and as it's BETA and I'm clearly not router tech savvy, it's making me nervous.
I completely understand. You may wait for official release and it'll be as simple as clicking a button in your router settings menu. Could take a while though. Perhaps someone else with a tp link lte router could walk you through it but i wouldn't feel comfortable as i know little to nothing about tp link routers and beta firmwares and the potential risks that comes with installing them, if any.
 
I've checked that postcode. Do you have an upstairs window that faces south-east? From the location of the Three 1,3,20 band mast that would appear to be the best chance of a decent signal.
 
Display the map and make selections from the left hand column. You can select provider and bands. Select Settings to allow the display of towers, tower labels and signal trails.
 
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How do you use cell mapper to identify which providers have masts where? I find their website confusing
Head to cellmapper and click on general.
Choose you a provider, will need to scroll down to United kingdom and pick one of the 4 main providers.
Choose network (4G-LTE)
Leave Band set to "All Bands"
Scroll down to "location search" and type your postcode in and tap enter on your keyboard.
You'll get a map of all surrounding masts on the network you chose (Mast/cell locations aren't always accurate though)
Go back to general and choose another provider to see their mast locations, the map should auto update to whatever provider you choose.
 
I'd ask you to login into your router to see which cell you're connected to so you could compare with cellmapper but i don't think the mr6400 shows the cell id
 
I'd ask you to login into your router to see which cell you're connected to so you could compare with cellmapper but i don't think the mr6400 shows the cell id
It might if there's an "about" menu option. Or maybe "system". It'd be handy to know exactly which band he's using. If it's b1 or b3 then it's probably not worth busting a gut to change the band, but if it's locking onto b20 then that'd be a potential bottleneck.
 
It might if there's an "about" menu option. Or maybe "system". It'd be handy to know exactly which band he's using. If it's b1 or b3 then it's probably not worth busting a gut to change the band, but if it's locking onto b20 then that'd be a potential bottleneck.
I had a look through the emulators they provide and couldn't see any option.

Couldn't find anything on google results either. Though, that emulator with official firmware shows manual band selection. So it may be accessible without beta firmware, diggers just needs to find it or it could be hardware version dependent and not available on their current hardware. If you are still following the thread @92diggers, can you check what firmware version you're on? Head to the advanced tab, scroll down to system tools then firmware upgrade. It should state the firmware and hardware version
 
I had a look through the emulators they provide and couldn't see any option.

Couldn't find anything on google results either. Though, that emulator with official firmware shows manual band selection. So it may be accessible without beta firmware, diggers just needs to find it or it could be hardware version dependent and not available on their current hardware. If you are still following the thread @92diggers, can you check what firmware version you're on? Head to the advanced tab, scroll down to system tools then firmware upgrade. It should state the firmware and hardware version
Thanks guys. I'm still following, as I'd like this sorted!

I was using cell mapper in mobile view in my phone browser. Switching to desktop view made things a lot clearer, as it opened up the left hand menu, which was previously hidden.

There is a Vodafone mast that is much closer to the house, so I'm going to trial a Lebara SIM.

The router is saying it's using band 3 for SMARTY.

As for firmware, there was a firmware update available, which I downloaded and installed. Unfortunately, still no option to manually select the band.
 
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As a matter of interest I was not too far from the postcode given by the OP earlier this afternoon (I was in the Tesco car park in the town centre to be exact). I had a full-strength Three signal on my phone, and the most I could coax out of it on Speedtest was 6Mb/s at the third attempt - the previous two tests timed out. I'm not sure I was on the same mast as the OP tried, there is another one closer to his location than the one I was using according to Cellmapper, but I wonder if it suggests that the network there is grossly oversubscribed. The town was very busy this afternoon.

The system can work, though - I have been using a TP-Link MR600 on Three for two years now and overall it has been fine. In the busy summer season it slows down a bit in the afternoon/evening, but still perfectly useable. My wife watches Amazon Prime videos with no buffering problems.
 
As a matter of interest I was not too far from the postcode given by the OP earlier this afternoon (I was in the Tesco car park in the town centre to be exact). I had a full-strength Three signal on my phone, and the most I could coax out of it on Speedtest was 6Mb/s at the third attempt - the previous two tests timed out. I'm not sure I was on the same mast as the OP tried, there is another one closer to his location than the one I was using according to Cellmapper, but I wonder if it suggests that the network there is grossly oversubscribed. The town was very busy this afternoon.

The system can work, though - I have been using a TP-Link MR600 on Three for two years now and overall it has been fine. In the busy summer season it slows down a bit in the afternoon/evening, but still perfectly useable. My wife watches Amazon Prime videos with no buffering problems.
Oversubscription could be a cause. @92diggers, can you do a speed test late at night when congestion is less likely to be a problem? Failing that, first thing in the morning?
 
Thanks sbaggs - that's really useful to know. I'll try a speed test later tonight. Three don't offer a mobile broadband package to this area, which suggests they don't have the capacity to provide one.
 
Thanks sbaggs - that's really useful to know. I'll try a speed test later tonight. Three don't offer a mobile broadband package to this area, which suggests they don't have the capacity to provide one.
its almost 100% at capacity then. They only offer it to areas with good capacity.
 
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