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Zyxel NR5103E ports , which does what?

Nothing in that user guide about external antennae... :-(

Has anyone got a copy of the Zyxel (not EE) manual?
I've hunted the Web for this, no joy, seems that Zyxel do not sell these direct to End Users (at the moment) only to Networks, so lack of Info and support from Zyxel.

There seems to be three versions of this Router -
NR5103
NR5103e
NR5301
Basically the some Router but with different WiFi and Radio Bands supported and Customised Firmware.
 
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Further testing changed my opinion again , It makes no sense really, It's like somedays it'll work and others it won't.

I managed to get 4X4 MIMO working with the following combos of EPNT-2 directional antennas and an XPOL 5G V3 but today decided to stop working so idk. These are wired to the internal antenna ports using 2x SMA male to IPEX and 2x SMA female to IPEX

con1 -> cell01 main
con2 -> cell01 div
con3 -> xpol left
con4 -> xpol right

con1 -> cell01main
con3 -> cell01-div
con4 -> xpol
con2 -> xpol

con2 -> cell01 main
con3 -> cell01 div
con4 -> xpol right
con1 -> xpol left

con2 -> cell01-main
con1 -> cell01-div
con4 -> xpol right
con3 -> xpol left
 
On the first MiMo Pair of Antennas (+45 and -45) space the Antennas as far apart as possible to each other, on the second MiMo Pair of Antennas try also space but space the depth different from the first Pair, keep the second pair matched with (+45 and -45) but try and physically swap the Antennas over then back to test.

Remember that going from 2x2 to 4x4 MiMo inst always a given, there are complicated algorithms going on from the Mast to Device before it will or decide to kick in.
 
Hi, I have just bought a blue spot antenna and in the manual it states the antenna ports are 5g only with 4g antennas internal to the device.
 

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How do you know if you're getting 4x4 MIMO? just a speed leap?

It has been suggested to me that the top two ports are just for low bands i.e. 4G and possibly lower 5G bands and the bottom two are higher bands, i.e. N77/N78 5G bands. That to me would suggest that the router is only 2x2 MIMO on 4G and 2X2 MIMO on 5G.

However the NR5103 Datasheet says 4x4 MIMO:

5G
"Supports DL 4×4 MIMO: n1/n3/n7/n38/n40/n41/n77/n78"
"Supports frequencies: n1/n3/n5/n7/ n8/n20/n28/n41/n77/n78/n38/n40"
So Channels n20 and n28 are not 4X4 supported...


4G:
"Supports DL 4×4 MIMO: ■ LTE-FDD: B1/B3/B7 ■ LTE-TDD: B38/B40/B41/B42"
"Supports LTE-FDD: B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20/B28/ B32 ■ LTE-TDD: B38/B40/B41/B42"
So Channels b5,b8,b20,b28,b32 are not 4X4 supported...


5103 vs 5103E:

Furthermore the datasheet states there are three types of internal antennas (4 off) - potentially shared antenna banding:

Ultra-high band: ■ Up to 5 dBi peak gain •
High band and middle band: ■ Up to 5 dBi peak gain •
Low band: ■ Up to 4 dBi peak gain
 
How do you know if you're getting 4x4 MIMO? just a speed leap?

It has been suggested to me that the top two ports are just for low bands i.e. 4G and possibly lower 5G bands and the bottom two are higher bands, i.e. N77/N78 5G bands. That to me would suggest that the router is only 2x2 MIMO on 4G and 2X2 MIMO on 5G.

However the NR5103 Datasheet says 4x4 MIMO:

5G
"Supports DL 4×4 MIMO: n1/n3/n7/n38/n40/n41/n77/n78"
"Supports frequencies: n1/n3/n5/n7/ n8/n20/n28/n41/n77/n78/n38/n40"
So Channels n20 and n28 are not 4X4 supported...


4G:
"Supports DL 4×4 MIMO: ■ LTE-FDD: B1/B3/B7 ■ LTE-TDD: B38/B40/B41/B42"
"Supports LTE-FDD: B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20/B28/ B32 ■ LTE-TDD: B38/B40/B41/B42"
So Channels b5,b8,b20,b28,b32 are not 4X4 supported...


5103 vs 5103E:

Furthermore the datasheet states there are three types of internal antennas (4 off) - potentially shared antenna banding:

Ultra-high band: ■ Up to 5 dBi peak gain •
High band and middle band: ■ Up to 5 dBi peak gain •
Low band: ■ Up to 4 dBi peak gain
UK network providers don't generally really deploy low frequency bands with more than 2x2 MIMO, so lacking 4x4 on B/n20 and B/n28 isn't really of concern.

AFAIK, both the NR5103 and NR5103e do support B32 at 4x4 - I'm not sure which data sheet you're looking at that says otherwise?
 
How do you know if you're getting 4x4 MIMO? just a speed leap?

It has been suggested to me that the top two ports are just for low bands i.e. 4G and possibly lower 5G bands and the bottom two are higher bands, i.e. N77/N78 5G bands. That to me would suggest that the router is only 2x2 MIMO on 4G and 2X2 MIMO on 5G.

However the NR5103 Datasheet says 4x4 MIMO:

5G
"Supports DL 4×4 MIMO: n1/n3/n7/n38/n40/n41/n77/n78"
"Supports frequencies: n1/n3/n5/n7/ n8/n20/n28/n41/n77/n78/n38/n40"
So Channels n20 and n28 are not 4X4 supported...


4G:
"Supports DL 4×4 MIMO: ■ LTE-FDD: B1/B3/B7 ■ LTE-TDD: B38/B40/B41/B42"
"Supports LTE-FDD: B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20/B28/ B32 ■ LTE-TDD: B38/B40/B41/B42"
So Channels b5,b8,b20,b28,b32 are not 4X4 supported...


5103 vs 5103E:

Furthermore the datasheet states there are three types of internal antennas (4 off) - potentially shared antenna banding:

Ultra-high band: ■ Up to 5 dBi peak gain •
High band and middle band: ■ Up to 5 dBi peak gain •
Low band: ■ Up to 4 dBi peak gain
None of which says that it supports 4x4 MIMO when using the external antenna ports...
 
True, but then looking at the board layout the external TS9 ports map directly 1-1 with the internal antenna ports via an RF switch chip, so one would deduce that the external ports can also facilitate 4x4:

I certainly hope it does. Can't find out for a bit though, will test router out with Scancom SIM and USB and Sonos tonight, boat (with antenna) is 160 miles away...
 
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I'm still trying to understand which port does what as I have the NR5103E inside an EPNT-2 . The "working" combination I had involved something like this with hooking them up directly to the internal antenna ports.

Cell is the EPNT-2 antenna port markings.

con2(main2) -> cell01 main
con1 -> cell01 div
con4 (main1) -> cell02 main
con3 -> cell02 div

It would connect with B3 as the anchor band and I had B3+B1+N78
Speeds are great and latency

Router itself has weird firmware issues / behaviour in general.

For example if I stop using the internet the connection idles , it will drop from 5G NSA to LTE-A and will NOT return no matter what unless I powered it off for 20m+.

Bought a second one (both from cex) and it also does something similar.
Mainly trying to understand what ports do what but it's a mystery?
 
I'm still trying to understand which port does what as I have the NR5103E inside an EPNT-2 . The "working" combination I had involved something like this with hooking them up directly to the internal antenna ports.

Cell is the EPNT-2 antenna port markings.

con2(main2) -> cell01 main
con1 -> cell01 div
con4 (main1) -> cell02 main
con3 -> cell02 div

It would connect with B3 as the anchor band and I had B3+B1+N78
Speeds are great and latency

Router itself has weird firmware issues / behaviour in general.

For example if I stop using the internet the connection idles , it will drop from 5G NSA to LTE-A and will NOT return no matter what unless I powered it off for 20m+.

Bought a second one (both from cex) and it also does something similar.
Mainly trying to understand what ports do what but it's a mystery?
Is it running the latest B12 firmware? Which network are you using?
 
Both of the zyxels I have are B12 , and three but in ROI , it's abit of a unique situation,
details here if interested :

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/talk/threads/zyxel-nr5103e-disassembly.38870/

It works now but theres a stupid issue where say for example I go away for a while and let the connection idle , it'll drop out of 5G and will NOT go back in unless I power it off for 20mins+. If I turn it on prior to around that time it'll stay in LTE-A as well.
 
I'm still trying to understand which port does what as I have the NR5103E inside an EPNT-2 . The "working" combination I had involved something like this with hooking them up directly to the internal antenna ports.

Cell is the EPNT-2 antenna port markings.

con2(main2) -> cell01 main
con1 -> cell01 div
con4 (main1) -> cell02 main
con3 -> cell02 div

It would connect with B3 as the anchor band and I had B3+B1+N78
Speeds are great and latency

Router itself has weird firmware issues / behaviour in general.

For example if I stop using the internet the connection idles , it will drop from 5G NSA to LTE-A and will NOT return no matter what unless I powered it off for 20m+.

Bought a second one (both from cex) and it also does something similar.
Mainly trying
Hi there! Just to share the results of extensive tests done with my existing 2×2 MIMO 700-3800 mhz (i.e. 2 plugs) trying all possible combinations of the 4 hooks: only connecting ports 1 and 3 results in good LTE+NR throughput (1 being the top connector). The modem shows that UL/DL CA works. All other combinations end up in very bad results... I definitely need an explanation on the reasons behind this weird behavior.
 
Last edited:
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I disassembled my NR5103E and placed the pcb inside an EPNT-2
EPNT-2 ports labelled like this:
CELL-01 Main / CELL-01 DIV CELL-02 Main / CELL-0-2 DIV

You can refer to the pictures I have of the inside of it in my post
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/talk/threads/zyxel-nr5103e-disassembly.38870/here :

I have it configured using it's internal antenna ports and connecting them to the EPNT-2.

Basically the top port is labelled on pcb con4 (main1) and goes down from there.
con2 is labelled main2.

From what you're saying con4 and con2 work best. It works best like that for upload I've noticed.

My config that works best is B3,B1,N78
I get around 300-370 Mbps down and 20-30 mbps upload.
13-15ms latency to local speedtest sv
con2 -> cell01 main
con1 -> cell01 div
con4 -> cell02 main
con3 -> cell02 div
 
I disassembled my NR5103E and placed the pcb inside an EPNT-2
EPNT-2 ports labelled like this:
CELL-01 Main / CELL-01 DIV CELL-02 Main / CELL-0-2 DIV

You can refer to the pictures I have of the inside of it in my post
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/talk/threads/zyxel-nr5103e-disassembly.38870/here :

I have it configured using it's internal antenna ports and connecting them to the EPNT-2.

Basically the top port is labelled on pcb con4 (main1) and goes down from there.
con2 is labelled main2.

From what you're saying con4 and con2 work best. It works best like that for upload I've noticed.

My config that works best is B3,B1,N78
I get around 300-370 Mbps down and 20-30 mbps upload.
13-15ms latency to local speedtest sv
con2 -> cell01 main
con1 -> cell01 div
con4 -> cell02 main
con3 -> cell02 div
So is this correct for the port order on the back?
con4 -> cell02 main (top)
con3 -> cell02 div
con2 -> cell01 main
con1 -> cell01 div (bottom)
 
Port order going from the top down , they're mapped the same from internal antennas to external.

con4 main1 = top port
con3 = 2nd port down
con2 main2 = 3rd port down
con1 = bottom port
 
Port order going from the top down , they're mapped the same from internal antennas to external.

con4 main1 = top port
con3 = 2nd port down
con2 main2 = 3rd port down
con1 = bottom port
That doesn't agree with your earlier post -- which is right?
 
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