EE 4GEE Home vs Three HomeFi

We've just switched our static caravan from 4GEE Home Broadband to Three HomeFi.

On EE, we were getting 30 ms ping, 31.9 Mbps download and 4.76 Mbps upload. On Three, using the Huawei B311 router, we got a ping of 76 ms, 17.3 Mpbs download and 17.2 Mbps upload. I then transferred the Three SIM card to the 4GEE Home Router. On Three, using the 4GEE Home Router, we got a ping of 50 ms, 34.5 Mbps download and 9.84 Mbps upload.

All very satisfactory, given that Three HomeFi is nly £22 per month for unlimited data, whereas we were paying £50 per month for 200 GB on EE.

However, I'm puzzled why the Huawei B311 achieved a much better upload speed than the 4GEE Home Router, albeit a much lower download speed. Any ideas?

It'd be interesting to know what you get with the SIM in a decent 4G phone. I have a Huawei P10 Lite which is now my sole source of telephone and broadband services. In a Sony (full-size) Z3 it was nothing like as good as EE but in the Huawei it was about the same as an EE SIM.

I was able to compare the Three SIM with an EE one as my Huawei was previously on a low-data EE SIM.

I got rid of my landline at home.

Edited by RobertoS (Sun 10-Mar-19 21:58:13)

My iPad, which is also on Three, got 57 ms ping, 46.8 Mbps download and 2.76 Mbps upload at the caravan a week ago, when I checked the 4G coverage to decide whether to switch from EE to Three..

I just have the £20 SIM. No WiFi router. It suits my life-style better this way, even though a router might improve the at-home performance. I can use it anywhere, on a whim.

I'll run a speed test on the 4GEE Home Router, my iPad and my Samsung S6 Edge, all of which are now on Three, when I'm next at the caravan.

Certainly on Three it will depend on which band the router connects to.
Band 3 is lower signal strength for me but much higher bandwidth, Band 20 has much bet signal (better house/wall penetration) but is more congested and much lower speeds.
I fix mine to band 3 LTE.
So unless you know which band, that could be causing the differences you experience.

I have the free app "LTE Discovery" on my Android phone. That gives me quite a bit of relevant info such as the band.

I expect there is a version or similar app on iOS.

There isn't a third party app like that for iOS. Apple don't give app developers access to data like the bands that the phone is using.

However, there is a built in hidden field test mode that shows you data including the band.

You open the phone app, dial *3001#12345#* and press the dial button.

(I think that will also work on some Android phones)

Thanks for that .

That number just gave me "Number not recognised". So I googled "Field test mode for Android" and found this informative site covering Apple and Android. Interesting what it says about LTE though.


As it says, there is a bit of info in "About", which I already knew, but it doesn't reveal the band. Just the carrier, "G"-level and the signal (negative) dB.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

That number just gave me "Number not recognised". So I googled "Field test mode for Android" and found this informative site covering Apple and Android. Interesting what it says about LTE though.

Note that site is in the US where they (incorrectly) call HSPA+ by the term "4G" so then had to call their real 4G networks by the technology used (LTE). They're doing this with 5G now calling high speed 4G "5Ge" on at least one network. The US likes to screw up the terminology.

As it says, there is a bit of info in "About", which I already knew, but it doesn't reveal the band. Just the carrier, "G"-level and the signal (negative) dB.

It *really* depends on the exact model and firmware version of Android phones. This is a mine field. Most networks with a suitable phone will do something called "carrier aggregation" where bands are joined together. However the handset has to support this. With apple devices the iPhone SE and iPhone 6 did NOT support this. The newer ones (6s, 7 and later) all DO support.

That�s interesting. I�ll see if the 4GEE Home Router reports the band it uses the next time I�m at the caravan. That could explain the difference in speed between the Huawei B311 and the 4GEE Home Router.

As I understand it, EE use Band 3 and Band 7, while Three use Band 3 and Band 20.

I�m very satisfied with the performance i�m getting from Three, as it�s better than the performance we were getting from EE at less than half the cost, albeit with a higher ping. I was just curious why the Huawei B311 router supplied by Three achieved higher upload speeds but lower download speeds.

Edited by dewi (Tue 12-Mar-19 09:33:28)

The quality of communication depends on the area.

Edited by Hitfow (Tue 12-Mar-19 12:25:58)

In reply to a post by dewi:

As I understand it, EE use Band 3 and Band 7, while Three use Band 3 and Band 20.

It depends on area. They both have more bands than this. EE and Three both primarily use Band 3, but EE has more holdings in this band.

All 4 networks have Band 20, but EE and Three have 5mhz each, whereas Vodafone and O2 have 10mhz each.
All 4 networks have Band 3, but EE has 45mhz, Three has 15mhz, and Vodafone and O2 have 5mhz each.
All 4 networks have Band 1 (2100mhz) being switched from 3G (UMTS) to 4G (LTE) services
2 networks have Band 7 (2600mhz) - EE and Vodafone
2 networks have Band 32 (1400mhz) - Three and Vodafone - but this is downlink only.

Then the whole thiing gets a LOT more complicated when you add in 5G

You can see why some devices (notably the "gigabit" capable ones) have 5 way Carrier Aggregation, useful on both Vodafone and EE in many cities for additional capacity.

Robert,

This morning, I got:

Samsung S6 Edge, Three, ping 46 ms, download 19.0 Mbps, upload 1.54 Mpbs
iPad Pro (2nd generation), Three, ping 57 ms, download 62.4 Mbps, upload 2.81 Mbps
EE 4GEE Home Router, Three, 47 ms, download 48.5 Mbps, upload 5.25 Mbps

Dewi