In reply to a post by hoopla:

My 525 has version 11.182.61.00.778 and does go to LTE+ but only for a while when there is a lot being downloaded. It switches back to 4G immediately after.

That is normal practice for carrier aggregation, you see this on phones as well. (even iPhones do it, despite not having a 4G+ indicator)

Mostly it sits on 4G unless there is a mobile call in progress, when it drops back to 3G.

On Three this is because your device does not support VoLTE, where the call would be carried across the band 20 4G network.

It seems happy enough to sit on Band 3 most of the time, but sometimes switches to Band 20, which is much slower, so I've disabled that band in the settings.

If you have a good signal for Three on band 3 this is better for you as there is more capacity (15mhz) than on Band 20 (5mhz).

If you can get an EE signal you can get 35mhz of capacity on Band 3 in many areas, as they have 20mhz followed by a second band 3 signal of 15mhz, which can be aggregated together. Plus band 20 (5mhz).

If you can get a Vodafone or Osignal then you find their band 20 has 10mhz of capacity, and both are converting band 1 (2100mhz) to 4G in many areas, I believe both have 10mhz of band 1.

All networks are not the same!!

Edited by jchamier (Thu 19-Dec-19 17:45:32)

I have my B525 connected to a Google WiFi setup, using their Mesh pucks. Are we able to put the B525 into bridge mode yet?
I can't find the option and comments in this thread seem to suggest it was removed in previous firmware updates

Firmware version for mine is 11.236.01.00.00

In reply to a post by gary333:

It might be worth asking LiveWire for the version of firmware I am using which is 11.189.63.00.1217 - device purchase = July 2019. Although for all we know the 61 > 63 could just be down to network lock or region setting or similar.

Can you borrow a sim card from any friends or family and try another network and see if the same thing happens?

Also, as you have two devices, have you tried swapping the sims between them - or is that what you are doing to test as is?

Livewire claim that they do nothing with firmware. They just get the B525s from Huawei and sell them to UK customers unmodified. They told me that the routers still ship with firmware 11.189.61.00.1217

I'd be wasting my time trying to ask Huawei for different firmware.

My B525 has until recently had a Three pay-monthly mobile broadband SIM inserted. I've now tried a Three PAYG data SIM with 1GB data + 200Mb free monthly. Neither made any difference to the B525 switching to LTE+

I could try ordering a PAYG or preloaded data SIM for a different network, but I'm reluctant to pay more than a few £'s just to test it. I'll look at prices.

I could try swapping SIMs to see what happens. But I had understood from Three that there are no network restrictions on their SIM cards, the fastest speed the device supports is what you get (even 5G if you are able to get it).

Edited by smithbill (Thu 19-Dec-19 18:57:14)

Three’s not actually launched 5G yet. It’s a different network formerly called Relish they have bought and renamed Three Broadband.

Three are rather good at marketing.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

If you have a good signal for Three on band 3 this is better for you as there is more capacity (15mhz) than on Band 20 (5mhz).

If you can get an EE signal you can get 35mhz of capacity on Band 3 in many areas, as they have 20mhz followed by a second band 3 signal of 15mhz, which can be aggregated together. Plus band 20 (5mhz).

All networks are not the same!!

This is interesting! Is there a simple list somewhere specifying which bands are best (most capacity) on different UK networks?

In reply to a post by Mrbubba:

Are we able to put the B525 into bridge mode yet?
I can't find the option and comments in this thread seem to suggest it was removed in previous firmware updates

Firmware version for mine is 11.236.01.00.00

Well my B525 has Bridge Mode (firmware 11.189.61.00.1217, purchased from Livewire in UK about 18months ago), but I don't need Bridge Mode now, I want LTE+
I'll do you a swap

Where I work we have a very comprehensive cell site on o2 just outside the grounds (and specifically designed by o2's network team to cover our buildings). It has 12 indivdual cells (so very directional beam) and has bands:

1 - 10mhz
3 - 5mhz
20 - 10mhz
40 - 20mhz

Speeds are still pretty poor so even when you get the best that o2 can give, still ain't good enough. Although, better than Three, EE and Vodafone as non of them work in the buildings.

Hello

With the B525 is it possible to use it for the inclusive SIM minutes AND receive VOIP calls through the same telephone port ?

Thanks

If you are talking about the Three HomeFi, I think you will find there are no inclusive minutes or texts with it. It's a 100GB Data SIM with a free unlimited data add-on.

Unlike the unlimited data/minutes/texts phone SIM.

No, I have unlimited data / minutes / SMS