Three dongle - 3g connects 4g doesn't

I have finally received my 4g dongle and installed the software on my PC. 3g works but only get about 14mbps on the dongle on 3g and 25 in my 3g phone. But when I change network to LTE only it says 4g but "service restricted". I have checked the settings many times and tried the dongle on my Asus router (get about 14mbps down on that).

Any ideas what could be wrong? Is it a dongle problem or a three problem. I have topped up the SIM with 2gb of data and My3 is show 1988mb remaining.

Can you give us a link to what dongle you have bought please? It's just as relevant as "which modem or router" on landline.

Edited by RobertoS (Wed 23-Sep-20 00:28:18)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4G-LTE-WiFi-Router-Wirele...

I am using 3g now but 4g no go.

That is likely to be highly directional (in all three-dimensional orientations) and very sensitive to location in the house in relation to the location of the mast. Both my 4G phones and my 5G one, and my Three router are. See all the discussions of how to improve reception using external antennae in this forum, and how tricky it is to optimise reception.

No doubt you already know about how moving or rotating kit by just a few centimetres/degrees can make a huge difference to normal wifi between router and computer or phone. The same applies to mobile data connections.

Upstairs is usually best, and on the same side of the house as the mast. How to check the connection stats, as in several posts in this thread, on a Windows machine or the SIM in a Windows phone I don't know. All the signal analysers seem to be for Android or iOS, with Windows ones all looking to be about detecting attacks.

And Tim! Yikes! Completely unbranded? Plugged into your computer and software installed from it? Even a top class internet security suite won't know where it (its firmware) might talk to. As for the internal components quality, who knows!

Did you by any chance look at the seller's link on the right? Registered as a business seller on eBay in May (but has 12 months of weird ratings) and sells all sorts of stuff. An address that shows in Google Maps as in the middle of the University of East London campus.

Edited by RobertoS (Wed 23-Sep-20 01:40:13)

I think you're off base with the directional thing as I get 5 bars on signal strength. I think this is SIM related. See pic.

https://ibb.co/8mz9Ckm

Its not for long term use if I get good speeds (if I get a working one) I will buy a 3 router.

You mean buy an equivalent router elsewhere? Then stay on PAYG?

That "Service is restricted" message is very odd. Nobody has ever reported that since I got into "landline ditching".

I wonder what band(s) that dongle can use. Plus, whether it is even UK spec.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I wonder what band(s) that dongle can use. Plus, whether it is even UK spec.

Frequency band: B1, B3,FDD,3G

https://forum.xda-developers.com/android-auto/androi...

Found this thread, Post #10.

In reply to a post by Banger:

Any ideas what could be wrong? Is it a dongle problem or a three problem. I have topped up the SIM with 2gb of data and My3 is show 1988mb remaining.

eBay is a problem place to buy mobile communications technology, as anything can be sold. The "service is restricted" is at a guess, because your dongle doesn't support Band 20, which might be the preferred signal you are getting indoors. It appears to be designed for the Asia region, not designed for European use (might work in USA) with those limited bands. My ancient Vodafone dongle supports more 4G (LTE) bands than this does.

It could also be that Three have blocked its use, they can identify the make etc from their end.

All Three SIM's have always allowed 4G from the day they launched 4G.

Does it have to be a dongle via USB ? Dongles are "old hat" in the industry, and a Category 3 150 Mbps device is going to be very slow at any speeds you might get. Forget the "branding" speed in the real world (like WiFi).

Anything needs support for the European bands, B1, B3, B20 (all FDD), and B32 (SDL) for Three today in 2020.

If you want top speeds, you're going to have to pay quite a bit more I'm afraid.

Edited by jchamier (Wed 23-Sep-20 07:40:17)

Got any recommendations? I dont want another router, I have routers coming out my ears. Also a dongle can be fitted to an Asus router in failover or load balance mode which might see me through until 5g is available and an Unlimited three sim.

In reply to a post by Banger:

Got any recommendations? I dont want another router, I have routers coming out my ears. Also a dongle can be fitted to an Asus router in failover or load balance mode which might see me through until 5g is available and an Unlimited three sim.

Understand on the routers! I have an Asus which in theory supports connection from a dongle, or android phone (I know it didn't work with my iPhone).

Sorry, I can't find a USB stick that I would buy. There are pocket-WiFi units around, but it is unclear from ebay what their specifications are. Three themselves sell the Huawei E5783B-230 but only on contracts, not PAYG. (they used to!).

Might be worth calling Three and see if they have any PAYG USB sticks, or if you have a Three store, they might have some old stock left.

The networks no longer sell them, because of the changes in technology over 3 years, never mind 4 or 5. Mobile networks move VERY fast in technology change since 4G launched, and that is before 5G.

I got the dongle working in 3g mode on the Asus AC68U on its own with the WAN cable unplugged got about 14mbps on a speed test. Mind you I am using the latest Beta firmware for the Asus as seen on the SNB forums.

I have put my sim in my windows phone so I can call three free. Just as well been on the phone to Technical Support for an hour to see if they can shed any light on it.

18 months ago my phone SIM when it was in a Huawei P10 Lite worked fine on 4G with the phone plugged into the USB port of my ASUS RT-N66U, with the bog standard ASUS firmware.

That was a proof of concept setup to check speeds but impractical compared to simply using the phone as a hotspot.

Nowadays I have that SIM in my new phone and the original (not brilliant) Three Huawei B311 router + SIM contract as well.

All Three SIMs these days are 5G capable. Just need the area and 5G capable kit.

It's unbranded, I suspect the bands on the spec sheet you are reading are not correct. It's common with these sorts of products to get something totally different to what is advertised. You see this all the time with budget technology, SSDs, SD cards that quote stupid memory such as 256gb the device starts to overwrite data when you hit 16GB. Essentially it's not what it says on the spec sheet etc etc... I've done a few teardowns and the spec sheets are just plain wrong.

It could also be down to the device not supporting all of network 3 bands.

I would advise getting a reputable brand, which supports all bands, then you can know for sure if the issue is network or not. You can also return if it's sold by amazon etc, assuming it does not help.

Worth noting, these ebay products which do not meet the European electrical standards, cause fires. We have a 9 bedroom house burnt to the ground due to an iPhone cable from ebay, setting fire to a bed whilst someone slept in it, just down the road. Be careful what you buy on ebay if it ain't branded and reputable.

Also he needs to watch out for "brand" counterfeits. If it is stupidly cheap, it's not real. The supplier needs to be checkable.

On Amazon the prices seem to be £35-£45 or so when I had a quick look last night.

Edited by RobertoS (Wed 23-Sep-20 11:23:06)

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

On Amazon the prices seem to be £35-£45 or so when I had a quick look last night.

That makes sense for a Huawei type device. There are old Vodafone K150's but I suspect they are locked to the Vodafone network, I have one here in a cupboard. For £60 to £80 there are Netgear Aircard devices, which are very much superior.

Well I have returned the above dongle for refund and have a second hand Huawei E3372 on its way to try.

Spent an hour on the phone to three technical support and they said any dongle should work. So we will see.

Any unbroken tyre pressure gauge will work. Whether the results are useful/accurate is a different matter.

In reply to a post by Banger:

Well I have returned the above dongle for refund and have a second hand Huawei E3372 on its way to try.

That looks a lot better, it supports B20 (800), B7 (2600), B3 (1800), and 900 which doesn't apply to Three (or EE) in the UK.

Spent an hour on the phone to three technical support and they said any dongle should work. So we will see.

Yes, they state they don't deliberately block anything, it just needs to technically be compatible.

But customer services / front door technical are usually the last to know about network things. (Back room technical are not connected to front door technical!).

Hope I haven't fell in the fire with a Huawei dongle, seems almost impossible to find firmware updates. Found windows 10 drivers but drawn a blank on firmware.

Maybe that's why it was for sale. Is that model still available new?

Are you sure there is an update?

Huawei had stopped upgrading the Android version on my P10 Lite, which was hardly an old model. It was never going to get Android 10.

It is a fairly old model, available new on Amazon.

Here's a list of firmware I stumbled accross on the Huawei forum created Aug 2019.

https://forum.huawei.com/enterprise/en/huawei-cpe-e3...

I have my eye on another Huawei which is in Box and a newer model. Three used to sell the E3372 but it's out of stock.

Edited by Banger (Thu 24-Sep-20 02:28:30)

In reply to a post by Banger:

Hope I haven't fell in the fire with a Huawei dongle, seems almost impossible to find firmware updates. Found windows 10 drivers but drawn a blank on firmware.

Nope, Huawei only supply firmware to their customers (the ISPs), not end users. This is normal, when they were being sold heavily by all the mobile networks, you never found updated firmware/drivers. Win10 should use its own drivers built in.

They are an obsolete product/concept as they are limited to LTE Category 4 connectivity, which means speeds will be low, but should be faster than 3G. If this was your main connection, I would suggest giving up the USB concept and getting a Netgear Aircard or similar, that is at least Cat 6, or Cat 12.

Been there. Done that. I wanted to use a dongle with my old and trusted Billion router. I went through about three or four different ones, but none of them are up to the job. They would overheat when given a large download to chew on. Training a noisy fan on it helped, but it was no solution.

Plus, most of the fleaBay and Amazon Marketplace sellers had no idea what they were selling, so shipped the versions designed to work with a Windows PC, rather than a router as advertised.

Once I switched to a "proper" router, I got much faster throughput too. To cut a long story short, I signed up for a 30-day plan that included a Huawei B535, then immediately gave my 30 day notice. Total cost to me: £79. The B535 supports band 32, has gigabit ports, and includes very decent internal 2x2 antennae.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by Banger:

Well I have returned the above dongle for refund and have a second hand Huawei E3372 on its way to try.

That looks a lot better, it supports B20 (800), B7 (2600), B3 (1800), and 900 which doesn't apply to Three (or EE) in the UK.

Spent an hour on the phone to three technical support and they said any dongle should work. So we will see.

Yes, they state they don't deliberately block anything, it just needs to technically be compatible.

But customer services / front door technical are usually the last to know about network things. (Back room technical are not connected to front door technical!).

I wonder if three have blocked the PAYG sims from 4g or it is the dongle itself. Having said that I tried my Virgin SIM in it and 3g worked but 4g was again restricted. Been doing some investigation and the EE checker says the dongle wont work E3372 but Voda dont seem to have any restrictions so ordered a PAYG sim from them.

Edited by Banger (Sat 26-Sep-20 03:59:39)

Honestly is it worth all this hassle to keep getting something on eBay that’s not working out? I generally say buy once buy right.

Retail stores won’t sell you something that doesn’t work with windows 10 out of the box nowadays, the os is too prevalent.

Is this also not getting 4G?

The Huawei is not here yet just been using the online coverage/device checkers.

I have used 3 PAYG SIMs LTE/4G in phones and in the car SatNav with no trouble.

In reply to a post by Banger:

I wonder if three have blocked the PAYG sims from 4g or it is the dongle itself.

I have about 4 Three PAYG SIMs of various ages, some quite old, as they don't seem to cut them off for no use. They ALL have worked on 4G (LTE) connections in various devices, Motorola Moto E (2nd edition), Google Pixel, OnePlus 7 Pro, OnePlus Nord, iPhone SE, iPhone 8, iPhone XS.

One of them even shows 5G where we have one activated mast (in an industrial estate) on the Nord.

eBay is a nightmare for electronics.

Edited by jchamier (Sat 26-Sep-20 11:18:11)

Seeing as their old leaflets with PAYG "Pay Monthly or Pay As You Go. Our SIMs are 5G Ready at no extra cost, and you can get Unlimited data for your endless streaming joy. Never again will your playlist stop before getting to Taytay", I don't think 4G can be blocked. 😋

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by Banger:

I wonder if three have blocked the PAYG sims from 4g or it is the dongle itself.

I have about 4 Three PAYG SIMs of various ages, some quite old, as they don't seem to cut them off for no use. They ALL have worked on 4G (LTE) connections in various devices, Motorola Moto E (2nd edition), Google Pixel, OnePlus 7 Pro, OnePlus Nord, iPhone SE, iPhone 8, iPhone XS.

One of them even shows 5G where we have one activated mast (in an industrial estate) on the Nord.

eBay is a nightmare for electronics.

I got a 3 PAYG 321 sim cut off after 180 days of no use. Took quite some effort to get my number back but they did at least pull through. Lost the credit though.

In reply to a post by gary333:

I got a 3 PAYG 321 sim cut off after 180 days of no use. Took quite some effort to get my number back but they did at least pull through. Lost the credit though.

Hmm, maybe I've just managed to top up enough to keep it going. I don't use them for voice so the number is unimportant. I've had EE SIMs time out, and O2 SIMs, but not Three. Perhaps this one will, as I'm less interested in Three now my friends have moved to Vodafone.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by gary333:

I got a 3 PAYG 321 sim cut off after 180 days of no use. Took quite some effort to get my number back but they did at least pull through. Lost the credit though.

Hmm, maybe I've just managed to top up enough to keep it going. I don't use them for voice so the number is unimportant. I've had EE SIMs time out, and O2 SIMs, but not Three. Perhaps this one will, as I'm less interested in Three now my friends have moved to Vodafone.

As long as either a text, call or kb of data is sent in a 180 block they dont block it. Now i send a text to myself every 3 months just to be safe.

Well the Huawei dongle has arrived and it doesn't work either. Says no service. I do a manual search for networks it just says failed.

In reply to a post by Banger:

Well the Huawei dongle has arrived and it doesn't work either. Says no service. I do a manual search for networks it just says failed.

Something odd going on. Does your SIM work in a mobile handset?

Yes SIM works in a phone and seller says she was using it with 3 and Voda. I have ordered a Voda PAYG sim and giffgaff sim. It doesn't even drop back to 3g. Three coverage checker says good 4g coverage indoor and outdoor at my location.

In reply to a post by Banger:

Yes SIM works in a phone and seller says she was using it with 3 and Voda. I have ordered a Voda PAYG sim and giffgaff sim. It doesn't even drop back to 3g.

If the seller was using with Voda then it will need setting up with the Three APN before it will connect to anything.

APN = three.co.uk

Three coverage checker says good 4g coverage indoor and outdoor at my location.

If it works in your phone in the same room, then the coverage checker is okay. If you didn't have the phone to test, I would query it.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by Banger:

Yes SIM works in a phone and seller says she was using it with 3 and Voda. I have ordered a Voda PAYG sim and giffgaff sim. It doesn't even drop back to 3g.

If the seller was using with Voda then it will need setting up with the Three APN before it will connect to anything.

APN = three.co.uk

Three coverage checker says good 4g coverage indoor and outdoor at my location.

If it works in your phone in the same room, then the coverage checker is okay. If you didn't have the phone to test, I would query it.

APN was already set up and giffgaff APN but the dongle selected 3 as soon as I plugged it in. Phone is only 3g its a windows phone.

In reply to a post by Banger:

APN was already set up and giffgaff APN but the dongle selected 3 as soon as I plugged it in. Phone is only 3g its a windows phone.

Not sure I understand your post, but if set to the giffgaff APN then it won't work on Three. As a data device, the dongle won't connect if the APN is not right. Unlike a phone which will make phone calls only and show the network name / signal.

If you get a 3G signal from Three, that is transmitted on Band 1 (2100 Mhz).
Any 4G signal from Three is likely on Band 3 (1800 Mhz) or Band 20 (800 Mhz) or Band 1 (2100 Mhz), where Band 3 has been enabled around the country on the most transmitters (masts).

So the fact your ancient Windows Phone is showing a 3G signal, and the coverage map says 4G is available, means your dongle should at LEAST connect to 3G, and LIKELY show 4G.

On most Huawei devices the light on the dongle changes colour, 3G is a blue, and 4G is a sort of purple-ish colour. (Green I think is 2G).

It's just flashing green. 192.168.8.1 shows no signal and network search in connection settings shows failed. Seller says she was using it and I can see texts from three saying your allowance is running out. Maybe its a duff dongle?

In reply to a post by Banger:

It's just flashing green. 192.168.8.1 shows no signal and network search in connection settings shows failed. Seller says she was using it and I can see texts from three saying your allowance is running out. Maybe its a duff dongle?

They don't fail that often. What other options do you have in the settings? Most people sell them on because they've had enough of the software, and they are slow compared to modern WiFi based connections.

Are you using Windows 10 by chance?

Is this what it looks like, does it have any network logos (e.g. 3) on the front?
https://consumer.huawei.com/uk/smart-home/e3372/

Edited by jchamier (Wed 30-Sep-20 21:55:25)

Yes using windows 10.

Here is what I see.

https://ibb.co/jVcrt7C

https://ibb.co/VqxKdzX

https://ibb.co/kSNXjHv

https://ibb.co/1s8gKMC

MTC on the front but advertised as unlocked and I can see 3 texts.

Edited by Banger (Wed 30-Sep-20 21:59:07)

On the last screenshot you have “support LTE networks” not checked. You need to CHECK (tick) this box, and save the settings. LTE == 4G

I would also change the drop down that says Manual, to Automatic.

Huawei don’t support that stick on Win10. Unfortunately your Windows is probably too new for the stick. Everything in your screen shots looks normal.

Do you have any other device you could try in, e.g. an older machine (Win7 ?) or in your router perhaps?

You could try this page I just found by Google, but I don’t have any 4G sticks to try anymore.

https://borncity.com/win/2017/12/22/windows-10-issue...

Edited by jchamier (Wed 30-Sep-20 22:14:10)

Tried it in the a router but I just get the same home screen which says no signal. I will wait for the Voda and Giffgaff sims try them if the same its going back. I unchecked the LTE box to see if the dongle could find any 3g networks which it supports but just the same and I know the sim in the dongle works on 3g.

MTC could either be MTS from Russia, or MTC from Namibia. Both are very different to European networks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTS_(network_provider)

Russia uses bands 3, 7, and 20. The UK uses bands 1, 3, 7, and 20.
If its Namibia, their networks only use Band 3.

I feel your second hand searching may have drawn a blank. We have no way of telling what signals are in your area as you have too old a mobile You could buy a more modern 4G Android phone from a supermarket / argos, and that would show if Three 4G is available in your home. Depending on the handset there are free apps that can show what the signals are by the band number / frequency.

It depends what you really need, but I would suggest not buying any more used items where you can’t tell what country they are from.

(The texts you see on the dongle, are they specifically from Three UK, or could it be any Three network, anywhere in the world? There are a few).

Turning off LTE means it can’t find LTE, it will always go down the steps. Starting from LTE (4G), to UMTS (3G), to EDGE (2G) and GPRS (2G).

Fingers crossed your Giffgaff (part of O2) and Vodafone SIMs work. They both use Band 20 (800 Mhz) signals.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

MTC could either be MTS from Russia, or MTC from Namibia. Both are very different to European networks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTS_(network_provider)

Russia uses bands 3, 7, and 20. The UK uses bands 1, 3, 7, and 20.
If its Namibia, their networks only use Band 3.

I feel your second hand searching may have drawn a blank. We have no way of telling what signals are in your area as you have too old a mobile You could buy a more modern 4G Android phone from a supermarket / argos, and that would show if Three 4G is available in your home. Depending on the handset there are free apps that can show what the signals are by the band number / frequency.

It depends what you really need, but I would suggest not buying any more used items where you can’t tell what country they are from.

(The texts you see on the dongle, are they specifically from Three UK, or could it be any Three network, anywhere in the world? There are a few).

As you can see from the below SMS screenshot the messages point to three.co.uk/topup.

https://ibb.co/0FP84hK

In reply to a post by Banger:

As you can see from the below SMS screenshot the messages point to three.co.uk/topup.

Great!
Very strange that no 3G signal is showing up.
Hopefully the Vodafone or GiffGaff SIMs will work.

MWconn 5.9
Network Analysis

GPRS 100% [23420] 3 UK
GPRS 100% [23415] vodafone UK (forbidden)
GPRS 100% [23415] vodafone UK (forbidden)
GPRS 100% [23430] T-Mobile UK (forbidden)
GPRS 100% [23410] O2 - UK (forbidden)
GPRS 100% [23410] O2 - UK (forbidden)

MWconn 5.9
Network Analysis

UMTS 100% [23430] T-Mobile UK (forbidden)
UMTS 100% [23410] O2 - UK (forbidden)
UMTS 100% [23410] O2 - UK (forbidden)
UMTS 100% [23415] vodafone UK (forbidden)
UMTS ??% [23415] vodafone UK (forbidden)
UMTS ??% [23420] 3

Here is the Network analysis from the No name dongle when I had it unfortunately the program didn't have an LTE scan.

Edited by Banger (Wed 30-Sep-20 23:01:58)

In reply to a post by Banger:

Here is the Network analysis from the No name dongle when I had it unfortunately the program didn't have an LTE scan.

Useful output. Interesting it saw a 3 network GPRS. Are you in a very very rural area? Interesting no signal strength on Three 3G (UMTS) as well. The dongle is quite old as it calls EE by its old network name of T-mobile UK.

So from that you should have more luck with O2 and Voda on at least 3G

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by Banger:

Here is the Network analysis from the No name dongle when I had it unfortunately the program didn't have an LTE scan.

Useful output. Interesting it saw a 3 network GPRS. Are you in a very very rural area? Interesting no signal strength on Three 3G (UMTS) as well. The dongle is quite old as it calls EE by its old network name of T-mobile UK.

So from that you should have more luck with O2 and Voda on at least 3G

Not in a rural area and according to the checker should get good indoor coverage for the major networks.

In reply to a post by Banger:

Not in a rural area and according to the checker should get good indoor coverage for the major networks.

What caused the question is the dongle showing GPRS (2G) on the Three network. They do not have any 2G. A long time ago they used to rent some 2G coverage from Orange then switched to O2, but my understanding all this was turned off about 6 years ago. If you were in a rural area it might have been left on.

You can see my confusion!

Returning for refund the Ebay E3372 and found an Amazon Warehouse E3372 so going to try that.

Finally got a purple light. 3G is faster

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/16017400271... LTE

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/16017398354... 3G

I assume that is your GiifGaff SIM ?

If so you’ve just discovered why they are cheap. They don’t buy much capacity from O2 for their customers. An O2 or even Tesco SIM would be faster.

Indeed but it is the only one that gives me a purple 4G light out of 3 and Voda. Will look at o2.

Interesting nothing from Voda. As often the networks share cell sites.

Great news you finally have a dongle that is getting an LTE signal !

Voda gets 3G fine but 4g service restricted. I really wanted to try Voda 4g but both Voda SIMS only connect to 3g same as Three.

Something odd going on. I have a voda PAYG from my local shell petrol station for £1 and it works on 4G without issue.

Voda and O2 have their main LTE on band 20 which is 800 MHz. As you got an LTE signal on GiffGaff that means your dongle is highly likely to be working on band 20.

If your Voda PAYG sim is very old?!

Can you let us know what town you are in, as there may be clues on Cellmapper and other mast sites.

I got two Voda SIMS one from Ebay which could be old but it said 4G and one from Voda themselves direct which took about a week to get here.

I'm in Sunderland on the coast and all the checkers say good 4G signal.

Most convenience stores sell £1 SIMs for all mainstream and some niche providers. Just add a PAYG amount to it.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Most convenience stores sell £1 SIMs for all mainstream and some niche providers. Just add a PAYG amount to it.

I think things have changed as there are SIMS for phones and SIMS for Tablets and dongles so I am led to believe certainly on 3 I have been informed.

I have Purple light on Voda but speeds are pretty poor. Wonder if there is a congestion issue with the 4g mast? I spent half an hour with Voda chat and they suggested adding Voda APN info to the dongle homepage which worked. But as for speed.

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/16017968206... Voda 4g

https://www.speedtest.net/result/10192827228 4g good upload but down rubbish.

Edited by Banger (Sun 04-Oct-20 08:40:35)

In reply to a post by Banger:

I think things have changed as there are SIMS for phones and SIMS for Tablets and dongles so I am led to believe certainly on 3 I have been informed.

There are pay monthly price plans for these, but the actual SIM is the same. On PAYG there should be no difference.

This map shows the Vodafone masts in the Sunderland area.

The majority are transmitting Band 20 only, there are a couple that have Band 1 for additional capacity.

Here is the map of the O2 masts, and they have Bands 1, 20, 3 and 40. Your dongle won't connect on Band 40.

As you can see the Vodafone and O2 masts are in the same locations, they are sharing the towers and panels (at the top) but have different boxes of electronics on the ground.

The map of Three masts is here, as I suspected majority are Band 3

Congestion on a Sat night, in a Covid lockdown situation is quite likely sadly. Also your dongle is lowest category LTE.

Unfortunately I suspect the only way to find out more is to find someone with a 4G phone on the networks of interest whom can either loan you the phone to check signal in your home, or at least outside your home

In reply to a post by Banger:

I have Purple light on Voda but speeds are pretty poor. Wonder if there is a congestion issue with the 4g mast? I spent half an hour with Voda chat and they suggested adding Voda APN info to the dongle homepage which worked. But as for speed.

Whilst congestion is possible, given Covid and numbers of people at home, to get the same on Vodafone and GiffGaff is suspicous.

Unlike 3G which hardly changed (original UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+), the 4G technology has kept evolving, from Category 3 all the way to Category 18 or 20 now.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by Banger:

I think things have changed as there are SIMS for phones and SIMS for Tablets and dongles so I am led to believe certainly on 3 I have been informed.

There are pay monthly price plans for these, but the actual SIM is the same. On PAYG there should be no difference.

Quite .

IIRC it is even stipulated by Ofcom that a SIM can be used in any device. Only the way it is marketed changes.

In reply to a post by Banger:

I have Purple light on Voda but speeds are pretty poor. Wonder if there is a congestion issue with the 4g mast?

Vodafone & O2 have split the country essentially into areas, where the host network does all the engineering work, and also installs the kit for the partner. In your case, you are in an O2 controlled region (as it appears from this map is scotland):
https://static.pedroc.co.uk/images/vodafone_and_o2_b...

Given this I would recommend you get a real O2 PAYG SIM and test. The GiffGaff results are typical GiffGaff, nothing to do with O2.

You will still have poor performance compared to modern hardware, as your dongle does not support Band 40 (significant expansion for O2), or the higher order mimo features that make significant difference at the "cell edge" (long way from the cell site).

In reality more data is required, using an up to date 4G device (e.g. an android handset).

Edited by jchamier (Sun 04-Oct-20 12:10:41)

Ordered an o2 data SIM and EE as EE uses a different mast in the village according to cellmapper. All good fun, just done a speedtest and got 3mbps on Voda things are looking up.

I found out how to connect to Three in 4g, simply add the APN for China Telecom. Speed rubbish about 6mbps.

I think that proves you have a dodgy imported dongle!

I bought a Huawei E3372 from Amazon Warehouse (damaged packing) and its coming from Spain!

How much time have you spent on this trying to get a bargain buying used dongles? Fair enough if you're just playing around as a hobby but if you're trying to get a reliable LTE backup for your fixed line then you could have bought the right equipment a while ago.

About a tenner rest has been refunded. Just a hobby not a serious backup plan.

Spain much better as long as it was originally sold in Europe.

Exactly - dongles are a dead technology.

You could just get the £23 plan here and return it within 14 days! That would settle the Three question.

Alternatively either of the other two data allowance packages. The main difference being the unlimited data if you decided to keep it.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

You could just get the £23 plan here and return it within 14 days! That would settle the Three question.

Alternatively either of the other two data allowance packages. The main difference being the unlimited data if you decided to keep it.

No bridge mode so cant connect to Asus router as load balancer or backup.

3G is still faster than 4g no matter what network. 3g=15mbps 4g= 6mbps.

It would settle the Three speed question. That was my main point.

How easy is it to get out of the contract? My experience of Three Customer Service so far is not encouraging.

If you get to the Returns policy through my link, it says how to do it. (Despite what it says in the sales blurm about being returned new. I've never had to return anything to them.

Equally, how often do ordinary people post on forums about non-problematic returns to any reputable company? It's just not something people do except in reply to someone who had a problem.

I have a vague memory of asking their CS back in an 2019 what would be the position if I bought the earlier version, and the reply was as long as the router was undamaged and the packaging OK, then no problem. Bin the SIM but have to pay for any data used. I guess that would have been at their 3-2-1 rate which would be expensive if you used much.

You'd need to ask them really, to get the answer to that.

Maybe a better idea would be this router from Amazon with your current Three SIM? Easy enough to return to Amazon.

Though that still wouldn't solve the bridge mode question. It might handle a backup setup, (from the product description). Maybe not.

Perhaps best to forget my suggestions! (:

As for load balancing, I think you need to be talking something like Draytek stuff. Or is your router similar?

That Amazon router looks a bit pricey for what it is and I think it is only 2.4ghz band. The Asus I have does load balancing or failover between USB stick and normal WAN and works I have tried it OR two modems (bridge) where you assign the 2nd WAN to an ethernet port (haven't tried) except with 2 routers and the Asus complained of double nat and IP conflicts which is a whole different ball game.

I will test this Huawei dongle (due Thursday) first, then have a think.

You don't need a bridge mode to avoid IP conflicts, you just need a router where you can set the LAN IP to something different to your existing LAN that the Asus router manages. If you're just using it for failover then the double NAT won't cause any problems, and - with the exception of Three - your mobile data connection sits behind NAT anyway.

Interesting, the Asus tries to create a different subnet when in load balancing mode as it detects an IP conflict on the WAN and recommends a different sub net.

I read double nat can cause some secure sites to not connect and was trying to avoid this.

In reply to a post by Banger:

I read double nat can cause some secure sites to not connect and was trying to avoid this.

Nope, I've had no problems with double NAT for outbound connections.

If you use O2/Vodafone/EE or any of the virtual networks (Tesco, GiffGaff, Lebara etc) you will ALWAYS be behind CGNAT. With Three you can mostly get a public IP, but this won't be the case forever, as IPv4 is exhausted.

It is highly possible you have poor signal, which is why I posted the cellmapper maps on the weekend. You need a reliable way of testing, which these dongles do not achieve.

To do that you need to buy something more modern, either a new phone handset (e.g. the cheap OnePlus Nord for £370 on Amazon, which even does 5G) and put the SIM in that. I think the Asus would work (for backup) if you plugged the phone into the Asus USB port using the charging cable.

Edited by jchamier (Tue 06-Oct-20 09:52:46)

I have the OnePlus 8 Pro, the Nord being much more recent, and really like it. I recommend the brand.

I frequently tether to it acting as a hotspot, with no problems. In fact, making this post has given me a simple idea to help with in-car navigation and hands-free. Currently I cannot have the two concurrently as the car doesn't support Android, only Apple.

As it is my only phone, (no landline), it is inconvenient to connect to the USB port of my laptop, or to my "resting" ASUS RT-N66U which is upstairs.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I have the OnePlus 8 Pro, the Nord being much more recent, and really like it.

I sold my OnePlus 7 and bought the Nord a month ago. I also have fixed line broadband. I only have a PAYG service in the Nord, which currently is a Vodafone, giving around 20 to 25 Mbps most of the day. (Three around here is about 9 to 15 Mbps, EE is around 40 Mbps).

One of the good features of the (European) Nord model is that it supports all the frequency bands that are planned for use in Europe, and this includes 5G (NR in NonStandAlone mode)

Edited by jchamier (Tue 06-Oct-20 13:34:47)

I paid £15 for my Nokia Lumia 530 Windows phone and it has a 3G hotspot from Carphone warehouse new! 370 for a phone is a lot of dosh.

Got my EE SIM today and getting about 10mbps on 3g, red light on 4g service restricted. Had to put in my phone before I could get 3g to work. Haven't topped it up as waiting for o2 data SIM to try and E3372 dongle.

(See the post icon, )
At this rate time you'll be getting there just as wireless broadband G6 is declared obsolescent as the first 7G handsets start filtering onto the market.😈

As long as they dont turn off 4g.

Hologram 3D Immersive TV won't work on 4G, and unless you get a posh one with a secondary 2D colour matrix you will only get black and white.

I dont watch TV no idea why I still pay the Licence fee. Radio is my favourite.

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/16021719424...

Got new dongle cant get 02 to work yet but EE fastest at 30mbps.

In reply to a post by Banger:

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/16021719424...
Got new dongle cant get 02 to work yet but EE fastest at 30mbps.

15 from Three, and 30 from EE is pretty impressive!!

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/16021833213...

EE speed test. Bit of a problem getting a payment through but a quick call and it was sorted.

In reply to a post by Banger:

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/16021833213...
EE speed test. Bit of a problem getting a payment through but a quick call and it was sorted.

That is 4G working. You may even find that you've hit a PAYG cap, it used to be 30 Mbps, but might be a bit higher. However EE seem to have a plan that most areas of the country can regularly get around 40 Mbps, and you are close.

So the new dongle solved the problem!

Signal is a bit weak, so I have ordered a couple of aerials still cant get anything out of the 02 sim and signal is only about 2 bars on that.

That is surprising. Additional aerials will be interesting, in some cases they can reduce signal due to the length of the cable. I have seen people use USB extensions to get dongles close to windows. (USB extensions only work for about 1.5m max!)

This is what I had in mind.

Well that is disappointing after getting it to work it randomly locks up and my PC can't see it or ping the dongle anymore so its going back and I have ordered a new one.

'Tis to be expected on 4G and previously on 3G. EE has been top of the pile overall for several years now. Also its progenitor, Orange. I only left it on price grounds, as I was trying very hard to apply Mr Micawber's advice.

Mr Micawber has also given us the famous dictum now known as “The Micawber Principle”: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

I did improve things a lot, but failed to reach the target.

In reply to a post by Banger:

Well that is disappointing after getting it to work it randomly locks up and my PC can't see it or ping the dongle anymore so its going back and I have ordered a new one.

I'm beginning to think there is a reason dongles are not fashionable.

Well it was a return maybe that's why it was returned originally? Anyway no harm done as Amazon refund return postage and costs. See how the new one performs on Saturday.

In reply to a post by Banger:

Well that is disappointing after getting it to work it randomly locks up and my PC can't see it or ping the dongle anymore so its going back and I have ordered a new one.

The dongle itself isn't actually pingable, it is just software running on your PC that is faking it.

Sometimes just removing and reinserting might restart the software. As Bob says, its one of many reasons they are no longer popular.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by Banger:

Well that is disappointing after getting it to work it randomly locks up and my PC can't see it or ping the dongle anymore so its going back and I have ordered a new one.

The dongle itself isn't actually pingable, it is just software running on your PC that is faking it.

Sometimes just removing and reinserting might restart the software. As Bob says, its one of many reasons they are no longer popular.

Yes I found that removing and re-inserting would bring it back to life. I had a feeling it wasn't the dongle as it was still flashing blue. I wonder if there are any updated drivers as the dongle when first inserted prompts to download updated drivers (NDIS remote) but examining this in device manager it is from 2006. Oh well I will have to find another graceful way of resetting the drivers to get it to work.

Or buy something that is known to work .

In reply to a post by Banger:

Yes I found that removing and re-inserting would bring it back to life. I had a feeling it wasn't the dongle as it was still flashing blue. I wonder if there are any updated drivers as the dongle when first inserted prompts to download updated drivers (NDIS remote) but examining this in device manager it is from 2006. Oh well I will have to find another graceful way of resetting the drivers to get it to work.

You're probably hitting the Win10 & dongle issue, the problem is now that you can buy laptops with built in 4G, and many people just use the "hotspot" on their mobile phone, the market for USB dongles has disappeared. So the software doesn't seem to be being updated with Windows.

At work, we used to be issued with Vodafone dongles, now we have laptops with USB-C ports, there is nowhere to plug them in, so we are told to hotspot our phones. If most mobile working employers have done the same, you can see why the mobile networks are not selling dongles on their websites. (They might in store, if they are open!).

The thing is, the Subject isn't correct. There isn't a Three dongle and I doubt if there ever was.

Some dongles are advertised as such, but on examination aren't. Even Three advertise one, but it is in fact a mini battery-powered router/Access Point with a USB charging socket.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

The thing is, the Subject isn't correct. There isn't a Three dongle and I doubt if there ever was.

Some dongles are advertised as such, but on examination aren't. Even Three advertise one, but it is in fact a mini battery-powered router/Access Point with a USB charging socket.

You are talking rubbish again.

https://ibb.co/xLYjxYn

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

There isn't a Three dongle and I doubt if there ever was.

Sorry, but I've owned them! There was a 7.2 Mbps one, and a 14.4 Mbps one, and a HSPA+ 28 Mbps one. All Three branded, mostly made by Huawei, and a couple by others. I didn't personally own an LTE dongle branded by Three UK.

You're looking at their current website, I'm thinking circa 2010 to 2015. I suspect they all vanished around 2018.

(Also thanks jchamier)

I stand corrected about the past, but they still refer to their dongle in their advert shown as a result of a this search. Click the link and you get this. That ain't no dongle, guv.

Old links. Speaking of which.

http://store.three.co.uk/view/product/ql_catalog/thr...

From that link:-

"When we start rolling out 4G, we'll nudge up our customers who have a 4G Ready device at no extra cost. With just a simple software update you'll enjoy trouble free switching."

Where did you find it?

Google "Three Huawei E3372". The device winging its way to me for today is a 2020 version sold by Amazon and not a third party.

Edited by Banger (Sat 10-Oct-20 01:35:09)

The Huawei 3372 from Amazon is no secret. It came up every time I googled for dongles. Including the google results link I gave a couple of posts ago, £38.95.

My point is that lets hope it is better than the 2017 version I first had.

New dongle has arrived and look at the upload!

https://www.speedtest.net/result/10226373902

Just had text from Three informing that as a loyal customer I can have the this for £17/month/24 month contract.
Nice but still not sold on this. I must say the performance on my basic 4g Samsung A21s is very good.
I like ti use a VPN but cant see this working with this.

In reply to a post by Banger:

New dongle has arrived and look at the upload!
https://www.speedtest.net/result/10226373902

Download is a bit low, but upload is working well. Given they seem to have stopped making USB dongles at this level (LTE category 4), and that Huawei are constrained from using any US made technology, I don't think there will be anything newer than this made.

LTE category 4 is often quoted in terms of top speeds which is simplistic, and not really relevant. The higher the category device (e.g. Cat 6, Cat 12, Cat 16) the more efficient it is at using the radio waves between itself and the mast.

Useful info here:
https://www.semiaccurate.com/2017/11/14/qualcomm-sho...

Certainly an improvement . Maybe you just hit a bad time for the download part.

Stable too with new driver which the dongle downloaded.

Ping statistics for 192.168.8.1:
Packets: Sent = 14082, Received = 14082, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 30ms, Average = 23ms

and new UI.

https://ibb.co/K6fLN0b

Good .

Re the interface, that's the same as my B311. Probably got the same electronics and OS. Just a different packaging of power supply and antenna(e).

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Re the interface, that's the same as my B311. Probably got the same electronics and OS. Just a different packaging of power supply and antenna(e).

And a vastly different interface, USB rather than WiFi. USB is horrendously difficult to code for.

In the USB world the "OS" you talk about is actually in the driver running on the computer, rather than in the dongle. The dongle itself contains the radio electronics & SIM card interface, and the rest of the work is handed over to software on the PC.

This dongle claims to have WiFi which is fascinating, does that actually work? I have seen Win10 successfully create a WiFi hotspot from an ethernet internet connection, that my phone could then connect to. (That is Win10 built in functionality)

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Re the interface, that's the same as my B311. Probably got the same electronics and OS. Just a different packaging of power supply and antenna(e).

And a vastly different interface, USB rather than WiFi. USB is horrendously difficult to code for.

In the USB world the "OS" you talk about is actually in the driver running on the computer, rather than in the dongle. The dongle itself contains the radio electronics & SIM card interface, and the rest of the work is handed over to software on the PC.

This dongle claims to have WiFi which is fascinating, does that actually work? I have seen Win10 successfully create a WiFi hotspot from an ethernet internet connection, that my phone could then connect to. (That is Win10 built in functionality)

No it doesn't have wifi its just a plain modem. The E8372 has wifi.

3 Test

https://www.speedtest.net/result/10228430274

In reply to a post by Banger:

No it doesn't have wifi its just a plain modem. The E8372 has wifi.

Ah! thats difference thanks.

If you remember the days of US Robotics, and Hayes external modems for dial up, that connected to your computer via an RS232 ("serial") link, these USB dongles are a bit different. They are "host controlled modems" - sometimes used on laptops, and with ISA/PCI cards inside desktop computers. The electronics is not usable without the software driver running which is doing a lot of the work.

not such a problem in 2020 when we have Core i3/i5/i7 and Ryzen, but it was an issue in the 386 and 486 days. When the computer was busy maxed out doing processing, these modems would often drop the phone line and cut off the connection...!

That speed isn't great, but it could be what you get from Three in your area.

The cheap chinese dongle has a wifi hotspot just needs USB power and a SIM and you can create a hotspot but the wifi is only n and connects at 72mbps.

In reply to a post by Banger:

The cheap chinese dongle has a wifi hotspot just needs USB power and a SIM and you can create a hotspot but the wifi is only n and connects at 72mbps.

That's clever, but at 72 mpbs that means a single antenna on the 2.4 GHz band - not surprising given its size.

I have a pocket router from (GL.iNet AR750) which can optionally take a USB dongle and create a WiFi network; it has a few more features, but can run from a 5v USB supply. Sometimes useful for the road warrior.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/GL-iNet-GL-AR750-300Mbps-pr...

That's not a bad price for that kit too. I will try some more tests off peak and see what sort of speeds are available.

(Edit: Ah! I see Tim has just clarified its an 8332. I was looking at the 8372.)

Tim and I were talking about the GUI, as shown in his link, except he dropped the "G" and I dropped the "I" LOL. It's called evolving Essex-speak.

AIUI it can connect to a computer port or a router USB "WAN-capable" socket. Acting as either a modem for the router or computer, or modem/router standalone. Depending on how the user sets it up. That GUI, as I said, is modem/router stuff.

Re the WiFi, presumably it's going to work like a mobile phone without the phone parts and associated gubbins such as app stores. My phone happily works as a hotspot when on Mobile Data only, and preserves all its functions and its own internet connection.

I can even USB-tether it to my laptop to keep it charged and turn on the phone's hotspot for other devices to use at the same time.

Presumably yours also does.

Edit: Ah! I see Tim has just clarified its an 8332. I was looking at the 8372.

Edited by RobertoS (Sat 10-Oct-20 19:26:02)

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

(Edit: Ah! I see Tim has just clarified its an 8332. I was looking at the 8372.)

Tim and I were talking about the GUI, as shown in his link, except he dropped the "G" and I dropped the "I" LOL. It's called evolving Essex-speak.

AIUI it can connect to a computer port or a router USB "WAN-capable" socket. Acting as either a modem for the router or computer, or modem/router standalone. Depending on how the user sets it up. That GUI, as I said, is modem/router stuff.

Re the WiFi, presumably it's going to work like a mobile phone without the phone parts and associated gubbins such as app stores. My phone happily works as a hotspot when on Mobile Data only, and preserves all its functions and its own internet connection.

I can even USB-tether it to my laptop to keep it charged and turn on the phone's hotspot for other devices to use at the same time.

Presumably yours also does.

Edit: Ah! I see Tim has just clarified its an 8332. I was looking at the 8372.

It's an E3372.

Works fine on my router in failover mode but couldnt get load balance mode to work.

In reply to a post by Banger:

It's an E3372.

Oops!

Works fine on my router in failover mode but couldnt get load balance mode to work.

Your turn .
"Oops!"

Ummm

*The preceding specifications are theoretical values based on product design. Some features and specifications may vary across markets. To provide accurate product information, specifications, and features, HUAWEI may make real-time adjustments to the preceding specifications, so that they match the product performance, specifications, indexes, and components of the actual product. Product information is subject to such changes and adjustments without notice.

In other words, roughly what came out of the parts bin that was near enough to the spec. Like some cheap computers used to be years ago, and maybe still are.

Basically, quality control is low, and everything can vary by manufacturing plant location.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Tim and I were talking about the GUI, as shown in his link, except he dropped the "G" and I dropped the "I" LOL. It's called evolving Essex-speak.

To me as an IT professional, I will interchange GUI and UI and just "interface" without noticing

AIUI it can connect to a computer port or a router USB "WAN-capable" socket. Acting as either a modem for the router or computer, or modem/router standalone. Depending on how the user sets it up. That GUI, as I said, is modem/router stuff.

The dongles only work on non PC devices (e.g. routers) that are specifically developed to host the dongle. There are open source components for this, originally for Linux, that are adapted and used on routers such as the Asus, Netgear, and other makes.

Re the WiFi, presumably it's going to work like a mobile phone without the phone parts and associated gubbins such as app stores. My phone happily works as a hotspot when on Mobile Data only, and preserves all its functions and its own internet connection.

Dramatically simpler, as your mobile phone is a computer running a full OS handling various devices, disk storage, files, permissions, etc.

This is a traditional "embedded device" which has just enough software to handle the cellular side, and create a WiFi hotspot. Embedded devices will have only a few tens of thousands of lines of code, and primarily use dedicated hardware for most functions.

I can even USB-tether it to my laptop to keep it charged and turn on the phone's hotspot for other devices to use at the same time.

Yes, modern mobile OS have sufficient general purpose application processors (e.g. the Qualcomm Snapdragon in your OnePlus) that can do this. Exactly the same as an Intel or AMD in a PC/Laptop. This is not an embedded device level, this is generic software and a complex operating system of hundreds of thousands of lines of code.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Basically, quality control is low, and everything can vary by manufacturing plant location.

Not necessarily.

More likely this is #include <disclaimer> which means if they make a change and forget to update the documentation, you can't sue.

Normal Speedtest

https://www.speedtest.net/result/10229118079

Load Balance with Uno and EE set to 1:1 ratio

https://www.speedtest.net/result/10229128449

Not a lot of difference.

https://www.speedtest.net/result/10229194837

Dongle connected to PC on its own.

This is interesting. It's called Huwimanage and may work with the Huawei router.

https://ibb.co/ZSkm1sq

A bit like DSLStats that a lot of us used. I think some still do.

I've got three different Android apps on my phone. Each supplying a slightly different combination of facilities.

Is that just a screenshot of a website picture, or something from yours?

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

A bit like DSLStats that a lot of us used. I think some still do.

I've got three different Android apps on my phone. Each supplying a slightly different combination of facilities.

Is that just a screenshot of a website picture, or something from yours?

Its a Windows 10 App found in the store for free and detects the B525 as well as others.

Amazon was their usual helpful selves and have decided to replace the dongle to see if that solves the problem at no cost to myself.

Have discovered the o2 SIM is an Ipad SIM so it is proving difficult to top up to test.

Edited by Banger (Mon 12-Oct-20 06:07:14)

In reply to a post by Banger:

Have discovered the o2 SIM is an Ipad SIM so it is proving difficult to top up to test.

Shame they care! EE and Vodafone do not, and I have a voice Vodafone SIM in my iPad.

The screenshot shows good signal levels, an RSRP of -100 of often typical indoors, which network was that with?

Edited by jchamier (Mon 12-Oct-20 07:11:22)

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by Banger:

Have discovered the o2 SIM is an Ipad SIM so it is proving difficult to top up to test.

Shame they care! EE and Vodafone do not, and I have a voice Vodafone SIM in my iPad.

The screenshot shows good signal levels, an RSRP of -100 of often typical indoors, which network was that with?

Screen shot is with EE who are rolling out 5G in my area. I have called o2 and they are sending me the correct SIM as you can only top up an Ipad SIM on an Ipad.

In reply to a post by Banger:

Screen shot is with EE who are rolling out 5G in my area. I have called o2 and they are sending me the correct SIM as you can only top up an Ipad SIM on an Ipad.

You will never get 5G on a USB dongle.

O2's own internal limitations are hilarious.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

O2's own internal limitations are hilarious.

Wait until they merge with VM! If they are allowed to.

A bit like a dog chasing its tail is possible.

Edited by RobertoS (Mon 12-Oct-20 14:38:27)

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by Banger:

Screen shot is with EE who are rolling out 5G in my area. I have called o2 and they are sending me the correct SIM as you can only top up an Ipad SIM on an Ipad.

You will never get 5G on a USB dongle.

O2's own internal limitations are hilarious.

I know 5G wont be available for a dongle but it bodes well for 4G capacity hopefully.

o2 have sent me a 3gb loaded sim, I think. That's what it says on the front.

Yes it is 30 day 3gb.

https://www.speedtest.net/result/10242070820

Looks like this is the best speed I will get.

In reply to a post by Banger:

Yes it is 30 day 3gb.
https://www.speedtest.net/result/10242070820
Looks like this is the best speed I will get.

Strange, the consistent imbalance the wrong way between the speeds. Are you sure you don't keep plugging these dongles in upside down?

😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

More sensibly, how many different places have you tried it? Even something as simple as having my phone tethering through USB one side of my laptop rather than the other, shielding its antennae from the mast I realised, made a big difference. (Same effect with the laptop turned 180 degrees).

The whole question of where to pick up mobile masts in a house is complex, as we can see in many threads.

Having sorted which side to have the phone, I could just reach the window ledge with it plugged in and that was better.

Better still was in the same place on the windowsill with power from a mains socket nearby, and tethering to its hotspot.

Best! Was using its own power, on the table a foot or so the other side of the laptop from me and 4-5 feet away from the window 🤔.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

The whole question of where to pick up mobile masts in a house is complex, as we can see in many threads.

Have a search around about radio multi path and you will see why there are a lot of antennas on modern devices which the radio switches between. Unfortunately the dongles are not designed for this, and equally don't have the electronics, so an external antenna would not help.

When I used to travel to north scotland, using a dongle like these, I travelled with a 3m USB extension cable, and used to hang the dongle on the window handle.