Options for 5g routers (must have bridge mode), & vpn issues

My home broadband will just about manage 50mb. On my phone (s20 ultra) i can get 280mb on 5g with EE. So I am looking at options for moving to 5g home broadband.

I need bridge mode on whatever modem/router I get because I want to continue using my AC86u for my devices. I am assuming that 280mb on my phone will translate into a least that on a proper 5g router. I know that isnt the case with 4g routers due to them being low categories most of the time but I wouldn't expect that to be the case with 5g (but let me know if I am wrong, I don't want to end up with 280mb on my phone and much less on a proper router!).

I use a vpn all the time (both openvpn on the router for certain devices and wireguard on my pc) and am concerned about being able to do that when on 5g because I have tethered my pc to my phone and when using openvpn (on my pc which is more than capable of gigabit speeds on openvpn), i barely get 50mb, turn it off and its back to full speed. Doesn't matter if I use port 443 or not. I tried wireguard instead, the client connected instantly as usual.....but I seem to have no connectivity, nothing will load at all.

So I don't know why openvpn is so slow, unless EE are throttling it (and since it happens on 443 as well, that seems unlikely?), and I have even less clue why wireguard will connect fine, but I cant do anything at all with it. Both issues are potentially due to the tethering somehow and maybe they won't be there on a proper 5g modem/router but I am concerned because if they won't work properly then that's a dealbreaker and I don't want the time/money/hassle/excitement of going for the 5g only to find I can't use it.

I haven't seen many options at all for 5g routers yet, and don't know if any of them are any good, worth getting, or can work in bridge mode (I would also like it as future proof as possible for things like mmwave but if that's not possible I can probably live with it).

Edited by Ewok (Thu 01-Oct-20 09:38:52)

Interested and following this thread. There is a 5g hotspot a couple of miles from me and EE checker says patchy 5g where I am.

I am on Three using the Huawei 310 linked to an Asus AC97u.

The Huawei doesn't have bridge mode so what I have done is set DMZ mode on the connection to the Asus.
The system is double NATd but it still works fine, all ports get passed through to the Asus
I have an OpenVPN server running on the Asus, allowing me to access my local network and also connect to my company via VPN for work.

No 5G near me yet so I haven't really been looking at new routers.

Edited by onthenet (Thu 01-Oct-20 09:31:39)

one thing i would say is that the chips in the routers are never as advanced as the ones in mobile phones.
so you may not be able to match the speed you get when tethered on your mobile.

In reply to a post by danielhyde:

one thing i would say is that the chips in the routers are never as advanced as the ones in mobile phones. so you may not be able to match the speed you get when tethered on your mobile.

The closest are the Netgear M1 (MR1100) and M2 products, they are over £300 on Amazon UK and seem to use the top end modems also used in handsets.

modems are more expensive because they sell in vastly smaller quantities than handsets.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by danielhyde:

one thing i would say is that the chips in the routers are never as advanced as the ones in mobile phones. so you may not be able to match the speed you get when tethered on your mobile.

The closest are the Netgear M1 (MR1100) and M2 products, they are over £300 on Amazon UK and seem to use the top end modems also used in handsets.

modems are more expensive because they sell in vastly smaller quantities than handsets.

yeah those have high end modems, cat 16 and 24 respectively whereas his phone is cat 24.
16 is gigabit, 20 is 2 gigabit and 24 is 3 gigabit, all theoretical of course.
but if that translates into real world differences the m1 would be a third of the phones bandwidth and the m2 would be two thirds of the phones bandwidth.

In reply to a post by danielhyde:

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by danielhyde:

one thing i would say is that the chips in the routers are never as advanced as the ones in mobile phones. so you may not be able to match the speed you get when tethered on your mobile.

The closest are the Netgear M1 (MR1100) and M2 products, they are over £300 on Amazon UK and seem to use the top end modems also used in handsets.

modems are more expensive because they sell in vastly smaller quantities than handsets.

yeah those have high end modems, cat 16 and 24 respectively whereas his phone is cat 24.
16 is gigabit, 20 is 2 gigabit and 24 is 3 gigabit, all theoretical of course.
but if that translates into real world differences the m1 would be a third of the phones bandwidth and the m2 would be two thirds of the phones bandwidth.

I am confused, if the phone is cat24, and the M2 is cat24, why would the M2 be two thirds of the phone bandwidth? It would be the same?

Both those netgears are 4g. I am looking at 5g not 4g, still very little choice it seems.

In reply to a post by Ewok:

Both those netgears are 4g. I am looking at 5g not 4g, still very little choice it seems.

The M5 is coming, no date or price yet:
https://www.netgear.com/home/products/mobile-broadba...

5G as a technology is still VERY new, even as networks roll it out.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by Ewok:

Both those netgears are 4g. I am looking at 5g not 4g, still very little choice it seems.

The M5 is coming, no date or price yet:
https://www.netgear.com/home/products/mobile-broadba...

5G as a technology is still VERY new, even as networks roll it out.

Yeah it might still be too new to be worth trying. That M5 has said "coming soon" for at least 8 months! Probably a silly price when it does come out anyway.

In reply to a post by Ewok:

Yeah it might still be too new to be worth trying. That M5 has said "coming soon" for at least 8 months! Probably a silly price when it does come out anyway.

You might have to get a hand handset (e.g. OnePlus Nord, or similar) and tether it, to get 5G connectivity, in the short term.