I'm switching to Mobile BB and Looking to resolve issues

Excited about the jump from 60+Mbps to 200+Mbps ⬆︎ and related about the ⬇︎ even though it varies disproportionally to the ⬆︎ drops at busy times.

My phone and BB are with one ISP. I am still holding onto these accounts until I am sure that the best bang for buck is extracted from the changes.

Top of my to-do list is to replace Wi-Fi Calling.
If my understanding is correct, this is determined by the ISP.
Should I be investigating Skype [or ?] as a workaround?
All suggestions are welcome 😎.

Mobile Router suppliers seem reluctant to suggest compatible and suitable products to use with their kit.
In particular, this applies to External Aerials.

Thanks for your time. Best wishes, G.

What's with all those arrows 😅?

Why would you want to replace Wi-Fi Calling? If you don't want to use it just switch it off in your phones settings.

It is not determined by ISP - whether you are able to activate and use it is determined by the mobile network operator in conjunction with the firmware support ingrained on your handset.

Support for WFC is generally accepted to be better across the various generations of iPhones than Android handsets, primarily because the former is more tightly integrated and controlled by a single entity - Apple.

What data allowance is your mobile contract, and are you currently using the router provided by the mobile network operator?

If you are just tethering to your phone and there is anyone else living with you that when your phone goes out with you so does the internet. Including the "smart" of a smart TV. Also any internet-related security camera link.

Even if you live alone tethering could quickly wreck your battery.

When you say your phone and BB are with one ISP, I read that as your landline phone/broadband. However you may mean your mobile phone is with the landline provider.

As one of the first on these forums to ditch the landline completely four years ago, it was clear to me that it was imperative if I wanted to save money over the first 12 months, (my prime reason), to do the deed ASAP. Keep that running while you try to improve the mobile broadband means your "bang for buck" is gone! A wasted expenditure once you have decided the mobile broadband works reliably enough.

Like you I started in December. Stopped using the landline broadband immediately and a month's notice on that given a few days after Christmas but before New Year, having waited to see the effect on mobile from all the new Christmas present phones, tablets, consoles etc. being turned on. (I could do that as there was no charge for ending the BB and no charge for starting it again if I changed my mind).

The landline was a separate contract at £14pm and a month's notice given on that early January. Again no charge for termination.

Come the end of July I shall probably replace my mobile router with the 5G one from Three now that decent 5G is available on the upstairs window ledge that it sits on. (Contract term ends then). 5G doesn't work downstairs at all. Three is the only 5G available in the whole area.

Thanks for your response, Pheasant. I trust this will better explain the situation.

My setup [and still existing awaiting the outcome of my foray into Mobile BB]:

EE BB 74Mbps via an EE Hub, without a landline. This usually operates at 60+/- Download with an abysmal slow Upload. This performance is regardless of the time of use
EE Mobile Phone Contract, I own the iPhone that this is running on
EE supplied [because they will not allow outright purchase] Apple Watch 6 + Service Line Contract

Making changes, it seems reasonable to go for 5G, primarily as it neatly encompasses 4G.
The choice of a Mobile Router was something entirely new for me. Posts in this forum encouraged me to seek more information. At the same time, my Son's problems with Virgin Media came to a head, and he was without service for two weeks. His wife was due to take on more hours working from home. My Son and I have a joint project that needs to be completed by the end of December 2022. Happy to remain with Virgin, he had to find an inexpensive return to internet access. This was a low-cost Mobile Router plus a Smarty SIM loaded with Unlimited Data for £20.00/month.

Determined to improve my existing BB situation, I decided to purchase a Mobile Router, i.e., in that it accommodates a SIM Card, is portable enough to be transported anywhere its mains adapter can be plugged in, and a reliable signal can be received. In addition, I acquired a source of Data from an ISP serving my home.
By coincidence, EE [BT] is the only supplier with complete coverage of 4G and 5G in my town.
Luck was a factor in sourcing a SIM with Data added monthly at a reasonable cost.

My best figures are:

Down HTTPx6 230Mbps

Down HTTPx1 98Mbps

Upstream 16Mbps

Results are dependent on local traffic. Often there is little difference between 4G and 5G.
The order of performance, fastest to slowest, is 5gh; 4G; EE on the EE Hub:

Sorry if there was confusion regarding Wi-Fi Calling. I do not want to be without it.
On my iPhone > Settings > Phone > Calls > both WFC and Calls on Other Devices are turned on.
My concerns are that when I switch off my EE BB, the WFC indicator at the top left of the screen disappears, although the EE Mobile Phone Contract is still in use.
Does this seem to indicate that WFC is tied to the EE BB?
Does this matter regarding Data Used, e.g., attachments to eMail, etc.?
Perhaps something known and trusted is why I am looking for a way to retain WFC if possible.
I do not wish to exchange savings on Data with expenses due to the inability to use WFC.
Calls on other devices are unimportant.

Hi pluralist.

I take your point about losing the Bang for Buck and will perform the switch soon.

Your other points should be taken care of in my reply to Pheasant above.

Wi-Fi Calling requires (any form of) stable internet connection to operate. It doesn’t really discriminate or depend on the ISP providing that internet connection - you could be using your terrestrial broadband or mobile broadband connection - or that of your workplace, neighbour or friend.

Doesn’t matter. As long as that connection affords a reasonable amount of bandwidth and stability (decent latency and jitter) to make successful calls that’s all you need.

Re Bang for Buck, thanks for taking my point .

Re:

My concerns are that when I switch off my EE BB, the WFC indicator at the top left of the screen disappears, although the EE Mobile Phone Contract is still in use.
Does this seem to indicate that WFC is tied to the EE BB?
Does this matter regarding Data Used, e.g., attachments to eMail, etc.?
Perhaps something known and trusted is why I am looking for a way to retain WFC if possible.
I do not wish to exchange savings on Data with expenses due to the inability to use WFC.

I think you are confusing WiFi calling with normal mobile calling. That's not surprising. It is quite common for people to do that.

WiFi calling is basically enabling your mobile phone to work even where you cannot get an adequate connection to your mobile phone service. Quite simply when you have a bad or non-existent mobile signal.

It lets your mobile phone connect to the mobile phone network through any "landline" broadband router/service available to you, assuming either that the router wifi is not passworded or that password is public or otherwise made known to you. So at home when you turn off your EE broadband then the phone can't use WFC .

This is why you can use WFC in say a remote cafe somewhere. The quantity of data used in a call or SMS is miniscule. However if you send or receive MMS on WFC things get more complex depending on iOS v Android. I don't use MMS so can't help. Google links exist if you want to look into MMS over WFC.

An example is my brother. At his home there is no reliable indoors mobile signal. He has TalkTalk FTTC and his (Android) mobile was O2, now Tesco (Vodafone IIRC). He can make and receive indoor mobile calls using a WiFi connection to his TT router even when his mobile service is showing one or zero bars.

If however he had a mobile broadband router as I have and you would have, if that service was with the same mobile provider WFC would probably be no use to him (or you if all with EE) unless a good external antenna was in place. Mobile routers usually have less up-to-date internal antennae than a modern mobile phone. Phones are bulk-manufactured and sold in a fast-selling market with frequent new models in a very competitive arena. Mobile broadband is still a bit of a small volume niche market, though I expect growing. So the mobile providers spend the big money on phone development and often bulk-buy rebadged mobile broadband routers from other companies.

In reply to a post by pluralist:

I think you are confusing WiFi calling with normal mobile calling. That's not surprising. It is quite common for people to do that.

When WiFi calling started if your cellular signal was strong then WiFi calling would disable, now this is reversed, and WiFi calling is on all the time unless disabled in the handset. (Most modern Androids and all iPhones. Older Androids aren't necessarily updated to change these policies). This can confuse some customers.

Thanks for answering my question, pluralist.

I think you are confusing WiFi calling with normal mobile calling.

It seems that I have confused you.
I realised that WFC was absent from my iPhone when reporting:

My concerns are that when I switch off my EE BB, the WFC indicator at the top left of the screen disappears

This indicator, when WFC is switched on, Wi-Fi Calling via EE [or words to that effect] is what I am referring to.

The Signal Level and Wi-Fi Icons are on the top right f the screen. Invariably under EE, the Signal Level has always been indicated by only 2 bars.

By saying:

So at home when you turn off your EE broadband then the phone can't use WFC smile.

You have answered my WFC question. It is not just a case of turning off EE but terminating their service to avoid continued costs.

My calls, inward and outward, have had a clearer, less disruptive sound quality with EE and WFC absent.
I have just made a long-distance call to my Daughter with EE switched off and a two-bar signal while indoors.
The quality was excellent compared to earlier calls with noise and other distractions.
If I maintain the Data allowance on my iPhone Calls contract, it should keep that aspect under control. I like controlling expenses by knowing the actual cost at the end of each month.

If you are making a phone call via the mobile handset with a connection to a WiFi network then it will use the mobile network and minutes, it won't use data. If you are making a call via FaceTime or WhatsApp or similar then it would use data but would be unaffected by WiFi Calling as that is irrelevant to this type of call.

The only purpose for WiFi Calling is to provide an alternate route for normal mobile phone calls that would then use the data path via your ISP to go out - if you disconnect from the ISP then WiFi Calling would no longer be available as it has no data path to go out on (it will go out via the mobile calling network rather than using data).

In reply to a post by Gelphyn:

The quality was excellent compared to earlier calls with noise and other distractions.

You can disable WiFi calling on your iPhone in Settings -> mobile data -> WiFi Calling ---- Turn the slider to Off.

When you look at the network name it should now show "EE" and not "EE WiFiCall".

The same works with Vodafone, Three, VirginMediaO2 and some of the virtual networks.

Sincere thanks to all who have contributed so far. It is very much appreciated.

The original post contained the following:

Mobile Router suppliers seem reluctant to suggest compatible and suitable products to use with their kit.
In particular, this applies to External Aerials.

I was hoping for responses from those who have deployed External Aerials, hopefully with suggestions as to what, how and why or why they may not improve signal reception. Speed is not seen as an issue in this case.
Ideas on how much expenditure will improve signal stability by a measurable amount would be most helpful.
My understanding is that two aerials will be required, and it may be necessary for them to be 3M apart.
My house is on slightly raised land that slopes down to the mast, with a few rows of houses in between.
This is doable using the end wall of my end-of-terrace house, mounted on long poles. They may have a line of sight with the top of the mast about two hundred metres away.

If the iPhone camera remote, fired by my watch, triggers the phone when mounted on a long selfie-style pole, it may capture the view needed when atop a long ladder.
If the camera idea is a non-starter, it may be possible to measure signal strength from one aerial position at a time. Info on the kit to use will be most welcome, as will any alternative ideas 😎.

Typing this has given me food for thought, e.g., do I really want to put in a lot of effort and dump a pile of dosh on a project that may not show significant improvement? But, on the other hand, the speed is being achieved at a reasonable cost and is probably more than my needs.
Input on low-cost signal measurement to better assess the situation will be very welcome.

In reply to a post by Gelphyn:

My understanding is that two aerials will be required, and it may be necessary for them to be 3M apart.

Most people fit a single physical panel that has multiple antennas within the panel for diversity. Separate panels 3 metres apart sounds interesting, and I wonder for which frequency band that is optimal? the networks can deploy 4G or 5G on ANY of their Ofcom licensed bands, ranging from 700 MHz through to 3.5 GHz and different by network.

Perhaps talk to the experts at Solwise whom have in the past had a reputation for good external antenna expertise, and have a look at websites such as www.pedroc.co.uk specificially this page:
https://www.pedroc.co.uk/content/uk-commercial-mobil...

Use the site cellmapper to see if you can locate your local transmitter mast for your chosen network (EE, Vodafone, VirginMediaO2, or Three) and if you have an Android phone you can contribute to the map. (iPhones cannot).

Note that all phones "antenna bars" are usually showing the signal of the frequency the phone is 'camping' (relaxed) on. When active, the phone may switch to a totally different frequency. Active can be data, or voice. (4G and 5G voice IS actually data).

Good luck.

Mobile Router suppliers seem reluctant to suggest compatible and suitable products to use with their kit.
In particular, this applies to External Aerials.

We avoid external aerials due to the 'delicate' nature of the connection. Instead we use IAD's, waterproof routers which we mount outside and run a network cable.

Currently we have a number of MikroTik's devices which are excellent (although still limited to LTE)

We also have a couple of these on trial for 5G

https://business.ee.co.uk/mobile-broadband/5gee-outd...

Great performance if a little 'simple' compared to RouterOS

John

In reply to a post by john_32:

Currently we have a number of MikroTik's devices which are excellent (although still limited to LTE)

Have MicroTik yet produced an LTE module that is better than Category 4 ?

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by john_32:

Currently we have a number of MikroTik's devices which are excellent (although still limited to LTE)

Have MicroTik yet produced an LTE module that is better than Category 4 ?

CAT6, we tend to use the SXT as it has dual sim

https://mikrotik.com/product/sxt_lte6_kit

John

In reply to a post by john_32:

CAT6, we tend to use the SXT as it has dual sim

Shame its not more, as the networks roll out more and more spectrum with DSS sharing with 5G/NR the higher CAT devices perform better. At least its 6, which I think in 2023 is very much the lowest.

It appears the fixed installation market has a poor selection of modems

For why it matters see these 5 year old articles:
https://uk.pcmag.com/qualcomm/90201/qualcomms-networ...

https://semiaccurate.com/2017/11/14/qualcomm-shows-l...

In reply to a post by jchamier:

shame its not more

Looks like MikroTik listened to you! I see they have some 'New' LTE18 products on their website now

e.g.

https://mikrotik.com/product/atl18

John

I'd like an LTE18 version of their wAP AC LTE form factor, if they manage to split it into two boxes so the SIM card can live indoors but the radio can go outside then even better. I don't use the access point functionality of them at all but having 'real' PoE is a very useful feature.

In reply to a post by jpm:

I don't use the access point functionality of them at all

This is why we tend to use the SXT and we get the flexibility of dual sim and improved LTE Aerial

Hopefully an updated LTE18 version will arrive soon

John

In reply to a post by john_32:

Looks like MikroTik listened to you! I see they have some 'New' LTE18 products on their website now

Brilliant news, with 4x4 MIMO and Cat18 LTE then in areas with EE's 4 wide carriers (e.g. B3+B3+B7+B7) then speeds of 200 Mbps or more can be achieved.