Three Router

Where can I find details of the router supplied with :-

https://www.three.co.uk/shop/broadband/mobile-broadb...

Please?

Edited by hk11 (Fri 14-Jul-23 10:20:57)

You’re likely to get a Zyxel NR5103E

It’s a decent router - I use one as a backup - as long as you have 5G service - which I’m lead to understand you may not. In any event it’s best to test with a handset first before making the leap.

Thread here on ISPReview which has a bigger mobile broadband user community than here.

[PS - I’d strongly advise that you persist and resolve your FTTP issue first and foremost 😎]

Thanks.

I've put out feelers to A&A to see if they can resolve My FTTP problem and Bitstreme to see what service they can offer.

Ebay has provided A refurbish ZTE MF286D router and Three are sending me a SIM so I can test it before I commit to a contract. If nothing else it will be a good backup.

Edited by hk11 (Sun 16-Jul-23 08:09:16)

I've had the ZTE MF286D from Three for just over a year, fantastic speeds here.

My son got sent the Zyxel NR5103E even though he only has 4G too. I suspect it is one of the duff ones that won't connect to 5G but that too works well falling back to 4G, though no bridge mode as far as I recall.

You can get the 4G router from Three with a 14 day moneyback guarantee. We did that to trial it six months before we were out of contract with our previous supplier. No charges from Three after returning the router, even for the data we used.

Great to hear as Aquiss have refused my application for them to take over my Vodaphone FTTP line, so my backup may well become my only/main internet connection!

Initial speeds from my ZTE :-

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/16897049154...

Ouch!

On my router's wep page it shows me at the top:

• 5 bars of signal strength, though three or four bars can also give great speeds
• "LTE" tells me I'm connected to 4G rather than 3G (and the colour of the 3G/4G light on the front of the router flashes blue, it would flash red if connected to 3G)
• LTE has a "+" sign next to it indicating the 4G is using Carrier Aggregation (CA) i.e. connected to multiple bands.

Try cellmapper to show you where your mobile towers are if you haven't already noticed them! Their map starts you in the Atlantic Ocean so zoom out, scroll it to the UK then zoom in.

Check Three Network Status

I'm around 1Km from the mast, I get this sort of speed most of the time. When people are home and a big event is on it may drop to 50Mbps.

Thanks.

I'm getting three blue bars here with Three SIM as right on the edge of area.

Did get green light using Vodafoe SIM, so will try my Lycamobile one next.

In reply to a post by hk11:

Thanks.

I'm getting three blue bars here with Three SIM as right on the edge of area.

Did get green light using Vodafoe SIM, so will try my Lycamobile one next.

Lycamobile is barred from broadband router - won't work!

I thought they had been taken over by EE who in turn are now part of BT?

In reply to a post by hk11:

I thought they had been taken over by EE who in turn are now part of BT?

Yes they already with EE (use to be o2) but lycamobile won't work in any home broadband. Only mobile phone

You are right :-
https://thumbsnap.com/awu6o5oa
Despite all lights on ZTE showing up as blue.
https://thumbsnap.com/bjbhztpj

Edited by hk11 (Wed 19-Jul-23 13:04:54)

In reply to a post by hk11:

I thought they had been taken over by EE who in turn are now part of BT?

confusion!! Lyca are an independent company whom pay EE for network air time, and sell that to you, Lyca run all the marketing, support and billing. EE is part of BT Group, as is Plusnet.

It won’t be long before there is no choice and you can only get telecom products from BT!

Now why does that seem familiar?

In reply to a post by hk11:

It won’t be long before there is no choice and you can only get telecom products from BT!

You have FOUR physical networks, owned by different companies.

EE - owned by BT Group (UK)
O2 - owned by VirginMediaO2, which itself is 50/50 owned by Liberty Global (USA), and Telefonica (Spain).
Three - owned by CK Hutchison Holdings (Hong Kong)
Vodafone - owned by Vodafone Group (UK).

All the other "mobile networks" are virtual, such as Asda Mobile, GiffGaff, Lyca Mobile, there are more than 50. Listed on Wikipedia. Some such as SMARTY or VOXI are owned by one of the companies that also operates a physical network, but most are owned by separate companies (e.g. ASDA) that run their own customer care, billing, and helpdesk and buy capacity from one of the 4 physical networks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Kingdom...

It will all change next week/month/year.

In reply to a post by hk11:

It will all change next week/month/year.

Three and Vodafone have submitted to the Competition and Markets Authority they wish to merge their businesses, but the CMA can, and often does, say no.

Physical networks take decades to build and billions of pounds in money. So they don't change hands very often at all.

EE came about when Orange (France) and T-Mobile (Germany) merged their two UK organisations into one, and the french company wanted their money back, so the new merged organisation was put up for sale. BT Group won the bid.

You'll need to be clear when you say "BT" if you mean the whole Group (a bit large), the Openreach bit that connects your home to the internet provider of your choice, or the BT Retail part that sells internet access.

Yes, sorry: the old BTW v BTR fing.

Nope - BTWholesale is not Openreach...

BT Retail and BT Broadband are customers of BT Wholesale.

Openreach provides services to Communications Providers. Openreach is responsible for the provision and maintenance of the "final mile" copper pairs that connect our homes to the telephone exchange and are a supplier to BT Wholesale (amongst a myriad of CPs)

In reply to a post by ehteam:

'''My son got sent the Zyxel NR5103E even though he only has 4G too. ... no bridge mode as far as I recall.

The NR5103E does have bridge mode, they call it "IP Passthrough mode".
It's working for me as a backup WAN on a Draytek router.

Can you leave them plugged in charging while using? I see the battery life isnt great so not really an option to replace a fixed connection, unless you can leave it charged 24/7

In reply to a post by bobble_bob:

Can you leave them plugged in charging while using? I see the battery life isnt great so not really an option to replace a fixed connection, unless you can leave it charged 24/7

????

The Zyxel NR5103E device mentioned in the post you've replied to runs off a DC plugtop supply and doesn't have a battery?

Are you confusing it with a Mifi?

Interestingly when I first dropped my landline and went to Three for my broadband, December 2018, they called it Home MiFi . They've dropped that description now, but I don't know when.

I upgraded to the 4G Hub on Wednesday. Only intermittent 5G though, very dependent on the time of day and weather conditions it seems, but I did get 730/31 at 16:20 Thursday wireless to my phone in the same room. Going to see how it behaves on the other side of the house today, having just plugged it in there. More 5G masts that side.

In reply to a post by bobble_bob:

Can you leave them plugged in charging while using? I see the battery life isnt great so not really an option to replace a fixed connection, unless you can leave it charged 24/7

As noted, think you’re probably confusing this with another MiFi style device.

Theses are the shape and size of a large liquid soap dispenser. No battery to be found on them.

Ah sorry i was looking at Three Mifi just before i posted and saw one device had a 9hr battery life.

Edited by bobble_bob (Fri 11-Aug-23 06:41:02)