Thanks for the info. Yes, I'm pretty sure that as I seem to be connected to Band 20 (800MHz) now, more people will be accessing & using that, thus driving the speed down further - just one of those things! It's too slow for streaming anyway - not much faster than ADSL in this area (more like 3G).

That sounds exactly the case with me. Yes, we're in a marginal signal area, for Band 3 at least - but the router, having much better 4G antennae, got a rock-steady connection to it, even though my phone didn't. But, now that Band 20 has been deployed (possibly a new cell nearby?), the router is locking onto that stronger signal, which gives poorer capacity.

I'll investigate to see what happens with the external antenna within the next week or so.

Thanks again!

I think the "cellmapper" android app gives you a better indication of what band the phone is using, and the maps created from the app's monitoring show the cells for different bands.

Using that app while driving around the area might identify the cell site and the bands/cells in use.

Based on that, you might find the 800MHz signal is coming from an entirely different mast ... in which case, a directional antenna might solve the problem.

Thanks for the info - I've installed CellMapper on my phone, and will use it to investigate further soon.
I think it quite possible the 800MHz signal is from a separate mast.
The only issue is: I was under the impression that a directional antenna required line-of-sight (at least, more-or-less) to a cell mast? I have no line-of-sight to any cell towers from here (hence the omni-directional antenna). I'll try installing the external antenna anyway soon, once the weather improves a bit, and see if that improves the connection (& hopefully to the 1800MHz signal!).

The signal can bounce. A directional antenna will pick up whatever signals are available whether direct or reflected.

Thanks - sounds like it might be worth a try!
I'll see how I get on with the omni-directional antenna I already have first, and if no joy, may try a directional antenna.
I'll update this thread later on if I make any progress.
In the meantime, also investigating possible FWA (Fixed Wireless) connectivity.
The current 4G signal, even at 3G speeds, does still provide a useful internet connection backup option anyway.

Thanks again to everyone for all the ideas & input!

Kind regards,

Adam.

A directional antenna will pick up signals coming from the one direction. It won't care whether it is a line of sight, or a reflection.

However, when line of sight isn't possible, the antenna rarely gets a signal from a single reflection, but more from an accumulation of multiple paths. In that case, omnidirectional can be better.

Unfortunately, the lower frequency, lower capacity, signal has less dependence on LOS.

thanks for this info, I am on band 3 and also good signal indoors, so band 3 can penetrate also I guess if conditions are right.

For reference the app you mentioned wont run on my S7, it says the base quallcomm driver is needed and missing, however the app 'LTE discovery' told me which band I am on.

Edited by Chrysalis (Mon 27-Nov-17 11:38:21)

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

thanks for this info, I am on band 3 and also good signal indoors, so band 3 can penetrate also I guess if conditions are right.

Band 3 (1800mhz) is the same frequency that Orange and T-Mobile(formerly one2one) ran their 2G signals on for nearly 20 years. So yes, its the main frequency for EE and its gets indoors in most buildings without problem. Its quite close to 2100 which was used for 3G on all 4 networks for over a decade.

However the 800mhz is quite new, and often only in rural areas for EE. Three has a bit more, but Vodafone and O2 have usefully more and have made it their main 4G transmission.

This is why you'll often see 25mbps on O2 or Vodafone and 80mbps or faster on EE.

For reference the app you mentioned wont run on my S7, it says the base quallcomm driver is needed and missing, however the app 'LTE discovery' told me which band I am on.

No, samsung phones don't have Qualcomm CPU or radio hardware. The NSG app needs Qualcomm radio hardware and also needs the phone to be rooted to do anything useful. Cellmapper is pretty good on non-rooted phones of all types. A Moto E 2nd edition LTE (2015) can often be found on auction sites for peanuts and is easily rooted. (The 3rd edition is not Qualcomm).

There is no standardisation in Android, and so its hard to get the technical details. LTE discovery is okay, but sometimes tells untruth's. Samsung's engineering mode screen is more reliable. (good for how to get there, as its different per phone).

Keeping it broadband related, my Netgear AirCard 810 shows these details on its menu, it also has two antenna sockets on the back for external antenna.s

Edited by jchamier (Mon 27-Nov-17 18:47:31)

Post deleted by MrSaffron