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[Weaver]

I have a Huawei 3G USB NIC supplied by AA last autumn. I think it’s a Huawei E156G. This is up and running but doesn’t work properly.

I also now have recently received a 4G USB NIC from AA, but I suspect this won’t do the right thing for me as I am told it behaves like a SOHO NATing router not like a modem as it should be, and so won’t pass through packets addressed to/from my existing IPv4 address block, so it is completely unsuitable for me as its interference with existing IP addressing would blow away any TCP connections that are in progress at the time of failover switching to the USB NIC because in the case of upstream transfers, IP source addresses would have been suddenly changed to something unknown, and in the case of downstream TCP transfers the TCP ACKs would similarly suddenly start coming from an unknown alien address, so blowing those away. And these are perhaps just some of the problems caused by sudden forced and unnecessary address reassignment.

Coming back to the 3G dongle, it used to be on the end of a 5m long USB cable (I think an ‘active’ cable) so that the USB NIC could be positioned right in the window. In that setup, it worked reliably for months and then ‘disappeared’. I was inclined to blame the active cable and AA initially blamed the Firebrick suggesting a bad Firebrick PSU. Now AA have managed to reproduce the fault condition, which they described as a ‘lockout’ and I think they are saying that it is a Firebrick bug and they can eventually fix it given time. Anyway, I think the cable is let off the hook. I have a shorter 3m cable which is hopefully not active which I can use for another test, but that may not reach the window properly. Right now the 3G link is not working at all, up-down-up-down mostly down, with the USB NIC plugged directly into the Firebrick. I am blaming this in poor signal strength in this position in the room. Surprising because there is a good view from the large bay window directly towards the base station which is not far away and is in clear line if sight. So given that signal strength is suspect, I am aiming to improve reception.

I have an external antenna on order for the USB NIC, and I’m hoping that I have the right connector, as I read that there are several different physical interface standards. I’m hoping it’s the right thing but I have no idea what I am doing? Does that unit look any good?

The speed of the AA / Three 3G link with that Huawei E516G USB 3G NIC was pretty rubbish: about 2 Mbps downstream iirc and - I forget - much less than 1 Mbps upstream. It is only for backup but that might get really annoying during a long outage. I wonder how much 3G speed is there to be gained typically, with excellent signal strength as opposed to middling to feeble-ish signal ? What do you typically expect to get from 3G in upstream and downstream ?

[re0]

I have an external antenna on order for the USB NIC, and I’m hoping that I have the right connector, as I read that there are several different physical interface standards. I’m hoping it’s the right thing but I have no idea what I am doing? Does that unit look any good?

The link you've shared requires me to login. This is the item you are on about, based on the item ID.

I'd say cancel that order as soon as possible since there is no frequency range specified that is used by any UK provider for 3G technologies. If you are using Three's network, it would be 2100 MHz. It just seems to me that this is an LTE antenna, as advertised.

For the connector, CRC9 is apparently the right connector for your device in specific I have read. What to advise for an antenna? I wouldn't know for something with CRC9. Perhaps someone else here will have a recommendation.

The speed of the AA / Three 3G link with that Huawei E516G USB 3G NIC was pretty rubbish: about 2 Mbps downstream iirc and - I forget - much less than 1 Mbps upstream. It is only for backup but that might get really annoying during a long outage. I wonder how much 3G speed is there to be gained typically, with excellent signal strength as opposed to middling to feeble-ish signal ? What do you typically expect to get from 3G in upstream and downstream ?

Given that the E516G downstream is rated for only 3.6 Mbps (which is probably Cat. 5 or 6), you would be fairly limited for speeds. I would imagine 2-3 Mbps would be where you would expect it to be under even the better of circumstances. Not sure about upstream, but I would imagine it to be rated for 384 kbit/s (probably about 0.3 Mbps with overheads). Nothing stellar here.

[Weaver]

Is an LTE antenna always no good for Three’s 3G frequency range(s)?

It’s too late as it is in transit. I stupidly should have posted my question before I placed the order. It’s not a disaster though because I’m trying to get a good 4G modem anyway. And so it might or might not be useful.

I will place my dongle right in the middle of the window, facing the basestation, which is fairly close. Any tips about best directional orientation of the antenna?

Unfortunately I don’t have software to extract signal strength from it. I suppose such software could be written for my Raspberry Pi though. But I wouldn’t have a clue how to speak usb to it.

4G: My problem with the Huawei 4G NIC that I’ve got from AA is that AA warn me (too late) that it is actually a NATing router - like a domestic Nat router - not a modem and does not just pass packets straight through with source IP addresses intact. I don’t know if it could be reconfigured to make it into a straight modem though. I will have to ask Janet to take a look at it to see the modem number,

[re0]

Is an LTE antenna always no good for Three’s 3G frequency range(s)?

As quoted from the specifications on the item page:

Frequency range : 791~821MHz / 832~862MHz/1710~1785MHz / 1805~1880MHz / 2500~2570MHz/ 2620~2690MHz

No good for 3G since it uses 2100 MHz. Should be okay for LTE since Three primarily uses B3 (1800 MHz) and B20 (800 MHz). Though I was under the impression that LTE coverage was virtually non-existent for you.

I will place my dongle right in the middle of the window, facing the basestation, which is fairly close. Any tips about best directional orientation of the antenna?

I could be wrong, but the presumption is that the modem will have an omni-directional antenna built in. There will likely be a bias to which position is better, but without specifications of the antenna it would be a case of trial and error. However, unlikely to make a significant difference.

Unfortunately I don’t have software to extract signal strength from it. I suppose such software could be written for my Raspberry Pi though. But I wouldn’t have a clue how to speak usb to it.

Me neither.

4G: My problem with the Huawei 4G NIC that I’ve got from AA is that AA warn me (too late) that it is actually a NATing router - like a domestic Nat router - not a modem and does not just pass packets straight through with source IP addresses intact. I don’t know if it could be reconfigured to make it into a straight modem though. I will have to ask Janet to take a look at it to see the modem number,

If you could find the model number, it might allow us to find information.

[risk_reversal]

The speed of the AA / Three 3G link with that Huawei E516G USB 3G NIC was pretty rubbish: about 2 Mbps downstream iirc and - I forget - much less than 1 Mbps upstream. It is only for backup but that might get really annoying during a long outage. I wonder how much 3G speed is there to be gained typically, with excellent signal strength as opposed to middling to feeble-ish signal ? What do you typically expect to get from 3G in upstream and downstream ?

I have a Huwaei E367 (no routing feature) on 3G as failover and usually get 4-5Mbps down and 1.5-2Mbps up.

When I searched I found this to be about the best speed I could get.

I did try getting a small CRC9 antenna but it seemed to make things worse.

I also now have recently received a 4G USB NIC from AA, but I suspect this won’t do the right thing for me as I am told it behaves like a SOHO NATing router not like a modem as it should

I too ran across this issue recently when I though I could get a better USB dongle capable of 4G (than the E367). There are 2 variants, the one you received (HiLink) and the serial port version which solely works as a modem ie no routing feature

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-Unlocked-E3372-153-Dongle-Black/dp/B079P2BQMM/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=huawei+usb+modem&qid=1566821653&s=gateway&sr=8-11

At the end of the day I have kept my E367 but were my backup speeds as low as yours I would have been tempted to try the E3372.

Please note that some newer USB 4G dongles are power hogs using well over an amp and require their own powered supply ie usb hub

[Weaver]

Recap - So is that dongle just rubbish then and not capable of more?

[re0]

Recap - So is that dongle just rubbish then and not capable of more?

Probably not. If you have a smartphone you can pop the sim into and test the speeds, it might give a better indication of what is possible without having to fork out for another "dongle".

[Weaver]

I have the same SIM in an iPad and it gives me 4G there but only 3G in this dongle, I believe, according to the Firebrick anyway - that reports the dongle as being 3G.

[j0hn]

Not sure about iOS but on Android you can choose to use 3G only.
If such an option exists in iOS it would be worth trying it to see what the Three 3G speeds are like on the iPad vs the dongle.

[re0]

I am not sure about iOS either, but would presume there would be a toggle to turn 4G off/on or a selection to choose 2G/3G/4G specifically. Should be under Mobile Data or something similar. Perhaps the options are iOS and device dependent.

What sort of speeds can you get on the iPad on 4G anyway?

[Weaver]

I’m not sure, I’ll have to retest in a window. I just tested my iPad lying here in bed and I only got 3G 3.6 / 0.3 Mbps. I need to move to a better position in the room, my wife gets 4G on her iPad just a short distance away. But because we have six foot thick stone walls, the line of sight to the window and out to the basestation to the northeast is crucial, from experience.

[re0]

I get medicore speeds unless the device is in or near the window. My smartphone gets about 3/0.3 Mbps on the floor in the middle of the room, 10/2.5 Mbps on my desk (approx. 1m from the window) while in the window sees 22/2.5 Mbps on HSPA+ (3G technology). Not a lot of testing, not LoS of the mast, and I don't have the thick wall problem as you do. Just thought I'd give it a quick go myself.

[aesmith]

Recap - So is that dongle just rubbish then and not capable of more?

Probably yes.  A quick google suggests it supports only 3G, with a max speed of 3.6meg.  For example https://www.mobilefun.co.uk/huawei-e156g-hsdpa-usb-modem-24366

Have you asked Andrews and Arnold about the 4G dongle, regarding the NAT issue?  The mode you describe is the normal default for Huawei devices where the dongle acts as a NAT router, using by default 192.168.8.0/24 on the LAN side.  You should be able to connect to its management web page on 192.168.8.1.

[Weaver]

No, I need to confirm with them that this model suffers from NAT. I don’t know whether they would be willing to configure it for me to be in straight-modem mode. I stupidly should have said that no-NAT was a requirement before I bought it from them. I said that I required that it be preconfigured but I didn’t say ‘preconfigured to NAT-free operation’ so I wasted my money.

[Ronski]

Weaver, this guy on Think Broadband is getting 15 to 40Mbps with an external antenna and modem on EE 4G at about five miles with no line of sight. You have line of sight and only 3.6 miles.