topic Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them in Archived Posts

Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

hutchibi — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 08:18:16 GMT

I have a slightly different question. I have a router designed for use on a boat, which takes a data SIM. I’ve tried the settings with ‘everywhere’ as the APN name but am getting a terrible connection. My iPhone, which is also on EE, gets 60MB but the router even though it shows a very strong EE connection (50dB) is only getting about 2MB in exactly the same spot. Are there different settings for data only/ should I be using eezone as the APN name or something different?

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

Christopher_G — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 10:36:41 GMT

Hi @hutchibi

Welcome to the community.

Which router do you have? As far as I'm aware, its the same settings.

Chris

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

hutchibi — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 11:15:55 GMT

Thanks for the reply.

It’s not one of the main brands, but a router called the 4G Connect from Digital Yacht. They’re a good company that specialise in boats but when I’ve spoken with them about this they say that I need to speak with EE as the router is working as intended, has a great signal strength and so it can only be the SIM card settings that are the problem.

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

Christopher_G — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 11:36:47 GMT

What happens when you put the SIM card into your EE phone, @hutchibi?

Does it get similar speeds as your phone SIM?

Chris

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

EssexBoyEE — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 14:03:19 GMT

I've had a quick look at your Router Type and although there not cheap there not exactly ground breaking specs, they seem to do 2 models, Digital Yacht 4G Connect and 4G Connect Pro both these Routers seem be Specified as LTE Cat3/4 which is quiet an old spec by today's standards, so just to add they are 4G only ie, not 4G+ / LTE A, No CA, and are 2x2 MiMo and are restricted (by the Routers own claims) of 75mbs Max DL.

Without knowing your iPhone Model, even a few years old iPhone I would expect to be it to be around a min spec of LTE Cat 12, possibly 16, 18 or 20, with 4G+ and 4x4 MiMo, meaning a Max DL speed of around 600Mbs to 1200 Mbs, so big difference there between the two, especially when you consider the Therorical Max DL specified by LTE Category is going to be a lot less by % in each case in real terms.

Having said all of the above I would by your two comparisons expect to see a better result that 2mbs on a correctly Installed LTE Router that's been installed with correct Cable, Connectors and Antenna positioning in mind.

Who installed the Router Set Up?, If it was your Supplier did they give you Post Installation Commissioning Results or similar, or willing to retest the Router in a different environment or another Boat nearby. The point being if your being charged the sort of costs of these Routers and based on their Claims I would expect a more positive After Sales experience than a "you need to contact EE" as a fix.

On the APN side of things the "everywhere" APN type should be fine but by all means post up the Full APN Profile just in case, to include as much Settings Detail as possible.

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

hutchibi — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 15:25:55 GMT

Thank you for taking the time to write such a thorough reply. In terms of the installation, is the signal strength I’m getting a fair shorthand for assessing that? Apologies if it’s a naive question as this is all new to me, but if I’m getting a signal strength of -50 to -55dBm, is that a good indication that the installation itself should be alright? That was my understanding, but I may have got it wrong.

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

EssexBoyEE — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 16:08:06 GMT

-50 to -55dbm is an indication of Receive Signal, it's a good Signal ( the lower the better, it's probably marked as RSSI) but it doesn't prove the Installation, on LTE (a better indication is the RSRP, RSRQ and SINR) is this shown anywhere?

Again who did the Install, if it's DIY, did it come in Kit Form, hopefully if it did they are using quality Cable, Connectors and decent Broadband Antennas to cover the 4G Bands. Where are the Antennas mounted, on the 4G side there should be 2 of them(2x2 Mimo) and mounted at least 0.5 meter apart from each other and not mounted near or on the same horizontal plan as any Marine Radio, Nav or Radar Aerials.

Are the Coax Cables pre made, if so is any leftover cable lengts 'coiled' up anywhere.

Swap your Sims between the Phone and the Router (assuming there both EE) and re test the Speeds, Reboot the Devices after any SIM Swaps.

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

XRaySpeX — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 17:39:23 GMT

If you are getting a connection, albeit slow then there's nowt wrong with the APN. It just makes the join but has no hand in the speed or strength.

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

hutchibi — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 18:13:55 GMT

I’ll need to take a look for those other settings when I’m next on the boat, probably at the weekend so will post once I’ve got them. All the cable and antennas are supposed to be top end kit and the vendor is very specific about needing to use the right cables etc so I bought it direct from them in the right lengths for the job. The antennas are about 1.5m apart and not on the same level as any radar/ GPS/ AIS equipment (which was all turned off at the time anyway).

My challenge with swapping out SIMs between the router and my phone is that the SIM insert on the router is for a full size one and my iPhone is the nano SIM so I won’t be able to put it back in the router again.

A separate poster has suggested that the APN settings themselves are binary, in that they either work or they don’t in forming a connection. As I have been able to connect, although with very poor speeds, maybe my hope that there are some settings I can change will prove optimistic ...

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

XRaySpeX — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 18:46:32 GMT

If the router SIM is a standard EE Combi-SIM you could press out the nano-SIM & Sellotape over the hole ready to press the nano-SIM back when finished with in the phone.
There's 1 APN setting that might help. If the APN Protocol = IPv6 or IPv4/IPv6, try setting it to IPv4 only.

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

hutchibi — Tue, 04 May 2021 12:21:33 GMT

I’ve now got those additional RSRP/Q settings etc so hopefully that may shed a bit more light on this. I’d certainly be very grateful for any advice. I’ve attached screenshots of the main settings but the key ones I think are needed are as follows:

- Signal strength -51dBm

- Cell ID 8531202

- RSRP -77dBm

- RSRQ -11 dB

- SINR 21.5 dB

- Connected band LTE Band 3

I’ve also done a few speed tests and I’m consistently getting download speeds of around 2MB but upload speeds of somewhere between 8 and 10MB, which seems a bit weird.

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

XRaySpeX — Tue, 04 May 2021 12:13:51 GMT

Don't worry, your images were awaiting approval before they become visible to the whole wide world. Please post them again & wait until they are approved.

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

EssexBoyEE — Tue, 04 May 2021 13:49:27 GMT

The RSRP Signal and SINR is very good, excellent in fact, the RSRQ is a bit down but nothing too sad, the RSRP is around 20 to 25db down on the RSSI (Signal Strength -51) that's about normal as to be expected, it all looks good tbh.

The APN Setting are all as they should be.

Might be the Router, or the Network issue but you said you were getting Good DL from the Mobile is that still the case?.

Are you at this location now and do you have a postcode of the, or near, the location.

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

hutchibi — Tue, 04 May 2021 13:57:10 GMT

Thanks for the quick reply. I’m not at the boat now unfortunately (would be much nicer than working!) but the postcode is SO31 1ZL. I was puzzled why the upload speed was so much faster than the download one. I did get a few tests where the download speed was a bit better, so it was quite variable, but the upload speeds have stayed in a consistently narrow range.

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

EssexBoyEE — Tue, 04 May 2021 15:27:20 GMT

The EE Mast your logged on to is eNB 33325 which is just north of Addison Rd, Sarisbury, I've just done a quick check on the EE Public Status Page and there doesn't appear to be any Network issues.

One thing I have just notice from your List of the APN is there is a Dail Number Field within Settings which is blank, I don't know your Router so does this need an entry, if it does type in number *99#

When you bought this Router did it come with the internal Aerials and how portable or removable is it, I assume it runs of 12V.

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

hutchibi — Tue, 04 May 2021 16:27:10 GMT

That's a good point re the internal aerials. Yes, I still have them so it
should be possible for me to bring it home and test them here as well.

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

EssexBoyEE — Tue, 04 May 2021 16:35:50 GMT

Yea, that was my thinking, but would probably go one step further and take it for a drive, then you could get a feel for how it's performing compared with your phone across various masts etc

Did you get anywhere with your SIM swop by the way.

How long have you had this Router and what did it cost if you don't mind me asking

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

hutchibi — Tue, 04 May 2021 20:17:10 GMT

I didn’t get a chance to do the SIM swap in the end, so still need to try
that.

Fair to say that the minute any equipment is put on a boat it seems to
double in price! The router itself was £400 but the main reason I bought it
was that I wanted a one-stop product with marine spec external antennas (an
extra £300 including low loss LMR400 cable ...) that would work on 12V DC.

The sales pitch is that the LTE Class 3 modem offers long range and up to
70Mbps speeds and with the twin MIMO antennas will operate up to 20 miles
offshore. Time will tell, but the vendor has a very good reputation in the
marine market.

Re: Re: EE APN Settings: Where to find them

EssexBoyEE — Tue, 04 May 2021 21:38:15 GMT

Yes I understand the bolting things on the Boat cost thing (glad you said Boat and not Ship) as although I've spent most of my time on Land Mobile Radio stuff I've have done a few Marine Projects, but as you say the Bolt On's are not cheap, and seems to get more expensive the closer you get to that Sunseeker place in Poole.

The 700 quid all in doesn't supprise me, the LMR cable is descent enough stuff as long as it's genuine (Times Microwave make etc) and not some Chinese Copy, can't vouch for the Aerials as don't know what they use but if there is any info on them I would expect them to cover around 700mhz to 2.7ghz and have a good Omni Directional pattern and be a proven Make or Design. That just leaves the Router, again no knowledge on them but I just hope it's not some cheapo mounted in a Splash Proof or Water Sealed Container.

Without putting my neck out of joint its the lack of 4G+ / LTE A on the Router is where I seem to have a mental block for the asking price.

Your never really going to get amazing speeds on a 4G Router or Phone that doesn't support Carrier Aggregation (LTE A) and most stuff out there today, even the cheaper stuff supports some form of CA,.

As for the Sales Pitch, well a Sales Pitch is just that, but again the Class 3 or Cat 3 (it's probably Cat 4) is a Specification Category and has nothing to do with Range or Distance, although modern advancement in LTE Categories is designed so that as you move away from the Mast, or in other words Signal Quality starts to degrade, all the magical trickery of LTE starts to fall off, or roll back if you like, to a lower specification and hence speed. The Twin Antennas again don't have much to do with Range but again speed, you need twin antennas to receive 2x2 MiMo, 4 to get 4x4 and so on, 2x2 Mimo will theoretically double your Speed, 4x4 double again over 2x2 etc.