EE APN Settings: Where to find them

[hutchibi]

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?

[Christopher_G]

Hi @hutchibi

Welcome to the community.

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

Chris

[hutchibi]

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.

[Christopher_G]

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

Does it get similar speeds as your phone SIM?

Chris

[EssexBoyEE]

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.

[hutchibi]

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.

[EssexBoyEE]

-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.

[XRaySpeX]

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. 

[hutchibi]

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 ...

[XRaySpeX]

1. 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.
2. There's 1 APN setting that might help. If the APN Protocol = IPv6 or IPv4/IPv6, try setting it to IPv4 only.