5G EE Router - randomly drops to 4G, can I fix it on 5G?

[scottxs904]

Hi

I have recently moved to EE 5G with the EE 5G router - I suffered for years with terrible broadband so to see speeds like this I am well happy.

The only downside is the router randomly drops to 4G and seems to stay there until I reset the router, then it goes straight back to 5G.  I have no signal issues, I am getting one bar short of a full 5G connection and I have tried changing the network setting to 5G only in the router config pages but when I do that the router does not seem to be able to connect to the network.

Any ideas?
It is a pain in the bum having to check the router all of the time to see if it has dropped to 4G, I just want it to stay on 5G.

[Christopher_G]

Thanks for posting about this, @Rob602.

I suggest calling again to speak to the technical support team again so that they can continue with the troubleshooting steps with you.

Hopefully they can get to the bottom of it.

Chris

[Rob602]

Thanks Chris,

Not giving up on it, when it works as it should the speed and latency are excellent, 

[Rob602]

Try backing up your router settings to your iPhone or whatever you connect with 1st,

Then do a restore or factory reset followed by a restore to get your personalised settings back.

It helps 

[Rob602]

Message above for Scott or anyone else with the same issue

[scottxs904]

Still happening to me.

I am a IT network engineer so I have been doing lots of troubleshooting on this as it is a major pain in the rear end for me, especially when I am transferring files or on a multiple teams call and the thing drops to 4G.

I have a 5G EE Samsung Galaxy S22+ - this never drops to 4G when I am at home, it can be sitting on 5G with a full signal and my EE 5G router drops to 4G. Even so, mobile phones can easily transfer between 5G to 4G and back again to 5G but the EE router cannot seem to do that.  This should be a relative easy fix to apply and could be done by a firmware update.

Talking of firmware, I am on 5GEE_Router_V01.11 - seems a very early version, especially as in essence it is a Zyxel.

[EssexBoyEE]

@scottxs904 wrote - I have tried changing the network setting to 5G only in the router config pages but when I do that the router does not seem to be able to connect to the network

You cannot do that, it will not work as it cannot connect to 5G on its own, it needs a 4G Connection first.

All UK Networks currently use a 5G Network tech called 5G NSA (Non Stand Alone) its was implemented as a quick way for the Networks to install 5G over an existing 4G Network, so a 5G Device will connect to 4G then if the Conditions are right and there is 5G Signal Coverage Layer in the Area, the Device will connect to 4G + 5G, but it will show on the Device as 5G Signal but technically speaking its not.

When the Networks stat rolling out 5G SA (Stand Alone) then all this will change and a 5G Connection will be pure 5G Only Networking, its a shame the 5G Standard didnt address this like they did with 4G and 4G+ or LTE and LTE A.

There could be various issues why your 5G (4+5G) is rolling back to 4G Only, some you may be able to address, some not, the most 2 common reasons for this could be Received Signal Quality from the Mast or your Device is hopping between Masts in your Area, again this could be Signal Quality. Its not just a case of the 5G Signal is there or it isn't, there are complicated and technical algorithms going on in the background that determine on how, or if, you get a 5G connection. 

Best place to start is the move the Router around bit by bit around the property, high up and near a window is allows best, start with a North, South, East etc to try a find a sweet spot then you can fine tune just by a few inched here and there, leave the Router in each position for a far while, at least an hour, and ideally reboot the Router for each major movement.

You could also monitor your Signal Strength on any given Status Page within the Admin Web UI, and make a log of the Signals RSRP and SINR as well as with Mast (Cell ID or enBid), also if there are any given Carrier Aggregation (CA) Info, for example CA = B1, B3, n78, where the 'B' are the 4G Connections and the 'n' are a 5G Connection.

Chris.

[Rob602]

Same device and firmware here.

Can we flash the Zyxel firmware to it ?

[scottxs904]

Would more than likely brick it.

[bumblingbee]

I have the exact same issue on the EE 2022 5g router (zyxel NR5203).  We're about 1.5 miles from the 5g mast and getting 4 bars of signal and excellent speeds.  However, I am about 0.25 miles from a 4g mast which gives me 5 bars of signal and very mediocre speeds.  It connects to 5g on startup and then switches to 4g seemingly at random during the day, only solved through a reboot.  The whole investment in 5g is rendered useless without being able to prioritise which mast the router connects to rather than just prioritising signal strength.  The Three version of the router apparently enables band selection which could help but this really needs a firmware alteration to allow mast prioritisation or similar. I bought an external antenna which boosts the speed significantly, but it's omni directional - so is probably making the problem worse.  Looking at a directional antenna to focus on the 5g mast.  Please would EE look at ways of solving this or the 5g broadband can't really be marketed as such for people who have a stronger 4g signal. 

[Leanne_T]

Hi there @bumblingbee 

Thanks for coming to the community. 

Please call us on 0800 079 8586 and our technical support team can run through some troubleshooting to get this looked into for you. 

Leanne.