Considering moving to a Smart 5G Hub

[TheCurious]

Hello All,

EE are my mobile provider. My phone connects via 5G to a tower I can see from my home office window so I'm considering moving my home connection to EE from 3 which can only offer 4G. I have some questions and was hoping to get some advice from current users. Whatever hardware they supply needs to be able to be run in bridging mode as I have a small WordPress site and mastodon relay here.

Are EE still supplying the Zyxel 5103 hardware and can it be run in bridging mode?

Do the data-only sims use a different APN than the mobile ones?

There is a 1000gb data cap (I'm averaging 900gb/month at the moment), am I right in thinking that the connection will drop to 4G if I exceed this?

Thanks in advance for any help!

TheCurious

[EssexBoyEE]

@TheCurious - Are EE still supplying the Zyxel 5103 hardware and can it be run in bridging mode?

The 5103 Hardware is capable of running Bridge Mode, but you will need to confirm with EE that this feature has not been Restricted within the EE Firmware of the Router prior to Purchase.

@TheCurious - Do the data-only sims use a different APN than the mobile ones?

No, Same APN

@TheCurious - There is a 1000gb data cap (I'm averaging 900gb/month at the moment),

Its not a Data Cap, its a FUP for Data use, you can use more than the FUP amount, its just your Data Speed will probably be reduced once you pass the FUP.

1000gb is an older FUP, most Unlimited Data Sims now seem to be referred to a 600gb FUP (See EE Terms on UL Data Plans), there were some Data Only / Business Plans that had a 1000gb FUP but these are probably also now 600gb, you would need to confirm this with EE prior to Purchase. 

@TheCurious - am I right in thinking that the connection will drop to 4G if I exceed this?

Correct, this seems to be the way that EE currently enforces Speed Restriction in a 5G Area, there may also be 4G Speed Restrictions in 4G Only Coverage Areas.

[TheCurious]

Thanks @EssexBoyEE - I'll ask them about the firmware. As for the speed restrictions, thanks for pointing that limit out - on the features page, it says 1000GB/month but I have a feeling I know which one they'd choose to enforce!

[TheCurious · Accepted solution]

This was the final interaction I had with "Russ" on X/Twitter with @EE:

Thanks for sharing the link. I've double checked the data, and the fair usage for unlimited phone plans is 600GB, and the fair usage for the 5G hub is 1000GB. I've done some digging for this being used in bridge mode, and from what I can see, this can't be used that way. -Russ

It looks like I'll be staying where I am for now unless I supply my own hardware without the software restriction.

Thanks again @EssexBoyEE 

[gurmukhp]

Is it possible to buy a SIM that has the 1000gb a month restriction instead? I'm in the same situation and 600gb a month isn't going to cut it.