EE 5g hub

[Cocat2517]

Hi, 

Moving to a rural location soon with pitiful broadband speeds, so looking at a 4g or 5g hub to get some reasonable speeds for Sky TV, gaming, browsing etc. Will definitely need an antenna.

4g signal is quite weak there and not sure I'll get any 5g. (EE claims good indoor & outdoor 4g speeds and outdoor 5g only, but from visiting the property I know this to be false, no indoor 4g and very weak outdoor 4g, didn't pickup any 5g outdoor, on Samsung S22 Ultra). If I went for the 5g hub though would this pickup the 4g signal?

Can I use an antenna with this that'll boost both 4g and 5g signal? Or do the antennas only work with one or the other?

Thank you,

[Christopher_G · Accepted solution]

Hi @Cocat2517 

Welcome to the community.

The 5G routers will also pick up 4G, when 5G isn't available. The antennae usually bring whatever 4G coverage you get outside the property indoors. 

Chris

[Cocat2517]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, as long as the 5g hub/router will pick up 4g signal as well as the 4g ones and that the antenna that comes with the 5g hub/router also boosts 4g signal as well as 5g then that's fine.

Next question... if I order the 5g router (£60 upfront and £50/month) and I find speed and signal are bad can I cancel? Would I be refunded the £60 upfront cost if the service is not as promised by EE?

Cheers 

[Christopher_G]

We wouldn't promise any type of service, we would give an estimate based on our coverage maps, @Cocat2517 

You get a distance selling period of 14 days to test and return the equipment. If you do so, you will be refunded up front equipment fees and plan costs from when you cancel. Installation fees may not be refunded.

Chris

[Cocat2517]

Thanks Chris.

[Christopher_G]

You're welcome, @Cocat2517 🙂

Chris

[archercj]

@Cocat2517 Ive been in a similar situation. 

I had a TP-Link MR600 4G router hooked up to a directional 2x2 Mimo aerial and an EE sim in a rural location by the sea. Was getting constant speeds of 40-50mbps for well over a year. But for some reason those speeds droped to 1-4mbps making streaming and Teams difficult. EE could only say everything was fine as they do but funny I have been getting a twice weekly service alert from them.

Anyway to cut a very long and boring story short I have purchased a TP-Link Deco X50-5G router after I noticed my phone started picking up a 5G signal in the area. Not done much testing yet but for two days I was getting 120-140mbps but occasionally it dropped 5g totally. Havent hooked it up to the aerial (which is 5G compatible) yet as I need a SMA adaptor.

But my suggestions for anyone in the same boat is:

a) buy the cheapest SIM card for all the main suppliers and run some speed tests on each. There is no hard and fast rule over which supplier has the best signal in the area (well apart from word of mouth and trial and error). Then if you think one fits the bill and you need a streaming solution then

b) consider a 5G router for future proofing. But they are still in their infancy and are expensive. The Deco I bought was £299. If you went with the EE router offer (which is a Zyxel router and by all accounts pretty good) you could get a 2nd hand one off Fleabay for around £200 (tip:make sure its the EE Zyxel NR5103 and not the Three supplied NR5103E - practically the same but the latter has been known to have an issue regarding getting 5G signal, I aquired one and it wouldnt pick up 5G so I sent it back).

Of course you could get one through EE with the £50pm contract which I work out is £480 for the router plus the £60 rip off payment.

c) The Deco I bought was pretty good at picking up a 'good' (but not 'excellent') rated signal internally (5G) without an antenna/aerial. Will be interesting to see what it is like when I hook it up to my aerial so I reckon any decent router will do the same. But you should also cost in for an aeria/antenna which will cost you between £100-£200 for a 5G compatible one.

Good luck.