External antenna for 4Gee Smart Hub

[Marion1967]

Local EE store advised contacting EE Tech to arrange for an external antennae to be fitted to improve signal. After 1hr of telephone conversation, diagnostic checks etc, following contacting customer services number given I was advised there is no such external antennae for routers only broadband users and also that not having a solid, static aqua blue light when the router is in operation is not a fault. Whilst I can access the internet I cannot get the apps on my smart Samsung T.V to work and the local EE store advised a signal booster was required. Does anyone know how to boost the signal? 

[bristolian]

From personal experience, CS' predictions of the best serving site for a given location do not always tally with using the engineering mode on a phone yourself. There is a margin of error that increases with the number of sites in a given area.

The RAN employs load balancing, high-band carriers are usually the same priority and thus dynamically share traffic. The low-band will only be used as a primary carrier, when the recieved RF falls below certain parameters.

I am unsure if they're using the same mapping system as used by network planners & optimisers. All factors combined - I would take a remote prediction from CS as a starting point, but always use a field test as the best barometer.

[Marion1967]

Thanks again for your helpful response Ali.

I am very reluctant to call EE customer care as I’ve had to call twice so far since becoming a customer and have on both occasions waited long periods of time e.g. 20mins or so to speak with someone and to date the support given has not been useful hence why I posted here in this community page. 

To be honest Ali, if I could find a company (other than EE) to provide me with a router, antennae and SIM I would gladly end my contract with EE as my experience of EE to date has been incredibly disappointing and stressful. 🙄

[ab10661]

We were on a trial for 4g several years ago and were supplied with a Huawei  CPE B593 router, this had twin aerial ports and came with two ‘rabbit ears’ that were for indoor use but we ended up using an external  aerial to get desired reception. Worked well for us and only changed when fibre became available. Fairly low tech but a solution.

[Marion1967]

Thanks for the info 🙂 

[Marion1967]

Hi again Ali

I was looking at the manual for the router I have and noticed that it looks like it does have an external antenna connection. . I’m thinking that perhaps all I need to do is buy a TS9 external antennae and have it fitted. What are your thoughts? 

[Marion1967]

[ab10661]

Well done you! I am not techy, sure there will be others on here that can advise better than me, but personally think it’s worth a go. Only suggestions I got, do your research, ask questions, try and get a reputable brand from a reputable seller where there is backup should you encounter problems. If you go ahead  try and keep aerial cable run as short as possible to reduce losses. If you are installing yourself,  if reception isn’t improved try swapping the aerial cables over ( once needed to disconnect ours and had managed to swap them over and reception was a lot poorer until I discovered what was wrong).

[Marion1967]

Many thanks for your reply. I’ll certainly keep what you wrote in mind.👍

Sometimes it’s a maybe case of working through suggestions folk make and just seeing if they work and if not then by trying it just might lead you to a better solution, kind like the process a scientist would use I think . 🤔 Thanks again 😊

[JimM11]

@Marion1967 Not sure were this is all went, you reported that only the Smart Samsung TV was the issue and everything else was fine, and this is wi-fi connected, have you tried connecting the TV via the ethernet connection on your smart 4g router?

[Marion1967]

Hi. Many thanks for your reply. 

Yes, I tried the ethernet cable as you suggested but that didn’t work. Tv just said connected to the network but not the internet and when I do it wirelessly it says the opposite. 

Samsung support tech guy suggested testing the tv using my mobile phone i.e. the Mobile Hotspot and connecting the tv that way and the apps all worked find leading to the conclusion that it is the smart 4G router that’s causing the problem as the signal is weak. 

Thankfully I can do video calls, emails, shopping and can stream videos/films via an HDMI cable connected to my laptop using the smart 4G router.