Hi,
No. I still have the problem. Over the last few weeks I’ve run multiple
ping tests using testing software (not just Speedtest) in an effort to pin
down the issue – but to date without any success. I’ve tried a number of
different routers too, including the Mk1 EE 4GEE router, the Mk2 EE 4GEE
router (that’s the Huawei one) and I’m currently using the EE 4GEE Home
Router 3. I have the same issue no matter which EE branded 4G router is
used – but I’ve stopped short of paying out a further £300+ for something
like a top-end DrayTek LTE router because I suspect the problem probably
lies with the 4G signal itself rather than our hardware. I’ve also tried
having the DSM connected directly to the router by Cat6 cable with nothing
else connected at all. And I’ve tried connecting through three different,
good quality routers with the feed from the EE router fed into the WAN
connection. (That allows the non-EE routers to specify the DNS servers used
to access the internet over-riding the EE routers own DNS settings). The
dropout problem persists.
EE decline to allow end users to edit of the DNS servers in the current
router firmware and have told me that facility was removed on ‘commercial
grounds’. And if you update the firmware on the earlier EE 4GEE routers
you’re likely to find that facility removed. So be careful!
In the meantime there’s another factor that may be contributory. We live in
the Scottish Highlands and when running Speedtests we used to see that our
ISP varied and often included ISPs in Aberdeen, Douglas (Isle of Man),
Newcastle etc. Since this dropout issue has arisen we only ever see ISPs
that are in London when running Speedtests. So we think EE have made
changes in the way the 4G data signal is delivered that could be part of the
problem.
Qobuz say a minimum 10 Mbps is required for Hi-Res streaming. We get better
than 100 Mbps using an external, directional 4G antenna connected to the EE
router, so it’s definitely not a bandwidth issue. We can stream 4K movies
flawlessly (which requires at least 25 Mbps). And we can stream Qobuz
Hi-Res music to a desktop PC using the Qobuz app. Colin (the very helpful
Helpline person at Linn) says that’ll be because the PC has a larger buffer
than the DSM and is able to cope with a disjointed music feed better than
the DSM. But, of course, you don’t get the same audio quality from a PC.
So the conclusion I’ve drawn to date is that EE have downgraded the 4G
signal, or changed it in some way, resulting in the same amount of data
being received but in a more disjointed way than was previously the case.
This isn’t affecting devices like the PC, of a SkyQ digibox, or an Amazon
Fire TV box, but the signal is no longer good enough for streaming Hi-Res
music from Qobuz over a Linn DSM. (Incidentally, there’s nothing wrong with
our DSM, which can stream 192KHz 24-bit music from a NAS flawlessly. The
problem is the incoming internet signal.)
We can stream from Qobuz at 16-bit, 96KHz resolution to the DSM. But we
used to be able to stream 24-bit with no trouble at all. The dropout
problem seemed to arise around the same time we changed to the EE 4GEE Home
Router 3 and it seems that we cannot now go back without retaining the
dropout problem. That’s why I think EE have downgraded the 4G data signal
in some way.
Unfortunately there is no alternative broadband available where we live. No
cable, no fibre, no wireless, no 5G and the fastest we can get over ADSL2 is
0.7 Mbps, which is too slow for streaming anything but low-res radio from
the like of Airable.
So I’m sorry I haven’t been able to provide a solution, yet, but I hope the
foregoing helps you make some progress.
Kind Regards,
Peter
