virtually unusable mobile broadband: anyone?

[thecatsays]

I moved to a very rural part of Lancashire knowing the internet was basically unusable, on the understanding a new company would be providing super-fast broadband. They've hit a snag on the installation (waiting for permission to finish the installation, listed houses ho hum), so in the meantime I invested in an EE Smart 5G Hub JR3Z with unlimited data . I'm not a total idiot, so with the help of AI have the thing set up to use only 4G, plus chose the best spot for the router and have all my stuff set up properly. It wasn't THAT bad at first, maybe 10 minutes of lost internet every day/other day but despite there being no service problems supposedly it's become impossible to stream anything and drops out several times a day.

I can't think of any solution. The copper wires around here are ancient so no point in using the "bigs", and according to the "maps" EE are the best bet, but this can't go on!!!!! 

No doubt this post is pointless really, but can anyone relate, or give any advice? Moving out isn't an option right now, so I'll have to try to find some sort of solution!!

[XRaySpeX]

@thecatsays : What speeds you getting from that mobile router? It could be that you might get less from fixed Home BB but it should be more reliable.

What does BT Wholesale Broadband Availability Checker > Address Checker estimate for your address? Post the whole table, the text below it and the line above it, blanking out your address.

[Ed3925]

Hi, 

Do you mean you've changed the network mode to 4G only ? Only rarely is this beneficial. It's usually best left on 4G/5G Auto, which allows connection to: 4G only, 4G enhanced by an additional 5G connection (commonly called 5G NSA, non-standalone) , or 5G only (commonly called 5G standalone and currently branded by EE as 5G+). 5G standalone is only available when connected to specific mast sites, whereas 5G NSA (the combined 4G/5G connection ) is available when connected to all 5G masts. Naturally, only a proportion of EE sites transmit 5G, those which don't are 2G + 4G. 

If 5G isn't available at a particular location, setting the device to Auto means it will connect to 4G automatically. A proportion of rural sites have low frequency 5G in addition to 4G, which can be useful at improving service at locations with poor signal conditions. If the device is set to 4G only, the possibility of stabilising the connection with low frequency 5G bands is removed. 

Setting the router to 4G only generally only helps if there's a problem with the 5G standalone (5G+) service. Rural sites are less likely to be activated for 5G standalone, so there aren't many situations where the 4G only mode is preferable. 

The number of signal bars displayed when connected to a particular network type is a poor indicator of quality. As a result, setting a device to 4G only because it leads to the display of "more bars" is often detrimental. Most present-day 4G and 5G connections involve the use of multiple frequency bands at once (each with a different signal strength). This makes the number of bars shown by a device even less meaningful than it used to be. 

If you've not already compared the service quality on different network modes, this would be a good place to start.