topic Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e in Broadband

Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

nsmhd — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 16:13:14 GMT

Hi all,

I’ve been using Three’s 5G Home Broadband service for a few weeks now with the provider Zyxel NR5103e.

Using an external antenna (XPOL-V2 4x4 5G) I can pick up an excellent 4&5G signal.

The issue is I’m in the middle of two masts that both do 5G and the one I’m connecting to and is slightly closer (1.13 kM vs 1.41KM) only has ~300mbps backhaul via Microwave link so not only can you not get the full 5G speeds but in the evenings it gets congested which causes latency to go from 30-50ms to 400ms + and the usual issues that come from that.

I tried moving my external antenna in the opposite direction facing the other mast which I know is fibre fed and can support the max 5G speeds but the router won’t lock onto it and just connected to the other mast still.

it would be great to get cell locking which would enable us to choose which mast to connect to for situations like this.

Anyone know of another way to get the router to prefer a different mast?

Fingers crossed Three upgrade the backhaul of the mast I’m connecting to as I do get an excellent signal from it and it has the two n78 carries and B1+3+20+28+32 LTE bands.

Many thanks,

Nathan

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

crypt0ninja — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 18:03:22 GMT

Hi @nsmhd,

I'm in a similar situation which cell locking would resolve. Band locking helps to an extent but cell locking options are definitely needed and would complement the existing band locking options and allow users to lock onto specific connections.

I have already discussed this with @JonathanB as Zyxel's own NR5101 has cell locking functionality so cant see any reason why it shouldn't be possible to get it enabled via firmware update for the NR5103E.

I assume (big assumption lol) that the options can be enabled when Three compile their branded version of Zyxel's NR5103E firmware.

Hopefully @JonathanB can provide us with an update if he's managed to discuss it with his contacts.

Cheers

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

nsmhd — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 18:39:10 GMT

Cheers @crypt0ninja yes hopefully they will be able to push it out via a firmware update and I would be more than happy to be in a test group.

I have attempted band locking with varies configs but it just wants to connect to the same mast either with the internal or external antenna.

I did login via SSH and see if their was a cli option for cell locking but was not able to find one.

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

nsmhd — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 18:42:40 GMT

I wrote a blog about my experience with Three 5G home broadband which goes into much more detail with images of my setup etc https://fttppro.co.uk/three-5g-home-broadband-review-2023/

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

Dazzar — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 18:57:49 GMT

I was trying to lock on to B1 3 and N78 but it refused to work at all,

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

nsmhd — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 19:04:14 GMT

I can get mine to band lock onto n78+ any LTE (except B32 on its own with n78 as it’s SDL download only) just all connects to the one mast though.

I find band 3,32+n78 works well and provides the best upload speed as it aggregates band3 15Mhz and a 100mhz upload channel.

I do find when testing different configs it can get confused/buggy so best rebooting the router if you run into issues.

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

Dazzar — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 19:29:36 GMT

I will give that a go when the wife is not watching YouTube

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

crypt0ninja — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 22:34:04 GMT

Yeah I'm using the same external as you and as its omni it picks up signal from all directions. Atm I have to stick to a B28+N78 combo, even though my mast has b1, b3 etc if I add them into the mix it sometimes randomly switches to a mast/cell with terrible signal stats.

A directional antenna with a narrow signal beam would help block out the unwanted signal from the mast you don't want but cell locking is needed in the case of omni directional antennas to avoid this issue (the internal antennas and the xpol-1-v2-5g-41 that we use).

Cell locking is very helpful for both stabilising connections and also troubleshooting issues with cells so would be great if they can enable it via firmware update for us.

Hint Hint @JonathanB 😂

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

crypt0ninja — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 22:34:58 GMT

I have a strong feeling yours may be faulty @Dazzar...

May be worth calling up to request a replacement, clearly stating that your other devices are picking up 5G just fine so the NR5103E should too.

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

nsmhd — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:19:25 GMT

Cheers @crypt0ninja yeah In hindsight if I had known before the mast I was connecting to had a poor backhaul I would have opted for a directional and was on the fence but went omnidirectional as got it on a deal.

fingers crossed they can add cell locking soon.

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

UnrealMachine35 — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:28:08 GMT

Cell locking would be amazing to be able to do with this router

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

UnrealMachine35 — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 07:28:12 GMT

Cell locking would be a most welcome feature to have.this is a feature already available on the nr5103e in some other countries and networks..be great if three enabled this

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

crypt0ninja — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 12:33:26 GMT

Yeah seems to be enabled on some Swedish providers NR5103E.

Its a very much needed feature for a lot of us!

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

nsmhd — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 15:56:33 GMT

@JonathanB have Three got any plans to enable this? It would be very useful to many people.

in my particular situation Three have confirmed a backhaul issue with the mast I’m connected to and no timeframe as to when it will be fixed.

having cell locking would provide a short term fix to this issue by allowing me to connect to another mast.

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

Dazzar — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 02:36:14 GMT

Mine has N78 N78 and B1 and B3 shown as my connection I know others are available which ones should it be set to for best signed download is sometimes 400mb but upload is poor

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

djones230 — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 11:26:27 GMT

I would also love this feature to become available. I sit between 3 different masts and it continues to select the one furthest away.

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

crypt0ninja — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 11:33:42 GMT

Usually a case of trial an error 😅

What bands are available via that mast when checking Cell Mapper?

I literally went down the route of band locking each single band with N78 and speed testing each one and noting down the DL/UL figures lol

At the end it gave me an idea on how each band performs and which ones to try and aggregate for best speeds.

Personally I ended up with a B28+N78 combo as anything else would connect me to masts that have pants connection stats and upload speeds lol

There's 1 local mast with B28 in close range so band locking to that always ensures I connect to that one, however results can differ in your area though depending on available bands and congestion etc.

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

crypt0ninja — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 11:41:52 GMT

Yup I'm in a similar position with several masts in range, and whilst band locking helps it still cell switches and doesn't connect me to the mast with best signal stats and speeds...

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

JonathanB — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 09:30:07 GMT

Hey @nsmhd,

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner on this. Unfortunately no current plans, but I know there's a lot of community users that want us to enable these settings. Rest assured, I'm passing the feedback on.

Thanks,
Jonathan

Re: Cell locking on Zyxel 5103e

usernamefor3 — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 21:59:04 GMT

Started running into an issue where my NR5103e is connecting to a different mast which has a worse signal and much worse speed. Unfortunately both masts use the same bands so band locking provides no help. Very strange for Three to enable band locking but not cell locking.

[I realise this could be because the good mast is down for some reason but it would be nice to be able to check rather than just waiting in hope]

Can this please be passed on again @JonathanB, if I can't connect to the good mast again I'm going to have to cancel as it's just not usable.