5g speed very slow and dropping connection

[lformela]

Hello, for quite a while my internet connection is utterly slow, and dropping frequently. Whenever I run speedtest I'm getting 5-15mbps on 5g, which is just not acceptable. The Zyxel NR5103E hub is on a window sill, I can see 5g mast from the window.

Interestingly when I switch to mobile data on any of our mobile phones, I'm getting 200mbps+ on speedtest, anywhere in the house.

It's really frustrating, as it's not the first issue and I still pay my monthly bills.

I tried every possible solution, including: setting bands to B1, B3, n77, n78, splitting connection into 2.4ghz and 5ghz, testing different channels manually, numerous factory resets, and even making sure the SIM card sits in tightly.

I'm out of ideas, and can't use my 5g hub really.

I've been on a chat with customer service just to get few copy/paste messages that lead to nowhere. Only my request for a replacement router has not been answered directly.

Please what else can I do?

[lformela]

The hub is Zyxel NR5103E

[lformela]

Is there really no way to solve this?

[JonathanB]

Hi @lformela,

This sounds really frustrating, I'll do my best to help.

Just to check, I'm assuming the mobiles with the 200+ speeds are also on Three?

I think the best starting point is to try to establish if the issue is a potentially faulty router. I'd try swapping the SIMs, testing one of the mobile SIMs in the router, and the router SIM in a mobile if possible. If the issue is specifically with the router, then that should help establish with the tech teams if they need to look at replacing this, or if there's some issue with your Broadband account or SIM.

Let me know if you're able to try this, and what the result is.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[lformela · Accepted solution]

@JonathanB ,

I truly appreciate your response. So this is strange, but the procedure seems to have fixed the issue.

What I did, in this particular order:
- ran speedtest on 5g wifi - got 3.84mbps,
- ran speedtest on 5g mobile data - got 280mbps,
- inserted SIM from hub into mobile phone, ran speedtest on 5g mobile data - got 300mbps,
- inserted SIM from mobile phone into hub, ran speedtest on 5g wifi - got 250mbps,
- inserted SIM original mobile phone SIM back, ran speedtest on 5g mobile data - got 300mbps,
- inserted SIM original hub SIM back, ran speedtest on 5g wifi - got 550mbps.

As you can see, SIM card from hub was giving normal speeds on mobile already and keeps doing it when I put it back into the hub. I did not switch off the hub when removing/inserting sim, but turned it off for a minute afterwards.

I don't think it has anything to do with switching the hub off though, as I was doing it already for more than few minutes each time in the last few days. I don't know what exactly helped, but problem seems to be gone now.

Thank you again for your help!

[JonathanB]

Hey @lformela,

That's great news. Very odd, but I assume swapping the SIMs about must have cleared a cache or refreshed something on the router. Either way glad that you're back on good speeds again!.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[Threlly]

Seems perfectly reasonable that enacting a random series of sim swaps would fix the issue.
Three all over...may as well cast bones on the floor...

[rubberduck88]

I have virtually same situation. I tested a NR5103E V1 hub at the end of 2022 and at that time I typically got 500-600 mbps. The only reason we returned it was because one of the gamers in family moaned about some lagging. Now fast forward to recent weeks when I noticed a new Hutchison mast installed just 150 metres from me which can be seen from upstairs window sill where previous 5G hub was situated. So I thought worth giving the Three 5G hub another go and see if performance had improved. So new hub ordered on monthly contract for testing again.

The hub supplied is the latest NR5103E V2 Firmware V1.00(AC1R.0)C0. It feels lighter and more cheaply made than V1 and the taller thinner shape makes it less stable when balancing on window sills etc. The first thing I noticed when starting to test was V2 unit is far more sensitive to where and in what orientation it is positioned as compared to V1 in order to get best signal.

Brief testing over last couple of days shows performance is completely useless. With 2 blue lights (full bars signal & 5G) I typically get about 20mbps download using a 5G phone connection to hub. The best speed I have seen is about 120 mbps (more on this later). Speed tests via etherent connection are slower - that is a problem I saw with V1. I have searched the many threads on this forum complaining of poor 5G hub performance and tried most of the suggested solutions. APN change makes no difference for me. According to Three service status there have been no problems while I have been testing.

It is hard to believe that performance can be so bad especially when you consider all the claims the Three marketing blurb makes! Possible reasons - 1. I have a faulty hub/firmware 2.Local Three network fault 3. Three network totally saturated in my area 4. Hub config error.

There are other threads on here which complain about Three throttling connection to 120mbps. In the few times I have got a decent download speed test running that indeed seems to be the case - it is far too much of a coincidence that speed tops out at almost exactly 120. At the moment though I cannot even get anywhere near that.

Bottom line is I have gone from 600mbps late 2022 with V1 hub to a totally unusable V2 hub in Q3 2024. Progress eh 😉

I cannot be bothered wasting time with the clueless Three support who just recite scripted responses so if anyone has got any suggestions to try let me know as I am out of ideas and loathe to waste more time on this. 

[JonathanB]

Hi @rubberduck88,

Sorry to hear this, it sounds like a really frustrating issue. In the case of the OP, the speeds over mobile data were drastically different. Are you able to confirm this from a Three mobile connection, or by testing the router SIM in a phone or other device?

This should hopefully help narrow down whether we're dealing with an issue with the router, or the local network. 

The issue you've mentioned around 120 Mbps connections should have been resolved already a few weeks ago. Just to understand this a bit better, are you persistently hitting 120 Mbps speeds, elsewhere you said you were typically only getting 20 Mbps?

Thanks,
Jonathan

[rubberduck88]

Hi Jonathan

Not had any time for any testing last few days. I did try hub sim in phone and got same speed result -approx 20mbps at the time. Today I notice it is very difficult to get a 5G signal (blue light) on hub whichever way I position it on window sill. As I said before it seems far more fussy than the previous V1 box I tested. Three service status checker shows no issues. I wondering if the new mast up the road has actually been commissioned yet ... I have walked right next to it and my phone (Smarty/Three network sim) does not show 5G signal. Also when I look at the Three coverage checker map for 5G I would expect to see top level coverage around the new mast location and I do not - maybe that coverage map is not updated very frequently? Is there an easy way to locate the mast(s) being used by hub - I remember doing this some time ago and seemed to have to rely on publicly contributed data.. Cell Mapper etc. as network operators do not disclose locations?

Just as I write this Hub connected on 5G  2blue light so ran a quick few speed checks via 5G phone - 24.6, 18.7, 27.0 downloads with uploads being about half those. We have tried different 5G phones also to eleiminate connection to hub - same results.

With regard the 120mbps you say it is now resolved. How exactly was it resolved? Is it only resolved when Three reset something on customers home boradband accounts?