Three Home Broadband: Zyxel NR5103E drops connection and WILL NOT RECONNECT AUTOMATICALLY

[456]

Extremely frustrating - every time it rains, the router drops connection and DOES NOT RECONNECT automatically. It has to be rebooted manually, which you can only do from home.

If you're away from home and rely on your home broadband to monitor your home and your pets, you're screwed. This needs to be fixed ASAP.

[nsmhd]

Yeah I noticed this too especially when using cellular IP pass-though mode you sometimes have to reboot both routers. 

[crypt0ninja]

Yeah I'm using passthrough to my Deco PX50 units and I notice that if the NR5103E IP changes or it switches cells (which is not a rare occurrence and results in IP change) then the passthrough device(s) (my Decos) lose connectivity as they don't immediately pick up the change in connection, sometimes this resolves itself after a few minutes and I notice the IP then changes in the Deco app, but often I notice they don't pick up the change at all when this happens, so they lose internet connectivity completely and I have to reboot the Deco units for them to pick up the change and have an established internet connection again.

I can replicate this issue by forcing a band selection change that causes a switch to a different cell which changes the IP address etc. as the issue I have explained above occurs when doing this.

Initially thought that this may have just been an issue with my Deco PX50 units picking up the IP address/connection change as they are a fairly new release but now I'm wondering if its an issue with passthrough mode...

@JonathanB can you please ask the internal team to conduct some testing on this?

They should be able to replicate this by forcing a band selection that switches cell/IP address when using IP Passthrough mode. The correct result should be the passthrough devices picking up the new connection details immediately, but this does not seem to happen for me so interested to see if they can replicate this as an issue or not.

I've also noticed this happening very late in the evening when a local cell I use goes offline for some reason (probably maintenance as it comes back online by the time I wake up) as my Deco's lose connectivity, and when comparing the router and deco connection stats I can see that the NR5103E has switched cell/changed IP whilst my Deco's are still showing the previous connection details.

Cheers 🙂

[JonathanB]

Hi @456,

I'm sorry to hear this has been happening, it sounds really disruptive. Has this been an issue since you originally joined Three for 5G Broadband, or has it been a more recent development?

Rain does unfortunately interfere with 5G signals, the frequencies involved can carry far higher data speeds, but the range of 5G masts can drop in adverse weather conditions. We are continually investing in 5G coverage, to upgrade existing masts and erect new ones.

In terms of the router not automatically reconnecting, I think that @crypt0ninja's suggestion that the drop in signal is causing a change in the cell/mast being connected to makes sense and could be the key to this.

I've passed this information on to a team that can test and investigate this, and will let you know if I can provide any advice or updates.

We're finding that the position of the router can have a big impact on 5G signal received. So it's definitely worth experimenting with this too. Most feedback suggests that near a window, and in higher locations gets the best results. It may also be worth checking spots that aren't near other electronic devices as 5G signal can also be disrupted by other appliances.

JonathanB

[456]

Hi. Thanks for your response.

This has been the issue since we've had the new Zyxel router. Our connection would drop with the previous router we had from you, but it would reconnect automatically. This one does not do that, which is a HUGE problem. We have a great 5G signal and a stable, fast connection, so that's not the problem. The problem is that the router drops the connection when it rains and then does NOT reconnect without rebooting the router. 

Please look into this as a matter of urgency. Thanks! :👍

[bulldog555]

It's been heavy rain here but it doesn't affect my router with firmware B12 as 5G never drop out. But if it does, it will go to LTE then reconnected back to 5G no problem - no need to reboot router.

[Anvil_Iron]

Are you using the Three 5G broadband app to tell you your signal strength? Do you get blue icons for both internet connection and cellular signal strength on top of the router when it's not raining and then different colour icons when it's raining?

You said, "great 5G signal and a stable, fast connection", but is this with the router when it's not raining on a phone?

[456]

I can check the next time it happens, but the problem is that I can't do this if it happens when I'm not at home. And the router will NOT reconnect automatically.

If I am at home and reboot it manually, it reconnects to 5G. Even if it's still raining.

[Shellywelly]

Hi , I have the same problem . I’ve only had my hub a week , it’s dropped out 5 times and each time I’ve had to reboot the hub. Rung three and getting fobbed off. I have 30days to return it , don’t want to but it’s ridiculous .

[456]

This has NOT been resolved. Can we please get an update on this? Thanks!