Huawei H122-373 random go-slows

[Stuart]

Hi all,

I have Three home broadband with a Huawei H122-373 router.

The problem I have is that it will sometimes drop to incredibly slow speeds - photos don't load on your social media feed, can't stream TV and radio etc. Restarting the router will always solve it.  It seems completely random; sometimes it's steady for days, sometimes I have to restart it several times a day.

It's not a problem with wi-fi, as devices connected by wi-fi and ethernet are equally affected.

It's not a problem with the Three mobile signal; I can test this as my phone is also on Three.

I'm convinced this is a problem with the router.  Has anyone else had this experience?  Did you find a solution, perhaps something in the settings I can change?

[JonathanB]

Hi Stuart,

This sounds really frustrating, we'll do our best to help.

Are you able to test if the SIM from your router has similar issues when in your phone, and whether your router performs any better with your phone SIM? This would help narrow down whether a SIM replacement could help, or if it does seem to be a faulty router.

Let me know if you're able to try this, and we'll check the best next steps from there.

Thanks,
JonathanB

[Stuart]

Hi Jonathan, thanks for getting back to me.  I'll give that a try and come back to you but it might be a few days until I'm sure as this fault seems to come and go at random.

[Stuart]

Hi Jonathan,

This does seem to be the answer!  I've been working from home for three days with my phone SIM in the router and absolutely no problems at all; I put the SIM from the router into my phone and I've seen it go slow a couple of times. Is a new SIM something you can arrange for me from here, or should I speak to customer services?

Many thanks

Stuart

[JonathanB]

Hey @Stuart,

I'm glad to hear this helped narrow things down. You can order a replacement SIM online, or pop into a Three store with photo ID if that's more convenient than waiting on it in the post.

After the SIM is swapped let me know how things go over the next few days.

Thanks,
JonathanB

[Stuart]

I swapped the SIMs back to their natural homes and got a slow-down on the router after about 20 minutes so I think we've found the culprit; I don't have a Three store nearby so I've ordered a new SIM by post.  Thanks again, this was really good troubleshooting work!

[Kevbur123]

Sorry to hijack this but can I ask what does a sim swap solve in these issues ? I noticed it is recommended a lot and the sceptic in me has come to the conclusion it is to delay and hope the problem resolves or goes away ?

[JonathanB]

Hey @Kevbur123,

Great question! 

Occasionally issues can be caused by manufacturing faults, damage either physical, or from temperature, condensation or other environmental conditions. These can lead to intermittent issues with the SIM being read.

I'm also given to understand the data saved on the SIM can become corrupted. Moving the account to a fresh SIM can help resync the phone/broadband line with the network.

I totally understand where you're coming from though, it's best to check for other explanations first, and make sure the issue follows the SIM between devices first before replacing it.

JonathanB