Huawei B315 Connectivity Issues

[DieVlermuisman]

Good day everyone,

I hope there is someone that will be able to point me in the right direction.

I have a SmartBroadband package with Telkom, and I also received a B315 router with the package. I have not had any issues with it whatsoever in the year and a half I have had it. I have taken the router with me to various locations around Centurion ( where I originally took out the contract ) and in Pretoria, and did not have any connection issues at all. I recently moved to the Lyttelton Manor area, and this is where everything went to hell.

The connection is extremely intermittent, at times getting around 10Mbps Download and around 8Mbps Upload @ 10-20ms ping, but will literally last for 2 minutes, before dropping to about 0.8Mbps Download and will not even run the Upload. At times it will not even load the page is it will time out completely.

I have moved the router to multiple places in the flat, adjusting the antenna settings multiple times, keeping the connection to "Only 4G", restarting the router by plugging it out and back in, checking for updates etc etc. On Telkom's site I have 100% coverage for 2/3/4G and LTE, but upon testing the signal strength on my phone ( which is also Telkom ), it varies extremely from Edge ( -70dbm ) to HSPA + ( -120dbm )

I have spoken to Telkom, but only got the generic "Please take it to your nearest outlet to have it tested". Can anyone perhaps just give me some indication if I can purchase an external antenna and pitch it up somewhere to get better results, or just any form of advice, as it is seriously driving me to the verge of insanity.

Regards,

 

[cavedog]

Well lyttelton manor has decent coverage and I spend most of the day at lyttelton manor at work and my uncapped simcard works well in my LTE mifi getting speeds of no less than 20Mbps.

Have you tried forcing it to the different frequencies? Can be easily done in the settings.

 

[DieVlermuisman]

Ive tried adjusting the frequencies as well yes. Ive actually come across an XPOL-6 high gain antenna that might help me with my issue, but I am not really keen on forking out 1.6k for a "possible fix". Lucky for me my one buddy has one that I can borrow.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

[cavedog]

Ive tried adjusting the frequencies as well yes. Ive actually come across an XPOL-6 high gain antenna that might help me with my issue, but I am not really keen on forking out 1.6k for a "possible fix". Lucky for me my one buddy has one that I can borrow.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

The XPOL-6 is a great antenna and works so well with the B315. I would totally suggest it IF you have signal issues. If your signal stats are fine and you are still getting poor speeds then an antenna will likely not fix your issue but it could help you connect to another tower by adjusting the direction of the antenna.

 

[Shonver]

If you don't have an external antenna already, you should ask Telkom to supply you with one. I know that with new routers/contracts you get this for free (including installation). Perhaps you can still get it for free.

 

[MPThompson]

I have this same issue with Telkom. I have LoS to three towers in my area but here's the kicker. MTN and Vodacom give me paid for speed , Telkom does not. I can't block Telkom SA-R either , Ive tried. The message received is 'your product is registered on the telkom network exclusively. Tips. anyone? Yes, its a b315 running an LTE-A 30mpbs uncapped package from Openweb (who are stumped as to the cause) I was moved off MTN apparently for high usage (2.5tb). All updates are done, devices all up to date...Its Telkom, Im sure, as evidence suggests.

 

[IamNoone]

What is the signal strength on the router main page?

 

[DapperDanMan]

@MPThompson

On most Huawei routers the connectivity "Band" can be forced.

This could improve speeds, especially on Telkom, because they use TDD as well as FDD.

Many apps are available to do so on a variety of interfaces.

There is also the Huawei Band Tool.

Yes, its a b315 running an LTE-A 30mpbs uncapped package

Remember, there is a difference between LTE and LTE-A, for example.

But the B315 is a CAT4 router, so there are limitations. (Your connection can achieve Carrier Aggregation [CA] throughput speeds of you use a CAT6 router, or newer router.)