Observations on USB Huawei E1820 router (black speedstick)

[The_Unbeliever]

Hi

This morning's experimentation with two different laptops (one Lenovo Netbook S10e, and a Gigabyte W575M laptop), two different USB cables and a few basic speedtest.net runs, as well as my own observations, I have come to the following conclusions :

NOTES :

- The Ideapad S10e only have two USB ports, one on the left, and the other on the right side of the chassis.
- The Gigabyte W575M laptop got one USB port on the left, and two at the back.​

1. The speedstick's performance is dependent upon two factors :

- Antenna/physical orientation w.r.t. the tower
- Power supplied via the USB port​

2. All of the physical USB ports on most computers does not exhibit the same characteristics

3. USB extension cables also play a big factor.

4. Observations :

4.1. On the Lenovo Ideapad S10e the following was observed :

- Plugged USB extension cable 'A' into left-hand USB port
- Tried to do a speedtest
- Observed constant disconnetcs
- Also observed that the same USB cable worked fine with the same speedstick on another computer a few weeks ago.​

- I then switched USB cable 'A' from the left USB port to the right USB port.

- Did a speedtest, and observed that the connection is more stable without any disconnects.

- Removed the speedstick from the USB cable and plugged it directly into the left USB port.
- When plugged in directly, it was observed that the connection was stable, but speed was down.

- Conclusion : Left USB port does not supply enough power for a stable connection, and that the location of the speedstick up against the wall is definitely improving the speed.​

5. Gigabyte W575M laptop :

- Plugged USB cable 'A' into left-hand USB port. Speedstick is not recognized although the light is flashing on and off, indicating that it is getting power.
- Tried the two other ports at the back as well, the router does not get recognized at all.
- Plugged speedstick directly into left-hand USB port. It is recognized.
- Plugged USB cable 'B' into left-hand USB port. Speedstick is recognized. Did a speedtest.

- Plugged USB cable 'B' into rear left USB port. Router does not get recognized.
- Plugged USB cable 'B' into rear right USB port. Router does not get recognized.​

6. USB cable 'B' and Ideapad S10e again :

- We know, from our experimentation, that USB cable 'B' do work with the W565M laptop and the black speedstick. But will the same combination work on the Lenovo Ideapad S10e? Here's what I've discovered :
- Plugged USB cable 'B' into Ideapad S10e left USB port. Router do get recognized, but CellC application cannot connect at all.
- Plugged USB cable 'B' into Ideapad S10e right USB port. Router do get recognized, but CellC application cannot connect at all.
​

7. Conclusion :

7.1. USB cable characteristics do make a difference
7.2. USB port(s) also do make a difference.
7.3. With 1 and 2 you have a larger amount of combinations before finding a combination which will work for you.
​

-- It might make a difference if any tech-savvy person is willing to make a USB power injector to supply more power on the USB line without damaging the computer/router. (Sort of like a PoE injector which prevents power from going back towards the computer.)

Regards

Ook



Bootnotes :

USB cable 'A' is a plain 'no-frills' 2m USB cable.
USB cable 'B' has blue LED's in the USB connector casings, when plugged into an USB port, it lights up. Also 2m in length.
Huawei router is the black E1820 speedstick from CellC, prepaid.

 

[1geoff99]

7. Conclusion :

7.1. USB cable characteristics do make a difference
7.2. USB port(s) also do make a difference.
7.3. With 1 and 2 you have a larger amount of combinations before finding a combination which will work for you.
​

This is according to my observations as well. And as you also mentioned, location and orientation of the modem also plays a part. When I first got my modem, I tried it in my desktop front USB port (not enough power) with a poor quality extension cable and it was a poor location for good reception as well. It took me a long time to figure all that out.

 

[VQuest]

I did my own little set of tests this morning. All usb ports do achieve different speeds, but the best conclusion I've come to is that using a 1m usb extension cable has basically doubled my average speeds. I find it quite incredible. I don't get he best of speeds - around 1 - 1.5mb/s, so using the extension enables me to get around 3mb/s which is a significant increase. I'm happy. Thanks for the tip The_Librarian!