The Huawei B593 LTE discussion thread

[Network1]

Has anybody used something like this on the B593 ?

http://www.otto.co.za/products/ante...-dual-patch-antenna-9-db-with-5-meter-cables/

or possibly this :
http://www.otto.co.za/products/ante...tional-dual-antenna-7-db-with-5-meter-cables/


EDIT :

Thinking of the Omni is I can leverage of more than one tower possibly, so if one is having issues I am not limited to it ? Or am I better of going with the directional ?

Opened up the thread this morning to ask the same question.....

If I take my router outside I get 4 bars with download of 40 and upload of 7. Inside of house only 1 bar. Therefor thought to try one of the cheaper aerials rather than doing the big external aerial installation. If it works, then al sorted. Will also report back on outcome, taking into consideration the answers to your question in the other postings. Pls also let know what you did and how it worked out.

 

[sajunky]

If I take my router outside I get 4 bars with download of 40 and upload of 7. Inside of house only 1 bar. Therefor thought to try one of the cheaper aerials rather than doing the big external aerial installation. If it works, then al sorted.

Perfectly good, as long you are happpy with 40/7 figure, I am sure you are.
And yes, omnidirectional antenna gives a backup, just in case the tower is down. It might be better solution in your case.

 

[Network1]

Perfectly good, as long you are happpy with 40/7 figure, I am sure you are.
And yes, omnidirectional antenna gives a backup, just in case the tower is down. It might be better solution in your case.

Got feedback from OTTO

"Unfortunately my technician believes the LTE06 5dB antenna will not work on the B593 Telkom issue , you will need a DC shorted antenna and I only have 2 types for these"

That being

LTE/3G/4G/GSM Yagi antenna 11dB with bracket and 7 meter cable to SMA male plug

and

Outdoor Omni-Directional LTE Antenna with 12dBi Gain

 

[Inzaghi007]

Hey guys need some info. Edgars is selling this huawei b593s-601 lte router and they telling me its network locked to telkom mobile. How true is this and have any of you guys experienced this with telkom mobile?

 

[Mohs]

Hi everyone

I recently got the HUAWEI B593, so I took out a data contract from Telkom mobile, the guy at Telkom told me the area I stay in has no LTE, however I connected the modem and searched for the best signal at home, to cut the story short I was able to get a position in my house where I actually can get LTE (blue light flashes) with 2 bars signal and I have been getting speeds of about 25+ mbps.

There is a problem however. My router gets that speed upstairs and I am happy with it, but downstairs its like I cannot connect to wifi at all, its either ridiculously slow or doesn't connect at all.

I cannot move the router downstairs as I will not get LTE signal from the router at all, I get 3G downstairs only but then I cannot coonect to WIFI at all when I am upstairs.

What could I do to solve this problem?

Your assistance will be greatly appreciated

 

[rodga]

Hi everyone

I recently got the HUAWEI B593, so I took out a data contract from Telkom mobile, the guy at Telkom told me the area I stay in has no LTE, however I connected the modem and searched for the best signal at home, to cut the story short I was able to get a position in my house where I actually can get LTE (blue light flashes) with 2 bars signal and I have been getting speeds of about 25+ mbps.

There is a problem however. My router gets that speed upstairs and I am happy with it, but downstairs its like I cannot connect to wifi at all, its either ridiculously slow or doesn't connect at all.

I cannot move the router downstairs as I will not get LTE signal from the router at all, I get 3G downstairs only but then I cannot coonect to WIFI at all when I am upstairs.

What could I do to solve this problem?

Your assistance will be greatly appreciated

Wifi range extender
https://www.makro.co.za/computing-and-mobile/huawei-wi-fi-range-extender-262460EA

No idea what is the best value out there, but you will need something like that

 

[jcheek]

Hi everyone

I recently got the HUAWEI B593, so I took out a data contract from Telkom mobile, the guy at Telkom told me the area I stay in has no LTE, however I connected the modem and searched for the best signal at home, to cut the story short I was able to get a position in my house where I actually can get LTE (blue light flashes) with 2 bars signal and I have been getting speeds of about 25+ mbps.

There is a problem however. My router gets that speed upstairs and I am happy with it, but downstairs its like I cannot connect to wifi at all, its either ridiculously slow or doesn't connect at all.

I cannot move the router downstairs as I will not get LTE signal from the router at all, I get 3G downstairs only but then I cannot coonect to WIFI at all when I am upstairs.

What could I do to solve this problem?

Your assistance will be greatly appreciated

Wifi range extender
https://www.makro.co.za/computing-and-mobile/huawei-wi-fi-range-extender-262460EA

No idea what is the best value out there, but you will need something like that

Sounds like you might have a concrete slab with metal reinforcing, since neither Wi-Fi (2.4GHz) nor Telkom LTE (2.3GHz) is penetrating between very well between floors ?

The range extender may work for you, yes. But you may still have a problem getting Wi-Fi to propagate between floors.
Also be aware that those extenders often halve the effective Wi-Fi throughput (connection speed) because each packet has to be received, and then separately re-transmitted.

Some other suggestions would be:

1 Use an external antenna
If you already get reasonable LTE reception upstairs, you might be able to place the B593 downstairs and connect it to an indoor/outdoor external antenna placed upstairs. Something like the Poynting XPOL-0001 might be a good starting point. When used indoors with the full 5m of coaxial cable, the XPOL-0001 doesn't deliver much signal gain, but think of it as a practical way to put your B593's antennas upstairs while having the rest of the physical unit downstairs
Unfortunately this won't help with getting better Wi-Fi upstairs (don't know which area is more important for you).

2. Split upstairs and downstairs into two separate Wi-Fi zones, with separate Wireless Access Points (WAPs) for each zone

• Put the B593 upstairs where it gets the best signal, and let the B593's built-in WAP handle Wi-Fi upstairs.
• Place a separate WAP downstairs, connected to one of the Fast Ethernet (100Mbps) ports on the back of the B593 with a length of Cat5e ethernet cable.

This will give you two separate WLANs on the same logical network segment, so that all network clients can talk to each other.
It's a bit more expense and hassle, but a basic WAP is fairly inexpensive and the cabling hassle (ethernet and power) is eased by the fact that you could place the downstairs WAP relatively freely. The Wi-Fi performance would be vastly better.
I've used that setup very successfully in a similar situation in a duplex flat that had a thick concrete slab between floors. In that case I used an ADSL modem/router/WAP downstairs with a 4-port switch, but the principle would be the same with the upstairs B593 LTE modem/router.

 

[jcheek]

Hey guys need some info. Edgars is selling this huawei b593s-601 lte router and they telling me its network locked to telkom mobile. How true is this and have any of you guys experienced this with telkom mobile?

If you search this thread for the keyword "Edgars", you'll see that quite a few folks have gone for that Edgars deal.
I've not heard of an 's-601 being network-locked, whether sourced from Edgars or Telkom.

At one time people were being sold the B593u-91, which is "network-locked" in the sense that it is only compatible with Telkom's 2300MHz LTE network. Perhaps the person you spoke to (at Edgars) was thinking of one of those models ?
It's more usual to find the B593s-601 now.

Having said that, it's always possible that Telkom have started with those kinds of tricks (again!).

 

[jcheek]

Got feedback from OTTO
"Unfortunately my technician believes the LTE06 5dB antenna will not work on the B593 Telkom issue , you will need a DC shorted antenna and I only have 2 types for these"
That being
LTE/3G/4G/GSM Yagi antenna 11dB with bracket and 7 meter cable to SMA male plug
and
Outdoor Omni-Directional LTE Antenna with 12dBi Gain

The antenna-detection issue is an important consideration when using external antennas with the B593s-601, and a crucial factor when using them with the B593u-12/u-91. The DC short on the two antennas mentioned should take care of that issue.

However, there are some other considerations to keep in mind here :

1. The Otto LTE/3G/4G/GSM "Yagi" (sic) antenna 11dB with bracket and 7 meter cable to SMA male plug appears to be a wideband antenna (ie not a Yagi) that will support operation in multiple frequency bands including 3G and 4G. That would preserve your ability to operate the B593 in either 4G/LTE or 3G modes, and with multiple service providers across all current 3G/4G frequency bands.
   
2. To judge from the specsheet, the Outdoor Omni-Directional LTE Antenna with 12dBi Gain appears to be a narrowband antenna that only operates in a relatively narrow band around 2100-2300MHz.
   This may work for Telkom LTE, but will probably not work optimally (or at all) for other network operators using higher or lower frequency bands for LTE (like Vodacom/MTN using FDD at 1800MHz). It may also only support 3G operation in some (not all) of the 3G bands.
   So beware if you want to use this antenna for anything other than Telkom 4G/LTE with the B593.

Edit: Looking deeper, it appears that the Otto BLTE21230MN-12DB (left specsheet below) might actually be a Jiaxing Beyondoor BY-LTE-17 (right specsheet below), which is a wideband omnidirectional antenna, albeit with a claimed gain of 8dBi :



However that Beyondoor specsheet also talks about a "horizontal beamwidth" of 90°, and both specsheets mistakenly cite a "front-to-back radio" (sic) of ≥15dBi. A horizontal beamwidth (other than 360°), and a front-to-back ratio are both nonsensical parameters for an omnidirectional antenna. So who knows what this device actually is ...

On a more general note, it's not always clear which of Otto's specsheets originate directly from their antenna suppliers (sometimes Chang-Hong, sometimes Jiaxing Beyondoor); and which specsheets are put together by Otto themselves. In both cases it can be a challenge to figure out exactly what you might be buying.

As always, caveat emptor ... aka "ask lots of questions" and/or get a demo!

 

[Inzaghi007]

If you search this thread for the keyword "Edgars", you'll see that quite a few folks have gone for that Edgars deal.
I've not heard of an 's-601 being network-locked, whether sourced from Edgars or Telkom.

At one time people were being sold the B593u-91, which is "network-locked" in the sense that it is only compatible with Telkom's 2300MHz LTE network. Perhaps the person you spoke to (at Edgars) was thinking of one of those models ?
It's more usual to find the B593s-601 now.

Having said that, it's always possible that Telkom have started with those kinds of tricks (again!).

Thank you for your kind response.

 

[Sven_ZA]

Hello,

I haven't read all 75 pages of this topic so forgive me if this has been attended to. I am currently on Telkoms 50 gb LTE deal on a Huawei B593 router.

Last year I had beautiful signal and service, the first Telscum product I was happy with. Every since January this year I have experienced disconnects of up to 40 times a day where my router mode light will turn red (no network found). This is extremely annoying if it disconnects while online gaming, playing a session of poker or streaming sports.

I have had 3 Telkom techs out and they have no answers for me. I have tested my brothers router (same router and provider) used his sim in my router and vice versa - same problem. my 3G router with an mtn sim works fine.

Telkom have also done a sim swop and that has not helped, I am using the blue telkom sim.

I also am not able to get adsl as my exchange is congested.

Any ideas?

 

[jcheek]

Hello,
I haven't read all 75 pages of this topic so forgive me if this has been attended to.

No worries - welcome!

I am currently on Telkoms 50 gb LTE deal on a Huawei B593 router.

Purely out of interest - are you referring to a 24-month 50GB/month contract; or the new, improved (read : more expensive!) R1799/50GB prepaid data deal that succeeded the old R1800/60+60GB deal ?

Last year I had beautiful signal and service, the first Telscum product I was happy with.

Good baseline to compare with, ie at least you know it used to work!
When you say "beautiful signal" - what were your actual signal stats, and what were/are your antenna arrangements ?

Ever since January this year I have experienced disconnects of up to 40 times a day where my router mode light will turn red (no network found). This is extremely annoying if it disconnects while online gaming, playing a session of poker or streaming sports. I have had 3 Telkom techs out and they have no answers for me.

Annoying for sure, and not typical at all.

I have tested my brothers router (same router and provider) used his sim in my router and vice versa - same problem.
Telkom have also done a sim swop and that has not helped, I am using the blue telkom sim.

Unless there is some other common element (like your antenna/signal arrangements), then you seem to have covered all the bases!
What you see would seem to indicate that the problem is related to the base-station itself, or to some sort of local interference, or to the way in which your B593 is set up. The latter seems unlikely since you have been using it for so long already.

my 3G router with an mtn sim works fine.

Different router, different service, different frequencies, different service provider ... no real clues there, I'm afraid.
How about trying your MTN SIM (might be 3G only, or might be LTE-enabled ?) in your B593, and see what you get compared to your other 3G router ?


All I can suggest is the following:

1. Which version of the B593 are you using ? B593u-91, or B593s-601 ?
2. Tell us what your actual antenna arrangements are ? Are you using the built-in antennas, or the flat whips, or an external antenna system ?
3. Post your actual signal stats (RSSI/RSRP/RSRQ values) for us.
4. Try forcing your B593 to operate in 3G mode (green mode light) for a day or two, using the same Telkom SIMcard, and see if you get the same behaviour.
5. Try using your MTN SIMcard in the router. (Unless you have the B593s-601 this may only work in 3G mode.) If you have the B593s-601 and your MTN SIM isn't LTE-enabled, do a SIM swap and get one that is - it's a useful diagnostic tool for this kind of situation.
6. How do you have your B593 configured ? Auto-connect, or manual connect ? Force 4G, or Auto 3G/4G ? Auto or Manual network select ?

 

[Bundu]

.........

[*] Try using your MTN SIMcard in the router. (Unless you have the B593s-601 this may only work in 3G mode.) If you have the B593s-601 and your MTN SIM isn't LTE-enabled, do a SIM swap and get one that is - it's a useful diagnostic tool for this kind of situation.
[/LIST]

sorry to butt in here, but how (apart from testing) would one know if the MTN SIM is LTE enabled?

 

[jcheek]

sorry to butt in here, but how (apart from testing) would one know if the MTN SIM is LTE enabled?

Hey Bundu! Long time no hear. How're you doing ?

1. First prize : Verify 4G/LTE operation in an LTE-enabled phone (eg Samsung S5 or S6)
2. Second prize : Look at the physical SIMcard - the innermost portion of the MTN SIMs (between the nano and micro cutouts) usually says "LTE". If the card is more than 2 years old, it probably isn't LTE-enabled.
3. Third prize : Phone MTN 808 (or walk into a store) and ask them to verify whether the card is provisioned for LTE. (With the current strikes at MTN, the former method requires a lot of patience).

 

[Sven_ZA]

Thanks for the reply jcheek,

I'm referring to the 24 month 50GB normal LTE deal. I use the flat white antennas that come standard in the box, I live in a tall block of flats and am not allowed to set up any antennas outside my window or on the roof but I get 4/5 bars of signal with and without the antennas.

I didn't finish my paragraph about the MTN sim in my 3G router (apologies) the same MTN sim, which is only 3g enabled, also disconnects in the router.

The techs came with their antenna and tested the signal strength etc and stability as well as my router and did not find a problem - it disconnects at complete random and unfortunately did not disconnect when they were here. I did manage to finally capture it on video in case they try something funny when I eventually cancel the contract because of this failure to provide a service.

I have set the router to auto, 4g only, 3g only and even 2g only which is worse than dial up - all disconnect...

My router is the 601 and I set it to 4g only.

RSRP -91

RSRQ -6

RSSI -65

 

[Bundu]

Hey Bundu! Long time no hear. How're you doing ?

1. First prize : Verify 4G/LTE operation in an LTE-enabled phone (eg Samsung S5 or S6)
2. Second prize : Look at the physical SIMcard - the innermost portion of the MTN SIMs (between the nano and micro cutouts) usually says "LTE". If the card is more than 2 years old, it probably isn't LTE-enabled.
3. Third prize : Phone MTN 808 (or walk into a store) and ask them to verify whether the card is provisioned for LTE. (With the current strikes at MTN, the former method requires a lot of patience).

Hi jcheek! No worries here and I read this thread whenever new posts are made

my and the GF's B593 are still performing perfectly - probably best modem/router buy I've ever made - very happy and also that I renewed my Telkom 10+10 @R199 last month

Thanks for the MTN LTE reply, I'll have to drop in at an MTN store methinks, but I'll try it in my B593, just in case

 

[jcheek]

I use the flat white antennas that come standard in the box, I live in a tall block of flats and am not allowed to set up any antennas outside my window or on the roof but I get 4/5 bars of signal with and without the antennas.

Okay. Maybe try ditching the flat whips and work just with the built-in patch antennas for a few days ?
IMO the built-in patches are actually better than the whips, and it removes one variable.

I didn't finish my paragraph about the MTN sim in my 3G router (apologies) the same MTN sim, which is only 3g enabled, also disconnects in the router.
My router is the 601 and I set it to 4g only.

OK, so you already tried that.
Maybe swap out your MTN 3G SIM for an LTE-enabled one, and try that in the B593 too ?
(If nothing else it may give one possibility for your next LTE service provider LOL)

I have set the router to auto, 4g only, 3g only and even 2g only which is worse than dial up - all disconnect...

OK, so you already tried that (too!).
Besides the operating environment, try to think what else was common in all your test setups, eg antennas, power supply adapter, Wi-Fi link ?
What happens if you disable Wi-Fi completely and connect by ethernet cable ?

RSRP -91
RSRQ -6
RSSI -65

Nothing much wrong with those stats at all.
Are they fairly stable over time, ie if you log into that screen (Wireless status check) and leave it there for a while, do they ever seem to dip ?

Looks more and more to me like the problem is not on your side, but on Telkom's LTE infrastructure in your area, or some form of local interference.

 

[Bundu]

Hello,

I haven't read all 75 pages of this topic so forgive me if this has been attended to. I am currently on Telkoms 50 gb LTE deal on a Huawei B593 router.

Last year I had beautiful signal and service, the first Telscum product I was happy with. Every since January this year I have experienced disconnects of up to 40 times a day where my router mode light will turn red (no network found). This is extremely annoying if it disconnects while online gaming, playing a session of poker or streaming sports.

I have had 3 Telkom techs out and they have no answers for me. I have tested my brothers router (same router and provider) used his sim in my router and vice versa - same problem. my 3G router with an mtn sim works fine.

Telkom have also done a sim swop and that has not helped, I am using the blue telkom sim.

I also am not able to get adsl as my exchange is congested.

Any ideas?

maybe stupid question, but have you given your B593 for your brother to test at his place?

 

[Network1]

Thanks jcheek!

 

[Sven_ZA]

Hi Jcheek,

I will try without the antenna.

I will try get an LTE enabled MTN sim or just change to the Afrihost solution.

My PC is permanently connected via ethernet, the WiFi can be turned on or off - the disconnects won't stop.

I don't ever log on to monitor the stats of the connection but I can start testing them randomly, at least you've confirmed that it's not anything I'm doing or my setup.