You can use the E5186 in any combination of [pre-paid / contract and 3G / LTE / LTE-A]
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The Huawei E5186 LTE-A discussion thread
- Thread starter Azimuth
- Start date
You can use the E5186 in any combination of [pre-paid / contract and 3G / LTE / LTE-A]
As for the above questions. There is no fallback from LTE-A to LTE, both use the same technology. LTE-A capable device is able to negotiate more advanced MIMO and channel encoding, it has flexible spectrum band allocation when connected to LTE-A tower. In non-LTE-A area it shouldn't be a difference assuming modem and radio components are the same quality. Others factors are hardware and firmware features like manual DNS, DDNS (not hardwired to a few paid services), IP reservation, SMS, USSD, SIP, QoS with advanced statistics, etc. Some features have been listed on the first page. Some of missing features can be activated with E5186 Toolbox on both routers (depends on firmware version), see:
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...x-for-new-Huawei-HiLink-devices-(E5186-B315s)
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/800715-Huawei-LTE-B593-B315-setup-for-Unotelly-streaming
Features not supported by B315s:
- 802.11ac Wi-Fi, more users. (WDS also missing?)
- SD slot up to 32GB
- VoLTE (but B315s use CSFB like most of LTE phones)
- Real speed of internal Gigabit Ethernet switch. It was reported that while B315s Gigabit Ethernet connection is negotiated, the actual maximum throughput is not exceeding 11MBytes/s (which is more like Fast Ethernet - 100Mbps).
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...x-for-new-Huawei-HiLink-devices-(E5186-B315s)
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/800715-Huawei-LTE-B593-B315-setup-for-Unotelly-streaming
Features not supported by B315s:
- 802.11ac Wi-Fi, more users. (WDS also missing?)
- SD slot up to 32GB
- VoLTE (but B315s use CSFB like most of LTE phones)
- Real speed of internal Gigabit Ethernet switch. It was reported that while B315s Gigabit Ethernet connection is negotiated, the actual maximum throughput is not exceeding 11MBytes/s (which is more like Fast Ethernet - 100Mbps).
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jcheek
Expert Member
Heads up! (and slightly O/T)
For well over a year, Telkom's LTE-A coverage (as per the official map, anyway) has been all but static. But just recently - not sure exactly when - there's been a reasonable update to the Telkom LTE-A coverage.
Taking the area around Pretoria/Midrand/Jo'burg for example:
Before:
After:
Not huge, but some new spots starting to appear around the west side of Jo'burg in particular.
There's now also good LTE-A coverage in Garsfontein (Pretoria), which has been on the cards for a while.
Perhaps things are looking up for all you E5186-owning speed-demons !
For well over a year, Telkom's LTE-A coverage (as per the official map, anyway) has been all but static. But just recently - not sure exactly when - there's been a reasonable update to the Telkom LTE-A coverage.
Taking the area around Pretoria/Midrand/Jo'burg for example:
Before:
After:
Not huge, but some new spots starting to appear around the west side of Jo'burg in particular.
There's now also good LTE-A coverage in Garsfontein (Pretoria), which has been on the cards for a while.
Perhaps things are looking up for all you E5186-owning speed-demons !
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Telkom has finally also enabled LTE-A in Highveld BUT my speeds was better last year without it than it is now...
You know what has made my LTE lightning quick, ignoring speed tests?
Thank to @jcheek, I stopped using Telkom's own DNS and switched to Google's. BOOM. Massive difference. I'm a happy camper again.
Telkom's DNS servers are clearly broken bad.
Thank to @jcheek, I stopped using Telkom's own DNS and switched to Google's. BOOM. Massive difference. I'm a happy camper again.
Telkom's DNS servers are clearly broken bad.
I do not do speedtests but downloads and it went from 9MB/s to 2MB/s. I'm currently using Telkom's DNS so I will try that. Hopefully the time it takes to download goes down again.
jcheek
Expert Member
[ O/T ! ]
In the same vein, you guys should download Google's "Namebench" toolbox and play around a bit with some other DNS options. Results can be surprising.
But Google's public DNS servers are still pretty hard to beat!
In the same vein, you guys should download Google's "Namebench" toolbox and play around a bit with some other DNS options. Results can be surprising.
But Google's public DNS servers are still pretty hard to beat!
Yes and the speed is better. But Telkom is currently fixing some of their issues and my speed improvement might have something to do with that also.
jcheek
Expert Member
[ Still O/T ! ]
Just to be clear, changing DNS servers will have zero effect on your average download speed.
However it will often speed up your general browsing experience, because a significant portion of the delay you experience during general browsing is associated with the time taken to look up a URL and return the corresponding IP address. Once your device has got the IP address, the connection between you and that site is direct and DNS pays no further part.
Many ISPs issue a pair of local DNS addresses to be used by clients that connect via various access networks (xDSL, FTTH, LTE etc). For instance, when connecting via Telkom LTE, you will generally be given the addresses of the two SAIX DNS servers nearest your location, eg in Pretoria you will get 196.43.45.190, 196.43.50.190. Often you can realise a significant reduction in DNS resolution time by choosing your primary DNS server with a bit more science. Google's NameBench utility - now rather old, but still good - will help you decide which one.
Some local ISPs now give a "hybrid" DNS pair : one local and one Google. For instance, on WebAfrica FTTH, you will typically get given 168.210.2.2 (Internet Solutions) as a primary and 8.8.8.8 (Google Public DNS) as a secondary.
You can also play around with DNS caching, of course ... but that's a topic for another day!
Just to be clear, changing DNS servers will have zero effect on your average download speed.
However it will often speed up your general browsing experience, because a significant portion of the delay you experience during general browsing is associated with the time taken to look up a URL and return the corresponding IP address. Once your device has got the IP address, the connection between you and that site is direct and DNS pays no further part.
Many ISPs issue a pair of local DNS addresses to be used by clients that connect via various access networks (xDSL, FTTH, LTE etc). For instance, when connecting via Telkom LTE, you will generally be given the addresses of the two SAIX DNS servers nearest your location, eg in Pretoria you will get 196.43.45.190, 196.43.50.190. Often you can realise a significant reduction in DNS resolution time by choosing your primary DNS server with a bit more science. Google's NameBench utility - now rather old, but still good - will help you decide which one.
Some local ISPs now give a "hybrid" DNS pair : one local and one Google. For instance, on WebAfrica FTTH, you will typically get given 168.210.2.2 (Internet Solutions) as a primary and 8.8.8.8 (Google Public DNS) as a secondary.
You can also play around with DNS caching, of course ... but that's a topic for another day!
My impression is that there are massive changes happening on the Telkom LTE network right now!
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Oh, that's wrong. It can corrupt your internal cache, unless 168.210.2.2 DNS server is just a relay for Google secondary DNS server.
Thank you!
Lionslicer
Member
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- Jan 31, 2011
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Hi all.. has anyone figured out where the QOS settings are on this router because there is basically nothing under advanced settings and i cant find a solution anywhere else on the web . im having bad latency issues due to my kids watching youtube while im playing online..
New owner of a B5186 LTE-A Telkom router. I am keen to understand what a good quality signal looks like using the signal quality metrics, i.e. RSSI, RSRP and RSRQ in the router's diagnostic page or via the app. I am in the process of considering an external Poynting antenna and need to assess whether my current RSSI of -65 to -70db is good, bad of indifferent, and will benefit from the additional capital investment.