I just moved into uni accommodation and the wired internet speeds are unbearably slow, so far I've been using the mobile data on my phone, which is way faster, but the walls of this place make receiving signals touchy at best. If I were to buy a big fancy router would its better antennae pick up WiFi better and let me connect to outside signals particularly boosting my upload speed?. If all of that sounded incredibly stupid I'm sorry but I really don't understand WiFi that much I've always been a Ethernet guy so feel free to school me.
Will a better router enable me to connect to the internet.
- Thread starter Dylan_43
- Start date
So, can I get this straight. You have two options for Internet:
1) "wired" Internet provided by uni accommodation which is "unbearably slow" and
2) Tethered connection through mobile data
If I understand, you've given up on option #1, and are looking to make option #2 better.
Have I understood that all correctly?
If so, then there are some 4G LTE modem routers that are very likely to sustain higher throughput speeds than the modem built-in to your phone, especially if your phone is using older or cheaper modem technology.
A couple of things to check first though:
1) Is the wifi connection from your laptop/desktop to your phone causing or exacerbating the problem? Some densely populated areas (like uni resis) have so much wifi traffic going around that it can effect even low-bandwidth Internet traffic, especially if you're still running on the older (and more congested) 2.4Ghz bands. Run a speed test on your phone (with laptop/desktop disconnected or sleep), and then run the same speed test on your laptop/desktop (make sure the phone is idle). They should be the same. That'll confirm that the Internet connection itself, and not the wifi between phone and desktop/laptop, is your bottleneck.
2) Can you position your phone so that it gets a stronger signal from your carrier's tower? Depending on your region and handset (iOS or Android), there are apps and websites which can help you identify which mobile tower your phone is connected to, and look at the signal strength on your phone. If there's a window that provides line-of-sight access to the mobile tower, you might find you get significantly higher bandwidth when the phone is there.
If you decide you really want a dedicated LTE modem/router, you'd have to speak with your mobile provider. They'll almost certainly have a range of solutions for you. A mate of mine who lives in a rural area just went to the extreme of mouting a dual LTE antenna system on his roof, each antenna is nearly a yard long. Then his run cable through his roof to a modem. He's now getting over 50Mbps instead of packet loss and under 1Mbps. So he's happy. But it's about $500 worth of gear and a whole lot of time and hassle.
1) "wired" Internet provided by uni accommodation which is "unbearably slow" and
2) Tethered connection through mobile data
If I understand, you've given up on option #1, and are looking to make option #2 better.
Have I understood that all correctly?
If so, then there are some 4G LTE modem routers that are very likely to sustain higher throughput speeds than the modem built-in to your phone, especially if your phone is using older or cheaper modem technology.
A couple of things to check first though:
1) Is the wifi connection from your laptop/desktop to your phone causing or exacerbating the problem? Some densely populated areas (like uni resis) have so much wifi traffic going around that it can effect even low-bandwidth Internet traffic, especially if you're still running on the older (and more congested) 2.4Ghz bands. Run a speed test on your phone (with laptop/desktop disconnected or sleep), and then run the same speed test on your laptop/desktop (make sure the phone is idle). They should be the same. That'll confirm that the Internet connection itself, and not the wifi between phone and desktop/laptop, is your bottleneck.
2) Can you position your phone so that it gets a stronger signal from your carrier's tower? Depending on your region and handset (iOS or Android), there are apps and websites which can help you identify which mobile tower your phone is connected to, and look at the signal strength on your phone. If there's a window that provides line-of-sight access to the mobile tower, you might find you get significantly higher bandwidth when the phone is there.
If you decide you really want a dedicated LTE modem/router, you'd have to speak with your mobile provider. They'll almost certainly have a range of solutions for you. A mate of mine who lives in a rural area just went to the extreme of mouting a dual LTE antenna system on his roof, each antenna is nearly a yard long. Then his run cable through his roof to a modem. He's now getting over 50Mbps instead of packet loss and under 1Mbps. So he's happy. But it's about $500 worth of gear and a whole lot of time and hassle.
Go to your mobile providers and see what they have for you.
Be careful though: some of those sales people have no idea what they're talking about and may be perfectly happy to sell you a really bad solution. The last thing you want is to end up on a 24 month contract for something that's worse than your tethered phone and - pay attention here - this is entirely possible with lots of retail "modems".
Do you have a modern and high-end phone? The modems in high end phones are often better than many (even most) consumer grade LTE modems. Have a look into my #2 question above. Can you get better from your phone already?
If not and you're ready to spend some money, make sure you get to talk to someone who actually knows what they're talking about. At the point-of-sale you have the power because you can walk out of their store at any time and take your money with you. It's much, much harder to get good support once they've taken your signature and your money. I'd be asking for some sort of cooling off period or minimum performance level before parting with my money (particularly if you're signing up to a new contract). It's possible, for example, that the tower itself is at capacity, and even with the latest modem sitting right next to the tower, you'd get terrible throughput because the tower itself is servicing too many devices. The solution there would be to try a different provider - but you can't do that if you're locked in to a 24 month contract.
The mate I was talking about explained his situation and got passed up through support levels before spending his money. Finally he got through to a guy who told him the specific LTE frequency on the tower his house was connecting to, sent him a link to a pair of antennas and extension cables, and could explain to him exactly how far apart and in which orientation to mount them... and why. That guy knew what he was talking about and my mate was sufficiently convinced at that point to part with his money.
You really shouldn't need such an elaborate solution, but the point I'm making is to try and be sure you have some guarantee or assurance that the proposed solution will work, and that the person you're speaking with has sufficient expertise to actually address your problem before you give them your money. It's unlikely (not impossible - but unlikely) that the "tech" person on duty in your local store will be much help.
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