Posted 2 days ago

4G/5G antennas to improve indoor quality

Hi

Contract finished for fixed line broadband and j refuse to buy another one off any ISP

Now we get unlimited data on our mobile phones but quality indoors isn't greatest, outside back door we can get 5G signal and over 150mbs but indoors 4g and lucky to get more than 5mb in certain Parts of the house.

What do I need to look for and purchase to improve indoor signal so we can tether and utilise what our unlimited data.

We have an old zte mf286d router that does OK but our phones have much better chipset

The Mast is directly behind us, just beyond the estate around 600-700yards away

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4th May
Outdoor modems/routers are an option too, that way you can use ethernet to go into the house which gives flexibility for reusing the cabling in future.
4th May
You'll need to do a bit of research, but the way I see it you have two options.

Get a signal repeater:
ofcom.org.uk/pho…nal
This will boost the outside signal into your indoor space, so your mobile phones will get better reception. But this only benefits devices that have 4/5G signal capabilities.

The other option is to buy a 5G router (and a data SIM) that has an external antenna port. Run a cable and mount an external antenna dipole. All your internal devices connect to this new router via Wifi, so TV, Playstation etc etc.
5th May
I looked at this exact page as I'm in a really bad spot for mobile signal at home. The prices of these things are insane
22 h, 42 m ago
I am in a similar situation at work, with towers just a short distance away. I have recently moved to a 5G router using unlimited 3 business (from Tesco/O2). I had a 4G+ router with an external antenna which was needed (3 did not do 4G+ from that tower, so it was only 60mbs). With the 5G router, however, the antenna (which is also for 5G) makes absolutely no difference than using the internal antenna. So, I am getting 350-450mbs with or without an antenna.

At home when we moved to full fibre and had no internet for a few days, I took the 4G+ router home for my wife to use during the day. This was EE and there was no signal on the phone at home (uses WiFi for calls) but with the router upstairs at the back of the house we were achieving 50-60mbs.

It's a matter of finding a sweet spot.
20 h, 48 m ago
Bad antenna perhaps (not designed for 5G bands, or poor quality materials)? I'd expect to see some gain increase with an external antenna compared with a phone's micro small antenna. Maybe omni-directional vs directional to the tower would see a bigger increase, 5G base stations also support beam forming.

I have one of these:

Antenna (window mounted)
Poynting XPOL-1 V2 5G 3dBi Omni-Directional Cross Polarised LTE 2x2 MIMO Outdoor Antenna, White
amazon.co.uk/gp/…MN/
Not classed as cheap at £80+ but can be found cheaper second hand on eBay.

5G router
Paired with a ZTE 5G modem (ZTE MU5001) From his deal 2 years ago.