Replacing a Huawei E5372-1207

JonMac · 23-03-2017 11:56am #1

I'm using this with Meteor Mobile Broadband, receiving their LTE signal and getting typically 16Mbps down, 6 up.
It is in the attic using a Solwise 4G dual antenna, plugged into a USB charger.
We are single storey and the 2 storey house next door is directly in line with the mast. I was eventually able to find a sweet spot.
As far as I know, this is an early 4G device.
I am wondering if a more current device would give me better results, but I'm struggling to work out which are the later models.
Would the E5186 or E5786 be options?
Thanks.

editorsean · 23-03-2017 6:02pm

Unless Meteor has 4G+ in your area, you will probably not get any improvement with E5786.

As the E5186 is a desktop router, it could have better radio hardware since it does not have the very limited space of MiFi units to fit the electronics. This is especially the case when using the internal antennas as the desktop routers have larger internal antennas. Even with your external antenna, there will be slightly less signal loss with using SMA connectors compared to the tiny TS9 connectors along with the SMA adapters to fit the MiFi antenna ports.

The E5186 will likely provide better Wi-Fi coverage and has Ethernet ports. For example, you could use Homeplug adapters to connect a desktop PC directly to the router.

If your antenna is in the loft, I suggest trying it outside such as temporarily up a ladder. Moving the antenna outside will likely provide better performance than getting a new router.

JonMac · 24-03-2017 1:41pm

Thanks, some good ideas.
Have you broken the code for Huawei devices? Some are Bxxx, E51xx, E53xx.

JonMac · 24-03-2017 2:04pm

PS Apparently the B525 is the replacement for the E5186.
Does anyone know if that is suitable for Ireland? I can't see it for sale except Poland and Russia!

editorsean · 24-03-2017 4:30pm

The Huawei series doesn't seem to have any pattern with its model numbers, other than what follows the '-' refers to variant of that router, e.g. B593u-12 is a cut-down version of the B593s-22.

Both Russian and Poland use LTE bands 3 and 20 (in addition to others), which means it should work fine with all the Irish 4G networks. However, unless they are sold SIM free, it will probably be a while before the first used ones become available, particularly if sellers have trouble network unlocking them.