Huawei E5373 Hotspot from 2Degrees on Spark

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Huawei E5373 Hotspot from 2Degrees on Spark

adrenalinenz

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#159778 12-Dec-2014 11:37

Hi all,

I have the Huawei E5373 purchased from 2Degrees and am having trouble using it on Sparks network.

The frequencies match I think, but in low coverage areas it seems to drop off with no signal at all, I find I get better coverage on my phone with Vodafone.

The link above lists the frequencies covered by the device, but here they are:

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900
3G: 900/2100
4G: 1800/2600

So on the south coast of Wellington for example I had no coverage at all with Spark, but when I put the sim in my phone (Nexus 5) I got coverage, and in most places got coverage with Vodafone.

Is the hotspot reception aerial just crap, or is it faulty?

Thanks for any input.

PeterReader

6018 posts

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#1196153 12-Dec-2014 11:37

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wongtop

563 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1196165 12-Dec-2014 11:41

If the specs you quoted are correct it has no 3G 850. This is the core of Spark's network (3G 2100 is generally for additional capacity in high demand areas), so it won't work well on Spark.

corksta

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#1196166 12-Dec-2014 11:42

Spark is 3G 850 not GSM 850.

3G 2100 is used as infill in places hence why you might get pockets of reception in places, but effectively they operate a 3G 850 network.

adrenalinenz

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1196174 12-Dec-2014 11:45

Cool thanks all, not the answer I wanted but at least I know :)

corksta

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#1196175 12-Dec-2014 11:48

You're welcome, it does catch people out on occasion but yeah for the future keep in mind that GSM 850 does not equal 3G 850. Only the latter will work on Spark's 3G network.

wongtop

563 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1196181 12-Dec-2014 11:56

I have a Vodafone R205 (No LTE and only 21 Mbps 3G), but it does support 3G 850. You just need to configure the APN correctly for Spark. Happy to swap if you want.

adrenalinenz

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1196193 12-Dec-2014 12:20

wongtop: I have a Vodafone R205 (No LTE and only 21 Mbps 3G), but it does support 3G 850. You just need to configure the APN correctly for Spark. Happy to swap if you want.

No thanks, might sell the hotspot and get one that supports Spark

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plambrechtsen

1948 posts

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#1196380 12-Dec-2014 15:28

adrenalinenz:
wongtop: I have a Vodafone R205 (No LTE and only 21 Mbps 3G), but it does support 3G 850. You just need to configure the APN correctly for Spark. Happy to swap if you want.

No thanks, might sell the hotspot and get one that supports Spark

Nathan, that Wifi Access Point is supported on Spark (not that I am sure we want you considering I know what you want it for

).

Anything that has on the box "3G 850" or "UMTS 850" is supported on Spark. Many Vodafone branded devices work just fine on Spark. Just need to say 3G or UMTS 850Mhz.

nigelj

856 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1196488 12-Dec-2014 18:15

plambrechtsen:
adrenalinenz:
wongtop: I have a Vodafone R205 (No LTE and only 21 Mbps 3G), but it does support 3G 850. You just need to configure the APN correctly for Spark. Happy to swap if you want.

No thanks, might sell the hotspot and get one that supports Spark

Nathan, that Wifi Access Point is supported on Spark (not that I am sure we want you considering I know what you want it for ).

Anything that has on the box "3G 850" or "UMTS 850" is supported on Spark. Many Vodafone branded devices work just fine on Spark. Just need to say 3G or UMTS 850Mhz.

Since the E5373 supports 4G, I'd guess he wants to get a 3G & 4G Spark device, not swap 4G for 3G ;)

adrenalinenz

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1196673 13-Dec-2014 00:55

plambrechtsen:
adrenalinenz:
wongtop: I have a Vodafone R205 (No LTE and only 21 Mbps 3G), but it does support 3G 850. You just need to configure the APN correctly for Spark. Happy to swap if you want.

No thanks, might sell the hotspot and get one that supports Spark

Nathan, that Wifi Access Point is supported on Spark (not that I am sure we want you considering I know what you want it for ).

Anything that has on the box "3G 850" or "UMTS 850" is supported on Spark. Many Vodafone branded devices work just fine on Spark. Just need to say 3G or UMTS 850Mhz.

Should have added I want the 4G as well. :)

plambrechtsen

1948 posts

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Inactive user

#1197142 14-Dec-2014 08:31

adrenalinenz:
plambrechtsen:
adrenalinenz:
wongtop: I have a Vodafone R205 (No LTE and only 21 Mbps 3G), but it does support 3G 850. You just need to configure the APN correctly for Spark. Happy to swap if you want.

No thanks, might sell the hotspot and get one that supports Spark

Nathan, that Wifi Access Point is supported on Spark (not that I am sure we want you considering I know what you want it for ).

Anything that has on the box "3G 850" or "UMTS 850" is supported on Spark. Many Vodafone branded devices work just fine on Spark. Just need to say 3G or UMTS 850Mhz.

Should have added I want the 4G as well. :)

If it were me, I would hold out until the 700Mhz LTE APT Band 28 devices come out.

I just noticed the MF910 does support 700Mhz if the manual is to be believed. Plus it has external antenna connections, which may be handy for whatever reason ;)

1eStar

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#1197253 14-Dec-2014 15:53

I just bought the mf910 because it supposedly sports the 700MHz LTE. The zte nz site seems to support this theory ;http://www.zte.co.nz/main/MF910.htm