2degrees B535-933 4g Modem lock to bands

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Bonal961

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#311474 19-Jan-2024 05:51

Hey all first time poster, apologies if answered elsewhere. I have Huawei (Soyealink) B535-933 4g Modem from 2degrees. I live just outside of town in Waikato with no fixed Internet and 2degrees are only provider who will allow 4g. In the evening I am often stuck with 2mbps download speeds, whereas in the morning 40 mbps is possible. I have worked out it defaults to band 8 when slow and bands 3 and to a lesser extent 28 are fastest.

Questions: am I able to lock to thee bands? And can I setup aggregation on this modem? I understand 2degrees won't allow me to BYO modem? Do they offer a better modem that I could request?

Thanks in advance

coffeebaron

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#3183773 19-Jan-2024 07:48

Where in Waikato are you? Does the modem have an external antenna? Some One NZ resellers do allow unlocked SIM, so more choice of devices.

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SaltyNZ

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#3183792 19-Jan-2024 08:36

I do not believe the stock 2degrees firmware on those devices will allow you to do that. Are you using a Wireless Broadband service or the $80 Unlimited Mobile plan?

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Bonal961

6 posts

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#3183806 19-Jan-2024 09:00

Thanks for your replies. I am just outside Cambridge. Cell mapper doesn't show One NZ to be a great option for me, and I am otherwise happy with 2degrees so not keen to change.

Anybody tried the hacks online for these modems?

Bonal961

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#3183807 19-Jan-2024 09:00

And sorry, I am using the standard Wireless Broadband service as a business customer.

SaltyNZ

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#3183814 19-Jan-2024 09:14

Righto, reason I asked is two-fold - first, you run the risk of losing support for the modem if you try to reflash or otherwise hack it, and second, technically you also run the risk of a nasty letter if you put the SIM into a different device.

If you were on the $80 mobile plan, it being a mobile plan there are no such restrictions. I use one of these with the $80 plan as my broadband currently. I have it locked to Band 28 exclusively (avoiding the 5MHz L900 on my local site).

FWIW I also found the B535 unsuitable for for my family when I tested it as it has loses its brain if you have more than about a dozen devices attached to the network - some of them will just be randomly disconnected and it can take a modem reboot to get them back. Between computers, phones, Nintendo Switches and a bunch of internet-connected things we were easily overwhelming it.

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nztim

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#3183820 19-Jan-2024 09:29

SaltyNZ:

If you were on the $80 mobile plan, it being a mobile plan there are no such restrictions. I use one of these with the $80 plan as my broadband currently. I have it locked to Band 28 exclusively (avoiding the 5MHz L900 on my local site).

Chateau is a brilliant device, just requires someone technical to setup and maintain.

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Bonal961

6 posts

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#3183822 19-Jan-2024 09:35

I had assumed hacking the modem wouldn't be a smart option, but glad to have that confirmed! And thanks for the modem tip.

On the $80 mobile plan, it looks like your speeds are reduced after 100gb. Am I looking at the right plan? Or does that speed reduction not really matter because it was never that fast anyway?

Cheers

SaltyNZ

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#3183870 19-Jan-2024 11:15

Bonal961:

I had assumed hacking the modem wouldn't be a smart option, but glad to have that confirmed! And thanks for the modem tip.

On the $80 mobile plan, it looks like your speeds are reduced after 100gb. Am I looking at the right plan? Or does that speed reduction not really matter because it was never that fast anyway?

Cheers

No, that's the $75 plan. There is an $80 plan which is not on the web site - you will need to go to a store and ask for it specifically in order to sign up.

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jowanu

15 posts

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#3185287 22-Jan-2024 18:57

I’m on the $60 unlimited 4G plan and originally had the B535 modem supplied. Living slightly rural, I also invested in this external antenna from Powertec to improve my connectivity.

The antenna improved my speeds immensely, but the modem constantly dropped out and I was resetting it multiple times a day. 2D sent me a replacement to try, with the same result. They have recently introduced the TP-Link MX515 on their 4G plans and after a bit of negotiation they sent me this model as a replacement.

I can confirm this modem is a vast improvement over the B535. Not only can I now have 32 DHCP reservations (up from 8), the stability has vastly improved. The max speeds have dropped a bit (90/30 from the B535 to 70/20 from the MX515) but they are a lot more stable & consistent at peak times. I have set it to do a nightly reboot and in the month and a half I’ve had this modem in place, only had to reboot it once during daylight hours. Worth a shot 👌

Regarding the bandwidth restrictions commented, I’ve done 750GB in the last month and still at full speed. I guess unlimited is unlimited with 2D.

SaltyNZ

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#3185289 22-Jan-2024 19:09

jowanu:

Not only can I now have 32 DHCP reservations (up from 8), the stability has vastly improved.

Yes, that's exactly what I was referring to above. :-)

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

Bonal961

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3185424 23-Jan-2024 09:38

jowanu:

I’m on the $60 unlimited 4G plan and originally had the B535 modem supplied. Living slightly rural, I also invested in this external antenna from Powertec to improve my connectivity.

The antenna improved my speeds immensely, but the modem constantly dropped out and I was resetting it multiple times a day. 2D sent me a replacement to try, with the same result. They have recently introduced the TP-Link MX515 on their 4G plans and after a bit of negotiation they sent me this model as a replacement.

I can confirm this modem is a vast improvement over the B535. Not only can I now have 32 DHCP reservations (up from 8), the stability has vastly improved. The max speeds have dropped a bit (90/30 from the B535 to 70/20 from the MX515) but they are a lot more stable & consistent at peak times. I have set it to do a nightly reboot and in the month and a half I’ve had this modem in place, only had to reboot it once during daylight hours. Worth a shot 👌

Regarding the bandwidth restrictions commented, I’ve done 750GB in the last month and still at full speed. I guess unlimited is unlimited with 2D.

Hey thanks for the intel. I have just had the same negotiation and will try the modem tonight. Hopefully this alone solves my problem, but if not I guess I will try get an antenna too. Cheers

Bonal961

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3197289 19-Feb-2024 07:31

jowanu:

I’m on the $60 unlimited 4G plan and originally had the B535 modem supplied. Living slightly rural, I also invested in this external antenna from Powertec to improve my connectivity.

The antenna improved my speeds immensely, but the modem constantly dropped out and I was resetting it multiple times a day. 2D sent me a replacement to try, with the same result. They have recently introduced the TP-Link MX515 on their 4G plans and after a bit of negotiation they sent me this model as a replacement.

I can confirm this modem is a vast improvement over the B535. Not only can I now have 32 DHCP reservations (up from 8), the stability has vastly improved. The max speeds have dropped a bit (90/30 from the B535 to 70/20 from the MX515) but they are a lot more stable & consistent at peak times. I have set it to do a nightly reboot and in the month and a half I’ve had this modem in place, only had to reboot it once during daylight hours. Worth a shot 👌

Regarding the bandwidth restrictions commented, I’ve done 750GB in the last month and still at full speed. I guess unlimited is unlimited with 2D.

Hey so I am setup on the TP Link modem now and the band locking has helped. Do you know if 2 degrees allows carrier aggregation on it? The hardware appears to be capable of it, but not sure if 2degrees allows it and also not sure how to check if the modem would be using aggregation or not. 2degrees help desk weren't able to help me. When I am up on my roof I get a 4g+ symbol on my phone so know that it should be possible in my area.

I think an external antenna will be my next choice. Is the Poynting XPol the best choice? Or would the ant-228 from gowifi be a better choice? I have seen that recommended on other pages on geekzone.

Cheers

SaltyNZ

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#3197339 19-Feb-2024 07:52

Bonal961:

Hey so I am setup on the TP Link modem now and the band locking has helped. Do you know if 2 degrees allows carrier aggregation on it? The hardware appears to be capable of it, but not sure if 2degrees allows it and also not sure how to check if the modem would be using aggregation or not. 2degrees help desk weren't able to help me. When I am up on my roof I get a 4g+ symbol on my phone so know that it should be possible in my area.

I think an external antenna will be my next choice. Is the Poynting XPol the best choice? Or would the ant-228 from gowifi be a better choice? I have seen that recommended on other pages on geekzone.

Carrier aggregation is only possible if you are connected to one of the newer Ericsson radio sites. The Huawei ones don't support it to the best of my knowledge. Assuming you are on an Ericsson site you should have to do anything - if the device supports it, it should start doing it.

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These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.