Crappy internet, problematic mobile solution..

[HomeyJay]

Hi all,
We really have terrible internet at home in the UK (1-1.5mb) but have discovered that we can use an unlimited data sim to get better internet. We have a Asus ac68u with stock firmware set in repeater mode but it’s simply not allowing us to connect to the net. Could anyone please advise - we’re really desperate to get this working after 15 years of terrible broadband!

This is the setup:

Phone as hotspot transmitting in 2.4ghz ——-> Asus in repeater mode (with wired connections) and WiFi connections, 2.4 and 5gHz.

Anything connected directly or the phone (name: hotspot) is working fine
Anything connected to router that is wired is fine
Anything connected to router WiFi (name: hotspot_rpt) is not working
Anything connected to router WiFi 5gHz (name: hotspot_rpt5) is not working.

I’ve followed the instructions exactly and various YouTube videos but it just seems broken. Once the Asus is in repeater mode, there’s just not a lot of parameters to change!

Can anyone please help or suggest a better way? The reason why we’re using a phone and not a 4g modem is because the network provider says that only a hotspot can provide access for other devices. We don’t want to break those terms and have to go back to 1mb internet!

 

[AndreiV]

If you have a decent mobile signal would it not be better to use a 3G/4g USB Stick ?

 

[HomeyJay]

Mobile signal is only good in the attic!

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hi all,
We really have terrible internet at home in the UK (1-1.5mb) but have discovered that we can use an unlimited data sim to get better internet. We have a Asus ac68u with stock firmware set in repeater mode but it’s simply not allowing us to connect to the net. Could anyone please advise - we’re really desperate to get this working after 15 years of terrible broadband!

This is the setup:

Phone as hotspot transmitting in 2.4ghz ——-> Asus in repeater mode (with wired connections) and WiFi connections, 2.4 and 5gHz.

Anything connected directly or the phone (name: hotspot) is working fine
Anything connected to router that is wired is fine
Anything connected to router WiFi (name: hotspot_rpt) is not working
Anything connected to router WiFi 5gHz (name: hotspot_rpt5) is not working.

I’ve followed the instructions exactly and various YouTube videos but it just seems broken. Once the Asus is in repeater mode, there’s just not a lot of parameters to change!

Can anyone please help or suggest a better way? The reason why we’re using a phone and not a 4g modem is because the network provider says that only a hotspot can provide access for other devices. We don’t want to break those terms and have to go back to 1mb internet!

Can we assume the 2.4 GHz phone is not the greatest, newest phone? Maybe swap the SIM into a newer 5 GHz phone to see how it performs.

10' USB cable to the attic?

AiMesh router in the attic?

OE

 

[HomeyJay]

Well, you’re right - it’s a Lumia 735 and it’s around 12 feet vertically and horizontally from the Asus. I tried my iPhone X with the same sim and it’s exactly the same problem. No problem connecting to the hotspot, no connection to the Asus. Weird thing was it worked perfectly for most of the day yesterday and it was amazing but as of a few hours ago, it just stopped. Nothing’s been updated/ moved /changed etc!

 

[OzarkEdge]

Well, you’re right - it’s a Lumia 735 and it’s around 12 feet vertically and horizontally from the Asus. I tried my iPhone X with the same sim and it’s exactly the same problem. No problem connecting to the hotspot, no connection to the Asus. Weird thing was it worked perfectly for most of the day yesterday and it was amazing but as of a few hours ago, it just stopped. Nothing’s been updated/ moved /changed etc!

Does it make sense to test the ASUS repeater on another source WLAN known to be ok to prove the ASUS repeater is working all around. Then focus on the hotspot as the trouble.

OE

 

[HomeyJay]

Yes, that does make sense. Going to do it now

 

[HomeyJay]

Works fine with old Sky router but not with the phone. Also tried with an iPhone 6s, same issue. Connect as hotspot, still fine. I’ve now loaded the Merlin firmware and that’s made zero difference.
I just can’t get my head around it!

 

[OzarkEdge]

Works fine with old Sky router but not with the phone. Also tried with an iPhone 6s, same issue. Connect as hotspot, still fine. I’ve now loaded the Merlin firmware and that’s made zero difference.
I just can’t get my head around it!

In that case, it might be worth reconsidering the cellular link... are there other possible cellular configurations/hardware vs. trying to make the phone talk reliably to the repeater. The phone is a likely weak link anyway, so how to do this better...

OE

 

[Grisu]

try it with older (very old) firmwares from Merlin or even better with John's fork to see if this solves your troubles.

 

[HomeyJay]

I’m sorry, I should have really updated the thread. We eventually just gave up using the phone because it was just too unreliable to work with the router and replaced it with a Netgear LB2120 LTE modem with an external aerial. This thing also has gigabit ethernet ports and just plugs into the Asus router. It just works flawlessly with absolutely no issues and I’d honestly recommend it to anyone in a similar situation.
Re-using a crappy old phone would have been the most satisfying route to go down but as usual, throwing money at it worked! Total cost £145.