Forum Discussion
New Gateway
I got just got T-Mobile last week for my home and my parent's home. My parents have an iPad and security cameras. My home has a gaming system, security cameras, streaming tv, computers, etc. My que...
As "Oregon" stated you can use speedtest.net to run tests and move the router about. That is helpful but locating the tower and knowing the reporting from the cellular signals is also important. If you get the RSRP, RSRQ, SINR values and the PCI info for the cellular signals then you can dial it in. You have to understand how the metrics work and how each value relates to the signal but a few searches on the web can help explain how the values work.
If you get a clean signal i.e. with improved signal to noise ratio then you should see improved performance. If you see the SNR signal to noise ratio is poor then you know it may be a challenge. If you locate the tower and have good distance to the tower without too many obstructions or line of sight then the SNR can be improved and the other metrics should as well. To some degree. It takes a little experimentation to dial it in.
You might get lucky and find a good spot right away and get great download and upload speeds with low latency then it is not so important to go into the nitty gritty as to how it all works.
Do not assume the Arcadyan gateway is better than the Nokia. Maybe maybe not. The Arcadyan GW management interface is much more limited. The Nokia GW has a bit more configuration and much more verbose reporting. I have the Nokia and have been using it for 15 months and mine works quite well. Some people clearly have issues with them but not all of them are problematic. Is the Arcadyan router/gateway better? Well, it is too early to know for sure. Some people have had better results but still it is maybe not the silver bullet to kill the wolf.
With the Nokia you can web into the 192.168.12.1 interface and see the signals and signal strength via the web interface. The Arcadyan it is a little more obscure to do so but possible. More work by T-Mobile engineering needs to be done with updates to make it better and more friendly. If you want more information watch Nater Tater YouTube videos and get his low down on the routers. Very informative and helpful.
You can also post the router metrics to the community conversation and get responses about what others know about what the router is reporting. It never hurts to ask the questions.
