How to Make the Most out of Your LTE Router

Slow Speeds on your LTE router connection aren’t fun. The coverage of your router’s signal really matters, especially when your devices are in a dead zone where signals can hardly reach.

But if your router’s just around the corner, maybe it’s not its fault. Poor LTE signal strength might be the culprit.

So, how do you fix that? Here are some tips that’ll help you improve LTE signal strength and tweak bad network performance.

1. Make sure you’re in an LTE area. This sounds like a no-brainer, but some people haven't checked if their LTE routers are in the range of an LTE tower network before they call tech support.

2. Try moving it around the house. The “Signal Strength” LED on the front panel of the router indicates the signal strength the router is receiving from the mobile internet. The more LEDs lit, the better the signal strength. Imagine how you walk around with your phone looking for the most bars. You should try your LTE router in different areas and check LTE bars to make sure you are getting the best signal.

Note: To ensure better network performance, we strongly recommend that the router should be positioned where at least two LED bars light on the front panel.

3. Don’t put your router anywhere surrounded by concrete, behind metal, or even near fish tanks (water actually absorbs Wi-Fi signals). These tend to block some of the signals that your router is trying to receive.

4. Avoid interference. Keep your LTE router away from things like microwaves, TVs, or anything with its own conflicting signal.

 

If you want to know more about signal strength—such as signal quality or the level of interference—here are a few parameters that’ll help you be aware of your current network status.

First off, you can go to advanced -> Status to find the parameters.

3G network:

• RSRI - Received Signal Strength Indicator

RSRI= Total power including signal, noise, and interference across the whole bandwidth

The power in the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) consists of not only signal power (i.e., desired signal power) but also interference from other cells and any internal/external noise.

The chart below shows the relation between the value of RSSI and signal strength.

RRSSI	Signal strength	Description
>= -89 dBm	Excellent (100%)	Strong signal with maximum data speeds
-89 dBm to -97 dBm	Good (75%)	Strong signal with good data speeds
-97 dBm to -109 dBm	Fair to poor (25%-50%)	Sometimes the connection is unstable. When this value gets close to -109, performance will drop drastically
<= -109 dBm	No signal (0%)	Disconnection

 

4G network:

• RSRP - Reference Signals Received Power

RSRP=Linear Average Power of Reference Signal

Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) gives you an idea of the power of the LTE Reference Signals spread over the full bandwidth. It’s not, however, a clear indication of how good the signal quality is.

The chart below shows the relation between the value of RSRP and signal strength.

RSRP	Signal strength	Description
>= -80 dBm	Excellent (100%)	Strong signal with maximum data speeds
-80 dBm to -90 dBm	Good (75%)	Strong signal with good data speeds
-90 dBm to -100 dBm	Fair to poor (25%-50%)	Sometimes the connection is unstable. When this value gets close to -100, performance will drop drastically
<= -100 dBm	No signal (0%)	Disconnection

 

• RSRQ – Reference Signal Received Quality

RSRQ = (N * RSRP) / RSSI

Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) represents the quality of the received reference signal. The RSRQ measurement provides additional information when RSRP is insufficient for cell reselection (i.e., the procedure of finding the best signal connection).

The chart below shows the relation between the value of RSRQ and signal strength.

RSRQ	Signal strength	Description
>= -10 dB	Excellent (100%)	Strong signal with maximum data speeds
-10 dB to -15 dB	Good (75%)	Strong signal with good data speeds
-15 dB to -20dB	Fair to poor (25%-50%)	Sometimes the connection is unstable. When this value gets close to -100, performance will drop drastically
<= -20 dB	No signal (0%)	Disconnection

 

• SNR - Signal to Noise Ratio

If you want to get a more absolute calculation for signal quality, the Signal to Noise Ratio SNR would be more accurate.

The chart below shows the relations between the value of SNR and signal strength.

SNR	Signal strength	Description
>=13dB	Excellent (100%)	Strong signal with maximum data speeds
4.5 dB - 13 dB	Good (75%)	Strong signal with good data speeds
-3dB - 4.5 dB	Fair to poor (25%-50%)	Sometimes the connection is unstable. When this value gets close to -100, performance will drop drastically
-20dB - -3dB	No signal (0%)	Disconnection