Check if your device supports 4G connectivity.
Check if your device supports 4G connectivity.
Because of the noisy tenants talking about drilling and damaging the wall, we can’t install fibre in our upstairs flat. So we’ll rely on a 4G mobile hotspot instead. There are a few reasons against 5G: its signal doesn’t travel well through walls, and my mum is concerned about radiation exposure. We’re likely to get a Vodafone hotspot since they offer the best rates (£30/month vs £50 for EE). Our flat has around 10-12 devices, mostly used at a time—maybe more than that. We’re considering this 4G option. I just wanted your thoughts on it. Vodafone claims average speeds of about 300mbps, but the map shows a maximum of 48mbps down and 37mbps up. You can check their site here: https://www.vodafone.co.uk/mobile-broadb...otspot.exe
It's the same radiation as 4G, just with a different pattern. The 5GHz band Wi-Fi doesn't change the overall exposure—it's essentially the same energy as before, only arranged differently.
The performance hinges more on the provider than just tower proximity. 5G isn’t as widely available across all frequency bands as 4G LTE. Some networks use very high frequencies that struggle with walls but promise speed, while others use lower frequencies that penetrate better but may offer slower top speeds. Consider how much data each device can handle together, compare it to the network map, and that should give you a clearer idea. For example, streaming 4K video at 20-30 Mbps leaves only 18-28 Mbps for other tasks—unless the TV reduces resolution to share bandwidth. Testing directly on a device is the best way to gauge actual speed and reliability.
Sorry not walls but coverage is the main issue, Mr. Whose Boss made a video about it (5G in general). She’s really sticking with it so we’re not jumping to 5G. But honestly the speeds are pretty similar (per Vodafone). From the table it looks like the difference isn’t huge—48 down vs 60 down, and uploads on 4G are actually better. We’ve checked and they don’t seem to care. Do you think installing a copper cable that goes to the flat would be a better option? I’ve heard copper/coaxial/twisted pair usually tops out around 350 Mbps, but our cable provider (Open Reach) really wants to roll out fiber optic across the UK. But because of tenants, we can’t do it yet. The problem with the mobile side is my PC doesn’t have Wi-Fi and the hotspot router can’t supply Ethernet (and it’s battery-powered for some reason?).
Several models include external antennas that can be placed outside or inside a window. The speeds listed appear quite limited... on average, my single 4G connection works better than those numbers most of the time.
Hey everyone, just wanted to share that my mum really stepped up and we now have a 5G connection. We're getting around 200mbps down and 25mbps up—about three times faster than our old copper setup. I'm planning to try gaming on it, and everything looks good so far. Thanks for all the support!
It's unclear why those living below should have the authority to stop fibre installation unless they own the whole building. In most cases, landlords or telecom providers handle the necessary arrangements for wayleaves.
We've reached out to the landlord multiple times without receiving a response. We also shared a video showing what was supposed to be a wall being destroyed by drilling outside, but it didn't affect the wall at all. As one of the tenants, we became frustrated with the engineers, leading us to request their removal. Eventually, they left and we secured a 5G broadband connection that is performing well.