Optus 4G Broadband Speeds - Which Modem Should I Use AC800s or B525

Rosh111 on 05/10/2019 - 01:26

Hi I am currently on the Optus 500gb wireless broadband deal and received the Optus AC800s modem to use. I find that the modem doesn't give me as strong signal in my house as I would like with some areas of my house only receiving one or two bars of reception. Was thinking of changing to the Huawei B525 modem, as I thought it might have better wifi range as it is proper modem with antennas, rather than what the AC800s is. Can anyone give me some advice on whether the B525 modem would be better off for me to use.
Thanks

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Comments

  • MELso on 05/10/2019 - 08:27

    The AC800S is weak as a router. You could think about buying a DC112A cradle for the AC800S which turns the modem into a proper router… (I have this set up for my dad; it works well…)

    The B525 is better as a router but is Cat6, so has less carrier aggregation and therefore may be slower…

  • singingwolf on 05/10/2019 - 08:31

    B525 much better. Firmware also has heaps of options. I use anthony external antenna i got off eBay

  • whooah1979 on 05/10/2019 - 08:45
    +1

    Buy a proper wifi router and bridge the modem.

  • quasi on 05/10/2019 - 08:46
    +1

    depends on priority of actual 4G connection speed vs in-house wifi strength.
    the AC800s will (generally) be MUCH faster on actual 4G speed but the routing and wifi sucks. since you've already got the the AC800s, i would suggest getting a standalone router e.g. Asus RT-AC68U (or 66U) and plug the AC800s into it in tether mode. that way you get best of both - fast 4G connection but strong wifi.
    if you want a single unit and dont want to compromise on 4G connection or in-house wifi strength, Huawei B618s-65D is your best option.
    if you're in an area with limited available 4G bands, then the B618 is overkill and you're B525 option will be just as good. look at what 4G speed you are currently getting. if its low, then B525 is good enough (and maybe invest in a 4G antenna - all 3 options use the TS9 ones)

    • unco on 05/10/2019 - 11:23

      B618s-65D

      Not on the approved device list for the 500GB Optus sim. It’ll be locked out.

      • quasi on 05/10/2019 - 11:27

        good point. optus do allow it when you complain but YMMV

    • dasher86 on 05/10/2019 - 14:54

      Does the RT-68U allow 2 bands at once?
      The AC800s only allows 5 or 2.4 and it's a pain to switch from one to the other

      • Rosh111 on 05/10/2019 - 21:59

        No the AC800S does allow both bands at the same time. You need to go to Optus AC800s manager by searching optus.ac800s and changing the wife setup to custom and making the secondary wifi 2.4ghz. Must be connected to the ac800s whilst doing it but.

  • daewoo on 11/10/2019 - 14:41

    The Optus Huawei B525 does not allow you to put the router into Bridge Mode (hence you risk double-NAT if you plug in an external router). You can add external aerials for more range or add access points.

    • alxr0101 on 13/10/2019 - 23:16

      And what of the "risk double-NAT" ???

      Usually the biggest issue is the pain of port forwarding to allow INCOMING connections to servers.

      Not an issue where your WAN IP is not public anyway.

      Otherwise, pretty much EVERYTHING will work perfectly fine. Modern routers are capable of automatically sorting the outgoing and reciprocal incoming ports if double-NAT'd, including for VOIP.

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