Review of wireless internet with Nokia Fastmile 5G Gateway 3.2

[tvgeek1]

I have been using the Nokia Fastmile 5G gateway 3.2 for a couple of weeks at waterfront property in Georgian Bay.

There is no 5G signal, only 4G.

   The performance is both good and bad and I would summarize it as being below average compared to other 4G modems I have used in the past. The location for fastmile 3.2  is just behind  a window with  exposure to north east(no tress(open water) for 400m) and south east(some evergreen trees close by but then open water for 800m ). The height is about 5m above ground.

Some times, usually just after boot i get 4G connection on B12, with download aggregation on B4 and B7. Download speeds 30-40Mbps, upload 4-8Mbps. Ping around 30-40ms.

Most of the time it is on B66 with no aggregation. Download varies form 5-25Mbps, upload 0.5-0.9Mbps.ping 35-100ms.

The upload speed  sucks  while on B66., which is 99% of the time. I took out my cell  fone to compare to nokia fastmile and did a speed test and upload speeds around 4Mbps. The cell  mobile provider is a discount provider that is usually on 4G band B2 or B4. So my cheap chinese cell, with tiny internal antenna beats upload speed of fancy nokia fastmile- pathetic.

During May17-22, 2024 long weekend the download/upload speeds were on the low side of the range stated above. However I streamed Netflix and Prime video with zero dropouts or buffering. Upload speed always slower than download speeds.

   I would describe the  wireless internet from nokia fastmile as reliable but extremely slow. Its almost unusable if you are a major user of uploading data. The unit also runs very hot if using it as wifi router. Disabling wifi function and using a separate wifi router  is recommended to keep nokia running cool.

  I think a big shortcoming of nokia fastmile 3.2 is not being able to use external antennas.

  On alternate provider, with a 4G modem with dual external antennas i could get download speed speeds of 35-90Mbps, uploads 15-25Mbps. Note this was with antennas mounted in same location as nokia but  facing cell towers 14km away, to the north. The antennas i used had 8db of gain over basic paddle antenna.

  I have noticed in the past that the Rogers wireless network in this area is inferior to other big 2 wireless  suppliers. I dont know if this is being due to congestion, poor cell tower coverage, or frequency bands used.

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[RogersMoin]

Hello, @tvgeek1.

Welcome to our Community! We greatly appreciate you for testing our Wireless Home Internet with the Nokia FastMile 5G Gateway at your Georgian Bay waterfront property and sharing your experience.

Your detailed feedback is much admired. Your observations about the inability to use external antennas and the comparison with an alternate provider's modem with dual external antennas are valuable.

It's interesting to hear about your comments regarding the Rogers wireless network in your area. You can also check the network status and report the issue. It can be done through MyRogers app > Support tab > Network Aid. 

We appreciate you being a part of the Rogers family! Your participation in our Community means a lot to us.

Cheers,
RogersMoin

[tvgeek1]

Hi. Besides Rogers app what other ways to are there to check Rogers wireless network status?

Is there a Rogers app that recommends optimum location  to place Nokia fasmile for best performance?

I tend to keep apps to a minimum on my cell. 

Also where can I find Rogers cell tower locations in Muskoka, Ontario ? 

[RogersMoin]

Hello, @tvgeek1.

While the Network Aid feature of MyRogers is the best option for checking the network status and reporting an issue, you can check the network status from our Network Help & Outages.

For the cell tower location, please check this post from @MichaelYYZ.

Regards,

RogersMoin

[tvgeek1]

post from @MichaelYYZ is common knowledge

Are the maps in this post accurate for locations of Rogers cell towers?

[blah23225]

check out Canadian Cellular Towers Map (ertyu.org)

[jfenow]

Thanks for the review. You recommend using a separate wifi router to keep the unit cool. If you wouldn’t mind, would you (or anybody) be able to explain step-by-step how to disable the wifi function  on the unit and how to attach a wifi router… as if you’re talking to an idiot 😁. I’m not very tech savvy. Are there certain routers that would be better for this unit?  Thanks for any help.

[tvgeek1]

Hi. To hook up fasmile to wireless router you will need an ethernet cable. The ethernet cable needs to be connected to wan ethernet ethernet port on fastmile and the other end to internet port of wireless router.

After cable is connected to both devices and both powered up you will need to setup wireless router. Instruction for setting up wireless router will be in its user manual. After wireless router is setup you can log(in internet browser type in 192.168.1.1 address) into fastmile and turn off both 2.4 and 5g  wireless radios in the network/ wifi networks section. There are many youtube videos for setting up wireless/wifi routers.

[jfenow]

I did know that youtube has instruction videos, but the problem is if you have any questions you often don’t get replies to them. This forum is generally good at that, users are are always happy to help. So I thank you for replying. Your instructions were very clear. 

So far the original wifi setup is working fine (I’m in the city, though, with a good signal). I was concerned about your mention of the unit becoming hot, but haven’t had that problem, even after using it for several hours. But I will keep this info on hand should any of that change. Thanks again.