In Car Modem Reception Issues

[DangerMUK]

Hi Guys,

I'm in an XC60 at the moment and I have an EE data sim.

The in car modem signal strength seems to roughly mirror the signal strength of my phone which is also on EE.

Does the in car modem not have an antenna cable going to the roof to improve signal? I'd have expected slightly better coverage from the car modem than a mobile phone thats in my pocket.

What about you guys? Is this just normal?

Thanks

[Whiterdesign]

Good question I have a 3 mobile sim and my phone is also 3, but signal strength seems to vary considerably . Would expect the car to have a better signal but not all ways so I suspect it must have some sort of aerial but quite oftain my phone has a better signal

[DangerMUK]

Oh I'm glad its not just me.

Yeah sometimes it might be a bar better than my phone in my pocket but other times its just the same.

On JLR cars with my EE sim in, I rarely see it drop off full 4G coverage as they route the signal via the roof antenna.

Anyone actually know where the car modem antenna goes?

[DangerMUK]

Anyone else notice patchy In-Car Modem reception?

[macmanHEG]

S90 here and if anything I’ve had better signal on the car than my phone (same networks) what I have noticed is how slow the in car WiFi always feels even when I know my phone is getting 100+ down (I realise the modem might not support LTE+ etc but I’m talking 20mbps over the WiFi)

[macmanHEG]

Also apologies for the double post but also bare in mind that EE & Three block non VoLTE devices from using 800mhz. This could also be causing a difference between your car and the phone. o2 and Vodafone don’t restrict 800mhz so maybe change networks if you want better in car performance.

[JC888]

In general the in car modem signal strength is always higher than my phone.
Car modem is using 3 and my phone is with O2.

However speed wise my phone always wins. Shame the car came with 3G modem...

[macmanHEG]

Originally Posted by JC888

In general the in car modem signal strength is always higher than my phone.
Car modem is using 3 and my phone is with O2.

However speed wise my phone always wins. Shame the car came with 3G modem...

Thankfully newer cars are using 4G modems.

Here is the info page if anyone is interested.

http://www.wivia.com/p/productid-119/cinterion-als3

[JC888]

Originally Posted by macmanHEG

Thankfully newer cars are using 4G modems.

Here is the info page if anyone is interested.

http://www.wivia.com/p/productid-119/cinterion-als3

I was hoping that it's possible to carry out an upgrade of the GSM module but it looks like it's not a simple job.

[DangerMUK]

Do EE block devices from the 800mhz band? Thought that was just Three?

Its strange that with my iPhone on EE and the car on EE the car always shows that the car modem is the same strength as the phone or sometimes a bar higher.

Does the modem module have an antenna routed to the shark fin on top of the car?

JLR cars with an EE sim just sit at full 4G most of the time, not sure if that's the antenna or dodgy software falsely reporting thee signal to the touch screen.