Tech, life and everything else
I recently wrote about my internet problems. While O2-DE has finally fixed it and also confirmed they found and fixed something (after it was already working), I also decided to give in and spend another 30 euros per month on fiber to the home.
My 5G internet has worked again flawlessly since Friday afternoon. I have the suspicion it’s because, since today, there are new laws that define when mobile providers underperform and people have the right to reduce their bills; but it might also be just a reconfiguration or upgrade of cell towers nearby. I noticed the internet got faster as well, now with download speeds often about 400 Mbps (instead of 350 before, with a contract limit of 500) and upload speeds of 60 Mbps (instead of 35 before, with a contract limit at 50). So at least in one direction I get more than I paid for. 😅 But on Thursday I will also get a fiber connection and can set up dual WAN then.
The last days I was quite busy mentally. So here are some thoughts I just need to write down to get them off my head and give you something to read. 😄
A small update to my post from yesterday:
I did one final (really, the last one!) optimization to my network (luckily without new hardware). Instead of letting the new ASUS router do all the networking and QoS, I repurposed one of my GL.iNet Beryl AX routers with vanilla OpenWRT as the main router, doing SQM, DHCP, DNS proxying, and all the other stuff. Now the ASUS is running in Access Point Mode, handling just the mesh WiFi and partly acting as a LAN switch (because the Beryl AX has just one WAN and one LAN port). My bufferbloat is much better (or non-existent), and the Cloudflare Speedtest is showing me “Great” in all categories, even when connected with WiFi to the repeater.
I think I will stay without cake-autorate, but try to tweak the optimal SQM bandwidth limits a bit over the following days.
Improving my home WiFi setup often feels like a never-ending story. This year, I’ve already begun quite the journey to upgrade my network.
Last year, I documented my “perfect” 5G setup. Yesterday, that Quectel modem was sold. So, what prompted the change, and how am I online now?
I was using my 5G router setup with Vanilla OpenWRT and QMI Cellular as a protocol for quite some time, but there were irregular disconnections etc. Updating the firmware of the modem didn’t help. Some days ago, I noticed that it’s also possible to configure with Modem Manager (which provides connection information directly in LuCI) and put the Quectel modem into MBIM mode. It’s running without hiccups now! Also updated to OpenWRT 24.10.
I have written a lot already about my search for the perfect 5G router. It’s time for a new update, as I think I have finally found a great solution.
🖼️ View
Today, I woke up and noticed that my home server, located in my second flat, and also the router, all behind a 5G connection (that was showing as working fine on the provider’s website), were offline. No VPN connection anymore, and also Tailscale showed the nodes as being offline. I’m glad that I had automatic backups and was able to easily restore the three important services from that server on my VPS, without the need to travel to the second flat first.
Today, while remotely accessing my home server, I noticed that the network was a bit slower than usual. It turns out, there’s no 5G connection and only an LTE connection with another cell tower more far away. I checked the service provider’s website and there’s actually a problem with a base station nearby.
But this also shows, that, maybe, a cellular connection might improve the uptime given that there’s the fallback to other cell towers. The VDSL connection has no such fallback. But, of course, a cellular connection is more vulnerable due to weather conditions etc.