Telstra Smart Modem Gen 3 4G backup

Electronics & Technology NBN
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**Before anyone starts putting me down for not knowing what I’m talking about or a lack of knowledge, I have quite extensive (mainly non-technical) background in the use of antennas in rural, regional and remote areas due to my previous employment.

*Supplied for new NBN FTTP connection.
*Replaced previous WiFi router connected to a Telstra 4G USB stick which connected to an external, roof-mounted antenna. This has worked well for the best part of 10 years. Antenna cable, fly lead and antenna were supplied by a business that specialises in UHF, antennas, sat phones, telemetry for industry etc. They know what they are doing.
*Modem comes with built-in 4G backup for when the NBN goes down.
*Limited 4G signal inside my house unless I use the external antenna (partly due to location and partly due to Faraday cage effect of Colorbond cladding).
*No comprehensive info/user guide about the Telstra modem (Technicolor Cobra XH) found anywhere.
*How to set up a Guest network of any description is not covered in the Telstra “Getting started on the nbn” booklet that comes with the modem. A 2.4GHz WiFi network is currently needed for many smart devices which will not connect if their WiFi network includes both 5GHz and 2.4GHz. Instructions on how to set up such a network was supplied on the web by Mirabella.
*The 2 external antenna connectors on the back are not mentioned anywhere in any user manuals or similar, Telstra and non-Telstra.
*There are a couple of mentions of antenna connection on Whirlpool and Reddit.
*Hours and at least 6 long phone calls to Telstra have netted me 2 or 3 complaint numbers, calls from 3 complaint case managers (none of whom could supply any information, a staff member telling me that they could not discuss any information about connecting an existing external antenna to the modem while a complaint was outstanding and refused to transfer me to anyone else or their team leader - had to wait for the case manager to ring me. Yesterday a staff member told me that I needed a booster (they are for WiFi signal, not 4G) and the reason that Telstra did not supply any information about external antennas is because they were old technology and therefore irrelevant.
*In the meantime, I set up a laptop beside the Telstra modem and plugged the 4G wireless USB stick directly into the laptop, logged into it and connected to the 4G network. Result: 2 bars of signal. I connected the external antenna, via the fly lead, to the 4G USB stick. Result: 4 bars of signal.
*Having 4g backup with inadequate signal (no external antenna) is pretty pointless.
*Every Telstra staff member so far has not realised that there exists such a thing as an external antenna (for connection to the 4G network) or that people can encounter reduced/no mobile signal inside their house and thus need external assistance.
*I went back to the antenna supplier with a photo of the back of the modem, measurements of the antenna connectors there and the fly lead. One of their techs made me a connecting lead with appropriate connectors ($50.77). I connected the lead to one connector on the modem and to the antenna. Soon after, the “Mobile Signal” light on the modem went from red to green, indicating good signal.
*That should give me enough signal to stay on the web if/when the NBN crashes. I don’t stream so a MIMO antenna is not needed.
*I only found out about MIMO because of the Whirlpool forum info. A MIMO antenna is 2 antennas in one and connects to both antenna connectors on the rear of the modem.
*Before the NBN was connected I had (an additional) 2 staff members metaphorically “pat me on the head” and tell me to not worry as my NBN connection was going to be via fibre and not via the mobile network after I asked them about connecting an external antenna.
*I have yet to receive an answer to my question “what happens if the NBN goes down before I get the information that I need and can connect an external antenna?”.
*As far as Telstra is aware I have not been able to connect any external antenna to the modem (if they believe such a thing exists). A tech visit scheduled for the morning of 24 Dec was cancelled by Telstra and a new one scheduled for 8 Jan. Again, neither of the 2 staff I spoke to about this yesterday (24 Dec) answered the question.
*This modem has been around for the last 2 years or so. I am sure that I am not the first person to ask this question.

That is the short version.

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Yes, I noticed that too.

While the hardware is quite reasonable, I don’t think the software functionality is rich - and no documentation anyway.

You’re not going to like this answer but I solved all my problems by … not using the box that Telstra gave me. I kept it of course because if I ever needed to contact Telstra about a problem, they might reasonably expect me to reproduce the problem on their box.

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If you don’t get satisfaction on 8 Jan, I would make a complaint to the Telecommunications Ombudsman. I had an issue with a different telco. Once they took on my case it was as if a rocket had been put under the offending telco and the problem was fixed. By the way the TIO is not a government department. It is paid for by all telcos.

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Its a fact of life - these days. Telstra (and …) doesn’t care - until they have to !!
The systems are no longer set up for our (consumer) benefit.

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  1. That’s sad you couldn’t find someone in Telstra who understands external antennas. I kinda expect that of their general support call centre ops, but if you can find a regional reseller they should do better.
  2. Devices not liking WiFi that does both 2.4GHz and 5GHz - shouldn’t be an issue, but there is a protocol for “band steering” that tries to tell 2.4GHz-connected devices they should switch to 5GHz, and that protocol seems to upset some things. On a pre-packaged kit you probably have no control. If you got your own WiFi gear, especially something highly configurable like Ubiquiti, you can manage that as well as create whatever guest / other WiFi networks you want.
    I don’t like using WiFi built-in to a Telco’s router, but then I’m a network guy so am happy to deal with the details to set up exactly what I want.
  3. Repeaters - they’re not just for WiFi - there is such thing as a 4G repeater. There are few models approved for use in Australia. From your stated experience with antennas, you may have come across these. I have one in my house, and one in my car.
  4. MIMO antennas - some (certainly not all) 4G devices require that both/all ports are connected, whether you want the extra performance or not. That’s annoying from a cabling perspective when you upgrade your equipment. It does improve signal quality though when your 4G tower has MIMO on its end.

The thing I think you could take back to Telstra is if they’re selling “with 4G backup” and the 4G backup isn’t working, they should provide reasonable assistance to make it work. They’ve probably put something in the T&C’s though considering how many people could have indoor reception problems.