3G / 4G LTE MIMO MiFi Antenna test / review - Poynting XPOL / Bingfu / Unbranded 

Hi , could you tell me your opinions about antenna? I want to order option 2 but im not sure is it doing job well

how was your experience with the antennas?

Yeah it’s annoying isn’t it and good to hear that it’s not just us, though shame we’ve had to spend money to find it out. I often think sticking a brand name or motorhome on something bumps the price up. In some cases having some customer support might justify it but with these I don’t get it. Be great to hear how you get on.

@@ExploreVanUK looking forward on your video of fitting a wifi system that should be good and create alot of interest for viewers as I'm sure we all enjoy the practical video and how to properly fit diffrent things cheers stay safe

In the tests the Poynting was better than nothing but it just didn't justify the price in our opinion, when the cheaper ones did better.

Glad it was helpful! To be honest I didn't realise they were intended for indoor use (does it say that somewhere on the listing?) We've have had them outside permanently and not seen any problems, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

@@ExploreVanUK cheers! Ours has just arrived and gonna give it a go :)

The best thing is get them as high as possible and away from other antenna / obstructions on roof and keep them vertical. The wave length varies but having them a minimum of 30cm away from each other will help avoid conflict.

I use both the Unbranded one and a Poynting MiMo3. Which you can see in this video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dIHdKssGjGU.html

Thanks for the info, the Mikrotik looks good for a permanent location but being directional not ideal for on the move. Great option for a building / more permanent location though.

@@ExploreVanUK The one I have (mANT 5o) is listed as being omnidirectional by Mikrotik. Best I have tested so far but still trying them out. I have not tested any directional antennas either. I am looking at a fixed location but they seem like more hassle to point and stuff

@@VisualCody Thanks I didn't notice they had an omnidirectional one I'll have another look. For a fixed location you should get an even better signal from a directional antenna and being fixed, once you have it set up well once, you can just leave it in place, might be worth considering for you.

We’ve had them on for a fair few months no problem.

@@ExploreVanUK Good to hear - any tips for positioning the Bingfu antennas. No information provided with them.

With all antennas as high as you can, not too close to other metal objects (other than the roof obviously) and with twin antennas you want them at least a wave length apart so for the range of frequencies for cellular aim for at least 30cm, more if you can.

Hi Tjeerd - Thanks for taking the time to feedback it's always good to hear alternative views. I can confirm that the antennas were all mounted in the same plane and in the same location during the tests and the bands and cell towers connected to were kept consistent across the antennas. I totally agree on the other factors that can impact on the up / down speed, to mitigate this as much as possible the performance figures quoted were averages across a number of speed test with each antenna with the same test server to try to flatten any peaks and troughs in traffic and interference that may also influence the performance. As I am sure you and our viewers understand the tests and our feedback are based on real usage experience rather than an entirely scientific / lab test. As well as the tests shown we have also used all the antennas for an extended period time. The object of the video was to give a level of comparison across various antennas. We included the XPOL- A0001 due to it's popularity and to be honest our experience of it was a surprise to us and I imagine disappointing for you. Having upgraded our internet set up to a Teltonika RUT955 we have just installed a Teltonika Combo LTE / WiFi / GPS antenna to complement the functionality of the RUT955 and it will be interesting to see how this performs. We're hopeful that it will meet our needs. However, should you be interested in some level of collaboration to showcase your products please do feel free to reach out to me via the contact form on our website. Thanks again Mike

@@ExploreVanUK Dear Mike, I think it would be great if you can test our antennas which are more specifically developed for Campers, RV, caravans, busses and other type of vehicles. Airstream standardizes on e.g. the Poynting MIMO-3-V2 Series and often the smaller PUCK antennas are used as well. Perhaps we can communicate offline using sales-europe@poynting.tech. I am looking forward to seeing your email coming through. Regards, Tjeerd

Thanks Tjeed, I've dropped you an email. Let me know if it doesn't land. Look forward to chatting.

I've just bought the bingfu on the recommendation of this video. They don't give any better signal then the router without any antenna plugged in. Total rubbish. If you guys want to send me a poynting I'll test it and give a fair overal review on how it proformed. But I've got to admit, you don't have much to beat cos bingfu is no better than a coat hanger.

@Mark T590 sorry to hear that Mark, have you tried them in different locations? What router are you using and what Band are you connected on? My experience of the Bingfu Antennas was positive as you can see in the video and I have continued to use them and find they work well. Just to check it's not just my experiment that saw an improved performance with the Bingfu Antennas, I had a quick search on RU-vid you can see others have experienced similar improvements. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9Jc8L_qICKA.html Tjeerd and I have been conversing and I’m looking forward to receiving a loan of some other Poynting models to test so please keep an eye out on the channel for the video. Obviously, if the Bingfu’s don’t work out for you, and you bought using the link in the video, you can easily return them for a full refund.

Yep no problem. I’ll pop something together. 👍

@@ExploreVanUK has this been done yet i could do with help on connecting it up snd getting it running 🤦😂😂

@@jasoncropper1905 👍 hopefully this one will help. If not let me know.

Hi Luc, thanks for your comment, the results on signal measurements that are in the video are on the 3 network, however, we tested the antennas over a couple of weeks in different locations and on the Vodafone and EE networks before drawing our conclusions. The cheaper antennas actually faired pretty well across the band ranges and for the price gave good results. Our experience of this particular Poynting model did not match up to our expectations given the cost, however since this video we have tested the Poynting Puck and the Poynting MiMo3 and you can see the results in this video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dIHdKssGjGU.html

You either need to return the antenna and reorder the correct one the air card needs a TS9 connector. Or you could get some adapters. It sounds like the one you have ordered has SMA connectors.

Hi - you can check out our thoughts on Phone hotspots Vs Mifi in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-i5k7PdKY69o.html And we compared signals on inside and outside the van on this one ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3Ydj2kYlVpw.html This video was purely about comparisons of the different external antennas.

You should be able to just connect the antenna in to the router. (which router do you have?) and then just pop the SIM in.

@@ExploreVanUK I think it’s the 790s but it was telling me I had to connect to a computer & go onto a site to access the controls which never worked, stuck with a router and antenna but no signal

That’s strange with ours it was just a case of charging it and putting Sim in. It automatically switches to the external antenna when connected there is nothing to change.

I’ll pop together a video of setting it up in the next few weeks and hopefully that will help.

@@ExploreVanUK what version have you got

Hi, the bingfu are magnetic mount and we’ve had no problem using them on the move. The unbranded one we have permanently mounted to our roof rack so we use that on the move too. The only one that doesn’t recommend being used on a moving vehicle is the Poynting (the most expensive) and I suspect that is down to the mounting hardware so probably could be modified to make it usable. As for trying the Poynting Puck, after the poor performance of the XPOL I’m not inclined to spend any more money on branded antennas. But if Poynting or any other manufacturers see this and would like to loan one for testing I’d be happy to.

Hi, Thanks for clarifying, i have recently bought and fitted the poynting 5in1 puck. Certainly improved my sigle whilst sat on my drive. Still waiting to be allowed to travel for a real test

Hi they are magnetic mount so presuming you have a steel roof they’ll just attach. If you have Alu or GRP roof then if I remember correctly they come with a 3M double sided pad you could use. If not you could always sikaflex them on.

@@ExploreVanUK I actually have an fiberglass roof (i have it on my channel bot in polish), but i will sikeflex them. Just for you knowlage i ordered them from ali as well as an router. They costs 7-8 pounds. Do you suggest to make a hole for cables?

Thanks for the info! If you wanted to have them removable still you could always Sikaflex a small disk of steel to the roof. I used a cable gland to get the cables through the roof neatly and ensure they were waterproof. Something like this. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202086769237

@@ExploreVanUK Thants great. I will try that ;)

Hi, all three are classified by their manufacturers as omnidirectional, which I cover at 3:51.

How do you mean? These will improve reception of a cellular signal to a cellular router. If you are looking to connect cameras to that router it would depend how you are planning to do it (WiFi IP cameras or a cabled DVR). These wouldn’t boost the WiFi signal to any WiFi IP cameras but would improve the data signal to the router. Let me know a bit more about what you are hoping to do.

@@ExploreVanUK I’ve got cctvdirectonline.co.uk/8mp-ids-7204huhi-k14s-b-hikvision-acusense-smart-filter-4-ch-turbo-50-dvr-19919-p.asp and 4 x 5MP cameras that I’d like to provide mobile access for.

Personally I would go for a CPE type router that you can network to the DVR by Ethernet cable rather than trying to do it by WiFi I have one of these that I am currently testing so keep an eye out for a video coming soon. a.AliExpress.com/_mPG9QOx

Hi, there are lots of variables that impact the bandwidth available of which it could be any one or a combination of that causes the final bandwidth available to the device you are watching on. You mention the key ones but there are also your location, the tower you are connected to, what band is being used, the number of other people using the same tower etc. If you want the long answer and to understand them in detail check out the seminar we did at the Adventure Overland show here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kEux1qPUC3M.html The only real solution to guarantee a good band width (assuming you would have a good view of the sky) is StarLink, though this is expensive. The only option with Cellular is to have the best antenna you can afford, the best router you can afford (check out our various reviews or antennas and routers and see what meets your budget) and multiple SIMs/Data plans so you can connect to the best network / tower available in the area you are. However even with this there will be areas where it is just not possible to get a suitable connection. It's worth noting that Netflix Bandwidth requirement varies with the quality you are watching in. I have a profile set up in Netflix that uses the lowest quality which has a recommend minimum of 1.5 mbps, however will run a low as 0.5mb with a bit of buffering. So if we are in an area with poor speeds we use this rather than our normal profile.

@@ExploreVanUK in most cases I am finding my mobile phone picks up a better signal which begs the question why bother will all the hardware 🙈 I will do some more research 👍🏼

@@chrisb5839 This can often be the case - you'll likely find the Modem in your phone is a much higher category than the modem in your MiFi (and also cost a lot more) so where you have a reasonable signal and multiple bands available the phone will be able to make use of them all, which MiFi probably can't. Where the MiFi and external antennas really differentiate is in areas where the phone can't get a signal at all but they still can. Think of it as comparing the phone to a Ferrari - it's really fast on the right roads, but stick it on a muddy farm track and it is going nowhere. The MiFi is more like a trusty old Toyota 4x4 - it will work on the roads, but is not as fast as the Ferrari. But it will work in far more places than the Ferrari ever would.

@@ExploreVanUK one last question.. which in your opinion would give better results.. a Cat4 router with external antennas or a cat7 router with no antennas? I have moved over to an EE cat7 Mifi but have seen a Cat4 RUT241 for sale?

I am afraid that is not an easy question as it depends where you are using it, the quality of the external antennas, how badly your van impacts the strength of signal getting inside etc. If you are near a suitable tower with multiple bands available that can be aggregated by the Cat7 router and the signals are strong enough to get inside your van then the Cat 7 this is likely to perform better than the Cat4 If you are in a location where only one band is able to reach the Cat 7 router either because the other bands aren't there at all, or can't get inside the van to the internal antenna, then both would probably perform roughly the same. In an area where no or only a poor signal from a single band is able to get inside the van but the external antennas can get a connection / better connection, then the Cat 4 would likely out perform the Cat 7. So unfortunately there is no way to say that one would be better than another in every case. My choice would be the Cat 4 with external antennas, as I would rather get an average speed in more places than a faster speed in some places but no connection at all in more places.

Hi Richard thanks for taking the time to feedback. The readings from the table are as reported from the Advanced Diagnostics in the MiFi - but, I would probably put more relevance on the actual performance speeds which were averaged over multiple tests and certainly doesn't show the Poynting XPol1 in a great light for the cost. The XPol2 that you review is directional so clearly will have greater potential to improve signal (especially when you are line of sight of the tower which you appeared to be when testing) and mounting permanently. However, it isn't going to be ideal for use on the move or when the tower isn't visible / has multiple reflections. The biggest point is at £150 it would have to be amazing compared to the budget antennas that performed better than the XPol1. Whilst the XPol1 may be older - it is still a current Poynting model and at £80 I think most would expect better performance compared to cheaper alternatives. My comparison between different external antennas was to see how the difference in cost was reflected in performance - as you only tested the XPol2 against internal / omni antennas, I don't think you could say it was value for money without seeing if other cheaper directional external options had as good (or potentially even better) performance, thanks for sharing though. If Poynting were to offer a loan of their other (more expensive) Omni Directional models to evaluate I would happily do so - but based on the performance of the XPol1 I am not encouraged to spend my money on them.

Must be the mix of Yorkshire and Welsh accent! 🤣

Hi Andreas. All the antennas tested claim to be omnidirectional so the location in relation to the tower, which was kept consistence for each of the antennas, should not impact the performance. We also tested all the antennas over an extended period of time in multiple locations to verify we didn’t see any significantly different results.

@@ExploreVanUK Yes, but even if all the antennas are omnidirectional they will perform differently depending on which frequency band you are using. Even if the spec say a certain dBi gain that is often the maximum in a very narrow frequency band. It would be more interesting and informative if you added tests on different distances to the cell tower and frequency bands to the result as well.

You can see the Bingfu tested against Poynting’s Puck and MIMO3 at various locations and across the frequency bands in this video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dIHdKssGjGU.html

Sorry not sure I understand your comment?

Sorry it didn’t suit you. Feel free to switch on Closed Captions if you struggle to understand. I would have thought the channel name would give most people the clue it would be a U.K. video.

To be fair the unbranded ones did pretty well for their price. But as you say nowhere near what they claim. Check out our test of the Poynting MIMO3 and Puck here which do perform far better than the XPol1 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dIHdKssGjGU.html

@@ExploreVanUK I've physically opened one of those Chinese unbranded antennas up and can confirm that the build quality is awful as is the design. The cabling isn't worth the material it's made from. Have a look at Andrew McNeil on here, he's got teardowns of those Chinese ones and you'll see why. To they're good for the price is maybe a fair comment, but advice generally is to stay away from unbranded antennas.

@@dazmatic yeah I’ve seen the tear downs and, interesting though they are, to be honest what matters to me is do the antennas improve the signal and subsequently the download / upload speed. I wouldn’t care if it was an old coat hanger if it had the desired effect and in my usage of them, they do make a difference. If some one wants to improve their signal without paying the £50 - £100+ of a branded antenna then personally I would say they are far better than nothing and reasonable value for money. Other than the Xpol1 I have found branded to give more improvement but they are also more cost. I’ll always try to share my experience of a wide price range of products as I know everyone’s budgets are different. I doubt anyone would realistically expect a sub £30 antenna to out perform a £100 antenna.

No sponsorship at all. Any of our videos that are sponsored are clearly marked. The poynting XPOL1 is very basic and old tech now and as you can see from comments below we’re not the only ones who have found it’s performance lacking. The bingfu’s have bigger elements and the option for better separation so not too surprising they work well and for the money that are great. We have tested more recent Poynting antennas in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dIHdKssGjGU.htmlsi=ITTPwn8X8szQ98iz which perform better but from my perspective the XPOL1 isn’t worth the money.

@@ExploreVanUK time for a couple of LPDAs X polarisation reviews, you know you want to 😂

We tend to steer away from Directional Antennas as they don't really fit well with use in vehicles due to having to set them up at each location. Saying that we do test out the QuWireless QuMax directional enclosure in our next video, so if people find it useful, LDPA and YAGI may be something we look at in the future.

@@ExploreVanUK its all part of the adventure, but I get it, omni are simple and better placed to deal with tree scatter, however demand for upload bandwidth is growing rapidly with 'van lifeing' and video upload requirements. Look forward to the next review. Cheers.

Not that I am aware of 😷