How does the battery backup option work on the High Speed Home Internet NOK 5G21 Gateway device. When the device gets unplugged or losses power, the device configures to battery operation, then the WiFi is disabled. I also tried using Ethernet. Neither connection method works.
In the manual it says “During battery operation, neither Wi-Fi nor Ethernet connections are supported.”
What is the use to have battery backup if WiFi nor Ethernet connections are supported? How can I use the device during battery operation?
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Hello,
I am bringing this discussion back to ask a few questions about the various backups that are discussed in this thread. Couldn’t find a way to start a new discussion - hopefully someone will see this and reply.
I just got a NOK 5G21 Gateway and am looking for a battery backup that will keep it running for several hours in a power outage.
I am wondering if anyone has used either of those lately and if they work to not only keep the device powered in an outage, but also continue to allow the 5G signal to work.
Any thoughts are appreciated.
what about for the KVD21? it has a usb c input power port using the 12v 1.2a supply from the adapter… not seeing a cable that goes from these mini-style UPS’s to a usb c type input
It just replaces the original power supply and plugs into the barrel connector on the back of the gateway, NOT the UPS plug on the device.
Update please. Did you test how long it would keep the gateway going operating on the backup with no ac input? If i am figuring the math correctly using the specs provide from T-Mobile specs, Amazon, and the user average draw for the T-Mobile can of 7W avg pwr / 45W max power, this is a 74Whr battery so.... 74÷7=10.6 hrs of average and 74÷45=1.6 hrs min during maximum power draw of backup power supply. Does your testing comfirm anything close to these figures of 1.6 to 10.6 hrs of operation on backup using this product?
there must be a way to rewire the internal battery so that it keeps the can running normally? it seems to be a waste of battery and it is always being charged for nothing.
It turns out that the battery backup not only won’t keep WiFi or Ethernet connections going, it won’t keep the connection either. In other words, when you get power back it will have to establish a new connection.
Mine was working fine, and after a few weeks without problems, I decided to unplug it and then plug it into a UPS. When it came back up, it wouldn’t get a secondary signal (no 5G). This went on for days, and T-mobile was no help. Rebooting made no difference. Finally, almost a week later, the system got messed up and the network was unusable. I couldn’t do much other than resetting the device with a pin. After that, it established a connection with 5G, which has been working fine going on two weeks now. It wasn’t a hard reset so it wasn’t a settings issue.
My advice is to plug it into your own UPS and not reboot it or unplug it unless absolutely necessary. Anything I read about location or signal strength was not relevant, because if location had been a problem, it wouldn’t have worked flawlessly for weeks until unplugged without being moved. And it wouldn’t have stayed on 4G until some random event after a reset, and then go back to 5G even though it wasn’t moved.
For those who think that maybe it’s in a borderline area with respect to 5G, my download speeds with 5G are up to 600, usually a bit under 500 being typical, and upload speeds are up to 65, with around 40-50 being typical. And that’s with no data errors when testing. It works great with 5G but will lose its signal even with the battery if not plugged in.
That means, in theory, that the battery serves one purpose, which is to allow you to see signal strength as you move the device around when unplugged.
I read somewhere that the home location is determined by the power source and would make sense here if that’s true.
Wow that is incredible… could be the switching power supply is most efficient at full-rating but with something like 1.25A (12V @ 15W) it seems that your measurements show it’s less than 50% efficient. YUCK. Then again, there may be additional inefficiencies when considering the 12V to 110V power outlet and then the 110V to 12V plug-in power adapter, combined. Assuming they’re identical, then each conversion is 68% efficient (square root of 7/15). Even that is pretty low IMHO.
Yes. Sorry. I stand corrected. Watts, not amps
The Ecoflow displays 15 watts when using the 110v powersupply
and 7 watts when connected directly to the 12v barrel jack.
I use an EcoFlow RIVER Max Portable Power Station which holds 576 Watt Hours on a full charge. This power station has a variety of outlets: 110v for electronics and appliances, also 5v USB jacks and three different types of 12v jacks.
110v to T-Mobile Gateway ≈ consumes 15 amps ≈ backup power for 38.4 hours
12v to T-Mobile Gateway = consumes 7 amps = backup power for 82.3 hours.
So, during a power outage, it’s not likely I’d power the gateway for 24/7, but I could theoretically stream video to a tablet and keep tablets and phones charged for 2-3 days using only the power station.
Do you mean 15 Watts, and 7 Watts? That makes the math work, but it may be much less due to quiescent power losses (i.e., nothing connected, power consumed by power supply and circuitry) and inefficiencies (Pout/Pin = approx 80%). Most flyback power supplies are the most efficient near full load, mostly due to minimization of the quiescent losses (they’re still there but much less than power delivered). Many of these power supplies calculate the watt-hours by multiplying the nominal voltage by the amp-hour value of the batteries but the actual measured power supply delivery duration is often much less.
Thanks for this very informative thread!
I use an EcoFlow RIVER Max Portable Power Station which holds 576 Watt Hours on a full charge. This power station has a variety of outlets: 110v for electronics and appliances, also 5v USB jacks and three different types of 12v jacks.
I connected my T-Mobile Gateway to my power station and as someone else noted in this thread, the Power station battery is powered twice as long by using the 12v to the T-Mobile Gateway rather than the 110v to the T-Mobile gateway.
110v to T-Mobile Gateway ≈ consumes 15 amps ≈ backup power for 38.4 hours
12v to T-Mobile Gateway = consumes 7 amps = backup power for 82.3 hours.
So, during a power outage, it’s not likely I’d power the gateway for 24/7, but I could theoretically stream video to a tablet and keep tablets and phones charged for 2-3 days using only the power station.
I need to take a few pictures and will upload soon.
Installed the battery backup yesterday and so far seems to be good, easy solution. It comes with two cables and multiple adapters. One cable works directly from the 12v/3.5a plug to the gateway. This unit replaces the gateway’s power supply and provides the 12 volts directly.
Could you post some pics?
Link to where to buy?
Thanks
Installed the battery backup yesterday and so far seems to be good, easy solution. It comes with two cables and multiple adapters. One cable works directly from the 12v/3.5a plug to the gateway. This unit replaces the gateway’s power supply and provides the 12 volts directly.
I’ve had it plugged in to charge overnight and plan to test today. It comes with several adapters for the plug.
Agreed; the previous 4G-LTE device had a battery which maintained WiFi connectivity during power outages. This functionality didn’t carry over to the 5G cylinder device from Nokia. Many of us, including myself, relied on the built-in battery backup for power outages lasting on the order of minutes to hours, for things like ring doorbells or NAS devices (Plex) using UPNP (neither of which are supported by this 5G device).
The battery is intended ONLY for finding best signal location during initial setup, or perhaps retaining circuit power during short duration power surges.
This was poorly to not-at-all documented.
dilbert: the link was in the post prior to the picture you replied to. However, *that unit* shows as unavailable on Amazon, which is why I provided some additional options. However, if anyone finds any additional devices (12VDC UPS), that would be great, especially if they are cheaper. Also we need to know if the router requires a 5.5x2.5mm or 5.5x2.1mm or another size (I have no way to measure the ID). Seems 2.1mm inside is more common than 2.5mm but adapters may not be difficult to find.
Update on APC UPS Back-UPS Connect:
After charging for about 10 hours, I was able to stream Netflix movies for over 10 hours. I was hoping for at least 2 hours because that is the longest Zoom meetings that I need to attend from home.
Can you please provide more information as to which APS this is and how it is connected. That information would be much more helpful for this group.
Looks like it uses a 12V 7.5AH battery; should last for about 3 hours at a draw of 2A but others have reported between 1 and 2A. Probably 3A if it is charging the interal battery too.
I wonder, if ever, will TMO allow the internal battery be used for both WiFi and Cellular during a power outage.
NOTE: buyer beware, I’m not suggesting buying this, just as an option. I would be best to buy something new with at least a 2-year warranty.
The battery in the device is primarily used to assist you in locating the best place to put it. If you're really dependent on this, I would advise getting an Uninterruptible Power Supply.