NOK 5G21 Gateway Battery Backup

  • 9 January 2021
  • 42 replies
  • 20576 views
W
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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? 

42 replies

W
Userlevel 1

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.

0
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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

W
Userlevel 1

Purchased it from Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089SQFCBW?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_asin_title

I need to take a few pictures and will upload soon.

W
Userlevel 1

Pics:

 

 

0
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Pics:

 

 

Thanks where is this plugging in the back of the can got a pic?

 

Thanks

 

W
Userlevel 1

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.

 

 

T
Userlevel 6
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Thanks where is this plugging in the back of the can got a pic?

 

 

 

C

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.

https://ecoflow.com/products/river-max-portable-power-station?variant=39335175979081 

R
Userlevel 2
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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.

https://ecoflow.com/products/river-max-portable-power-station?variant=39335175979081 

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.

C

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.

R
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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.

B

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.

Z
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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.

M

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?

N

I am still struggling at the brand. All is around 500Watt, but someone menthioned this:https://ecoflow.com/products/river-max-portable-power-station?variant=39335175979081 , and this:https://www.jackery.com/products/explorer-500w-portable-power-station, well both are great but I do find a cheaper one:https://togowild.com/products/togo-power-advance550-520wh-portable-power-station

anyone gives me some advice?

N

By the way, when it comes to backup battery, I also have a problem: I want a small power station but I don’t know which one is better, maybe Jackery is my first choice:https://www.jackery.com/products/jackery-explorer-300-solarsaga-100w-solar-generator, but I don’t really like the red design, I really prefer yellow design which is cool, for example:https://yargopower.com/collections/portable-power-station

D

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

 

thanks in advance

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