NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.

Forum Discussion

Spectrum1's avatar
Spectrum1
Tutor
Jan 06, 2023

Good Antenna Options for the Nighthawk M1?

Hi All

 

I purchased a pair of those cheap £13 Bingfu antennas as a test to see if I can get more than the 2bars 4G signal (Fair Signal), I’m getting from the internal antenna of the M1. The antennas are high up in the attic space of a two-story house.

 

Well, what a disappointment, these antennas are only able to provide a signal strength of 1bar (Poor Signal), worse than the internal M1 antenna!

 

Apart from buying expensive professional level antenna systems, are there any other less expensive antennas under £100 worth trying with the M1? E.g., the Netgear Omnidirectional MIMO Antenna?

 

Thanks all

 

3 Replies

  • JohnPeng's avatar
    JohnPeng
    NETGEAR Expert
    Jan 06, 2023

    Unfortunately, there are not many options available in the market considering the TS-9 connectors. You may have to use adaptors in order to connect to external antenna.

    Thanks

     

    • Spectrum1's avatar
      Spectrum1
      Tutor
      Jan 07, 2023

      Thanks John

       

      What the ‘External’ antenna connectors on the M1 can and cannot do is a real minefield after reading the many very technical posts on this forum.

       

      I must admit that when buying the M1 I was unaware of needing to have a PhD in cell tower systems in order to understand the M1 antenna connector specifications.

       

      From what I have gathered so far:

       

      • The M1 has 4 types of antennae installed internally
      • The external antenna connectors only connect to 2 of these types
      • The external antenna connectors are restricted in only supporting certain cellular bands
      • There is a hack to drill holes into the M1 in order to create external antenna access to the other antennas inside the M1
      • When you plug in an external antenna, the other internal antennas are switched off
      • The Left antenna port is different from the Right port – Left is Primary, Right is secondary

      For me, my needs are simple; I simply wish to try and increase the signal strength coming into the M1.

       

      It would be so helpful if anyone here had a simple to explain and understand guide to the M1 External Antenna Connectors.

       

      • Spectrum1's avatar
        Spectrum1
        Tutor
        Jan 07, 2023

        Checking the CellMapper app, I have two cell towers covering my house as shown below:

         

        Cell Tower 1

        Supported 4G Bands – 1, 20

        Cell Area Covering my House:  Frequency Band - IMT (B1 FDD)

         

        Cell Tower 2

        Supported 4G Bands - 1, 7, 8, 20

        Cell Area Covering my House:  Frequency Band - EU Digital Dividend (B20 FDD)

         

        From the knowledge of the group, should an external antenna plugged into the M1 be able to work with the above cell tower bands?

         

        Thanks