Nighthawk M1 External Antennas AT&T

Question

Howdy folks,&nbsp;I just got a M1 on AT&amp;T and wondering about external antennas for this unit.I am having issues because the specs indicate there is a 4x4 MINO internal antenna, but there are only two TS-9 antenna connectors.Questions:1) If external antennas are used does this mean its operating in 2x2 MIMO?2) If with external antennas it is in fact&nbsp; 2x2 MIMO operation, does this affect the performance of the device?3) Please proide recomendations for outdoor/mobile mount MIMO omni antenna.&nbsp;Cheers,Mike

Jimc91 · Answer

affinitas wrote:Howdy folks,&nbsp;I just got a M1 on AT&amp;T and wondering about external antennas for this unit.I am having issues because the specs indicate there is a 4x4 MINO internal antenna, but there are only two TS-9 antenna connectors.Questions:1) If external antennas are used does this mean its operating in 2x2 MIMO?2) If with external antennas it is in fact&nbsp; 2x2 MIMO operation, does this affect the performance of the device?3) Please proide recomendations for outdoor/mobile mount MIMO omni antenna.&nbsp;Cheers,MikeI too need the answers to the above questions. &nbsp;We really need for the Netgear engineers to weigh in on this and give us some answers. &nbsp;I am moving in the direction of eliminating my DSL service but my M1 only gets 2 bars of signal in my house. &nbsp;As soon as I take it outside it goes to three bars of signal. &nbsp;I need information on external outside antenna configuration. &nbsp;Please give us some help Netgear. &nbsp;Thanks in advance.&nbsp;J&nbsp;&nbsp;

UK-based · Answer

I'm using this external omni antenna (mounted on a wall using a bracket), connected via a pair of short SMA to TS-9 pigtail adapter leads: http://poynting.tech/product/xpol-1/. This has increased the signal level on my M1 from 2 or 3 bars to the full 5 bars. Poynting also make a high gain directional antenna: http://poynting.tech/product/xpol-2/. Both of these allow 2x2 MIMO transmissions. I have no connection with the company but they seem to be well built.&nbsp;My guess is that if/when an LTE 4x4 MIMO antenna becomes available,&nbsp;it won't be possible to use this on the M1 because there are only 2 TS-9 connections, unless there's some way of multiplexing the signals.&nbsp;I too would like to know if attaching an external antenna to the TS-9 ports deactivates the 4 built-in antennas, thus preventing 4x4 MIMO transmissions from being received if they're present. Could we please get some feedback from Netgear staff on this?

DarrenM · Answer

Here is a Kb discussing&nbsp;Antennas for Netgear aircard&nbsp;and retailers that sell them.
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https://kb.netgear.com/23901/External-Antennas-for-AirCard-products
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DarrenM
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dlbrum · Answer

Well,&nbsp; &nbsp;I have purchased the little netgear aircard antenna offering ($27)&nbsp; and my results were that in various locations,&nbsp; &nbsp;even my front porch pointing at the closest tower,&nbsp; &nbsp;attaching the antenna resulted in fewer bars and dramatically slower "speedtest"&nbsp; results...&nbsp; :-)&nbsp;So I sent it back and had a not so helpful conversation with netgear support,&nbsp; &nbsp;who basically agreed that it should be better to have it plugged in than not ...&nbsp; &nbsp;sigh....&nbsp;I'll try the swapout antenna unit in case that was faulty.&nbsp; &nbsp;I'll report back here.&nbsp; &nbsp;If no luck,&nbsp; &nbsp;I'll try the two suggestions in this thread.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Richard_J · Answer

Hi Mike,&nbsp;
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As I know, if plug the 2 x 2 MIMO antenna with TS-9 antenna to Nighthawk M1 AT&amp;T, the maximum data rate can be achieved based on 2 x 2 MIMO. So you would not expect too much from the external antenna. However, if you use the Nighthawk M1 at a weak signal area, it's better to have a TS-9 dual connectors LTE antenna than not.&nbsp;

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Nighthawk M1 External Antennas AT&T

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