This made little to no difference with the performance of the Netgear NBK752. However I suspect it could be useful for some people that are reliant for 4G/5G as the main form of Internet

I recently reviewed the Netgear NBK752 Orbi 5G WiFi 6 Mesh System, which is an outstanding premium-priced mesh system with a built-in 5G modem allowing you to use 5G as your main form of Internet or as a failover connection.

During the review, I wanted to get the best speeds possible, so I bought the Poynting XPOL-1 V2 outdoor antenna to see if it would improve my speeds.

The results were disappointing, but I think results will vary for people, and while this didn’t really have any benefits for me, it might work for some people.

It is worth noting that this antenna does NOT support the 1400MHz cellular frequencies (Band 32), which are used by Three and Vodafone in some areas of the UK. Please check prior to purchase.

The antenna has a long built-in cable with SMA connectors that should fit any router with an external antenna connector.

It has a built-in bracket that can be screwed to the wall and also includes some suction cups that should allow you to fit it into a window.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get the suction cup mounts through the screw holes, so they were completely useless for me. I eventually settled on mounting it to a drainpipe with zip ties.

Unfortunately, the performance wasn’t as good as I had hoped. Speeds didn’t really improve, nor did the ping.

However, I don’t think the below numbers paint a completely accurate picture. When using the antenna, I did find that there was less variability with the results when running the speed test multiple times.

I paid £66.25 for the Poynting XPOL-1 V2, but it is currently over £100 on Amazon.

Even at £100, it is one of the cheapest 5g omnidirectional outdoor antennas you can find on Amazon with half-decent reviews. However, in my case, it looks like you get what you pay for.

I am reluctant to say that the Poynting XPOL-1 V2 is bad or that it doesn’t work, I think there are too many variables with the sort of thing to make such a sweeping generalisation about it.

However, in my case, the performance I saw from it did not justify the investment.

Perhaps if I had gone to the effort of mounting it on a pole higher up on my property, I might have seen better results. I was reluctant to spend time and money doing that as I would have hoped for at least some improvement with a window placement.

Overall, I still think this is worth considering for some people. If you are reliant on a 4G/5G signal for your broadband, it is certainly worth experimenting with to see if it helps. Just make sure you buy from somewhere with easy returns.

Last update on 2022-03-13 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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