Huawei E5786 4G Mobile WiFi Hotspot Test

The Huawei E5786 LTE MiFi Hotspot has been presented at the occasion of the Mobile World Congress in February 2014 in Barcelona. It was the first terminal which could support LTE Category 6 with up to 300 Mbps. Now the mobile hotspot is available for many network providers on the market and network operators have their networks partially equipped with LTE-Advanced Category 6. To know more details about Huawei E5786, please proceed to see more tests in this article.

 

The Huawei E5786 is available in black and white color and is made entirely of plastic. The back is slightly rubberized and feels very high quality. The front is covered by a transparent plastic and attracts fingerprints like a magnet. The dimensions and weight are comfortable; you can transport the E5786 easily in your pocket or backpack. In addition to the E5786 router, there is still a USB cable, a power adapter and a quick start guide included. The usual safety instructions must not be missed.

 

 

On the front there is a black-and-white display, which indicates all important functions. In addition, the power button is placed, with which you turn the unit on and off, and can operate the menu function. At the side, you will find a cover under which two connectors for external antennas are located. The back is removable and the slot for the MicroSIM card and a slot for microSD cards revealed. The 3000 mAh battery cannot be removed unfortunately.  

 

 

In our test, the reception was always very good, usually even better than its predecessor Huawei E5776. Also in the UMTS network, the sending and receiving power was good. Upon request, the reception can be further improved with an external antenna. The two connectors are matching two pigtails for TS-9 connector. If you want to buy external antenna for Huawei E5786, you could refer to this one: http://www.4gltemall.com/4g-antenna-two-ts-9-connector.html  

 

The maximum possible speed of Huawei E5786 is 300 megabits per second on the downlink and 50 megabits per second in the uplink. In a real test, the maximum of 122 Mbit/s can be achieved on LTE 800MHz. In the UMTS network, up to 30 MBit/s in downlink is possible. The wireless module has been significantly upgraded compared to its predecessor Huawei E5776. It can now either spark to 2.4 or 5 GHz. A further improvement can be found at the speed: the Huawei E5786 wireless-controlled ac (gross 433 Mbit/s), so that is the full LTE speed of 300 Mbit/s can also be used via WiFi and not only via USB. In the test, the range of the wireless network was pretty good, even through two walls at a distance of about 10 meters; you could still easily surf and stream HD video.  

 

Another interesting feature is the repeater mode, which provides one important advantage in comparison to an ordinary repeater: the WLAN is not just strengthened, but also the E5786 is logged into an existing wireless network and uses this information as Internet access. This is, for example, ideal when the wireless network allows only one terminal, but you want to use multiple devices. Maximum up to 10 devices could connect to the Huawei E5786 wirelessly.

 

 

Operation of the Huawei E5786 can be done through a web interface in the browser of your computer, tablet or smartphone. The first step is very simple, in the normal case, the SIM card is automatically detected and the Hotspot configures itself. For more settings, user need log in the web interface, or the Huawei Mobile WiFi app from Android or Apple smartphones. A corresponding QR code, which directs one to the App Store, you can let the QR code show on the screen of the E5786. A few functions are also selected directly on the device. This includes, for example, the selection of the wireless channel (2.4 or 5 GHz) or the wireless repeater function.

 

 

All in all, the software has been significantly optimized for the Huawei E5786 compared to its predecessor and runs very smoothly. The display shows the most important information, such as reception signal, consumed data volume and network technology on the front. For most users, the Web Interface or the Mobile WiFi app is rarely needed. The Huawei E5786 is without question the best MiFi router till now. With support for LTE-Advanced Cat6, the E5786 is very future-proof, reception and data rates may convince and the battery lasts for around 10 hours. From the fourth quarter of 2014, the Huawei E5786 is no branding and commercially available on www.4gltemall.com . As an alternative, if you are interested in this new 4G pocket WiFi router, it’s time to get one.

Netgear AirCard AC785 LTE Mobile Hotspot

At the IFA in Berlin, Netgear has introduced the new AC785 LTE mobile hotspot ("MiFi Router"). The device looks very similar to its brother models, such as Netgear Aircard 782s and 781s, which can reach up to 150 MBit/s in downlink based on the LTE Category 4 technology. It has a long battery life of up to 10 hours and the ability to connect up to 15 devices via WLAN. The Modem in the Netgear AC785 supports all major wireless standards, ranging from 2G over 3G to LTE. In the LTE network, the frequency bands are supported on 800/850/900/1800/2100/2600 MHz, the UMTS network can use in the region around 850 and 2100 megahertz. But in Europe, UMTS900 band is commonly used, which is not supported by the AC785 unfortunately. The maximum speed in the LTE network is 150 Mbit/s for downlink and 50 Mbit/s in the uplink (LTE Cat4). In the UMTS network, up to 42.2Mbit/s in the downlink are possible with the data accelerator DC-HSPA+. Netgear AirCard 785 module operates wireless 802.11n in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band. A maximum of 15 devices can connect wirelessly with the AC785. The Netgear AC785 has a color screen on the front, which displays important information such as the consumption data, battery status, operator name, the reception quality or the online time. And user can see the SSID and WiFi password on the screen. The exact capacity of the battery is not known, but according to Netgear, online time can last around about 10 hours in the LTE network. The control of the Netgear AC785 takes place either in any browser or via a smartphone app. The AirCard app is available for Android or iOS. Netgear also offers to the docking station DC113A for the AC785 LTE mobile hotspot. This accessory allows not only the comfortable recharge the AC785 hotspot battery, but also offers a Gigabit LAN port to connect wired devices. Furthermore, there are two TS-9 connectors for external antennas available at the dock, so you can operate as a full-fledged DSL replacement with an external antenna to the AC785. The Netgear Aircard AC785s will be available in European countries according to the manufacturer in September 2014. The docking station DC113A will be available during the fourth quarter. And we also get to know the new LTE Category 6 Netgear 790s will be also available. The new mobile hotspots are really interesting.

Huawei E5577C 4G Mobile Hotspot Review

We had the news about Huawei E5577 for long time, and we are luckily to get one unit to test last week. The model number is Huawei E5577C. The E5577C is a very small and lightweight LTE MiFi Hotspot, and it looks like the Huawei E5377. The Huawei E5577C provides speeds of up to 150 Mbit/s in the downlink and 50 Mbit/s in the uplink, and it has a replaceable battery of 1500 mAh and has a display on the front to show connection information. The system can be operated via the browser or via an app on your smartphone or tablet.

 

 

Appearance

 

The Huawei E5577C comes in a small white cardboard box and is available in black or white. The battery is not loaded in the device, but is separately together with a very short USB charging cable in the package. A power adapter for charging your battery is not supplied, in my opinion, it is also unnecessary, because the USB cable can connect with the power adapter for your smarpthones or tablets. The Huawei E5577C is with dimensions of 96.8 x 58 x 13.5 millimeters and weighs 85 grams, which is a very compact and lightweight. This makes the device ideal fits naturally into your pocket, purse or backpack. All parts packed are good and the battery cover can be easily removed for inserting the battery, SIM card and memory card.

 

 

Features	Data
Manufacturer & Model:	Huawei E5577C
Technologies:	LTE (4G), UMTS (3G) GSM (2G)
Frequencies:	* LTE FDD: 800/850/900/1800/2100/2600 MHz* UMTS: 850/900/1900/2100  Mhz* GSM: 850/900/1800/1900Mhz
Maximum speed:	* LTE: 150 Mbit/s down, 50Mbit/s up* UMTS: 42.2 Mbit/s down, 5.76 Mbit/s up (when using DC-HSPA+)* GSM: 384 kbit/s (when using EDGE )
WIFI	802.11b/g/n to 300 Mbit/s, 2 × 2 MIMO, both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, repeater mode
Software testing:	Firmware Version: 21.200.05.00.00
Other:	* MicroSD slot up to 32 GB* 2x External antenna connector type TS-9  (Buy Huawei E5577 external antenna)* Display 128 × 128 pixels* Removable Battery 1500 mAh

 

Operation & Software

 

Configuration of the Huawei E5577C is very simple. Normally, everything is already done with the first launch and the router E5577C configures itself depending on the inserted SIM card. The wireless connection is encrypted from the factory, the password can be found in the battery bay or on the display. Unfortunately, it cannot hide from the display. Some functions, such as the choice of wireless frequency band can be set directly on the E5577C using the menu button, the power button and the display. For other settings, you need use the HiLink app for Android or iOS operating systems, or access to the web interface. To do this, you need just simply calls the browser's address 192.168.8.1.

 

 

In the web interface, there are detailed statistics on the internet, you can send and receive SMS and you can share files and folders on the network when inserted MicroSD memory card. There is also a menu item to update the firmware. In the settings menu, there are several configuration options available for WLAN and network. Overall, the web interface of the E5577C is quite extensive and easy to operate!

 

Network Technology

 

Huawei E5577C supports LTE by category 4 with up to 150 MBit/s in the downlink and 50 Mbit/s in the uplink. Actually, LTE Cat4 is not the latest new technology. Here now there is LTE Category 6 mobile hotspot Huawei E5786 available. But new technology means user need pay more money to enjoy it. For most users, the LTE Cat4 modem in E5577C will provide sufficient speeds and in testing it can achieve top speeds of up to 140 Mbit/s. In the UMTS network the data accelerator DC-HSPA+ is of course supported, so here theoretically up to 42.2 Mbit/s can be achieved in the downlink. In practice, you should reach the speed of no more than 32 Mbit/s.

 

 

Unfortunately there is no way for the Huawei E5577C set to a specific network technology. The only option is the use of LTE-on and to turn off. Compared to several other mobile hotspots, this is a big disadvantage.

WLAN and battery

The Huawei E5577 supplies up to 10 devices simultaneously via WLAN with an Internet connection. Extra one unit can also be connected via USB, so the router can also be used on computers without a WLAN. The E5577C will support both 2.4 GHz wireless and the area around 5 GHz. However, the latest wireless standard AC is not integrated in Huawei E5577C. An interesting feature is the wireless repeater, referred to Huawei WiFi Extender or WiFi Offload. Thus, the E5577C use an existing Internet connection via WLAN as access. The battery can provide up to 6 hours operating time per the manufacturer instructions. If necessary, the battery can always be replaced, a great advantage to other mobile hotspots with fixed battery.  

 

Conclusion:

 

Overall, Huawei E5577C is a good mobile LTE hotspot. The equipment iss\ light and the dimensions are pockets compatible. However, as a new 4g mobile hotspot, the price may be a little high as expected. If you want better power support, you can get a spare battery backup. Here now, there are Huawei E5377, E5377T, E5878 available from the same manufacturer.  

Huawei E5373 4G Mobile Router Review

The Huawei E5373 is a small cellular router for speeds of up to 150 Mbit/s via LTE. Unlike many other MiFi hotspots, the model does not have a display on the front, but the rest of the equipment is quite good and the price is attractively lower than many comparable devices. We will review more details about Huawei E5373 in this article.

 

 

The Huawei E5373 has an integrated cellular modem for speeds of up to 150 Mbit/s in the downlink and 50 Mbit/s in the uplink via LTE. Of course, the slightly older UMTS network is available, then the data accelerator DC-HSPA+ up to 42.2 Mbit/s in the downlink and up to 5.76 Mbit/s in the uplink is possible. Also GSM with EDGE is supported. As for FDD-LTE, the frequency bands are supported on 800/900/1800/2100/2600Mhz. So you are free use the unlocked Huawei E5373 in many countries in Europe. But you will have trouble to use it in North America, because the device will be unable to work in the LTE networks there.

 

 

If you want to improve the speed and optimize receive and transmit power, you may need an external LTE MIMO antenna to connect to Huawei E5373. There are two connectors for external antenna, which are hidden at side of the Huawei E5373 under a cover. The connector type is TS-9, you could refer to the 4G antenna: http://www.4gltemall.com/4g-antenna-two-ts-9-connector.html

 

 

The connection to terminal equipment is normally done via Wi-Fi, although a use as a USB modem is possible using the MicroUSB interface. The wireless module operates on the 802.11a/b/g/n, ie on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Thus the Huawei E5373 can also be used in environments where the 2.4 GHz band is overloaded. A maximum of 10 devices can be connected simultaneously via wireless to the E5373 router.

 

 

The battery is 1500 mAh strong and easily replaceable by the user. It is designed to ensure an operating time of about 6 hours, according to Huawei. On the front of the Huawei E5373, 5 LEDs were integrated, which indicate its operating status. There is also a microSD slot for file sharing in Huawei E5373. If you use a corresponding memory card in the device, so you can share files and folders on the network.  

 

The Huawei E5373 is now available on www.4gltemall.com . As a similar model to Huawei E5372, here now we can’t tell what the real difference between them is. But new device is always better than old one. Huawei mobile WiFi is always leading the mainstream in the wireless pocket WiFi. We believe Huawei E5373 will be popular soon.

Alcatel One Touch Link Y858 Review

Following the leader Huawei, many vendors are trying to supply their new devices supporting LTE Category 4. Here now we get a new a small, mobile hotspot with LTE: Alcatel One Touch Link Y858. The Y858 has a fast LTE modem for speeds of up to 150 Mbit/s and up to 15 devices can access internet via Y858 simultaneously. The Alcatel Y858 has improved much on the performance and we will see what the difference between it and its predecessor Alcatel Y850 are.



Alcatel Link Y858 Specifications

It’s necessary to list the specifications of Alcatel Y858 in a compact table:

Features	Data
Manufacturer & Model:	Alcatel One Touch Link LTE (Model Number: Y858)
Technologies:	LTE (4G), UMTS (3G) GSM (2G)
Frequencies:	* LTE: 800/900/1800/2100/2600* UMTS: 900/1800/2100* GSM: 850/900/1800/1900
Maximum speed:	LTE: 150 Mbit/s download, 50Mbit/s upload* UMTS: 42.2 Mbit/s down, 5.76 Mbit/s up (when using DC-HSPA+)* GSM: 238 kbit/s (when using EDGE )
WIFI:	802.11b/g/n (2.4GHz), support up to 15 users simultaneously
Dimensions:	89 x 62 x 11.5 mm
Others:	MicroSD slot up to 32 GB | Changeable battery 1800 mAh | MicroSIM

Appearance

The Alcatel One Touch Link Y858 comes in a small cardboard box, along with a power adapter to charge the battery, a USB cable and a rechargeable battery. The unit is designed quite compact and light, making a good first impression. There are four LED indicators on the front for displaying power, WiFi, SMS and battery. But we can’t find the connections for an external antenna.




The power button is placed together with the WPS button on the top. This solution seems little happy, the Chinese manufacturer TCT Mobile had power and WPS button performed better separated. Other keys do not exist. The battery compartment can be easily opened, there also the MicroSIM card and a MicroSD card slots. The two slots for the cards are designed exemplary: the cards are inserted and locked with a metal slide. So the use of Nano sim cards with adapter is safe.



Although the Alcatel One Touch Link looks rather unspectacular from the outside, the software has it all: the Web interface is accessed through the address 192.168.1.1 and comes with a design. There are some "cards", which are particularly useful in the operation via a touchscreen. Based on the good design, users do not suffer from the functions: all the usual configuration options which you could expect from a mobile hotspot are available. This includes, for example, the ability to set the device to a particular network technology such as LTE. In addition to the web interface, there is yet another way to serve: the Alcatel One Touch Link App. It is available for iOS and Android devices and works reliably.

Network Technology
The Alcatel One Touch Link supports all the latest mobile technologies, from GSM via UMTS to LTE. The maximum speed is 150 Mbit/s provided via LTE category 4, according to an extensive network and an appropriate tariff. In the test, the peak download speed could reach 52 Mbit/s in the downlink and 21 Mbit/s in the uplink, the latencies were between 20 and 40 milliseconds in LTE. On UMTS up to 42.2 Mbit/s are possible with a telecom card in the downlink and 4.2 Mbit/s in the uplink measured. In stationary use the Internet was very stable, but in mobile use, however, we noticed that the reception in the UMTS network is not optimal in particular.



The wireless range is fine, but no better than other mobile wireless hotspots. The speed was in the test often significantly below 120 Mbit/s, at least according to the display in Windows connection manager and the MacBook. The problem is that with such a slow wireless connection, you cannot exploit the maximum LTE speed of 150 Mbit/s initially. Here a WLAN module that supports 802.11ac would have made sense. The battery lasted approximately 6 hours at permanent use in the test; this is a very good value, if you consider the capacity of only 1800 mAh, perhaps due to the low energy consumption on the waiver of a display on the router.

Conclusion

The Alcatel One Touch Link LTE Y858 operates reliably and quickly on any cellular network, and has a good, replaceable battery, especially the software that the Web Interface has an innovative design and yet offers all the important settings which is easy to operate even on smartphone and tablet. Overall, the Alcatel One Touch Link Y858 is a good device, and it’s enough for common use for network connection.

Huawei E5180 4G LTE Router Review

Huawei is always the leading the main stream of 4G LTE technology. Now we get a new Huawei 4G LTE router with new technology and design. From the appearance, we can see Huawei had paid much attention on the design of this new router. The router parts are in a white square cabinet with integrated LED lighting. Like Huawei B593, Huawei E5180 is also a LTE category 4 gateway, which could support peak download speed to 150Mbps. And up to 32 wireless users could access internet via E5180.

 

 

Huawei E5180 Specifications:

Features	Data
Manufacturer & Model:	Huawei E5180
Technologies:	LTE (4G), UMTS (3G) GSM (2G)
Frequencies:	* LTE: 800/1800/2600 * UMTS: 850/900/1900/2100* GSM: 850/900/1800/1900
Maximum speed:	* LTE: 150 Mbit/s down, 50Mbit/s up* UMTS: 42.2 Mbit/s down, 5.76 Mbit/s up (when using DC-HSPA+)* GSM: 384 kbit/s (when using EDGE )
WIFI	802.11b/g/n, up to 32 devices, up to 4 SSIDs
Software:	Firmware Version: 21.270.21.00.1080
Others:	Ethernet LAN connection 100 MBit/s, RJ-11 telephone connection, MicroSIM

 

 

Huawei E5180 Appearance and Operation

 

The Huawei E5180 is packed in a small box including the power adapter and short LAN cable. Usually, the LTE routers are significantly large. At first glance, Huawei E5180 looks very small and light. The workmanship is good, only the port for the MicroSIM card to complain about, because this makes it impossible to use a NANO sim card with adapter. The LED lighting on top of the Huawei E5180 is a beautiful design element and overall very successful. With a short press on the Huawei logo you can see the lights on and off, alternatively you can control the LED via the web interface. A long press to switch the entire router could power on or off.

 

 

The operation of Huawei E5180 is very simple. Normally, it is sufficient to simply insert the SIM card, then the device should automatically connect to the Internet. The wireless network is encrypted from the factory, the password is required for network connection, and it’s printed on the label at the bottom of the E5180. The operation and configuration of Huawei E5180 could be finished via a web interface in the browser. To access the web interface, you have to land the address 192.168.8.1, and then enter your username and password. The web interface is well structured and easy to use, also the speed is OK, the load times of each menu are very short. On the home page all important for the connection information is displayed, including about the signal strength, the consumed amount of data separated into uplink and downlink as well as the time spent online.  

 

Huawei E5180 Network mode and Telephone

 

Huawei E5180 can use all of the current cellular standards. It can work well in LTE, UMTS and GSM networks. On LTE network, E5180 could support peak download speed to 150Mbps. The wireless module in Huawei E5180 works exclusively in the 2.4 GHz frequency band, the area around 5 GHz is not supported. The test showed that my MacBook Air has connected to a maximum of 144 Mbit/s to the router, despite a distance of only 2 meters between the two devices. And a maximum of 32 devices can be connected simultaneously.

 

 

The RJ-11 connector for an Analog phone is on the back of Huawei E5180, and it is available only for voice calls over the GSM or UMTS network, for VoIP, there is the web interface requiring no settings. In the test, with a simple analog phone call, the quality is good. Once a call is received on the SIM card, the connected phone is ringing reliably.  

 

Conclusion  

 

Huawei E5180 is without any doubt one of the best LTE routers on the market. If you are looking for a good-looking router, Huawei E5180 would be a perfect option. However, there is No LTE Cat6, no 5 GHz WLAN, no Gigabit LAN, no connectors for external antennas, no DECT and no USB - these are the biggest criticism points to the router.