4g Router upgrade

terry111 · Saturday at 5:05 PM

I'm presently using an old phone as a mobile hot-spot. I think I could do better with a dedicated 4g router (I'm usually out in the sticks, so 5g seems pointless). I'll use it for TV and Internet on 3 or 4 devices

I've seen ZTE, TP-Link and Kuma. Any recommendations of these or others?
Thanks

Tezza33 · Saturday at 6:55 PM

I might have a spare one, I think it is a ZTE, I should be able to find it tomorrow, it will be 4G and unlocked, you can have it FOC

TJBi · Saturday at 7:09 PM

I have a ZTE MF920N; very pleased with it.

terry111 · Saturday at 7:17 PM

Tezza33 said:
I might have a spare one, I think it is a ZTE, I should be able to find it tomorrow, it will be 4G and unlocked, you can have it FOC

Thank you very much!

Tezza33 · Sunday at 11:41 AM

TJBi said:
I have a ZTE MF920N; very pleased with it.

This one that I have is a ZTE MF917V, it has two aerial ports and open to all networks, I reset it to factory status and I will be pleased to see it go to a good home, so Terry111, pm me your address, I will send it and let you know the postage cost but whatever that is can you donate it to a cancer charity

terry111 · Sunday at 11:50 AM

Tezza33 said:
This one that I have is a ZTE MF917V, it has two aerial ports and open to all networks, I reset it to factory status and I will be pleased to see it go to a good home, so Terry111, pm me your address, I will send it and let you know the postage cost but whatever that is can you donate it to a cancer charity

Sounds great, thank you. Not sure how to send a pm. Maybe not possible on my phone? I have to go out now but I'll get my computer out later. I'm very happy to make a donation as you suggest.

GeoffL · Sunday at 11:59 AM

FWIW, I have a ZTE MF920. I'm pleased with it overall, but there is a 'gotcha' in that it doesn't have a port for an external aerial; so I've got to be careful where I put it in the van and so I was looking for something with an external aerial port. Then ...

Tezza33 said:
This one that I have is a ZTE MF917V, it has two aerial ports and open to all networks, I reset it to factory status and I will be pleased to see it go to a good home, so Terry111, pm me your address, I will send it and let you know the postage cost but whatever that is can you donate it to a cancer charity

I know that's going to a good home, but I found a supplier that's selling these on eBay as open box/refurb for £17.99 and just bit his hand off! Thanks for the pointer...

Tezza33 · Sunday at 12:10 PM

GeoffL said:
FWIW, I have a ZTE MF920. I'm pleased with it overall, but there is a 'gotcha' in that it doesn't have a port for an external aerial; so I've got to be careful where I put it in the van and so I was looking for something with an external aerial port. Then ...

I know that's going to a good home, but I found a supplier that's selling these on eBay as open box/refurb for £17.99 and just bit his hand off! Thanks for the pointer...

I checked the prices on eBay, Amazon, etc and I saw the ones for £17.99, which is a bargain because these are Wi-Fi 6.

Pudsey Bear · Sunday at 12:30 PM

I'd like to go down that road, but it escapes me how it works and how I'd set it up. I've noticed in the specs that a lot of New vans come with it.

RSD7a · Monday at 4:42 PM

Pudsey Bear said:
I'd like to go down that road, but it escapes me how it works and how I'd set it up. I've noticed in the specs that a lot of New vans come with it.

Also interested in this answer

Pudsey Bear · Monday at 4:48 PM

I assume it's just a Carlos Fandango high-gain antenna that boosts the signal and a bit of trickery to let your phone log on to it, it's all work of the divil.

Tezza33 · Monday at 7:02 PM

Pudsey Bear said:
I'd like to go down that road, but it escapes me how it works and how I'd set it up. I've noticed in the specs that a lot of New vans come with it.

RSD7a said:
Also interested in this answer

Pudsey Bear said:
I assume it's just a Carlos Fandango high-gain antenna that boosts the signal and a bit of trickery to let your phone log on to it, it's all work of the divil.

I don't know if you are both referring to a mobile router, but they are the size of a small mobile phone, you put a SIM card in and instead of using a phone as a hotspot you use this, not everyone needs one, I do because if I use my phone as a hotspot and I leave the van there is no internet available, so my internet cameras don't work, my streaming devices that I am recording something on don't work.
If all you do is access the internet and send emails etc then it would be a waste of money for you.
I have internet available in the van (and my car) 24/7, I use Tapo cameras which record anyone coming near the vehicle, one internal and one security camera outside, I couldn't do this without a permanent internet connection.
I have a Nighthawk M6 in the van (which is why I have this spare one to gift), a Huawei E5577C in the car.
Can you tell that I get bored without a good internet connection

Pudsey Bear · Tuesday at 5:42 AM

Ah, I see Terry, thank you, I'm ok in the UK, but in France I get a Reglu SIM and put that in my spare S9+ and we both hotspot from that, so to my feeble 05:42 mind, I've got more or less the same.

Pudsey Bear · Tuesday at 5:42 AM

Ah, I see Terry, thank you, I'm ok in the UK, but in France I get a Reglu SIM and put that in my spare S9+ and we both hotspot from that, so to my feeble 05:42 mind, I've got more or less the same.

GeoffL · Tuesday at 4:31 PM

Tezza33 said:
I checked the prices on eBay, Amazon, etc and I saw the ones for £17.99, which is a bargain because these are Wi-Fi 6.

FWIW, I've now received the ZTE MF971V router and at first I thought I'd got a dud as it returned "No Service" even though it correctly identified the SIM I installed. After some poking around in the settings, I found the network type was set manually to 3G -- and there were no 3G masts within sniffing distance! Changing this to "Automatic" solved the issue. I now just need to find some cheap external antennae, a 12v USB socket and then mount the device semi-permanently in the van.

Robmac · Tuesday at 5:43 PM

Tezza33 said:
I have internet available in the van (and my car) 24/7, I use Tapo cameras which record anyone coming near the vehicle, one internal and one security camera outside, I couldn't do this without a permanent internet connection.

I'm liking the look of those Terry!

Tezza33 · Tuesday at 8:25 PM

Robmac said:
I'm liking the look of those Terry!

I have a Tapo C211, classed as a dog camera, baby camera etc, if there is any movement where the camera is you get a notification on your phone, everything.
is recorded on a SD Card or you can pay for 12 months Tapo care, this still records to the SD Card but is also kept online, useful because if someone stole the van they would have the camera and card, but you still have a recording. £20 from Amazon, it has to be on 240v which is the only downside, I haven't bothered with checking if it can be connected to 12v because I have 240 in the van anyway.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CQHY41NY?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_4&th=1

I use a Tapo TC85 outside, different ways that you can mount it, it has a strong magnetic mount or there is a threaded insert so that you can bolt it on, I don't drive with it magnetically secured.
Big advantage is that the battery lasts up to 300 days, easy to charge by USB, £55 also from Amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DGLDQDLV?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2&th=1

Picture quality is excellent on both items

Robmac · Tuesday at 8:37 PM

Tezza33 said:
I have a Tapo C211, classed as a dog camera, baby camera etc, if there is any movement where the camera is you get a notification on your phone, everything.
is recorded on a SD Card or you can pay for 12 months Tapo care, this still records to the SD Card but is also kept online, useful because if someone stole the van they would have the camera and card, but you still have a recording. £20 from Amazon, it has to be on 240v which is the only downside, I haven't bothered with checking if it can be connected to 12v because I have 240 in the van anyway.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CQHY41NY?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_4&th=1
I use a Tapo TC85 outside, different ways that you can mount it, it has a strong magnetic mount or there is a threaded insert so that you can bolt it on, I don't drive with it magnetically secured.
Big advantage is that the battery lasts up to 300 days, easy to charge by USB, £55 also from Amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DGLDQDLV?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2&th=1

Picture quality is excellent on both items

Thanks Terry.

I've just ordered the C211 to give it a try. Do you know how much it would store on a 128GB SD Card before looping round? Should be great for watching the dogs both at home and in the van and also as a security camera.

We already have 5 ring cameras outside the house but they're not great to be honest so I will give the TC85 a try as well.

Tezza33 · Tuesday at 9:33 PM

The TC85 is far better than the ring doorbell video quality, I have one halfway up my drive (actually mounted on the van) because it picks up anyone opening the gates, the one mounted on the house picks up movement from halfway down the front drive, the one mounted on the house gets a clear picture of the gates and the street outside but the motion detector obviously doesn't work at 70 - 100 ft, between them I get full coverage, I checked with my next door neighbour because it picks up her drive as well, she was delighted (fortunately) because she is 23yrs old and her partner works away all week

Bear in mind Rob, if you are not impressed it is easy to return

Robmac · Tuesday at 9:44 PM

Tezza33 said:
The TC85 is far better than the ring doorbell video quality, I have one halfway up my drive (actually mounted on the van) because it picks up anyone opening the gates, the one mounted on the house picks up movement from halfway down the front drive, the one mounted on the house gets a clear picture of the gates and the street outside but the motion detector obviously doesn't work at 70 - 100 ft, between them I get full coverage, I checked with my next door neighbour because it picks up her drive as well, she was delighted (fortunately) because she is 23yrs old and her partner works away all week

Bear in mind Rob, if you are not impressed it is easy to return

I reckon at 30 quid for the year I will go for Tapo Care as well Terry.