In the modern age, most people don’t feel the need or think about the need for a mobile router as we have our Mobile Hotspots from our phone, and with 5G out now with most Sim Card Providers, and more and more phones are getting to grips with 5G services, there doesn’t seem to be a need for one, however my personal view is that depending on the situation and person, you do. In this article, I’m going to explain what a mobile router can be used for, the pros, the cons, the price and why I think a mobile hotspot is underrated.
A mobile router is a device that takes a phone SIM card and uses the data on it and broadcasts it much like a Wi-Fi router. Most of the time it comes with its own battery, and it’ll last a good few hours, maybe even all day if you get a good one. For example, Huawei makes some of the best mobile routers.
It’s usually rather cheap. If you want a good quality high-speed device with a good battery life, you won’t be spending a fortune as they usually cost between £10 and £70 for the basic ones. However, if you want a more advanced one, you’ll be looking to spend between £100 and £400, which can be difficult to decide on. On average, a truly unlimited data SIM deal costs around £25 per month, which is comparable to a capped speed unlimited data router.
It can go anywhere with you (depending on the model/type) – Because a Mobile Router takes a sim and can hold a charge, you can just put it in your pocket and away you go, and instead of using your phone’s battery to Hotspot you are using the battery of the Mobile Router.
It’s more powerful on average – With a usual mobile Hotspot, you can add a maximum of maybe 10 users and each user will take a sizable chunk out of the overall data speeds however with a mobile router you can use from 50 to 150 users depending on the model and the speed differences will be minimal, and most Mobile Routers Come within built security unlike a mobile hotspot so you are 100% secure from any device threat.
Purpose-Built to be Fast and work well – As it says, the idea of a Mobile Router is to get the maximum speed on the go from your network data provider and sure your phone does try its best, a mobile router is purpose-built to get the very best out of your network, it also has much better coverage for rural areas.
You can’t use your SIM to text or call people – Unless you have a data sim card only, a mobile router won’t allow you to make phone calls or text messages which can prove to be an irritating feature sometimes.
5G Mobile Routers are Expensive – Because 5G is still fairly new, the mobile router industry hasn’t made an affordable 5G mobile router yet and the only ones available are from Huawei and D-Link which will set you back around £130 to £500
It’s built for multiple connections connected all the time. If you’re a single person who’s thinking about getting a mobile router just for the usual day-to-day life, it’s probably not worth it unless you are using it as a replacement for your home broadband.
Is it worth buying yourself a mobile hotspot? Yes, we would strongly recommend it, even if it’s not in use much, it’s always good to have one around the house in case of a connection break, data connection issues with your phone, want to replace your home broadband or even just to take on a camping holiday, the benefits outweigh the downsides, it’s a good device to invest in, and at Solent Way Computers we use a Mobile Hotspot to power our workstation.
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