Sponsored Links

5G Hardware recommendations

Thanks for all the responses. I am leaning towards a ZTE MC7101. Is there any other routers I should consider. From reading the forums it seems that some indoor routers give just as good as speeds as the above and have wifi included.
I don't have better advice alas.
You said wifi is a non-issue.. and from the loft the signal won't be great anyway.
 
I don't have better advice alas.
You said wifi is a non-issue.. and from the lift the signal won't be great anyway.
Is there much difference with the 7101 and the mc899?

Also can I use any network cable with the router or does it need to be one of those narrow thing cables?
 
Is there much difference with the 7101 and the mc899?

Also can I use any network cable with the router or does it need to be one of those narrow thing cables?
The cable is attached to the bottom panel, if you were to use it outside you would need to use the included cable, which is 10m and flat. But in the loft you’d get away with using a normal cable.

The seller did use to have the same router but without the cable, bottom panel and mount for a fair bit cheaper.
 
The cable is attached to the bottom panel, if you were to use it outside you would need to use the included cable, which is 10m and flat. But in the loft you’d get away with using a normal cable.

The seller did use to have the same router but without the cable, bottom panel and mount for a fair bit cheaper.
Yes, indeed, it's this one. If you only want to install it in the loft then it should be enough.

 
The CPE PRO2 is a solid work horse, but it will not allow you to lock cells, only bands.

I am a fan of outdoor routers, because being outdoor they usually get more solid signals and can easily be powered over ethernet, so easy to trace network cables.

I have 2 such routers, Huawei CPE Win (rock solid, can lock bands, but not cells) and the ZTE MC7010 (£150 used off ebay), this one is great and can also lock bands - and with the right firmware (ping @stich86 ) can also lock cells.
@Lucian our of the HUAWEI and MC7010
Which one gave you the best speed and stability over 5G
 
Sponsored Links
Nihao.
Buy Huawei.
 
@Lucian our of the HUAWEI and MC7010
Which one gave you the best speed and stability over 5G
Both have served me well, the Huawei CPE Win has served me well for 3-4 years now, plonked on my roof come rain or shine, storms, 40C etc. Very solid workhorse. That said, I found it a tad slower than the ZTE, probably because it can't aggregate as many bands and also can't cell lock at all.
Have only had the ZTE for about 6 months, so less tested, but no issues so far.

You know, you could get both (the CPE Win will be very expensive now, but the CPE Pro/2 has the same Balong 5000 modem inside so it's as good and it should fare well in a loft) and test, return in the grace period the one you find less performant.

These guys have nice offers and usually sell quality, tested stuff:

 
Thanks. I might just have to do that to test a few out.

With regards to the ZTE how does it compare to the speeds you get on your phone?
Both have served me well, the Huawei CPE Win has served me well for 3-4 years now, plonked on my roof come rain or shine, storms, 40C etc. Very solid workhorse. That said, I found it a tad slower than the ZTE, probably because it can't aggregate as many bands and also can't cell lock at all.
Have only had the ZTE for about 6 months, so less tested, but no issues so far.

You know, you could get both (the CPE Win will be very expensive now, but the CPE Pro/2 has the same Balong 5000 modem inside so it's as good and it should fare well in a loft) and test, return in the grace period the one you find less performant.

These guys have nice offers and usually sell quality, tested stuff:

 
Thanks. I might just have to do that to test a few out.

With regards to the ZTE how does it compare to the speeds you get on your phone?
I'd say about the same, typically the uploads are better on the router, perhaps because it's got a bit more transmitting oomph, not being limited on power like the phone etc.
Mind you, I'm in a good signal area, if I was not perhaps things would be different.
 
just a quick update. Bought a ZTE MC7010. Will give it a test and let you know. If I can get the same 200mbps I get on my phone I will be happy.

Just a follow up question the router is POE. What switch would people recommend that I can use to power the router and divide the signal to my access points and other network points? Is it true that the pie switches don’t provide power to the uplink or internet connection port? Do I just have to use a poe injector?

ThankS
 
Sponsored Links
Just for the benefit of anyone following down the path of the ZTE MC7010. I got the unlocked three branded version from eBay. Worked perfectly with my EE sim straight out of the box. I have it hung inside and it is achieving similar speeds if not slightly faster than my iPhone. Aggregating 5G and 4G bands together, 4 in total. So far so good.

My only question is that I noticed on this version there is not the ability to access the VPN settings I have seen on other versions. Is there away to access that through javascript, I know this is what you need to do to get access to the cell locking menu.

Outside of this I noticed that my playstation is displaying NAT 3, so I can't use it for gaming. My previous B525 router with 4G ee sim worked as NAT 2. Not sure if it is to do with the set up of my ZTE MC7010. I have it in router mode, is this correct or should I have bridge. Or maybe it is to do with IPv4 although again I can't see settings for this on the router.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Great information here, wondering if much has changed to date, looking for best quality 4G/5G router, external antenna. Would be running on EE in the UK. Seems like I missed the boat with 5103 from Zyxel, unless going used now. Did look at Teltonika and Microtik, even Draytek 5G solution, the first two look like they could be work!
 
Sponsored Links
Top
Cheap BIG ISPs for 100Mbps+
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £22.99
132Mbps
Gift: None
Vodafone UK ISP Logo
Vodafone £24.00 - 26.00
150Mbps
Gift: None
NOW UK ISP Logo
NOW £24.00
100Mbps
Gift: None
Plusnet UK ISP Logo
Plusnet £25.99
145Mbps
Gift: £50 Reward Card
Large Availability | View All
Cheapest ISPs for 100Mbps+
Gigaclear UK ISP Logo
Gigaclear £17.00
200Mbps
Gift: None
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £22.99
132Mbps
Gift: None
Hey! Broadband UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Youfibre UK ISP Logo
Youfibre £23.99
150Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All
Sponsored Links
The Top 15 Category Tags
  1. FTTP (6028)
  2. BT (3639)
  3. Politics (2721)
  4. Business (2440)
  5. Openreach (2405)
  6. Building Digital UK (2330)
  7. Mobile Broadband (2146)
  8. FTTC (2083)
  9. Statistics (1902)
  10. 4G (1816)
  11. Virgin Media (1764)
  12. Ofcom Regulation (1582)
  13. Fibre Optic (1467)
  14. Wireless Internet (1462)
  15. 5G (1407)
Sponsored

Copyright © 1999 to Present - ISPreview.co.uk - All Rights Reserved - Terms  ,  Privacy and Cookie Policy  ,  Links  ,  Website Rules