Is there a pocket router you can recommend?

Aidan

Nekki said:

Yes, obviously, I wasn’t lusting over something that didn’t exist.

The folder on your desktop says otherwise.

Anaajksk

SG-1000 microFirewall Security Appliance
$149.00
Netgate

Radi

I've been using Huawei's Mi-Fi router models(operator-branded) and I am happy with all of them.

vimalware

Second the built-in battery models.

I have a 5200mah battery model 3g mifi from Huawei that has been been in daily use since mid 2013.

The battery backup has saved me hours and hours in wasted time.

chihcherng

@karatekidmonkey said:
Are there any travel routers that have a SIM card slot and don't cost more than $50? Or at least a USB dongle that is less than $50?

Huawei E8372 might be what you want. It takes a SIM card, and creates a WIFI network to let you connect other devices. A 4G capable USB dongle, but you need to match the LTE bands between E8372 and your mobile services. For example, Huawei E8372h-153 supports: LTE FDD: Band 1(2100 MHz)/Band 3(1800 MHz)/Band 7(2600MHz)/Band 8(900MHz)/Band 20(800 MHz)

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Unlocked-Huawei-E8372-150Mbps-4G-WiFi-Dongle-LTE-Modem-PK-huawei-E8278-W800Z/32602362257.html

NanoG6

@chihcherng said:

@karatekidmonkey said:
Are there any travel routers that have a SIM card slot and don't cost more than $50? Or at least a USB dongle that is less than $50?

Huawei E8372 might be what you want. It takes a SIM card, and creates a WIFI network to let you connect other devices. A 4G capable USB dongle, but you need to match the LTE bands between E8372 and your mobile services. For example, Huawei E8372h-153 supports: LTE FDD: Band 1(2100 MHz)/Band 3(1800 MHz)/Band 7(2600MHz)/Band 8(900MHz)/Band 20(800 MHz)

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Unlocked-Huawei-E8372-150Mbps-4G-WiFi-Dongle-LTE-Modem-PK-huawei-E8278-W800Z/32602362257.html

Why don't buy something like this?:

It is small, very convenient, has built in SIM card slot and battery that last about 12 hours. No need to hook it up on a computer.

https://www.amazon.com/Huawei-E5577s-321-Hotspot-globally-working/dp/B01BHT39ZK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526462318&sr=8-1&keywords=Huawei+e5577s

chihcherng

NanoG6 said: Why don't buy something like this?:

>

Because Huawei E5577s-321 doesn't meet one of his requirements, "less than $50?" And you don't need to connect E8372 to a computer. It just needs electricity to operate.

Ympker

Vodafone launched a cube here in Germany that is unfortunately sim locked afaik but for 35€ish/mo you get 200GB of mobile data with it. You can easily carry the cube around too:

NanoG6

@chihcherng said:

NanoG6 said: Why don't buy something like this?:

>

Because Huawei E5577s-321 doesn't meet one of his requirements, "less than $50?" And you don't need to connect E8372 to a computer. It just needs electricity to operate.

Ah sorry didn't read that

chihcherng

@Ympker said:
So a really non-techy family member who does not want to deal with setting up a hotspot on phone wants a portable router where they can plug in their data SIM, it creates a wifi hotspot for all their devices and connect to it easily when on the go.
Any recommendations in that regard?

An open source firmware called ROOter might be able to turn your existing router to support this.

https://www.ofmodemsandmen.com/index.html

You can connect your Android phone to the router's USB port, and share your mobile service with tethering. ROOter also supports many USB 4G dongles.

Ympker

@chihcherng said:

@Ympker said:
So a really non-techy family member who does not want to deal with setting up a hotspot on phone wants a portable router where they can plug in their data SIM, it creates a wifi hotspot for all their devices and connect to it easily when on the go.
Any recommendations in that regard?

An open source firmware called ROOter might be able to turn your existing router to support this.

https://www.ofmodemsandmen.com/index.html

You can connect your Android phone to the router's USB port, and share your mobile service with tethering. ROOter also supports many USB 4G dongles.

Wouldnt you then just open a hotspot on your phone? Or do you mean for the ease of use?

nqservices

GL iNET has release a new model gigabit, Wifi AC750, a lot more power and features. They claim 68Mbps using WireGuard VPN. They call it Slave (GL-AR750S-Ext)

https://www.gl-inet.com/products/gl-ar750s/

Has anyone tested on of this? Currently I have a GL-MT300N-V2 that works ok, but the OpenVPN is very slow (around 10Mbps max). Interested in know if it worth the difference this new model.

chrisp

@nqservices said:
GL iNET has release a new model gigabit, Wifi AC750, a lot more power and features. They claim 68Mbps using WireGuard VPN. They call it Slave (GL-AR750S-Ext)

https://www.gl-inet.com/products/gl-ar750s/

Has anyone tested on of this? Currently I have a GL-MT300N-V2 that works ok, but the OpenVPN is very slow (around 10Mbps max). Interested in know if it worth the difference this new model.

The AR750S is amazing. I am kind of obsessed with their mini routers and have the GL-AR300M-Ext, the GL-AR750 and the GL-AR750S, the last 2 always in my backpack. The 750S looks super fancy and they completely remade their own interface and it works really well now. In the connection on top you can see, that currently a VPN connection is established. And you can even easily configure the hardware button to connect to a Wireguard or OpenVPN server when activated.

I can do real life tests if you want, but I don't have a fancy setup with OpenVPN server at home to find out theoretical maximum speeds.

Edit: Ah, by the way, the challenge really is to find a good 4G modem. I currently use a Huawei E3372 for the reason of having 2 external antenna connectors, but sometimes it's just not good enough. I dream of building my own setup from scratch based on this module https://techship.com/products/sierra-wireless-em7565-lte-cat-12-m2/, but haven't found a small enough computer with M.2 yet. The USB modems are unfortunately all crap ;(