The Vodafone 5G Mobile Hotspot has a lot going for it beyond just speed. For one thing, it supports up to 32 simultaneous connections. That means this one little gadget can get up to 32 devices connected to the internet at 5G speeds, all at the same time.

The frame is a slightly different colour – more of a grey – and it houses various ports and buttons, such as the power button, the USB-C charging port, antenna ports, and an Ethernet port. The antenna must be mounted on the roof of your vehicle. If the standard antenna is too large for your available roof space, we also offer a slim 4G/5G 2×2 external antenna that’s suitable for smaller vehicles. Which ZTE routers work with Maxview’s external antenna? If your ZTE router isn’t performing, upgrading to a 5G-ready caravan router like the Roam 5G can help you get a more reliable internet connection when you’re on the road. For example, if you have a 5G-ready router and 5G networks are available, our antenna will enhance the 5G signal to give you a stronger, faster connection. If your router only works with 4G and 3G networks, or there are no 5G networks nearby, the Maxview external antenna will locate and connect to the next best network option. Mobile routers and hotspots like the ZTE MU5120 and MU5002 aren’t compatible with external antennas, as well as the following routers:Not ready to invest in an external antenna? You may be able to improve your ZTE router connectivity and signal strength using other methods:

That’s very fast, but it’s also not realistic. Rather, you’ll be limited by what Vodafone’s 5G network is capable of, which itself will vary from location to location, depending on how close you are to a 5G mast, among other factors.All in all, while the Vodafone 5G Mobile Hotspot doesn’t have the most exciting of designs, it looks fairly good, and importantly it’s small enough not to be too inconvenient to take out with you. Setup The ZTE MU5001 is an excellent hotspot even if you buy it at retail. It is cheaper than competing brands, and its performance has been excellent.

My new ZTE MU5001 MiFi box just arrived and I popped my Three unlimited data mobile phone SIM, but I am only getting 3G, not 4G or 5G. This makes it quite a pricey device, but actually still a lot cheaper than its main rival (the EE 5G WiFi). So if you don’t need the features of that (highlighted above), the Vodafone 5G Mobile Hotspot is probably the better buy. Conclusion Assuming you’re after a 5G mobile broadband device though then the main alternative is the EE 5G WiFi.

Should you connect an external antenna to your ZTE router?

Overall, for such a small unit, the results are excellent. I was expecting it would perform quite a bit worse than the premium-priced Netgear NBK752, assuming its smaller form factor would mean worse reception, but the performance difference is minor. If your router model isn’t listed here, please get in touch with our support team. They can advise you if your router will work with our external antenna. What type of external antenna connector is on the ZTE MC801A? That’s a lot slower than 3.8Gbps then, but it’s in line with what you’ll find on some of the UK’s other5G networks, and peak speeds will be a lot higher. Average speeds may well increase over time too, as the network infrastructure improves. When this is complete you can simply connect the SMA cables to the router like this (example below). For Netgear routers, you will need to use the SMA to TS9 connectors that come with every Maxview 4G/5G antenna:

So at the very least that means the Vodafone 5G Mobile Hotspot is future proofed. The device also supports Wi-Fi 6, and dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11b/g/n/ac/ax Wi-Fi. Features and software If you already have a ZTE router in your caravan or motorhome, you’ll want to get the best possible signal strengths when connecting to 3G, 4G, and 5G networks. Often, the best way to improve your 4G and 5G signal is to add an external antenna to your ZTE router setup. Other specs include support for Wi-Fi 6, plus two ports that you can optionally attach external antennas to (if you want to improve the signal), and one Ethernet port, for if you want to use a wired connection to one of your gadgets.

Which ZTE routers work with Maxview’s external antenna?

Dealing with Vodafone customer support on the phone was a nightmare. In hindsight, I would have requested a PAC code and switched to a new provider, automatically cancelling my contract.