ZTEMC889 + T3000, New Gen 5G Outdoor Antenna MC889 Paired with WiFi 6 Router T3000, Strong Signal, High Performance, 5G Coverage for up to 128 Users + 2 Year Warranty

This is a review for the ZTE 5G CPE MC888.I live in the country and we have terrible wired internet, and no fibre broadband available here. 4G coverage is excellent, so we've been using '4G broadband' for a few years now, via a Huawei mifi device and a SMARTY card. We ended up needing two cards/devices as our walls are thick and the signal wasn't getting through. Wanted to get rid of having two devices, and use a better router with a mesh system......I did LOADS of research before getting this!! I'd tried a cheaper Archer MR 600 CAT6 4G device first, which just got very hot, kept dropping out and was disappointing! Sent it back, did more research and came up with this.I'm using a SMARTY card in it, and I'm on the edge of a 5G network, so thought I'd get the 5G capability, even if we can't get 5G just yet. As I thought, I'm only getting 4G, BUT the speeds I'm getting are still amazing compared to the old wired BT internet, and to the SMARTY card used in the mifi device. Setting up the device was easy. It works best in a very specific spot on a window sill in the living room. I moved it all over the house to see if anywhere else was better: upstairs was worse strangely.Bought a set of three Deco mesh hubs (TP-link Deco X10 AX1500, £144.99 on Amazon), as on its own the ZTE couldn't get through our very thick walls. The set up works perfectly. The first Deco hub connects to the ZTE router directly, and becomes Hub number 1 (hidden under an old 50's radio's shell in the photo!) which then sends the signal to the other Deco hubs. I now have a brilliant signal all over the house, with two Decos, and one extra one which we only use when people stay in the Granny annex.We've had this set up for a couple of months now, and we only lost signal once, when it was chucking it down with rain/stormy. We've had bad weather since then, and all has been well. Copes with three devices at once streaming films with no problem. No problems with Teams meetings for work, with lots of people on the meeting, and sharing presentations etc.It's fairly pricey (£212.49 when I bought it), but so far this has been money well spent.

Got this router as it generally had good reviews and I knew 3 network were using them. I put my EE sim in and worked well with smart TV perfect solution for a WiFi network with no line into house.

Great consistent 5G connection, as good as a mobile hotspot but doesn't restrict.Worked immediately with a new 5G SIM from Vodafone, although I had to register the SIM by putting it in my mobile as the 5G router doesn't receive texts (that I can find)Tested with EE also, and no issues.Stable connection to mobile data and stable WiFi connection to devices.I set it up in a dock and had it connected via usb C to PC for power (although battery life is solid)Extra benefit of the usb C connection is it acts like an ethernet port and allows my PC to connect to the network over usb C rather than WiFi.Disconnect the usb cable and it immediately switches back to WiFi.Couldn't be happier, does exactly as expected and better. Highly recommend as a replacement to traditional broadband as well as a handy powerbank/mobile hotspotSpeed:While this is dependant on carrierI have run speedtest.net at various times of day50mbps-200mbps recordedHave even took it in my pocket on days out, the battery was only at 85% after 7 hours without chargingPersonal preferences here... But I don't like the weight, I didn't need it to be a power bank also, but if this is also providing power for the device, it's an acceptable compromise to me

What a brilliant device. I would like to talk about the situation that led me to going down the 5g router route. As a previous owner of a painful isp issue that led to me walking away following a service after months of being below the guaranteed speed weeks went by and bt and is; did nothing but take my money ,so after 8 weeks I terminalted the contact , this led to a deliberate sabotage of the service line locking th Ont to the previous isp , bt wholesale are now saying it will take 2 months to fix , as someone who was struggling using a hotspot or open office to work remotely this unit was a godsend. Normally people would think of going to three or vodaphone to get a device as part of a bundle but sadly if you live in an area with good 5g external coverage and rubbish indoor your choices are limited , three refused to sell me there’s due to them saying I wouldn’t get a good performance, they were wrong , first up before you do anything check your 5g coverage and what provider offers good coverage, , compared to the 813 it’s sadly lost its external aerial option, however if your looking for a quick and easy setup , this is a godsend , pick you sim ,pop out the nano card and plug it in , add. Power wait 3 mins to boot and your away. The internal wifi is good for a room and next door but not between floorsPlacement is key , don’t expect to just plonk it in a window and away you go your get a signal but it many not be any good so try to find out , where in house in relation to the antennas masts is key , for coverage I just took I took easy option and plugged in my old google nest , or old isp router configre configure it it as an ip mesh and hay presto every room has wifi once againI went from 5 or 12 down (depending on time of day) to 150-337 down up speeds are still limited with a high of up to 16 , but your location and experience may vary. (Who knew antennas decreased power usage at night )I took the unit on a brief business/ vacation where coverage was excellent , down speeds and up speeds rocketed to 500 -700 down 400 up using ee uncapped and alternating with smarty .If your picking a plan I can’t emphasise go unlimited , your really will be surprised much data you eat especially with zoom meetings and prime, next thing you know your chewing through 60 gigs in a day minimum . Gamers will easily double that usage . People living the van life or new age property’s that use old shipping containers may however want to look elsewhere, the lack of external areas out of the box without modifying for an external Antenna is a must.Whilst it may look like the 813 it’s internals really make s difference anyone thinking of taking out your isp basic package or even entry fttp 150 , this is s solid cheaper alternative and it allows a headset out as well voip calls are semless