You know I’m a big fan of portable wi-fi hotspots or MiFis for a long time now. My last dependable MiFi unit, the TP-Link M7350 went into an infinite reboot loop, rendering it completely unusable. I bought the M7350 over 4-5 years ago so it is no surprise that it finally decided to break down now. It went through quite some abuse in the hands of my kids over the years.
For my next MiFi, I’m looking for something more powerful and advanced. Got my eyes on the Netgear Aircard series and when I could finally afford one, wasted no time ordering one online. First impression: I’m not a big fan of its rubbery outer shell. It’s a lint magnet. I wish they had thought that through before using such awful materials for a portable device that usually goes into your pocket.
Anyway, bad materials aside, the MiFi itself it’s quite decent. I love the touch screen menu interface. It’s one of the major pull of this device. You can display the wi-fi SSID and password on the screen (if you wish). It supports broadcasting both 2.4GHz and 5GHz wi-fis at once with up to 10 concurrent connections. The signal strength is good and you can boost the signal by attaching an optional external antenna to the MiFi. From my initial testing, this unit can provide 10 hours of battery life in one go.
Other downsides, since this is a modified (aka cracked) unit, it will permanently display “detecting service” on the screen although this shouldn’t affect the device’s performance. Talking about performance, this MiFi performs poorly in poor coverage areas, for example outside my house in Semenyih. Once you get to more densely populated areas, the reception will improve.
Would I recommend this MiFi unit? Not really. The outer body material is a dealbreaker for me. My eyes hurt just looking at all the lints permanently stuck on it. It’s a 300 ringgit lint collector. It is no wonder that I’m putting this device up for sale after less than a month of buying it. It would recommend getting something from D-Link or TP-Link instead. Even the M7350 is still a good choice if you’re looking for something simple and reliable.
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