Netgear Nighthawk MR1100 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot Ethernet Router (AT&T GSM Unlocked)(Steel Gray) (Renewed) dual band

First Impression:Got this to replace a broken WE826 with a Quectel EP06 modem. I am using this as a primary ISP device for rural internet access(best you can get is DSL at the property). This device does not have near the features and settings that the WE826 has, which uses OpenWRT firmware, but I do not need TTL, QoS, VPN, or any of the other advanced features. If I do need any of those features then I can use the M1 as a passthrough modem and hook up a router with DDWRT or OpenWRT. With the same external antenna and cable as the WE826 was using, I am getting about a 25-50% increase in speeds with the M1, even though the RSSI signal is showing about 10 dB higher than the WE826 was. I do not know if the device is actually unlocked as I am using it with a 3rd party seller of AT&T SIMs. It did come with an unlock code sticker on the box though. The device I received is model MR1100-2A1NAS, which is definitely one of the AT&T versions.My Setup:The M1 modem is acting as the modem and router, however I am not using the built in wifi because I have a wifi mesh setup. So I have plugged the M1's ethernet port into one of the Mesh APs which provides wifi to end devices and extended coverage to additional mesh repeaters.Cellular Equipment:-Nomad Internet Blue SIM, 3rd party seller of ATT Unlimited Data plan(no throttling or data limit from what I've experienced so far)-Netgear Nighthawk M1 (MR1100-2A1NAS )-TS9 to SMA adapter cable-2x 30ft 5D-FB cables for MIMO antenna connection-Proxicast 4G / LTE Cross-Polarized (MIMO) 7-10 dBi High-Gain Fixed-Mount Panel AntennaI am about 5 miles from the cell tower without a clear line of site(mostly trees in the way). The antenna is mounted ~20 ft in the air on the side of a home.Advantages:-Easy setup-The iOS app is really useful-Ethernet connection advertised as 500Mbps (WE826 limited to 100Mbps)-Has both 2.4GHz and 5GHz wifi built in (WE826 has 2.4GHz only)-Has battery to use as hotspot on the go-Built in Screen is a nice touchDisadvantages:-If plugged in charging while under heavy load, the battery heats up to the point where this device is notorious for bulging batteries and can overheat the device itself even. Since I am using this for a primary ISP at home, I just took the battery out and leave it plugged in. I changed out the adapter it came with(5v, 1A) for a larger one(5V, 2.5A) since the device won't be able to pull from the battery for heavy peak loads.-No advanced features like those that come with OpenWRT based routers. So no TTL, QoS, VPN, LTE band locking out of the box. Although you can use telnet to enable LTE band locking.-TS9 connectors are not ideal for external antenna connections. I get that they went with this type due to the smaller size, but still not ideal.Overall, if you don't need the features of a OpentWRT router, this thing is solid.

We live in a very rural area with only slow satellite internet as an option. We opted not to sign up for satellite and just added an additional mobile phone line and used hotspot for internet. Someone suggested we try this router instead and I’m so glad that we did. The speed and consistency are much better than the hot spot. It is so much more convenient having a router that stays logged in vs having to set up the hot spot and log into each device each and every time we want to use it. I’m in an area with just two bars for cell service and it still works great. The ease of streaming since setting this up is impressive. Definitely recommend!

We had our router/modem for a little over six months and noticed that battery expanding. The unit always ran hot and really never kept a long charge. This being our first router purchase I thought maybe it was normal.We bought a brand new battery and still charge did not last long and running hot. Contacted seller and said we have had it for six months a they cannot do anything to help us. I thought most devices at least had a year warranty. Will definitely do my research for our next unit and not purchase anything from this seller. As much as I hate to write bad reviews, this one certainly deserves it!

AT&T are a dreadful company, you can help by liberating these lovely Netgear devices from them. The device itself is awesome, needs one of the bigger SIM cards but works good when it is set up. Network speed is good, and the gadget is easy enough to setup. COOOL

I got the unit in a plain white box. It looked great, same as new. However it came with no instructions. Not even a cheat sheet. Looked simple enough so I got my sim card from old hotspot (both take a medium card) and inserted just like it was on the old hotspot. Booted up and no sim detected. What? Spent time looking for an unlock code and surfing the web. Came down to the sim needs to go in backwards in my mind with the angle tip facing out. It booted up like a champ and worked great on my T-Mobile network. Had small Alacatel hotspot and this one is about 50% faster on downloads and somewhat faster on uploads. Signal strength was fair. Have the Netgear antenna coming next week will see if it improves.

Our local AT&T store recommended this as it is likely a LONG time before Uverse will be restored. It required an extra “cellular data plan” on the AT&T wireless account. That got us a new SIM card to put in this device. I chose this older model (refurbished all that is available) because it can be easily connected to Eero with network cable. And voila! Whole house wi-if that provides excellent signal for Zoom and Teams work meetings!This was quickly delivered per my paying for two day delivery. We are amazed!And no we are not paid reviewers. Just thankful customers who live on a street with numerous roofless houses. FPL got contract linemen to restore power with installing new poles. We are grateful.

Not real happy with this device,it seems I'm always plugging it in .The signal strength is good.Quality is good. It's easy to use

I have a Cricket sim, and it works great with it. I travel for nine of 12 months each year and work remotely, so I need a reliable, solid-quality product. I've been using this for over a month now, and it is everything I needed and then some. It looks like it just came from the factory and works like a charm. And what an outstanding deal! I am very pleased.