[Test the Tech] Huawei Pocket Hotspot Plus

[Daddydoink]

As many of you know, I sometimes receive a letter.  Now, letters are these things before emails and I received such a letter from a Mr Fen-Sing from South Wales.  It read as follows:

Dear Doink,

My children keep complaining at me that the trains to the big city that is London offers wifi but my car, or indeed, I, doesn't.  They tell me the wifi should be free for them to use and they don't care what it costs me to do it.  

Can you please recommend me a solution that doesn't involve a big wire out of my trouser pocket like BT suggested.

Yours,

Gordon Fen-Sing

It's a bit difficult to say no to a letter like this - so I took on his challenge forthwith... after the commercial break.

The Device
The Huawei Pocket Hotspot Plus is a premium 4G device aimed at businesses more than the home user.  It offers multiple devices the wifi whilst enabling you to monitor your use, extend your existing wifi and even expand with USB and MicroSD.  It charges with MicroUSB and comes with a nifty cable and plug, which is always appreciated.  Unless of course your main phone uses USB-C... I acquired mine earlier this year so have had a chance to break it - hence this is a "Test the Tech" review.  

The box itself is self-contained to a point - two buttons on the "back" turn it on and activate WPS.  The power button then becomes a "press and reveal the wifi passport" or hold it in to turn it off.  There is a small nifty white-lcd screen, displaying the amount of data used on the screen as well as the connectivity status and SMS in the in-box.

Between the two buttons is a cover which reveals the charging point, ethernet socket and usb socket.  The USB will also charge a phone or tablet - handy if you run out of power sometimes - and even proudly boasts a 5200mAh battery to cater for this.  The box is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, pocket or anywhere else Mr Fen-Sing wants to keep it.  

Under the back panel, you will find a Micro SD card slot and a full sized sim unit - great for those of us who might be upgrading from a USB modem.

Configuration
Very helpfully this device has a web interface.  Once you have set it up for the first time and configured your password, it is very much akin to a typical home router, enabling you to connect it as a bridge to other wifi networks and therefore never seeming to have to switch networks - move out of range of the home wifi and the 4G takes the strain.  

The rest of the device is straight forward and most people won't want to touch some of the more advanced options.  However, if your children are a little free and easy with the wifi code, you can lock things down to the MAC address or change the wifi code and press the ever in-secure WPS button.  

The Router also allows you to map ports, allow access to the internal web server and act like your standard router at home.  It has a web panel for managing the USB storage, which means you can set up folders and share them around - handy when away for work, if you want to back up things (attaching a big USB and then backing up edited video from two laptops at once was a personal experience).  The only complaint is the large images used within the admin interface, which slows it down a bit.

 

Other nifty bits include the fantastic wrist strap which unclips to become a USB Micro cable - one of the best additions to a device I have seen in a while - and the nice subtle design which gives the device a quality look and feel.

Conclusion
Its hard to write war and peace about a device that is as simple in its functions as a kettle - and yet this device will do the equivelant of ordering the replacement packet of tea bags from a supermarket and not let the kids turn it on without any water in it.  Compared to other devices, the external screen telling you simple things like 3G/4G, data used and connectivity status makes this device worth the extra.  O2 have some deals on at the moment and this could make sense, especially if you have a few smaller people who are wanting to be connected at the same time.

Just block Youtube and ban videos first, else 1GB of data won't get you very far!

[Toby]

Fantastic work here @Daddydoink!

Have you used many other hotspots? How does it compare? Always good to hear about the configuration works too. Thats a part that can make or break a device like this for me :D.

[Daddydoink]

I have used my own tethering on my mobile but that requires it turning on, turning off, depletes the battery and my own mobile data... Which is just a pain in the rear. I like with this that it offers all an ADSL router offers, just with 4G. If you have a dual-wan broadband router for your business (so two internet connections in case one goes down), this device is brilliant as a backup connection tool, using the Ethernet as your business continuity. It allows access to various ports too. I couldn't compare it with the car product they offer as this is very different. Send me a pocket hot spot std though and I'll let you and Mr Fen-Sing know...

[Anonymous]

Hi  I just got the Huawei E5770 and am still finding out where and how it works.  I lost the tiny manufacturer leaflet that came with it so I don't know how to reset the device.  Can anyone take some photos of the manufacturer leaflet for me?  I am having connection problems

[MI5]

Loads of manuals and guides on Google https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Huawei+E5770&oq=Huawei+E5770&aqs=chrome..69i57&sourceid=chrome&ie=...