TP-Link Archer MR400 AC1350 4G LTE Router Review

Sometimes 3G/4G networks will broadcast a better connection than those from the ADSL network. TP-Link presents the new Archer router MR400, which is upgrading from the predecessor Archer MR200 AC750  Router, when ADSL access is not possible at home or on the move, the TP-Link Archer MR400 Router can take over to distribute the connection of 3G/4G mobile networks via WiFi.

With the MR400 Router, there is an Ethernet cable packed that can be used to wired one to four PCs via the dedicated ports. The 4G LTE router has a power button, reset or access to WPS for a fast connection and a button that allows to enable or disable the Wifi connection only. The location of the SIM card is easily accessible. Two adapters for Micro-SIM or Nano-SIM are provided; one click shows that everything is well engaged.

The MR400 Archer is light and rather pleasant at the design level. However, the black body seems to be a little textured and not glossy. It acts like a dust magnet and even with clean hands fingerprints appear from the first manipulation.

 

 

Interface connection

Once the SIM inserted and the router MR400 connected to the wireless network, the LEDs give the status on the connection of the device and the availability of the wifi. They are however quite discreet. The manual prompts you to first connect to the wireless network whose name (SSID) and password are listed under the router.

It is then necessary to access the interface of the router via an internet browser by entering the IP address 192.168.0.1 or tplinkmodem.net. Here it is possible to enter the default identifiers (admin / admin) to enter the interface. The password can be changed to the one per user’s preference. To configure from a smartphone or tablet is more easily, TP-Link also offers applications for iOS (download from Apple store)or Android(Download from Google Play).

 

Features and connection

A small assistant helps the user to configure the router in 3 simple steps, it was enough to leave the information by default. Before that you have to enter the PIN code of the SIM card. The interface indicates the path to follow to access it. Once the connection is tested and the wizard finished, we connect to the interface.

It is well designed and easy to handle if you speak English. The “Basic” tab contains a graphic representation of the network and the devices connected to the routers, the possibility of modifying the Wifi parameters, activating a guest network or a parental control function.

The “Advanced” tab contains everything that can be expected from a conventional router: NAT rules, security settings, bandwidth control to avoid eating too quickly his package or even what to connect to a VPN. An SMS section allows to send text messages without leaving the interface, it worked without difficulty.

 

The bandwidth test was very convincing with an excellent bit rate that makes us forget that we are connecting to a mobile network and not to ADSL. Of course the quality of connection depends on the presence of 3G or 4G antennas from the operator, but the result is more fluid than using the modem of the smartphone.

Below are the general specs for TP-link Archer MR400:

 

  • 4G LTE maximum network speed of 150 Mbit/s
  • 4G LTE maximum speed per network 50 Mbit/s
  • 4G: FDD-LTE Cat4 (800/900/1800/2100/2600MHz)
  • TDD-LTE (1900/2300/2500/2600MHz)
  • 3G: DC-HSPA+ / HSPA+ / HSPA / UMTS (900/2100MHz)
  • 2G: EDGE / GPRS / GSM (850/900/1800 / 1900MHz)
  • WiFi with up to 450 Mbps speed at 2.4 GHz
  • WiFi with up to 867 Mbps speed at 5.0 GHz
  • Dual-band – both frequencies can be simultaneously enabled, with WiFi speed up to 1350 Mbps.
  • Fully compatible with 802.11b/g/n/ac standards.
  • Two external antennas for reception and three internal WiFi networks. External antennas can be replaced with more powerful antennas with SMA connection.
  • Ethernet WAN – One LAN port can be used as a WAN port, allowing the device to work as a wireless router.
  • The Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) feature enables wireless network encryption and devices to be connected at the touch of a button.
  • DynDns, NO-IP support
  • The DoS / SPI firewall protects the network.
  • Multiple SSIDs (up to two separate networks)
  • The Quality of Service provides more bandwidth for speed-demanding activities such as games, VoIP calls, and videos.
  • IPv6 Support: IPv6 is a new network capability that will in future replace the IPv4 protocol used by all devices. Networking IPv6 support therefore enables the device to work with future technology.
  • VPN Support: IPSec Pass-Throuth, PPTP Pass-Through, L2TP Pass-Through
  • Operating system idle – management with a web browser
  • A separate power switch as well as a button from which the wireless network can be closed and started.
  • Interfaces: LAN x 3 RJ-45 10/100, LAN / WAN x 1 RJ-45 10/100, MiniSIM (normal size)
  • Dimensions: 202 x 141 x 33.6 mm
  • Sales Package Contents: Modem, AC Power Adapter, Ethernet Cable, 2 Antenna (SMA), MicroSIM MiniSIM Adapter, NanoSIM MiniSIM Adapter

 

 

Conclusion

TP-Link regularly offers new firmware for the Archer MR400 Router on the support pages of its site. For now only English is available, on the other hand it is a pity to have chosen a body material that is certainly very flattering visually, but also very messy.

However, the TP-Link Archer MR400 router is doing the job well, and the configuration is very easy. The interface is quite simple to handle, even for those who do not speak English fluently and the application also allows some settings from a smartphone. In all, TP-link Archer MR400 is a good router for home or office.

 

If you like this router, welcome to buy from here: https://www.4gltemall.com/tp-link-archer-mr400-ac1350-4g-lte-router.html

Huawei E5788 VS ZTE MF980

With the development of LTE technology, LTE networks are evolving from basic to advanced, or LTE advanced Pro. To support the high-level LTE networks, many manufacturers are presenting their new LTE-A products to accomplishing the data transmission. Huawei, as the top telecom equipment supplier, had recently released the latest new LTE mobile hotspot E5788, the model number is E5788u-96a. The other Chinese competitor ZTE also has its own LTE advanced mobile hotspots named ZTE UFi MF980. You may ask what the difference between Huawei E5788 and ZTE MF980 is. And you want to select one between the two mobile routers, which one is better. In this article, you will find the answers.

Appearance

ZTE MF980 is earlier released than Huawei E5788. But the shape of the two LTE gadgets looks very similar. They are both in cuboids shape, but very thin. The Huawei E5788 has a 2.44-inch color touchscreen, where the user can easily set up the router on the screen. The screen of ZTE MF980 is 1.44 inch TFT screen, and the user can’t do settings on the screen. The Huawei E5788 screen is at the left part of the front while the ZTE MF980 has the screen in the middle.

The USB interface of ZTE MF980 is in Micro USB format while the Huawei E5788 using the USB 2.0 Type-C Interface. The MF980 has two connectors for external antennas while Huawei E5788 has no external antenna connector, which feature is a great disadvantage for the LTE Advanced Pro mobile hotspot. They both use SIM in Micro SIM size.

 

The batteries of both the two LTE mobile routers are non-removable. We think this feature is also not good comparing with another LTE-A pro mobile router Netgear Nighthawk M1, which has large battery capacity and could be removed for changing to spare battery.

As we know, the Huawei E5788 has many colors such as gold, black, blue etc. And the ZTE MF980 also has white, black colors which could be chosen for the customer’s preference. It’s good.

 

Specs

As the LTE advanced mobile hotspots, they both support high wireless download speed. ZTE MF980 supports LTE category 9 which could achieve download speed up to 450Mbps and upload speed to 50mbps while Huawei E5788 could support LTE Cat16 and could achieve download speed to 1Gigabit per second & upload speed more than 100mbps. They are both with WLAN standard on 802.11b/g/n/ac dual band (2.4Ghz & 5Ghz) and support maximum up to 32 wireless users. ZTE MF980 is with 2 x 2 MIMO technology while Huawei E5788 has 4 x 4 MIMO feature.

Below you will see the details for the Huawei E5788 Specs and ZTE MF980 Specs:

 

Model Huawei E5788u-96a ZTE MF980 Ufi
Product type LTE Mobile Hotspot LTE Mobile Hotspot
Category LTE Cat.16 LTE Cat.9
Chipset Qualcomm MDM9250 Qualcomm Cortex-A7 1.2GHz
Data rates DL 1Gbps/UL 100Mbps DL 450Mbps/UL 50Mbps
Supported 4G LTE frequency bands * FDD-LTE: Band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/19/20/28
* TDD-LTE: Band 38/40/41/42
* FDD-LTE: B1/B3/B5(26)/B7/B8/B20/B28/B32
* TDD-LTE: B40(or B38 or B41)
WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band 2.4GHz & 5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band 2.4GHz & 5GHz
Max support users 32 users 32 users
MIMO 4 X 4 MIMO 2 x 2 MIMO
Connector for external antenna No connector Two, TS-9 jacks
App management Huawei Hilink APP ZTELINK APP
SIM type Micro SIM Micro SIM
Battery 3000mAh 2200mAh
Dimensions 129 x 65 x 13.5mm  122 * 65 * 10.6mm
Other features 3CC+256QAM
Price 499.00USD 259.00USD

 

From the above, it’s no doubt that Huawei E5788 is more advanced than ZTE MF980 technically. However, the Huawei E5788 doesn’t have the connector for external antenna, which may not be a good news for the users who are located at the areas of weak signal. With the advanced features, Huawei E5788 price is much higher than the ZTE MF980. So if you just need a decent LTE pocket WiFi with high speed, ZTE MF980 is comparably budget one for most users. But we believe the price of Huawei E5788 would be down when 5G devices coming out.