Huawei B525 VS Huawei B529 HomeNet Box

With the popularity of 4G LTE networks, more and more customers are changing their home routers from ADSL to 4G LTE Gateways. Since Huawei router gateway has a good reputation, many end-users are interested in Huawei home router WiFi. However, some of them are unfamiliar with Huawei 4G LTE routers, which may cause them in trouble when trying to buy a Huawei 4G Router, especially the Huawei routers’ names are very similar, for example, the Huawei B525 and B529. From the model number, you can’t identify what’s the difference between the two routers and which one is better. In this article, you will find the answer.

Huawei B525 VS B529 Appearance and Interfaces

From the model number, you may not know the key difference, but once you get the two router in hand, you may find the two name-similar router are very different. The Huawei B525 is a traditional stationary router. On the front, there are few indicators for the internet connection, power, network mode, signal and WiFi. On the back, there are 4 LAN ports (One of them is for WAN/LAN), one RJ45 telephone and one USB 2.0 port. However, the Huawei B529 HomeNet box looks not like a router; it’s in a shape of a cube and looks like a piece of cake, really. The available specific model is Huawei B529s-23a for T-mobile. On the front, there is T-mobile logo with LED indicators of Mode, LAN, WiFi, and Power. Below the LED indicators, the power button and light button. On the back, there is only one Ethernet LAN port for PC with the power plug port. On the upper part, there are two connectors for an external antenna. The connector type is TS-9.

The design of Huawei B529 is very special and we have to mention. In the middle of the Huawei B529, there is a light line which divides the router into two parts. However, unlike its predecessor T-mobile HomeNet box Huawei E5170, the two parts of Huawei B529 cannot be divided. The highlight of Huawei B529 is the built-in battery of 3000mAh, which could let the Huawei B529 working on the go for working around 8-10 hours. The two routers have the similar feature is that the SIM card slot is at the bottom, and they both use micro SIM card size.

 

Huawei B529 VS B525 Specs and Variant Models

To support various LTE frequency bands in different areas, Huawei B525 4g cat6 router has two variant models: Huawei B525s-23a and B525s-65a. Huawei B529 has only one variant model B529s-23a, which is only available for T-mobile. From the appearance, you may not get the key difference and which one is better. Below the table will list the Huawei B525 specs and Huawei B529 specs, and other features. You may reference the two Huawei routers.

 

Model Huawei B525s-23a/B525s-65a Huawei B529s-23a
Product type LTE WiFi Router LTE WiFi Router
Category LTE Cat.6 LTE Cat.6
Chipset HiSilicon LTE Cat6 Chipset HiSilicon LTE Cat6 Chipset
Data rates DL 300Mbps/UL 50Mbps DL 300Mbps/UL 50Mbps
Supported 4G LTE frequency bands B525s-23a: Band 1/3/7/8/20/32/38
B525s-65a: Band 1/3/4/5/7/8/20/19/26/28/32/38/40/41
Band 1/3/7/8/20/32/38
WLAN 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 64 users 64 users
MIMO 2 x 2 MIMO 2 x 2 MIMO
Connector for external antenna Two, SMA-female jacks, buy Huawei B525 Router antenna Two, TS-9 jacks, buy Huawei B529s-23a external antenna
App management Huawei Hilink APP Huawei Hilink APP
SIM type Micro SIM Micro SIM
Battery NO Yes, non-removable 3000mAh battery
Dimensions 163 mm x 52 mm x 226 mm 120 x 120 x 125mm
Interfaces * 1 x power adapter port
* 3 x LAN port(45)
* 1 x LAN/WAN port (45)
* 1 x telephone port(RJ11)
* Two external LTE antenna ports (SMA)
* One micro-SIM card slot
* 1 x USB 2.0 port
* 1 x power adapter port
* 1 x LAN port(45)
* Two external LTE antenna ports (TS-9)
* One micro-SIM card slot
Datasheet Huawei B525 Datasheet Huawei B529 Datasheet
User Manual Huawei B525 Manual Huawei B529 Manual
Other features NAT, DHCP, VPN, SMS, VoIP, CS Voice, Firewall, DMZ, UPnP, ALG,  IPv4 /IPv6 dual stack  DHCP Server, DNS RELAY and NAT
Reviews Huawei B525 Review Huawei B529 Review
Price/USD 299.00USD 299.00

Conclusion

The Huawei B525 4G fix router and Huawei B529 cube are same level Huawei 4G routers supporting LTE Category 6, which could achieve download speed up to 300mbps. The main difference is on the interface ports and variant models for different LTE frequency bands. Huawei B525 has more Ethernet ports and a telephone port for more terminals. And the Huawei B525s-65a covers all the LTE bands on Huawei B529S-23a. So if you don’t focus on the built-in battery in Huawei B529 Router, the Huawei B525 would be the right one for your home or office. The advantage of Huawei B529 is the non-removable battery, which can make users to take the router outdoor or using it on the go. If you don’t need the Ethernet port or telephone port in Huawei B525, Huawei B529 Router would be the right one for you.

HUAWEI B683 3G Wireless Router Test and Review

Mobile Internet, which was synonymous with luxury – until recently it is now a very common and convenient way to access the global network and to surf internet. Continuously falling prices of the service make more and more people choose to use mobile or wireless network. Following the wake of growing demand for mobile internet devices, manufacturers are trying to create mobile broadband to maximize the easier and more enjoyable communication for us.

 

One of these manufacturers is Chinese company Huawei, which launched the HUAWEI B683 3G WiFi router. It could connects to 3G mobile network via LAN or SIM card based on HSPA + standard.

General Review

Huawei B683 3G Wirelss Router stands out from the “crowd” of other routers, its unusual, modern design. The outside plastic is used in glossy casing (so-called “piano”), which unfortunately can be seen virtually every fingerprint. If clean it up, it looks very shining.

 

At the top of the unit is the Dial-up (used to connect to the Internet) button, the side is the ports for connections in the router (external antenna, connect the telephone line, power supply, USB port, four-port LAN 10/100 Ethernet (RJ45)).

At the front of the router there are two buttons – on / off switch and a button Wi-Fi/WPS (for creating wireless Wi-Fi networks).

 

Behind the rear panel is reset button (used to restore the factory settings) and pendants, based on which we can put HUAWEI B683 stand like a wall. In this back, you will also find housing flap, concealed SIM slot grille.

 

The discrete icons on HUAWEI B683 3G WiFi Router informs us connection status, the icons are located around the dial-up button. The lights of the icons will keeping on when the B683 is working, so they could show us below the information clearly, even in a dark room:

* Using the USB port

* Wi-Fi/WPS active network

* Internet connection through mobile

* Power

* LAN status

 

Package Contents

In the box, we can find the router power adapter and user manual for instructions. Manufacturer unfortunately not provided us information about the gadgets that can connect to the device. And users have to look for an external antenna themselves and buy on their own.

 

Interface and Support

The device is taken out of the box practically ready for use. To use the mobile Internet, we only need to put a SIM card into and snap, and plug the snap into B683 Router. After power is on, a 3G LAN / Wi-Fi router starts working. Usually, you don’t even need to set up a profile , but if you are unlucky to do this, it’s simple and easy, the configuration wizard helps you through the whole process step by step, you just follow up the wizard and click finish. All finished and it will auto connect to internet.

 

If we want to use more advanced functions of the router, you have to delve into the administration panel. Do not fail the people who want to have access to a large number of network settings.

Huawei B683 3G Router could set up below configuration:

* MAC address filtering

* IP address filtering

* Setup DMZ

* Mobile network settings (including manual network selection)

* DHCP

* UPnP

 

Regarding the stability and speed of data transmission – during the test, they are not a big deal. Only when the Wi-Fi connected the three devices simultaneously, this is not enough for the maximum device quantity that HUAWEI B683 could connect. It could support total 32 users to share the network.

Mobile internet worked without delay, the HUAWEI B683 Wireless Router could found and correct 3G network in a few seconds. The infrastructure of the operator at the test, unfortunately, did not allow for “squeezing all the juice” from the router. The test speed that I was able to achieve a 2.05Mbit/s (download) and 0.04Mb/s (upload), even the peak speed declared by the manufacturer could reach 28MB/s (download) and 5.76Mb/s (upload). I suppose it’s due to the network environment.

 

Huawei also has equipped its product in several additional and very useful features. One of them is the ability to send and receive SMS messages from the admin (of course, if our operator gave this functionality).

 

Summary

Huawei B683 3G WiFi Router is the ideal solution for those who want to create a small network. The device is so functional that allows you to use both mobile internet and desktop – through the telephone line.

 

Unfortunately, the device also has disadvantages. Manufacturer begrudged accessories for the router – in the standard package, there is only power adapter, user guide, then users couldn’t anything more.

 

Anyhow, we still give good praise on the router performance, because the case is well fit and makes a solid impression. It is a pity that the manufacturer has applied the glossy, new material. On the other hand, this type of equipment will not touch rather too often, so the prints should not be a problem.

 

The most important is that when we test it, it keeps working at stable status, which is key point users concern.

 

Actually, HUAWEI also has other 3G Wireless Routers, such as HUAWEI B970b HSDPA 3G WiFi Router, we will introduce next time.