Zyxel NR2101 Mobile 5G Router Test

Zyxel NR2101 was presented to the public last year and now the most affordable mobile 5G routers is available in mid-2021. Like the Netgear Nighthawk M5 are sold for around 850.00USD, the Zyxel 5G router is available at just around 400 euros. The Zyxel NR2101 comes with a replaceable battery, and it can use the current WiFi 6 standard and even has an integrated RJ45 Ethernet LAN connection. The 5G modem theoretically achieves speeds of up to 4 GBit/s.

The Zyxel NR2101 is delivered in a small box together with a 5300 mAh battery. There is also a Quick Charge power supply unit (output max. 18 watts) and a short USB to USB Type-C cable included in the box. A multilingual quick start guide is also included and makes it easier to use.

The setup is easy and takes 3 to 5 minutes. First, the cover must be removed from the back of the NR2101 in order to insert the nano SIM card and the battery. Here you should directly write down the WLAN name as well as the WLAN password and the access data for the web interface, the data is printed on a label in the battery compartment.

Internet access and WLAN can then be configured either directly on the large touchscreen or via the web interface in a browser; the device must of course be connected via LAN, WLAN or USB.

Connections and display

The Zyxel NR2101 5G router has a USB Type-C connection and a Gigabit RJ45 Ethernet LAN connection. The USB connection can be used both to charge the battery and to operate it directly on the power supply unit, without the battery being inserted. A data connection (“USB tethering”) can also be easily established via the USB port.

In addition to the power button, there is a small LED on the front that shows the operating status in multiple colors. Most important, of course, is the large color display, which can be used to operate all important functions thanks to the touchscreen function.

5G modem in the test

The 5G router has a Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G modem. All important frequency bands for Europe are supported, for example 5G bands n1, n3, n20, n28 and n78 as well as LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 20, 28, 32, 38 and 46. UMTS/3G is still supported.

In the test, the download speeds were up to 850 Mbit/s in the 5G network, if band n78 was available. Up to 150 Mbit/s were possible in the uplink. A cable connection (USB tethering) was required for this, however, and only slightly lower download speeds of around 650 Mbit/s were usually possible via WLAN. In the 5G network with band n1 (DSS operation, Dynamic Spectrum Sharing ), download rates of around 300 Mbit/s and uploads of around 120 Mbit/s were usually possible.

The Zyxel NR2101 also delivered very good download speeds of 300 Mbit/s and more in the test in the LTE network. In the upload, the speeds of up to 80 Mbit/s were well below the performance in the 5G network.

WLAN and LAN

The 5G mobile router supports the new WiFi 6 standard and transmits on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Up to 16 devices can be connected via WLAN at the same time. This is certainly sufficient for the private sector, but the maximum of 16 devices could possibly connect with the Zyxel NR2101 Router.

In the test, the maximum speed was 1.2 Gbit/s, provided WiFi 6 could be used. With an older WiFi 5 device, 867 Mbit/s was still possible. In the 2.4 GHz band, the NR2101 theoretically achieves up to 574 Mbit/s. The WiFi range was decent in the test, an apartment of up to around 80 square meters or a small house can be supplied satisfactorily.

Battery pack

The exchangeable battery enabled an operating time of around 10 hours in the test. Depending on the application, a slightly shorter running time is also conceivable, for example if there are a lot of cell changes (in the train or in the car). Thanks to the quick charging power supply unit, the router is quickly recharged.

Software and web interface

Almost all functions can be configured directly on the device via the touchscreen, but a browser web interface is also available on request. This is clearly structured, but has the peculiarity that it can only be operated when the display is switched off. In the web interface, for example, the 5G and LTE frequency band used can be read, and the cellular technology can also be set manually, for example.

Conclusion on the Zyxel NR2101

The Zyxel NR2101 made a good impression in the test. The device is fully compatible with the 5G networks in the Europe and reached high speeds, but does not break any records. Operation via the touchscreen is simple and reliable. There is criticism for the lack of connections for an external cellular antenna, and the Internet access via LAN / WLAN as a supplement to the integrated modem would have been nice.

Zyxel Released New 5G Indoor and Outdoor Routers

The network specialist Zyxel released three new 5G routers for indoor and outdoor use. The model NR5101 is designed as a classic indoor 5G router, the model NR7101 is intended for outdoor use and the Zyxel N2101 is a 5G Pocket WiFi router. All the devices are compatible with several 5G frequency bands and also support 4G/LTE networks as fallback.

Zyxel NR5101 indoor 5G router

If you are looking for a 5G router for stationary use in the building, you should take a closer look at the NR5101 from Zyxel. The device offers support for all important 5G frequency bands and can also use LTE in the gigabit range. In 5G operation, data rates of up to 2.34 GBit/s can be achieved in the download, up to 1.2 GBit/s are possible in the uplink.

The Zyxel NR5101 has two RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet LAN connections and 6 integrated antennas for mobile radio. WLAN is of course also supported; users can use the latest WiFi 6 standard with up to 1.8 GBit/s. Below are the general Specifications of Zyxel NR5101 5G router:

* FWA solutions for 4G & 5G mobile networks

* Supports 5G Non-Standalone & Standalone mode

* 5G DL 2.34 Gbps UL 1.2 Gbps

* DL 4×4 MIMO, 5G NR and LTE

* Built-in 6 high-efficiency 4G/5G antennas

* WiFi 6, AX1800 2.4 GHz/5 GHz dual-band concurrent

* Two RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports

* Bridge and router modes, IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack

* Remote management through TR-069 and SSH

* Micro/3FF SIM card slot with eUICC/eSIM reserved

 

Zyxel NR7101 outdoor 5G router

Like the competitor model Huawei 5G CPE Win, Zyxel NR7101 router is equipped with an outdoor unit, which has IP67 protection against water. If no reception is possible in the house, the Zyxel NR7101 can be installed outdoors and thus ensure reliable Internet access even in poorly connected regions. The outdoor router can reach speeds of up to 2.3 Gbps over 5G. The 5G bands n1, n3, n7, n8, n20, n28 in the FDD mode and the bands n41, n77, n78 and n79 in the TDD mode are supported.

The NR7101 router also supports LTE and 3G. In LTE mode, even 5CA is supported in the downlink and 2CA in the uplink, and the device can also use 4 × 4 MIMO. Details can be found

The Zyxel 5G router only offers a WLAN function for administration, which also makes sense in view of the outdoor installation. The signal is transported via RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet, so that a separate WLAN router can then be installed in the building. Power is also supplied via RJ45 Ethernet (Power over Ethernet, PoE). Below are the general Specifications of Zyxel NR7101 5G router:

* FWA solutions for 4G & 5G mobile networks

* Supports 5G Non-Standalone & Standalone mode

* Support 5G frequency bands:n1/n3/n7/n8/n20/n28/n41/n77/n78/n79

* Support 4G frequency bands: B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20/B28/B38/B40/B41/B42/B43/B48

* Support 3G frequency bands: B1/2/3/5/8
* DL CA:
– DL 2xCA: intra-band and inter-band
– DL 3xCA: intra-band and inter-band
– DL 4xCA: intra-band and inter-band
– DL 5xCA: intra-band and inter-band within 4 bands

* UL CA: UL 2xCA: intra-band contiguous

* DL 4×4 MIMO: B1/3/7/38/40/41/42/43

* DL 256-QAM: Yes

* UL 64-QAM: Yes

* MIMO (UL/DL): 1×4

* WiFi AP: 802.11ax 2×2

* 5G DL 2.34 Gbps UL 1.2 Gbps

* DL 4×4 MIMO, 5G NR and LTE

* Built-in 6 high-gain 4G/5G antennas of up to 9 dBi per element

* Standard 802.3af Gigabit PoE LAN port

* Hardened IP67-certified enclosure with industrial-grade components

* Micro/3FF SIM card slot with eUICC/eSIM reserved

* Bridge and router modes, IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack

* Remote management through TR-069 and SSH

Zyxel NR2101 5G mobile WiFi router

Besides the NR7101 and NR5101 Router, Zyxel also presented a 5G mobile WiFi router and the model is NR2101. It also supports the latest 5G technology, supporting many 5G frequency bands with 4G LTE networks backward compatible. NR2101 5G Router supports WiFi 6 with dual-band WLAN.

As a 5G pocket WiFi router, the Zyxel NR2101 has a removable battery of 5300mAh, which can provide working time up to 10 hours. In addition, one RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet port is available in this device, which is missing in the competitor model Huawei 5G mobile WiFi. Below are the general Specifications of Zyxel NR7101 5G router:

* FWA solutions for 4G & 5G mobile networks

* Supports 5G Non-Standalone & Standalone mode

* Support 5G frequency bands:n1/n3/n7/n8/n20/n28/n41/n77/n78/n79

* Support 4G frequency bands: B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20/B28/B38/B40/B41/B42/B43/B48

* Support 3G frequency bands: B1/2/3/5/8
* DL CA:
– DL 2xCA: intra-band and inter-band
– DL 3xCA: intra-band and inter-band
– DL 4xCA: intra-band and inter-band
– DL 5xCA: intra-band and inter-band within 4 bands

* UL CA: UL 2xCA: intra-band contiguous

* DL 4×4 MIMO: B1/3/7/38/40/41/42/43

* DL 256-QAM: Yes

* UL 64-QAM: Yes

* MIMO (UL/DL): 1×4

* WiFi AP: 802.11ax 2×2

* 5G DL 2.34 Gbps UL 1.2 Gbps

* DL 4×4 MIMO, 5G NR and LTE

* Built-in 6 high-efficiency 4G/5G antennas

* WiFi 6, AX1800 2.4 GHz/5 GHz dual-band concurrent

* One RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports

* Power: USB 5V

* 5300 mAh removable battery provides up to 10 hours working time

* 2.4” touch screen

* Nano/4FF SIM card slot with eUICC/eSIM reserved

 

Availability Time and Price

It is not yet clear when the three new Zyxel 5G routers will be available in the market. And we also don’t know the Zyxel 5G router prices. We will update the info once there is news here.