Fast 5G with ZTE? The ZTE MU5001 overviewed
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2022
- We decided to upgrade the built-in cellular wifi in our Autosleepers Winchcombe motorhome, and bought the ZTE MU5001 mobile router after much research. Here are real-world results.
ZTE MU5001 Amazon link - amzn.to/362uttb
Wandering Wheelies - / wanderingwheelie
Thanks for this helpful overview/speedtest
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Dave. Glad you got your Wi-Fi sorted mate, i’m glad I could be of some help. I think you chose a great router as the nighthawk 5G is extortionate! The 4G antenna on the van can be changed for a 5G one and is a simple plug and play. The Motorhome Wi-Fi is just providing the power now.
Thanks for the push! I think our aerials may be 5G compliant - will test asap! On site now, and 4G is three times better than the phone. Well chuffed - thanks again!
Your van will have as much tech as ours soon what with the E&P, WiFi. Hope Jill doesn’t read this lol 😆 “Cough” Victron “Cough” 😜
@@WanderingWheelie hey there, i was hoping to get your opinion. I have been looking at theZTE MU5001 5G vs the night hawker 5g wifi 6. I life in my van fulltime, working remotly and intend to travel europe so need something that can handle zoom calls in more remote areas. Would you advise one over the other?
Hi Dave
This is Eve from ZTE.
Firstly, thank you for choosing ZTE MU5001 and finishing this great video.
I‘ve written an E-mail to ask for permission to post this video on our official platform.
Waiting for your feedback.
Thanks
We have replied! All’s good!
Hi Eve, can you explain why the 5g speed got less speed in both tests compared to an Iphone? Seems to be the opposite of what was expected.
Thankyou sir for the review. Now im going to buy
Glad I could help
Nice review, I did not find the answer to my question but you are good man.
What was your question?
@@VandromedasTravels so, if you ask, I wonder if this device can work as wifi extender (connect to some wifi and share this connection with devices that have access to this router).
Not something we think it does. Thank you asking x
Thanks for a very informative video and doing a lot of research. We currently use a TPlink M7650 which has worked really well until we updated to IOS 15 and now the iPhone tells us not a secure router and kicks us off it !!! - So I've been looking for a new one and was considering the Netgear which Bob E uses but the 5g one is totally unaffordable - your new one seems exactly what we are looking for so will get it on order ! - if you want to have some fun building stuff and bits for the motorhome get yourself a 3D printer👍
I have the feeling that Gill might have something to say about a 3D printer, but this deafness problem I have kicks in at some strange times. And yes, the Netgear 5 series is serious spendology. So far, very happy indeed with the MU 5100 - on site at Braithwaite now. Phone’s giving less than 2Mb down, ZTE nearly 6. Massive difference.
@@VandromedasTravels I've just mentioned about a new Mifi to the wife and she just shook her head and gave me one of her looks !! Having done some googling there may be a firmware update for our current one which will solve the problem for now. I can't complain as we have our auto-levelling booked in march thanks to your videos ! (Although we've gone for the slightly cheaper Amplo ones)
Of course it is very useful information , though I am watching it even after 2 years since you released
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you.
You're welcome!
Thank you
very welcome
شكرا على الشرح الجميل 😻
you're welcome...
hi. I got the same router but I'm looking for that power block with the antennas. where did u get it from ?
Hi. Ours came with the van but think it’s available from motorhomewifi.com
Hi Dave, Im very interested in this and how you set it up in the wardrobe - did you use the power line from the hawawei to power the router? as the origional is 5vdc i believe - is this also ?? - if not how did you manage to connect power input. Thanks
Hi. You take the USB lead from the Motorhome Wi-Fi to the new router which powers it. Then the aerial cables plug directly in to the router. The only downside is that when driving the habitation 12v power is turned off so the router will work on battery. You can get the Motorhome Wi-Fi as a 5G system but again at an additional cost. Hope that helps
Herzackerly- only thing I had to get was the micro to C USB adapter - pennies on Amazon…
Can anyone recommend a 5g external antenna for this router? I want to upgrade but only have a 4g antenna and its a bit of a minefield out there with having to consider Mhz matching router with antenna with service provider etc.
Ours is the 5G ready unit from @motorhomewifi
Nice video, could you tell me to what you connected the ZTE T9 antenna cables in the wardrobe
That's the "base station" for the system that came pre-installed with the van. What we've done, basically, is to swap the mobile router out.
Hi just come across your video just wondering if you know will this be able to connect to my Axtec TV by internet as I can connect to it at home with the motorhome parked on our drive and need something like this for when we are away ?.
Should be able to, yes... it's basically just a router.
Good evening, I use one of these in my office but I'm not getting very good reception so I'd like to get an antenna of some sort hooked up. Would you know what the connection name is to the ZTE unit as I'm looking at sooo many different connections and dont know what to order. Also an antenna recommendation would be helpful. Thanks Dave
it's a TS9 connector (there's two, as you know). As for an antenna - that so very largely depends on your circumstances - there are some available that will focus just on your cell tower, but that's dependent on line of sight and so on... very, very hard to recommend anything, really, without a full site survey!
hello! great vid. as someone here already asked but no update yet, can it be used without the battery inside while its plugged in? one of main concern is that the battery tends to bulged easily when exposed to heat for longer time of use. since having a 5G connectivity is really prone to heat. appreciate your feedback on this.
TBH, I've not given it a go as of yet - ours is always powered and the battery seems fine. - however, I've just been out and tried it battery-free, and it doesn't seem to want to play.
what aerial have you got it connected to ?
It's whatever came with the Winchcombe... which, I understand is from motorhomewifi.com and is, I think, 5G ready. They provide their "compact" system to AS.
Hi. Thanks for the informative video. Need this for our motorhome travels. Please can you advise which UK site you purchased this from & how much it was as I cannot see any reputable source. Many thanks.
I got it from Amazon... amzn.to/3IiEB0Z will get you there...
Hi there mate! I’ve got the same exact router and now it doesn’t want to turn on at all. It had full charge and then shutdown. What do I do??
I’d pull the battery out, give a couple of minutes and then have another go. If that doesn’t sort it, then it’s warranty time…
Keep looking at this and it’s on my wish list ! I wonder if you can help with a techy question? If we had one of these and created a WiFi network called, say “motorhome “ and if my iPhone and Chromecast are connected to the WiFi network “motorhome “ if I have a film downloaded on my iPhone could I stream it to the Chromecast and not use any data ? - so does this unit work as a true router ? I can’t find an answer to this anywhere - thanks for your help and I hope the pup is behaving 👍
It does, indeed, work as a true router - we have all our devices connected to its network, and they all work exactly as they would in the house network. Moreover, if we're sat in our living room, the thing's so decent that we frequently end up connected to it. Very pleased with it. And, aye, Kira's behaving pretty well!! Very much a puppy, but also very quick to learn...
Sorry I Meant Would Anybody Know Where I Can Get 2 Mini TS9 Antenna For The Zte Mu5001 Thanks
I’d likely do a search on Amazon - they’ve got loads of possibilities, depending on what you want to to mount them, and so on.
does it work with 3 uk network on 5g ? as someone said it different bands ?
As far as I can see, it should - it uses the Qualcom SDX55 chip, which is supported on 3 in N77/N78
Looking at it on your Amazon link it offers a Router and free Sim…do I need these?🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤷♀️ I have a VW California Ocean so no wifi unless on a site . Help and advice please would be good. Many thanks 🙏
You will need a sim and either PAYG or monthly contract. Research carefully where you go most, then look at the coverage maps from each provider to make sure they cover you. Then you can make an informed decision as to which provider to choose. If you get stuck, find me on Facebook (we have group called Vandromedas Travels) and I’m happy to talk and help if I can.
Hi, thanks for the review, will this auto power on when ignition is turned on in the car?
depends on how you've got it all connected up - ours is on a permanent 12v feed to the rear wardrobe and is never turned off - it handles that very well thus far.
Is it possible to turn off Wifi in this model to connect only by Ethernet cable? Not in every routers it is.
Also, what type of joints do have external antenna connectors? Is it possible to connect it to any compatible antenna ( I mean LTE Dual MIMO only for 4G usage) or only a dedicated one?
I would be very grateful for the answer as I'm already building my own campervan 😊
You can certainly connect via ethernet, but I'm afraid I don't know wether it's possible to turn the wifi off altogether. You can hide the SSID. The external antenna connectors are the TS9 type - normal for a mobile router with aerial connectors, and yes, with the right converter it will link to any compatible aerial (obviously, 5G ready's the way to go).
What exterior antennas are you using for the ZTE?
The ones that were on our motor home when we got it. I think it’s a poynting puck antenna array.
does it have a cable as well to plug it in as well ? to get internet cable ?
I'm unsure as to what you mean. It comes with a charging cable, as you'd expect, but nothing more. If you need a Cat 6 cable to hard-wire to another device, then you'd need to supply that yourself.
Hello fella, cheers for the review. How long does the battery last when it's not plugged in roughly?
We’ve had over 6 hours…
Thank you for this! Did you consider the Zyxel as well?
I looked at everything I could find, and dug deep - very happy with our purchase, have to say.
Great video ! What external antenna do you recomend? Will it be faster with it?
It’s a 5G puck antenna from MotorhomeWifi - and it does have about 4dB gain over the inbuilt aerials of the unit, so should get a better signal where things are tight. Certainly is faster in our experience.
Would Anybody Know Witch Plug In Antennas I Would Need For This Model Please
So many to choose from, all with different characteristics - they do need to be 5G ready, though…
Where can I buy one that is not tied to a network? In spain it is only vodafone. I want one that is totally open to use any network. Please help.
I got mine on Amazon...
On my mobile 13 pro max 5G, whilst roaming Dorset part of Portsmouth, more so Poole & Bournemouth 5G was tremendous, so west is well booted towards 5G and fast Wi-Fi internet and it isn't even a city now all I need is to purchase decent antennas, I in the downs SE and we not have 5G and barely one notch on 4G, probably needing an extended Ariel's, what you think?
This is the 64,000 dollar question (showing my age here). As in Ham radio and other radio technologies, the choice is quite large and it all comes down to how you're wanting to use it. Higher gain usually means more directivity, so if you're happy to locate the best transmission mast and home in on it, a high gain antenna can be brilliant. We've opted to stick with the MIMO puck aerial that came with the van, and it seems to work well - certainly well enough for our purposes. And I think Gill would kill me if I got too techy with our setup (which I'd love to do, but that rabbit hole runs very deep, and probably very expensive).
Thank you for this wonderful explanation
But you didn't tell us about the device that was in the back and connected it to the antenna. Please tell us where to find it on the Internet so we can buy it
It’s supplied by motorhomewifi.co.uk, but I don’t think is available on its own…
Great video and excellent review, just a quick question can you use both 2.4ghz and 5ghz wifi at the same time? I have many devices that run on either 2.4ghz and 5ghz, therefore, I'm after a dual wifi router, many thanks in advance
Yes you can! you can have separate SSIDs or not, I believe, but both bands work simultaneously.
@@VandromedasTravels Thank you so much, well I'll be definitely buying one thanks to your review, keep up the good work
@@MK-nm6li This work simultaneously but you cant turn off 2.4ghz or 5ghz. I want only 5ghz but I cant off the 2.4 there is no settings in it
Thanks for the video. Is there a way to disable the 4g feature/bands so they dont mess with your speed, and keep 5g as stand alone?
Not something I've tried, and, to be honest, we've retired ours now... 5G, where we are, isn't even close to being everywhere yet, so 4G's still needed...
Thank you for your review. Your mounting system seems interesting. As I'm looking for a safe way to mount the ZTE on top of people, I'm looking for a good solution. Properbly you can post some pictures of your installatione? Thanks in advance from Austria.
Double sided sticky pads are your friend - or a cupboard with a gap above…
Hi , are you still using the device. I'm looking at this device mainly because it had the ethernet port. Did you use it as a router or did you connect it to a dedicated specialist router? I'm looking to find out if this had true IP Passthrough/ Bridge mode, so that I can offload my signal to a mesh router.
Yes, still using it - and it's still doing the business just fine...
We use it standalone - so haven't played with anything other than that. May well have a little play with a couple of Eeros I have lying around...
Does it support external antennas right?
Yes, indeed it does.
Thanks for the informative video!
Does it have wifi extender feature like the huawei?
It has always been faster than site wifi, so I’ve never really tried it.
But it is available/shown in the menu?
Need someone to confirm before I bite the bullet! As the manual does not mention anything. Thanks!
Hi! Can you use this device while the battery is charging?
Absolutely - it remained powered up all the time we've been traveling. Best way, in my view.
Hi, thank you for the review. Just want to ask if you experience heating issue with this unit?
We've not noticed any - it's in the back of the wardrobe and just gets on with the job!
@@VandromedasTravels Thank you so much!
Really useful video, thanks.
I was looking at systems for my caravan but the MaxView roam doesn’t seem that great especially with the router provided.
I think I’m going to order one of these and then the panorama LGMDM-6-60-24-58 antenna to go with it.
All for not much more than the Maxview system.
Thanks again
Glad it was helpful! We're right at the cusp of 5G happening - so the market's a minefield! Please do let us know how you get on!
Any problems with this modem looking to picking this up on ebay for cheap and using my smarty £15 unlimited sim deal currently getting about 170mb download on both iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro max in my area....
We’ve had no issues with unit itself - once I changed the power supply that came with the van, it’s run 24/7 without missing a beat - and we’ve had some cracking data speeds right up to 900 megs in places.
Received mine today done plenty speedtest on smarty 5G getting over 300mb download and 34mb upload all for £16 pounds a month tried my mates EE sim and got around 350mb but his sim cost over £35 with a FUP 600gb on smarty I used over 3tb once on 4G not one word…
@@captaincaveman1234 Nice!! Looks like it'll work for you!
this device easily overheat and the connection become not good when it heated up..do u expirence same...?
Not at all - it' been exemplary for us, just stuck on the back wall of the van
I like to buy this does it produce heat and drain fast...how long does the battery last
There’s some heat - not much - and you’ll get around 10 hours out of the battery if you don’t keep it hooked up.
I’m just wondering do you still get high download and upload speeds with multiple devices connected? Like do they not drop dramatically?
Largely depends on how good your signal is and what the devices are doing. Everything we have connects via the one router, and, so far, we’ve had np issues of anything not doing what it should. Can’t say whether a larger family with gaming offspring (and dads and mums, of course) would fare…
@@VandromedasTravels cheers I decided to go with just a regular router in the end but still a cool gadget nonetheless. Thank you for the help and keep up the good content mate 🤝
@@KTBAJB No bother, glad to have been of some help…
We’ll do our best!
Does this do modem only mode?
It has that ability, I believe - can't really comment from experience as we use it mobile rather than in a house, so its wifi area is fine for our motorhome.
Wait, so you got worse speeds with the zte? your iphone got 313? 268mb on te zte? What gives?
Was your aerial connected during the test?
not in the car, no - and, in truth, speeds can vary minute to minute as I've seen in all manner of places with 5G - I've had 250 one minute and 600 the next, and never moved an inch. Suspect it must be to do with how many users are active at any given point - there's only so much backhaul bandwidth on any cell.
What are your thoughts on replacing my TalkTalk home broadband (40down/15up)? I have good 4G and relatively good 5G Vodafone signal (great speeds on my iPhone).
I have less than 32 devices. I’m sick of the forever unreliable conventional fibre. Cheers! :)
Whatever speeds you get on your iPhone you'll get at least those on the unit... I'd be tempted, I have to say!
@@VandromedasTravels My finger is literally hovering over the ‘buy’ button. However, I’m a little worried about the range from the ZTE to any of my devices. Apparently, the range is better on your conventional routers than the ZTE.
What’s your experience with the range?
(really appreciate your quick reply by the way)
reply speed depends on when I see the notification (more accurately IF I see it - YT doesn't always ping me). Given it's got a network port, it'll connect up to a normal router or mesh system, I'd think. Range-wise, it's been absolutely fine in the motorhome. I don't think it would do as well in the house unless I used it purely as a modem connected to the rest of the gubbins.
@@VandromedasTravels Sadly, Vodafone’s version doesn’t have a network/Ethernet port.
That's a bugger 0 good price, too, they were...
Does it work with esim ? No physical sim
Afraid not, needs a physical sim.
Mobile wifi has come on over the last few years. We have a netgear M1 5G beats the home internet speed not got 5G in our area yet.
It’s tantalisingly close to our gaff… considering a mahoosive aerial mast to get line of sight! Less than a mile as the crow flies.
does it work while charging ?
yup - no problems. I will say, though, that the in-built charger (that originally came with the van) proved to be less than reliable, so I've added a separate 12v/USB C converter to power it - and it's spot on.
Is it a 1gig ethernet slot?
I believe so, yes.
Hello how long is the charging time. Mine takes forever to full
I've not seen it take longer than six hours, but then, ours is always plugged in and always on...
@@VandromedasTravels Did you know how to turn off wifi bands. I only want to use 5ghz. How can I turn off the 2.4ghz
Not something I’ve tried - I need both operating for the kit I use…
Mine shows data usage 2 Times more than mu operator states. Did you test it?
I checked it a couple of times, once on a 60GB contract and once on an Unlimited - it agreed both times - BUT, you do have to set the actual billing period correctly, else it can easily get out of synch.
@@VandromedasTravels Wait, mine is MU5002, probably there is a bug.
Ah… yes, possibly…
Very nice mate but a bit pricey for me at the moment. Maybe when 5g is more readily available. What mobile network are you using out of interest. I need a good sim deal for my mifi. Very interesting vlog. 👍🏻
After much thought and research I’ve gone for Vodafone with a data only unlimited deal. Tried others, but Voda’s consistently better for me, and offers 4&5G roaming abroad, which some others don’t.
@@VandromedasTravels thanks David. Top man. 👍🏻
My pleasure, Ian - as ever…
@@VandromedasTravels Hi Vandromeda's Travels - firstly, thanks for a pretty comprehensive review video! I've almost pressed buy on one of these - just wanted to ask if you'd tried a Smarty SIM in yours? Read on another forum about someone unable to get a Three/Smarty connection with this device
Can you power it directly without the battery inside?
Have to say we haven't tried that yet - but I'll have a gander and see what happens...
@@VandromedasTravels Thanks! I cannot find any info on this scenario anywhere. I'm planning to use it plugged to the wall for extended periods of time and the ability to use it without the battery inside would prevent premature battery degradation. The Netgear M1 and M2 I believe has this ability which is really nice
@@VandromedasTravels Did you try it?
same question, hope someone can confirm
Did you try it?
Can you use it and have it plugged in at the same time?
Yup - ours is permanently powered - it's had one or two glitches (when, I think, the power plug vibrated loose while we were on the move), but hs been solid parked up...
safe to use for 24x7? heating issue?
Been running. ours 24/7 for months - no issues
@@VandromedasTravels ZTE MU5001 Vs Huawei 5G CPE PRO 2 (H122-373) speed diffrence?
Entirely dependent on signal, I’d suggest… very hard to quantify unless both are identically placed at the same time.
@@VandromedasTravels ok brother thank you 🙏
Good morning
Morning!
@@VandromedasTravels Many Thanks for Your Replying
It has wifi6 (802.11ax)too! That’s a big deal for gamers like me. 👾
indeed so!
Band selection would make your speed even faster off the telephone mask.
Quite probably...
@@VandromedasTravels someone is working on a modification for the box, it's going to give it a big increase in speed.
@@williamc1590 I'll be interested to see that!
I see comments mostly complementing the router. I purchased it and i tell you simply you will not run it on 5G because it heats up really fast and the battery gets drained with that
Sorry to hear that. We haven’t had any issues with overheating and use 5G whenever possible x
great infor... but nearly £300 for a mifi router??.. wowzer seems a lot
Cheap for 5G, though…
You will see the true potential when you connect a usb cable directly to a laptop and run a speed test. My wifi can only provide 200-300 mbps , my ethernet cable maxes out at 1gbps. A usb type c cable will do much more and show the 5g potential.
Given its position in the van, that would br a touch awkward, but yes, wifi is the limiting factor...
Can you connect direct to laptop using ca ble to this router? How
@@changrnpro4998 Yes , via USB. Very Easy
@@kostas8969 how to connect this zte router direct
@@VandromedasTravels Please do a speed test for us 🙏
I was really interested Until I saw the price Phew expensive.
Half - less than half - the price of the next best unit...
4g speeds on this are horrible
Not my experience, have to say. I’ve always compared the unit with an iPhone - the router always wins.
You should check the frequency bands your Mobile provider is broadcasting and the one device supports. It supports a lot of bands and CA.
we have zte 5g mifi Mu5001and mu5002 on stock
Haven't seen the MU5002 yet - how does it differ from the 5001?