First of all “the basics“. The minimum requirement is a 4G router. A 4G router is basically a WIFI router that allows you to insert a sim card and receive a data connection from your local cellular phone mast, a “4G WIFI router”. Much like a Mobile phone, you can easily switch network on a 4G router with sim slot by simply switching out the sim card for another providers.
As described above – these 4G WIFI routers will require a sim card from a network provider to work – you can find out more here or use the button at the bottom of the page for guidance on 4G/5G network selection. major providers in the UK include, EE, O2, Vodafone & Three
4G router connectionsPLUG AND PLAY Broadband KIT: As always you can skip all these steps and instead choose one of our ready setup “Plug & Play” router kits. If you would prefer to go it alone no problem, keep reading
Before you consider 4G WIFI/internet for your home or off grid use. The reality is that not all locations have adequate signal strength to provide suitable 4G internet speeds. Additionally your signal strength can vary significantly with different service providers at different locations. Having full knowledge of this will ensure you get the best possible speeds and reliability at your chosen location.
If when you run signal checks it stated “strong outdoors & poor indoors” you will also require a compatible 4G antenna kit. Weak signal stated as “unsuitable for broadband” may also be resolved with a suitable 4G antenna so please don’t be disheartened.
Even in strong signal areas, an external 4G antenna kit will always increase your 4g WIFI speed and reliability. Think of it in the same way as one of those old hooped aerials you had sitting on your TV vs plugging into to a mast antenna installed outside your home. No comparison right? This is exactly the same concept. The down shot is that 4G antenna kits obviously make your setup more expensive so if you are in a strong signal area you have a personal decision to make.
If you require a full signal survey to determine the best network and signal strength, we can provide this service for you below. This service provides a full study of each of the main UK service providers at your chosen location. Including mast locations, speed, reliability, and suggested 4G hardware selection that best match the results.
What about 5G off grid broadband?
4G Router ZTE 5G routerIf when you ran signal checks you had a strong 5G signal. You can also go with a 5G router option. 5G routers are still quite new to market, this means there are few models to choose from in comparison to 4G routers. 5G routers are also very expensive in comparison to that of 4G models. However they do offer extremely fast speeds in some cases 10x faster than that of 4G. When the infrastructure is in place to support across the country and hardware choice increases hence reduces in cost, this will undoubtedly be the way to go. However this is at least 3 to 5 years away in most rural areas.
Also of note is that 5G router are backwards compatible with 4G signal. Meaning they will run off both 4G and 5G signals. If you want to future proof and not have to update again in future at further cost its may be worth purchasing a 5G router now and have it automatically kick over to 5G when that signal becomes available.
For further information on 5G routers and setup, try our 5G home internet guide here
TOP TIP: There are a huge number of 4G routers on the market, many of which offer great value for money. For a good standard 4G router you can expect to pay between £90-300. Below we will describe the major points to keep in mind when choosing a router.
When choosing a 4G router you will want to ensure it is not locked to a single network. These routers can sometimes appear to be a great deal but will have the downside of locking you to single network. If the providers increase price or suddenly , have poor signal at your location you have no choice but to purchase another router or go with the price hike/poor signal and speeds. Unlocked routers or routers open to all networks will allow you to simply change the sim for that of one on the network of your choice. Below is a selection of our tried and proven 4G routers. Our go to router being the MR6400 as it offers great reliability and speed on a budget. It can be upgraded with external antennas if required
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Although not always needed, we would strongly suggest purchasing a 4G router that if required or wanted in the future, you can plug in an external 4G antenna kit to boost signal strength and reliability. The ports/sockets can vary in type, the most common being SMA. Don’t worry too much about the type of connection as they can all be converted via adapters very easily. Antenna ports/sockets are a must if you are in a poor signal area.
Please note that many routers will appear to have antennas that can unscrew and you can plug in your external antenna. However this is not always the case. Many routers look this way but in fact the antennas have a soldered connections direct to the circuit board. These antennas cannot be removed.
4G router antenna unscrewLets not make this too complicated. You may see routers advertised with a Cat4, Cat5, Cat6, Cat7 or Cat12 in their descriptions. There are other categories but these are quite rare on the mainstream market.
4G Router CategoriesBasically A cat4 router is the minimum standard you want and is the most common on the market. The cat5 offers up to double the download speeds as cat4 and increased maximum uplink speeds. This makes it slightly better for gaming or video conferencing than the Cat4. Cat8 routers offer up to 4X’s the max download speed of the Cat5. We’re not sure how much gain you will get out of anything higher than a Cat5 in the UK but in basic terms if it’s Cat4 or higher then you wont have any problems.
TOP TIP: In practice you are unlikely to achieve anything like the top download speeds but you will see a real term difference in performance between the categories.
So we are not going to say that you have to buy an expensive brand name router in order for it to work well. However there are some big names in the world of 4G routers that have proven track record for reliability and capability. If you don’t want to be disappointed we would recommend sticking with the big guns when selecting your router. These include but are not limited to. D-Link, TP-Link, Netgear, Teltonica and Tenda
its important to pick the right 4G router for your purpose. There are a few specific categories of routers. Home 4G routers, Industrial 4G routers, Mobile Hot spot 4g routers.
4G Home routers are designed to live in a stress free environment. sitting on a sideboard or shelf somewhere, plugged into a home plug socket. Some may have external antenna ports or removable antennas which allow us to plug external antennas into them where the normally installed antennas are not adequate or suitable. These routers can range in category – we would recommend a category 4 or above. They also tend to be the most affordable of the 4G routers.
Our go to 4G home router is the TP-link MR6400. This is an extremely affordable router that is really easy to setup but also extremely reliable. It also has removable antennas that can be swapped out for an external antenna if required.
You can purchase this in our store at a great competitive price or even find it at all major stores such as Amazon, Argos etc…
4G Industrial routers are designed for more robust use than that of Home 4G routers. They are designed for use in locations that could be vulnerable to fairly extreme conditions. This could be hot or cold environments, Humid conditions, or even areas where the router may be subject to bumps/rattling. These properties make these routers really great for use in vehicles such as motorhomes, campers, caravans, trucks, vans, boats etc… We find Teltonika provides the best routers in this sector.
Boosting WIFI Something we find great about industrial routers is that some can be used to boost WIFI signal – Such as free onsite WIFI and then only use the 4G data signal as a fall-back. This makes them ideal for caravans users, truck users..
Something we find great about industrial routers is that some can be used to boost WIFI signal – Such as free onsite WIFI and then only use the 4G data signal as a fall-back. This makes them ideal for caravans users, motorhomes, and truck users..
Our go too 4G industrial router is the Teltonika RUT240. This router is quite affordable and offers great features. It can be used to boost WIFI but only has 1 WIFI antenna. To boost external WIFI signals effectively we would recommend upgrading to a Teltonika 4G router with multiple WIFI antennas such as the RUT951.
These routers differ in that they come with their own battery. This means you can get out and about with your 4G hotspot and use it anywhere. For those wanting even more speed 5G hotspot routers are also available but come with a premium price tag. 4G Hotspot routers range in price from as little as £15 to the really top end routers at £400-500We would recommend somewhere in the middle of that range at about £150 and as usual we recommend sticking to the well known and trusted brands such as ZTE, D-link, Netgear and Tp-link. At the really low end you would likely be better off using the hotspot functionality on your phone as it likely has higher performance, however once we get past the £100 mark you should experience significant performance gain over that of using your phone.
Mobile Hotspot external antennas Some Mobile hotspots come with external antenna ports. This makes them really flexible for use in both indoors and outdoors in poor signal areas. This isn’t a common feature and something that adds to the premium pricing.
Some great additional features that are common on 4G routers these days and worth looking out for include, Ethernet ports, gigabit Ethernet ports, VoLP and 4x Mimo.
Ethernet ports allow you to connect a ethernet cable directly from your router to a device. The device could be your smart tv for example. Using the ethernet cable rather than the WiFi connection will increase speeds and reliability of connection to the device.
VOP allows you to plug a VOP enabled phone into your router. Think of this like plugging your old landline phone into the wall socket. It allows you to have a static phone at your location.
That’s it for router selection. If you also want to or need to purchase an Antenna kit then move to the next step (STEP4: Antenna selection) or skip to (Step5: Setup)
If the above seems a little to much to take in then we do have kits available which remove guess work for you. we have ready to go out the box kits. We have set the router up, run signal checks, provide direction to point your antenna(if required) and much more. simply plug the router in and you are good to go. check them out in our store.
OR If You don’t require an Antenna you can skip to Router Setup
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