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Forum Discussion
Nighthawk MR100 battery life and dual-band wireless
The user manual and tech specifications for the Nighthawk M1 (MR1100) show "all day and night" battery life. My organization is looking to upgrade from older AirCard 781S models and we're trying to determine if there's an improvement in battery life. It looks like the newer Nighthawk has a larger battery, but may require power power.
Second, a battery life question related to dual-band wireless. The user manual mentions there will be reduced battery life when this feature is used. If it's enabled but client devices are only connecting using one band (2.4GHz or 5GHz), is the difference in battery life negligible until both bands and wireless radios in use?
4 Replies
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Hi Eric_H,
Let's see. I'm using 5.8Ghz, 40Mhz, Long with a 2min standby on the Ethernet connection, and a 1 hour standby on Wifi. When my two kids are hitting hard with their iPads (2017 versions w/2x2 AC -- each streaming shows and online gaming) I can easily get 8-12+ hours with some charge (usually 25-40%) still remaining on our MR1100.
In previous versions of the firmware, dual band wifi had stability issues. Some data suggested the battery / included charger couldn'd hack the dual band power demands. To be honest, I moved to 5Ghz only and haven't looked back. Very few 2.4Ghz clients these days. It could be that this stability issues is resolved -- the current release of firmware is much better in general. But I haven't confirmed it. I know this doesn't really answer your question.
FYI clients can also connect via USB (which will also charge the device simultaneously) and you can also use the hotspot plugged in (QC2 or QC3 recommended -- not included) with no battery at all.
It's most likely a limitation of AT&T's network, but I've not really gotten very remarkable speeds from my MR1100 in the NJ/PA area. Typically 30-60Mbit down, and 5-15Mbit up. Peak so far has been 90-110Mbit down. In almost every circumstance my iPhone 6S is faster. Though, I am impressed that the MR1100 seems to get "as good of a speed as it is going to get" with only 2 or 3 bars.
Thanks for the feedback. I should have clarified "battery life" as meaning run time, although I did see in the user's manual the device is designed to run plugged in all the time without overcharging. That's good to know it shouldn't degrade the battery if left plugged in when possible to reduce the number of charge cycles.
My concern with using the dual-band wireless was primarily if it could be left enabled and wouldn't have much impact on how long the device would last on battery power if connected client devices were only using one band. It's nice to hear the firmware is a little more stable now.
In testing with AT&T's network on the east coast I've also seen about 30-50 Mbps download speeds, which is usually very close to an iPhone 6S native speed tested at the same time and same location. The transmit/receive signal strength and antenna design do appear to be very good. Compared to an older AT&T Netgear AirCard 781S, the Nighthawk MR1100 seems to have about 25-30% faster download speeds. I'm assuming that might from the new Band 14 support (700 MHz) and 4-band carrier aggregation feature I don't think the older hotspots featured.
Hi Eric_H,
I easily get 8-12+ hours of battery life (completely wireless) with room to spare. I think the longest I got out of it was ~two business days of moderate usage. Of course, battery life will depend on amount of data downloaded / uploaded during the time period, tower distance and signal strength, and temperature.
I also have a Velocity 2, which I bought around the same time. Slightly slower, and only one Wifi band at a time (2.4 OR 5.8) but historically has been much more stable, and has a touch screen. Less battery life -- probably only 6-10 hours. but was half the price.
-Jonathan