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Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot – World’s First Standards-Based Millimeter Wave Mobile 5G Device
The World’s First Millimeter Wave 5G Connection is here, thanks to AT&T! We’ve partnered up to deliver the Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot, the first standards-based mobile 5G network device in th...
While I like new devices and tech just as much (likely much more) than the average Joe, I just wish my current NIghthawk MR1100 would get more than 60-90Mbit DL and more than 5-15Mbit up.
My Phones (6s, XS Max, Galaxy S7 Edge) routinely get 160-200Mbit DL these days on AT&T in NJ/PA. UL on the XSM is terrible, but that's do to to it's amature antenna design (as is the poor reception compared to my 6s). Uploads on the 6S are about the same as the MR1100, and my Velocity 2 gets DOUBLE the upload speeds of either (usually 20-40Mbit UL).
5G is a marketing ploy/hoax, just like LAA. The range of the broadcast area is so small as to be completely useless. Additionally, on the MR1100, you have to turn off 5.8Ghz Wifi to get it (assuming you're in the 4 to 9 block area in which it's being broadcast) -- what a joke.
The Qualcomm X20 (or perhaps X50 depending on which marketing literature you read) in the MR1100 outclasses my 6S in every possible way. But yet this 4 year old phone runs circles around my MR1100.
Why doesn't anyone make a high quality hotspot that gets great reception, fast speeds, good battery life, and you can still charge it when it gets a little warm (27C)?
At least the 5G Nighthawk isn't a "silent upgrade" the way the Gen2 Band14 Nighthawk was.
The reason the phones get better speed on ANY carriers network is simple. They know from the IMEI and MAC address of the device exactly what it is and allow service accordingly. My S10+ can pull double what my MR1100 can pull in the same location. That CAN'T be by chance. AT&T (in my case) has to be limiting bandwidth depending on the device. 75 mbps is best download on my MR1100. My S10+ in the same location (my house indoors) gets double the download and about the same upload.
I tend to agree and see similar behavior with regard to my MR1100 and my iPhone XSM. But of course there is no "proof" of this.
Interestings, if you look at the MR1100 FCC filings, it's actually not approved for high level QAM (e.g. 256) nor for 4x4 MIMO. At least I've not found any of this info in the filings.
Clearly the MR1100 can perform well -- in Australia and Scandinavia. Of course each region has a different hardware build, different firmware, different regulatory approvals, and different carriers. So it's a bit apples and oranges.
But we all had so much hope for the MR1100, and it woefully underperforms its specs / potential irrespective of the cause(s). Very sad for $250 (was $199 when I got mine). No way in he-double hock sticks I'd ever shell out >$500 for the "5G" version. At the moment, 5G is just a big of a farse as LAA. Great if you live in the 1 to 2 square block radius it transmits over. But otherwhise completely useless.
Interesting. Just hope it's more successful than Netgears LTE/4G attempts.