T-Mobile 4G Mobile Hotspot (ZTE)...just picked it up

[colnago]

Got it working at my new jobsite, where I get 3-5 out of 5 bars (~ -95dBm) signal with my Motorola Defy. The mifi is smaller than my Defy (disappointing...was hoping for a large'ish device for decent antennae), and only shows about 2/3 out of 4 bars of "4G" signal. The dBm signal is actually fluctuating between -82 and -95dBm, so reception is slightly better than the Defy.

FWIW, the Defy works on AT&T's 3G and gets about 2 bars and 15dBm better HSPA signal on AT&T, than the AT&T Inspire 4G. Reception is on par with my other Moto/AT&T devices which pretty much live on "full bars" in my state. That said, the ZTE Mifi is pulling a decent signal in my "problematic" building (T-Mo has best signal, with new tower only 2 Mi away, and "all other" carriers struggle to get 1-2 bars while inside), and I'm averaging between 3-4Mbs down, and .6-1.9Mbs up. To be fair, one of the issues here is that the building is in a bit of a mini valley on a main road. I'll test again tonight at home where my Defy gets full bars and~ -60 dBm signal.

*Edit...The management interface is pretty nice...has all the basics, and status fields. Also allows you to "text" from the web based interface. I was able to stream an HD channel from my sling adapter, to my laptop at 4Mbs+, where tethering to my phone via PDANet and Easy Tether would drop after a minute or two.

 

[colnago]

My bad...the mifi's signal indicator goes to "5" bars, not "4".

At home, the I'm seeing seeing signal strength at -53dBm to -59dBm, and the full 5-bars. However I'm only able to get 2-4Mbs, again on www.speakeasy.net/speedtest

I was also only able to do the same outside in the parking lot at work, where I got "full bars". Despite the mifi saying "4G" everywhere it has signal, I still cannot break 6Mbs, which I hit surprisingly while inside at work. I'll try a known area where I hit 7.5Mbs not far from home. Hitting the advertised 21Mbs somewhere would be ideal though.

So I guess the moral to this story is that if you pick this device up, don't be discouraged by the low number of bars. The battery is lasting longer than the stated 4 hours, as it seems to go idle or sleep. I left it on in the car, with nothing connected, and still have charge after using it most of the day.