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If you’re looking for a home broadband solution then you’re not limited to wired options – you could also go for 4G home broadband, which has a number of advantages, not least being how quick and easy it is to get set up.
But the bigger decision then is which 4G router to go with. We’re here to help – below we’ll run you through the very best 4G routers available on UK networks, along with other options you might want to consider.
And if you’re lucky enough to have a 5G signal at home then we’ve got you covered there too, with a section on 5G home broadband routers further down.
The best 4G routers
The following routers are the best 4G ones available from any network in our opinion. That said, they won’t necessarily suit everyone, so we've also included some 5G routers for those looking for even better performance.
Three 4G Hub
The Three 4G Hub (a rebranded ZTE MF286D) is available on Three and it’s one of the very best 4G routers you can get.
It’s a Cat 12/13 device, with download speeds of up to 600Mbps and upload speeds of up to 150Mbps. But as with any 4G device your actual speeds will depend more on your network and coverage, and are unlikely to be that high.
Still, it’s certainly one of the fastest 4G routers, and it also benefits from a generous four Ethernet ports for wired connections (recommended for gaming), plus two antenna sockets and support for up to 64 connected devices at once, which is more than almost any home should need. In all the Three 4G Hub is one of the most full-featured 4G routers you’ll find.
4GEE Home Router 2
The 4GEE Home Router 2 is offered on EE and while it isn’t quite as good as the Three 4G Hub, it comes very close.
For a start, it offers 4G download speeds of up to 300Mbps and upload speeds of up to 100Mbps. Those speeds come with the same caveats that while the device is capable of them, you’ll be limited based on EE’s network and coverage.
That said, EE’s 4G network is typically faster than rivals anyway, so there’s a good chance it will actually get faster than the 4G Hub on Three, despite that device’s theoretically higher top speed – though this will depend on coverage in your home.
The 4GEE Home Router 2 also supports up to 64 simultaneous connections and has two SMA antenna sockets for connecting an external antenna to boost performance, but one other area where it doesn’t quite match the Three 4G Hub is in the number of Ethernet ports (recommended for gaming) it has, namely two. For most people that won’t matter, but it means we’d say the Three 4G Hub is marginally better.
TP-Link Archer MR600 V2 (4G National Broadband)
Like most router names, the TP-Link Archer MR600 V2 is a mouthful, but it’s the one that 4G National Broadband use, so it’s notable for that reason, as they’re a key supplier of 4G broadband in rural areas. That alone wouldn’t get it place in this list though – it also has to be good, and luckily it is.
The TP-Link Archer MR600 V2 is a Cat 6 device offering data speeds of up to 300Mbps (though as ever real world speeds will depend on your network and location), along with the ability to get up to 64 devices online at once.
It comes with two detachable 4G antennas, supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, and has four Ethernet ports, so there’s plenty of scope to plug devices in for a wired connection to the router. It’s also compatible with TP-Link’s OneMesh products, which means you can use it as part of a mesh network if you buy into the manufacturer’s ecosystem.
Other options
The following 4G routers aren’t generally as good as the ones above, but they’re still worth considering if they fit your requirements.
Vodafone GigaCube
The Vodafone GigaCube is Vodafone’s 4G router and it’s one of the more basic options, but still worth looking into if you specifically want to be on Vodafone.
It has Cat 6 speeds, meaning download speeds of potentially up to 300Mbps (though again this will vary based on the network and coverage), which is a match for some rivals, but with slower upload speeds of up to 50Mbps. It has two TS9 antenna sockets, but just one Ethernet port, and only the ability to get up to 20 devices online at once.
In most homes none of this will really be an issue, but if you have a lot of connected devices or need multiple wired connections, it’s worth noting the limitations here.
The best 5G routers
If you have 5G in your home or are simply planning ahead for when you do, then it’s definitely worth considering a 5G router rather than a 4G one. And choosing one should be simple, since at the time of writing most 5G routers are the same.
There’s the 5G Vodafone GigaCube and Three’s 5G Hub, both of which are actually just rebranded versions of the Huawei 5G CPE Pro.
This is an impressive device, capable of 5G speeds that are far higher than any you’re currently going to get in the real world – it theoretically supports download speeds of up to 2,330Mbps, so even once the UK’s 5G networks improve, this thing will be able to keep up, and even now it’s potentially faster than most fibre broadband services.
Actual speeds will depend on the network and coverage, but average speeds are likely to be in the 100-250Mbps range at the time of writing based on various independent tests of the UK’s 5G networks, with peak speeds potentially exceeding 1Gbps. Latency is also lower on 5G, at around 20-30ms compared to around 35-40ms on 4G – again, based on independent tests.
The Huawei 5G CPE Pro can also get up to 64 devices online at once, plus it has two Gigabit ethernet ports for wired connections.
