NETGEARNighthawk Smart Wi-Fi Router, R6700 - AC1750 Wireless Speed Up to 1750 Mbps | Up to 1500 Sq Ft Coverage & 25 Devices | 4 x 1G Ethernet and 1 x 3.0 USB Ports | Armor Security

Consumer Cellular does not (yet) sell mobile hotspot units, but they can provide a sim for an unlocked unit -- with no guarantees, of course. We recently transferred service from Verizon, where we had several mobile hotspots running for our work-from home needs. We live in a rather remote area, but have good cellular coverage, and no cabled internet. The cellular networks have worked exceptionally well for us. CC usually uses AT&T or T-Mobile networks, so we had hopes for the Netgear device.We took a chance on this Netgear device when the Inseego Jetpack unit from Verizon crashed and burned 2 days after moving it over. Conspiracy theories aside, the Inseego unit was great, but gave us grief with the Consumer Cellular sim right off the bat. One Inseego unit is still working -- don't know why. But, the second Inseego unit is now ready for recycling.Got the Netgear unit within hours from Amazon, thankfully. Moved the CC sim to the unit, fired it up, allowed it to do a firmware update, and we're now off to the races. Everything is connecting well to the unit. It immediately found the proper APN for CC and I think it is working better than the old unit.We may yet have to upgrade the remaining Inseego unit - we'll see if it crashes. Although the Netgfear is a little pricey, its reliability, connection, and wifi coverage is excellent. We're back to work!Note we have not experienced the issues some others there have noted. We did not have to use Netgear's app to set things up; it was immediately accessible via our laptop browser with plenty of configuration options. The APN can be manually configured, if needed. So, we certainly have no complaints. Had this unit updated and running in minutes.

NETGEAR Nighthawk R6700-100NAS AC1750 Smart Dual Band Wi-Fi Gigabit Router1.5 year update:It's been more than a year since I bought this product. As mentioned earlier, I am totally satisfied by it's reliability. No issues.6 Month Update:It has been over 6 months since I bought and installed this amazing router. Here are my specs:1. Number of times I had to restart the router: 02. Number of times the internet was dropped: 03. Number of times the speed was down: 0This router has surprised me and keeps me extremely satisfied.3 Month Update:It has been over 3 months since I bought and installed this amazing router. Here are my specs:1. Number of times I had to restart the router: 4 timesReason: Twice because the modem had to get updated and once because the router firmware was updated.2. Number of times the internet was dropped: 0 times3. Number of times the speed was down: 0 timesIn conclusion, my purchase of this modem has been one of the wisest decision I have made. It is still going strong and I hope it continues that way. I plan on updating after another 3 months.I am from an electrical and computer engineering background. While I am certainly not an expert on networking, I am decent enough to get into the details such as advanced configuration of router.All these years, I was depending on various single band routers (TP-Link, Almond securfi etc). However, there was still these on going issues such as signal dropping, lack of coverage, decline in speed etc. Upon some research, I find that Netgear Nighthawk AC1750 router had among the highest reviews for dual band routers, in relative to other brands such as Asus or Linksys.So, I decided to give this a try and ensured that I buy an insurance from Square Trade, while ordering it over Amazon. Being a prime member, I got this product within a day. Hooking up the cables and setting up the SSID and passwords was a breeze. As several others have pointed out, simply follow the instructions that is given in the booklet that comes along with this product.While setting up the router, I recommend the following:1. Use the CAT 5e cable that comes along with the router to connect it with your modem.2. Hoping you have an android phone, use Wifi Analyzer to find out the channels that don't have much traffic and set that channel on your router.3. Ensure your router is away from other electronic devices and is placed atleast couple of feet above the ground.Since I have set up the router, I have been getting close to 90 MBPS, whenever I do a speedtest. My comcast package allows me 75 MBPS. A note, I did purchase the latest Arris SB6190 surfboard modem, that allows 16 bonded channel downstream.I personally believe, the beamforming technology in this router simply makes it superior to other brands, in that, it concentrates on communicating with only connected devices, rather than worrying out emitting the signal throughout the place. The router is above average in size and looks awesome.It's been over 10 days since I purchased this router, and I have never faced any issues that I had with my previous routers. The speed is consistent even during the peak hours. I am hoping this would be the router that I have been waiting all along, which doesn't require me to spend time on restarting or reconfiguring. I intend to post updates every 3 months, moving forward.Happy streaming!!!

I was expected that this Netgear Mobile Hotspot would be returned - due the fact that I live in a rural town with weak cell signal.In addition to that - I was buying a refurbished unit to save $$.It ended up working pretty well - and the signal was slightly better than the phone hotspot I had been using.I don’t see a big increase in signal “bars” but the data speed is better than I had on phone only.I was able to get all my phone calls and text messages which was not happening before using this hotspot.Once I bought the external Netgear antenna - the data was solid enough to hold video calls without dropping off.I would recommend this device - just keep in mind that the signal may not be the maximum strength.For comparison: on phone, at home, I average 1-2 mbps download speed and astronomically high latency.With this hotspot - I average 5-7 mbps /down. )After adding the external antenna i started getting 12-18 mbps down.