Best Router with Sim Card for Home, Gaming, and Business in the UK in 2022 | Buyer’s Guide & Comparison | 4G vs. 5G

This guide will tell you about the 4G routers' main types and features to look for when making a purchase. Best 4G routers with external antennas and a SIM card slot.

You will learn about the differences between 3G and 4G routers as well as the main distinctions between 4G and 5G routers.

Best 4G & 5G Routers with Sim Card Compared

Depending on where and how you will use your 4G router, you can choose one of the three types: a standard, a USB modem, or a MiFi option.

• Standard 4G routers resemble a traditional routers with the difference that they are made with a SIM slot. Such routers also feature Ethernet ports and provide stable connections. Compared to a 3G network, 4G is 500 times faster, more reliable, and delivers excellent coverage. It is an excellent option for watching HD mobile TV, gaming, and web conferencing. One of the major advantages of 4G LTE соnnесtiоn is that it can be ѕhаrеd to several dеviсеѕ, both WiFi and wirеd, as well as реriрhеrаlѕ. With the help of a 4G router, уоu can easily сrеаtе your mоbilе оffiсе almost anywhere.

You may go for a model like the TP-LINK AC1200 4G+ Cat6 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router, which is compatible with both 3G and 4G networks. Equipped with 2 external LTE antennas, it will give you a reliable wired connection. With this 300 Mbps router, you will download files in seconds, watch 4k movies without interruption, and enjoy online gaming.

• MiFi 4G routers, also known as mobile WiFi routers, are wireless devices. Like USB modems, they are ideal for those who need to use a router outside the house. But MiFi routers have the advantage of being able to connect to more than one device. The device works by tapping into 4G mobile phone networks and creating a wireless broadband cloud that can be shared between different gadgets, such as laptops, tablets, and gaming consoles.

  You can share your MiFi connections between multiple users, allowing small teams to stay connected easily no matter where they are. While being larger than a WiFi modem, the MiFi router is portable enough and can fit in a bag. Additionally, it is easy to set up, just insert your SIM card and turn the MiFi on. Usually, it takes a few seconds before your laptop or tablet picks up the signal. No software installation is required, which is a plus, too.

  One of the most popular models is the NETGEAR Nighthawk MR1100 Mobile Hotspot 4G Router with a data transfer rate of up to 1000 Mbps. The device offers category 16 LTE advanced connectivity and a max download speed of 1 Gbps. It features a long-lasting 5,040mAh rechargeable battery and a large 2.4-inch LCD screen. You can connect as many as 20 different devices to this router.

• 5G router with a sim slot. Introduced in 2019, the fifth generation of wireless technology, or 5G, has brought record-breaking new speeds to devices and significantly reduced latency for streaming and gaming.

  When compared with 4G, this technology offers much faster data connections and is less vulnerable to interference. On the other hand, 5 GHz WiFi frequency bands have a shorter range than 2 GHz. That is why we recommend dual-band routers like the new NETGEAR 5G Router With Sim Slot Unlocked MR5200 that can be set for both 5G and 4G.

  This high-performance router offers seven times faster speed than 4G devices and connects up to 32 devices simultaneously. The device provides up to 1.8Gbps WiFi speeds, allowing you to game, stream, and work better. With an awesome battery life of up to 13 hours, the NETGEAR 5G router will last the whole day on a charge. It supports mobile plans up to 1 Gbps. The device is made with one Gigabit Ethernet port, a USB Type-C port, and two TS-9 connectors. Additionally, the router is easy to manage as you can view your data usage and connection status in the NETGEAR mobile app.

• Portable Travel 4G Wi-Fi. The TP-Link M7350 4G LTE MiFi is ideal for travelers and anyone who wants to have their own private WiFi whilst on the go.

  Made with a powerful 2000 mAh battery, the device boasts 8 hours of battery life and allows you to share Wi-Fi with up to 10 devices at a time. The router supports the latest generation 4G FDD/TDD-LTE networks and features a screen displaying useful information such as battery life and signal strength. The TP-Link M7350 reaches a download speed of up to 150Mbps and an upload speed of up to 50Mbps.

• 4G USB dongles or 4G USB modems are plugged into your laptop or tablet for an Internet connection. Unlike the previous type, this one is very portable, and lightweight and the best choice to use on the go. For instance, the Mobile Wi-Fi Dongle weighs just 200 grams and is 6 cm long. With a 150 Mbps data transfer speed, this modem is made with an SD card slot, a USB interface, and a SIM card slot.

How to Choose the Best 4G Router: Upload Speeds, WiFi Standard, LAN Ports | 4G vs. 5G

With a variety of 4G routers available on the market, it is essential to pick one from a well-established brand. The manufacturer’s track record will give you an understanding of whether the product is well-made and complies with the advertisement's claims. However, to ensure that a 4G router meets the needs of the most demanded user, you should check the following features.

Download & Upload Speeds

The 4G routers have different speeds for uploading and downloading files. Based on this criterion, there are as many as approximately two dozen LTE categories, the most widespread being CAT4, CAT6, and CAT11. The latter can offer up to 600Mbps of download and 50Mbps of upload speeds.

If you are looking for the fastest possible router, go for the Huawei B818-263 which uses a Category-19 LTE Advanced Pro chipset. Note that in most cases, the speeds indicated in product descriptions are theoretical, meaning that they are typically slower in reality.

WiFi Standard

The best 4G routers generally support the 802.11ac or the 802.11ax WiFi standard. Both of them are backward-compatible and can work with older devices, but at the expense of speed, of course. At present, the majority of 4G routers support 802.11n and run on the 2.4GHz spectrum only. However, there are higher-speed models, too, that use both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.

If you need a massive throughput due to multiple devices being requiring the Internet connection — your laptop, smartphone, smart TV, gaming gear, camera, and more — the 802.11ax standard will be the best bet for you. It can simultaneously deliver several gigabits per second to numerous devices on a single channel, offering a huge boost in performance. Based on the 802.11ax standard, this ASUS RT-AX56U Wifi 6 AX1800 Dual-Band Router has an ultrafast Wi-Fi speed of up to 1800Mbps and uses cutting-edge OFDMA & MU-MIMO technology.

LAN Ports

Routers usually have at least one or, more commonly, four wired network ports for Ethernet cable connection. Cheaper options tend to have only a “Fast Ethernet” feature that allows for the transmission of no more than 100 megabits per second. The choice depends on the purpose of using a router.

Simply accessing the Internet is likely to be sufficient. However, if you plan to transfer files across different devices, you will need to invest in a router that comes with Gigabit ports. For instance, the TP-LINK AC1200 4G+ Router features fully gigabit Ethernet ports that will perfectly suit high-intensive wired devices.

Huawei Routers: 4G vs. 5G

Based on high-level technologies, Huawei equipment is high-capacity, reliable, and offers enhanced features. If you are looking for an advanced router, you have two options to choose from: the Huawei B818-263 with a 4G network module and the Huawei 5G CPE Pro 2 SmartHome Router.

Apart from the price, the main difference lies in two standards for wireless networks, 4G and 5G. The latter offers faster speeds, a lower latency, and higher bandwidth. To be precise, 5G is about 100 times faster, allowing you to download a movie in just 10 seconds. This is because 5G networks are based on a high-band spectrum, enabling you to transmit more data.

Both of these routers have an elegant design and will blend in with any home decor. The Huawei B818-263 model has download speeds of 1600Mbps and upload speeds of 50Mbps, whereas the Huawei 5G CPE Pro 2 can theoretically reach a download speed of 3.6 Gbps1.

The 5G model is dual-band and features the X-Shape Wi-Fi antenna for the utmost gaming experience. Built with a 30dB cooling fan, the router is noiseless and more comfortable to use. The 5G router allows you to connect a total of 128 devices on one network, while the B818-263 will let you connect up to 64 users.

Testing & Customers Reviews

We found reviews from real YouTube bloggers about the products in our article.

Outdoor Dadventure: "I was blown away using the same sim card with the same network, just changing the wi-fi device and getting substantially way way way faster connection speed. What I like even more about TP-LINK AC1200 4G+ is that it's not only usable for your kid's online classes but you can actually bring this along when you're planning to go on a trip going out of town. You can use this inside your car. You can power this through an inverter in your car. Or if you're going on a staycation, maybe in a hotel where they don't have a good internet connection or if you're someone like me that doesn't want to use public wi-fi or even hotel wi-fi for security reasons, this is a good option for you."

Curtis King: "I've been using 5G as my primary source of the Internet at home and I've been very impressed. This is the fastest connection I've ever had by quite a long way. I would highly recommend Huawei 5G CPE Pro if you're lucky enough to be covered at the moment. It's definitely not subtle. It's quite big, but you know it doesn't look out this place. It's not ridiculous. I'm quite really just disappointed with the build quality of this. The plastic feels super cheap and thin. It was probably rushed onto the market. It's one of the first 5G routers out there and quality may be compromised as a result. And you know what? Even if the build quality feels a little bit cheap that's okay because as long as it's quick and it's reliable then hopefully I shouldn't ever really need to interrupt with it.

So far reliability has been great. We have anywhere between three and ten devices connected to this at any one time and we have three people working from home in the house as well and so far in fact we haven't had a single disconnection any issue at all."

Amoeba Man: "I travel a lot globally for work and I use TP-Link M7350 as a Wi-Fi hotspot for all my mobile devices and other devices. I do like the form factor. It's small. It's pocketable. It's got decent battery life of over eight hours.. It's widely compatible with networks in other parts of the world and I haven't had any problems at all with that and the Wi-Fi speed is adequate. The Wi-Fi range is not brilliant. It's a low-powered device. You know really you want to be in the same room maybe in the next room. It's very easy to charge and the convenience of having a micro USB which is basically ubiquitous. Isn't everybody's got it now apart from Apple users? It's relatively cheap to buy in the UK. And the web UI works well and the mobile app works ok.

On the negative side, there's some stuff I don't like about it. The power button thing is more annoying than you think. Not being sure whether you switched it on or not, back up and down again to check whether you powered it up it is annoying. And the limit to 10 devices I think, is gonna be a prom for some people. Occasionally it locks up and needs rebooting. Is this worth it? If you like me and you travel solo around the world, pick up a SIM card at the airport, use data for a few days and then move on. You prefer your Wi-Fi dongle to be separate from your phone for the convenience of having it in one place and multiple devices maybe in a hotel room then I think it's okay."

Damn Good Reviews: "Recently we moved to a more rural area and the high-speed internet connection was not going to be ready for a few weeks and I work from home need high speed to upload and download a lot of big files and things like that even for doing videos and I had to find a really good solution. Netgear Nighthawk MR1100 was a great great solution for that time.

Now, if you're thinking all right well I want to do gaming things like that or want to have multiple people, can I do it? So probably if one person was on a time you could probably handle it. Now the signal that was sending out to the home was really not that great. So I would recommend taking this put an Ethernet cable into another router to cover the home. But don't expect really really fast speeds just throughout if you have multiple people. Now watching on my computer - no problem. Doing anything like Youtube or any other video-type things - really great. Was watching at full HD. No problems very little lag. Now for games. My son did play some XBOX stuff, and that was kind of laggy. So if you're gonna want to do that, just beware that you're gonna have some lag to it. But that's kind of expected."