ZMI MiFi MF855

I don’t really need a mobile router that badly, but even so I still take one out now and then. I got a plan that’s decent enough, and I’ve been using it for a fair while.

The router I had before was a TP-Link TR761. It’s actually got a lot going on — a screen, indicator lights, all that — but here’s the thing… inside it’s basically an Android system…

Yeah. If you dig into its update firmware, you’ll find it’s really just a modded Android phone.

And since it’s an Android phone, that means stability isn’t great. Which is exactly how it turned out — it’d randomly refuse to connect all the time. I don’t use it much so I put up with it, but recently I realized this thing doesn’t even do 4G, only 3G. Figured I should replace it. I was going to get the new Huawei Niaowang, but 799 yuan is a tough pill to swallow. Then I looked at the ZMI MiFi people kept recommending, and aside from having no display and none of those useless TP-Link features, it seemed fine — signal has no real complaints, and it supports web management so you don’t have to install that garbage Chinese ZMI router app. So I grabbed it cheap. JD even had it on sale, 170 yuan.

Worth noting: this thing takes the smaller SIM card. Not the smallest Nano SIM, though.

Once you put it in it’s tri-network by default. If you run into problems, try setting it to 3G preferred first; if that doesn’t work, check whether you’re behind on your bill.

Using it feels no different from that old TP-Link thing, though it does seem to drop connections less. Could be an illusion, of course.

But the most important part: it does 4G now.