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Optus Huawei E5577 4G Modem $29, Telstra 4GX Wi-Fi Modem $29.50 @ Australia Post

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For those looking for a cheap 4G modem, Australia Post has a couple on special until 23 December.

They have the Optus Huawei E5577 for $29 with 14GB of data, and the Telstra 4GX ZTE MF910V Wi-Fi Modem with 12GB of data for $29.50 (both normally $59).

They're CAT4, meaning they don't have carrier aggregation. They can still manage up to 150/50 speeds though.

I would presume both are locked to their respective carriers.

Specs:
https://offer.optus.com.au/shop/prepaid-device/wifi-e5577?SI…
http://www.ztemobiles.com.au/MF910V.htm

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    • I did this and use the Huawei b525. Range is good but I sometimes suffer drop outs, hard to tell if it's the router it optus.

    • +2

      If you did what I did and got the Samsung galaxy tab s4, it's actually got a fast cat16 modem (up to 1000mbps on 4g), just make sure you switch the hotspot to 5ghz band to get 433mbps connections to the tablet, otherwise you're capped at 65mbps on the 2.4ghz band.

      • Im getting an average of 130mbps with optus sim in a netgear nighthawk m1 connected to a google wifi mesh router setup.

        • I considered getting the M1 but it missed out on the 2300mhz band that Optus uses. Gonna wait for the 5g modems to start rolling out before I ditch my ac800s

          • @DangerNoodle: I read somwewhere 2300mhz was for optus vivid wireless only so thought i would give the m1 a go. So glad i did as the speeds are amazing.

            • @Shanp: 2300mhz is their main band for 4g from my experience. I'm using the Netgear ac800s docked in the smart cradle and I get 224mbps download speeds in Off-Peak and 120mbps download speeds during peak. It does depend on the area though as some areas will have more bandwidth available than others. I moved into an area where there weren't enough ports available at the exchange and NBN is still a ways off, no regrets with 4g here.

        • where's the best place to pick up an M1 unlocked for Optus? I'm looking for a similar setup to you. Cheers mate

          • +2

            @Chippy47: All the Netgear nighthawks M1 will work with any carrier. You need to set the APN to internet. On whirlpool people have tested Optus and Vodafone Sims and they work. You do miss out on the 2300mhz band from Optus and the 850mhz band from Vodafone you the speed can be lower compared to phones/tablets with cat 16 modems and full frequency ranges.

            If you don't desperately need the modem now, I would wait a few months. Netgear just announced the M5 fusion, pretty much the same as the M1 nighthawk except it uses an upgraded Snapdragon chipset with a 5g modem. More future proof than the M1.

          • +1

            @Chippy47: Got mine on gumtree

  • pardon my ignorance, is this device for Data SIMs only or can I use a usual phone SIM?

    • You can use both

  • +2

    people might also want to consider which has replaceable battery ….

    • yeah that too! Telstra don't have replaceable battery, but the Optus one might have it

      • anyone know if these can be plugged into a USB charger on mains power and run indefinitely?

  • Why do people care so much about 5ghz? I’m curious… 2.4ghz has been fine for portable hotspot use

    • +1

      2.4 has only 3 non overlapping channels while 5 GHz has around 20. Much higher chance of interference on 2.4GHz.

  • Which ones of these would be best to stick a 99 cent Kogan sim into?

  • so does anyone have latest feedback if the Optus modem on sale is unlocked to non-Optus SIMs?

    • +1

      This Optus modem is locked to Optus network. You cannot use other SIMs such as Telstra, Vodafone, etc. with this Optus modem.

      • Yes locked to optus.
        After 12month continuously use or reached $100 of recharge ,free to have unlock code.

    • Tried my luck after seeing victrix's comment below. Requested for unlocking code from optus via this link https://secure-unlock.com.au/ou/instructions , received within a few days and successfully unlocked the modem tonight.

      • I tried it, entered IMEI and other details, and got error "This mobile device is not a locked Optus prepaid mobile device". Did I miss something?

        • +1

          I think I got the same message. I didn't read it all. They sent the unlock code within 2 days. Good luck.

  • I went to the Post Office for the Telstra 4GX modem and they told me unfortunately they are no longer available and that Telstra has recalled them.

  • For what it's worth - I bought the E5577 and have plugged it in via USB to an older router (TP-Link WDR4300) that's running Gargoyle.

    I selected Hilink Modem in the Gargoyle WAn settings settings, and now I have the WDR4300 dishing out IP addresses.

    Haven't looked into what happening behind the scenes, so not sure if I'm double-natted, but everything seems to be going on swimmingly.

  • i have no idea about the above technical conversations but please help:

    I want to use any random cheap sim cards, whatever that's on sale for my home internet browsing. I want to get a device like these instead of using my phone as a hotspot. will either of these work for the standard sims that go on sale every now and then? (boost, kogan, lebara, amaysim, optus, vodaphone etc)

    thanks

    • They're both locked to the carrier mentioned (Optus/Telstra) and so will only work with those two. Supposedly; you can get unlock codes off ebay for about $5 which will allow you to use them with any carrier sim.

      • Thanks! I bought the Telstra one, haven’t unlocked it yet but it works for Boost SIM card!

        • Boost works off the telstra network. Good to know its not locked to that.

  • I'm having cable outages in my area at the moment. No clue how long its gonna take to get fixed. Telstra Cable.
    If i buy the telstra 4gx modem and chuck in a telstra sim, can i get telstra to cut data from my cable account as normal while it gets fixed? Someone knowledgable please save meeeeee……

    • Call them and ask?

  • +1

    I bought this and then did Optus online chat and asked them for the unlock code last Friday. Today I just got sent the code via SMS. Try it.

    • Worked for me too. Asked for a code over the weekend, received it via sms today.

    • Thanks for this. I bought mine at Woolies. Tried the chat but they could only tell me it would cost me $80. But one of them told me to try the unlock site. It said something on the lines that the device couldn't be located in the database.

      Got the text with unlock code today and successfully unlocked now.

  • Anyone knows of any ebay seller that offers unlocking code for the Optus E5577? I must be using incorrect search terms…

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