12v 4g router

englishpremier · 11 Jul 2017 at 13:07

Can anyone recommend a good 4g router?

At the moment I'm using a Mikrotik groove ac, hooked up to a small USB portable router running OpenWRT. To be to use 4G I need to put my spare phone in hotspot mode. It isn't really sustainable 24/7 day in day out.

What I need is a 4G router, with wireless AC, WAN and LAN ports and the ability to use OpenVPN. All the better if it can run on 12v too.

Any suggestions?

Steveocee · 11 Jul 2017 at 13:44

Was going to say MikroTik hAP AC lite until I engaged my brain and read you're using hotspot from a phone. Would work great if you used a proper dongle (I think)

Orcvader · 11 Jul 2017 at 17:06

Not sure if it's possible with yours, but RouterOS seems to support 4G USB dongles (example guide here). So any Mikrotik router could work.

I've used the hAP AC lite as recommended above, and it has a USB port and does make a decent router/AP, but don't think it's weatherproof like the Groove.

Rroff · 11 Jul 2017 at 17:10

englishpremier said:
To be to use 4G I need to put my spare phone in hotspot mode. It isn't really sustainable 24/7 day in day out.

What is the issue with the sustainability? I've been using an old tablet (that has LTE) as a 4G router 24x7 connected to power if you aren't bothered about using the device for anything else in the future doesn't matter if the battery gets knackered (which probably shouldn't happen).

Caged · 11 Jul 2017 at 19:16

Peplink will cover you for those requirements, but you'll have to bend over for the privilege.

englishpremier · 11 Jul 2017 at 22:47

Rroff said:
What is the issue with the sustainability? I've been using an old tablet (that has LTE) as a 4G router 24x7 connected to power if you aren't bothered about using the device for anything else in the future doesn't matter if the battery gets knackered (which probably shouldn't happen).

Phone gets extremely hot, so not good on the battery, and I need the phone as a back up. Added to that, the software is never going to be as diverse as a proper router.

Caged said:
Peplink will cover you for those requirements, but you'll have to bend over for the privilege.

Yes I've seen the Transit Max. It's perfect but at over a grand is too pricey for now. I'd be paying for features that I would need/use. I presume it must have a range of competitors, but I've not found any.