My love for wireless devices and mobile WiFi ("MiFi") continues to grow. A buddy recently signed up for the Telkom Mobile SmartInternet 15+15GB bundle and got a E5776. I got to play with it. 
Picture credit: m.mobilen.mo
The device comes in a pretty ordinary box as boxes go, though the unit itself is quite distinctive. It's much heavier than the E533x models and bigger too. It has a lovely black finish to it with a big, shiny, silver power button. Very flashy indeed. I noticed the device ships with a battery intact, unlike the E533x models; I'm not sure how one changes the battery when the time comes. I didn't spend too much time with it so it may be a simple case of unscrewing the back cover.
The 1.45" TFT screen is quite useful but also quite dull. I suppose it can't get the touted 10 hours battery life with a super bright screen. Still, the screen is very useful because extra info as shown on the Huawei MiFi app is displayed on-screen. There are some additional external features: the WPS button; the external SIM card slot; the reset pinhole; the MicroSD slot and the external antenna port.
The device uses a 4G indicator and not LTE - quite a contentious issue amongst many manufacturers. I suppose one's speeds will be the same either way. The power plug and USB cable are the same as those provided with the E5331. My E5332 only came with a USB cable and no power plug.
I can't comment on performance since I've not tested the device in that department. I also can't vouch for the battery life though a 3000mAh battery (twice the size of the E5331) has to count for something. The WiFi range seems to be the same as my E5332 despite the higher specced 2*2 MIMO antennas. What is a bonus however, is that the device supports repeating! This looks to be an undocumented product feature and I tested it to work 100% with the Huawei WS322 Media Router. This is a huge plus but it bears mentioning that each WS322 added takes up one of the 10 WiFi client slots.
Picture credit: Electronics, Cars, Fashion, Collectables, Vouchers and More Online Shopping | eBay
Unfortunately the Huawei AF22 Cradle doesn't seem to be available on our shores, sadly: that would make for quite a funky display without an Apple logo.
Picture credit: www.4gltemall.com
I also did a bit of cross network testing as a lot of people are wondering if the TM E5776 works with Vodacom or MTN LTE. Sadly it does not. I tested using an Afrihost-MTN LTE SIM and while the network picked up and displayed a 4G indicator, I could not get a working data connection. Incidentally the TM version is a E5776s-601 and I have a hunch the MTN/Voda version will have a E5776s-22 model number.
All in all, this is the big daddy of all MiFi's.
Picture credit: m.mobilen.mo
The device comes in a pretty ordinary box as boxes go, though the unit itself is quite distinctive. It's much heavier than the E533x models and bigger too. It has a lovely black finish to it with a big, shiny, silver power button. Very flashy indeed. I noticed the device ships with a battery intact, unlike the E533x models; I'm not sure how one changes the battery when the time comes. I didn't spend too much time with it so it may be a simple case of unscrewing the back cover.
The 1.45" TFT screen is quite useful but also quite dull. I suppose it can't get the touted 10 hours battery life with a super bright screen. Still, the screen is very useful because extra info as shown on the Huawei MiFi app is displayed on-screen. There are some additional external features: the WPS button; the external SIM card slot; the reset pinhole; the MicroSD slot and the external antenna port.
The device uses a 4G indicator and not LTE - quite a contentious issue amongst many manufacturers. I suppose one's speeds will be the same either way. The power plug and USB cable are the same as those provided with the E5331. My E5332 only came with a USB cable and no power plug.
I can't comment on performance since I've not tested the device in that department. I also can't vouch for the battery life though a 3000mAh battery (twice the size of the E5331) has to count for something. The WiFi range seems to be the same as my E5332 despite the higher specced 2*2 MIMO antennas. What is a bonus however, is that the device supports repeating! This looks to be an undocumented product feature and I tested it to work 100% with the Huawei WS322 Media Router. This is a huge plus but it bears mentioning that each WS322 added takes up one of the 10 WiFi client slots.
Picture credit: Electronics, Cars, Fashion, Collectables, Vouchers and More Online Shopping | eBay
Unfortunately the Huawei AF22 Cradle doesn't seem to be available on our shores, sadly: that would make for quite a funky display without an Apple logo.
Picture credit: www.4gltemall.com
I also did a bit of cross network testing as a lot of people are wondering if the TM E5776 works with Vodacom or MTN LTE. Sadly it does not. I tested using an Afrihost-MTN LTE SIM and while the network picked up and displayed a 4G indicator, I could not get a working data connection. Incidentally the TM version is a E5776s-601 and I have a hunch the MTN/Voda version will have a E5776s-22 model number.
All in all, this is the big daddy of all MiFi's.
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