In reply to a post by buggerlugs:

What I mean is, if you've got a mobile that's a few years old, the likelihood of it providing a better signal and overall web using experience than a mobile router is such that it'd be far better to just leave it plugged in without a battery.

As with most things that use radio "it depends". Most people in built up areas can get fixed line broadband, which is more reliable and has more capacity. Those in rural areas are often happy to get any type of fast broadband.

Make me think is it possible to use a mobile instead of a 4g router?

Trying to think if it's possible to use an old mobile instead.

In reply to a post by Ewok:

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Heat/battery life/charging frequency.

Seen this mentioned a few times. When I charge my S8+ it produces zero heat once charged (actually once over 80% and it starts charging slower for the last 20) and will just trickle charge when needed after that. So heat and charging shouldn't be an issue as far as I can tell. It's not going to constantly charge when not needed, phones haven't done that for a long long time.

The heat will be generated by the phone itself when used as a hotspot. Many phones get very hot doing this. The phone battery if plugged in constantly will also (depending on how good the BMS is) generare a small amount of heat as the charger will end up taking it past the optimum voltage to sense it's completely full. It's not the heat that kills the battery in this instance it's the constant over voltage that will degrade the battery severely. The heat of the phone heating the battery up further will also further compound this.

It's just not a good idea to charge batteries up all the time. For decent brand phones (and batteries) the only impact should be a knackered battery. But, most people like to have caution. Look at the Note 7, it was the bulging of the battery ever so slightly that caused the battery to get pierced due to too tight a fit in the case. Yes, this wasn't just a problem when being charged, but as things expand when charging it certainly increased the risk with this model.

I meant the heat caused by it working as a modem, router and WAP to everything else . Also that drains the battery quite rapidly. Why do you think modem/routers have elaborate cooling vents that a phone doesn't?

For a while I varied between having it stand-alone and on charger only when necessary, connected to the USB port on my ASUS router so the phone was only acting as a modem (not tethering), which was the technically best solution but extremely inconvenient, and into a powered USB3 port on my laptop which was reasonably convenient while I was sitting there.

Edit: Maybe when plugged into the router it was the thing to that through the USB, I forget, but the router was definitely supplying everything else.

Edited by RobertoS (Sat 22-Feb-20 11:04:12)

You can plug most phones into a lot of routers with a USB connection and enable tethering in the settings. That means the phone passes the internet down the USB, and you can use a bigger router for better coverage around the home. I've used an iPhone on Vodafone with an GL.iNet AR750 to do this in on a customer site, but I also think many Asus and other makes of home router can do this. (most home routers think its a USB dongle).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/GL-iNet-GL-AR750-300Mbps-pr...

In reply to a post by gary333:

It's just not a good idea to charge batteries up all the time. For decent brand phones (and batteries) the only impact should be a knackered battery. But, most people like to have caution. Look at the Note 7, it was the bulging of the battery ever so slightly that caused the battery to get pierced due to too tight a fit in the case. Yes, this wasn't just a problem when being charged, but as things expand when charging it certainly increased the risk with this model.

Its a very good point, especially for something that would be left unattended and powered.

I believe my Netgear AirCard (Cat 12) and some other devices work without their battery fitted. However many mobile phones do not, as the designers never expected it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-AC810-100EUS-Broadb...

And at £250 is the Nighthawk M1 which is "gigabit LTE" compatible, similar to most phones. I don't know if this works without battery.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-MR1100-100EUS-Night...

Edited by jchamier (Sat 22-Feb-20 10:59:38)

Given current problems with B535/three it's an interesting question. Certainly my mobile (iPhone CS max) is noticeably quicker.

So what's the cheapest mobile that's got all the UK bands (inc. 32) , with 4x4 mimo and 5CA etc ? I'm guessing it's more than mid-range, so you're into prices like the Huawei 5G CPE Pro which does seem to have pretty much everything going -- but for a price (and the B818 is pretty good it seems for 4G). But we're in the £200-£400 range.