LTE advanced is becoming the mainstream of the LTE evolvement. More and more people are considering upgrading their LTE gadgets to LTE advanced or LTE-A Pro. Huawei E5787 and Netgear Aircard 815s are two hot LTE-A mobile hotspots. If you want to buy one from the two 4G LTE router, you may ask: what’s the difference between Huawei E5787 and Netgear Aircard 815s? Which one is better to use? We will compare the Huawei E5787 with Netgear 815s from the appearance, specs and other features to find the answers for you.
Aircard 815S VS Huawei E5787 Appearance and interfaces
Huawei E5787 is the first Huawei mobile WiFi with a touchscreen, which is very useful to operate the settings for users. There is the only logo under the display. The home button is on the top edge side while the USB port and connectors for the external antenna are located at the opposite side. The antenna connectors are located together and covered by a small cap. The back cover could be opened and the battery could be removed. There is Micro SIM slot under the battery, but no Micro SD card slot.
The Netgear Aircard 815s is now only available for US network provider AT&T and got a new name of AT&T Unite Explore. The highlight feature is the Unite Explore is of rugged design which is water and dust proof for outdoor use. There is also a touchscreen on the front to show the internet connection status. The AT&T logo is on the left side of the screen while the Home and back buttons are on the right side. Like Huawei E5787, the home button of ATT Unite Explore is also on the top edge while the USB port and antenna connectors are on the opposite side. The connector of both routers is the TS-9 type. The difference is the Aircard 815s antenna connectors are located at the two sides of the USB port. The back cover and battery could also be removed. And the Micro SIM card slot is available.
Huawei E5787 VS Netgear AC815S Specifications
From the appearance and interfaces, we can see the AT&T Unite Explore 815S and Huawei E5787 are very similar. Only the rugged design of Unite Explore are special and can be cleared distinguished from other hotspots. Now let’s have a look at the Huawei E5787 specs and AT&T Unite Explore specs for more comparison:
| Model | AT&T Unite Explore 815S | Huawei E5787 |
| Product type | LTE Mobile Hotspot | LTE Mobile Hotspot |
| Category | LTE Cat.9 | LTE Cat.6 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm MDM9240 | HiSilicon LTE Cat6 Chipset (Cortex A9 Processor) |
| Data rates | DL 450Mbps/UL 100Mbps | DL 300Mbps/UL 50Mbps |
| Supported 4G LTE frequency bands | B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B7, B12, B17, B29, B30 | * Huawei E5787s-33a: Band 1/3/5/7/8/20 * Huawei E5787Ph-67a: Band 1/3/5/7/8/28 |
| WLAN | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band 2.4GHz & 5GHz | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band 2.4GHz & 5GHz |
| Max support users | 15 users | 10 users |
| MIMO | 2 x 2 MIMO | 2 X 2 MIMO |
| Connector for external antenna | Two, TS-9 jacks | Two, TS-9 jacks |
| Buy Antenna | AT&T Unite Explore External Antenna | Huawei E5787 external Antenna |
| App management | Netgear Aircard APP | Huawei Hilink APP |
| SIM type | Micro SIM | Micro SIM |
| Battery | 4340 mAh | 3000mAh |
| Dimensions | 112 x 68.6 x 15.45mm | 109.00 x 58.00 x 7.50mm |
| Ethernet Port | No | No |
| Datasheet download | AT&T Unite Explore 815s Datasheet | Huawei E5787 Datasheet |
| User Manual | AT&T Unite Explore Manual | Huawei E5787 Manual |
| Other features | 3 band CA | 2 band CA |
| Reviews | AT&T unite explore review | Huawei E5787 Review |
| Price | 349.00USD | 269.00USD |
Summary
From the specs table, we can the ATT Unite Explore is more advanced than Huawei E5787. With Qualcomm MDM9240 chipset and LTE Cat.9, AT&T Unite Explore could achieve download speed up to 450Mbps and upload speed to 50Mbps. The Huawei E5787 could support peak speed to 300Mbps with the support of LTE Category 6. The Netgear Aircard 815s supports more LTE frequency bands, but mainly for American areas. But it can also work in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia on the band 3 and band 7. The Huawei E5787 two variant models cover the LTE bands mainly for Australia, Asia, and Europe. So the unlocked AT&T Unite Explore could be used more widely than Huawei E5787 unlocked.
Regarding the WLAN features, the AT&T Unite Explore supports up to 15 users while Huawei E5787 supports 10 WiFi users. The AT&T 815s could support 3 band carrier aggregations while E5787 supports 2 band carrier aggregations. And Aircard 815s has a larger battery of 4340mAh while Huawei E5787 is configured with 3000mAh battery. The Unite Explore AC815s can charge other devices like a mobile power bank but Huawei E5787 doesn’t have this function. In summary, the AT&T Unite Explore AC815s is more advanced and better than Huawei E5787. However, the Aircard 815s price is higher than Huawei E5787 price. If you want an advanced LTE hotspot and don’t care about the price, the unlocked AT&T Unite Explore would be the right one. But if you need a budget one, the Huawei E5787 should be considered.