Huawei B818(Vodafone GigaCube Cat19) LTE Router Review

In March 2019, Huawei supplied the new LTE WiFi Router B818 to Vodafone and the B818 router got a new name “Vodafone GigaCube Cat19” as the successor to the old model Vodafone GigaCube B528. Per the description from Vodafone, the Huawei B818 router could achieve download speeds up to 1.6Gigabits per second and upload speeds up to 150Mbps based on the LTE Category 19. It’s the fastest LTE router from Huawei now. For the Vodafone GigaCube Cat19, Huawei offer the model number B818-260.

HUAWEI B818 Router

Huawei B818 Specifications and Appearance

Although the Huawei B818 GigaCube Cat19 is the successor to the first generation GigaCube Huawei B528, the appearance of B818 looks more similar to the Huawei B618 Router. The Huawei B818 router is integrated with HiSilicon Balong V7R65 modem which supports LTE Cat19 with 256QAM, and up to 8 x 8 MIMO Antenna technology. As the sayings from Vodafone, the GigaCube Cat19 B818 supports speed up to 500Mbps, but theoretically with a suitably equipped LTE network, significantly higher speeds are possible.

HUAWEI B818 Router LED indicators

The Huawei B818 router WLAN works on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz and, in addition to the standard network, also enables a guest network. Thanks to 3 × 3 MIMO antenna technology, speeds of around 1.3 GBit/s can be reached via WLAN.

 

Huawei B818 Supported Frequency Bands

The Huawei B818-260 supports all the popular LTE frequency bands in Europe and Asia: Band 1, 3, 7, 8, 20, 28, 32, 38 and 42. For those who prefer to have it in MHz: 700, 800, 900, 1500, 1800, 2100 and 2600 MHz are supported for FDD-LTE, 2600 and 3500 MHz for TDD-LTE. The Huawei B818 is thus very well prepared for the future!

HUAWEI B818 Gigabit Ports

Huawei B818 Interfaces

The Huawei B818 has two RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports on the back. A LAN cable is already included. There is also a USB port and two TS-9 ports for an external LTE antenna. On the bottom, the micro-SIM card is inserted. Various LEDs indicate the operating status on the front.

 

The power consumption is according to Huawei at a maximum of 24 watts. A battery is not integrated in the Huawei B818 LTE router.

HUAWEI B818 IMEI and WiFi key word

Huawei B818 Price and Avaialability

Huawei B818 is now only available for Vodafone Contract, if you need the unlocked unit, you have to wait for more time. But it would be long. The Huawei B818 price in unlocked version would be more expensive than the locked one.

Huawei B315 4G LTE CPE Review

With the Huawei LTE CPE B310, a new 4G Router Huawei B315 is also now available with LTE Category 4 technology. We had introduced Huawei B310 router and today, we will have a review about Huawei B315 LTE CPE.

Huawei B315 LTE CPE Specifications:

Feature

Data

Manufacturer & Model: Huawei B315s-22
Technologies: LTE (4G), UMTS (3G) GSM (2G)
Frequencies: * LTE FDD: 800/900/1800/2100/2600 MHz* LTE TDD: 2600 MHz UMTS: 900/2100  MHz* GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
Maximum speeds: * LTE: 150 Mbit/s downlink, 50Mbit/s uplink* UMTS: 42.2 Mbit/s downlink, 5.76 Mbit/s uplink (when using DC-HSPA+)* GSM: 384 kbit/s (when using EDGE )
WIFI 802.11b/g/n, support up to 32 devices
Firmware: 21.300.07.00.00
Others: 4x RJ-45 for Gigabit Ethernet, RJ-11 for telephone connection

 

The Huawei B315 is packed in a simple cardboard box with power adapter, Ethernet cable and Quick Start Guide. The router itself is made entirely of matte-white plastic and having dimensions of 186 x 139 x 46 mm. Huawei B315 weights about 275 grams excluding the power adapter. LTE CPE B315 is designed trapezoidal, below it is significantly thicker than the top. Thus, the router could stand safely on the ground.

On the front, you can see the five LED indicators for power, wireless network connection status, Ethernet and reception signal. In addition, a small Huawei logo is below the LED indicators. On the top of the Huawei B315, there is power and WPS button. On the right side, the SIM card slot is covered by a cap. The CPE B315 use standard Mini SIM 2FF form factor, Micro and Nano SIM must go with adapter. All the other ports are listed on the back of the router. There are two connectors for external antennas, four RJ45 ports for Gigabit LAN connect, one RJ11 port for telephone and a USB 2.0 port for SD sharing.

 

Unlike the flagship model Huawei E5186, Huawei B315 could support peak download speed to 150mbps and upload speed to 50Mbps. The LTE Category 6 is not supported by B315. On UMTS network with DC-HSPA+ technology, B315 could achieve downlink speed to 42.2Mbps and uplink to 5.76mbps. And the B315 is also backward compatible with GSM and EDGE.

Huawei B315 has four Gigabit Ethernet ports, so user can enjoy the LTE speed at any time. Up to 32 devices could connect B315 at the same time and theoretically up to 300Mbps via 802.11b/g/n. Unfortunately, the router transmits only at the frequency range of 2.4GHz. According to Huawei, the wireless coverage is up to 250 meters, which is very good for an LTE router.

 

User can connect an analogue telephone via the RJ-11 connector, and easily make calls via the SIM card in the GSM or UMTS network. Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is not supported on Huawei B315. And the VoIP is possible in the Web interface, but you can’t find a corresponding menu item for configuration.

The configuration and control of Huawei B315 could be done through a browser web interface (IP: 192.168.8.1). In addition to set options on various topics, there is also the possibility to view statistics on data usage and online time or to deposit appropriate limits. There is also the ability to share data across the network through a connected USB stick or a USB hard drive. If desired, a configuration via Smartphone or Tablet App is possible.

 

The Huawei B315s-22 is a new LTE router for stationary use. The design is attractive and the interfaces are up to date. In daily use, the device has very good reception with convincing wireless coverage range. If you want to get a router with higher speed connection, then Huawei E5186 4G Router may be a good option.