Tag: ZTE MC801A

ZTE MC801A 5G Indoor CPE Review

Following the first generation 5G router ZTE MC801, ZTE MC801A is a compact and powerful 2nd generation 5G router that lets you easily connect a high-speed connection to your devices wirelessly or with high-speed Ethernet connectors. ZTE MC801A is based on Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 chipset, which has an adequate reserve of computing power and a special structural design and core parts help keeping power consumption low, allowing for stable operation. In addition, specially designed Chimney Venting provides supreme dissipate heat efficiency. Fan-less design brings quiet environment

 

ZTE MC801A supports both NSA and SA 5G networks and the router is compatible with 4G and 5G mainstream standards. The ZTE 5G CPE enables consumers to enjoy the advantages of ultra-fast 5G networks and rich 5G services and advantages, such as less congestion, reduced video buffering, continuous HD video streaming and more consistent connectivity.

 

And it supports the latest WiFi 6 standard, i.e…802.11ax on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. So users can fully enjoy the highest available data transmission rate for wireless connected devices. In this new ZTE 5G WiFi router, better antenna design supported by ZTE “Smart ANT” algorithm is adopted, which allows the 5G CPE to choose better signals independently.

 

ZTE MC801A CPE is easily configurable via a web browser from any computer. For advanced users, a wide range of network functions is provided, allowing for any configuration of the device for home and business applications. Users can also manage the router via ZTElink APP, which can be download through app market from Android & Ios.

Below are the details specifications of ZTE MC801A 5G Indoor CPE for reference:

 

  • Chipset: Qualcomm® 5G SDX55M
  • CPU: CPU (cores): Cortex A7 up to 1.4GHz
  • sub6G: n1/n3/n5/n7/n8/n40/n78/n79
  • LTE FDD: B1/B3/B7/B8
  • LTE TDD: B40
  • UMTS: B1/B2/B5/B8
  • 5G Speeds: DL 3.8 Gbit/s and UL 542 Mbit/s
  • 4G Speeds: DL 2.4 Gbit/s and UL 316 Mbit/s
  • Two connectors for external antenna
  • Wi-Fi/WLAN: IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax
  • Support maximum up to 30 WiFi-enabled devices
  • SIM card: NANO-SIM
  • Size: 182 x 124 x 70mm
  • Weight: 632g
  • Power Supply: DC 12V / 1.5A
  • Interface: RJ45 Port x2, RJ11 VoLTE Port x1
  • What’s included:
    • ZTE MC801A CPE x 1
    • Power Adapter x 1
    • Quick Guide x 1
    • Ethernet Cable x1

ZTE MC801 VS Huawei 5G CPE Pro

As the first 5G WiFi router, Huawei 5G CPE Pro is now being well-known by many customers worldwide and it has been available for a few months. As the competitor to Huawei, ZTE is also one of the important 5G vendors in the world and its new 5G router ZTE MC801 is available recently. For many users, they wonder which one is better between ZTE MC801 and Huawei 5G CPE Pro? And what’s the difference between Huawei 5G CPE Pro and ZTE MC801? Today, we will compare the two 5G wireless routers to provide some clue for the advantage and disadvantage from the two Chinese 5G vendors.

ZTE MC801 VS Huawei 5G CPE Pro Appearance Difference

From the ZTE MC801 review and Huawei 5G CPE Pro review, you may get some knowledge about the two routers. They both have cool and modern design. Below the images will show the design difference. The Huawei 5G CPE Pro looks similar to its predecessor model Huawei B618 4G Router. ZTE MC801 Router adopts the runway-type streamline design, which won iF Design Award 2019. The design looks really cool.

On front of the routers, they both have some LED indicators to show the connection status. Huawei 5G CPE Pro show the 5G, 4G and WiFi status with a button for Hilink while ZTE 5G Router MC801 shows the status of Network, WiFi, SIM, and Power. On the back, the Huawei 5G CPE Pro (H112-372) has two LAN ports(one also for WAN), one power button, two connectors for external antenna. The ZTE 5G CPE has two LAN ports, one USB Type C port and one WPS button. Unlike the Huawei 5G CPE Pro and the predecessor models such as ZTE MF275R, there is no connector for external antenna. So if you are located at somewhere with weak signal, ZTE MC801 may not be a good option because it can’t provide the possibility to connect external 4G or 5G antennas.

The two 5G WiFi CPEs both use NANO SIM cards. And the SIM card slots are located at the bottom of the router with the reset button. At the side of the SIM Card slot, the model number, IMEI number, WLAN name/SSID, WiFi key and IP log in address are listed. The difference is that ZTE MC801 tells the two WLAN SSID names for 2.4GHz and 5GHz, and ZTE MC801 tells the IP log in password (not admin as 4G WiFi routers). Huawei 5G CPE Pro don’t tell the IP log in password because it will be same as the WiFi connection password, which needs to be set up by the users. At the beginning, the WLAN network of the Huawei 5G CPE is open.

Huawei 5G CPE Pro VS ZTE MC801 Specifications

We summarized the specifications for Huawei 5G CPE Pro and ZTE MC801 in the table for your reference.

 

Model Huawei 5G CPE Pro ZTE MC801
Product type 5G WiFi Router 5G WiFi Router
5G Network Mode NSA/SA NSA
Chipset Balong 5000 Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 + IPQ8072 + SM8150
 Standard 3GPP Release 15 3GPP Release 15
5G Peak Data rates DL 2.33Gbps,UL 1.25Gbps DL 2.22Gbps, UL 211Mbps
4G Peak Data rates DL 1.6Gbps, UL 150Mbps DL 2Gbps/UL 211Mbps
Variant model H112-370 and H112-372 ZTE MC801A
Supported 5G LTE frequency bands * Huawei H112-372: n41/n77/n78/n79
* Huawei H112-370: n78		 ZTE MC801: n41/n77/n78/n79
Supported 4G LTE frequency bands * Huawei H112-372:  B1/3/5/7/8/18/19/20/28/32/34/38/39/40/41/42/43
* Huawei H112-370: B1/3/5/7/8/18/19/20/28/32/34/38/39/40/41/42/43		 ZTE MC801: 600MHz~3.8GHz
WLAN 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax(WiFi 6), dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax(WiFi 6), dual-band
Max supported users ? 128 users
MIMO 4 X 4 MIMO 4 X 4 MIMO
Antenna Two, TS-9 connectors N/A
Buy Antenna Huawei 5G CPE Pro External Antenna N/A
App management Huawei SmartHome App N/A
SIM Size NANO SIM NANO SIM
Battery No No
Dimensions 99 × 107 × 215mm 225 x 154.5 x 87 mm
Interfaces * 1 x power adapter port
* 1 x WAN / LAN GE port
* 1 x LAN GE port
* 1 x telephone port(RJ11)(depends)
* Two external LTE antenna ports (TS-9 type)
* One SIM card slot		 * 1 x power adapter port
* 2 x LAN GE port
* 1 x USB type C port
* One SIM card slot
Datasheet Huawei 5G CPE Pro Datasheet(PDF) ZTE MC801 Datasheet(PDF)
User Manual Huawei 5G CPE Pro User Manual(PDF) ZTE MC801 User Manual(PDF)
Other features  firewall, PIN protection, MAC address filtering, Wi-Fi encryption authentication, VPN tunnel / VPN penetration, IP penetration, IPv6 and IPv6 / IPv4 dual stack, multi-APN, WeBUI, administrator maintenance, HOTA, etc MAC address filtering, Wi-Fi encryption authentication, VPN, IPv6 support, VoLTE, DMZ, SSID, Guest SSID, Port Forwarding, Watchdog Service, DHCP settings, network selection, APN settings etc.
Firmware download Huawei 5G CPE Pro Firmware ZTE MC801 Firmware
Review Huawei 5G CPE Pro Review ZTE MC801 Review
Price/USD 699.00USD 799.00USD

Summary

From the table, we can see they have different chipsets which deceide they support different network mode: Huawei 5G CPE Pro support 5G NR dual mode: NSA/SA while ZTE MC801 supports only NSA mode. Huawei 5G CPE Pro has two variant models now, while ZTE MC801 has only one model now. Perhaps there will be more variant models available in near future.

Huawei 5G CPE Pro has two connectors like other Huawei 4G WiFi Routers, but ZTE MC801 doesn’t provide the connector for external antenna, which is not good for many users. Per our experience, many of 4G router users may need external antenna to get better signal and faster surfing speeds.

They both provide the WiFi 6 and this would be the mainstream for 5G wireless devices. Huawei 5G CPE Pro provide the APP management option by Huawei SmartHome APP, however, ZTE MC801 has no this option. According to our check, ZTE MC801 settings can only be done through a browser. And it provides PC and Mobile settings option, which means, users can do the setup through web browser from a cell phone.

The ZTE MC801 price is higher than that of Huawei 5G CPE Pro, perhaps because the Qualcomm chipset is more expensive than Huawei Balong chipset. One thing we have to mention is that the ZTE MC801 is much heavier than Huawei 5G CPE Pro. We suppose this is due to the complex heat radiation system in the router.

 

Regarding the real performance of surfing speeds, we will take future test in near future.

 

ZTE MC801 5G Indoor WiFi Router Review

Last month, ZTE announced its 5G series products in Guangzhou at China Mobile 2019 Global Partner Conference, including the ZTE’s first industrial 5G module ZM9000 and its first 5G indoor CPE MC801. Now we get the ZTE 5G CPE MC801 and we will check more details about this new 5G WiFi CPE.

ZTE MC801 5G Router Appearance and Design

From the first glance, you may not recognize the ZTE MC801 is a 5G wireless router. It looks more like a humidifier or an air cleaner. The design looks cool in white color. With its unique design, the runway-type streamline design ZTE MC801 won iF Design Award 2019. And it is also the industry’s smallest commercial 5G gateway router.

ZTE MC801 5G WIFI CPE

ZTE 5G indoor router also has superior heat dissipation capacity than the previous generation. With vertical chimney air duct design, aerodynamic self-accelerating heat dissipation, and built-in custom powerful radiator, it can increase heat dissipation efficiency by 10%.

ZTE MC801 5G WIFI CPE

On the front, there are seven indicators available under the ZTE logo, which can indicate the status of Network, SIM Card, WiFi and Power. On the back of the body, ZTE MC801 provides dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, a flexible connection of various types of wired devices, providing stable, high-speed, low-latency 5G network services for industrial applications. One of the GE ports is for both WAN and LAN. Under the GE Ports, one RJ11 telephone port is provide with the power plug port.

ZTE MC801 5G WIFI CPE

Like the competitor Huawei 5G CPE Pro, the ZTE MC801A router locates the SIM card slot at the bottom with the power on/off button. The model number ZTE MC801 and other information are also on the bottom label, including the model number MC801, IMEI Number, WLAN SSID & WiFi Key, Management IP address(192.168.0.1) & log in password, Made in China and manufacturer company. However, there is no connector for external 5G antenna in the ZTE MC801A Router.

ZTE MC801 5G WIFI CPE

ZTE MC801 5G indoor router Specifications

Powered on Qualcomm Snapdragon X50, it supports 100MHz ultra-wide bandwidth and max downlink rate of 2.8Gbps which enables consumers to enjoy ultra-fast 5G networks. While the competitor Huawei 5G CPE Pro supporting 5G SA/NSA dual-mode, the ZTE 5G router MC801 supports only NSA mode. It supports 5G NR bands on Sub6G n41, n77, n78, n79 with 4G LTE network compatible backward with support of LTE Cat20. ZTE MC801 5G CPE can provide dual-mode WiFi 2.4GHz and 5GHz with 4 x 4 MIMO technology. One of the hot features is supporting Wi-Fi 6 technology (802.11ax), and allowing a maximum of 128 Wi-Fi users to access the 5G network at the same time.

 

ZTE MC801 User Manual and Datasheet

Since ZTE MC801 router is recently announced, ZTE didn’t provide the source to download the user manual and datasheet. We suppose they will be available for download soon.

ZTE MC801 5G WIFI CPE

ZTE MC801 5G CPE Price and Availability

Here now ZTE MC801 5G CPE is available for buy in some online stores such as www.4gltemall.com . And the price is 799.00USD. Many of the latest 5G terminals are at this price range. Before you buy this 5G router, you’d better check whether 5G coverage is available at your location and whether the ZTE MC801 supports the available 5G frequency bands, and then buy it if it suits.

ZTE MC801 5G WIFI CPE