Today, everyone wants fast and reliable internet, no matter where they are. Whether you’re working from anywhere, keeping a business connected, or making sure your home internet is strong, a SIM card router can be the answer.
These small devices offer great internet speed and freedom. But, with so many options out there, choosing the best one can be tough. That’s why we’re here. We’ve looked at many SIM card routers to find the best ones for you. We checked their speed, coverage, safety, and more. Whether you need internet for work, business, or home, we’ll help you find the right SIM card router to stay online easily. Here is a quick list of our top picks with the details below
- Our Top Pick: NETGEAR Orbi 4G LTE Mesh WiFi Router
- Runner Up: Cudy AC1200 Dual Band 4G LTE Router
- Popular Pick with LCD Display: NETGEAR Nighthawk M1 (MR1100)
- Budget Pick: Router Alcatel Link Hub 4G LTE
If you want to get a SIM card router, you will find thousands of options available. But we have done the research and recommend our four top picks for the best SIM card routers.
Table of Contents
Our Top Pick: NETGEAR Orbi 4G LTE Mesh WiFi Router
NETGEAR Orbi, launched in 2020, is the top pick in our list due to its features and high connectivity. It is the best 4G router with a SIM card slot currently available in the market.
It requires a Nano SIM card and works with all major 4G LTE providers, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and others, except Sprint legacy network. It can be used as a primary or backup internet connection. It allows high-speed internet in rural areas having weak or no internet services. The router offers internet speed up to 1.2 Gbps with a 4G SIM card. It has WiFi coverage of 2,000 sq. ft. and can be extended with an additional WiFi extender. It is easy to set up and control with the help of the Orbi app. It has 1 month trial of NETGEAR armor, which secures your unlimited devices from viruses, malware, phishing, and ransomware. With its 1–month trial parental controls feature, users can set online time limits, view web history, filter websites, and limit device internet access. It includes Guest WiFi, DoS, Firewall, VPN and supports WPA2 wireless security protocols. So, it is a highly safe and secure device.
Pros
- Certified with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon
- High internet speed up to 1.2 Gbps
- Safe, secure, and reliable
Cons
- Excludes Sprint legacy network
- Expensive
User Reviews
Netgear Orbi is the best SIM card router for rural areas, which provides affordable and high-speed internet via cell signal. Orbi users are amazed to get high upload and download speeds in a 4G LTE router. Netgear Orbi has solved the internet issues for many users. They are happy to have a more reliable internet connection than before. Few users have complained about poor tech support.
Runner Up: Cudy AC1200 Dual Band 4G LTE Router
Cudy AC1200 is an unlocked dual-band 4G router with multiple built-in VPN clients, including PPTP/L2TP/OpenVPN/Wireguard. The router has a micro SIM card slot and is only compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile.
It provides internet speed up to 150 Mbps download and 50 Mbps upload. Due to 4 x 5dBi high-gain antennas, the 4G LTE signal quality is boosted and allows smooth 4K UHD streaming to TVs and mobile devices without interruptions. It always provides high-speed internet in rural areas where the internet service is weak or unavailable. With its simple graphical user interface, it is easy to manage the network settings. It supports more than 20 DDNS providers and DNS encryption with Cloudfare, NextDNS, or Google. It helps to protect the privacy and data of the users.
Pros
- 4 x 5dBi high-gain antennas for better signal quality
- Built-in VPN clients
- Easy and secure to use
- Affordable
Cons
- Not for Verizon and Sprint
- Poor customer support
User Reviews
The configuration is easy and provides high speeds and coverage. Users in rural areas are happy to find a router that solves their low signal problems by boosting the signal quality. Some users bought this router for its built-in VPNs feature. AT&T and T-Mobile users said this router worked immediately after inserting the SIM card. Few users are disappointed with no customer support.
Popular Pick with LCD Display: NETGEAR Nighthawk M1 (MR1100)
Amazon’s Choice, NETGEAR Nighthawk M1 is a portable and unlocked router that accepts all SIM cards, excluding the Sprint legacy network.
It requires a Nano SIM card and offers WiFi for up to 20 devices. It provides internet speed up to 1 Gbps allowing HD streaming, gaming, video calls on multiple devices. It includes a rechargeable 5040mAH battery which enables users continuous use all day. It has a USB Type-C port for power and can be used without a battery. It includes a USB Type-A port from which users can share data and stream media with connected devices. A large 2.4 inch LCD screen provides data usage, connected devices, signal strength, battery capacity, and network management.
Pros
- Portable
- LCD screen to monitor network information
- Internet speed up to 1Gbps
Cons
- Not compatible with Sprint
- Expensive in comparison to other
User Reviews
The device works great with a stable connection and allows a smooth stream to TVs, desktops, and mobile devices. Setting up a router is easy and works best with AT&T and T-Mobile. Some users said they could use Verizon, but the device says it does not support Verizon. Few users have faced issues of overheating while using with battery. Some users complained that the WiFi signal strength is low with less coverage area.
Budget Pick: Router Alcatel Link Hub 4G LTE
Alcatel Link Hub is the cheapest WiFi router with a SIM card slot on our list. It is a single-band WiFi router and has small WiFi coverage of up to 250 meters. It is unlocked to accept any GSM SIM carrier and has a micro SIM card slot.
It works perfectly with AT&T and T-Mobile networks. It includes 2 antennas and offers internet speed of up to 150 Mbps downloads and 50 Mbps upload. It can support up to 32 devices and two LAN network devices at the same time. The router is easy to use and manage with the help of the Alcatel WiFi Link app. There are only two languages available in its user interface: English and Spanish.
Pros
- Cheaper
- Easy installation
- 150 Mbps download & 50 Mbps upload speed
Cons
- Does not support Sprint
- Single-band
- Low WiFi coverage
- Difficult to set up for Verizon
User Reviews
The router successfully worked with T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon when tested by the user. For Verizon, users have to set the default APN to ‘vzwinternet’ to make it compatible with Verizon SIM cards. The router is a life-saving product, worked super fast with a T-Mobile SIM card. Sometimes, the WiFi signal automatically disappears and needs to reboot the router.
How We Picked the Best Product for this Article
As you can see in this article, we have mentioned various kinds of SIM card routers. The most common thing in these routers is that they all support SIM cards and share WiFi for connecting to the devices. We have researched the 4G LTE routers with SIM slots and selected them based on their critical features along with user reviews.
SIM Compatibility
Most of the routers work best with AT&T and T-Mobile, but only some routers support Verizon. It is the primary factor that affects the choice of the router. The SIM-locked router is designed with restrictions to accept only a few SIM card carriers. Whereas the SIM-unlocked router accepts various SIM cards, but there might be some exceptions. For example, Cudy AC1200 is a SIM-unlocked router but does not support Verizon and Sprint. So, it is better to check your SIM card carrier and SIM compatibility of the router before buying one.
Speed and Performance
The next thing to consider is the speed of the internet. The decent internet speed is up to 150 Mbps download and 50 Mbps upload. NETGEAR offers up to 1 Gbps internet speed and is quite expensive. Most of the devices support up to 20 devices. Some routers have broad WiFi coverage, whereas some have low coverage areas. Some routers are capable of boosting the signal strength to increase the internet speed. These things matter for the purposes of the internet in your daily life.
Ease of use
The routers which are easy to set up are preferred by most of the users. Nobody would like to hire a technician to set up a SIM card router. The user interface also plays a vital role as users should be able to manage WiFi settings easily.
Safe, secure, and reliable
With built-in advanced cyber-security, some routers protect user’s devices from viruses, malware, and phishing. It protects the privacy of users and prevents the manipulation of data. Thus, those routers are comparatively safer and more secure. Users use the 4G LTE router as a primary or backup internet connection. They need a more reliable router that does not provide interrupted WiFi signals and requires reboot frequently.
Conclusion
Having a SIM card router as a primary or backup connection is better because we can be more reliable with our internet connection. With a SIM card router, you can get high-speed internet in those places where the cable internet or DSL is weak or unavailable. You can access the high-speed internet when you are traveling or staying away from home. This article presents the best SIM card routers to help you find a good one.
- Our Top Pick: NETGEAR Orbi 4G LTE Mesh WiFi Router
- Runner Up: Cudy AC1200 Dual Band 4G LTE Router
- Popular Pick with LCD Display: NETGEAR Nighthawk M1 (MR1100)
- Budget Pick: Router Alcatel Link Hub 4G LTE
