How would these wifi routers work in the States

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ykfc

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Mar 19, 2013
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I plan to bring my two wifi routers to the States for holiday. I wonder how well they shall work (or not).

ZTE_MF62 Network & Frequency Band:
1 WCDMA: 900, 2100MHz
2 GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz


Huawei E585
1. UMTS 900MHz,
2. HSDPA 2100MHz
3. GSM 850MHz
4. EDGE 1800MHz

Also which carrier should I use. Thanks you in advance.
 
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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More important will be which carrier you can get a good signal from. Does little good if the device is compatible with say sprint but you get no coverage in the area you are in.

I am going to bet you have major issues attempting this. Those are older device you really want ones that support LTE.

Also unless you intend to sign a long term contract from a provider you are going to be limited to the prepaid services. The larger providers tend to not sell prepaid service directly, for example tmobile only sell prepaid via the company it bought called metropcs. The problem is the prepaid providers tend to not support as large a number of modems. The main providers support more but only on long term contracts.

I suspect your best bet is find out what provider has good coverage where you are staying. Then look though say walmart online and see what carriers they sell prepaid plans for in that market. You would then have to see if these are compatible with your device. The easiest solution may be to buy a modem/router rather than just the sim when you get the plan
 
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ykfc

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Mar 19, 2013
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Hi there, I think my message wasn't clear enough. Because it is not a long stay and the hotels would probably provide most internet connections I need I'm actually very happy if 3G is available on the road. Paying for a modern router is not planned in this case (I don't need it at home).

I am only visiting major cities such as San Francisco, Monterrey, Los Angeles and I am sure T-mobile should provide good coverage. I'm aware of provider names such as Walmark, Simple Mobile, or Ultra Mobile and the later ones are basically T-Mobile. Question is: will my old version routers work with them at all, whether it be 2G or 3G technologies.

Thanks again for further advices in advance.
 
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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If you are sure it is tmobile network then you need to dig and find the frequencies tmobile runs data on in those cites and see if your device works on that. This is a massively difficult question especially for companies other than att and verizon. They operate on a bunch of different radio frequencies even within different parts of the same city.

Because you have unlocked devices you stand a pretty good chance of getting something that will work. I just wish they made it easier. Most people do not even know that other than att none of the prepaid companies actually have their own cell network.
 
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ykfc

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Mar 19, 2013
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T-Mobile website has highlighted good coverage for the cities I am going to visit, namely San Francico, Los Angeles, and Monterey.

https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-4988

I quoted what the above T-Mobile document wrote:
<begin of T-Mobile website info>
3G (HSPA)
With 3G, theoretical maximum download of 14 Mbps. With 3G, you can use voice and data services simultaneously.
Frequencies: Band 4 (1700/2100 MHz)

2G (GSM, GPRS, and EDGE)
EDGE, our enhanced 2G service, delivers a theoretical maximum download speed of 236 kbps. GPRS, our 2G service, delivers a theoretical maximum download speed of 114 kbps. Typical speeds are between 35 kbps and 45 kbps. Keep in mind, voice and data services cannot work simultaneously when on GPRS or EDGE.**
Frequencies: Band 2 (1900 MHz)
</end of T-Mobile website info>

Question: since their Frequencies is Band 4 (1700/2100 MHz) and both my router has mentioned 2100 MHz, DOES IT MEAN MY router should work with 3G?

My first router (but not the second) should work with 2G in area where T-Mobile is not providing 3G, right?



 
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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What 1700/2100 means is that some towers run 1700 and others run 2100. If you happen to be in a area that has a 2100mhz radio it should work on hspa. Your Huawei has support for hspa on that frequency, the other router says wcdma and at the moment I forget which combination is compatible. For some reason I think it will not work but I foget these things. I can't wait until there is only LTE and all the rest goes away
 
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