EdimaxED3G-6200N 3G/4G ROUTER (N Lite 3g Router With 4-port Switch)

You can use a 3G router suitable for your dongle. This takes the dongle in its own USB socket and the firmware operates the dialling process. Several PCs of any OS (Windows, Mac, Linux...) can share the internet access and connect to the router by Wi-Fi or Ethernet.You must however check that your dongle is supported by the router's firmware, and the manufacturer's website will list supported dongles and will usually frequently add more.There are a number of 3G routers available at time of writing, but the Edimax 3G-6200n was one of three which definitely support my Orange dongle (Huawei E160e).I ordered the device from one of Amazon's dealers and it arrived within a few days. Having downloaded the user manual as a pdf beforehand from the Edimax site, I knew how to set up the router as follows.First I wanted to make the router safe from wifi access by others in the neighbourhood. I enabled WPA encryption and added a passphrase of 63 random characters.Then I changed the default admin password and enabled the firewall module.NAT was already enabled.Now that the router was secure from potential hackers I entered the PIN of the Orange E160e dongle which I had already activated using the Orange Mobile Partner using direct PC connection prior to getting the Edimax. This was entered into the 3G section of the router admin system. If you don't normally use a PIN there is no need to enter it in here of course.I then typed in the APN for Orange (consumerbroadband) and I also noticed that the Orange dial number was already entered as *99#Everything was saved with "Apply" and then I powered down the router, plugged the dongle in the back and powered back up again.After just over 60 seconds the steady blue light was on the dongle, the blue 3G LED was lit on the Edimax panel, (Steady whilst dialling but once connected to Orange it flashed continually)I connected the PC wirelessly using the WPA passphrase in the normal way using my Windows 7 wireless manager.Simples - no CDs, no wizards, though the option is there if you want them.Pros:Reconnection is simple. None of this having to shut down nicely, avoid sleep or hibernate, pull out dongle and plug back in and other tricks in a desperate attempt to get the dongle to connect. The routine now is simply switch on the router with the dongle in, switch on the laptop, then by the time they are both up and running you are online.Will also run on any version of any operating system that supports ethernet or wifi.Cons:With this router no way to soft-disconnect the dongle, but I just switch the router off when done surfing. It boots back up and reconnects in about 60 seconds. You might think about installing NetMeter on all PCs sharing to keep an eye on usage! Going over the limit can be very expensive. Beware of teenage visitors!Edimax compatibility:Many of the UK's popular Huawei dongles are supported in Firmware V2.08* including Huawei E160E, E160G, E169G, E170, E176, E180, E219, E220, E270, E272/ E618, E620, E630, E800. Vodafone (Huawei) K3520, K3565, K3715 and the ubiquitous ICON 225. See the Edimax website for many more compatible modems.Performance:Wireless-n requires 3 antenna for full 300mbps. The "n-lite" with just one antenna gives PC to PC network speeds of 65mbps at best and more usually 54mbps - still enough for me though (my internet speed being around 1.5mbps).

We've been living with just a single T-mobile 3g connection now for nearly 2 years. This router took us from one internet capable device to about six. We can now actually use our smart phones as smart phones without worrying about crippling carrier fees. The range is good enough to reach the kitchen so we can now both work in separate rooms without having to disturb each other for a single web search. That's a huge deal!Useful things to know:+ This is one of the few devices with a compatibility list. I've checked about 4 other cheap routers and they're all extremely hazy about which "most hardware" they work with.+ This is a converted nLite device, presumably before the wireless 802.11n protocol was finalized which means it's "only" 150mbps or three times faster than a standard 802.11g one. If you plan to use the router to share lots of huge files between computers or you have a decent broadband connection that you plan to download big files on, then this might not be the best of the best. Not a problem for us.+ You don't need to install anything if the firmware is recent. In fact the setup for us was ridiculously easy. Plugged in the power. Plugged in the 3g modem. Boom. Instant unprotected wifi under the name "default". Plugged the ethernet cable into the router and a nearby computer (in this case an aging iMac running Linux with no airport card) and everything configures through a web interface at 192.168.2.1. Mercifully it plays fine with Firefox. Default username/password is stuck to the modem and on the start page, so no playing "guess the password" if you ever need to reset it. Simple choice of security settings later and I'm happy.+ The router comes with a vertical stand and stick on rubber feet. Also a USB extender to overcome the poor placement of the USB port right by the power supply. The power supply has a toggle switch which makes the occasional mandatory power cycling safe and easy.+ The 3g activity light is extremely bright and blue. I've had to tape over it.+ I haven't had the opportunity to try it, but supposedly you can use the USB port for other uses, for example with a printer to act as a print server, with a flash driver or external hard drive to act as a fileserver. I've heard a rumour that you can use a USB hub with it as well so you can use multiple functions at the same time. Also the router supports virtual servers so you can set up an intranet (local website for your network) with it. Handy.Overall I definitely recommend it at the price.

I bought one of these to run my Three 3G stick through.The house went from having one laptop to having 4 pC's and wireless printer almost overnight, and I was attracted by the price, which at forty one quid odd, is not unreasonable and the fact that I knew little or nothing about wireless routers.The first one, (with a bit of help from their support, which was average at best), took three weeks to get working, but hey ho, maybe that's normal I told myself. However, the lights wouldn't stop flashing all over the place and I was concious that I may be losing download limit. Support told me that that wasn't right, and to send it back and they would replace, which they duly did. The second one was the same but I decided that it wasn't worth spending any more time on it, so stuck a bit of insulating tape over the lights and, hey presto, no more trouble.I knew it wasn't going to be particulalry fast, so the speed wasn't an issue until, after less than six months the damned thing stopped dealing with the stick anyway. It will still be useful on home broadband one day, if I ever get it, so now rests firmly in the box under the bed.I replaced it with Three's very own MiFi unit, which is infinitely faster and only a couple of pounds dearer. (Buyers of this bit of kit beware though, you will need to update the firmware with a bit of third party help from the web in order to use it effectively, and the signal strength is a tad weaker, so positioning is more important).Don't waste your money on the Edimax, when you could be wasting it on, almost, anything else. It's a good training aid and that's about it.

The Edimax 3G router is fairly easy to set up. The WiFi capability works - however this is not how I intended to use the product. There is a convenient switch that turns off the WiFi. I then use one of the 4 the ethernet ports to make a wired connection to my pc. This works fine - especially as I have no land line available. This has helped me with Ubuntu 10.4 where direct USB insertion of a 3G modem has some issues. It also provides an additional hardware firewall.

It is an excellent product and it does what it promises.I have even bought another one for another flat.Further I can say I used with the USB dongle by Vodafone (the PAYG one) and it works great and I could even connect to the IP camera and it works well but you cannot see since you cannot get an external IP address.Bottom line: I fully recommend it.