T-Mobile Quanta 5G Hotspot for T Mobile, D53 5G Broadband Hotspot (Renewed)

This is my first time having a separate hotspot device. I got in mainly because Tmobile had some plans that had better rates than doing smartphone plans with hotspot service included that increased the the monthly price significantly.This is a fairly heavy device. It's about 2/3s the size of my Samsung S21 and about 1/3 thicker but weighs a bit more. That's just in case people are expecting a smaller device that is lightweight. The hotspot uses a USB C connector to charge and even with a quality charger it does take a while to charge so if you are a frequent user or traveler I do recommend charging it overnight if it gets below 30% of you might find yourself without data when you need it the most.It's been a solid performer so far. I am not a heavy use of it since I usually have access to the internet at most locations I go to but when I do need it, I need it bad and need it to be a solid connection.Keep in mind that just because the device is 5G capable does not mean it is going to give you a solid 5G connection everywhere. Just like your smartphone it will switch from 5G to 4G LTE or 3G depending on availability or signal strength.I have had pretty good results so far with it, with the occasional issue that when I am traveling and lose the 5G signal it sometimes takes a reboot of the hotspot to get connected again. I've gotten consistent download speeds of 100Mbps and upload speeds to 0.13Mbps. Yeah, upload speeds are quite low but honestly, most of your time you are going to be downloading data. Your speeds may vary.To get the most stable connection while traveling I do recommend going into the hotspots dashboard at http://mobile.hotspot and then going to Setup > Network Settings and change the network search mode to Manual and the Network Mode to LTE/3G. It has a idle timeout of 10 minutes which might very well be what some people have complained about frequently losing the connection. If you go to Settings : Advanced Settings > Power and Battery settings you can change the idle time up to a maximum of 30 minutes. Very rarely have I had any drops by doing it this way. Do keep in mind that increasing the idle timeout is going to increase battery usage.It only comes with the 5GHz band enabled so you will also need to activate the 2.4GHz radio if you have older WiFi devices in Settings > WiFi > Basic. Please set a WiFi password for your connections. You have no idea how often I find completely unsecured hotspots because some people think that because it is their hotspot that only they can connect to it. If you are home or traveling with your kiddos and want to prevent them from using your hotspot despite the repeated warning that it slows down your speed and eat your data you can limit the number of simultaneous connections and there is also a MAC Filtering option. Just saying :-)I know some people will just find it a PITA but if you work with this device's quirks and limitations it is a solid performer. If you want a device that "just works" then you are going to have to look into much more expensive devices or even a more expensive plan from your carrier.I have not had any issues with the hotspot getting hot even with heavy use. I understand that some of these being refurbished devices may have all been as thoroughly inspected and could be luck of the draw. I am happy with mine and think it is a great deal.

It seems to work great, and then it doesn't. It is very unreliable with full bars in the city. over the course of a couple of minutes, it will go from decent speeds to unusable.

For the refurbished price, you can't go wrong. Mine looked great and still had protective plastic over the screen. There are no included instructions but there are quite a few youtube videos. Some reviews said the login details weren't provided, they are availble on the device screen. You can scroll through the different screens. First power the device on, then once fully booted and you see the display you can press the power button to toggle through the multiple display screens. One screen shows you the hotspot name and default password. After you connect to the hotspot using the default password, toggle through the device screens again to find the one that shows you the device URL (website) and password. Connect using the computer you've connected to the hotspot and then you can change all the hotspot settings (name, password, etc). Besides the device working really well, it can also act as a charging brick and it has a pretty big battery. If it doesn't work, it's probably you, not the device.

This is a hefty little mobile hotspot. Mine came looking very clean with very few signs of wear. Battery life is really good, I can get about twelve hours or so of light to moderate use before I need to recharge. I have had no connectivity issues at all, But I do live in an area with very good t mobile coverage. I do wish it came unlocked so I could use it while traveling outside of the country.But that's a small gripe really. As some others have reported, It will get rather warm if it is kept in a confined place such as your pocket or in a backpack. If the device becomes too warm it will stop functioning until it cools down, But I have the same problem with my smartphone if I use it as a hotspot So it may just be the nature of the beast.

I use this with the T-Mobile 30GB for $10 plan (MI30TI) and it works great. I walked into a T-Mobile store and activated for free.Image shows in town speed, it can be much less in rural areas. YMMV.Battery lasts all day with moderate use. Works great for my usage as an outside sales rep and I'd get it again in a heartbeat.Changing Settings can be a pain initially as you have to connect to the hotspot's Wi-Fi with any browser and then go to http://mobile.hotspot and log in to get to the admin panel. You have to do that to change any settings. Like, literally ANY settings. But once they are set, you really don't need to change them ever again.6/19/24: Updated to add it's still working beautifully. Battery is good. I'm fact, I'm here to buy another one as a backup.

Darn thing turns itself off/on spontaneously! Tried the reset process multiple times, Checked to make sure it was fully charged, tried two different T-Mobile SIM cards, Scrolled through all the different screens and……(drum roll). NOTHING! Absolutely ZERO!It’s (ostensibly) “renewed” so contacted seller (twice) and no response. Not even a message back! I feel scammed and ripped off!Sigh…. And it’s not even heavy enough to be a paperweight.Donated to my local Goodwill thrift store. Thank goodness it was “only” $30Suggest (strongly) you save your money or find another seller!