NetGear, up to their old tricks again ---- spying on their customers. Their mobile hotspot device stops functioning if you try to remove their cookie from your browser. They make this cookie a requirement (and the persistent surveillance it entails) for their device to function. This mandatory cookie most likely defeats VPN and TOR encryption, as it is attached to the browser itself, following you around the internet, knowing who you really are, despite efforts to mask yourself with encryption --- information they will later sell to data brokers, most likely, or whoever the highest bidder is. The persistent cookie requirement is a slimey practice of NetGear with their routers currently. When I first bought this device, I was free to use it without their web based router interface cookie tagging along, and just deleted it, after I finished logging into the router. Later, I'm pretty sure, they pushed an undisclosed update to the unit's firmware --- causing it to nolonger work without the cookie being present --- at all times. This is after months of use prior without it (so I know it's possible to function without it). This is just not a company that can be trusted -- at any time -- certainly not with your online privacy. I've had their cellular router for awhile now, and did rigorous testing --- always the same thing: remove their cookie from the browser, and their router stops supplying internet not long after. In order to restart your service, you have to relog into the router, reboot it, and allow it to re-place the cookie ---- internet restarts. Sometimes, you have to do this process many times, to get it restarted. This router has come with tons of hassle, wasted time, and lots of wasted money. I remember having another router of theirs, a good while back, and running into other slimey practices. That router eventually experiencing strange problems, that I could not resolve myself. I contacted the company for help, and was told: I would need to purchase a technical service plan, before they would assist. I threw their router in the trash. Years later, I completely forgot, NetGear was the manufacturer of that thrown away router, and foolishly bought another NetGear router, this one --- getting suckered in by the hype online (lies). Unless you like being spied upon.......stay away from NetGear. UPDATE: Things only worsened: Tor is completely unuseable with this router, as it doesn't allow their cookie to follow you around, either deleting it everytime you go to another site, or preventing the cross site tracking NetGear is attempting to employ upon you. UPDATE: Using tabbed isolated containers on your browser is ineffective stopping their tracking; attempting to use them has them slow your internet speed, followed shortly by, stopping your internet connection entirely. I imagine, their using the http://192.168.1.1 NetGear web interface cookie to fingerprint your browser and log your IP address --- not allowing any data flow without checking each and everytime that the cookie is still present, and has your initial browser fingerprint and IP address, when you logged into the router. Any deviation from the browser fingerprint and IP address from when you logged in has them slow your data flow, and stop your internet completely, shortly thereafter --- requiring an arduous relog-in and reboot process, to restart everything (that you may have to do many times, to get everything going again). UPDATE: Things get progressively worse. Now, even with me allowing them to follow me around, everywhere I go online, keeping their spy cookie in-place, I get constant stoppages of my internet --- requiring me to relog-in, reboot, refresh pages, clear cookies --- even do factory resets (wiping out all my user preferences, and having to reset them each time) sometimes, again and again and again and again and again, to restart operation of their router. If you can imagine having another company between you and your internet service provider, that decides when, if, and under what circumstances, you get the internet that you paid for, from the other company --- and that in-between company jerking you around, not providing any simblance of effective customer support after sale; spying upon you; causing you large amounts of hassle, aggrevation, time loss, money loss; attempting to con you into purchasing technical service plans, to solve problems they most likely created..............you just had the NetGear experience. FINAL UPDATE: Things went down hill fast, after writing this negative review of their product. This company doesn't apparently know how to deal with critical reviews in an ethical way --- or, in a professional, business focused way. I experienced their router not being able to fully reset (indicative of requiring the default, on device, log-in credentials) shortly after this review posted --- that was a big red flag -- that something was pushed to my device to stop its full recovery, and alter its performance --- and --- it did --- I experienced its operation get progressively worse --- concluding in: no effective measures to return the device to full operational functionality. At best, after relentless factory resets, reboots, relog-ins, and other aggrevation, the router now only supplys internet for two minutes, then ceases operation --- effectively, making it useless. This is not an ethical company. I post my experience with NetGear as a warning to all ---- avoid their overpriced low performing devices ---- avoid their no help customer service ---- avoid their strange malphunctions and device abnormalities down the road, that has them offer you pricey extended tech support plans as the solution (after they created the probem in the first place) ---- avoid the hassle ---- avoid the aggrevation ---- avoid the time loss ---- avoid the money loss ---- avoid the scam...........avoid the NetGear experience. * Friends have told me: the NetGear NightHawk 5G M7 Portable Wi-fi Hotspot is ten times worse than the M1 NightHawk, in way of personal information collection, and online monitoring. I'll be staying away........I've had enough of the NetGear snoop game. Read more
First the good : Super easy to use. Great screen, with readable and useful information. Does what it's supposed to do (for the most part - read on). Now the bad : Do not expect reliability from this unit. At this stage, I consider it a backup device only, and even given that, I am still looking for a replacement. (edit) scroll to the bottom, this has been resolved. When this little gem works - it works pretty well. WiFi throughput isn't awesome, but it's more than enough to saturate the cellular link, which I've not seen above about 120 meg. The problem is this - while you're using the device, it *will* reboot on you, with zero warning, and zero logging of the event. It will happily restart, and then you'll be solid; until it decides to reboot again. This happens on WiFi, this happens on tether, this happens when both are working. If you need to rely on a cellular link for your WiFi in a business sense (either a store, a tele-worker, or anything else), this unit is not a good choice. If it's a simple backup, and you don't mind losing internet periodically (for ~30 seconds a pop) then this is an ok choice. I could write more on battery life, or other aspects of the unit, but frankly - the reboot problem is so severe that the workaround for those issues (carry a battery with you) really doesn't matter in the slightest. -EDIT 2019.11.12 rating raised from 2, to 4 stars. Additional notes below - I already had several support cases on this issue, I was advised to wait for a firmware update, which should resolve the problem. As of release NTG9X50C_12.06.08.00, my particular problems have been resolved. I have had very solid connectivity now, and my primary complaint is addressed. Now that I've had it able to withstand continued use - some additional experiences that I've had : The firmware update that has resolved the reboot issues now requires that the battery be installed in the unit. Not ideal for headless semi/permanent installation in an RV, Cabin, etc. Not a show stopper, but something to be aware of. If you are using the WiFi heavily between devices on this router, performance is going to suffer. My use in this case was a VNC session to control another computer. Doing that, with a video conference call going on the Cellular link was enough to cause serious performance degredation for both sessions. I'll not get into battery life, or other things that people with more time and effort have written about. It's a good unit overall, and I'm not displeased now that it has some semblance of reliability. It's not perfect, but nothing is. Read more
