If you’re looking for an unlocked 4G home broadband router, you can choose from a range of Huawei 4G home broadband routers.

Over the past year, 4G home broadband has rapidly grown in popularity as an alternative to fixed-line broadband that’s delivered through a phone line or cable.

By allowing you to side-step the speed limitations of your BT Openreach or Virgin Media connection, you can get download speeds on 4G home broadband that often rival a fibre broadband connection. You also get the flexibility to bring your broadband connection with you to other places, and to access home broadband without the need for a phone line.

The easiest way to get 4G home broadband is as part of a package like Three’s Huawei B535 or AI Cube B900. You can also get Vodafone’s GigaCube package or EE’s 4GEE Home. As an alternative, some people prefer to build their own “do-it-yourself” package by buying an unlocked 4G broadband router and using it with an unlimited data SIM card.

In this article, we’ll review 4G home broadband routers that are available from Huawei on an unlocked basis. If you’re building your own 4G home broadband solution, you can choose from routers like the Huawei B310, B315, B525 and B618.

Overview of Huawei 4G Broadband Routers

If you’re looking for an unlocked 4G home broadband router, Huawei currently offers a choice of four devices in the UK: the B310, B315, B525 and B618.

The following table shows a side-by-side comparison of the four routers:

Huawei B310Huawei B315Huawei B525Huawei B618
Home Broadband Plans
Price:£79.99 unlocked£99.99 unlocked£122 unlocked£249.99 unlocked
Mobile Connectivity
4G Connectivity:Category 4 LTECategory 4 LTECategory 6 LTECategory 11 LTE
4G Download Speed:Up to 150 Mbps downloadUp to 150 Mbps downloadUp to 300 Mbps downloadUp to 600 Mbps download
4G Upload Speed:Up to 50 Mbps uploadUp to 50 Mbps uploadUp to 50 Mbps uploadUp to 50 Mbps upload
4G Bands:LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 8 & 20LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 20 & 38LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 20, 32 & 38LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 20 & 38
External Antenna:Yes, 2x SMA connectorsYes, 2x SMA connectorsYes, 2x SMA connectorsYes, 2x TS-9 connectors
Home Network Connectivity
Dual-Band Wi-Fi:NoNoYesYes
Wi-Fi Connectivity:802.11b/g/n802.11b/g/n802.11b/g/n/ac802.11b/g/n/ac
Wi-Fi Devices:Up to 32 devicesUp to 32 devicesUp to 64 devicesUp to 64 devices
Ethernet:1 Gigabit Ethernet port4 Gigabit Ethernet ports4 Gigabit Ethernet ports2 Gigabit Ethernet ports
Phone:1 RJ11 phone port1 RJ11 phone port1 RJ11 phone port1 RJ11 phone port
Other
Model:Huawei B310Huawei B315Huawei B525Huawei B618
Colour:WhiteBlack/WhiteBlack/WhiteWhite

Alongside this, there are other 4G home broadband routers that are available only as part of a package. This include the Huawei B535 (available on Three’s HomeFi+ service), the Huawei B900 with Alexa (available on Three’s AI Cube service) and the Huawei B528 (available on Vodafone’s GigaCube 4G service).

Through the rest of this article, we’ll review each of the unlocked 4G broadband routers in more detail.

Huawei B310

The Huawei B310 is Huawei’s basic entry-level 4G home broadband router.

Available unlocked for around £100 at Amazon.co.uk, the B310 supports Category 4 LTE speeds (up to 150Mbit/s download and up to 50Mbit/s upload). Up to 32 devices can be connected your B310’s wi-fi network, which uses 2.4GHz Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n technologies).

There’s a single Gigabit Ethernet socket for connecting wired devices to your network and a RJ11 port for attaching a telephone to use any minutes that are included on your plan.

Show full specifications for Huawei B310 ↓

Huawei B310
Home Broadband Plans
Price:£79.99 unlocked
Mobile Connectivity
4G Connectivity:Category 4 LTE
4G Download Speed:Up to 150 Mbps download
4G Upload Speed:Up to 50 Mbps upload
4G Bands:LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 8 & 20
External Antenna:Yes, 2x SMA connectors
Home Network Connectivity
Dual-Band Wi-Fi:No
Wi-Fi Connectivity:802.11b/g/n
Wi-Fi Devices:Up to 32 devices
Ethernet:1 Gigabit Ethernet port
Phone:1 RJ11 phone port
Other
Model:Huawei B310
Colour:White
More Information:See amazon.co.uk

Until September 2019, Three offered a very similar router called the Huawei B311 HomeFi.

The main difference between the Huawei B310 and the Huawei B311 is the latter only has a single SMA antenna socket. The RJ11 phone port is also disabled on the Huawei B311 and the router is available in black rather than white.

As of September 2019, Three is now offering new 4G broadband customers a Huawei B535 HomeFi+ router instead of the old Huawei B311. For more information, read our full review of the HomeFi service.

Huawei B315

For most people, the Huawei B315 is a better choice if you’re looking to get an entry-level 4G broadband router on an unlocked basis.

Available for around £100 unlocked at Amazon.co.uk, the Huawei B315 is priced similarly to the B310. Like the B310, the Huawei B315 also supports Category 4 LTE speeds (up to 150Mbit/s download and up to 50Mbit/s download). You can connect up to 32 devices to the router using 2.4GHz Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n technology). There’s also 2 SMA sockets for attaching an external antenna to your router.

Where the Huawei B315 wins out over the B310 is with the four Gigabit Ethernet sockets for connecting wired devices to your network. The router also has additional support for band 38 LTE coverage at 2600MHz. This is used by Vodafone and EE in certain areas to give additional capacity and faster download speeds. You’ll also get a choice of colour options with the Huawei B315: either black or white.

Show full specifications for Huawei B315 ↓

Huawei B315
Home Broadband Plans
Price:£99.99 unlocked
Mobile Connectivity
4G Connectivity:Category 4 LTE
4G Download Speed:Up to 150 Mbps download
4G Upload Speed:Up to 50 Mbps upload
4G Bands:LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 20 & 38
External Antenna:Yes, 2x SMA connectors
Home Network Connectivity
Dual-Band Wi-Fi:No
Wi-Fi Connectivity:802.11b/g/n
Wi-Fi Devices:Up to 32 devices
Ethernet:4 Gigabit Ethernet ports
Phone:1 RJ11 phone port
Other
Model:Huawei B315
Colour:Black/White
More Information:See amazon.co.uk

Amazon sells the B315s-22 version of the Huawei B315 router (also known as the Huawei B315SFB).

Huawei B525

The Huawei B525 is a mid-range 4G home broadband router.

Available from around £122 at Amazon, it supports faster Category 6 LTE speeds (up to 300Mbit/s download and 50Mbit/s upload). You’ll also get dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity on up to 64 devices (including 802.11ac Wi-Fi using 5GHz spectrum). Both of these upgrades should give you a significant performance improvement over more basic routers like the Huawei B310 or B315.

Alongside the dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity, the Huawei B525 has four Gigabit Ethernet sockets for you to connect a wired device to your network. There are also 2 SMA sockets for attaching an external antenna and a RJ11 socket for attaching a phone to your router if you’d like to use the inclusive minutes on your plan.

The Huawei B525 is available in a choice of two colours: either black with a golden strip, or white with a silver strip.

Show full specifications for Huawei B525 ↓

Huawei B525
Home Broadband Plans
Price:£122 unlocked
Mobile Connectivity
4G Connectivity:Category 6 LTE
4G Download Speed:Up to 300 Mbps download
4G Upload Speed:Up to 50 Mbps upload
4G Bands:LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 20, 32 & 38
External Antenna:Yes, 2x SMA connectors
Home Network Connectivity
Dual-Band Wi-Fi:Yes
Wi-Fi Connectivity:802.11b/g/n/ac
Wi-Fi Devices:Up to 64 devices
Ethernet:4 Gigabit Ethernet ports
Phone:1 RJ11 phone port
Other
Model:Huawei B525
Colour:Black/White
More Information:See amazon.co.uk

At the time of writing, you can get a Huawei B525 for around £122 unlocked. This can be paired with an unlimited data SIM card costing you about £20/month.

As an alternative, it may also be worth considering the Huawei B535. This is available as part of a package from Three, starting from £20/month when you take a 24-month contract. Often, this will work out to be better value than buying the Huawei B525, especially when the cost of your unlimited data plan is taken into consideration.

ServiceData AllowanceContract LengthUpfront PriceMonthly Price

Three 4G Hub		Unlimited Data24 month contract£0£20/month
with 3 months free

Three 4G Hub		Unlimited Data12 month contract£0£25/month

Three 4G Hub		Unlimited Data1 month contract£28£30/month

The Huawei B535 supports Category 7 LTE speeds, versus Category 6 LTE on the Huawei B525. For more information, see our full review of the Huawei B535.

Huawei B618

Huawei’s flagship unlocked router for 4G home broadband is the Huawei B618, which is available for around £250 unlocked.

The key selling point of the Huawei B618 is its support for 4×4 MIMO technology. This means the router has four built-in antenna which can be used at the same time to access faster download speeds (the other routers listed on this page only support 2×2 MIMO). Because of this, the Huawei B618 can support up to Category 11 LTE speeds (up to 600Mbit/s download and 50Mbit/s upload).

One notable limitation is the support for 4×4 MIMO only works with the internal antenna. You can use the two TS-9 connectors for attaching an external antenna but this will drop you down to 2×2 MIMO.

Elsewhere, the Huawei B618 also supports dual-band Wi-Fi, with 802.11ac wi-fi available on up to 64 devices at one time. There are also two Gigabit Ethernet sockets for attaching a wired device to your network and one RJ11 phone socket for attaching a handset.

The Huawei B618 is only available in white and has a tall cuboid form factor. This differs from the more traditional rectangular form factor used by the Huawei B310, B315 and B525.

Show full specifications for Huawei B618 ↓

Huawei B618
Home Broadband Plans
Price:£249.99 unlocked
Mobile Connectivity
4G Connectivity:Category 11 LTE
4G Download Speed:Up to 600 Mbps download
4G Upload Speed:Up to 50 Mbps upload
4G Bands:LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 20 & 38
External Antenna:Yes, 2x TS-9 connectors
Home Network Connectivity
Dual-Band Wi-Fi:Yes
Wi-Fi Connectivity:802.11b/g/n/ac
Wi-Fi Devices:Up to 64 devices
Ethernet:2 Gigabit Ethernet ports
Phone:1 RJ11 phone port
Other
Model:Huawei B618
Colour:White
More Information:See amazon.co.uk

Other Huawei 4G & 5G Broadband Routers

Aside from the Huawei B310, B315, B525 and B618, there are several other 4G home broadband routers also available to buy in the UK:

  • The Huawei B535 is available from £20/month on Three’s HomeFi Plus service. It’s a slightly upgraded version of the Huawei B525 with support for Category 7 LTE speeds rather than Category 6 LTE speeds.
  • The Huawei AI Cube B900 is available from £25/month on Three. Uniquely, it doubles up as an Amazon Alexa smart speaker so you can use it for listening to music or controlling your other smart home devices. Read our full review of the AI Cube for more information.
  • The Huawei B528 is available as part of Vodafone’s GigaCube 4G service. It supports Category 6 LTE speeds and 802.11ac wi-fi on up to 20 devices at the same time.
  • The Huawei 5G CPE Pro (H112-370) is Huawei’s first 5G home broadband router. You can get it on Three’s 5G Home service or on Vodafone’s GigaCube 5G service.

SIM Cards for Huawei 4G Broadband Router

If you purchase an unlocked 4G home broadband router, you’ll need to get a SIM card for it before you can go online.

We’d normally always recommend getting an unlimited data SIM card for your home broadband router. This will allow you to get the most from your home broadband connection without the worry of running out of data mid-month.

The following table shows a list of unlimited data SIM cards that are currently available in the UK:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00
1 month
TalkmobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00
1 month
iD MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00
24 months
iD MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00
1 month
iD MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£17.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£18.00
£14.40 for 12 months
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£19.00
12 months
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£20.00
1 month
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£20.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£20.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£21.60
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£21.60
12 months
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£22.00
1 month
Honest MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£22.50
12 months
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£22.50
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£23.00
£18.40 for 12 months
24 months
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£24.00
1 month
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£24.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£24.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£24.00
1 month
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£25.00
1 month
Honest MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£25.00
1 month
Tesco MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£25.00
24 months
LycamobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£25.00
£9.99 for 6 months
1 month
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£25.00
£20 for 12 months
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£25.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£25.60
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£26.60
12 months
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£27.00
12 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£27.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£28.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£28.00
£22.40 for 12 months
24 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£29.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£29.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£29.60
12 months
VOXIUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00
1 month
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00
1 month
Tesco MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00
12 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00
1 month
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00
1 month
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00
£24 for 12 months
24 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00
24 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00
6 months half price
24 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
10Mbps max		£30.00
24 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
10Mbps max		£31.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£31.60
12 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£31.99
24 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£32.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£32.00
12 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£33.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£33.00
24 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£33.00
1 month
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£34.00
12 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£34.99
12 months
giffgaffUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£35.00
1 month
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£35.00
12 months
giffgaffUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£35.00
18 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£35.00
£28 for 12 months
24 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£36.00
1 month
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£36.00
6 months half price
24 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£36.00
1 month
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£37.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
10Mbps max		£37.00
24 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£38.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
10Mbps max		£38.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
10Mbps max		£39.00
24 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£40.00
24 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£41.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
10Mbps max		£41.00
1 month
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£42.00
24 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£43.00
24 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£43.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£44.00
1 month
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£45.00
12 months
To show you the most relevant plans, 61 similar but more expensive plans have been hidden. .

Before choosing an unlimited data plan, it’s important to familiarise yourself with the terms and conditions on each network. For instance, both EE and O2 will only allow you to have 12 devices connected to your router. Separately, Vodafone has some download speed restrictions when you choose their Unlimited Lite or Unlimited plans.

Typically, we’d recommend choosing an unlimited data SIM card from Three. This is because you can get unlimited data from just £20/month with no limits on how many devices you can connect and with no download speed limits imposed by the network. You’ll also get 5G coverage at no extra cost when it arrives in your area.

More Information

For more information, please see the Amazon.co.uk product pages for the Huawei B310, the Huawei B315, the Huawei B525 and the Huawei B618.

Alternatively, you may also want to read our guide on 4G broadband in the UK and buying an external antenna for your router.

Your Comments 34 so far

We'd love to hear your thoughts and any questions you may have. So far, we've received 34 comments from readers. You can add your own comment here.

  • Alex said:

    Hi Ken.

    I find that I am reading more of your articles as the days go by. Very informative, well written and researched. Thank you very much.

    I am currently researching 4g routers and have tried a few, but sent most of them back. I have had a Tenda 4G680 – poor wi-fi signal, and am about to send back a ZTE MF286R for the same reason. I have a Huawei mifi E5785 which has excellent wi-fi, but has no ports and no antenna connections.

    I am now looking at the Huawei B525 after reading your review. I have found that there seems to be a plethora of Huawei routers out there, but no site, that I can find, which lists all the models and how they compare, even on Huawei’s site.

    The B525 is now unavailable on Amazon and I do not know why. Has it been replaced/withdrawn? Do you happen to know what would be a good alternative with a similar spec or better at around the same price? I’m looking to Huawei because I’ve been disappointed by other brands (up to now), and because the mifi performs so well.

    I have great difficulty getting a good 4g signal and only the EE network has given me acceptable results, but as others have mentioned, it is restrictive and expensive.

    Thank you again.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Alex,
      Thanks for your comment and for the kind words about the website! Yes, it’s unfortunate they’ve essentially stopped selling the Huawei B525 since this article was written. I guess you can get the Huawei B535 which is the replacement for this and is now available to purchase at places like Amazon. You can also get something like the new Huawei B628 which supports even faster speeds.
      Ken

  • Kerrie said:

    Hi Ken, I’m using three unlimited with an unlocked EE mobile broadband router and external antenna as we are in a village with no access to fibre. Although on my speed tests I regularly get download speeds of between 20 and 50, upload of 25, it’s really unstable. Often the ping jumps all over the place. It drives us all crazy (2 teens in the house, lots of Xbox!). I’ve read this is a problem with three. I’ve been thinking of switching. Do you think it’ll make any difference?

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Kerrie,
      Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, a unstable connection & variable speed can be one of the downsides of 4G-based broadband services 🙁 There are two main possibilities here:
      1) It might be that the radio connection to the mast isn’t stable. For instance, you could try out a different position or direction for your antenna to see whether that helps to improve things at all. Typically, it’s best to place your antenna in a high location facing in the direction of your nearest mobile mast from Three.
      2) Sometimes you’ll still encounter this issue even if everything is set up correctly from your end. This might be due to congestion on your local mast (e.g. too many people using it at the same time). If so, it can be worth testing out a different network (e.g. perhaps using an Unlimited Max SIM card from Vodafone instead).
      Sorry I couldn’t be of any more help but these are definitely the two things I’d try out in this instance.
      Ken

        • Ken replied:

          Hi Andy,
          If you like, you can always use it a Wi-Fi router to connect your devices to each other. However, if there’s no network connectivity, you won’t be able to access the internet on your devices.
          Hope this helps,
          Ken

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