Zoom 4506 3G Wireless-N Travel Router

First unit worked, but only when powered from an external source, otherwise it would not connect. Powered it only connects about 50% of the time, requiring a power cycle to get it connected. Once connected, it will stay connected for hours with no issues, even on battery. Throughput of data is a bit slower than when the same modem is plugged into the computer directly. I recieved a replacement unit from Amazon, the replacement does the same thing connectivity wise. Both units also display another odd issue, when connecting by wifi with my laptop, Internet explorer becomes sluggish and unresponsive at times, and the wifi seems to reconnect occationally, and there are very few other wifi signals in the area that would cause interference. My iPod touch seems to connect and stay connected pretty well, but it's less sensitive about connection quality. If I plug in the ethernet cable, it works nearly flawlessly between the router and computer. Lastly, the replacement unit also seems to have a battery charging issue, as the power indicator light is flashing red even when charged, and displays red when on battery, even when the battery is charged, the original unit seemed to work normally in this regard. Firmware updates were required for my modem type, so they were done early in the process.Sadly two contacts with Zoom about the issues has not got me anything difinitive as to a solution. The most recent was to pay for another unit direct from Zoom, and they would send it to me, and credit me when the defective unit arrives back to them. I have an RMA now, but tech support seemed disorganized and was difficult to understand on the phone. Cudos to Amazon for a better system.Otherwise, the unit works as advertised, it creates a wifi hot spot with decent range, the setup is fairly easy, though you may have to look up log in data for your wireless modem to make it work, Zoom has info that may work for you.Unfortunately, I think I'm going to return the unit back to Amazon and try another brand as I just don't have a good feeling about it at the moment.

I give this device four stars because when it works, it is great; but it is not bullet-proof. First it is at the mercy of the cellular service, and second, it appears that the firmware can hang under certain circumstances, requiring a re-boot. I have been using this in a rural area of the US Northeast where wired broadband is hard to find. Cell service is US Cellular (CDMA 3G). The first problem is there is no easy way to see the number of "bars" the dongle is getting, so locating the Zoom 3G for best signal is blind. Second, the unit does not function well on battery at temperature near or below 50F. The unit gets very slow, drops packets, and eventually hangs. I'm guessing the problem is the Li battery as when I plug in to power and reboot, it usually runs fine. Two other things appear to cause the firmware to hang: changing from battery power to line power or vice-versa, and attempting to dig into the set-up menus while the dongle is plugged in and operating. Neither of these are show-stoppers, and a re-boot (power off-on) brings the Zoom 3G back to life. And as I said, when everything is warm and stable, the unit works very well, crisp and clean.

This is a great router for the price (about <$100 all in via Black Friday special). I looked at Cradlepoint products closely and the Zoom 4506 has a much better feature set and specs for a better price. Setup was easy and fast with good instructions. Cradlepont, which is supposed to be more popular, also neglected repeated inquiries (spaning several months) as to the compatability of the router with my 3G modem whreas Zoom has a full list including current gneration 3G modems tested and supported. My unit had some very slight creaking to the front of the case but I assume this is what you expect these days in consumer electronics that are mass produced and sold at low cost. This is a 4.9 Star product. A definite buy if you need a 3G travel router or just want one for home use. I can see Zoom taking market share from Cradlepoint like taking candy from a baby with this modem. Buy it without hesitation.

I bought this router about a year ago and have used it around the world. This is a very rugged and handy travel router. In addition to compatible 3G dongles, this also supports Ethernet and DSL based WAN connections which is a big plus. For example, you can connect this router to a wired ethernet connection in your hotel room and access internet through all your Wi-Fi enabled devices. Most of the hotels only allow a single internet connection (or charge extra for more) so this is a great help.There are a couple of small negatives that you would need to be aware of :a) Although the router connects to the internet very well with a 3G wireless service using a compatible 3G dongle, it is difficult to operate in places having a large number of carriers, such as in India or other South East Asian countries. This is because you do not have a lot of control over the 3G connection profile or connection parameters. It is not possible to create separate connection profiles for different carriers, or even configure all the connection parameters that you may be able to do on a 3G phone. This is not a problem in US or Canada where there are a few carriers.b) For some reason, my router only works off battery. It doesn't work when connected to power. Battery life is around 3.5 hours after an year of operation and so this is not a major problem. However, I have not be able to understand why this is so.On the whole this is a good product!!