Franklin T9 RT717 T-Mobile Black Very Good (Renewed)

I needed a Wifi hotspot for a project I was working on and I tried a few other low cost USB devices, none of which performed as advertised. I didn't want to spend $200+ on a state of the art Wifi hotspot so I thought I'd try something tried and tested. This device is cheap and cheerful and performs pretty well for my Raspberry PI project. It's also really easy to unlock so you can use other carriers. There is an email address included in the packaging which an email address to contact to get an unlock code but I tried that with no response. No bother however, you can just ask ChatGPT how to unlock it and hey presto. I also managed to update the firmware to the latest version without issue. It's been working on stop for the last 90 or so days without issue. Setup is very easy with the build in web based GUI. The unit is renewed so there are a few dings and scratches on it but for the price it's excellent value for money.

Doesn't stay charged but also can't leave it plugged up because it will show a message about unplugging it and stops sending out a wifi signal. Have tried numerous charge cords and blocks with no success. Unfortunately, I am 7 days outside of the return window, so just have to toss it in the trash. Waste of money.

Very good signal. I work in a building surrounded by concrete & yes T-Mobile come through for me all day at work. 10 stars for them. Mic drop.

Had the box for a year now, love it, no problems ( make surr you call tmobile to get it activated and set you up an account for the app so you can pay the bill)

I got this to set up some Wi-Fi cameras at a property that is vacant due to a death in the family to keep an eye on it. Unfortunately, some poor software design choices make unattended use problematic. 1. If it is run without the battery and there is a power outage, when power is restored the device will remain in a powered off state requiring manual push of the power button to turn it back on. 2. If it is run with the battery installed, the device will eventually get upset about this and display a message to disconnect from power to avoid over-charging the battery. If you don't do that, it will shut off, again requiring manual intervention. To work-around this, I set up a smart outlet that removes power periodically throughout the day so that the battery is sometimes charging. That's a cumbersome work-around that shouldn't be necessary. A better solution would be to run without the battery and connect through a UPS -- also a complex setup that shouldn't be necessary.

Perfect for constant travel… however you’ll have to purchase another SIM card from T-Mobile… it was about $10… it worked while I was at the airport, the car, restaurants, etc

I like this product, though it is basically obsolete. It does have issues cutting out even though I am getting solid bars. The item was not unlocked so I did find a site to perform that option. I got the SIM from EIOTClub and when installed it worked and allowed me to do a firmware update. The issue I have is not knowing who I am connecting to: AT&T or T-Mobile. This information is not available either on the device or it's internal webpage.

For a renewed unit, the battery came already swollen, which makes it dangerous to operate; I wouldn't recommend it