Three 4G Hub Review | Is Three 4G Broadband Any Good?

Thinking of buying Three 4G Broadband?

In this guide, we’ve reviewed the Three 4G Hub, to see if it’s any good.

We’ve also shown how to set up the router, and assessed its value for money, to help you decide if it’s the right internet solution for your needs.

But before we begin, make sure to use the Three Home Broadband coverage checker to see if you can get the 4G Hub (or their faster 5G Hub) at your address at the moment.

Contents

• Three 4G Hub overview
• Three 4G Hub unboxing and setup
• Three 4G Hub speed test
• Three 4G Hub gaming test
• Three 4G Hub value for money
• Is the Three 4G Hub any good? Our verdict
• Three 4G Hub alternatives
• Conclusion

Three 4G Hub overview

The Three 4G Hub is a 4G router sold by Three in the UK, bundled with an unlimited data plan.

The 4G Hub functions just like any other Wi-Fi router you might be used to using, in that it creates a Wi-Fi hotspot you can use to get online on all different types of devices, and has four LAN ports you can use to plug computers and games consoles into the router.

However, rather than connecting to a phone socket or broadband port, the 4G Hub takes a SIM card, which is included when you buy, and connects to the Three 4G network to establish an internet connection.

This means you can use the device to get online almost anywhere in the UK, as long as you have good Three mobile signal.

You can use the Three network coverage map to check for strong indoor 4G coverage in your area.

Since the Three-Vodafone merger, the 4G Hub is also able to tap into the Vodafone network in areas where network sharing has gone live. This is great because this gives you more places you can get online, and sometimes means you can get faster speeds.

However, for the time being, we’d rely on Three’s network map to find out where you can use this device.

Once your 4G Hub arrives in the mail, to get started, you just need to insert the SIM card into the router, plug it in, and connect to Wi-Fi – no engineer visit is required.

We’ve explained how to set up the router and begin getting online in the next section.

Buying the Three 4G Hub

Currently, when you buy the Three 4G Hub, it comes with a 24 month unlimited data contract.

There is also a month-long money back guarantee on these plans, allowing you to test the device for 30 days before committing to the full length of the contract.

If you’re not happy with the speeds, you can send the router back and exit the contract within 30 days of receiving it.

Three also sometimes includes free gifts when buying 4G broadband from them, such as account credit, or a gift card.

You can use the Three Home Broadband coverage checker to see if you can get the 4G Hub at your address at the moment, and to find out what deals they’re currently offering on this 4G router.

Three 4G Hub unboxing and setup

After ordering the 4G Hub, we received our package in the mail in two business days.

The first thing you’ll see inside the box is the router, which is a ZTE MF286D.

On the bottom of the router, you’ll find your Wi-Fi and admin portal login details.

The SIM slot is on the side, and the rest of the ports are on the back. There is also a USB port and two RJ11 phone ports for a landline phone, but these are disabled by Three, as well as two external antenna ports (covered by circular white rubber protectors).

Also in the box, you’ll find the router’s power cable, a quick start guide from Three, a product safety sheet, and a LAN cable.

You’ll also find the SIM card for the router, which has its own packaging inside the box.

Setting up the 4G Hub

First, open the SIM card packaging, and you’ll find a larger credit-card sized card you can remove the SIM from.

Remove the SIM card from this larger card by pushing it out from the perforated plastic.

Note that there are multiple sizes of SIM you can punch out – you want the largest one, so be careful to avoid removing any of the inner, smaller-sized SIM cards.

Then, insert the SIM card into the router with the orange side facing upwards as shown, and the cut corner of the SIM going into the router.

Now, plug in the router. The power port is the circular one on the right.

At this point, the Three 4G Hub will take a few minutes to set itself up.

It will first connect to 4G, then establish a Wi-Fi network you can use to get online.

Once it’s ready, the signal lights will turn blue, as will the internet and 4G status LEDs.

Once the router is turned on, you can connect to Wi-Fi using the login details printed on the base of the device.

If the 4G symbol remains red, this normally means one of two things:

1. The router is not positioned somewhere with strong enough mobile signal.
2. The SIM card is not inserted correctly.

Once everything’s ready, and you’re seeing a blue signal light, it’s worth doing some experimentation with where the router is positioned, to see where you get the fastest download and upload speeds.

We found that the 4G Hub’s speeds could be quite sensitive to where it was positioned, relative to the nearest 4G mast.

In the end, to get the best speeds, we put it on an upstairs windowsill on the edge of the house.

Three 4G Hub speed test

Once we found a good position for the router, we performed a number of speed tests using the Three 4G Hub, using both a wireless and a wired connection to the router.

It’s worth noting, we have strong indoor and outdoor 4G signal at our address according to the Three coverage map, and are not on the edge of a coverage zone.

We’re also testing in an area where network sharing with Vodafone has not gone live yet.

Ethernet speed test

Using a LAN cable to connect our computer to the router, we normally received a speed test similar to the one below.

• Download speed: 41.03 Mbps
• Upload speed: 9.99 Mbps
• Ping: 29 ms

Wi-Fi speed test

Using Wi-Fi, we still saw good download and upload speeds, but our connection was a bit slower compared to using Ethernet.

• Download speed: 28.18 Mbps
• Upload speed: 8.01 Mbps
• Ping: 35 ms

Will the 4G Hub be fast enough for my needs?

The speeds we receive using the Three 4G Hub make for a good internet experience.

Even with two or three devices online at the same time, we never had any issues relating to slow webpage loading or videos buffering when using this 4G router.

The 30 Mbps or so we received from the 4G Hub is plenty for most types of internet activities, including streaming video in HD. And at many addresses, you can get faster speeds than this – up to around 50 Mbps – with the Three 4G Hub.

The only real situation in which this 4G router is not suitable is if you often have four to five or more devices downloading and uploading large amounts of data at the same time, especially for example streaming video in 4K.

In this case, the Three 5G Hub or 5G Outdoor Hub will be a better choice, if you can get them at your address, because these routers tend to offer download speeds of 300-500 Mbps or more.

Use the Three Home Broadband coverage checker to see which of their routers you can get at your postcode at the moment.

What is the Wi-Fi signal like?

In a four bedroom, two storey house, we could get online everywhere indoors with the Three 4G Hub.

We only found that our speeds dropped off a little bit at the furthest points from the router, down to about 20 Mbps or so. However, we have a lot of brick internal walls, which we’ve found often block Wi-Fi signal no matter which router we’re using.

Unless you have a very large house, the 4G Hub offers plenty-strong Wi-Fi signal. You can also reposition the router to strike a balance between giving strong Wi-Fi to your devices and picking up the best possible 4G signal.

Three 4G Hub gaming test

Gaming with the 4G Hub offered a good experience, even when playing quite ping-sensitive online games such as Rocket League.

When plugging our PC into the router using the supplied Ethernet cable, we normally received a ping in-game of about 35-40ms.

This ping measurement did not fluctuate significantly, and we did not experience any ping spikes as a result.

The in-game experience was very smooth, and we could play competitively with no issues.

As a result, we think that for most online games, the Three 4G Hub works well. However, we recommend plugging your console or computer into the router, rather than using Wi-Fi, if you’re playing something very ping-sensitive such as Rocket League, Fortnite, or a first-person shooter.

Three 4G Hub value for money

The Three 4G Hub offers one of the best value ways of getting online in the UK at the moment.

Normally, it costs about £16-£20 per month – click here to check current pricing on the Three website.

This is cheaper than basically any other fibre or mobile broadband plan on the market in the UK, and by a considerable margin.

There are mid-contract price rises when you buy the 4G Hub on a 24 month contract, however the same is true of most broadband deals you can buy these days.

Plus, there is a 30 day return policy available with these tariffs, even once you’ve set up the hub and began using it. This means, you can see exactly what speeds you’ll get with the Three 4G Hub before committing for 24 months.

The one thing worth mentioning though is Three also offers a 5G Hub router for the same price as the 4G Hub, which offers much faster download speeds.

So, we definitely recommend getting the 5G Hub over the 4G Hub if you can get it where you live. You can check the router available at your address on the Three website.

Is the Three 4G Hub any good? Our verdict

There are a lot of things to like about the Three 4G Hub if you’re looking for a flexible, cheap way to get online:

• The ZTE MF286D router is easy to set up – you just need to insert the SIM, plug it in, and position it. You can do the entire process yourself in 10-20 minutes or so.
• The monthly costs are extremely competitive compared to basically any other way of getting online in the UK. And there are no upfront costs when buying, which is great.
• Unlimited data is included as standard, which isn’t the case with most other mobile broadband solutions from Vodafone or EE for example.
• There is a 30 day return policy included, allowing you to test the speeds at your address, which basically no other broadband providers offer at the moment.

The main downside to this device is its speeds aren’t as fast as you can get with fibre or 5G internet in most areas.

However, 30-40 Mbps is still plenty for most households. And you can always test the router during the return period to see what you think of its performance before committing for 24 months.

Overall, we rate the Three 4G Hub 4.5 out of 5. This is a great way to get online if you want a cheap internet solution, a flexible router you can use almost anywhere in the UK, or if you can’t get fibre broadband in your area at the moment.

Remember, use the Three network coverage map to check for good 4G signal at your address before buying the Three 4G Hub.

Three 4G Hub alternatives

Apart from the Three 4G Hub, here are some other ways you might like to get online at home using 4G/5G.

1. Three 5G Hub

Apart from their 4G router, Three also sells a very similar 5G internet solution.

This router works the same as the 4G Hub, except it’s 5G-compatible, and supports download speeds of 200-300 Mbps from our testing. If you take it somewhere without 5G signal, the 5G Hub will connect to 4G instead.

These 5G broadband deals still come with unlimited data, and a 30-day money back guarantee. Plus, this router normally costs the exact same as the 4G Hub, making it really good value for money.

Read our full review of the Three 5G Hub.

2. Three 4G MiFi device

There is another 4G mobile broadband solution that’s even more portable than the 4G Hub, and that’s Three’s 4G mobile Wi-Fi (MiFi) device.

Rather than needing to be plugged in all the time, this device comes with a battery, making it very easy to use on the go. It still creates a Wi-Fi hotspot you can use to get online on multiple devices at once, and comes with unlimited data by default.

The downside is, Three 4G MiFi costs a bit more than their 4G router, and you won’t normally get quite as good download speeds with it – just because the device is a fair bit smaller.

Read our full review of Three 4G MiFi.

3. National Broadband 4G Internet

In some areas, other mobile networks like EE can offer faster 4G internet speeds than Three. However, buying from them directly can be very expensive.

National Broadband offers the ability to buy a 4G internet plan on any of the big four networks, including a router and SIM card, allowing you to use the provider that offers the best 4G performance at your address.

In very remote areas, you can also choose to have an antenna installed on your house, to help you get even better 4G signal and speeds.

The downside to National Broadband is they’re a bit more expensive compared to buying the 4G Hub from Three.

Conclusion

This is the end of our review of Three 4G Home Broadband.

If you’re still not sure if this is the right 4G internet plan for your needs, leave us a comment below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

About the author

Tom Paton

Tom is the founder of Broadband Savvy. He has more than five years’ experience writing broadband tutorials, reviewing routers and internet service providers, and explaining broadband-related concepts. Tom is experienced as a writer, and also produces videos for the Broadband Savvy YouTube channel.

He currently specialises in writing content for Broadband Savvy designed to help people understand broadband jargon and terminology, increase their download and upload speeds, and improve their Wi-Fi connectivity. Tom also occasionally contributes to buyer’s guides and review articles on Broadband Savvy, utilising his knowledge of the broadband market in the UK.

When he’s not writing about broadband, you’ll find him walking his dog (Rex) or playing agar.io.