Considering getting online using Three 5G home broadband?
In this article, we’ve reviewed the Three 5G Hub, to see if it’s any good.
We’ve unboxed the 5G router, showed how to set it up, tested its download and upload speeds, and explained whether or not it’s good value for money.
Before we begin, you can type your postcode into the Three network coverage checker to see if you can use the 5G Hub at your address.
Contents
- Three 5G Hub overview
- Three 5G Hub unboxing
- Three 5G Hub setup
- Three 5G Hub speed test
- Three 5G Hub gaming test
- Three 5G Hub value for money
- Is Three 5G broadband any good? Our verdict
- Three 5G Hub alternatives
- Conclusion
Three 5G Hub overview
| Brand | Three |
| Name | 5G Hub |
| Manufacturer brand | Zyxel |
| Manufacturer name | NR5103E |
| Dimensions | 132.5 x 134 x 230mm |
| Speed rating | Cat 22 |
| Ethernet ports | 2 |
| External antenna sockets | 4 |
| WiFi | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax (WiFi 6), dual-band, 4x4 MIMO |
| Maximum connected devices | 64 |
| Colour | White |
| Rating | 4.7 (out of 5) |
| Price | Check on Three |
The Three 5G Hub is a broadband router that connects to the internet using 5G signal, rather than your phone line.
Just like a normal broadband router, the Three 5G Hub creates a Wi-Fi network to which you can connect your computers, phones, games consoles, and other devices. However, rather than plugging into a phone socket on your wall, the 5G Hub connects to the internet wirelessly, using 5G signal.
This means that there’s no need to have an engineer visit your house, or wait to get your connection activated. Once the 5G Hub arrives, you’re good to get online immediately – it’s very easy to set up – you can pretty much plug and play.
The 5G Hub can allow you to achieve must faster download speeds and upload speeds than traditional broadband in some situations. The theoretical maximum download speed of this router on the Three 5G network is 1 Gbps (1000 Mbps), and we were able to achieve speeds of more than 700 Mbps in our real world tests.
Plus, since the 5G Hub only costs about £20-£24 per month, depending on the contract you choose, it can allow you to access ultrafast broadband for much less than it would cost with a provider like Virgin Media or BT.
While this router has Three branding on it, the device is actually a Zyxel NR5103E mobile broadband router.
How the 5G Hub is sold
Three sells the 5G Hub on a month-to-month or 24 month contract – the second choice has a much lower monthly cost. Each plan comes with unlimited data, meaning you don’t need to worry about any usage caps or download limits, just like with a typical home broadband connection.
Before buying, you’ll need to put in your postcode on the Three website, to see if you can get good 5G signal at your address. You can also use their network coverage map to check that you’ll get good download speeds with this 5G broadband router.
Once you order your 5G Hub online, it will typically arrive in the mail in one to two business days – ours arrived the next day. You have 30 days to return the device once it arrives if you decide that 5G broadband isn’t for you.
Also, you can now choose to add on an Amazon eero mesh Wi-Fi package with this router, if needed.
With this add-on, you’ll get two Wi-Fi signal extenders you can place in different parts of the house, helping you get better signal if you have a large property. It’s also possible to add-on more eero units as-needed, to help you get even better Wi-Fi coverage.
Three 5G Hub unboxing
When the 5G Hub arrives in the mail, it comes in a Three-branded box, which contains:
- The 5G Hub
- A 5G SIM card
- A quick start guide
- A ErP conformity notice
- An Ethernet cable
- A power cord
The first thing you’ll see is the information guides, as well as the SIM card.
Below this, you can find the Zyxel NR5103E router with Three 5G Hub branding. It’s reasonably heavy and there isn’t much room to get a grip on the router inside the box, so be careful not to drop it when taking it out.
On the back of the router you’ll find four external antenna ports, two Ethernet ports, a USB port, the on/off button, and the power port. Your Wi-Fi login information is also here.
There is no phone port on this router, meaning you can’t use it with a home phone.
On the base of the router you’ll find the SIM card slot.
The power cord and Ethernet cable are contained in the cardboard pouch at the back of the box. You can use your Ethernet cable to connect computers and gaming consoles to the 5G Hub, for a more consistent broadband connection.
The status icons are located on the top of the router, but you can’t see them unless the router is plugged in – we’ve shown what they look like in the next section.
Three 5G Hub setup
Setting up the Three 5G Hub router is a very simple process. Essentially, all you need to do is insert the SIM card, plug in the router, and turn it on.
Step 1: insert the SIM card
Open the SIM card packet that Three sends you, and remove the SIM push-out card.
You want to remove the second-largest SIM card, also known as the micro SIM. Be careful not to accidentally punch out the smaller nano SIM instead.
Then, grab the 5G Hub, turn it upside down, and move the rubber door that covers the SIM card slot. Insert the micro SIM, with the Three logo face-down, until you hear a click, and the SIM card stays in place. Replace the rubber door.
We must say that with Three’s previous 5G Hub, the ZTE MC801A, this was much easier, as the SIM card was already in the router when it arrived in the mail.
Step 2: plug in the router
Connect the power cord to a mains power socket, and plug the other end into the power port on the back of the 5G Hub.
Then, push the power button, located just above the power port.
The router will now take about three minutes to power on. You’ll find the status lights on the top of the router – when they all turn on and go green (as in the third picture), you’re ready to get online.
It’s not a problem if the signal bar is blue, but if it’s red, you might not get good broadband speeds. We’ll explain more about this below.
Step 3: connect to Wi-Fi
Contrary to what the quick-start guide from Three says, the Wi-Fi password is not located on the base of the router.
The base only has a QR code, which will display your password with some other information when scanned. But we wouldn’t recommend using this because the QR code is so small it’s quite difficult to use.
Instead, look for the password on the side of the router, near the antenna ports. Our Wi-Fi network was called “Three_424D”.
At this point, you can download the Three 5G Broadband mobile app if you’d like. It enables you to manage most of the settings you’ll find in the router admin panel, such as doing things like creating a guest Wi-Fi network.
Step 4: test the router in different positions
With a mobile broadband router like the 5G Hub, it’s very important to test the device in different positions around the house, to find where it gets the best signal.
A good place to start is with the router on an upstairs windowsill. However, it could be that you’ll get much better speeds on a windowsill on the other side of your house.
Your first clue is the signal bar on the top of the router. If it’s green, the 5G Hub is likely in a good spot, however this doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re getting the fastest-possible download and upload speeds.
In our case, we achieved download speeds of about 400 Mbps in the first location. Then, when we moved the router to an upstairs windowsill, we achieved download speeds of 720 Mbps.
We found that our upload speed was sensitive to the router’s position as well, including how it was rotated. Sometimes, it was possible to move the router and sacrifice a bit of download speed, in return for a higher upload speed.
Three 5G Hub speed test
We performed a number of speed tests over Wi-Fi using the Three 5G Hub.
1. Wi-Fi, same room, best router position
This test was taken in the best position for the router, in terms of maximising download speeds, which was an upstairs windowsill.
We found that by rotating the router, we were able to achieve faster upload speeds, as shown in speed test #3.
2. Wi-Fi, same room, suboptimal router position
This test was taken when we first set up the router, which was downstairs, near a window facing the garden. The was the opposite side of the house to the first test.
3. Wi-Fi, suboptimal router position
This test was taken with the router in a very similar location to in the first test, but rotated slightly, which seemed to increase its upload speed.
4. Ethernet, suboptimal router position
We found that the 5G Hub was quite a lot slower when we tested using an Ethernet connection, although it had a much higher upload speed and a slightly lower ping.
This was because we had to place the Hub close to our PC to perform these tests, rather than being able to leave it near a window.
What speeds will I get with the 5G Hub?
The speeds you’ll get with the 5G Hub can vary quite a lot from house to house. It depends on exactly how strong the Three 5G network is at your address.
The best way to get an idea of what speeds you’ll get is to use the Three network coverage map. Put in your postcode, and look for good indoor and outdoor 5G coverage where you live.
If the map shows that you have good indoor and outdoor 5G signal, you can expect to get speeds of at least 100-200 Mbps, and even up to 500-700 Mbps as we achieved with our speed test results.
If you don’t get speeds that you’re happy with, you can always return the 5G Hub to Three, provided the router hasn’t been damaged.
If you don’t get good enough 5G signal according to the map, you can try Three’s 4G router, the 4G Hub, instead. It also offers good speeds with unlimited mobile broadband data for a very reasonable per month cost.
It’s also worth noting, the new Zyxel 5G Hub that Three now sells is much faster than the old ZTE 5G Hub. With the old device, we were only able to get download speeds of around 300 Mbps at the same address.
Three 5G Hub gaming test
We tested the 5G Hub playing Rocket League – an online game where having a low latency is very important. During our tests, we connected our PC to the 5G Hub directly, using the supplied Ethernet cable.
In-game, we typically have a ping of about 50 milliseconds, when connected to the closest game servers. Although this is a little high, our experience was very smooth. We did not notice any lag or rubberbanding when playing Rocket League.
Watch our YouTube review of this router to get a better idea of the 5G Hub gaming experience.
Three 5G Hub value for money
On the whole, we would say that Three 5G home broadband offers very good value for money. No other fibre broadband or mobile broadband providers on the market right now offer 500 Mbps+ download speeds for £20 per month, and no upfront costs.
Since your download speed is typically the most important aspect of your broadband connection, the 5G Hub performs extremely well given what it costs. Most full fibre broadband deals with these types of speeds will have more than twice as high a monthly cost, as well as normally a quite high upfront cost.
On its cheapest plan, which is the 24 month contract, the 5G Hub is great value for money, and it’s also quite reasonably priced on the 1 month contract as well.
The option to get this router with unlimited 5G data on a pay as you go plan is quite nice to have. With this deal, if you want to cancel the connection you can do so at any time – all you need to do is return the router to Three.
Although this 5G broadband router’s upload speeds aren’t amazing, at least from our testing, they are plenty fast for most households. You’ll get similar upload speeds to what you would with most superfast home broadband plans.
The only real issue with Three 5G home broadband is its latency, if you play fast-paced online games. Your ping will average around 45-55 milliseconds.
However, there is a 30-day return policy available to Three home broadband customers, so you’ll always free to test the 5G Hub and see how it performs for you.
Is Three 5G broadband any good? Our verdict
The Three 5G Hub is an excellent way to get fast broadband for a low monthly cost.
Using this router, you might be able to achieve download speeds of 500-700 Mbps or more, for a fraction of the cost of buying full fibre broadband, assuming you can get full fibre broadband where you live.
Plus, this 5G router is very easy to set up compared to a traditional home broadband router. All you need to do is insert the SIM card, plug it in, and turn it on. You don’t need a landline to use this 5G router, meaning you don’t need to pay for line rental.
However, there are downsides to the Three 5G Hub router.
- Your latency will be a bit higher than with a fibre broadband connection, meaning you might lag a bit more when playing online games, although we had a very smooth experience overall, when using the supplied Ethernet cable.
- The 5G Hub is a bit particular about where it’s placed. You’ll need to get it in the right location to get the best possible download speeds.
Overall, we rate the Three 5G Hub 4.7 out of 5 – we would definitely recommend at least trying Three 5G home broadband, especially given the generous return policy Three offers.
Three 5G Hub alternatives
If you don’t like the look of the Three 5G Hub, there are a few other home broadband routers that you could consider instead.
All of these alternative routers use 4G or 5G signal to help you connect to the internet.
1. Three 4G Hub
If you want to save a bit of money, or don’t need 5G speeds, you might be better off with the Three 4G Hub instead.
The best thing about the 4G Hub is its pricing – it’s quite a bit cheaper than Three’s 5G router, especially on a 24 month contract. You can also get it on a pay as you go plan, which is nice.
There are other benefits as well – you get more Ethernet ports, for example, and you can connect up to 64 devices at once, like with Three’s 5G router. However, the Wi-Fi standards used aren’t quite as good.
Read our full review of the 4G Hub to learn more.
Also, you might like to consider the 4G Plus Hub – this is similar to the regular 4G Hub, but is a bit faster, thanks to some included external antennas.
2. EE Smart 5G Hub
EE’s 5G Router is much more expensive than Three’s. They often charge a high upfront cost, and not all of their plans come with unlimited data. The one that does come with unlimited data has quite a high monthly cost.
This router is actually the same Zyxel device that Three is selling, just with different branding.
There is one reason you might consider EE’s 5G home broadband router: EE has more 5G coverage in the UK than Three, meaning this device might offer faster download speeds – plus it might work in more places if you travel with it.
3. Vodafone GigaCube
You can buy the Vodafone GigaCube on a 30 day month to month contract, if you’d like. Plus, its Wi-Fi supports higher download speeds, of up to 2475 Mbps on 5Ghz.
However, the GigaCube is very expensive. It has an extremely high initial cost when purchased on a pay as you go plan, and is also very expensive on the default 24 month contract, when compared with the 5G Hub.
Plus, if you don’t choose the most expensive unlimited data plan from Vodafone, you’ll be stuck with just 100GB or 200GB of data per month, which isn’t enough for most families in this day and age.
Conclusion
This is the end of our review of Three 5G home broadband.
If you’re still not sure whether the Three 5G Hub is right for you, or if you should consider other 5G routers to get online, feel free to leave a comment below. We’ll respond as soon as we can.
About the author
Tyler built his first PC at the age of 12, and since then, he’s become obsessed with all things networking and internet-related. He’s a massive gamer, loves Rocket League, and also plays Sunday League football.
Great article, I am currently investigating moving away from VIRGIN and see the 5G Hub has a good alternative
You make no mention of performance when using streaming services such as NETFLIX or PRIME, what’s your experience with these ?
Hi,
These services only rely on you having a good download speed, which the 5G Hub provides, assuming you have good 5G signal. Therefore streaming services should work flawlessly.
I’m currently six months into three 5g,so have the older zte modem.
Do you know if three will upgrade me to newer router?
I think they have been quite good about doing this, from what we’ve heard in the past. We’d recommend ringing them and asking.
Morning, we have a garden office and are having difficulties with getting good connection, its no more than 20 meters away but wondering what coverage is like? We would like to avoid a second router.
Thanks
Hi,
Do you by any chance have a 5G-enabled mobile phone, ideally on the Three network? If so, do a speed test from the office, and see what your speeds are like. If you don’t, it’s not a problem to buy this router and test it, given Three has quite a good return policy.
Thanks
Hello, does the router have the option to go to 4G if signal strength is not good enough in 5G?
Best regards.
Yes it does.
Hi I know it’s a expensive way to try it out but could I run this along side my norm broadband for a month just to see how it is b4 leaving my other broadband provider
Absolutely, if it’s no good, you can always return it.
Hi Tyler
This might sound like a silly question.
If I connect to this router with my smartphone, which is on another mobile network and then make calls or send SMS, will it charge extra according to the tariff on the Three 5G sim in the router or just the tariff of the sim card in my smartphone?
Thanks
Hi, it will use the existing SIM card in your smartphone, no need to worry about any connection with the Three SIM.
Thanks
HI
i am wondering i have elderly family members who are looking to get internet in the home so that they can get streaming services on there Tv (netflix), does this box require a mobile phone to be connected to it for it to work or can it be set up on its own?
many thanks
Hi, the Hub can be set up on its own. Thanks
Right on the edge of 5G coverage, so the website only offers me the 4G.
Is there anyway 3 will supply the 5G router in the knowledge that it will revert to 4G until 5G arrives.
I’m located about 2 mile south of M/cr city centre so 5G is all around me, just not at my address.
Use this link to get directly to 5G Hub plans on the Three website.
Hi I currently have a Virgin Hub in my bungalow loft which I have to connect to a secondary router (Netgear) via patch cable to act as an extender for my garden alexa devices because the virgin signal doesnt reach far enough. Will the 3 hub operate the same way with a secondary router?
Also I use a VPN service on one of my laptops, do you know please if 3 tolerate this and if the hub works with VPN?
Hi, the extension should work, but we’d recommend trying the router and returning it if it doesn’t – Three support might have trouble answering this question before buying. We can confirm that this device works with a VPN. Thanks
Hello currently i use VM Broadband, I use their router as the base station and I have that connected to TP-Link/AX11000 MU-MIMO Tri-Band Gaming Router. can I use the 4/5G 3 Router in conjunction with this or does this router make it obsolete. ???
Hi, we are under the impression that this is not possible because it’s a 5G router, however we’re not 100% sure. You can always try buy a 5G Hub and return it if this doesn’t work, and the Wi-Fi signal isn’t good enough with the router by itself for your house. Thanks
Is the 5g hub also 3 g and 4 g backwards compabitable if 5 g is not available in my area. The reason i ask is i have bought the Three 5g hub and have had a bit of buffering , however, I intend to add other devices to it which are ethernet ready not wifi compatibale. In particular the add on devices i have bought it for will be running an ethernet cable linked to the hub.
It will switch to 4G if 5G isn’t available. Three is in the process of switching off their 3G network, so we’d recommend checking to make sure you at least get good 4G.
Hi, Which of the 2 5G routers used by 3 do you prefer – the Zyxel NR5103E or ZTE MC801A?
I’m asking as the Zyxel NR5103E is offered on the 3 website & I visited a 3 Store yesterday which offered me the ZTE MC801A.
I checked direct with 3 sales & they said that the 5G hubs they are offering now are the ZTE MC801A and the Huawei 122373 (Think they meant H122-373) – also that the Zyxel NR5103E is not currently supplied by them.
Is the Huawei H122-373 one of these – HUAWEI 5G CPE Pro 2 or HUAWEI 5G CPE Pr?
Hi, we prefer the Zyxel (the one pictured in this review, for anyone else reading this) because we got faster speeds with it. I don’t believe they’re selling the Huawei device right now – just the Zyxel and ZTE. Thanks
Hello
I wonder if you can advice me, I’m currently with G-Network, although download speeds are great, the internet keeps dropping. I would like to try out the 3 5G router, however, I currently have have 4 wan ports on current router all of which are taken up by sky booster, garden office ubiquity booster and loft room booster, I notice that the 3 router only has 2 ports… is there a way round this… sorry a bit of a technophobe!
Hi, you can use an Ethernet switch to convert one of the ports into another four. Just remember, the total bandwidth of the four new ports will be limited to the bandwidth of the single port they originate from. Thanks
How does this work with smart home devices? I believe mobile broadband dongle devices don’t really work for this, due lack of ethernet and smart speakers may not be compatible.
But this looks more like a regular home router. I currently have several smart home hubs for heating, lighting, etc connected through ethernet to my router. Do you know if this would allow a similar setup? With a switch to expand on the number of ethernet ports?
Thanks
Hi, we believe that these smart home devices will work – nothing stopping them from being compatible.
I have this router and all my smart home things work on it.
I would like to know is does this router support Wi-Fi mesh
hi Tyler,
do you think this 5G hub will be good for going overall. I play mainly online games like call of duty and dayz do you think I will run into any trouble with lag.
Hi, it should be good, especially if you can plug it into your console. You can always try it out during the return window.
Hi,
What parnetal controls possible with 5G hub?
Hi, we’re not sure exactly, but we belive it does have parental controls in the admin portal like most other routers.
That’s a great review, thanks Tyler. I currently have the Sky Q system with three mini hubs and am going to test this 5g hub alongside it with a view to replacing my (slow) Sky broadband.. Any suggestions on how best to connect it to the Sky system? Thanks, David.
THanks David. How are the Sky modules connected to the router at the moment? The 5G Hub should be able to accept them the same way, but it might be worth checking with Three whether Sky Q is compatible, if you want to keep it.
Hi Tyler
Great review, just wondering if my ring doorbell and cameras will work okay and also I’ve heard they don’t do a static ip address, will this effect firesticks or anything else thanks
Hi Steve, I think you’re right in saying they don’t do a static IP, but this shouldn’t be a problem with ring doorbells or Fire TV Sticks.
HI Tyler,
I would like to go with 1 month contract so I can leave anytime.
If later (lets say 4 months later) I decide to end my contract, must I send back the router? or can I keep it to use it later with three or even another provider? Thanks
I believe you will have to send back the router.
Hi. I am leaving Virgin and have 2 smart tvs and firesticks, would the 5g hub be ok for both tvs to work and apps? Thanks
Hi, it should offer enough speed if you have good 5G signal. No harm in trying it out for 30 days and seeing if it works.
I currently have Sky BB which I am about to end to move to Three 5G.
Although Sky has been the fastest ‘fixed’ to a landline router we have ever had in our current home (of 12 years) we did have to resort to Tapo Deco M4 Mesh devices to guarantee a solid connection throughout our home.
If this is still the case once we change over to the Three 5G is it possible to pair their hub with the M4 Mesh (I am not certain that the 5G signal will be degraded if it is then hardwired to the Deco and then beamed throughout the house ??)
TY in advance.
Hi, the Wi-Fi side of things works just like any other router – setting up mesh won’t intefere with the 5G. Therefore you should be able to do this.
Hi, would you be able to take this and use it in a static caravan when you go on holiday?
Hi, yes you would as long as you have at least 4G signal (and ideally 5G) from Three.
Hi you tell how many devices I can connect to the 3 5g
You can connect up to 64 devices to the router at once.
Thanks, that was very informative.
I was wondering, it is a 12v dc power supply. Now if I had a lead plugged into my car cigarette socket to the router could I use this while I’m driving. For example if my kids don’t have a lot of data could they connect to this while I’m driving? I know the 5G will come and go but equally I know while the car is running it produces 14v. Would this be ok?
Theoretically that should work. Just note it’s not only your 5G that will drop out, your 4G will as well, leaving you with zero signal sometimes.
Can I use any sim in this router as long as its 5g
Not if you buy on a contract from Three – it will be locked.