Review on 📶 Huawei E5577Cs-321 Unlocked 4G LTE Mobile WiFi Hotspot (Global 3G, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa) - Original OEM Model, No Carrier Logo (White) by Fred Whitehead

I bought this to use my iPhone in France and to save my US phone number over WIFI calls. And avoid Verizon's $10/day international service fee. And it works. Like I said, the battery doesn't last long. I will buy a portable charger to keep it running longer than 4-5 hours. And it took me a while to figure out how to start. The included "quick start" guide is useless and the support I found online indicated a level of technology and SIM knowledge that was beyond me. It could really use the Idiot's Guide, so if you decide to buy this it might get you started. First to the SIM card if you are using it for the first time. The SIM card is what you need to install in your mobile Wi-Fi device to get phone/internet service from a local provider. I got my SIM card from the tobacconist Tabac. The card itself is free. But then you buy "credits" for $5, $10, $20 or whatever you add to your card. Unfortunately, as I don't speak French, I'm still trying to figure out how to add the credit I bought from Tabac to my SIM card, so I went to the website of the telecom company that received the SIM card from LEBARA Has . This page can be translated into English. Once there, I created a LEBARA account using the numbers on the back of the envelope that contained the SIM card. The shorter "No de appel" number is the "telephone number" of the SIM card. The long number is the registration number. Once I had an account, I bought another $10 credit online to top up my SIM card until I figured out how to use the tobacco credit. After 3 hours a day, my original $10 credit was gone, unfortunately resulting in me buying less than 300MB of data. Then I realized that the $30 monthly plan (20G data + 2 hours long distance) was way, way, way cheaper. There is no contract so I turned off the monthly renewal after signing up for it. There was definitely a learning curve in the beginning. I hope you don't waste the $20 I spent. But compared to using my Verizon US data plan, I'm still ahead of the game. To use your Wi-Fi mobile device, charge it with the included USB cable. Then remove the back cover of the device and the battery to install the SIM card. Remove the card from the larger, credit card sized card, leaving the rectangle with the cut corner/adapter attached to the tiny SIM card. Slide the card under the small gold band on the SIM card slot to hold it in place. (The quick start guide will show you which SIM port to use. That's all it's good for.) Download the Huawei HiLink app on your smartphone. Open it. Turn on your mobile WiFi device. Go to your smartphone/wifi network settings and select the one that says something like Huawei-08A3. You will need a Wi-Fi password/key, so open your mobile Wi-Fi device again. The WLAN "key" is printed on the back of the battery. Enter this and you should be good. (The "Administrator" thing mentioned in the quickstart doesn't work.) Your phone should now be connected to the device. You should now see the device in the app on your phone. If you click on "Extras" in the app, you will see "SMS" where messages to this SIM number will be displayed. Like me, if you sign up and buy a credit or plan online, your carrier will send your verification code here. You may need it to verify your account. And if for some reason you need to use a French phone number when you travel, you can get messages here on the local number provided with your SIM card. Otherwise, your phone should be able to make and receive calls to your US phone number without incurring roaming charges. In fact, leave your phone in airplane mode to be safe. Hope this helps someone!