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1311 Review
41 Karma

Review on Franklin Wireless R717 LTE Hotspot by Jayshawn Cuatlayol

Revainrating 2 out of 5

Cheap hotspot that burns batteries.

PSA: If you buy one of these make sure it is turned off before charging and always unplug it immediately after the battery is fully charged. This mostly functional device has some odd design and security flaws. I've seen 3 versions of T-Mobile (T9) with blown batteries in a few months. From the looks of it, these little toys use some kind of old-school mobile design for the charging system, which can be dangerous if handled like a modern device. Be sure to follow the instructions in the email to reduce the risk of damaging the battery, which could result in cool things like a fire or small explosion. There are also some "hidden" management and settings pages that are enabled by default and accessible to anyone with a web browser, as well as a default username and password. This is the same set of logins in the latest firmware for all models of this model - regardless of the telecom operator. Who designs this garbage?

Pros
  • Decent performance
Cons
  • Miscellaneous Miscellaneous