CradlePoint MBR1200B Small Business Mobile

I have had this product for nearly a week, and I am very impressed. Having read reviews on numerous mobile broadband routers from several manufacturers, I noted many issues and hoped for the best when I ordered this. It was very easy to set up, and when I ran into a problem with something I did, the downloadable product manual had the solution (easy to implement). The MBR1200B product has performed flawlessly and it improved the reliability and performance of my set-up.

Please note: I live in a rural area and am one of those without hardwired internet access at home. My choices for internet access are/were dial-up, satellite, or mobile broadband. I chose mobile broadband as the least bad of the options, and have been using it for over 5 years. My home has several Macintosh computers, and I have had an older one that I had dedicated as the 1) connector via a mobile broadband "modem" and 2) WiFi router.

When I did a recent computer upgrade, I dedicated a newer Macintosh as the modem and WiFi router. The set-up generally performed adequately to satisfactorily, but there were challenges and disappointments. It was a little better than the old set-up, but not by much. In the few days since installing (again, very easy to do) the MBR1200B, The performance of my home WiFi network for internet access has been its best---in overall performance, ease of use, operating speed, and reliability.

I highly recommend Cradlepoint's MBR1200B.

I bought this router for the fail over feature, which seems to work nice but I have been battling with their tech support for weeks to try to resolve problems connecting wirelessly. They finally agreed just today to do an RMA. I will let you know if the replacement is better.

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Pretty happy with this router. Deducting one star as it doesn't have external antenna connections. For a router that is positioned for mobile use, and for providing redundant connectivity for those people who really need to be online, I am surprised that the router doesn't have this. Instead, I have to use a second router for my external antennas when I want to strain to pick up a wireless signal that is anything but good. This router then feeds it into the cradlepoint as a WAN. I use this inside an Airstream and the metal isn't great for allowing signals inside. The Wifi-as-WAN feature would be awesome if I could use an external antenna.

That being said, I don't think there is a better router out there for this type of functionality. There are a few things I would like to see work better in the user interface, but I'm pretty picky when it comes to stuff like this so I'd say that I have fewer complaints in this regard vs some other router.

In particular, it would be nice if it were smarter about connecting to higher priority WAN sources. I unfortunately spend a lot of time manually choosing the source I want in the user interface. For example, if you scan for a wifi signal and then choose to import it... then why not auto connect to it in one step? Also, it doesn't seem to bring up a wifi signal in parallel to like a USB 4g modem to be able to switch over instantly should the current connection go down. So I think my process to connect to a wifi signal is ... I have to import it then disable my USB 4g connection to get it to start bringing up the wifi WAN. I don't see why it doesn't at least always bring up as many WAN sources as it can, or at least have a wifi WAN up and waiting if it can for a seamless switchover.

But again, I'm quite happy with the product and these fussy comments are more to do with me being a demanding power user who wants things done just the way I'd like. It's a great endorsement for me to say that I don't hate anything about this unit. Some things could be slightly better but overall they did a great job designing this.

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This review is intended to serve as heads-up for potential Cradlepoint purchasers. Cradlepoint's product support practices have turned my initial enthusiasm to disappointment and disgust.

My Cradlepoint router was unusable for its intended purpose for more time than it was operational because Cradlepoint support took months to roll out new firmware to support the upgrades AT&T made to my broadband modem. I was patient with them through those extended periods, only to have them decide, just a few months into my owning it, that they were going to "End of Life" my product.

Once Cradlepoint declared "End of Life" to my router (the MBR1000), their support (firmware roll-outs) continued for less than 9 months. So, after less than one year of up-time, the pricey broadband router I purchased in good faith has no more functionality than a $15 low-end special because Cradlepoint won't take the trouble to maintain its firmware.

I can't say how Cradlepoint will support its products going forward, but after my hard experience, I won't be purchasing any more of their products. I feel that I've been had.

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