I already unpacked this newest solution of Smart Communications and Evoluzn Philippines for a fast home LTE-based conenction without the hassle of submitting some requirement a.k.a. "just plug and play" way plus it is only the only currently available solution with 700 MHz LTE support.
Here is my review on Smart Bro Prepaid Home LTE WiFi Review.
Physical Appearance:
Dashboard:
Connectivity:
Here is my review on Smart Bro Prepaid Home LTE WiFi Review.
Physical Appearance:
Unlike on my number of smartphone reviews, I will only gonna divide my review on three main components which only has a small criteria compared to what will you will see more below. Smmart Bro Prepaid LTE Home WiFi is very light and quite small for a router that it is quite as light as my 5,000 mAh powerbank or my daily driver smartphone.
The four LED indicators include the power, LAN (for wired connection), WiFi and signal. The first three were at green while the signal indicator has four legends to remember, blinking red for looking for signal status, red for poor signal, green for average signal and blue for best possible signal in my area but for me those signal colors for my own opinion only gives you an idea but not as a barometer for the speeds that I tested
This one is important as it will be the control center of this device. The dashboard is running thru a website and it worked properly using Microsoft Edge browser. It is already complete from the IP address, signal status, number of devices connected, name of the device and so on. I love that it is really plug and play and no need to set up first an APN for this to work. As the review unit that I got does not have a SIM card included, I chose the Smart Bro Prepaid SIM mainly to maximize a promo that is only particular on that SIM although the representative from Evoluzn PH claimed that it can also run Smart Prepaid, TNT or Sun sims without some tweaking on the settings.
Connectivity:
This will play the big chunk on my review as the main purpose of Smart Bro Prepaid Home LTE WiFi is have a fast internet in home and it promised to have faster speeds compared to Smart Bro LTE Pocket WiFi which is generally true mainly from it's internals and from the number of tests that I did (the Smart Bro LTE Pocket WiFi will be on a separate review)
First, I ran these tests mainly from these areas: Paranaque, Muntinlupa, Las Pinas, Calamba in Laguna and Sto. Tomas, Batangas. As this promo was out last August 30, good thing that I already started these tests since August 29 to catch up for Smart Flexitime which is time-based mobile net service. I chose the Flexitime 100 mainly as for my review period was also coincidentally on the time of IFA 2017 week.
All of my speedtest results were based on Smart's Makati server except for Batangas which I also used the nearest other option of server which is the Lucena server test of PLDT.
These are at my test in a residential compund in Muntinlupa City. It was pretty fast.
Then my speedtests from a coworking space inside BF Resort, Las Pinas. It was a pretty good test for their 700 MHz claim as I was surrounded by glass and some walls in between. Also showed some impressive numbers.
The almost same numbers continued this name with almost the same type of building structure this time from another coworking space inside BF Paranaque.
I went down south this time from a known coffee shop inside SM Calamba. The numbers were very good too as I was situated on the ground floor and it was a given that it was a busy place that there's a lot of connected devices inside of it (I wonder how many were on Smart on that time?) Still got double-digit numbers on Speedtests on upload and download speeds that I watched a live IFA 2017 launch of a tech company in high resolution without that much problems.
The ultimate test for me is the Batangas test sessions which I did inside Blue Isle Subdivision which I knew from years ago that LTE and 3G connections were not very good. My test area was one of the houses that I got the most optimal signal reception in their second floor area and at the back, there's a glass window facing wide fields and a mountain. I am not suprised that only got these numbers compared to Calamba site but it was already usaable that fast forwarding an HD Youtube video was pretty good. I also shared the connection with 4 more devices from my testing place from video calls, Youtube and some online work and I got no complains from them. The connection was quite strong that it penetrated easily from the first floor. Again, looks like the 700 MHz capability was in showcase on this one.
Extras:
It was only the time at my Batangas test that I experienced that even that my devices said that I am connected, the router somewhat cannot get such signal after around 2.5 hours which is still not a big problem for me but what I noticed that at my last day of reviewing it (I already collected a week of test data to write on this article), the regular SIM slot might have a problem as it cannot indicate the SIM as it was also the same one that I used for the new Php 1,295 Smart Bro LTE Pocket WiFi. For this, I suggest to minimize the practice of removing and re-inserting the SIM card (especially if it is a tri-cut SIM) and make use of the dashboard to register to Smart Internet promos like Gigasurf
Verdict:
From the number of devices that can connect and the availability to connect via a LAN cable, easy to set up and availabilty and the strong connection that it can get (as long as there is Smart LTE in your location) and priced just right for Php 1,995, Smart Bro Prepaid LTE Home WiFi is definitely a good choice for people who might not be capable (or not yet need) a Fibr connection yet an LTE connection wirelessly is the next best way to be online minus the hassle of applying for an internet line. I just hope that they will also have a second look on some "cons" that I discovered. My rating is at 4.5 out of 5
