Of course, the device can also be operated with the USB-C charger plugged in. However, thanks to the rechargeable battery, it is then just mega flexible.
However, the device absolutely needs a SIM card from a mobile phone network operator.
Regarding the 2 questions.
"VPN service (NordVPN, ProtonVPN or similar)" -> yes via the clients of your operating system.
"Is an OpenVPN or IKEv2/IPSec capable VPN client installed on it? It seems that you cannot install openWRT (openwrt.org/) or similar on it yet" -> unfortunately no. You'll have to build something with a Raspberry Pi or similar.
A SIM card goes in there. The iPhone or any other WIFI device will then use this router. If you are only looking for a WIFI amplifier, search for WIFI REPEATER.
Any network device can be connected to the LAN port, including a router. The Ethernet cable can also be 100m long. The question is simply what do you want to achieve with it? If you simply want to connect several devices (PC, TV box, etc.) to the Nighthawk via cable, a normal switch would make more sense.
Yes, I have the original additional antennas from Netgear. I usually achieve a gain of around 1-2 bars of signal, which translates into an increase in the lower double-digit Mbit/s range depending on the location. If you're not expecting miracles, then it's a good investment. :-)
For all those who are interested: Tested it today in a Starbucks. WiFi offloading did not work with Starbucks, Coop or SBB free WiFi. The captive portal is not displayed in the web interface of the hotspot, which would be necessary to log in. With the purely password-protected WiFi at home, it worked perfectly. Speed was very good via USB tethered laptop (over 200Mbit/s) and rather moderate via WiFi (approx. 10Mbit/s - with active offloading only the 2.4GHz WiFi of the hotspot can be used).
Displaying the captive portal in the web interface should actually be feasible. A firmware update from Netgear would be nice here. I will write to them in the support forum.
Hello, I am looking for an Internet solution for our (small) holiday flat in Lenzerheide. Is the Netgear M1 suitable for this? - I have a Sunrise subscription (Up Internet XL) and an additional SIM card (We Connect extra SIM Surf, in the 3/4/5G network up to 100Mbit/s for download and for Uplopad). Do I understand correctly that I can insert the SIM card into the Netgear and thus have Internet in the holiday flat? Is that enough to watch Netflix on the Smart TV, for example? Or is a more expensive Netgear worthwhile and which one? Thanks for your help!
Yes, exactly like that. You land for example in Dubai, go to the airport to a shop of a mobile phone operator or a shop that sells mobile phones and buy a local SIM card prepaid with data credit, present your passport and as soon as YOU have the SIM card, you can insert it into the device, and depending on which network you still have to set the APN. You get the APN settings from your foreign network operator, or it is usually written on the instructions that come with the SIM card. Then use the app from your mobile phone to log into the Netgear and enter the APN and you're done.
Already tested in France, Italy, Dubai, UAE, South Africa, etc.... tested
A mobile Internet connection with the Netgear Hotspot Nighthawk M1 is protected by various security measures.
- Wi-Fi encryption: The router supports WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK, which ensures secure encryption of the Wi-Fi connection.
- LTE security: The connection via the LTE network is also secured by mobile network standards, providing a high level of security against unauthorised access.
- Device management: The mobile app makes it easy to operate the device and monitor settings, which increases security and control over the connection.
Overall, the Nighthawk M1 provides a secure and reliable mobile internet connection.
