Disclosure: I bought this device with my own money — this post isn’t sponsored by ZTE or anyone else. It contains a referral link (NordVPN) and may contain affiliate links; if you sign up or purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions here are my own, based on actual use.
I didn’t plan on becoming someone who reviews mifi devices. But after my Huawei Mobile WiFi 2 Pro — a device I’d been running since 2019 — flat out refused to run at a decent speed anymore, I’m talking barely-usable-for-light-productivity levels of slow, I was forced to go shopping for a replacement. What started as an annoyance turned into this ZTE U30 Pro review, because honestly, I wasn’t expecting a budget option to actually deliver.
I use this thing for out-of-home work days and to keep my tablets online when I’m not near my home WiFi — basically, I went looking for a budget 5G portable WiFi setup in Singapore that wouldn’t let me down mid-task. So the bar was simple: it needs to actually work, and it needs to not cost a fortune.
Why I Was Shopping for a New Mifi in the First Place
The Huawei Mobile WiFi 2 Pro’s slow-speed problem wasn’t a one-off — it was consistent, annoying, and eventually just not worth troubleshooting anymore, six years in. I spent way more time restarting that device than I care to admit before accepting defeat and looking elsewhere.
The problem? Most mainstream brands in Singapore are priced like they know you’re desperate. A quick scan of what’s out there landed me on options starting from S$200 and upwards — fine devices on paper, but nearly double or triple what I was hoping to spend on what is, at the end of the day, a box that turns a SIM card into WiFi.