If you’re considering 4G home broadband on Three then you have two options – you can get either the Three 4G Hub, or the at times slightly more expensive Three 4G Plus Hub.
Yet a brief look at their specs lists doesn’t make the decision much easier, as many of the key features are the same, including their maximum download speeds. So you might be wondering just what’s different about the Three 4G Plus Hub, and whether it’s worth the money.
To help answer those questions, we’ve compared these two 4G home broadband routers in full, so you can see exactly how they stack up.
| Three 4G Hub | Three 4G Plus Hub | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 18 x 17 x 3cm | 27.7 x 18.1 x 7cm |
| Colour | White | White |
While both of these devices are essentially white boxes, they do have a fair few visual differences. The standard Three 4G Hub looks very square, with dimensions of 18 x 17 x 3cm, while the Three 4G Plus Hub is much wider, at 27.7 x 18.1 x 7cm, so it’s a bigger device in every dimension.
That means the Three 4G Plus Hub will take up more space in your home, and be more noticeable, but it’s not a bad looking device, with a somewhat stylish, curvy appearance.
It’s arguably the better and more modern looking of the two gadgets in fact, despite its larger size. Though neither is exactly an eyesore, with the standard model curving outwards towards the bottom and having a blue central section, which makes it a bit more visually interesting than it might otherwise be.
| Three 4G Hub | Three 4G Plus Hub | |
|---|---|---|
| Engineer required? | No | No |
| Landline required? | No | No |
| App available? | No | Yes |
There’s little difference in setting up either of these devices, and they both excel here – though so do other 4G and 5G home broadband routers.
One of the great things about such gadgets is that you don’t need a landline or an engineer visit, and they’re typically – as in these cases – little more complex than just plugging them in and switching them on.
However, the Three 4G Plus Hub does have the edge here, as it supports a Three 4G Plus Hub app (available on both Google Play and the App Store).
This helps you optimise the placement of your Hub, manage settings, view connected devices, and easily share access with others. It also lets you connect directly to the web portal, for managing everything else.
| Three 4G Hub | Three 4G Plus Hub | |
|---|---|---|
| Max download speed | 600Mbps | 600Mbps |
| Average download speed | 50-100Mbps | 50-100Mbps |
| LTE Category | 12 | 18 |
| Max simultaneous connections | 64 | 64 |
At first glance you might think the performance of these two devices is much the same. After all, they both support maximum download speeds of 600Mbps and typical ones of 50-100Mbps.
However, Three also notes that you’ll get a “faster, smoother connection” on the Three 4G Plus Hub than the regular one. This is an initially confusing claim given that they offer the same speeds, but in fact the Three 4G Plus Hub (which is a rebranded Sercomm LTE2122GR) supports Category 18 LTE technology, while the standard Three 4G Hub (which is a rebranded ZTE MF286D), only supports Category 12.
That means the Three 4G Plus Hub will be better able to take full advantage of Three’s 4G network (especially in areas with faster 4G+ connectivity), so assuming you live in such an area, your average speeds might more consistently be around 100Mbps, rather than 50Mbps.
Most other core specs are similar though, with both routers supporting dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi and up to 64 simultaneous device connections.
If you feel that neither of the above meets your needs then why not try out the Three 5G Hub which is newer and way faster.
| Three 4G Hub | Three 4G Plus Hub | |
|---|---|---|
| Ethernet ports | 4 | 2 |
| Antenna ports | 2 | 2 |
One area where the standard Three 4G Hub actually has an advantage is in the number of Ethernet ports, as it has four, while the Three 4G Plus Hub only has two. Both devices though have two ports for an external antenna.
As for the software, we’ve mentioned it above but the 4G Plus Hub has a dedicated app, which the standard model doesn’t, leaving you fully reliant on the web interface, which is a less slick way of interacting with the router.
Price is an interesting one because while the Three 4G Plus Hub used to cost more than the standard Three 4G Hub – and may well do so again one day – at the time of writing they’re exactly the same price.
You can get either router on a 24-month contract with unlimited data for £20 per month (reduced to £10 per month for the first six months), or on a 12-month plan with unlimited data for £25 per month.
The only difference is that the standard Three 4G Hub is also available on a rolling 30-day plan for £30 per month with £29 upfront, which isn’t an option for the Three 4G Plus Hub. None of the other plans include an upfront cost.
The Three 4G Plus Hub is clearly the better of these two routers, but the main difference is simply that it will generally offer more consistently high speeds, despite not topping out any higher.
The app is a small perk as well, and the design is arguably a bit nicer, but it’s also bigger and has fewer Ethernet ports.
Those are tiny issues though, and given that they carry the same price tag at the time of writing there really seems no reason not to go for the better model right now, unless you particularly want the freedom of a 30-day plan.
The choice might become a bit trickier if the Three 4G Plus Hub starts selling for a higher price again though, as it’s only a little bit better. And if you can get 5G at home then you should consider the Three 5G Hub instead of either of these.
