Netgear Nighthawk M1 mobile router

It’s great to stay connected when away in your caravan, campervan or motorhome, or more so if you’re using your leisure vehicle for home working.

In our latest gear guide on caravan and motorhome WiFi we featured the Netgear Nighthawk M1 mobile router.

Netgear say it’s the “perfect travel companion for business or personal adventures” and means you can “bring WiFi with you around town, to a meeting or on vacation”.

We found it very easy to use once set up and was able to cope with a number of devices connected up to it, from mobile phones, to laptops, and tablets for video streaming. It’s great for using on a touring holiday, both in the car, and when at your holiday destination.

The Netgear Nighthawk M1 mobile router can actually connect up to 20 WiFi devices, and it also allows you to store video files and then stream them on the go or when pitched up.

The mobile hotspot coped well with multiple users, using the internet, emails, and streaming video content, but understandably struggled when trying to download large media files.

It’s also great for work use if you’re having a “socially distanced” meeting in the park or having to log on whilst on the go, such as at a service station. Our mobile phone and laptop devices remembered the Nighthawk M1 and connected immediately.

Priced at £299.99, Netgear say the Nighthawk is a great family travel device that provides fast internet connection speeds. It operates from any SIM card and parental controls can be set up to safeguard children or limit their internet use. We agreed that it was not only great for staying connected whilst on holiday but meant the children could stay entertained by their devices when travelling in the car.

We did find setting up the SIM card troublesome, in that the mobile provider sent a text message to the device to activate the SIM, and this was difficult to access. It’s worth making sure the SIM card you use is already activated and set up for use in a mobile router.

The Nighthawk M1 works alongside the NETGEAR mobile app and allows you to manage and track your connection and data usage.

The device display also shows how many devices are connected and days left on data used, plus battery levels. Talking of which, you’ll need to remember the Nighthawk charger if you’re away for more than a couple of days. We found the device needed charging every day or two when in regular use.

You can also simply click through the screens for the password to connect to your mobile phone, laptop or tablet.