Review: T-Mobile Falcon Z-917 by ZTE (Mobile WiFi Hotspot)

This device has been discontinued or we consider it obsolete. While current owners of this device may continue to find performance to be adequate for the foreseeable tech-future, we do not recommend upgrading to or purchasing this device.

ZTE in the News: ZTE has been in the news a lot lately thanks to the sanctions the company has been negotiating with the US government. At one point, it seemed as if ZTE would be forced out of business.

In mid-July 2018 it looked like the dust has settled and ZTE would be able to continue releasing new products and supporting older devices, so we dropped our previous warning.

However, as of late 2018, the Trump administration is considering a ban on ZTE and Huawei via Executive Order.

Members, get our further analysis and follow our ongoing tracking of this story in our Special Announcements forum:

ALERT: Future of ZTE In Doubt - Mobley, Warp, Velocity 2, other devices impacted

The ZTE Falcon Z-917 is T-Mobile's entry level mobile hotspot, replacing the Z-915 model in T-Mobile's lineup.

It turns out that the newer model is actually just a cost-reduced version of the Z-915, with the exact same specifications and internal electronics.

The key difference is that the older and more expensive Z-915 has an LCD screen for changing settings and checking status. But on the new Falcon model there is only a series of basic status lights - and all changes must be made via a web interface.

But this is not a high-end device, and it does NOT have advanced features or support for combining multiple bands via LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation. It also does not support T-Mobile's newest LTE frequency, Band 71.

UPDATE (October 2016): T-Mobile has seemingly replaced the Falcon Z-917 in its lineup with the newer Alcatel LINKZONE - which has nearly identical specifications and capabilities.

Specifications

# of Connected Devices: 10 Wi-Fi / Supports USB Tethering
WiFiRanger Tethering: Tested & Confirmed
Control Panel: http://mobile.hotspot/ or http://192.168.0.1/
Default Password: "admin"
Networks supported:
LTE Bands: 2, 4, 12 (17)
4G: HSPA+ 850/1900/2100MHz
3G / 2G: Global Roaming NOT Supported
LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation: No
LTE Performance Category: Category 4
(Max Theoretical Speed: 150Mbps Down / 50Mbps Up)
Cellular Antenna Ports: None
Wi-Fi Technology / Frequencies: 802.11 b/g/n - 2.4GHz Only
Dimensions: 4.13" x 2.36" x 0.63" / 4.23 oz
Battery:
- Battery Life: 6hrs
- Can run without battery? Yes
- Battery Part #: Li3720T42P3h704572
- Battery Purchase: Generic
SIM Card Type: 3FF / Micro SIM
Retail Price: $79.95

Review & Testing Status

Unlimitedville.com sent us a review unit Falcon Z-917, and we tested it along with the Unlimitedville unlimited T-Mobile hotspot data plan. Our hands on review is included below.

In addition, we have included this unit in our several other rounds of testing. Our field testing results can be found here, for our members who want to follow along:

Potential Alternatives to Consider:

For other popular mobile hotspots on the market - here are our featured options:

Learn More About Selecting LTE Hotspots

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