ZTE MU5001 Router With eSim

[TheBows]

Having just mastered my new (to me) ZTE MU5001 router I thought I would try it with an eSim. "The router doesn't do esims" I hear you shout, and you are correct. BUT, it will take an eSim adaptor onto which you can load an eSim. It works!! The adaptor card is from a company called Switch found at https://www.switchesim.com/ Costs about £17 plus postage. Onto this I have loaded a Spusu eSim. (Chose them because you can get an eSim to play with for £2.90, cancel after 1 month). With this I got a download speed of 450mbps on the EE 5g service. There are other eSim adaptor providers. Cannot say whether they would have worked. Probably, would be my guess.

The trick is to put the eSim adaptor in your phone and set it up. Then just put the adaptor in the ZTE router, set the APN to Spusu and away you go. With this you can have up to 15 eSim profiles in your router and switch between them. Or whistle up a new provider anytime without needing a new physical sim. Seems like progress to me.

 

[Gaston aires]

I have one of those routers. Very good product.

 

[MichaelT]

Having just mastered my new (to me) ZTE MU5001 router I thought I would try it with an eSim. "The router doesn't do esims" I hear you shout, and you are correct. BUT, it will take an eSim adaptor onto which you can load an eSim. It works!! The adaptor card is from a company called Switch found at https://www.switchesim.com/ Costs about £17 plus postage. Onto this I have loaded a Spusu eSim. (Chose them because you can get an eSim to play with for £2.90, cancel after 1 month). With this I got a download speed of 450mbps on the EE 5g service. There are other eSim adaptor providers. Cannot say whether they would have worked. Probably, would be my guess.

The trick is to put the eSim adaptor in your phone and set it up. Then just put the adaptor in the ZTE router, set the APN to Spusu and away you go. With this you can have up to 15 eSim profiles in your router and switch between them. Or whistle up a new provider anytime without needing a new physical sim. Seems like progress to me.

So the adapter card is just a BT connection to your phone and you then configure the esim in the app and it fools the router into thinking it's a normal sim?

Do you have to have your phone nearby all the time?

 

[Jabstatt]

This looks like a good upgrade for my installation.
I have a Poynting mimo external antenna which has, I think, sma, screwed antenna leads.
Can I leave it on charge constantly? It’s a bit inaccessible and is on the main 12v feed which goes on when we arrive at a destination.

Seems very good value for money particularly on Amazon.

Tony

 

[TheBows]

So the adapter card is just a BT connection to your phone and you then configure the esim in the app and it fools the router into thinking it's a normal sim?

Do you have to have your phone nearby all the time?

No. The adaptor card looks like a normal physical sim. No Bluetooth involved. Put this sim into your phone and load the eSim profile. When it is working, take it out of your phone and put it in the router. The router is not fooled. It has a physical sim to look at just like always.

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[TheBows]

This looks like a good upgrade for my installation.
I have a Poynting mimo external antenna which has, I think, sma, screwed antenna leads.
Can I leave it on charge constantly? It’s a bit inaccessible and is on the main 12v feed which goes on when we arrive at a destination.

Seems very good value for money particularly on Amazon.

Tony

I always leave my router permanently connected to the 12v system when using the van. Never had a problem.

 

[Ditcha]

Having just mastered my new (to me) ZTE MU5001 router I thought I would try it with an eSim. "The router doesn't do esims" I hear you shout, and you are correct. BUT, it will take an eSim adaptor onto which you can load an eSim. It works!! The adaptor card is from a company called Switch found at https://www.switchesim.com/ Costs about £17 plus postage. Onto this I have loaded a Spusu eSim. (Chose them because you can get an eSim to play with for £2.90, cancel after 1 month). With this I got a download speed of 450mbps on the EE 5g service. There are other eSim adaptor providers. Cannot say whether they would have worked. Probably, would be my guess.

The trick is to put the eSim adaptor in your phone and set it up. Then just put the adaptor in the ZTE router, set the APN to Spusu and away you go. With this you can have up to 15 eSim profiles in your router and switch between them. Or whistle up a new provider anytime without needing a new physical sim. Seems like progress to me.

So is it just a one off payment to switch for the esim adaptor then no on going costs?

 

[TheBows]

So is it just a one off payment to switch for the esim adaptor then no on going costs?

To the best my knowledge yes, no extra costs. Obviously a wise person would do their own research. Actually, the price is £11 plus pp for the model I have.

 

[Stonemags76]

So this would probably work with any WiFi or MiFi? It sounds a handy thing to have on standby anyway! Thanks!

 

[TheBows]

So this would probably work with any WiFi or MiFi? It sounds a handy thing to have on standby anyway! Thanks!

Definitely does NOT work with just any MiFi. My last router was a Huawei E5785 and the eSim adaptor did NOT work. I think it comes down to how old your router is.

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[pandas]

Having just mastered my new (to me) ZTE MU5001 router I thought I would try it with an eSim. "The router doesn't do esims" I hear you shout, and you are correct. BUT, it will take an eSim adaptor onto which you can load an eSim. It works!! The adaptor card is from a company called Switch found at https://www.switchesim.com/ Costs about £17 plus postage. Onto this I have loaded a Spusu eSim. (Chose them because you can get an eSim to play with for £2.90, cancel after 1 month). With this I got a download speed of 450mbps on the EE 5g service. There are other eSim adaptor providers. Cannot say whether they would have worked. Probably, would be my guess.

The trick is to put the eSim adaptor in your phone and set it up. Then just put the adaptor in the ZTE router, set the APN to Spusu and away you go. With this you can have up to 15 eSim profiles in your router and switch between them. Or whistle up a new provider anytime without needing a new physical sim. Seems like progress to me.

Very useful thank you. Question: once you have set up the eSIM as you detailed -put the eSIM into your phone, do the downloading then put it into your router - is this just the initial one off exchange of esims.

Or to add other providers do you need to swap the eSIM out again back into your phone? Hopefully you don’t if so it sounds like a brilliant option.

 

[TheBows]

Very useful thank you. Question: once you have set up the eSIM as you detailed -put the eSIM into your phone, do the downloading then put it into your router - is this just the initial one off exchange of esims.

Or to add other providers do you need to swap the eSIM out again back into your phone? Hopefully you don’t if so it sounds like a brilliant option.

Unfortunately you do need to swap the eSim back into your phone. To load an eSim profile to the adaptor you need to use the Switch app, and the app needs to be on the same device as the eSim adaptor. I do not see how you can have the app on the router, so both app and eSim need to in your phone or tablet. Whether other eSim adaptors are different I could not say. I suspect they are the same.

 

[pandas]

I thought that might be the case. Thereafter I also assume though you just toggle between esims on the app on your phone with the eSIM in your router not the phone?

 

[TheBows]

To switch between existing eSim profiles on the Switch adaptor card you use the Switch app. Therefore the eSim adaptor must go back into your phone as that is where the app will always be. Sorry to disappoint.

 

[treblid]

Thank you TheBows for posting your experience with this esim adapter. I am inclined to order one and give it a go in our TP-Link MiFi device.

E-sims would make life so much easier and cheaper when travelling.

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[Stonemags76]

Please do try it & let us know, as this is the MiFi we have!

 

[pandas]

To switch between existing eSim profiles on the Switch adaptor card you use the Switch app. Therefore the eSim adaptor must go back into your phone as that is where the app will always be. Sorry to disappoint.

Thank you. A very good and useful post.

 

[Waveski]

I’m really interested in this approach. But it looks like you need to set the physical sim up on an android device before physically transferring the sim to an IPhone? Have I got this right?

 

[pandas]

I’m really interested in this approach. But it looks like you need to set the physical sim up on an android device before physically transferring the sim to an IPhone? Have I got this right?

Don’t think so unless you mean an iPhone as well?

 

[Christ0]

I’m really interested in this approach. But it looks like you need to set the physical sim up on an android device before physically transferring the sim to an IPhone? Have I got this right?

It looks like it. Is this because iPhones usually have eSim already built in and that interface is already utilised by iOS?

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[TheBows]

Waveski is correct. If you want to use a Switch eSim in an iPhone you need to set it up first on an Android phone. I suspect other eSim adaptors are more iPhone friendly.

 

[pandas]

Oh so close and then...pity.

 

[cmcardle75]

Does this work with cheap eSims? Most lock to the first phone they detect. Only expensive pay monthly SIMs typically allow you to transfer to a different IMEI.

 

[TheBows]

With an eSim adaptor the eSim details are locked to the adaptor, not the phone. Hence you can move the adaptor between devices. I think the price of your eSim contract is irrelevant. I am off to France next week with a Tesco Mobile PAYG eSim running on the adaptor that is currently in the MiFi. Given the low cost involved it is surely worth a go?