In the European countries, mobile Internet is hardly a problem anymore. Thanks to EU roaming, the data flat rate of one’s smartphone can be used everywhere. However, this does not help us on our trips to Albania, Montenegro or Serbia, and we need SIM cards from local network operators.

At the same time, however, we want to remain reachable under our mobile numbers and therefore don’t want to constantly swap the SIM cards of our iPhones. That’s why we use a small router that fits in any pocket and supplies our iPhones with non-EU Internet via WLAN.

We decided at that time for the TP-Link M7200 * , because it is small, handy and equipped with an integrated battery. Nevertheless, we did not find an answer to some of our questions at the time and hope to be able to help others with our experiences here.

TP-Link M7200 mobiler WLAN Router (4G/LTE bis zu 150Mbit/s Download/ 50Mbit/s Upload, Hotspot, 2000mAh Akku, kompatibel mit allen...
TP-Link M7200 mobiler WLAN Router (4G/LTE bis zu 150Mbit/s Download/ 50Mbit/s Upload, Hotspot, 2000mAh Akku, kompatibel mit allen...*
  • Arbeitet mit allen gängigen europäischen SIM Karten: Telekom, Vodafone, O2 m Swisscom etc. Wenn Sie es im Ausland verwenden möchten,...
  • Support des Mobilfunkstandards 4G/LTE mit bis zu 150 Mbs im Download und 50 Mbs Upload Geschwindigkeit. Das WLAN ist 300Mbit/s in...
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How to enter the SIM PIN?

For example, when I buy a SIM card in Albania, it comes with a PIN. But how do we enter it into the router? Or can the router only handle PIN-free cards? That would be bad, because then I would always have to insert the foreign card into my cell phone and deactivate the PIN there.

The answer is simple. When I connect my smartphone or tablet to the mobile router, I can access the router controls via web interface. Here I can simply enter the PIN for the inserted SIM card.

Which SIM card sizes (Nano-SIM, Micro-SIM, Standard-SIM) fit into the router ?

An adapter is included with the device. All SIM card formats fit into the router. So you don’t need to worry about the form factor of your SIM card when you’re abroad.

How many devices can I connect simultaneously to the router?

Up to 10 devices can connect to the router at the same time. More than enough for our travels.

How long does the battery really last?

Our router is permanently powered in the Defender because we have it connected to our battery storage. However, when we move away from the car, we can take it with us. Thanks to a built-in 2000mAh battery, that’s no problem. But how long does the battery last under real-life conditions?

If we sit in a café somewhere with two connected devices, edit photos and upload them to the Adobe Cloud, write our blog in parallel and upload photos there as well, the battery lasts about 6 hours. That is OK because the mentioned application areas really already consume a larger amount of data volume.

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