![]() Not just ideologically, but practically, as identifying the MCU at the heart of a device is the first step towards coming up with your own replacement firmware for it. Whether it’s a Z80 or an STM32, these well-known components provide a tangible link between the hacking community and the consumer hardware world. Oftentimes when we crack open a gadget like this, we’re able to find some familiar chips inside. With a little careful prying, we can get a good look at the cornucopia of ICs within. It’s certainly not surprising that all the components on the board have been covered up with RF shields, as it’s something we’ve seen in other devices with cellular connectivity, but I was happy to find they weren’t soldered down at least. The PCB itself just pops right out of the frame, and beyond the spring contacts for the antennas, its only physical connection to the rest of the unit is the connector that goes to the front LCD and button assembly. Of course, being a 4G hotspot, the ability to pull in a solid LTE signal is pretty critical. Compared to what passes for a cellular antenna in a modern ultra-slim smartphone, the Jetpack offers a pretty impressive array of options in the reception department. These are connected to the PCB with some springy tabs, which in turn are directly connected to the external antenna ports. With the rear off, we get a good look at the dual conformal antennas that curve around the edges of the device. ![]() With the direction mobile electronics have taken in the last few years, I was somewhat worried the whole thing would have been glued together. Ten T4 screws hold the back panel of the Jetpack on, and while they did get cute and put a sticker over one of them to rat out the owner should they dare to explore their own hardware, there was no problem getting the unit open. Though the lack of a female USB Type-A on the unit means you’d need to carry a little USB On the Go (OTG) adapter to charge other gadgets. This might seem like an excessive amount of power, even for what amounts to a 4G modem paired with a simple wireless router, but the manual explains that the Jetpack can double as a USB battery bank. Opening up the device we can clearly why it’s so heavy: the massive 4,340 mAh lithium ion battery weighs in at 87 grams, compared to 75 g for the hotspot itself. While a dedicated “Back” button would make navigating the user interface a bit more streamlined, the capacitive touch buttons on the front work well, and the screen is quite nice. I especially like the two small sliding doors on the bottom of the unit that cover up the external antenna ports. The handheld unit has a very pleasing heft to it, and the front and back surfaces have a slightly rubberized finish reminiscent of a Thinkpad’s lid. We like cheap and easily obtainable gadgets that can be hacked, but is there anything inside one of these hotspots that we can actually use? Let’s find out.Īs far as first impressions go, the Verizon Jetpack certainly doesn’t disappoint. At the time of this writing, there were more than 1,500 auctions matching the search term “Verizon jetpack”, with most of them going for between $20 and $50 USD. In the name of journalistic integrity I won’t divulge the previous owner’s identity but I will say that their endearing choice of WPA2 key, iluvphysics, makes for a nice fit with our publication.Ī quick check of eBay shows these devices, and ones like it, are in ample supply. The onset of 5G must have been particularly quick for the previous owner, since they didn’t even bother to wipe their configuration information from the device. This line of logic may explain how the Verizon-branded Netgear AC791L 4G “Jetpack” hotspot you see here, despite being in perfect working order, found itself in the trash. But it’s here, so be a good consumer and dump all your 4G hardware in the name of technical progress. In that case, we would do well to add cellular technology to the list of proverbial things that wait for no one. But it can also be interpreted as a warning about the perpetual march of time and how it impacts the world around us. The saying “time and tide wait for no man” is usually used as a verbal kick in the pants, a reminder that sometimes an opportunity must be seized quickly before it passes by.
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