ZTE MF627 3G modem
ZTE devices are getting more popular in Europe and I wanted to find out how they stack up against the better known Huawei modems.
The ZTE MF627 3G modem is a USB 3G modem for the GSM and UMTS networks. I tested a 3 branded version of the ZTE MF627 3G modem with Diafaan SMS Server on the 64-bits version of Windows 7.
| ZTE MF627 specifications | |
|---|---|
| Connection | USB 2.0 |
| GSM Frequency bands | 850, 900, 1800, 1900 |
| UMTS Frequency bands | 2100 |
| Network protocols | GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA |
ZTE MF627, 3 branded
Installation
The ZTE MF627 is a dual mode USB stick with on-board drivers for Windows. Since it is a pre Windows 7 modem it did not have drivers for the 64-bit version of Windows 7. Fortunately 3 has an update for the modem software on their website and after applying the new firmware the modem is again up to date.
The modem identifies itself as a USB drive when it's connected for the first time. When all goes well the drivers are automatically installed from this drive. Unfortunately this did not work on my test computer, possibly because too many other USB 3G modem drivers are already installed on this computer. Driver installation worked on all other Windows computers I tried and I was able to install the 3G modem drivers manually on the test computer. And despite a persistent error message the Windows device manager (ZTE CDMA Technologies MSM driver not installed) the modem worked well.
Daily operation
After the initial problems installing the MF627, the modem proved to be reliable in daily use. The device recovers well when the PC resumes from sleep mode and I encountered no USB driver problems.
SMS send speed
| Network | Vodafone |
| Signal quality | Low |
| Time to send 500 messages of 160 characters, delivery confirmation enabled. All messages sent to the same number (concurrent send and receive) | 26 minutes 08 seconds |
Conclusion
The ZTE MF627 is a good 3G modem for use with Diafaan SMS Server. Branded versions of the modem are inexpensive and the modem is a suitable SMS modem in most installations.