Top pick
Designed to work on a fast and wide-ranging 5G network and equipped with sufficient battery life to last through a workday, this model is best for T-Mobile users looking to leverage the carrier’s network (notwithstanding its rural limits), or anyone who simply wants the best hotspot.
The T-Mobile Franklin Jextream RG3100 5G is the best hotspot for people who actually need one. This well-priced, beveled brick of a device combines excellent battery life with fast 5G performance and a good range of connection options.
T-Mobile has the fastest 5G. Third-party tests keep confirming that T-Mobile’s 5G network delivers faster downloads than AT&T or Verizon’s, and in recent years T-Mobile has also improved its coverage and availability metrics. And unlike past T-Mobile hotspots we’ve tested, the Jextream RG3100 doesn’t waste that performance, sharing connections as speedy as those of the mobile-hotspot function on a Pixel 9 Pro.
A monthly subscription gets you the best deal. If you need a lot of hotspot data every month, T-Mobile’s 100 GB plan costs just $50, but that’s available only on a subscription basis. Opting for the greater flexibility of a prepaid plan limits your choices to plans that top out at 50 GB for $50. Unfortunately, T-Mobile does not offer any bundle deals for combining a phone and a hotspot.
T-Mobile data-plan options
| Data usage |
Postpaid (hotspot only) |
Prepaid (hotspot only) |
Notes |
| 25 GB | $25 | $40 | Prepaid rate is for a 30 GB plan. |
| 50 GB | n/a | $50 | n/a |
| 100 GB | $50 | n/a | Prepaid plans max out at 50 GB. |
| 150 GB | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Information current as of August 19, 2026. Data allotments on older plans may vary.
T-Mobile’s data plans work overseas. World travelers, take note: T-Mobile’s 100 GB plan includes 15 GB of high-speed data each month in Canada and Mexico and 5 GB of high-speed data per month in most other countries.
This hotspot delivers excellent battery life. In our battery test, in which we tethered a laptop to the hotspot, with the PC’s Chrome browser playing a YouTube livestream, the Jextream RG3100 lasted an average of 14 hours 44 minutes, about 50% longer than our second-choice pick. You can also run it off AC power alone, with the battery removed, to eliminate any worries about wearing out the battery or having it overheat. This is the only hotspot we tested to offer that option.
It supports Wi-Fi 7. The Jextream RG3100 offers improved performance with Wi-Fi 7–compatible devices and can share its bandwidth via the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz band (5 GHz is the default; the hotspot doesn’t support multiple bands on the same network) to up to 32 devices. This hotspot also supports a guest network. Connecting phones or tablets is exceptionally easy thanks to the QR code displayed on the screen: Scan that with your mobile device, and it should connect without your needing to type the password.
It offers charging flexibility. The Jextream RG3100’s USB-C port should work with any USB-C charger. You can also use this hotspot’s battery to charge other devices, provided that its own battery hasn’t diminished to 25% or less.
Franklin provides useful configuration options. The admin interface on this hotspot includes such options as blocking a particular device and tweaking network settings. You can reach this interface in a browser at a mobile.hotspot address, though in our tests we couldn’t access it in Chrome unless we prefixed the address with “http://” and then clicked past two security warnings. Once we got in, the hotspot directed us to change the default admin password on our review unit from “admin” without imposing any complexity requirements.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
Its screen doesn’t accept touch input. This is a strange thing for Franklin to cheap out on; touchscreens have been standard on competing models for years. On the Jextream RG3100, you have to navigate with buttons below the screen.
Ethernet offers no benefits on this hotspot. Whereas other hotspots offer longer battery life if you shut off Wi-Fi for an Ethernet-only connection, this model requires you to keep it plugged in for an Ethernet connection.
T-Mobile’s 5G can fade in rural areas. The same third-party tests that keep showing T-Mobile’s 5G outpacing AT&T and Verizon’s also continue to show that this carrier’s two rivals offer better coverage in rural areas — which are also the places where you’re least likely to be able to fall back on a free Wi-Fi network.
You have to pay for at least a month of postpaid service. Although T-Mobile allows you to pay this hotspot’s full price up front, you still have to sign up for a data plan. So even if you need this hotspot for only occasional use, you have to pay at least $25 for a 25 GB plan to buy it. You can cancel that plan, however, before buying prepaid as you need, or starting and stopping postpaid service as necessary.
