This Acer Enduro M3 5G router kept me connected on location shoots

The Acer Connect Enduro M3 is a rugged 5G mobile Wi-Fi hotspot aimed at professionals, particularly photographers and content creators, who require internet access while working outside of the office or studio. The Acer Connect Enduro M3 is a dedicated, portable internet router that uses 5G networks to create the data connection and then broadcasts a Wi-Fi 6 signal to up to 32 devices, so much like your network hub at home, just this one works anywhere. This means that whether you’re uploading images from a shoot, backing up files to cloud storage, checking location weather conditions, or emailing clients from a van or remote base, this is the device you need, rather than having to tether your laptop to your mobile phone.

Unlike tethering from a phone, which can quickly drain battery and often struggles with multiple device connections, I found through the test that the Enduro M3 provided a far stronger signal that was more stable and ultimately offered better performance, and saved the incredibly short battery life of my iPhone 15 Pro. The Enduro M3 features both eSIM and Nano SIM support, giving you network flexibility, and includes a built-in Gigabit Ethernet port for connecting directly to laptops or fixed devices like IP cameras, making it great for use in your studio that lacks full-time internet.

The Enduro M3 is also incredibly robust and comes with MIL-STD-810H certification for shock and vibration, alongside IP54 certification for protection against water spray and dust. This makes it well-suited to being thrown in a gear bag, used in unpredictable weather, or used off-grid, although the IP54 will ensure that it’s ok in a downpour but shouldn’t be submerged in water.

Ultimately, the Acer Connect Enduro M3 is a great option for photographers and videographers working in the field who need mobile internet.

The Acer Connect Enduro M3 has been designed to keep you and your devices connected away from the studio, offering a data connection signal for laptops, tablets and even your mobile phone. What marks it out against many other mobile network routers is just how tough and compact it is.

The Enduro 3 measures in at 136 × 66 × 17 mm and weighs 270 g, making it just portable enough to fit into a large coat pocket or easily slip into a gear bag alongside camera bodies and lenses. Its design reflects the build with a rubberised casing that I found felt durable, and I liked the fact that the textured surface enabled an easy grip, even when handling the unit in the rain.

The rugged certification, MIL-STD-810H, highlights that the Enduro M3 can withstand shock, vibration and temperature changes. The IP54 rating protects against dust ingress and light water spray or rain.

On the front, there is a 2.4-inch non-touch TFT LCD display that provides signal strength, battery level, number of connected devices, and data usage information – the screen may be basic, but it gives you the details that you need.

Control of the Enduro M3 is all managed with the single physical button on the top, which enables you to scroll through all the options screens. As this has been designed to be rugged and used in the outdoors, the fact that it doesn’t have a touch screen actually makes sense, as the physical button approach is often more dependable in outdoor conditions where gloves or moisture interfere with capacitive screens.

Again, reinforcing the outdoor credentials, the outer ports are covered by flaps to secure against dust and water ingress. The USB Type-C port is used for charging, and the inclusion of a Gigabit Ethernet port also provides an extra level of flexibility, especially if you want to plug in a laptop directly for faster file transfers.

Setting up and handling the Enduro M3 is designed to be as easy as possible. Simply insert a SIM card, power on, scan the QR code from a phone or laptop, and you’re connected. There’s no complicated software interface or unnecessary mobile apps to download; everything is controlled through your device’s browser or a simple interface on the screen.

If you’re a photographer, then the simplicity is really going to appeal and will enable you to connect to the internet after a job, be that in a café, car, van or out in the field.

The Acer Connect Enduro M3’s feature set is streamlined, giving you a device that prioritises network performance and physical durability over a host of extras that you’re unlikely to use. The Enduro M3 has been designed for anyone needing a portable network hub, and so is perfect for photographers and videographers, and gives you another option for internet over the usual tethering to your phone.

As with other network hubs, the Enduro M3 utilises 5G networks, which are commonly available in the UK and Europe. The router also supports LTE fallback, so you’ll still have internet access even if 5G isn’t available.

Wi-Fi 6 is built in, delivering fast, efficient wireless communication across both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies. It can support up to 32 devices at once, which is ideal for us as photographers, as you generally end up working in teams or with multiple people connecting, laptops, tablets, wireless storage, cloud backup, and even camera apps that can all connect to the one single device.

Inside is a MediaTek T750 5G modem that provides data handling across varying network conditions. During testing, and I’ll come onto this later, the router delivered consistently higher signal quality and speed compared to my iPhone 15 Pro using the same SIM card, and once additional devices were connected, there just wasn’t a comparison, with the Enduro M3 winning at every test.

Another feature that I really like is the Gigabit Ethernet port, as this enables wired connections to laptops and helps to further boost transfer speeds. This came in useful when I needed to move large image files and significantly boosted upload speeds to WeTransfer. Along with the network port, there’s also a USB-C port that can be connected to mains or a power bank and used for power as well as charging the internal battery.

Inside, there’s support for both Nano SIM and eSIM, enabling you to switch networks depending on your location and coverage, which is useful if you want to use this abroad.

Powering the Enduro M3 is a 6,500 mAh battery that should provide up to 10 hours of use, and I like the fact that the device can be kept running continuously via USB-C if required.

Additional features include a built-in GPS module, allowing you to track device location, a useful feature if you’re using the unit as part of an integrated mobile security system or vehicle setup.

I’ve used a few of these Mobile network routers in the last year, and for the most part, the performance is always a big step-up compared with tethering your laptop to a mobile phone. Again, in all uses, the performance of the Acer Connect Enduro M3 showed a significant boost to performance in several locations, and the only real limits were the network coverage from the network providers, especially in the New Forest.

For this test, I opted to use a Vodafone UK 5G data SIM, and sure enough, the unit consistently outperformed mobile phone tethering both in terms of speed and connection stability, especially with more than one device connected. Used out in the field, this translates to a far easier workflow for file transfers, email, as less time was spent shifting the box around the van roof trying to get the best signal.

When used on a landscape photography trip across the New Forest, the Enduro M3 held a decent 4G connection, although some searching for a location with a signal was needed, with two to three bars, where my iPhone 15 Pro would drop out entirely the Enduro M3, maintained just enough network connection to make using the internet possible.

With a laptop connected via Wi-Fi, along with an iPad, both devices remained connected without interruption for several hours. Download speeds averaged between 10 and 15 Mbps, and uploads hovered between 2 and 5 Mbps, by no means fast, but something, whereas I would usually get nothing.

In other locations, those speeds leapt to 60-90 Mbps, seeming limited by my Vodafone contract rather than by the device.

Battery life for me, alongside the connection, was a major point, especially as I could plug it into the DJI Power 1000 that was in the van, as a constant power source. While the claimed runtime from Acer was slightly optimistic, especially in areas with weak signal (where the unit works harder to maintain a connection), I generally managed 6 hours of mixed usage with four devices connected. When connected to a power station via USB-C, the Enduro M3 just kept working.

One of the features that really appealed to me is the Enduro M3’s ability to connect up to 32 devices simultaneously. While I didn’t at any point have 32 devices to connect, I did manage six on a shoot with myself and the client using the box to upload images and answer emails, while the internet connection was by no means on a par with internet speeds in the studio, it was still sufficient to get on with some work.

I also really wanted to test out the Ethernet port to see if image upload speeds could be boosted. With the laptop connected, edited files were uploaded to an FTP server. This connection did seem to boost the speed and reliability, and while using the internet through the usual wireless connection is fine, when it comes to larger files, the reliability of the wired connection was definitely better.

Throughout the test, the most notable aspect was the consistency of the connection; you either had it or you didn’t. The signal didn’t tend to drop out.

One of the other points that I noted was that there didn’t seem to be any heat issues, even after being used continuously for hours in a hot vehicle.

The physical button navigation worked well once you get used to it, and the LCD screen, while basic, is excellent for seeing the signal and usage data.

The Acer Connect Enduro M3 is a great option for photographers and videographers especially if you work out in the field and need a strong internet connection for multiple devices. While it doesn’t feature some of the more advanced physical features that you see on other premium mobile network routers such as a touchscreen interface or app, it does provideo the all important performance.

If you find yourself regularly on shoots in remote locations and need a consistent way to upload files, manage backups, and coordinate with clients, the this router is a great option, although I will state if there’s no network signal then even the Enduro M3 isn’t going to help with that.

What I really liked was the ability to send the images from a shoot from the location or a cafe with ease and using a reliable connection, or at least more reliable than the one that I usually get with the iPhone 15 pro.

I could also leave everything connected without worry so essentially having an internet connecyion on my laptop in the same was as I would usually have at home or in the office.

I also really liked the rugged build that meant I didn’t have to worry about the router to much especially when placing it on top of the van for a decent signal. The Enduro M3 can essentially live in your bag, stay in the van, running all the time, as the battery allows so that you can alway get online.