4G Routers - I've never used one before but I need one Urgently for my new job, so I need some help with questions and advice

[Euphoria]

I'm Googling, reading, and learning but can anyone help me out with a crash course bullet points into 4G routers and how they work, anything I need to know or look out for, dos and don'ts, please?
I lost my job during the first lockdown last year and struggled badly all year, I've finally got a new job and I start on Monday but my internet is extremely unreliable for the past month or two due to ongoing upgrades in the region, I'm terrified I'm going to lose this job as well before I can even start, so I need to get a 4G connection as a backup ASAP.

Questions I have so far:

1. Anything big dos and don'ts with them, things to look out for?
2. Is it best to have a separate 4G router to my normal WAN router? 
3. If I had one router for everything, do 4G routers auto switch to 4G if the WAN goes off? Or do I have to tell it to switch? Would there be a drop in connection?

Appreciate any help.

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, Euphoria said:

Anything big dos and don'ts with them, things to look out for?

Don't buy the cheapest thing you can find. Get one with two external antennas and which isn't powered off your USB-port.

2 minutes ago, Euphoria said:

Is it best to have a separate 4G router to my normal WAN router?

You can't connect them to the same network anyways, unless your current router has dual-WAN functionality.

3 minutes ago, Euphoria said:

If I had one router for everything, do 4G routers auto switch to 4G if the WAN goes off? Or do I have to tell it to switch? Would there be a drop in connection?

Depends entirely on the 4G-router. Many of them only use 4G for the Internet-connection and have no WAN-port at all. Also, even the ones that do also have a WAN-port are typically configurable in the settings as to which connection it should primarily use and which one should be the backup-connection.

 

As for a drop of connection: yes, if the router has to switch between the two, you'll see a temporary drop of connections.

[Euphoria]

3 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

Don't buy the cheapest thing you can find. Get one with two external antennas and which isn't powered off your USB-port.

You can't connect them to the same network anyways, unless your current router has dual-WAN functionality.

Depends entirely on the 4G-router. Many of them only use 4G for the Internet-connection and have no WAN-port at all. Also, even the ones that do also have a WAN-port are typically configurable in the settings as to which connection it should primarily use and which one should be the backup-connection.

 

As for a drop of connection: yes, if the router has to switch between the two, you'll see a temporary drop of connections.

That's extremely helpful, thank you.

That drop in connection is what's going to ruin me. At the moment we are experiencing anything from 2 to 30 connection outages a day, especially in the evenings which is when I will be working. So, if I can get a decent 4G router and a good connection I might be better to use the 4G as my primary and WAN as the backup as the 4G is going to have less outages.

 

One more question if I may; are they basically the same as a phone, i.e. if 4G it's available it will connect to 3G or EDGE?

[WereCatf]

Just now, Euphoria said:

One more question if I may; are they basically the same as a phone, i.e. if 4G it's available it will connect to 3G or EDGE?

Yes. By default, it'll simply choose the best connection it can get.

[Euphoria]

Just now, WereCatf said:

Yes. By default, it'll simply choose the best connection it can get.

Great stuff, thanks again.

[porina]

May be obvious, if you go this route, pick a network that has good signal where you are.

[WereCatf]

10 minutes ago, porina said:

May be obvious, if you go this route, pick a network that has good signal where you are.

The routers are typically perfectly fine at picking one by themselves.

[porina]

1 minute ago, WereCatf said:

The routers are typically perfectly fine at picking one by themselves.

Do we have a misunderstanding here? You'd have to get a contract with whichever network you use.

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, porina said:

Do we have a misunderstanding here?

Apparently, yes. I didn't get that you were talking about a plan from the telco.

[Euphoria]

 

18 minutes ago, porina said:

May be obvious, if you go this route, pick a network that has good signal where you are.

 

Thanks, this was the first thing I checked. Sadly, there are zero networks with a good connection in this area which is why I want to get a router and not just a USB dongle, I'm hoping I can either get one with weatherproof exterior antenna or at least one I can put in my attic/loft to get the best connection possible.