MiFi is a brand of wireless router that acts as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot device. In many countries, including The United States, Canada, and Mexico, Inseego Corp. (previously known as Novatel Wireless) owns a registered trademark on the "MiFi" brand name; in the United Kingdom, mobile operator Hutchison 3G owns the "MiFi" trademark. Novatel Wireless has never offered an official explanation for the origin of the name "MiFi"; it has been suggested that it is short for "My Wi-Fi". A MiFi device can be connected to a cellular network and provide Internet access for up to fifteen devices. Inseego Corp. introduced the first MiFi device in the United States in May 2009. In the UK, Hutchison 3G's "MiFi" is a similar product from Huawei with the same name.

MiFi brand name

Novatel Wireless owns a registered trademark on the "MiFi" brand name in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico), and a number of countries worldwide: Bahrain, Canada, Egypt, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Pakistan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, and Thailand. The notable exception is in the UK, where mobile operator 3 owns the "MiFi" trademark. In India the Mi-Fi trademark is owned by Mi-Fi Networks Private Limited.

Devices

Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200

Novatel Wireless MiFi 23xx series

Same functionality as 2200, plus:

Novatel Wireless MiFi 33xx series

Same functionality as 23xx series, plus:

4G mobile hotspot devices

The Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show 2011 saw the introduction of two new 4G-capable MiFi devices from Novatel: Both devices maintain backward compatibility with existing 3G networks. Other features include:

5G mobile hotspot devices

In November 2019, Vodafone Qatar and Inseego Corp. together launched the Gulf region’s first commercially available 5G mobile hotspot, 5G MiFi M1100.

Non-Novatel wireless devices

A number of providers other than Novatel provide personal hotspot, "MiFi"-like services:

Alternatives

Mobile phones with an Internet connection can often be turned into Wi-Fi hotspots using a process called "tethering", which is similar to using dedicated MiFi devices. The following phone families have built-in features to create Wi-Fi access point: For other phones there are third-party applications to allow this:

Awards

Security issues

In January 2010, two major security holes were discovered with the Novatel MiFi 2200 which, if properly exploited, could allow a malicious user to obtain the device's current GPS location and security keys. If the malicious user were physically close enough to use the device's Wi-Fi signal, this could give access to the MiFi's 3G connection as well as any other connected devices. Novatel responded that a security patch would be available in February 2010. The popularity of MiFi devices can also be problematic for corporate network security. Corporations generally expect to control on-site Internet access: many use firewalls to reduce the risk of malware, and some enforce restrictions aimed at employee productivity. Personal mobile hotspots may provide a "back door" by which employees can circumvent these precautions.

Recall information

In May 2010, the MiFi 2372 was recalled in Canada by Bell Mobility and Rogers Communications. In two documented cases, the difficulty of opening the MiFi battery compartment had caused customers to use levels of force that caused physical damage to the batteries, which then overheated. Novatel replaced the recalled units with ones that have an easier-to-open battery compartment.

Radio interference at trade shows

At two major trade shows in 2010 — Google's first public demo of Google TV and the iPhone 4 demonstrations at the 2010 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference — keynote presentations using available Wi-Fi connectivity were disrupted by network unreliability. The problem was traced to massive radio interference, caused by the popularity of MiFi and similar devices for "liveblogging" from the trade show floor. Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that 570 different Wi-Fi networks ("several hundred" being MiFi's ) had been operating simultaneously in the Apple exhibit hall.