Comparison

ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager vs HINT Control

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager

Easily set up and manage your home Wi-Fi network with this app. It provides a step-by-step guide for initial setup and allows you to monitor connected devices, test speeds, and control network settings remotely. Features include guest network creation and parental controls for managing screen time.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step system setup guide
  • Perform system speed tests
  • View and manage connected devices
  • Remote network management
  • Create guest networks
  • Parental controls for screen time
Features
Read full description

We are excited to announce that we have just released a new application – SURFboard Central – with an upgraded user experience and enhanced functionality. For our new users, we recommend that you start the install experience by downloading the new SURFboard Central app. Tap here https://apps.apple.com/us/app/surfboard-central/id1478418148 to download and launch our new SURFboard Central app. For our current SURFboard mAX Manager users, please follow these steps to easily migrate to the new SURFboard Central app. You will maintain your current Home Network, Parental Control, and all other settings and configuration. 1. Ensure you are using the latest SURFboard mAX Manager app (this app) version. 2. Launch the latest version of the app and follow the instructions on the screen to easily migrate to our new SURFboard Central application. ABOUT the SURFboard Central app Get your Home Network up and running and easily manage your network needs with SURFboard Central - designed to work with your SURFboard mAX Pro/Plus Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System. ARRIS SURFboard® products are your gateway to entertainment. They let you enjoy the latest entertainment seamlessly, providing the fastest speeds, and the coolest new services throughout your home, and beyond. And they're available at major retail locations. For more information, visit www.surfboard.com. The new SURFboard Central app is designed to work with the SURFboard mAX Pro/Plus system, combining an easy-to-use interface and the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology to achieve whole-home coverage. The SURFboard mAX Pro/Plus systems feature an advanced tri-band Wi-Fi 6 mesh design. It’s third band, with 4x4 Wi-Fi 6, provides a dedicated backhaul to ensure the fastest service speeds across the entire home. The SURFboard Central app easily guides you through your system setup to get your home network up and running quickly and securely. After the initial setup, SURFboard Central will be your network’s control room, where you can securely and easily manage your advanced system settings. App features: • Follow the step-by-step guide to get your system up and running in minutes • Perform system speed tests to check Internet speeds and overall system health • View connected devices on your network, check connection strengths and even data rates • Securely and conveniently manage your network from anywhere using our secured remote management service • Enable a secure and separate Guest Network with easy-to-share credentials for your guests • Create profiles for your kids to manage their screen time with scheduled or manual Internet pause capabilities • Enjoy automatic updates delivered to your system that ensure your system always has the latest security updates, bug fixes, and performance improvements • And more! For more information about the SURFboard Central Application, please visit us at www.surfboard.com

About

HINT Control

Manage your T-Mobile Home Internet gateway with advanced features. Control WiFi settings, view statistics, and more. This app is not affiliated with T-Mobile.

Highlights
  • Advanced statistics
  • WiFi radio control
  • SSID management
  • Band steering
  • Gateway access
Features
Read full description

HINT Control is a cross-platform app for accessing and managing your T-Mobile Home Internet gateway, with some extra features compared to the official app. Features include advanced statistics, WiFi radio control, SSID management, and band steering, with more to come as more is discovered about the gateways. HINT Control currently supports the Arcadyan KVD21, the Arcadyan TMOG4AR, the Sagemcom Fast 5688W, the Sercomm TMOG4SE, and the Noka 5G21. The Askey LTE gateway is not supported at this time. This app is NOT affiliated with T-Mobile. HINT Control is open source and also available for other platforms. Check out the downloads and source code at https://github.com/zacharee/ArcadyanKVD21Control/.

Screenshots

ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager4 screens
HINT Control4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: HINT Control at 4.3 against ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager's 2.4. HINT Control also leads on review sentiment (66% vs 29%). ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HINT Control holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 44 and 113 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager's written reviews are positive against 66% of HINT Control's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager ships an update fortnightly, HINT Control every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager versus HINT Control: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterARRIS SURFboard mAX™ ManagerHINT Control
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.4 (44 ratings)4.3 (113 ratings) — better
Positive reviews29.2% of reviews66.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings44113 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size104 MB99 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperARRIS Group, Inc.Zachary Wander

Customer experience

ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager

All ratings44 ratings
Positive29.5%
Neutral6.8%
Negative63.6%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive29.2%
Neutral8.3%
Negative62.5%

HINT Control

All ratings111 ratings
Positive79.3%
Neutral6.3%
Negative14.4%
Written reviews47 reviews
Positive66.0%
Neutral10.6%
Negative23.4%

Bugs and requests

ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

HINT Control

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • UI bug hides settings on SSID management page
  • Cannot disable 5ghz wifi after warning
  • Disabling 5ghz radio breaks gateway functionality
  • Latest update crashes repeatedly
  • Not compatible with newly released G5AR T-Mobile gateway
Show 13 more
  • Invalid JSON error when trying to log in
  • Latest update crashes over and over
  • G4AR not showing LTE stats
  • Cannot paste password or use password manager to login
  • Keyboard will not reduce on login screen (iPhone 11 Pro)
  • App doesn't work with VoiceOver
  • Unauthorized Error at Login
  • Doesn’t work - Unauthorized error
  • Doesn’t work - unauthorized access error
  • Changed channel, now cannot connect on other devices, requires factory reset
  • Latest update breaks Sagemcom gateway, won't pass login screen
  • Cannot pick channel 36 for 5ghz, always goes to channel 40
  • No G4AR support

Requested features

14 requests
  • Add automatic reboot schedule (daily, weekly, monthly)
  • Trigger reboot on connection loss
  • Add Beacon Interval control
  • Add more Transmit Power control (e.g., 8mW on 5GHz, 21mW on 2.4GHz)
  • Advanced control with number input for transmit power
Show 9 more
  • Restore transmit power slider
  • Add temperature of gateway
  • Allow users to name unknown devices
  • Clarify named devices further
  • Add port forwarding controls
  • Add DMZ controls
  • Support for G4AR gateway
  • Adjust APN settings
  • Web app version

In-app purchases

None

ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager

No in-app purchases

None

HINT Control

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager free?
ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HINT Control free?
HINT Control is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager or HINT Control?
HINT Control is rated higher. ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager averages 2.4 out of 5 from 44 ratings, while HINT Control averages 4.3 from 113 ratings.
Do ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager or HINT Control have ads?
Neither ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager nor HINT Control shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager or HINT Control?
ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager ships an update fortnightly, and HINT Control every 2 weeks. Most recently, ARRIS SURFboard mAX™ Manager was updated on October 24, 2026 and HINT Control on October 24, 2026.

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