NETGEAR Mobile vs tpPLC
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NETGEAR Mobile
Manage your NETGEAR mobile hotspot from your phone. Track data usage, monitor connection status and battery life, and control hotspot settings. Stream media directly from supported models.
- Track data usage
- Monitor connection and battery life
- View connected Wi-Fi devices
- Control hotspot power
- Configure APN settings
- Stream media (M1 Nighthawk only)
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The NETGEAR Mobile App (formerly NETGEAR AirCard) is the official app for managing your NETGEAR Mobile Hotspots. View your connection, settings, and data usage from the convenience of the mobile app. *TRACK DATA usage *STREAM and VIEW media off your hotspot (M1 Nighthawk only) *MONITOR your mobile hotspot connection and battery life in real-time *VIEW CONNECTED Wi-Fi devices *TURN OFF or REBOOT your hotspot *CONFIGURE APN settings *VIEW & COMPOSE SMS Messages (applicable models only) Works with the following mobile hotspots designed by NETGEAR: * Nighthawk M6 Mobile Router * Nighthawk M5 Mobile Router * Nighthawk M1 Mobile Router * AT&T Unite / Unite Pro / Unite Express / Unite Explore * AT&T Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G * Telstra Wi-Fi 4G Advanced I & II * Telstra Ultimate® Mobile Wi-Fi * Telstra Mobile Wi-Fi 4G * BigPond Mobile Wi-Fi 4G Advanced I & II * BigPond Ultimate® Mobile Wi-Fi * Verizon Jetpack 4G LTE * NETGEAR AirCard 815S/810S/791L/790S/785S/782S/779S/771S/770S/763S/762S/754S The following products are *NOT* supported by this app: * NETGEAR Desktop Routers (use NETGEAR Genie) * Sprint W801 / 802S Mobile Hotspots * USB Modems / PC Cards / ExpressCards NETGEAR Mobile App is supported by NETGEAR. If you experience any issues, please contact us at aircardapp_support@netgear.com, as we are unable respond or open tickets based on reviews.
tpPLC
Easily view and manage your TP-Link powerline devices from your smartphone or tablet. Connect to your powerline extender's Wi-Fi to control individual adapters, update settings, and monitor your entire powerline network.
- View all compatible powerline devices
- Manage individual device settings
- Control Wi-Fi settings for extenders
- Add new powerline devices
- Set network-wide LED status
- Monitor data rates
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TP-Link tpPLC app lets you conveniently view and manage your TP-Link powerline devices via your smart device. Simply connect your smart device to the Wi-Fi network of a compatible TP-Link powerline extender and start managing with ease. It will list all the compatible powerline adapters and powerline extenders in your current network, and allow you to manage your powerline devices individually as well as the whole powerline network with a few taps. Features • Display information of all compatible powerline devices in the current network. • Manage a powerline device such as changing its device name, turning on or off its LEDs, viewing its data rate, resetting to factory defaults, and removing it from the current network. For a powerline extender, you can also change and schedule its Wi-Fi settings, and redirect to the web management interface. • Manage the whole powerline network such as adding a new powerline device, setting a new powerline network name, and turning on or off the LEDs on all the powerline devices in the network. Compatible Devices: https://www.tp-link.com/powerline/compatible-devices/ Privacy Policy & Terms of Use https://privacy.tp-link.com/app/tpPLC/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: NETGEAR Mobile at 3.6 against tpPLC's 1.7. NETGEAR Mobile also leads on review sentiment (38% vs 15%) and ratings volume (1.8K vs 169). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
NETGEAR Mobile holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NETGEAR Mobile has 1.8K ratings behind it against 169, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of NETGEAR Mobile's written reviews are positive against 15% of tpPLC's.
NETGEAR Mobile ships an update every 2 months, tpPLC every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NETGEAR Mobile | tpPLC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (1.8K ratings) — better | 1.7 (169 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 38.2% of reviews — better | 14.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.8K — better | 169 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NETGEAR | TP-Link Systems Inc. |
Customer experience
NETGEAR Mobile
tpPLC
User reviews
NETGEAR Mobile
From 1.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🔒 Good security features
- 👍 Useful app for managing device
- 👍 Simple and functional
- 👍 Provides good information and tools
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy, crashes frequently
- 🔋 Battery life issues
- 🔍 Limited functionality
- 📱 Compatibility issues with newer devices
- 🤔 Clunky, outdated UI
tpPLC
From 169 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy setup
- 🔒 Secure network
- 👍 Reliable performance
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inconsistent device detection
- 🔍 Limited functionality
- 🤔 Confusing configuration
- 💤 Frequent disconnections
Bugs and requests
NETGEAR Mobile
Reported bugs
5 issues- Login issues, app gets stuck in login loop
- Fails to recognize supported devices
- Doesn't save password or login credentials
- Constant pop-ups for terms and conditions
- Displays incorrect or incomplete information
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to update firmware from app
- Include more advanced settings and customization options
- Improve app stability and reliability
- Add support for more device models
- Provide better data usage tracking and notifications
tpPLC
Reported bugs
4 issues- App fails to detect compatible devices
- Inability to change passwords or settings
- Frequent crashes and timeouts
- Incompatibility with newer iOS versions
Requested features
4 requests- Support for more device models
- Improved network diagnostics
- Better mobile app integration
- Scheduled Wi-Fi on/off controls
In-app purchases
NETGEAR Mobile
No in-app purchases
tpPLC
No in-app purchases
