Huawei Balong is a series of custom System-on-Chip used in all Huawei LTE routers and USB sticks, except for some selected models with Qualcomm Snapdragon targeted for USA market. This is a custom silicon with 2 ARMv7 cores for Linux and VxWorks, 1 Cortex-M3 core for boot-up and M3 Monitor, and ConnX BBE16 DSP for baseband. Several models include additional HiFi audio DSP core for audio communications.
The newest Balong 5000 has ARMv8 architecture and additional cores for 5G communication.
Current 4G generation of portable routers is Balong Hi6932 V7R22 (all models are LTE cat. 6). These models have 256 MB RAM (128 MB available for Linux, 80 MB free) and 256 MB NAND. Routers use Hi1151 Huawei or Broadcom BCM4356 Wi-Fi chipset. V7R22 devices run Linux 3.10.59 kernel with Android modifications. ARMv7 cores has vfpv4 and NEON floating point operation support.
| Model | Type | Display | LTE cat. | Wi-Fi | Battery | Ext. Antenna | LAN port (RJ45) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E5785 | Router | 128×128 OLED | Cat. 6 | 802.11ac 2.4/5 GHz | 3000 mAh, removable | + | - |
| E5885 | Router | 128×64 OLED | Cat. 6 | 802.11ac 2.4/5 GHz | 6400 mAh, non-removable | + | + |
Previous generation is Balong Hi6921 V7R11 (all models are LTE cat. 4). V7R11 models have 128 MB RAM (41 MB is available for Linux, 14 MB free) and 128 MB NAND flash. Routers use either Realtek RTL8192ES (2.4 GHz) or Broadcom BCM43241 (2.4/5 GHz) Wi-Fi chipset. V7R11 devices run Linux 3.4.5 kernel with Android modifications. ARMv7 cores support vfpv3d16 floating point operations.
| Model | Type | Display | LTE cat. | Wi-Fi | Battery | Ext. Antenna | LAN port (RJ45) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E3372h | USB stick | - | 4 | - | - | + | - |
| E5573* | Router | - | 4 | 2.4 GHz or 2.4/5 GHz | 1500 mAh | ± (missing on some modifications) | - |
| E5575 | Router with wall plug | - | 4 | 2.4 GHz | 1500 mAh | - | - |
| E5576 | Router | - | 4 | 2.4 GHz | 1500 mAh | - | - |
| E5577 | Router | 128×128 OLED | 4 | 2.4/5 GHz | 1500/3000 mAh | + | - |
| E5578 | Router | 128×64 OLED | 4 | 2.4 GHz | 1900 mAh | - | - |
| E5770 | Router | + | 4 | 2.4 GHz | 5200 mAh, non-removable | - | + |
| E5771 | Router | - | 4 | 2.4 GHz | 9600 mAh | - | - |
| E8372 | USB Stick | - | 4 | 2.4 GHz | - | + | - |
| E8378 | Router with wall plug | - | 4 | 2.4 GHz | - | - | - |
* There are different modifications of this router: E5573s, E5573Cs, E5573Bs, which differs in hardware.
Balong Hi6930 V7R2, the older generation, brings devices with 128 MB NAND and 128/256 MB RAM, which run Linux 3.4.5 with Android modifications, contain Broadcom 43241 or 4354 Wi-Fi chips. ARMv7 cores come without floating point support. These devices are not getting firmware updates anymore, and most probably are vulnerable to KRACK and BroadPWN vulnerabilities.
| Model | Type | Display | LTE cat. | Wi-Fi | Battery | Ext. Antenna | LAN port (RJ45) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E3372s | USB stick | - | 4 | - | - | + | - |
| E5373 | Router | Indicators | 4 | 2.4/5 GHz | 1500 mAh | + | - |
| E5377 | Router | 128×128 OLED | 4 | 2.4/5 GHz | 1500 mAh | + | - |
| E5383 | Router | LED | 6 | 2.4/5 GHz | 3000 mAh | - | - |
| E5786 | Router | 128×128 OLED | 6 | 802.11ac 2.4/5 GHz | 3000 mAh | + | - |
| E5787 | Router | LED | 6 | 802.11ac 2.4/5 GHz | 3000 mAh | - | + |
| E5878 | Router | 128×64 OLED | 4 | 2.4 GHz | 1900 mAh | - | - |
Balong Hi6920 V7R1 (all LTE cat. 4) comes with 256 MB NAND and 128 MB RAM (15 MB free in Linux), Broadcom BCM43241 Wi-Fi chipset. V7R1 devices run Linux 2.6.35.7 kernel with Android modifications, and are not getting firmware updates anymore, and most probably are vulnerable to KRACK and BroadPWN vulnerabilities. ARMv7 cores come without floating point support.
| Model | Type | Display | LTE cat. | Wi-Fi | Battery | Ext. Antenna | LAN port (RJ45) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E3272 | USB Stick | - | 4 | - | - | + | - |
| E3276 | USB Stick | - | 4 | - | - | + | - |
| E5372 | Router | 128×128 OLED | 4 | 2.4/5 GHz | 1780/3560 mAh | + | - |
3G Sticks run Balong V3R3:
| Balong Chip Name | HiSilicon Chip Model |
|---|---|
| B5000C10/C11 (5000) | Hi9500 |
| V765C30/C31 (V6R65) | Hi6965 |
| V722C60/C70 (V7R22) | Hi6932 |
| V750C31 (V7R5) | Hi6950 |
| V711C30/C60/C70 (V7R11) | Hi6921 |
| V7R2 | Hi6930 |
| Balong Chip | Router |
|---|---|
| 5000 (Hi9500) | H112 |
| H122 | |
| V7R65 (Hi6965) | B625 |
| B818 | |
| V7R5 (Hi6950) | B612s |
| B618s | |
| B715s | |
| V7R22 (Hi6931) | B316 |
| B525 | |
| B528 | |
| B529 | |
| B535 | |
| V7R11 (Hi6921) | B310 |
| B315s | |
| V7R1 (Hi6920) | E5172 |
| E5180 | |
| B593s |