T-Mobile Home Internet: Revisiting 5G connectivity for the home after two years

[Admin]

I had a rough go with T-Mobile Home Internet on my first try, but I decided to give it another shot to more promising results.

T-Mobile Home Internet: Revisiting 5G connectivity for the home after two years : Read more

 

[brandonjclark]

I'd probably use one of these services (cellular) as a fail-over ISP, but I can't shake the brain freeze around cellular coverage issues. Again, it's probably just a trust issue, as your article essentially says the the tech might be ready.

 

[mhcox]

I've been a T-Mobile 5G Home Internet user for several years now. At first, like you, I had initial "birthing" problems, but things have settled down to a fairly steady 200-400 mbps download and around 100 mbps upload. Unlike you, my download speeds very a lot (as low as middle double digit speeds), but my upload speeds remain fairly constant. Also, there is a lot of variation during the day. During daytime, my speeds slow down noticeably.

Based on the Reddit, Quora, etc. T-Mobile boards, it does seem to be a real lottery winner situation, where you're located determines your performance, although that seems to have died down as a concern. So I think you're right that T-Mobile has beefed up there network to support the home market.

 

[DavidMV]

I feel anything than can be wired, should be wired. Save the limited frequency spectrum for mobile users and people that don't have the option for cable/fiber at home.

 

[bigkazzyry]

Much like your experience, I too tried T-Mobile home Internet a while back but ultimately went back to Charter due to the inability to access plex and CCTV remotely (CGNAT). I started back with T-Mobile a little less than a month ago and have the same modem as you.

Unfortunately, T-Mobile has gone backwards in giving users control of their Internet experience. This new modem allows almost zero customization, still no port forwarding, still no UPNP, but now they even tightened it down more to where you cannot use your own router; you cannot bypass their router functionality and use the device as a modem.

Fortunately for T-Mobile, a lot of people have been sharing approaches for how to get around CGNAT and due to this, I am sticking with them for the time being. It's not for the faint of heart but those looking to enable plex remote access outside your home, there are a couple options. The one I went with, involves using a free cloud flare account and a domain name I already owned, to create a tunnel to open up remote access.

It shouldn't be this difficult and quite frankly, you should be able to choose how you want to access the Internet and not be tied down to their hardware. I'm holding tight for now, but if other options surface, I may jump from Tmobile once again; especially if they end up slowing my connection down with their 1.2tb soft limit. That's really not difficult to hit when you stream your TV service.

 

[Math Geek]

i had considered it at one point but i can get 500/500 Fios for the same $50 a month (ok throw in a few extra for "taxes"). i like the MUCH faster upload speeds and can't imagine only have 10% of that or less available to me on a daily basis.

but an average user who streams video, checks email and spends 50% of their day staring at amazon for more cheap china junk to buy, would never even know the difference if the connection stays solid.

for others with only one option (usually very expensive option), this could be a nice opportunity to move to a better one. i can see plenty of people that would find this a perfectly good option, and i can see many others who would never be happy with it. like me for sure....

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

T-Mobile is also about to start craching down on using your T-Mobile 5G Gateway as a mobile internet device which may impact performance (in a positive way) if you're in a populated area and there are several people who are using it that way.

 

[ikjadoon]

Spectrum (and all other cable ISPs) are absolutely being squeezed out by FWA on the low-end and fiber on the high-end. Usually both are cheaper than Spectrum's standard rates, so Spectrum is in a lose-lose situation here.

//

Thus, it makes sense why Spectrum is losing internet customers left and right. On a net basis, in Q1 2024 Spectrum lost 5.5K+ internet customers per week; not a disaster when Spectrum still has 30.5 million internet subscribers, but cable ISPs are finally facing real competition against their 15+ year old DOCSIS 3.0 product.

And it shows:

To keep customers, Spectrum needs to evolve: DOCSIS 3.1 high-split, DOCSIS 4.0), transition (FTTP), or lower prices. And they obviously can, seeing as Spectrum had over half a billion ($576 million) in stock buybacks in 2024 alone. But seems like Spectrum isn't doing it fast enough nor in enough places.

Our home is a little lucky that 2-3 years after an (unreliable) fiber ISP arrived in our neighborhood, Spectrum rolled out high-split DOCSIS 3.1. Now we have 1 Gbps symmetric cable from Spectrum and it's pretty good. File uploads are faster (though few sites have the capacity for 1 Gbps upload per user) and backups are a breeze. No price increase, too (I'd like to see them bloody try).

Still, Spectrum, and the whole cable industry, should've adopted high-split much earlier when DOCSIS 3.1 released; when even a cell phone tower gives better upload speeds than wired cable and it's cheaper, don't expect Spectrum customers to just sit by idly.

 

[Manxe Kitairn]

Tried TM Home Internet[TMHI] when it first came out because it had the best presence of all in my area. I experienced the bi-weekly outages, dropped connections, routinely at first. After multiple calls to Support, I discerned the problem was techs working during the day to "improve" the infrastructure. They would take down cell connections without warning to even the Support people, who were not happy. You would think they could use some common sense and repair and replace at O'dark-thirty to avoid inconveniencing customers. But they were Union, and cell phone techs, not used to Datacomms. I went from dropped comms twice a week to once a month before I was able to get Fibre.

But I re-learned lessons from the Navy in the process, recognizing the iffy nature of radio comms. The connection is dependent on distance from the broadcast, the strength of the signal, the antenna at the receiver, and the weather. I found tools online that allowed me to evaluate TMHI signals and test whether the signal would be adequate for TMHI before installation. Using my cell phone and apps from Google Play, I was able to download and use apps that tested current signal strength, and often even provided a mapped image of the tower location. I was not able to change my own TMHI service without selling my house, but my friends and neighbors were happy to benefit from my experiences. Testing for adequate TMHI service evaluation is still possible using Google Play apps on a TM connected phone, and should be performed before you decide to start the TMHI service. Look for LTE Strength Finder, NetMonster, and similar apps to test 4G and 5G signal strength at your location.

 

[Dezter]

I had the service for about eight months and had about 3-4 bars of connection. We fully enjoyed it and didn't notice any real drop in service. In April, though, they let us know about the throttling. My wife and I both work at home and stream all of our video services. We go over the 1.2 Tb data cap every month. I called and was assured that since we had the unlimited plan, this did not apply to us.

The next day I received an email where I was told we would be affected by the throttling. I chatted and was told, flat out (I have screen shots of the conversation) that we were lied to the day before and we would absolutely be throttled.

My wife and I are both IT professionals and can't risk being throttled.

I cancelled service and went back to Spectrum...they had a two year offer for a gig line at the same price I was paying for T-Mobile.

I really enjoyed the service and had no complaints at all. If they didn't threaten throttling, I would have gladly stayed.

To T-Mobile's credit, they did refund three months of service because of the customer service lies.

 

[bobbbobbob]

My T-Mobile home internet speed has been similar to yours. Sometimes a bit slower in both down speed and up speed, sometimes about 30 or 40% faster both down and up.

Reliability has been absolutely stellar where I live pretty much anywhere I locate the gateway. Wi-Fi coverage in my 1000 ft² lath-and-plaster old apartment has been stellar as well. Max bars everywhere, although I get about 25% more speed if I get close to the gateway with my Samsung S24 Ultra phone.

I have a TV both Wi-Fi connected and cable connected to the gateway. Video performance is great with either, although speedtest.net test speed is pretty terrible on the browser that's on my LG TV. My test generally are about 40 to 50 megabits per second down in about 40 megabits per second up on the TV. Clearly, the TV's overall speed and Wi-Fi performance are pretty bad. But I never get less than clear 4K video resolution on content that is actually available at that resolution.

 

[razor512]

One issue with 5G home internet providers, is the network can be set up to mislead people.
For example, when I had to rent in another state for a while, the options for internet were slow but reliable service that was overpriced from Serivce Electric. The other option was Verizon 5G home internet. Initially the service fast at 300-350Mbps download and 21Mbps upload consistently throughout the day. then after a few months of use, the speeds dropped significantly and varied throughout the day, where it would never hit 300Mbps again, and would fluctuate between 20Mbps to 100Mbps (with 100Mbps being common at around 3AM).
Later a neighbor purchased the same exact service because Service electric charged $50 per month for 25Mbps download and 5Mbps upload. During a time when I had speeds in the 20-30Mbps on verizon 5G home internet, the neighbor was getting nearly 400Mbps. After a few months, the service slowed as well for the neighbor. We ended up putting up with the issues since it was still better than Service Electric most of the time, and eventually we cancelled after the 5G modem got a firmware update that cannot be rolled back that broke the IP passthrough function as well as mead to issues with some web pages not loading properly, including the verizon community forums. After 2 months of no fix from verizon or no attempt to even roll back the firmware, me and the neighbor ended up cancelling the service (they still have not fixed tie issues with the ASK-NCQ1338).

I have not tried t-mobile 5G home internet yet, but there is a chance that T-mobile could be pulling a verizon with their service, where they try to hold a user in for a few months by giving them high priority in an oversold node/ tower for a few months, before dropping their special priority and they end up with the slow and inconsistent speeds.

 

[bobbbobbob]

One issue with 5G home internet providers, is the network can be set up to mislead people.
For example, when I had to rent in another state for a while, the options for internet were slow but reliable service that was overpriced from Serivce Electric. The other option was Verizon 5G home internet. Initially the service fast at 300-350Mbps download and 21Mbps upload consistently throughout the day. then after a few months of use, the speeds dropped significantly and varied throughout the day, where it would never hit 300Mbps again, and would fluctuate between 20Mbps to 100Mbps (with 100Mbps being common at around 3AM).
Later a neighbor purchased the same exact service because Service electric charged $50 per month for 25Mbps download and 5Mbps upload. During a time when I had speeds in the 20-30Mbps on verizon 5G home internet, the neighbor was getting nearly 400Mbps. After a few months, the service slowed as well for the neighbor. We ended up putting up with the issues since it was still better than Service Electric most of the time, and eventually we cancelled after the 5G modem got a firmware update that cannot be rolled back that broke the IP passthrough function as well as mead to issues with some web pages not loading properly, including the verizon community forums. After 2 months of no fix from verizon or no attempt to even roll back the firmware, me and the neighbor ended up cancelling the service.

I have not tried t-mobile 5G home internet yet, but there is a chance that T-mobile could be pulling a verizon with their service, where they try to hold a user in for a few months by giving them high priority in an oversold node/ tower for a few months, before dropping their special priority and they end up with the slow and inconsistent speeds.

Yes, I'm watching for very similar behavior and experience once I've been with T-Mobile for a few months. Service has been consistent and good for about two and a half months now and it's actually better upload speed than what I get on my brand new Samsung S24 Ultra phone that's also on T-Mobile.

So far, I've seen no indication that speeds are starting to drift downward. If anything, I think they've gotten a little bit better but that's really a guess. I do a few speed tests during the day and a few at night every day on my phone that's Wi-Fi connected with the gateway and also on my phone that's directly connected to T-Mobile 5G. I save all the results on speedtest.net, so I will know whether there's a change in prioritization or quality of service. I also come from a network design and network management work background where multiple services and quality of service policies were commonplace, designed mostly by me, so I think my judgment about whether something has changed on the network will be about as good as anyone's.

 

[HideOut]

I cant get over them having 2 x 1GbE ports. They need to have 2.5GbE at this point.

 

[bobbbobbob]

What practical benefit is there for a home internet service gateway device (which connects to a 500 - 700 Mbps service) to have 2.5 Gbps ports rather than 1Gbps ports? If you need 2.5 Gbps, you could connect your home net to the gateway with an up-to-date switch, right?

I would think the physical ports on the gateway should be capable of at least the same speed as the wireless service is capable of.

 

[razor512]

While it makes no difference from a performance standpoint to have a 2.5GbE port on a modem where the service will not even saturate a gigabit connection, from an aesthetic standpoint, it looks nicer when all of the ports of your router are functioning at their max PHY rate.

 

[bobbbobbob]

While it makes no difference from a performance standpoint to have a 2.5GbE port on a modem where the service will not even saturate a gigabit connection, from an aesthetic standpoint, it looks nicer when all of the ports of your router are functioning at their max PHY rate.

I will worry about that when the speed of the wireless service approaches 2.5 gigabits per second and that I have devices which are capable of sending and receiving data to actual services on the internet at that rate.

 

[dosmastrify]

Well the router actually works now, so that's a big improvement.
Down usually 100mbps, up will be about double the cell phone at around 20.
They are going full Comcast with the pricing though.
Mike seivert is an @$$

 

[dosmastrify]

What practical benefit is there for a home internet service gateway device (which connects to a 500 - 700 Mbps service) to have 2.5 Gbps ports rather than 1Gbps ports? If you need 2.5 Gbps, you could connect your home net to the gateway with an up-to-date switch, right?

I would think the physical ports on the gateway should be capable of at least the same speed as the wireless service is capable of.

I'm just outside a major city and only today broke 250mbps.
Meanwhile the cellphone on the same tower hits rates you specify

 

[dosmastrify]

I feel anything than can be wired, should be wired. Save the limited frequency spectrum for mobile users and people that don't have the option for cable/fiber at home.

Even Comcast fiber is at the curb and the WiFi into your house to save install costs.

 

[peachpuff]

My wife and I are both IT professionals and can't risk being throttled.

Ah yes IT professionals using residential internet for work...

 

[JamesJones44]

1.2 TB in this day and age is way too low. Since the invention of streaming TV I don't think I've ever been under 1 TB and I honestly don't stream that much content. 2.5 TB is probably what a heavy user really looks like these days.

 

[jeremyj_83]

Spectrum (and all other cable ISPs) are absolutely being squeezed out by FWA on the low-end and fiber on the high-end. Usually both are cheaper than Spectrum's standard rates, so Spectrum is in a lose-lose situation here.

//

Thus, it makes sense why Spectrum is losing internet customers left and right. On a net basis, in Q1 2024 Spectrum lost 5.5K+ internet customers per week; not a disaster when Spectrum still has 30.5 million internet subscribers, but cable ISPs are finally facing real competition against their 15+ year old DOCSIS 3.0 product.

And it shows:

To keep customers, Spectrum needs to evolve: DOCSIS 3.1 high-split, DOCSIS 4.0), transition (FTTP), or lower prices. And they obviously can, seeing as Spectrum had over half a billion ($576 million) in stock buybacks in 2024 alone. But seems like Spectrum isn't doing it fast enough nor in enough places.

Our home is a little lucky that 2-3 years after an (unreliable) fiber ISP arrived in our neighborhood, Spectrum rolled out high-split DOCSIS 3.1. Now we have 1 Gbps symmetric cable from Spectrum and it's pretty good. File uploads are faster (though few sites have the capacity for 1 Gbps upload per user) and backups are a breeze. No price increase, too (I'd like to see them bloody try).

Still, Spectrum, and the whole cable industry, should've adopted high-split much earlier when DOCSIS 3.1 released; when even a cell phone tower gives better upload speeds than wired cable and it's cheaper, don't expect Spectrum customers to just sit by idly.

Spectrum also needs to have better service. I work from home and lose my internet connection daily. Sometimes I can drop for upwards of 15 minutes.

 

[DavidMV]

Spectrum also needs to have better service. I work from home and lose my internet connection daily. Sometimes I can drop for upwards of 15 minutes.

That's not normal at all. My Spectrum internet only goes down once or twice a year for an hour or two at most. If you are having daily issues, it must be a problem with the cable running to your house. Maybe water intrusion.

 

[jeremyj_83]

That's not normal at all. My Spectrum internet only goes down once or twice a year for an hour or two at most. If you are having daily issues, it must be a problem with the cable running to your house. Maybe water intrusion.

No it is them changing my IP address every 12 hours because their DHCP lease is so short.