T-Mobile HOME Internet Service

[eljefino]

first come first serve basis, they limit subscribers based on capacity in any given area.

Who's going to say no to the first subscriber over the limit? How do they apportion spectrum? What happens when their assumptions of simultaneous users go out the window when everyone's home on lockdown?

I'm happy you're dumping cable-- I wish I could, as I hate Spectrum just like anyone. But TMobile isn't some noble non-profit.

 

[alarmguy]

Who's going to say no to the first subscriber over the limit? How do they apportion spectrum? What happens when their assumptions of simultaneous users go out the window when everyone's home on lockdown?

I'm happy you're dumping cable-- I wish I could, as I hate Spectrum just like anyone. But TMobile isn't some noble non-profit.

I’m unsure of your post, I assume your questions are about the Spectrum service you have? No limits on TMobile, you can ask those questions of any provider.

I never said I’m dumping cable, if you read my post, I’m testing a service that is $50 compared to the $75 I am paying now.
For our specific needs in our home office plus over 20 wifi devices it may or may not be enough and why I’m testing it, but will be enough for the vast amount of people out there and MAYBE I will be pleasantly surprised and enough for me as out of the box the upload speeds of TMobile claims surpass my 100/12 Spectrum by a huge margin (up to 300% faster reported by actual users)plus they are already planning or even started converting the LTE home internet to 5g in some areas.

Some people are happy paying what a company wants for their service, then this thread isn’t for them.
If Shell gas for your vehicle cost .95 cents less a gallon then the Mobil station near you are you going to continue buying the Mobil gas because you think there is something wrong with the Shell?

Price isn’t about being Noble it’s about price I could care less who the company is that provides equal service and possibly more reliable service since with TMobile there is no cable to your home. Price wins

 

[alarmguy]

It arrived! Hopefully get it up and running tonight

 

[Oildudeny]

Absolutely will update. I plan on using this for a good month or two before deciding on whether to keep it or not. I will be using both our existing Spectrum Service and T Mobile during this time.
For us its super important, we have over 20 wifi devices on our home network AND my wife works from home with her own Cisco work router plugged into our home router via an AC power line adapter.. SO reliability is most important. I didnt care too much about price until now (except on principle for Spectrums obnoxious 70% price increases over the last couple years), Jan 2021 as her company is no longer paying for employees internet service. Which means we now have to pay. *LOL*

So for the first few weeks I will be running Tmobile on our home network of 20+ devices and leave my wifes work station connected to Spectrum while I test the TMobile. I will literally disconnect our router from the Spectrum modem and plug it into the Tmobile router/modem.
I will be happy if I get speeds of around 40+ Mbps from TMobile. On top of that, once 5g comes I know we will be first in line, assuming the cost is not much different then what it is now.

Then, by this time, Spectrum will offer me a 2 year $49 a month deal from the $75 I pay now but on principle I will avoid this at almost all cost if I can. Heck with them.

With all the above said, I dont know what to expect from TMobile. I see in the forums some VERY happy people with very good speeds.
For me, if my wifes work wasnt so critical the decision would be soooooo much more easy. But I will update to help others because I do think, for home internet service TMobile is going to disrupt the cable internet industry over the next 5 to 10 years. I do think it is possible that landline internet may possibly become as insignificant as landline phones. There will always be a need but for the typical homeowner, not so much anymore.

My wife also works from home for United healthcare... currently they’re paying for her work modem/internet. I really hope they don’t cut that. Cause they require a dedicated line.

 

[alarmguy]

First speed test

 

[GrtArtiste]

I'm going to keep my Windstream DSL + bundled landline phone which is $96.xx incl all tax/fees price-for-life as long as I can.

 

[alarmguy]

Update,
Went in all the way!
Disconnected my Motorola Router from Spectrums Modem and plugged it into the TMobile Modem/Router. No longer connected to Spectrum but not cancelling it for some time yet, this is will most likely be a good month long test for reliability and will have the Spectrum standing by just in case...

Turned off the Tmobile wifi and using the device only as the modem of which I have my Motorola Router now plugged into the TMobile device, which has gosh 20+ wifi devices connected to it, so was super easy to unplug it from Spectrum and Plug it into Tmobile. T Mobiles built in wifi did seem to work well for the short time I used it but I always had plans to turn it off which I did so I didnt test it for a long time except to notice that I was surprised to see a signal around the house from it, as strong as it was for a modem/router combo, this may well service a typical home.

I also was impressed by the quality build feel of the TMobile device. hey, its plastic and not like many modem/routers but it has some "heft" to it, sturdy, feels quality and I see the LTE/5G label on it. So when the day comes, its already 5G capable.
.
In addition a small change of plans! Since everything seemed to be going soooo smoothly I connected everything which also includes my wifes work station, work phone and our home land line as well. I was going to wait up to a month to connect my wifes work station and router but ... oh ... well .. its done now.
I will do a hard count some day, got to be around 25 devices connected though TMobile and all working well, as expected or better then expected or what I was hoping for. No disappointment at all, the coming weeks will tell the whole story.

 

[alarmguy]

Ok last test for the evening ^^ See previous posts ...
TMobile Home Internet Speed test on my Motorola Wifi Router ...
This was the best result tonight - Wife did a test just before me on her Windows computer 70 Mbps, this is my Mac mini, second floor, router on first floor.

 

[alarmguy]

The FCC > HOA when it comes to satellite dishes. Assuming you have some sort of balcony with a view of the southern sky you can do what you want.

You cant be held hostage by an HOA on what you do inside of your home, period.
If TMobile Home internet is available to you you simply order it, they send the modem and router 2 day air.
Plug it in and connect to it. Its so stupid simple I am beside myself.
No charge for anything, $50 a month actual payment.

Here is this mornings speeds, I could care less though, any speed over 40 Mbps is more then we need. I will admit, it is VERY nice to see this.

 

[alarmguy]

UPDATE Monday 1/11/21 =

Well all is working so far, more complete review at the end of this week. The unit I have is a brand new 4g/5g Nokia unit only been shipped for a couple weeks by T-Mobile, it has some bugs in the app, GUI and firmware for sure if you are going to set it up past the typical homeowner set up.

The GUI is very limited in what settings you can change, actually never saw such as limited web based interface on a router/modem.
There is nothing wrong with that, as it is clear that T-Mobile is going after your ordinary homeowner who is interested in getting on the internet as simple, fast as possible, much like a "cable guy" coming to the house, setting up their system and going home.
This unit does that. I have set up my own settings and have 3 bands with separate SSIDs .
2.4, low 5, high 5. or again, if the typical homeowner, you set it up with the app, simple stuff and will have 1 SSID for all 3 bands and unit will choose the best band for each device.

Speed, this is where I am getting a WIDE DISPARITY and reason for this post to be completely upfront, I posted previously above fantastic speeds but I am not getting those now. Speeds are running between 20 and max 70 Mbps depending time of day.
Average seems to be now leveling out to around a more consistent 45 Mbps. This is 100% fine with me.
Im unsure of the reason and to be quite honest I cant tell a difference, latency and jitter still very good.

You will need to use the built in router, at least as far as I know right now, I haven't played around with it much more yet, but according to others you would need a bridge mode for the TMobile Router/Modem and it doesn't have one. I thought I was having an issue when I tried to use my own stand alone router but I think I MIGHT have been wrong on that, as far as the cause I thought it was causing but anyway, the TMobile router wont let you do it the right way if you want to use your own router but it MAY work the wrong way. ... *L* I advent gone back to trying my own separate router because the TMobile Router combo is working so well, BUT I might try it again one day.
AS a REMINDER, I am limited during the weekdays on how much I can play around with it, as I have to be careful not to take down my wifes work station.

With that said, besides the really good performance I feel we are getting/meeting hopes and expectations mostly, which I think is going to improve more and vastly more once 5g is here, the router works outstanding for a combination modem/router. Range is every bit as good as my previous stand alone routers, TP Link AC 1700 and new Motorola AC 2600. The built in router is an AX.

The unit so new, the downloadable PDF manual is helpful but not very accurate in some places. This is truly meant as a plug and play router and I suspect the reason for that it TMobile does not want you if you are a business (they state businesses not accepted at this time but maybe future) or a heavy tech user. They need to get this out without affecting and overtaxing their network.

BOTTOM LINE as of this day, Monday=
WOW! We are thrilled! I cant believe we actually are able to now get our internet from someone who doesnt have wire or fiber running under our street. The unit comes in the mail, you plug it in, your done. No extra charges for anything, $50 a month with autopay. No equipment fee, no rental fees, no nothing! I think maybe there is even a free trial period, they haven't charged my card yet and gave me the date it will be charged. I cant remember with everything we were doing.

Anyway, left it up to my wife this weekend since she works from home and if our internet ever goes down she would have to take a PTO day, much like if your car broke down on the way to work.
After a lot of testing she gave the go ahead, even though we thought we would test this over a month or two time, less then 5 days passed by and we decided it will be reliable.
So we called Spectrum/Charter and told them to stick their 70% price increase over the last few years and cancelled our service. WOW what a feeling of freedom!!!!!!!!!

Btw- I did a device count, we have 28 devices hooked up to this TMobile router, granted some are rarely used and some will be gotten rid of, most noteworthy - two laptops since we got two new one for Christmas. But they all work on the network.

My son put his order in for T-Mobile Internet at his house on Sunday/yesterday.
Possible my daughter may too, but she takes her time with things *LOL*

 

[sst9303]

UPDATE Monday 1/11/21 =

Well all is working so far, more complete review at the end of this week. The unit I have is a brand new 4g/5g Nokia unit only been shipped for a couple weeks by T-Mobile, it has some bugs in the app, GUI and firmware for sure if you are going to set it up past the typical homeowner set up.

The GUI is very limited in what settings you can change, actually never saw such as limited web based interface on a router/modem.
There is nothing wrong with that, as it is clear that T-Mobile is going after your ordinary homeowner who is interested in getting on the internet as simple, fast as possible, much like a "cable guy" coming to the house, setting up their system and going home.
This unit does that. I have set up my own settings and have 3 bands with separate SSIDs .
2.4, low 5, high 5. or again, if the typical homeowner, you set it up with the app, simple stuff and will have 1 SSID for all 3 bands and unit will choose the best band for each device.

Speed, this is where I am getting a WIDE DISPARITY and reason for this post to be completely upfront, I posted previously above fantastic speeds but I am not getting those now. Speeds are running between 20 and max 70 Mbps depending time of day.
Average seems to be now leveling out to around a more consistent 45 Mbps. This is 100% fine with me.
Im unsure of the reason and to be quite honest I cant tell a difference, latency and jitter still very good.

You will need to use the built in router, at least as far as I know right now, I haven't played around with it much more yet, but according to others you would need a bridge mode for the TMobile Router/Modem and it doesn't have one. I thought I was having an issue when I tried to use my own stand alone router but I think I MIGHT have been wrong on that, as far as the cause I thought it was causing but anyway, the TMobile router wont let you do it the right way if you want to use your own router but it MAY work the wrong way. ... *L* I advent gone back to trying my own separate router because the TMobile Router combo is working so well, BUT I might try it again one day.
AS a REMINDER, I am limited during the weekdays on how much I can play around with it, as I have to be careful not to take down my wifes work station.

With that said, besides the really good performance I feel we are getting/meeting hopes and expectations mostly, which I think is going to improve more and vastly more once 5g is here, the router works outstanding for a combination modem/router. Range is every bit as good as my previous stand alone routers, TP Link AC 1700 and new Motorola AC 2600. The built in router is an AX.

The unit so new, the downloadable PDF manual is helpful but not very accurate in some places. This is truly meant as a plug and play router and I suspect the reason for that it TMobile does not want you if you are a business (they state businesses not accepted at this time but maybe future) or a heavy tech user. They need to get this out without affecting and overtaxing their network.

BOTTOM LINE as of this day, Monday=
WOW! We are thrilled! I cant believe we actually are able to now get our internet from someone who doesnt have wire or fiber running under our street. The unit comes in the mail, you plug it in, your done. No extra charges for anything, $50 a month with autopay. No equipment fee, no rental fees, no nothing! I think maybe there is even a free trial period, they haven't charged my card yet and gave me the date it will be charged. I cant remember with everything we were doing.

Anyway, left it up to my wife this weekend since she works from home and if our internet ever goes down she would have to take a PTO day, much like if your car broke down on the way to work.
After a lot of testing she gave the go ahead, even though we thought we would test this over a month or two time, less then 5 days passed by and we decided it will be reliable.
So we called Spectrum/Charter and told them to stick their 70% price increase over the last few years and cancelled our service. WOW what a feeling of freedom!!!!!!!!!

Btw- I did a device count, we have 28 devices hooked up to this TMobile router, granted some are rarely used and some will be gotten rid of, most noteworthy - two laptops since we got two new one for Christmas. But they all work on the network.

My son put his order in for T-Mobile Internet at his house on Sunday/yesterday.
Possible my daughter may too, but she takes her time with things *LOL*

Thanks for posting this! just ordered ours today, we are rural enough our only option is DSL or satellite.........we went DSL and it's bad, really bad.

 

[alarmguy]

Thanks for posting this! just ordered ours today, we are rural enough our only option is DSL or satellite.........we went DSL and it's bad, really bad.

Hope it works out for you!
As we know, there will be varying degrees of success with any type of cell service and location of nearby towers but being you qualified from T-Mobile means you have a better then good shot it will work just fine. Even the specific terrain near your home could effect signal in some areas ... however ...
They wouldn't take on the expense if there wasnt a good chance you will be ok.

Best part is, it doesnt cost you anything if it doesnt work, except maybe to mail the equipment back, no contract, no equipment, if you dont like it, return.

 

[mk378]

Go to cellmapper.net, find your location on the map and select T-Mobile USA in the box on the left side. This will show if there are T-Mobile cells in your area. Ignore any that are red, those are unverified and almost never real. Look for a green one offering band 71. Band 71 is a lower frequency that goes farther in rural areas. It's worth trying if you're within 5 miles of the tower with no hill in between.

 

[DBMaster]

I added myself to the waiting list as the service is not yet available in my area. But, since my T-Mobile signal here is lousy (worse than -110 dBm most of the time) I doubt this will end up being a viable option for me. To be able to just get decent call performance I have to use WiFi calling at home. Fortunately my FiOS plan "only" runs $55-60/month.

 

[Oildudeny]

It will be the way of the future.. No techs to install.. No cabling to manage on the poles.. Plug and play by the customer.

 

[alarmguy]

Tonight, Monday 1/11/21
TMobile Home Internet Speed Test.
I have some tips and tricks but will update later in the week once I see consistency in the results. We have a "good" LTE signal as indicated by the TMobile App and Web GUI, our 5G (that's right we are getting 5g!) is "weak" .. and what I have noticed, for some reason when I set up 3 SSIDs one for each band USING THE WEB GUI. 2.4, 5 low, 5 high ... it has trouble connecting to the 5G. I dont know why, I can assume, quick to get it out on the market and will have firmware updates later.
It doesnt matter to me anymore, the increase in speed, Ill let the unit choose the bands.

So I am advising for the typical user (and now me included) just use the Phone app, takes minutes and let the unit choose the band it uses for each different device, more or less the app just has you create ONE SSID and password, it is then populated to the 3 bands, I played with this all evening and consistently was able to acquire the 5G signal setting it up the way the app wanted you too vs me setting it up the way I wanted too.
So I am leaving it that way. Im blown away by the difference in speed and I am sure if I had a nearby tower, I see reports from 300 to 600 Mbps.

Anyway, here is tonight test ... This was the best of the bunch, low was around 80. This test almost touched 100 before settling down to 92.
I also of course have other options to move the unit around the house for best signal, the app does that with you as well, but right now its in a central closet. Of course this needs to prove itself to me over time that it can hold this "weak" signal. Either way, one thing for sure. FASTER OR SLOWER the unit has been reliable so far, meaning it always is online.

 

[sst9303]

Hope it works out for you!
As we know, there will be varying degrees of success with any type of cell service and location of nearby towers but being you qualified from T-Mobile means you have a better then good shot it will work just fine. Even the specific terrain near your home could effect signal in some areas ... however ...
They wouldn't take on the expense if there wasnt a good chance you will be ok.

Best part is, it doesnt cost you anything if it doesnt work, except maybe to mail the equipment back, no contract, no equipment, if you dont

Exactly!!, nothing to lose trying it out..........Checking our data for the last 2 weeks we peak out at 5.3mbps usually at night between ~10pm to 2am, normal speeds through the day are 3.2-4.4mbps.

So if this would even double our speed it's worth it and it's about $18 cheaper a month.

 

[alarmguy]

Exactly!!, nothing to lose trying it out..........Checking our data for the last 2 weeks we peak out at 5.3mbps usually at night between ~10pm to 2am, normal speeds through the day are 3.2-4.4mbps.

So if this would even double our speed it's worth it and it's about $18 cheaper a month.

Speed is going to increase 500% for you it at the least. Assuming their mapping is correct for signal. All you need is a signal and you should have a min of 25 Mbps.
This is "new" equipment and there are a fair amount of bugs IF you try to customize it.
If you stick to the script and if you are able to load the app on your phone, set up takes minutes and service very reliable. After playing around with it for almost a week now, last night, I did the basics, like a typical home owner would, followed the simple 3 steps to get it up and running after I defaulted it (another bug) and works perfect. Even when I didnt have these higher speeds it was always 20+ and dead on reliable, meaning the internet never went "down" and always worked, big plus.
My weak 5g signal held overnight and I am at 100Mbps, freaking amazing. If you cant get 5g where you are its only a matter of time (as well as stronger signal here too) So your fallback is LTE and that will give you anything from 20 to 50 Mbps.
Lets face it, its a big country, there are going to be fantastic success stories and then no success stories, its all going to be a matter of your relationship to the nearby cell tower.

I want to stress to anyone following this, in the week that I have had it, the unit never stopped working, we never lost internet, very important because my wifes works from home on a company workstation in a time critical environment where we can NOT lose or have unreliable internet. It has been 100% reliable as far as working, I was just trying to configure the SSIDs to exactly the way I want for each band and its buggy, also things like resetting is buggy, stuff like that. But if you follow the script for now, you will be thrilled.

This mornings test result, after resetting the router/modem to default last night (like I said, not on purpose but by "bug" I was actually cleaning out the Spectrum equipment and relocating the TMobile Device to another area in the closet) and then set it up like a normal homeowner would which is the best solution for now, unless you are like me... Im thrilled with speed, more then I need.
I have one SSID now, I would have liked three, but for now, letting the machine on its default settings dish out what devices get what channels and bands.
There are work arounds that I am learning if I want to change this and if I do, only for my own fun and love of electronics kind of thing. others can simply set and forget, its works or doesnt, keep it if it does, return it if it doesnt. But Im sooo impressed I KNOW this is going to hurt the landline data (internet) providers over time and it will not be a long time, amazing how fast TMobile is moving, amazing company, used to be looked down on in the industry and by consumers, now head of its class.
TMobile hooked 100 million people up to 5g in 2020 in contrast, Verizon hooked up 2 million, For 2021 TMobile will be hooking that up every week, 2 million. No, I dont work for them *LOL*

 

[alarmguy]

Update Wed 1/13/21 =
Running over 7 days now, would need to read the thread from the first post. Connection itself has been perfect, meaning 100% reliable, has not gone down.
HOWEVER, speed issue is occurring. Getting anywhere from 20 Mbps to 100 Mbps depending which tower it connects too. When it connect to the tower with the weaker signal the speed will be close to 100 Mbps which is amazing, yet when it connects (almost all the time lately) to the more powerful tower speeds slow down. It could even be the same tower with 4g and 5G I dont know.

Now let me be clear, we do not have any internet issues right now, meaning we do not notice the difference in speed, possibly a hint of a difference because we are "looking" for it. But we are confirming by running speed tests all the time. Example my wife working from home didnt test it yesterday so had no idea it was running around 20Mbps instead of 50 Mbps.

Ok with that said, I know blazing new trails will have growing pains so we are ok with this, for decades wife and I have been at the forefront of moving forward with new computers and technology. Its a fun thing for us.

So lest night I called TMobile tech support ! Wow, I was impressed, we will see if we get results, keep in mind our internet is working fine but I want the speeds I think we should get.
Anyway, there was a one hour hold time, but the cool part was, "Press 1" and they will call you back when you are next in line. Almost 1 hour later, they called me back and spoke with a very pleasant person, who as we know all have you go over some steps to see if they can clear things up. She agreed they should be able to get more speed, that I have the new unit and they are seeing credible speeds well over 60 Mbps to near 100 even on LTE where 5G isn't available yet.

We went through the steps for quite some time, then asked/confirmed my address, put me on a short hold, got back to me and told me it is being forwarded to an engineer who will check our router and cell tower to correct it.

She was talking like it will be corrected and get this, said she will call me back on Friday to make sure it is working correctly by then, I suggested around 3Pm, she said perfect, she goes to lunch at 2 so that will not be a problem.
Anyway, very impressed still, she also acknowledged there are some bugs in the device, some have been corrected with the latest firmware which she said was already on my unit but did acknowledge the ones I spoke to here about as still existing.

My posts are always honest so with everything I just typed, if it sounds bad, its not really, our connection has never gone down but through testing and seeing our speeds as high as 107 and then settle down to 27 no matter time of day or anything else, tells me something needs to be addressed and will sooner or later. It takes patience when blazing new "trails" as my wife and I have been doing for decades now )
Cable companies got a real problem on their hands in the coming years and will put a halt to the endless price increases, much like the cell phone industry over the last decade and much of that credit goes to TMobile as well.

Todays speed test.

 

[alarmguy]

Update - Thursday 1-14-21

Well, I think we are "there". Following up on my previous thread talking with TMobile Home Internet Customer service, last post they were going to have an engineer look at the cell tower near me and also my modem (remotely of course). TMobile Customer Service is going to call me back Friday afternoon to make sure everything was corrected. Its rare I am EVER impressed with service and support, they were great.

Anyway, late afternoon very early evening on Wed my speeds bumped up and have since held overnight, these were the speeds I got when I first tried the service only for it to degrade over a 12 to 24 hour period. Anyway the speed never picked by itself in the past so hopefully this was an indication that someone was working remotely on it.
I am wondering if they someone locked me onto the signal as out of two signals 1 would drop and speeds would slow. From what I see, the two cell signals the modem is using, one is a 5G connection and one is an LTE. I have been giving myself an education on cell signals, towers and what various symbols mean, more homework on that for me, only because I am fascinated by this stuff. Who would have imagined just a couple years ago, 100+ Mb home internet service could be delivered to your home, plugged into an electric outlet, no wires to your home and in less then 20 minutes working. This is the future.

We are not too far from the tower, I think only maybe a mile or two (straight line not road miles) but the modem itself is in a center closet where it will stay. But my signal is more like what would be called mid circle to outer circle. Not the strongest but looks clean and why I think TMobiles Customer Service was more like they knew it was going to work and would follow up with me Friday.
IN laymen's terms, it would be like 2 bars on your cell phone for one band and 3 for the other. I can get an extra bar by moving the modem out of the closet but no need too.

Anyway, I am thrilled (yeah, I know, again, lets hope it holds) Speed tests have been running around 90 Mbps and interesting during the test bumping up close to 110 at times before settling back.
Anyway, its only been 12 hours... hope it holds but I think it is going too! AS noted before, not once in the last almost 2 weeks since hooked it up did the internet ever stop working, big plus.
We also know, just like any new technology, things will improve with newer modems, updated firmware and the ever rapidly expanding capacity of the cell towers and equipment. Amazing ... bye-bye you freaking money sucking cable and telco internet companies ... Forget loyalty people, its just a data connection, nothing more.

BTW!!! Almost forgot, these test results are taken on my Mac Destop over wifi and is the furthest from the router on the second floor of our 3000 sq ft home. Router is central on the main floor.