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T-Mobile Launches Unlimited 5G Home Internet for $60/Month

Michael Scrip said:
Exactly...

If you have disappointing T-Mobile service in your area... you'll have disappointing service with this too. It's all using the same cellular network.

I looked closely at the gateway... and it doesn't appear to have a port for an external antenna. I've seen similar devices where you can put a big antenna on your roof to increase range and connectivity.

Though they do call it "Long Range"... so maybe they have some good strong antennas inside the little tube!

Here's a review of it:

www.cnet.com

An Early Adopter's Hands-On Take on How T-Mobile Home Internet Compares With Cable

It's an affordable 5G-powered alternative to Comcast and others. Here's how it stood up to real-world use.
www.cnet.com www.cnet.com
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thanks for the link! yea, i usually have very poor service where i live and work, it's like a joke. i had 1 bar at my home in brooklyn, 1 star in my office in manhattan. currently i'm in hollywood fl and i have 2!! bars where i live :))) as soon as i go outside — the service is quite good, but since we're talking about home internet — i can't do that to my nervous system. oh, and installing something on the roof is hardly an option for me, based on where i live.
 
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alexandr said:
thanks for the link! yea, i usually have very poor service where i live and work, it's like a joke. i had 1 bar at my home in brooklyn, 1 star in my office in manhattan. currently i'm in hollywood fl and i have 2!! bars where i live :))) as soon as i go outside — the service is quite good, but since we're talking about home internet — i can't do that to my nervous system. oh, and installing something on the roof is hardly an option for me, based on where i live.
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Yeah... I've always seen these gateways put next to a window. Or like the guy in the review said... up on the 2nd floor.

And just the sheer size of the gateway must indicate that they have bigger antennas than your phone. So it might actually get better connection than a phone.

I'm sure there will be more reviews of this coming out soon since it just recently launched to the public.

Keep an eye on it!

:)
 
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Michael Scrip said:
Yeah... I've always seen these gateways put next to a window. Or like the guy in the review said... up on the 2nd floor.

And just the sheer size of the gateway must indicate that they have bigger antennas than your phone. So it might actually get better connection than a phone.

I'm sure there will be more reviews of this coming out soon since it just recently launched to the public.

Keep an eye on it!

:)
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funny, t-mobile sent me these signal boosters when i complained enough about horrible service in our soho shop. they(boosters) didn't do s**t and apparently our space was TOO SMALL for them to work. what?.. i suppose i could've used them at home, but with wi-fi calling i really had no reason to.

thanks — i'll watch out for them, but i'm pretty sure this will be a hard pass :)
 
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Anyone figure out the upload speeds? I have artists working for me that have been home since the pandemic but can't get above 1-3Mbps. I would gladly pay $60 a month for them to get even closer to 10mbps on the up.
 
I'm looking into this right now (got one of T-Mobile's test drive hotspots to test how it works here). Currently I just use my hotspot on my phone (AT&T 30GB) for all my internet at home.
Had Viasat a few years back, horrible. Rain or snow = no internet.

Too far from the road for cable, no DSL or anything here!
So, either this in home wireless or Verizon's version or AT&T which has a lower cap..
 
nutmac said:
But that means every single devices will need to have a cellular plan. For stationary devices like lightbulbs and printers, cellular connectivity is just an overkill. These devices should share a single Internet service.

But for mobile devices like phones and computers, Wi-Fi might someday become optional.
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Uhm, LAN is not just to access the internet with more devices, but to access local services. And 5g is terrible over obstacles. I am totally unconvinced by it's marketing hype.

Btw there are data plans with multiple sims using a single data allowance.
 
tbayrgs said:
Exactly—credit cards offer the ability to dispute transactions and don’t draw directly from your funds. Even better, use a card with rewards and make a little extra something from the payment.
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3% daily cash with Apple Card for T-Mobile.
 
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ipedro said:
This is where I've been saying the industry is headed and is exactly why Apple discontinued their AirPort.

As 5G infrastructure spreads, eventually every device that needs connectivity will have it built in. Everything from a laptop to a smart watch to a connected lightbulb to a smart dog collar will have a 5G chip that accesses your 5G plan and is always online.

The days of WiFi networking will give way to always connected devices networking via the cloud, not a local router.
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5G can't handle all of that traffic. 20+Ghz bands, where there is huge bandwidth, cannot penetrate the wall to reach your light bulbs effectively. Lower bands are already extremely crowded. If all your local packets have to go through the cloud, not even 6G can help you with that.
Besides the technological barrier, going through the cloud for smart things is just more expensive, more delay, less throughput, less power efficient, harder to set up (how would you set up your light bulb to connect to your 5G service? With your phone? Then it needs Bluetooth or another local wireless tech) for no apparent benefit.
 
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I’m getting mine in a few days and looking forward to it. I’m currently paying almost $90 to Comcast for 50Mbps. There is no other options in our area (thank you local comms monopoly!). I’m really hoping this works as advertised and I can ditch them. But if it doesn’t (I was told I can return it within 30 days if I am not satisfied), at the very least it gives me a bit of leverage to negotiate a lower price with the price-gougers.
 
mdriftmeyer said:
Soon I'll have 1Gbit Up/Down fiber at the house for $69. Pass.
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Lucky you - I’ve got stupid Cox where they’re shortly ending my $89.99/Mo. promotion for 300 Down / 15 Up with 1.2 TB/Mo data cap - new rate will be in the $119.99/Mo - excluding taxes and “convenience“ fees...
 
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MacRumors said:
To further its availability in rural areas, T-Mobile is launching the "Hometown" initiative to bring 5G to rural America. This plan will include hiring 7,500 employees in small towns and rural communities and providing $25 million in grants for community development projects.
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Good on them! Between the expansion like this of wireless broadband and the current administration’s (and many states’) focus on expanding the reach of wired broadband, it’s great that there’s a drive to get this important resource to a bigger chunk of America.
 
I signed up for it a few months ago and it was HORRIBLE! I have a 5G NR tower about 3 miles from my house that gives me pretty good signal on my devices when im outside, However we have a mini tower on the power pole about 1 mile that provides a pocket of the area with LTE data (We live near a state park so tmobile uses this small tower to fill in a dead zone) this home internet modem kept bouncing between the 5G NR tower and the 4G tower and at times it would actually freeze the modem requiring it to restart because of this, there is no way to "Lock" it to tell it to only connect to the 5G tower.

And the biggest thing is it has NO external antennas on it!!! The way my home is built I get piss poor coverage in the home but when I walk outside I get 4 bars of 5G. I dont know who in the right mind thought that leaving out the option for the user to attach a external antenna was a good idea.

Overall if you have NO other source of internet and are by a tmobile cell tower than this may be good but other than that this thing sucks!
 
Antes said:
So can I move that router anywhere with me? Like with me in the RV? Or to a friends place?
not that I would but just curious
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No. I tried this for a couple days at our vacation house and the signal sucked- but anyway, the unit is supposed to be pre-programmed to hit the tower(s) closest to the address you give them when you sign up. This wouldn’t work for RV travel.
 
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ipedro said:
This is where I've been saying the industry is headed and is exactly why Apple discontinued their AirPort.

As 5G infrastructure spreads, eventually every device that needs connectivity will have it built in. Everything from a laptop to a smart watch to a connected lightbulb to a smart dog collar will have a 5G chip that accesses your 5G plan and is always online.

The days of WiFi networking will give way to always connected devices networking via the cloud, not a local router.
Click to expand...

Not quite "this" yet since the T-Mobile home internet solution still uses a home router. 5G comes into the home, and then is converted to WiFi.

But what you propose *is* coming and how it should be. Silly that every home needs a separate WiFi hotspot. For those that still want a local network can still create one, but it won't be necessary. Devices will just connect directly to the outside world.
 
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In this room alone I've got 15 devices... laptops, tablet, smart TV, printer, smart bulbs, smart switches, etc.

I'm not too keen on this idea of a future where everything connects to the nearest cell tower... outside my home. I'm not even sure how that would work.

Right now when I buy a new device... I connect it to my router over WIFI.

But in the future I'll connect this device to my 5G Verizon plan? And I'll have 15 devices in one room all beaming their 5G signals across town? That seems a little excessive.

I'm glad I can stick to good ol' WIFI for the foreseeable future. :)
 
bluespark said:
There's a lot of misunderstanding here. This is a broadband home connection. Just as with other types of home internet solutions, you can connect multiple devices by wi-fi (which in this case is built into the device, although it also includes eithernet ports for connection a stand-alone wi-fi device). I have one of these right now through the pilot program and have about 30 devices on it.
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Can it be converted to a modem so that I can use my own router?
 
Jefe's MacAir said:
This is marketed towards rural areas where cellular is about the only option.
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Is 5G really viable in rural areas? (genuinely curious)

It seems they will have to install quite a lot of antennas to cover such a small population.
 
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