Time is really the necessity to have access to high-speed internet at home. That need became more apparent in the COVID-19 lockdowns, which forced families to study and study more from home. While most children have returned to their individual development, many adults have continued to work together, without plans to change. We often forget about streaming television service, large downloads for operating system update, PC and console games, apps, etc.; and it’s clear that a fast and stable internet connection is a high priority for many people.
Unfortunately, many Americans don’t make any choice in high-speed internet carriers for their home.
Why have I decided to drop Spectrum Internet?
Even though it was previously known as Time Warner Cable, I had a long-term satisfaction in presenting spectrum Internet. But having the Spectrum internet isn’t by choice; it has been the only option I have, living in the rural Garner area, near the north end of Raleigh. While AT&T and Google Fiber are available within twenty miles of my address, neither of them is providing services to my neighborhood. Because of the regional Internet monopolies in the area, Spectrum isn’t the only choice I have for high-speed cable/fiber internet.
Why did I decide to give the boot to Spectrum? I had to try to get on my current train every year and find a new train to the other side. I paid $69.99 for the 400/20 Internet, but each year Spectrum rates up to 4.99 dollars. For the refund, I need to call the customer’s service and waste 45 minutes in the day so they can drop the rate back to $69.99. Sure, it’s a one-year thing, but I’m looking for the answer.
A friend of mine, who recently turned up with Spectrum, asked me if I would be able to buy an Internet for $50/month. I asked her to ask if her address was eligible for service. She decided to give T-Mobile their free trial for two weeks, and they got into service.
Until now, I asked myself for this: Could I ditch spectrum and use a 5G wireless service as my primary mobile internet connection?
What is T-Mobile’s Home Internet?
T-Mobile Home Internet supports a 5G network with T-Mobile’s cellular network. The 5-G gateway is made up of 4G/5G, the 4G/G modem which connects to T-Mobile’s cellular network and combines an Integrated Wi-Fi 6 router for all your devices. T-Mobile only provides its Home Internet service in areas with an excellent coverage (and obvious reasons). And even then, all addresses are not received, because of the capacity of the network.
Having paid for Autopay, a fee of 50 dollars per month for T-Mobile Home Internet (again 55 dollars per month). Other taxes and fees are included in the bill. If you’re an existing T-Mobile mobile customer at Magenta Max, your monthly cost with Autopay drops to just $30 per month. There is no long-term agreement. The 5G gateway has free access, so no monthly equipment (modem) fee is paid, as in the rare case of fixed-line providers such as Spectrum and Comcast.
The things that are present are obscene. T-Mobile currently offers up to 30 percent off YouTube TV for a year, Paramount+ for a year, and Philo TV for five dollars/month. If that wasn’t enough, new signups get a Amazon Echo show 5 (second generation) free from the new tab.
According to the company, “typical” download speeds of between 33 Mbps and 182 Mbps, and upload speeds between 6 and 23 Mbps. However, like you are following, actual speed is much higher, which rivals legacy cable companies. That most people would probably like to know is the situation with data caps, given that the service is operated on T-Mobile’s cellular network. Honestly, the answer is that there aren’t any data caps. While Comcast and Spectrum have implemented data caps on their fixed-line customers in multiple countries, T-Mobile is thankfully avoiding the practice now.
The disclaimer below is intended to say “However a T-Mobile is performing?”
The speed of people can be influenced by location, signal strength, availability, time of day and other factors. Our speed projections are based on our internal and external data analysis.
T-Mobile says its home Internet service is available to 30 million Americans.
Sign up for T-Mobile Home Internet.
It was relatively easy to sign up for service. First, I clicked this link to get my telephone number entered. Click the new tab to see if my home address was eligible. Once the eligibility has been confirmed, I can chat with a representative who asked me several questions and sent me several secure links to enter my name, address, invoice and social security number (to perform a credit check for the new hardware that’d be sent to me).
After about 10 minutes the signup process was done, and I was informed the 5G gateway would arrive in two business days. On the second day of business, the 5G Gateway arrived the same way as promised by UPS, and I’m eager to test it out.
Order and practice first impressions.
I was struck by its size after removing the 5G gate from the box. He’s 8.5 inches tall and has silver color. Using a cylinder, it reminds me of the first generation Amazon Echo. You will find a power port, a power button, a reset button, a USB-C port (favour the wireless app), a phone jack and two Ethernet ports. Despite the modern mobile routers, T-Mobiles 5G gateway lacks a port selection. So, you could like one of the best network switches we tested.
The device can be seen in a circular screen on its top. You can swipe across the screen to determine your signal strength, its message-forming, the number of connected devices, and the battery status. Yes, the 5G gateway has a battery integrated, but it will not turn off the power plug. This feature should come in handy in power outages.
To create the gate, you must first download a T-Mobile Internet App and put it on a smartphone. I then plugged the entry into my office on the second floor of my house and made up the appliance. It booted and panned. The app itself is very basic, but has limited control over the router. You can see networks, signal strength, connected devices, change SSID and passcode and adjust frequency bands. That’s about it. There are no parent, no advanced wireless, no access controls, no MAC filters, etc. This is just a barebones system that should work the most well for most households. Power users are likely to want to look elsewhere or simply connect their existing router to the 5G gateway.
At first, I was worried about the signal strength as I had the gateway that came across on a bookshelf beside my cable modem, that isn’t near a window (T-Mobile is suggesting that the gateway fall near a window for the best signal). I positioned him close to the window in my office, so he was welcomed with the three bars. The 5G entrance onto the opposite side of the house, was the second to put it in the house on the next side of the building. I still have three bars. At that point, I decided to put him in the original location near the cable modem and proceed with the setup. After the initial setup, the signal strength has hovered between three and four bars.
After opening the T-Mobile Internet app, I’d scan my QR code on the top of the gate to be able to help the setup. This prepopulated the ID and passcode, then began communicating with the gateway and the T-Mobile network for activation. After about 30 seconds, the setup process was finished, so I was ready to leave.
We’ve got 40+ Wi-Fi devices connected to our Wireless router (the first generation Netgear Orbi RBR50 Wi-Fi 5 mesh router with two satellites). We talk about a large number of laptops, smartphones, tablets, TVs, Amazon Echo speakers, and about two dozen smart lights, light bulbs and power outlets. Since the sheer number of Wi-Fi devices in my house, I opted to give my Orbi a “fygnid” feature. I couldn’t have just changed the SSID and password on the 5-G gateway for this particular location, but I didn’t want to abandon the coverage provided by my router and two satellites via the entire house and outside.
Testing Performance
I first connected my iPhone to the 5G gateway by Wi-Fi and performed a meter of Speed. To my surprise, I recorded download speeds exceeding 470 Mbps, while uploads nearly 72 Mbps.
For reference, my Spectrum internet connection gives me 430 Mbps to 450 Mbps and tops up at around 21 Mbps for uploads. Over the course of the years, the 5G gateway has increased download speed of 57,37 Mbps and is not widely understood in the apple’s recollection.
If worst-case scenario, I had to have again tested around 9 p.m. At ET, the 5G gateway’s speeds were lowered to around 400 Mbps for downloads and 40 Mbps for uploads. That’s a great drop, but we still don’t have enough to supply.
In the following test I carried the same test with the Orbi router with an Ethernet port. The speed of download and upload were unaffected, so I stuck with that setup.
I’m not a big gamer, so I’m primarily worried about having an internet connection fast and stable 24-7-365. In the days when I was preparing to test the T-Mobiles Home Internet service, it was flawless. I haven’t experienced significant speed losses or service interruptions. The 5G gateway had remained slightly lukewarm to the touch, cooler than the toasty Arris Surfboard SB6183 cable modem I’d been using for a few years.
This 5G hotspot can simultaneously stream multiple smart TVs, my daily conference calls, my huge file downloads and almost any other item I throw at this.
Postponed: Wrap-up.
In a bit of a skeptical test I used a cellular-based internet service to connect to my home-side Internet, but those worries have never reached fruit. Signing up for T-Mobile Home Internet was easy, the setup with the app was minimalistic with very little space for error and the actual service has been solid. Since I saved two hundred dollars per month ($240/year), the change was a no-brainer for our family.
About the hardest part of this whole process is probably the call to Spectrums customer retention department to tell them that Im canceling my existing service.
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