Access to high-speed internet at home is virtually necessary these days. That need became even more apparent during the blockade of COVID-19, which forced families to work and learn from home. Most children are back in face-to-face learning, but many adults remain in telecommuting mode and have no plans to change. It’s clear that we’re consuming a lot of downloads of streaming TV services, operating system updates, PC and console games, apps, and more. It is clear that maintaining a fast and stable internet connection is a top priority for many people.
Unfortunately, for many Americans, the actual choice of high-speed internet carriers for your home is often very limited.
Reasons for abolishing Spectrum Internet
I’ve been a customer of Spectrum Internet for many years, even when it was formerly known as the Time Warner Cable. However, using the Spectrum Internet is an option. It was the only option I lived in the countryside of Garner, North Carolina, just southeast of Raleigh. AT & T Fiber and Google Fiber are available within 20 miles of my address, but neither serves my neighborhood. Given the national regional internet monopoly, Spectrum remains the only choice for high-speed cable / fiber internet.
But why did I decide to give Spectrum a boot? I was tired of having to jump over the hoops every year to keep the current service reasonably priced. I pay $ 69.99 for 400/20 internet, but Spectrum raises it to $ 84.99 every year. Then I have to call their customer service line and waste 45 minutes of my day to get them back to $ 69.99. Sure, that’s once a year, but I was looking for an out.
When a friend who happened to be a Spectrum enthusiast noticed that T-Mobile offered a home internet for $ 50 a month, he asked me about other ISP options. I asked her to see if her address was covered by the service, and it was. She decided to enroll T-Mobile in a two-week free trial offer and signed up for the service.
At that moment, I asked myself. Can I potentially throw away the spectrum and use 5G wireless services as the primary link for the home internet?
What is T-Mobile Home Internet?
T-Mobile Home Internet provides Internet services to your home using a 5G gateway that uses T-Mobile’s cellular network. Connect to T-Mobile’s cellular network to the 5G gateway Wi-Fi 6 A router for linking all devices. T-Mobile offers home internet services only in areas with good coverage (for obvious reasons). Still, not all addresses are processed based on network capacity.
T-Mobile Home Internet costs $ 50 per month when you sign up for Autopay ($ 55 per month without Autopay) and includes all taxes and fees. For existing T-Mobile Magenta Max Mobile customers, Autopay reduces monthly charges to just $ 30 / month. 5G gateways are provided free of charge, so you don’t have to pay a monthly device (modem) fee (as is often the case with fixed line providers such as Spectrum and Comcast), and you don’t have a long-term contract to sign.
Goods are not the only ones. T-Mobile is currently offering Home Internet customers 50% off YouTube TV for one year, Paramount + for one year free, and Philo TV for $ 15 per month (compared to the standard price of $ 25 per month).If that is not enough, ask a new registrant Amazon Echo Show 5 (2nd Generation) for Free (Opens in a new tab)..
According to the company, you can expect “general” download speeds from 33Mbps to 182Mbps and upload speeds from 6Mbps to 23Mbps. However, as shown below, the actual speed is much faster and can be comparable to traditional cable companies. Given that this service works on T-Mobile’s cellular networks, another big thing most people probably want to know is the current status of data caps. Surprisingly, the answer is that there is no data limit. Comcast and Spectrum have implemented data caps for landline customers in multiple US markets, but T-Mobile is grateful to avoid this practice, at least for now.
Regarding overall performance, T-Mobile offers the following disclaimer:
Speed depends on location, signal strength and availability, time of day, and other factors. Our speed forecasts are based on analysis of internal and third party data.
According to T-Mobile, home Internet services are available to 30 million Americans.
Sign up for T-Mobile Home Internet
Signing up for the service was relatively easy.First, I I clicked on this T-Mobile link (Opens in a new tab) Enter your phone number to see if your home address is eligible. Once qualified, I chatted with the person who asked some questions and sent me some secure links to enter my name, address, billing information, and social security number (credit for new hardware). Will be sent to me) to carry out the investigation).
Approximately 10 minutes later, the sign-up process was completed and we were notified that the 5G gateway would arrive within 2 business days. On the second business day, the 5G gateway arrived via UPS as promised and I wanted to give it a try.
First impression and setup
After taking the 5G gateway out of the box, I was amazed at its size. It is 8.5 inches high and is silver in color. It’s shaped like a cylinder, reminiscent of the first-generation Amazon Echo. On the back of the device are a power port, a power button, a reset button, a USB-C port (smartphone charging worked fine), a phone jack, and two Ethernet ports. Unfortunately, T-Mobile’s 5G gateway lacks port selection when compared to modern wireless routers. Therefore, you may want to choose one of the best network switches we have tested.
There is a small circular touch display on the top of the device. Swipe the screen to see the current signal strength, messages from T-Mobile, the number of connected devices, and battery status. Yes, the 5G gateway has a built-in battery and will continue to work even if you unplug it (this feature is useful in the event of a power outage).
To set up your gateway, you must first download the T-Mobile Internet app and install it on your smartphone. Then I connected the gateway to the office wall on the second floor of the house and turned it on. After booting and updating the software quickly, I checked the signal strength of 3 out of 5 bars. The app itself is very basic and has little router control. You can check network status, signal strength, connected devices, change SSID / passcode, and adjust frequency band. About that. There are no parental controls, advanced wireless controls, access controls, MAC filtering and more. This is the minimum setting that should work fine in most homes. Power users are advised to look elsewhere or connect their existing router to a 5G gateway.
Initially, I was worried about signal strength because the gateway was on the bookshelf next to the cable modem and not near the window (T-Mobile placed the gateway near the window for the best signal. I’m proposing to do it). Then I pasted it near the window in my office and was greeted by the same three bars. Next, I took a 5G gateway downstairs on the other side of the house and placed it near the window. I still got 3 sticks. At that point, I decided to put it in its original location near the cable modem and continue with the setup. After initial setup, the signal strength is hovering between the 3 and 4 bars.
When I opened the T-Mobile Internet app, I was asked to scan the QR code at the bottom of the gateway to speed up setup. This pre-filled the SSID and passcode and started and activated communication with the gateway and T-Mobile network. After about 30 seconds, the setup process is complete and ready to go.
At any given time, more than 40 Wi-Fi devices are connected to a wireless router, a first-generation Netgear Orbi RBR50 Wi-Fi 5 mesh router with two satellites. We’re talking about multiple laptops, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, Amazon Echo speakers, and about 12 Kasa smart light switches, light bulbs, and power outlets. Due to the large number of Wi-Fi devices in my home, I chose to piggyback Orbi from the 5G gateway to make things easier (of course, to match the 5G gateway’s SSID and password to Orbi). I could have changed it to, but I didn’t want to reduce the coverage my router and two satellites provide for the entire house and outdoors).
Performance testing
I first connected only my iPhone to a 5G gateway via Wi-Fi and ran Speedtest. Surprisingly, the download speed was over 470 Mbps, but the upload speed was close to 72 Mbps.
For reference, my Spectrum internet connection gives me 430Mbps to 450Mbps, and uploads are best at around 21Mbps. Subsequent tests have shown that the peak download speed of the 5G gateway from the MacBook Pro (directly connected to the 5G gateway) reaches 557.37 Mbps around 3 pm. This is unprecedented on the home Internet.
In the worst case scenario, when I tested it again around 9 pm on the ET, the speed of the 5G gateway dropped to about 400 Mbps for downloads and 40 Mbps for uploads. This is a sharp drop, but it still has enough throughput for our needs.
We then connected the Orbi router through one of the two Ethernet ports on the 5G gateway and ran the same test. The download and upload speeds weren’t affected, so I stuck with that setting.
I’m not a big gamer, so I’m mainly interested in using a fast and stable internet connection 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It was perfect when I was testing T-Mobile’s home internet service. There are no service interruptions or significant slowdowns. The 5G gateway is a bit lukewarm to the touch and is cooler than the toasted Arris Surfboard SB6183 cable modem I’ve been using for years.
5G hotspots can handle multiple smart TV streams, daily conference calls, large file downloads, whatever I throw at the same time.
wrap up
I participated in this test with a little skepticism about using cellular-based internet services for my home internet, but those worries never paid off. Signing up for T-Mobile Home Internet was easy, the app setup process was minimal, there was little room for error, and the actual internet service was solid. Discard the fact that I’m saving $ 20 a month ($ 240 / year), and switching was easy for our family.
Perhaps the most difficult part of the whole process is to call Spectrum’s customer retention department and tell them to cancel their existing service.
Note: As with all editorials, the opinions expressed here belong solely to the writer, not to Tom’s Hardware as a team.
