T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: Is It Worth The Hype?

Now that 5G internet is available in a lot of states in the U.S, people have different thoughts about the service. As for T-Mobile 5G home internet, the service is a huge upgrade as opposed to other internet options in rural areas. However, compared to fiber internet service, the service still falls short.

Almost overnight T-Mobile came up with its own array of 5G cell towers, being able to provide high-speed internet to more than 30 million homes. As opposed to most internet service provider’s cable infrastructure, T-Mobile uses fixed wireless. Fixed wireless has a reputation for being slower than cable and fiber internet service. Now that T-Mobile has invested a huge amount in 5G cell towers, the home internet service are on par with traditional broadband providers across the U.S. 

Let’s be honest here, during the testing of the “New and Improved” home internet service by T-Mobile, most people were disappointed. Overall, the service was a bit less reliable than cable internet. Although, the 5G home internet service by T-Mobile can do wonders for people living in rural areas. In the corners of the country, slow DSL and expensive satellite internet plans are usually the only options. Compare that to T-Mobile’s 5G Home internet service, it can be life-changing for regular internet users. 

Don’t get too happy just now, the speeds you’ll get will vary greatly on where you live. The only way to get a definitive idea about T-Mobile’s new home internet is to buy the plans.

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: Availability

T-Mobile announced its 5G home internet service in April 2021. The service is available to 634 metro areas all over the U.S., offering coverage to an average of 30 million homes. This increased range makes T-Mobile one of the largest internet service providers in terms of service. According to T-Mobile’s report, more than 10 million of these homes are in rural areas. Their goal is to provide people living in rural areas with better internet connectivity. 

If you want an exact idea if you can access the service or not, then you can visit T-Mobile’s official website and check the availability. If you can get T-Mobile’s cell phone plans in your area, you’ll be able to get home internet service.

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet Speed & Reliability Review

After you sign up for the home internet service and complete the formalities, T-Mobile will send a home internet gateway. The internet service can get you through most tasks like Zoom meetings, live TV streaming, Netflix, online gaming, connectivity to smart devices, etc. 

Most of the time internet works smoothly, however, there are some disappointing moments. Sometimes the Zoom meeting will have trouble transmitting audio and video, if you’ve used cable internet in past, you’d know that Zoom runs pretty smoothly. Apart from certain slow speed times and 1 in 10 video call glitches, T-Mobile’s 5G home internet runs pretty smoothly. 

If you live alone or share a room with a roommate, you can accomplish high bandwidth activities easily. However, the same internet connectivity may not be suitable for a high bandwidth-hungry family. If that sounds like you, it may not be the best idea to cut your cable internet plan. 

Download Speed on T-Mobile

In the end, it all comes down to the download speeds an internet provider has to offer. After all, numbers don’t lie. T-Mobile’s home internet is unique as it offers only one plan and it has no specific download speed. On the official T-Mobile website it’s stated that the internet service “anticipates download speeds over 100 Mbps for some customers”, but not household should get lower than 25 Mbps for extended periods. 

According to countless user reports and personal testing, T-Mobile’s statement was true. The internet connectivity dipped lower than 25 Mbps just once or twice. If you compare the TMobile home internet 5G with cable or other connections, the speed goes up and down a lot more than other connections. 

Cable internet providers like Xfinity, Verizon, etc offered a more consistent speed throughout the day. T-Mobile on the other hand offered huge differences in speed with every single speed test. Any internet enthusiast will understand that internet speeds rely on a lot of factors. Some major factors affecting speeds are location, signal strength, time of the day, weather, etc. So, if you already have a cable internet connection, the speed difference will vary greatly.

Before picking T-Mobile 5G home internet service, you should keep in mind that wireless networks are affected by several reasons. T-Mobile’s internet is more susceptible to speed fluctuations, so if you have constant high bandwidth needs, you may face some difficulties.

Upload Speed on T-Mobile

Unlike the download speeds, the upload speeds offered by T-Mobile 5G home internet are exceptional. The average upload speed is more than 40 Mbps, this is a result of personal testing of 2 weeks. Your upload speeds may vary on external factors. Regardless, the upload speed is better than offered by almost all the cable providers out there. If you’re going to upload a lot of data from different devices, T-Mobile can keep up with your needs.

Data Caps on T-Mobile 

To make things even better is that T-Mobile doesn’t have any data caps on its one and only home internet plan. T-Mobile also claims that they won’t throttle download speeds after a user consumes a certain amount of data. So, if you don’t care about fluctuating download speeds, 5G home internet T Mobile may be just the thing for you.

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet Equipment

As mentioned above, T-Mobile is offering a wireless gateway for its home internet service. The setup is simple and even the non-tech-friendly users can get through it in under 10 minutes. If you dread the installation and the waiting for the technician part of any internet service, T-Mobile eliminates all that. 

The gateway is a simple-looking cylindrical-shaped device with a touch screen on the top. It offers two LAN ports, one USB-C port, a port of UPS devices, an RJ-11 for landline telephone, and a power jack. To complete the set-up, just download the app, and then follow the on-screen procedure to start your WiFi service. 

There are some corners where the equipment disappoints. Mainly it lacks all the advanced features that are available on high-end wireless routers. You get a choice to choose between the two bands, but it lacks parental controls or VPN options. One plus point is that you can disconnect devices from the gateway or schedule automatic disconnect for specific devices.

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet vs Competitors

T-Mobile 5G home internet is cheaper in comparison to other providers that offer the speeds. We’ve made a comparison of T-Mobile’s internet service with the main competitors. The price of the T Mobile home internet 5G contains all the taxes and additional fees so that’s a plus point. For almost all the other internet service providers, expect to pay $1-$20 over the offered price. 

Conclusion: T-Mobile 5G Home Internet

The speeds you’ll get, the consistency, and the reliability of the service will depend on how close your home is to the cell towers. If you’re in a huge city, then fiber internet is still the better option for your home internet, if you don’t mind a higher price point. 

When it comes to rural areas, T-Mobile’s 5G home internet is definitely an upgrade. Plus the consistent $50 price is enough to make you switch from satellite internet service. Compared to DSL & satellite internet, T-Mobile can offer you a truly pleasant internet experience. The cherry on top is that there are no contracts or data caps to worry about.

But the service is still a hit or miss as fixed wireless internet’s performance relies on the location. So the only way to decide how well T-Mobile’s home internet will work for you is to test it out.