[TriLUG] Wanted to share my experience with TMobile 5G Home Internet

[brian mullan via TriLUG]

Its worth trying.  As I said both Verizon & TMobile have a no obligation
Trial period

Keep your current Internet provider until your Trial of 5G to see if it
works for you.  If not, just terminate the 5G & use the shipping label they
give to return their 5G Home gateway



On Mon, Oct 2, 2023, 9:58 AM John Vaughters <jvaughters04 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Thx Brian, very helpful info. My neighborhood only has one good option,
> Spectrum. I may need to look into this.
>
> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
> <https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&af_sub1=Acquisition&af_sub2=Global_YMktg&af_sub3=&af_sub4=100000604&af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_>
>
> On Mon, Oct 2, 2023 at 9:54 AM, brian mullan via TriLUG
> <trilug at trilug.org> wrote:
> *Just fyi so you don't have to search TMO's 5G Home Internet service
> yourself*
> <
> https://www.t-mobile.com/home-internet?cmpid=HEIS_PGD_P_HMEINTRNET_43700062429576835_659505645513&gclid=CjwKCAjwgsqoBhBNEiwAwe5w03IzOPFQB9snMhG7Ol_jy_qnlYkuvDjoLEviRd_b2RSJXR81605PYhoCNekQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
> >
>
> Keep in mind *BOTH Verizon and TMO have a 15 day trial period.  *
> So don't cancel your existing Internet Service until you actually can see
> if the 5G Home Internet solutions works
> for you then you can cancel.
>
> I also forgot to mention  that *most of the Verizon & TMO Home Gateway
> devices* can be attached to
>
> *an external 5G Antenna (~$350-$400) such as this one on Amazon
> <
> https://www.amazon.com/Waveform-Cellular-Hotspots-Gateways-T-Mobile/dp/B09VVSWF8F
> >*
>
> Those antenna's are supposed to dramatically increase signal
> strength/quality if you are in an area
> with lots of trees or more distant from their respective tower as well as
> the Connection speeds.
>
> Sorry for all these additional emails but I keep thinking about stuff that
> I should also have passed on.
>
> Brian
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 26, 2023 at 12:37 PM brian mullan <bmullan.mail at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Hi Dave
> > I'll try to answer your questions but I am not all that familiar with the
> > Verizon 5G Home  Internet
> >
> > *#1*
> > Regarding Distance from a TMobile 5G tower.
> > My house is perhaps 3-4 miles away from the nearest TMO 5G Tower shown on
> > their coverage map.
> > You can look up TMobile's 5G Coverage Map: *
> > https://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/coverage-map
> > <https://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/coverage-map>*
> > Just enter  your Zip code and the map will show all TMobile Towers nearby
> > (5G Ultra, 5G extended range & 4G)
> >
> > Both TMO and Verizon just announced last week that Nationwide they both
> > are going to be adding a lot more 5G coverage.
> >
> > *#2 *
> > TMO and I assume Verizon publish what Bands they are using.
> >
> > However, I* think TMobile is the first and only 5G that is already
> > rolling out Carrier Aggregation via Channel Bonding. *
> >
> > *TMO's 5G combines up to 4 Different Carriers*.
> > <
> https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/t-mobile-deploys-4-carrier-aggregation-live-network
> >
> >
> >
> > *The four 5G spectrum channels are: *
> >
> >    - *two channels of 2.5 GHz, *
> >    - *one channel of 1900 MHz *
> >    - *and one channel of 600 MHz. *
> >
> > *This creates an effective 225 MHz 5G channel with peak theoretical
> speeds
> > of up to 3.3 Gbps.*
> >
> >
> > *#3*
> > Well, both the Verizon and TMO 5G Home Internet "Gateways" also are (or
> > can be) your Home's WiFi 6 Router.
> >
> > So the WiFI 6 router's local connection to devices is configured with a
> > static IP (which you can change).
> > But the Public side IP I'm not sure about as I've never looked.
> >
> > In TMO's 5G Home Internet there is a really easy to use Android or iPhone
> > App which you download/intsall
> > from their respective "stores".
> >
> > The apps let you manage or monitor your 5G Home Internet Gateway
> > performance, connection quality and
> > change various Config parameters.
> >
> > For TMO's 5G Home Internet Gateway *there is also a 3rd party App
> > <
> https://tmo.report/2023/05/new-app-gives-easy-access-to-t-mobile-home-internet-gateway-stats/
> >**
> > which lets you turn ON/OFF the *
> > <
> https://tmo.report/2023/05/new-app-gives-easy-access-to-t-mobile-home-internet-gateway-stats/
> >
> > *Gateway's WiFi 6 router if you'd rather just connect an existing WiFi
> > router to the Gateway instead.  Also*
> > <
> https://tmo.report/2023/05/new-app-gives-easy-access-to-t-mobile-home-internet-gateway-stats/
> >
> > * alot more config settings the TMO App does not let you see/change.*
> > <
> https://tmo.report/2023/05/new-app-gives-easy-access-to-t-mobile-home-internet-gateway-stats/
> >
> >
> > *#4*
> > Actually that was another reason why I switched to the 5G Home Internet
> > service.  Why?
> >
> > Unlike my old Cable Internet *when the Power goes out its usually highly
> > unlikely the Mobile Communications*
> > *system goes out!  ** Mobile systems because they are also critical
> > communications systems are engineered to be*
> >
> > *much more resilient.*
> >
> > *Think about your own Cell Phone service.. when was the last time you
> > experienced an Outage?*
> >
> > So my solution was simple for the 5G Home Gateway.
> > I* bought an inexpensive ($45) Ryobi Portable Power unit
> > <
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8MHVD6H?ref_=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_RHZ4BMSWNP1X2AE9S7WW
> >*which
> > also has USB A, USB C charging ports and 2 A/C plugs.
> >
> > I bought a Ryobi *only because all my power tools use Ryobi Batteries* so
> > I did not have to buy any new batteries.
> >
> > But there are dozens of other brands/models to choose from.
> >
> > So If power goes out in the future I only have to unplug the TMobile 5G
> > Home Gateway
> > from my Home's AC and plug it into one of that Ryobi's A/C sockets.
> >
> > Then, Plug my Laptopinto the other Ryobi A/C Plug to keep it charged
> > during any extended outage.
> >
> > I can keep my Mobile Phones charged using the USB A or USB C ports on
> that
> > Ryobi.
> >
> > Once the 5G Gateway boots up I can connect my laptop to it via Wifi and
> > have all the Internet, TV, etc
> > I want during the outage.
> >
> > Anyway that's what I did.  Cheap but effective enough for me.
> >
> > I've learned alot about 5G Home Internet since I started down this path.
> >
> > Hope all the above helps.
> >
> > Lastly, I should have said a bit more about what else I've learned about
> > Verizon's 5G Home Internet.
> > I*'ve seen Verizon reports of Verizon users that get 1Gbps Down Link.*
> > Don't know how common that
> > is but for some people the extra $25-$30/Mo for Verizon's service might
> be
> > worth it.
> >
> > For me... the TMO ~400Mbps speed is more than enough.
> >
> > Brian
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Sep 26, 2023 at 11:25 AM David Burton <ncdave4life at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Brian, thank you for that information! It is surprising to me, and
> >> encouraging.
> >>
> >> It's timely, too, because I, too, am fed up with Spectrum, and
> >> considering alternatives.
> >>
> >> A few questions:
> >>
> >> *1.* Do you know about how close you are to a T-Mobile antenna tower?
> >>
> >> Unfortunately, their coverage map doesn't show where the towers are, but
> >> I assume you're deep within a "dark red" (6G coverage) area:
> >> https://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/coverage-map
> >>
> >> Here's a discussion about finding tower locations via the cellmapper
> site:
> >>
> >>
> https://community.t-mobile.com/troubleshooting-38/finding-tmobile-cell-tower-locations-42433
> >>
> >> *2.* Do you know what band(s) you're using?
> >> It appears from the Cellmapper site that T-Mobile uses bands 71, 41, and
> >> perhaps 25 for 5G.
> >> PhoneScoop says <https://www.phonescoop.com/carriers/carrier.php?c=5>,
> >> "For 5G, T-Mobile is using band 71
> >> <https://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=582> (600 MHz) for
> >> low-band, band 41 <https://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=557
> >
> >> (2,500 Mhz) for mid-band, as well as faster mmWave
> >> <https://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=591> in select
> >> downtown areas."
> >> Do you think you're in a "select downtown area?"
> >> Here's an article
> >> <
> https://www.wilsonamplifiers.com/blog/finding-cell-tower-locations-the-complete-guide/#:~:text=CellMapper%20is%20a%20crowd%2Dsourced,to%2Ddate%20cell%20tower%20information
> .>
> >> about finding where your towers are.
> >>
> >> *3.* Do you know how long your device tends to keep the same IPv4
> >> address? It matters when hosting a webserver. (Good=Long [months/years],
> >> Bad=short [days/weeks])
> >>
> >> *4.* Have you had any glitches or service degradation during storms?
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Dave
> >>
> >>
> >> On Tue, Sep 26, 2023 at 10:11 AM brian mullan via TriLUG <
> >> trilug at trilug.org> wrote:
> >>
> >>> I thought I'd share a bit about my switch from Spectrum Cable Internet
> >>> to TMobile 5G Internet for my Home Internet.
> >>>
> >>> *Background*
> >>> I'd been paying for and using a Spectrum Cable Internet for perhaps 7
> >>> years.
> >>> My Spectrum Internet acct was paying Monthly for 200Mbps Down link and
> >>> 20Mbps Up link.
> >>>
> >>> Over those years I've usually had 3-5 Outages/Yr lasting from 1Hr to
> >>> perhaps 8Hrs
> >>>
> >>> I finally got turned-off from Spectrum not just because of the outages
> >>> each
> >>> year which
> >>> although irritating I usually just dealt with those.
> >>>
> >>> My last straw came over the past couple months where using Ookla
> >>> Speedtest.net
> >>> my actual speeds had been reduced to around 170Mbps Down link and
> 15Mbps
> >>> Up
> >>> link
> >>> which is not close to what I was paying for.  Their tech support tried
> >>> to
> >>> tell me that  it
> >>> was common for that reduction to happen.  Unfortunately for the Tech
> >>> Support I let them
> >>> know that I had been Cisco System Broadband (cable/wireless) Manager
> for
> >>> Advanced
> >>> consulting services for 15 yrs and supported all of the US Cable MSO's,
> >>> Telstra in Australia
> >>> and a large MSO in Spain/Europe and that I knew what they were telling
> >>> was
> >>> BS.
> >>>
> >>> So I decided to try out TMobiles 5G Home Internet.  They offer a 15
> >>> Trial
> >>> so if its not
> >>> what you expected you just return their 5G Modem/Gateway.
> >>>
> >>> I was blown away by how fast the 5G Home Internet has been.
> >>>
> >>> My 5G Internet speeds (using Ookla Speedtest) over a 10 days of my 15
> day
> >>> Trial period was consistently *350-430Mbps Down link and 65-85Mbps Up
> >>> link*
> >>> !
> >>>
> >>> And *the 5G Internet was 1/2 the cost* of the Monthly cost of
> Spectrum'*s
> >>> Cable 200Mbps Internet.*
> >>>
> >>> *I cancelled my Spectrum account the next day* and have been using the
> >>> TMoblile
> >>> 5G Home Internet ever since.
> >>>
> >>> Couple pieces of info you should know:
> >>>
> >>> Verizon also offers 5G Home Internet.  Its about $20 more per month
> than
> >>> TMobiles 5G
> >>> Home Internet but I read reports that Verizon provides a bit faster
> >>> transmissions Down/Up.
> >>>
> >>> Both TMobile and Verizon's 5G Home Internet offerings include:
> >>>
> >>>    - No Contract
> >>>    - Locked in Price for as long as  you keep the Service.
> >>>    - Provide the 5G Gateway/Modem at no cost.
> >>>    - and the 5G Gateway/Modem's have built-in WiFi 6 routers.
> >>>
> >>> *Just for reference my TMobile 5G Home Internet is only $40/Month (keep
> >>> in
> >>> mind thats for ~400Mbps Down link speeds and ~75Mbps Up link speeds!*
> >>>
> >>> *I hope this was okay to send to the Trilug Mailing List but I imagine
> >>> many
> >>> people*
> >>> *will find the information useful.*
> >>>
> >>> *Brian Mullan*
> >>>
> >>> *Raleigh*
> >>> --
> >>> This message was sent to: Dave Burton <ncdave4life at gmail.com>
> >>> To unsubscribe, send a blank message to trilug-leave at trilug.org from
> >>> that address.
> >>> TriLUG mailing list : https://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/trilug
> >>> Unsubscribe or edit options on the web  :
> >>> https://www.trilug.org/mailman/options/trilug/ncdave4life%40gmail.com
> >>> Welcome to TriLUG: https://trilug.org/welcome
> >>
> >>
> --
> This message was sent to: John Vaughters <jvaughters04 at yahoo.com>
> To unsubscribe, send a blank message to trilug-leave at trilug.org from that
> address.
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>
>