Question

Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System

  • 14 April 2021
  • 59 replies
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On the new grey 5G home internet box, when you connect to its web page (typically http://192.168.12.1/), on the Overview screen, under the Devices panel, one of the items listed is “Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System”, just above “Wireless” and “Ethenet”. This implies a third way of networking devices (it currently says 0 connected). I have a Deco Wi-Fi 6 mesh router and was wondering if they could be interconnected by something other than an ethnet cable. Is this something that is currently implemented or is it just a planned feature for a future expansion?

On their product page (https://www.t-mobile.com/isp/gateway) where it lists device features, it also says “Mesh expandable    Yes”, but I haven’t found any details about this in the documentation.


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I have the Eero mesh devices, and also would like to know if can connect without an ethernet cable, making the TMo HI device the primary and my Eeros as secondary for the mesh.

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I have an Orbi router and two satellites.   Not certain it is a true mesh system.

I simply connected the Orbi router WAN/Internet port to a free ethernet port on the T-Mobile Gateway.    In the Orbi I changed it to Access Point mode.   No other changes.

 

I also have a Deco Wi-Fi 6 mesh router and have scoured the web looking for any info on this ability of the 5G gateway… but only turned up this post. :) 

 

This would be an amazing feature if we could join it in to our existing mesh networks… and would further expand our coverage.

I have setup several models of Decos and I have never seen one where the main Deco can wirelessly connect to a modem like a range extender would. So I don’t think it is a limitation of the Modem (Gateway), but rather a limitation of how mesh devices are built right now. You can buy a wifi 6 range extender with an Ethernet  port, setup the range extender to connect to the Tmo gateway and then plug the Deco into the range extender.

wired is no problem, question is a wireless connection using the mesh setup??

I have as ASUS AX wifi 6router with a compatible aimesh ASUS AC1900 as a node and it works great all wireless.

Is the ASUS AX wifi 6router Ethernet wired connected to the T-mobile router? Hopping for a wireless connection 

NETGEAR - Orbi RBK753S AX4200 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router with Two Satellite Extenders, whats the easiest way to use the orbi router and 2 sattellites with the Tmobile wifi router???????????

 

Gary

NETGEAR - Orbi RBK753S AX4200 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router with Two Satellite Extenders, whats the easiest way to use the orbi router and 2 sattellites with the Tmobile wifi router???????????

 

Gary

I have the same question. Not sure if I did it the way I’m supposed to but I set up the Orbi router and satellites using the same ssid and password as my T-Mobile gateway then went into Orbi afterwords and turned it into access point. 
 

will this cause any issues?

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I have an Orbi router and two satellites.  Not the newest model.  

I logged into the Orbi router and changed to Access Point mode.   Then connected the router to the T-Mobile Gateway.

I did not change the Orbi’s SSID.   I have most devices connected to the Orbi Wi-Fi or hard wired as they were before I got the T-Mobile Gateway. 

I reserve the T-Mobile Gateway Wi-Fi for the devices that support Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax); my iPhone 12 Pro, my Microsoft Surface 4 laptop, an iPad, and a new Apple TV 4K.

Does the data broadcast through the Mesh Router count as shared data?

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The “Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System” is a mystery. I have called and asked T-Mobile what it is, and they don’t know. To me it implies that extenders can be wirelessly connected, and looking at Nokia’s mesh system (T-Mobile’s gateway is made by Nokia), there are beacons that can be added to extend. I really hope that soon there will be a wireless extender made for the T-Mobile gateway. For now, the only way I see to extend the gateway’s WiFi is with a router connected by ethernet.

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I just ordered and seems my gateway is on backorder till Sept but I am very interested in the mesh sys since it is the only way to cover my home. I have done research on these and this is the one https://www.nokia.com/shop/home-wifi/nokia-wifi-beacon-6/ that will eventually work with our routers but as noted it is only in test and in select markets seems like not ours.

 

For now I just plan to put my Google mesh sys on it and hope for the best with the double NAT.

 

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Hmm I guess you cannot post external links as yesterday I posted here with a link to the mesh units that are to work with the TM gateway. My post said needs admin approval and that was yesterday so guess it did not follow the rules since I am new.

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Wow, that’s too bad. It would be helpful to know those links. Anyway you can post us a way to search by text string that will get us there?

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OK in coded message then.

 

If you search for the same maker of the gateway, and then beacon 6 on that famous search engine you should see it in the first few results.

 

I have done some extensive research and seems these are the ones. To bad they are only in testing and cannot be purchased as yet. 

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Now back to some mesh stuff that I also posted yesterday but it was not posted since I had the link in it.

 

I really need a mesh system as no one unit regardless of brand is going to cover my whole home. Issue is home is large and long and I have smart bulbs outside too as well as cars that need Wifi. I have in the past tried so many Wifi extenders moving things and always something winds up being disconnected and not reconnecting. Finally a friend told me he bought a Google Wifi and it ended his issues so I decided I have tried so many others why not. Out of the gate like this TM gateway the Google is limited but at the least has port forwarding and some basic features. I can only state my results in my home almost 2 years since install and rock solid everything stays connected all the time no issues. It has been used threw the whole pandemic with everyone working from home and the kids taking classes from home no issue. Again your results may vary and the Google Wifi is quite limited in features but seems to work. It is connected to a Comcast modem in bridge mode.

 

Now my dilemma my neighborhood is contract locked to Comcast we cannot get anyone else. Whole neighborhood has fiber for Verizon but that was 15 years ago and still 10 more years to go till the exclusive contract is up. Can you believe that Verizon laid the fiber 25 years ahead of when they can offer the service. Anyways I don’t like Comcast for many reasons, coming data cap that they want you to pay for overage, bundles of services I don’t need, high rates as you have to have a bundle as individual services are way overpriced, inconsistent speed.

 

So with my contract with Comcast coming up I decided to go with my only other option T-M. Now when I decided to order I had no idea it was backordered till mid Sept as my Comcast contract expires in Aug.

 

I initially assumed I could use bridge mode so no issue with my current mesh but later I found out I was wrong. Now keep in mind I don’t even have my unit yet I am just doing research so when I get it I can get it working asap.

 

At this point seems I will be going with double NAT and see how it goes.

 

As for placement I have found out many things. First I downloaded an app to my 5g phone for testing. For sure the best signal is by a window with a huge BUT! Did you know that many window screens are made of metal? So that means if you have metal window screens you have a Faraday cage that blocks all signals. My screens are metal and removing them when testing signal almost doubles my signal by the windows. On the T-M site my home shows as Fair 5G and Good LTE this does not sound to encouraging does it. Using the app I could see the tower I am attached to so I would test on that side of the house. I tried all windows and found a second floor window that gave the best signal and speed. Further the top half of that window provides at the least double the download speed. Though I cannot see threw trees using the map I theorize that this window/spot has the best least obstructed line of site to the tower. Moving one window to the right or left drops things more than half. To prepare things I built a shelf on the window to hold the modem when it comes. I ran a cable from that area to where my Google Wifi is so I can patch that right in when it comes.

 

So lesson is if you want the best speed and connection it will take some time as not every spot is equal and moving just a foot can make a big difference. Windows do seem to be the best location with the screen caveat.

 

Imp don’t forget to check your screens if they are metal remove them as they are blocking your signal for sure. Just look up Faraday cage if you need to see why.

 

 

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I spent a lot of time looking for the best location to place my TM Gateway in my house so I could us it alone and so it would cover my 5000 sq ft two sorry L shaped house. Smack dab in the middle is the best. Only perfect near the middle, and the signal tapers off at the ends of the house. Even so, speeds are acceptable every where in my house. The best solution will be when Nokia makes a wireless mesh extender for the gateway. I look forward to that.

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I spent a lot of time looking for the best location to place my TM Gateway in my house so I could us it alone and so it would cover my 5000 sq ft two sorry L shaped house. Smack dab in the middle is the best. Only perfect near the middle, and the signal tapers off at the ends of the house. Even so, speeds are acceptable every where in my house. The best solution will be when Nokia makes a wireless mesh extender for the gateway. I look forward to that.

Yea maybe I will play moving it around once it comes but I have never found a single unit that would cover 6500sf 2 story colonial style house. The L shape I would think provides some advantage for single placement. No matter where I place a single unit there is a dead spot somewhere in the house. If I go for the center 1st fl it works the best overall but each end on the second fl is not really covered nore the driveway for the cars. The mesh system seems to be the only thing that really works and works well for every spot of my home. Funny thing is distance does not seem to be the issue walls seem to cause the most loss of signal. I do hope the mess units come out as a single package without the double NAT would be best I think.

 

There’s a guy on YouTube “Nater Tater” who has some reviews and other videos related to this. It seems double nat with your existing mesh network is the best solution for now, until a beacon comes out for the gateway. 

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I watched all of Nate’s videos. They are very helpful. One thing I would suggest for anyone starting off with a new T-Mobile Gateway is to not change any settings until you understand what the settings do. I made a bunch of changes, but that just caused me more work since I didn’t know what I was doing in the beginning!

I wanted to update my post regarding double nat. I just got off of a very long tmo tech support call with a knowledgeable tech, who informed me that the 1.2003.03.0178 firmware resolved the double nat issue. 

Based upon this information I unpacked my Google mesh wifi and installed it. Thus far I’ve had no connection issues, testing out all my video subscriptions, Nest camera feeds, etc. 

The tmo trashcan is still at 192.168.12.1 and is reachable from my macbook connected to the Google mesh network with a 192.168.86.xx address, with router & DNS both at 86.1.

007BondMI6, can you check your firmware and also find out if you are still truly double nat?

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I wanted to update my post regarding double nat. I just got off of a very long tmo tech support call with a knowledgeable tech, who informed me that the 1.2003.03.0178 firmware resolved the double nat issue. 

Based upon this information I unpacked my Google mesh wifi and installed it. Thus far I’ve had no connection issues, testing out all my video subscriptions, Nest camera feeds, etc. 

The tmo trashcan is still at 192.168.12.1 and is reachable from my macbook connected to the Google mesh network with a 192.168.86.xx address, with router & DNS both at 86.1.

007BondMI6, can you check your firmware and also find out if you are still truly double nat?

 

I will check tomorrow when I get home.

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1.2003.03.0168

 

Well, if you’re having issues with double nat (actually, even if you aren’t), I’d put a call into tech support and get your firmware updated. The number they gave me to bypass all those irritating menus is 844-275-9310.

Good luck!

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