I recently acquired a T-Mobile 5G Home Internet Modem (Arcaydyan version) and I’m trying to figure out if I’m really getting a 5G signal or not. When I look at the Advanced Cellular Metrics, I can identify the cell tower I am connected to and it says I’m connected on band “b66”. Does that indicate 4G or 5G? How do I tell?
Primary connection is LTE which you confirm as B66. Secondary connection is the one that is 5G and should show band as n41 or n71.
When I look at the 5G metrics in the Advanced Cellular Metrics, it does not show any data. Does that mean that the tower is not broadcasting a 5G signal? T-Mobile shows that 5G Home Internet is supported in my location.
When I look at the 5G metrics in the Advanced Cellular Metrics, it does not show any data. Does that mean that the tower is not broadcasting a 5G signal? T-Mobile shows that 5G Home Internet is supported in my location.
Unfortunately if there is no connection on the secondary connection, then no, you don’t have 5G and your performance is the same as any LTE hotspot. Before you contact TMO support try repositioning the gateway for the best signal. here is a good video on how:
Thanks, I think you are right. I am not getting a 5G signal. I am between two towers - right now I am connected to a tower that is about (2) miles east of me and I am connected on band 66 which I believe is 4G LTE. I am assuming that band 41 or 71 is required for 5G and according to cellmapper.net, the tower I’m connected to does not support either of those bands. There is another tower about (4-5) miles west of me that does support band 71 but it’s too far away.
I guess I’ll have to live with the 4G connection I have until T-MOBILE adds a 5G capability to that tower. I’m surprised that the T-MOBILE website told me that I should be able to get a strong enough 5G signal here.
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ChuckC3, Depending upon the terrain the 5G can reach out and be quite functional 4-5 miles out. I receive my signals from a tower right at 5 miles North of my home. I have a distinct advantage in that I live up upon a ridge at 1450 ft elevation and the tower is a little higher plus it appears to be ~100 Ft tall tower. i can see the entire tower so it delivers a very good n71 signal even out this far. It may be those two towers have 5G on them but a cell is not covering your area. CellMapper.net is roughly 80% complete as it depends upon users uploading info to the server database. You are right with the T-Mobile solution you would receive either the n71 or the n41 band for 5G. The n41 is more commonly seen in higher density areas as it does not reach out as far as the n71. The n71 is a longer frequency so reaches out farther and penetrates a little better. If you have a 5G Apple cell phone you can put it into Field Test Mode by dialing *3001#12345#* and checking the LTE and 5G NR information. If you have an Android phone there are some cellular networking apps that you can download and use to try to find cellular metrics information and such.
It might be worth contacting T-Mobile and asking more specific questions about coverage in your location. Maybe checking on Twitter or Facebook for the T-Force community. Reddit is of course yet another source of information. Maybe there will be 5G coverage there soon. When it is done right it is a nice solution for a good price.
Thanks!!
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