5G home internet keeps dropping

Similar to others, I am having dropped internet on my Gateway. When it’s connected, I’m very happy with my service. The problem is that it drops during important Zoom calls.

My computer is hard wired to the Gateway via ethernet and during Zoom calls I disable the computer’s wifi. When it disconnects, I quickly turn my Gateway off and back on. Can rejoin the Zoom call within 2 minutes. The disconnects are inconsistent. Sometimes I won’t have any. Sometimes I’ve had it happen once per hour.

Here is a screenshot of my signal info:

I’ve read most of the responses on this thread regarding over heating and also using Cellmapper. How can I use this information to zero in on the problem and what can I do about it?

I am currently troubleshooting the same issue. My set up is the trashcan connected to the WAN, fire walled, side of an Asus ac68u. The Asus is handling all LAN Wi-Fi DHCP etc. I just did a test hooking up a Roku directly to the trashcan (using the 2nd Ethernet connection) at the same time that the Asus was showing the Internet down, The Roku was able to still stream on it’s wired connection.
 

My current working hypothesis is there is some incompatibility between the trashcan and a separate router (LAN side) vs the t-mobile is dropping the internet (WAN Side) my prior working hypothesis). 
 

This seems unrelated, but I wonder if there is some MTU incompatibility between the WAN side of the asus and the LAN side of the trash can. https://amithkumarg.medium.com/resolved-t-mobile-home-internet-vpn-issue-2f5ca594c23e Does not seem too easy to change the MTU on the asus though. 

My Q-Link ZTE 5G phone is worthless. It can neither make nor receive calls within my home because of metal siding and the settings show it is connected to my router but still cannot make or receive a call. Completely unreliable.

UPDATE TO MY SITUATION….Today is thursday, February 29, 2024. A couple weeks ago I went to the T-Mobile store and returned my 2nd (🤯🤯) white gateway and exchanged it for a black tall gateway. The black tall gateway hooked all of my devices up immediately. It didn't take weeks and months like the white gateway gave me problems. So between the cell towers being worked on and the White gateway (being too restrictive due to higher security thresholds), I think those 2 issues caused many problems for me. Currently, the service drops off maybe once a day compared to before, which was 10 or more times a day. So for those of you whose heads are exploding like mine did, try returning Your WHITE GATEWAY for a black one. Now if you have a black one already and have similar problems, please see Curious George’s reply. Best of wishes to all of you who prefer lower costs for internet!!

Clearly not a tower issue.  After several calls to Asian tech support, using the direct number they gave me because the 611 IVR doesn’t understand “home internet support”, when the latest agent continued questioning my ability to wire an effective home network, he finally got the picture when I wired my laptop directly to the trash can and received the same dismal Speedtest that the iPad confirmed wirelessly, then disconnecting iPhone 7 from WiFi and Speedtest next to the trash can yielding >150Mbps down.  My wired Bravia with severely pixelated and buffering YouTube TV was clearly not a sufficient indicator.

I guess I should have searched for customer comment on this before wasting weeks with T-Mobile tech support and having them ship me a replacement which did the same thing. I have the same issue… good cellular signal to a nearby 4G/5G tower, but the ROUTER inside the Gateway just quits connecting any devices to the Internet (whether the devices are Ethernet or WiFi). The “tech experts” all seem to be overseas working from farmhouses (I heard a rooster crowing the day for a long time during the call) and really have no technical expertise at all. They have a script that they run no matter what. They start with, “They are working on the tower.” But when I say, “OK, if there is a temporary outage when they work on the tower, wouldn’t the device automatically reconnect after they are done?,” it’s a hard question “off the script” and they have no answer, which means they really don’t know the technology at all, so they just pivot to some other nonsense.

I asked if there was an engineer who could look at the operating system and logs of the Home Gateway I have to see what is failing and when. No. Customers cannot talk to engineers.

They told me I could suspend the service and not be charged for it and then try later in a few months after tower work (which is not going to fix a damn thing).

It blows me away that SO MANY CUSTOMERS are clearly experiencing the same problem and T-Mobile just deploys human robots who pretend the problem is mine and ignore the systemic nature of the problem.

So I guess I will have to write to T-Mobile corporate... and the FCC… and my Congressional representatives about this. There is NO WAY that T-Mobile should get ONE DIME of the new infrastructure money when it is clear they have a DEFECTIVE product/service and repeatedly demonstrate they just don’t care as long as they get their money. They need to DOMESTICATE their Home Internet tech support and staff it with competent experts, not script-reading robots based overseas you can barely understand.

I have had my T M internet for 2 weeks and have only had maybe 2 full days of service fair  been on the phone daily lots of excuses but no fix, speeds are all over the board and as stated here drop outs  especially after 7pm that’s when TM Ted’s say that it’s the busiest, The last Tech turned in a ticket? And will here back on the issue, we’ll “NOT” fed up cancelling Monday. Very Unreliable.

Sorry, 007BondMI6, but it is not helpful to misdirect to every other possible cause in the universe (maybe it’s caused by Space Lasers!).

My Gateway has been in the same place it always has been and shows three bars consistently, sometimes four. I don’t move it around like a cell phone. What an inane “suggestion.”

I am not stupid and I know where the admin web-based interface is (and you can actually get to it when the router is down, showing the cell connection is fine but the Gateway is not providing routing access to the internet). If it’s all a simple explanation that is technically viable, then T-Mobile should have that explanation on “speed dial” as a document that can be examined and verified. They should ALSO have a “logging” tool on the Gateway to facilitate troubleshooting… it has a web server on it, so there MUST be some kind of operating system. I went poking around this morning and I cannot even find ANY means to identify any of the 20 devices it says are connected. I thought, well, maybe I can just start blocking access by each device to see if THAT is the problem. But I cannot even see what’s connecting (which is more than bizarre… seems like a security vulnerability to me).

I guess we just have to suffer because they are selling a defective service and have people willing to run interference for them. Spare me the “just trying to help” BS. You are trying to DEFLECT. Plain and simple.

My service drops out multiple times a day.  In each instance, there is a message on the gateway that the modem chip is down.  I’m already on my second device after the first one also displayed the same message.  The gateway is on a timer so it reboots once a day at 3am.  It makes no difference.  Is any one else getting the “modem chip down” critical message?

The problem is that this is a wireless connection and not a normal land connection like fiber optics. It all lies in the security protocol where they are using a dynamic IP address which assigned to you by your internet service provider (T-Mobile) and is subject to change. This means that your IP address can and will change each time you connect to the internet, or while you are connected which causes the issue.  This makes it a bit harder for criminal hackers to monitor your online habits.  Until they switch over to a static IP this issue will continue to happen.  Nothing you do on your end will solve the problem as you will see by reading the other posts.  

I’m also desperately trying to move away from Xfinity and was so excited to get the email that T-Mobile Home Internet was finally available at my address.  Immediately set up the equipment after delivery, and was happy to see that with the gateway in an upstairs window, I get five full bars of connection on my gateway.  But, even though I’ve only had the service for two days, I think I’m going to have to return it.  I’m getting the same performance issues everyone else is - in the morning 7:00-ish, I can’t even get a wireless connection on any device.  Then twenty minutes later I’ll test it at 300 Mbps download.  Ten minutes later it’s back to .2 (yes, point 2) Mbps download.  All of this is with “Excellent” or “Very Good” connections on the gateway.  This is unusable as I work from home.  I also called Tech support, who told me I have two towers close-by and that they may be working on them right now.  Sounds like everyone on this thread may all coincidentally have people working on their towers right now.  The connection is faster and more consistent in the night, but unfortunately I use it most during the day.  Too bad...I REALLY wanted this to work.  I’ll try it again in another year.  Until then it’s back to high prices at Comcast.

You could have great service too if you would just post your readings and take advice. You seem like you more want to complain about your bad service then be helped. Remember at first I did not have good service I had issues like you. I had to do my own investigation and figure out where towers were what band they had and where I could get the best signal. Only after moving my unit around for oh like a month and adding and ext ant did I find a great spot with great service.

Maybe you misunderstand me you said “My Gateway has been in the same place it always has been and shows three bars consistently, sometimes four. I don’t move it around like a cell phone. What an inane “suggestion.”

As I have stated so many time Bars mean nothing at all it is the signal quality that matters. So you could have 5 bars and such a low SNR that it just does not work. So if you post real data not bars you could be helped. If you search you will find post where people move it around have less bars but better signal quality and better service with less bars. So no I am not insane but you are a fool if you think moving it around won't help you. But you know keep it just where you have it and keep complaining about your service I guess. If you knew even a little about how signals work you would understand that moving it would help. But again seems like the bars are really working for you so keep on that path and don't accept help. Why take 2 seconds to post your reading and get some real advice when you can keep saying that you have 3-4 bars and bad service, sounds like a plan to me.

Again if you really wanted help with far less effort you could have posted your signal readings and already had some solid advice. The fact that you have not is what indicates you really don't want help. People that want help take advice when it’s given and don't keep posting about their problems over and over.