5G Home internet keeps dropping!

Hey everyone, I do actually have a remedy that will go a long way to solving some of these issues around constant disconnects. Not saying it will work for everyone but it worked for us where we were constantly getting dropped from video business meetings.

Out of the box the 5688W comes with the 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz network selection as automatic. Don’t know about the other router models but assuming the same. This basically means that any devices you connect to the network will automatically connect to the 5Ghz network (faster but lesser range) unless the 5Ghz is out of range in which case they will connect to the 2.4Ghz (slower but greater range). This can actually cause an issue with functionality of some 2.4Ghz only IoT devices (e.g. my craftsman garage door opener) as they will automatically try to connect a network that doesn’t support them creating a whole new set of problems. Additionally networks can become ‘bogged down’ if too many devices are connected to them. Every single smart light bulb or plug etc. counts as a connected device. I was >50 devices.

If you log into the TMO app and select the Network tab you will see default network shows as Frequency Band = Automatic (recommended). To remedy the situation take the default network and under Frequency Band select the dropdown and change this network to either 5Ghz or 2.4Ghz (doesn’t matter which) and name it accordingly. Then click the pink (I used to work for TMO and they hate their magenta being referred to as pink 😊) + icon in the bottom right hand corner which will allow you to add a second network. If you chose the default network to be 2.4Ghz ensure this new one is 5Ghz and vice versa remembering to make sure you name it accordingly.

Now you will have to completely separated and easily selectable networks. One 2.4Ghz and one 5Ghz. Every connected device in your house will lose connectivity at this point and will need to be reconnected. Now comes the painful part. You need to redo the setup process for everything. Smart TV’s, Fire TV’s, Plugs, Bulbs, AC, Oven, Fridge, Irrigation, Security Cameras, Tablets literally everything. When going through this process ensure that you connect them all to the 2.4Ghz network. Anything where connectivity is not critical, sideline them all onto this new network.

This should leave your 5Ghz network completely empty and reserved for anything that is time critical. For my Wife and I this is purely our work laptops and cellphones as we both spend most of our days on zoom/teams/conference calls etc. We went through  weeks of constantly having to restart the router and it would always happen right in the middle of a critical work call. Since I went through this process a few weeks ago we haven’t seen a single drop for work calls.

Hope this works for you

I guess all the unstable speed issue is related to tmobile’s depriorization on home internet (Per tmobile website).

My home is close to tmobile tower, and I can consistently see 500mbps on download, and 100mbps on upload most time of the day. However it happens at random time of the day and every day that the download is degraded to less than 1mbps download. When this happens, I reboot the gateway manually, it still does not help after reboot. The issue cleared itself up after 1 hour.

Good explanation is that home internet cell site is congested and tmobile home internet is deprioritized to get very little radio resources.

I signed up and requested 3 gateways. I got NOKIAS  ( labeled refurbished) One at my main home just was not going to cut it with 2 bars and 7MBPS. Another at a home 30 miles away is pushing 550-600 as I can see the tower. Perfect. The other one 200 miles away at another home was awesome from install to about 3 weeks in and was also pushing 5 bars and 650-700MBPS . I have cameras, smart lights, thermostat, etc and it just started dropping off intermittently. data usage is low, and I suspect a bad unit, A new (refurbished  one) was shipped and I will install in a couple days. I just hope it lasts as I only get there 2 X /mo  but I run all my systems on it. ON a chat I was told I was getting throttled, but  for what??? 24 Gigs a month at a place I don't live at? That was not in my plan and they clarified that.  Hey, I just want consistent good service. I've heard that the NOKIAS have issues, as well as the ARKADYIANS, so what is the resolve? I was also told that broadband is controlled by my rep, and once it is full, no more  gateways would be available at the tower. But does Cell phone data  trump the gateways?

I just cant get a straight answer. I’m happy so far but if a salesperson, on a recorded line says something, it needs to be true. I love the company after 32 years with ATT, but just give me what you say you are going to give me.

I’ve been using T-Mobile 5-G for about seven months now. At first I was having to restart the gateway several times each day. Then for a while between Thanksgiving and Christmas I didn’t have to restart it at all. I had read about the problems with overheating so I’ve put the gateway on a shelf under an end table where there are no other heat sources near by. Since New Years Day I have had to restart the gateway on average once or twice each day. It’s really frustrating to be in the middle of a movie or a football game and have to restart the gateway. 

My connection was generally good until yesterday. Tech support have not been able to help, in part because my calls (through a T-Mobile MNVO keep getting dropped).  To me this suggests problems with the tower--but what do I know? One tech asked me to do a factory reset (no luck). Another tech on a subsequent call asked for my IMEI and said that they did something, though it didn’t work either. I just tested my Up/Down on OOKlA 18 Mbps down and 24 Mbps up.  

I am in the San Fernando Valley, so overheating could be an issue, but the problem began in the evening and when I had WiFi turned off via script.  

I'm having the same problem. I'll try some of the suggestions here but if things don't get better soon, I'll be looking for a more robust solution. But, I really like the speed when it is actually connected. Currently we are getting dropped about once a day. 

On the TMO Internet App, go to More then Advanced Cellular Metrics, 5G.  Your band will be at the bottom.

Go to cellmapper .net and find towers in your area.

Alternatively, place the gateway at different windows to try getting N41.

On the “T-Mobile Internet” app, you can remotely restart your modem from there. You can also view all devices connected to the modem and their signal strength. Sometime restarting/rebooting the troublesome devices (TV, security system(s), other Wi-Fi devices) can also re-initiate a good signal connection. This may also help? 

Same issue on N41.

It is premature to assume that. The move to deploy the n41 is to have improved data capabilities with less congestion. The millimeter frequency is shorter and has greater capacity. If it is done correctly and the cells are not overloaded it should be a nice speed increase. Here that was the result after the n41 deployment. My RSRP metrics report much lower but the RSRQ and SINR both improved so the end result is much better performance and almost 2x the speeds both up and down load. I was skeptical when I saw the n41 surface here but after ~4 days of intermittent disruptions the n41 came on to stay and it has been very good. Stay positive and hope for the best. 

This is also happening to me. I purchased this service back in May I believe and it was working really well up until the past couple of months or so. I called them today and they said I should come get the updated gateway that would fix the issue, came home and connected the new one - nothing has changed. I live in an area where most internet services can’t reach so I’m at a loss here.

This morning, I have 5 bars.

Running Time 2d 3h 35m 1s

Not holding my breath, but this is the best I have seen it in a long time.