Question

Hulu Live

V
Userlevel 2
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Why won't Hulu Live work with T-Mobile Internet? Looking the question up online says:

 

“T-Mobile Home Internet supports most video streaming services, like YouTube TV or Netflix. However, at the moment, Hulu + Live TV is not supported due to a technical requirement in delivering the service. We’re working closely with Hulu to resolve this as quickly as possible,” a T-Mobile spokesperson said in a statement.

 

This is very unacceptable in today's market. With Hulu being a cloud supported application, it should take nothing to support the service. It's a simple data service that should be provided and supported. 5G is just a carrier, it's a link to internet services. Why is it, the service is not supported? I would like a deeper technical answer as to why such a simple thing is not 'supported'? 

43 replies

syaoran
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Userlevel 7
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The issue is with the location requirements.  T-Mobile’s Home Internet uses cellular, which can’t give an accurate location and in a lot of cases, can’t even issue an IP within 100 miles of where the modem actually is.  This location restriction being within a very close radius of the Hulu’s Live TV subscribers billing address is why Live TV isn’t compatible with T-Mobile’s Home Internet service currently.  

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
C
Userlevel 4
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More likely that Hulu Live sees the T-Mobile Home Internet as a mobile hotspot and not a home internet device.  Hulu requires a home internet device.  This would be an issue for Hulu to rectify, not T-Mobile.   

Hulu’s live TV doesn’t work on T-Mobile home Internet | Ars Technica

 

 

 

 

B

What is most bothersome about the previous replies would be this..…

I use Hulu more on my phone than on my television. My phone is certainly a cellular device, and it is T-MOBILE cellular,  at that. That being said, on my cell phone, I  can watch, flawlessly, Hulu while connected to my T-MOBILE home internet. At home or in another state I can watch, uninterrupted,  on my cellular devices. Hiw is it possible that Hulu has an issue with hone internet  or ip addresses given I can watch continuously over cell, all day. Now, I can take that cellphone  connected to my home wifi(T-MOBILE) and cast any and all Hulu content to my Roku. The ONLY thing I cannot do is watch directly through a my home wifi to the television  or projectors, even using a Roku. The reason being, T-MOBILE home internet hubs have a need to throw a new, different IP address everytime there home internet hub device lises signal, even for a second. Hulu immediately sees this as You're Not At Home. Again, ridiculous being that I use my Hulu account, over T-MOBILE cellular EVERYDAY.

Until yesterday, Aug 19th, you could simply call Hulu, request an escalation, provide them the new IP address and confirm your account information.  In less than 20 seconds complete service restoration! That was terminated by Hulu today  Aug 20th, 2020. Instead of latching onto the IP address of the streaming device, Roku, Firestick, smart TV, etc, Hulu chose instead to lose my 130.00 a month account of the past 5 years, never a late payment. Zero customer service. Simply told T-MOBILE home internet customers that our business wasn't wanted??? T-MOBILE home internet is still unstable and goes down very often, so the IP address update is something they face every other day, but Hulu could have EASILY created a work around. Home address is  or shouldn't be the focal point. Huge mistake on Hulu's part. I do not know of ANY other major players, VOD or Live streaming that encounter this issue. 

D
Userlevel 5
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Go to myip.ms through TMO Home Internet and check where it reports your location versus going through your phone’s data… this might demonstrate one of the core problems with TMO HI.

 

It is basically because of TMO’s XLAT464 implementation.  Among other issues with how packets are being handled, it results in us running through a sort of funky CGNAT/VPN tunnel to centralized locations--often reporting us as being somewhere out in left field from where we actually are.  And Hulu does not trust/accept our location data because of it--largely because it monkeys with their regional content delivery arrangements.

For example, SlingTV feeds me regional content based on me being in Charlotte, NC… because that is where I “tunnel” to on TMO.  Previously on $pectrum, I was reported as actually being in Florence, SC (roughly a 2 hours drive away), so I got regional content appropriate to where I actually live.

 

I have tested Vidgo via a free trial and we are actually switching to them this weekend.  Their core package is going to give us all the channels we actually watch from the Sling Orange + Blue option for a little bit less, which is also less then what I was paying for Hulu Live a couple years back before they started all their price hikes.  I can also log in to things like the ESPN app to stream directly without having to use any funky grid based program guide, which was a pleasant surprise. I have fitted the attic with an antenna to feed the locals up to ~70 miles away to the whole house, so the local/regional channels really aren’t an issue anymore.

Wasn’t due to any particular dissatisfaction with previous services or anything… purely a move to save some cash.  Just bring it up to present options you may want to consider.  You can purchase Hulu’s on demand service for $60 annually if you want to keep that option open, then use something else for the live content.  Unfortunately though, you can’t use that annual option if you bundled Disney/ESPN--have to do that monthly.  ?But they do give you a discount with that bundle (or they used to at least… everyone keeps changing things up on us).

M

As long as this has been an issue (over 1 year now),I believe T-Mobile bares some of the blame for not either getting issue resolved with Hulu or letting prospective customers like me know ahead of time. With that said, I will probably change to YouTubeTV as well for the time being. I have been using T-Mobile for many years and Hulu for 2 years. 

C
Userlevel 4
Badge +3

T-Mobile has deals with Netflix and YouTube TV that result in discounts to T-Mobile customers.    Both services are likely getting new customers because of Hulu IP address restrictions.

J

T-Mobile could resolve the Hulu Live connection if they wanted. They had no problem getting YouTube and Netflix working. Yes, I could change to YouTube, but for now Hulu has the channels and shows I want!. T-Mobile says ‘they’re working on it’, BS. They been working on it for months now with no results or when it will be resolved. I’ve filed a complaint with the FCC. I suggest more of you do. Maybe that will get T-Mobile to wake up and resolve it. In the meantime everyday I spend at least an hour in chat with Hulu to get my connection resolved. 

K
Userlevel 1
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I have never had HULU or any any form of it. I switched from Spectrum cable internet and television package and except for the cost I was happy with all aspects of their service. That being said I have had T Mobile phone service for the last 5 years and when they started with the Home internet with this great price and it become available in my area I did some research and I signed up. I knew upfront that HULU live was a problem and it was intimated by many it was related to location services. My point is, after I made the switch I waited two months before I cancelled Spectrum to make sure the internet from T Mobile was reliable. For my television, I have too many trees for an antenna for live TV, so I went with YouTube TV. After I signed up I started getting messages that I was going to lose my local channels if I didn’t login on a computer to set my location. I ignored that because I thought why would they do that? Well when I looked into the settings on YouTube TV it thought I was in Philadelphia and not in the Cincinnati area. So I had to login into YouTube to set my location for each tv that accessing YouTube. I have Apple TV and two Roku devices aside from having the app on my mobile devices. So it can be done, once I did what YouTube wanted it set my location and it hasn’t changed. So to me it’s obvious whatever technical requirements that Hulu requires isn’t supported by T Mobile yet, I don’t necessarily attribute blame to T Mobile for this issue because I don’t lump T Mobile home internet in with the cable companies simply because they are are a cellular based service. I don’t pretend to know all the technical details of why and I don’t need to know but with the plethora of streaming services we have lots of choices good, bad or indifferent. I chose YouTube TV because it met my needs at this time, I have Netflix, Disney plus, Peacock, Amazon prime without any issues. T Mobile isn’t likely going to change what they do just for Hulu. If enough people are able to switch their internet provider to T Mobile and it affects Hulu’s bottom line that might effect change. However I don’t believe that’s going to happen any time soon., but I’ve been wrong before. I find T Mobiles foray into this area refreshing and it tickles me to death because I finally have a choice of internet providers instead of Spectrum being the only game in town, I hated having to call every year to complain about price increases. So far as I can tell T Mobile has kept their word on no price increases on my mobile service and I expect they will do the same with the internet service. Is it perfect, no, but for my needs it fits the bill and I for one am willing to stick it out as the service gets better. My two cents worth.

 

D

So after, days on line and phone calls to Hulu, about this issue, today is the first time they told me that T-mobile and Hulu- live aren’t compatible. My only problem is, why did it not crash on my phone or my Smart TV??  I used the smart hub on that TV, for hulu and the app on my tv downstairs. 

extremetm
Userlevel 3
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This Hulu/T-Mobile nonsense I suspect is one of them wants to get paid from the other and there's a standstill. Much like the constant greed-based disputes between streaming services, networks and cable companies at the expense of the consumer. The recent Spectrum/Roku and YouTube/Roku are two examples. And then there's Locast which left millions in the dust. Thank the out of control ad based networks for that one. There are so many ads on TV now, for me it’s unwatchable in real time.  

No wonder torrents and Plex is gaining so much in popularity. 

Phone streaming Hulu probably works because Hulu allows cellular devices and blocks home devices such as TVs. Casting your phone to the TV is one solution.

D

Still doesn’t answer, why my TV upstairs didn’t crash, it wasn’t on the app, it was on the smart hub.  This makes me feel, it is something in the app.

G

Looks like it's fixed..... I just called Hulu and they set it up for me. They had me give them my IP address and there was an issue. It shows a location about 115 miles away from me. Sat on hold for a few more minutes and then was asked for the model number of my TMobile router. A few more minutes and I was good to go!!!

T

I called into Hulu today with the same problem. At first, after attempting to modify my home IP address, the tech told me the two are not compatible. I mentioned Gingersaurusrex’s comment that was marked as having happened 8 days ago to the tech. He gladly put me in hold while he talked with higher level support. They fixed it. However, it was noted that T-Mobile uses dynamic IP addresses, like most ISOs do—the difference is each of T-Mobile’s IP addresses point to what Hulu considers incompatible mobile hot spots. So, if that happens, we may have to call in each time to get the changed IP addresses associated. 

B

HULU Live can’t use 5G home networks (T-Mobile or Verizon) because the 5G home networks are in competition with Xfinity home internet which is part of the same company as HULU Live.  Disney owns Comcast Xfinity and HULU live.  Xfinity is he largest home internet provider and they don’t want to lose that.  So they make sure you can’t use these relatively new 5G home networks.  It has nothing to do with anything else!!

R
Userlevel 4
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I’m tending to agree with brookstom1.  The other posts are correct in describing the issues with identifying a location with TMHI’s XLAT464 implementation and its IP addresses that are often hundreds of miles away from where the gateway (the “can”) actually is. But there is one thing that’s constant in the mix: the MAC address of the T-Mo can itself.

I suspect that what’s happening with YouTube TV (the service I use) is that it captures my can’s MAC address, and as long as that’s my gateway, it relies on the home location that I set via computer, as Kmath described. Early on, I needed to reboot my can frequently (a problem that’s been resolved), and my home electricity occasionally goes out. Both those situations typically result in my IP address (and location) changing. Yet YouTube TV kept working.

I was recently traveling (Philadelphia, Boston, and several locations in Maine and New Hampshire). At each new hotel (with different gateways and gateway MAC addresses), YouTube TV asked me if I was traveling, then gave me access with local stations in that area.

Interestingly, this even worked when I used a VPN service to connect to a server back in my home area, so I could get access to my local college’s football game, which wasn’t being broadcast in the city where I actually was staying. The server I was using was back in my home service area, but YouTube TV still asked if I was traveling. It seemed to know that I wasn’t at home, but thought I was in a location where the game was being broadcast. I got to see the game, and I was a happy camper.  

So, yes, HULU could use a system like YouTubeTV, but chooses not to do so, for whatever reason (cost of changing their system, competition between competing services, etc.). Given the technology TMHI has chosen (their XLAT464 implementation), I would think that the cost would be enormous to change it to a system compatible with how HULU checks location. For now, to use an old Seinfeld meme, that means “No HULU Live for you.”

T

Hi! I’ve been watching Hulu+ Live TV without any issues since I called them immediately after connecting to my new T-mobile internet. So, yes you can. If you’re unable to connect and the first Hulubrep you talk to says you can’t, refer them to these posts so they can contact a higher tier of support that will fix it for you. True story!

B

HULU Live can’t use 5G home networks (T-Mobile or Verizon) because the 5G home networks are in competition with Xfinity home internet which is part of the same company as HULU Live.  Disney owns Comcast Xfinity and HULU live.  Xfinity is he largest home internet provider and they don’t want to lose that.  So they make sure you can’t use these relatively new 5G home networks.  It has nothing to do with anything else!!  The only thing you can do is drop HULU and pick up another streaming app (Sling, FUBU, YouTube TV, etc.).

 

T

I use T-mobile Home internet. I called the Hulu 1-888 # and a nice lady from Hulu asked for my IP address through a 3rd party website from my phone. She put me on hold and sent it to technical support. She came back 5 min later and said I was all set and also mentioned it will change if I have a power outage, if I turn the router off or bad weather etc.. She said I would have to repeat the process all over. Which sucks. I asked if Hulu plans on fixing that issue said said nothing was in the works to fix that issue. She said Verizon / AT&T has the same issue with them also. So that's pretty sucky I'll probably finish my seasons I want to catch up on then cancel the Hulu+Live. Because I know for a fact my IP changes quite often through T-mobile Home, and no way I'm going to call weekly to update my IP. To be honest seems like Hulu would get tired of updated everyone's IP and eventually fix that problem. But what would a consumer know 🤷‍♂️

S

If you have to call in every time the IP changes that sounds like a hassle. Ive waited on hold upwards 90 minutes to get Hulu on the horn. Im looking into other options then Hulu live but with the bundle I have its so convenient. Nothing else has New Live Local & national for a good price. I do see Sling but I wonder about longevity and sports.

K
Badge

My mesh network is connected to my T-Mobile home internet router. I “locked” the IP addresses of my two TVs so they should stay the same even after an outage or reset on my mesh system it is called a “Reservation,” as in the IP address is reserved just for that device. 

J

I spoke with Hulu and T-Mobile. Here is what’s happening.  First, your T-Mobile IP address changes quite frequently. Also, your are riding the cell towers just like your cell phone. For Hulu, if you try to watch via a TV, hulu recognizes that and determines your location. Since you are riding the cell phone towers and can appear to come from various places, HULU can’t determine if your TV is actually st home. T-MOBILE is aware and there is a master ticket opened for engineers to solve. 

T

I have hulu live and tv. I am on the tmobile internet service. All I had to do was call hulu and they made an exemption for my ip address as I am in NY and it comes from Jersy. The person I talked to said he hopes it gets fixed soon as you have to call anytime your ip changes. Once you do that it all works fine

G
Userlevel 3
Badge +2

There's no geolocation function in the gateways, so your location is determined by your dynamic IP address. The suggestions above are very helpful.

J

I have Hulu plus live Tv. The issue I have with Hulu live tv is anytime the gateway is powered off or reset the IP address gets lost and I have to go to chat and then they go to "higher level" resolution department resets the ip address with you get from ip chicken and reconfirm all info. This was super annoying when adding mesh devices which required resetting gateway. I hope this gets fixed or I might have to try youtube live tv. 

J

Hi! I’ve been watching Hulu+ Live TV without any issues since I called them immediately after connecting to my new T-mobile internet. So, yes you can. If you’re unable to connect and the first Hulubrep you talk to says you can’t, refer them to these posts so they can contact a higher tier of support that will fix it for you. True story!

Yes they have to override the ip address as it shows as a mobile network not residential. Just don't power off or reset gateway.

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