Question

Not showing as available network

  • 4 December 2023
  • 13 replies
  • 591 views
M
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We have had T-Mobile Home Internet for several months, and it has been great. All of our devices (phones, tablets, tvs, and printers) connected to it perfectly.

Then all of a sudden our three tvs and printer stopped connecting to it, and when going to the network settings on the devices, none of them listed our T-Mobile Home Internet as an available Network.

I tried factory resetting the devices and our T-Mobile tower, and the problem continues. I tried making separate networks for 2.4g and 5g, and the problem continues. One T-Mobile operator suggested changing the network password, so I tried that, and it still didn't work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Our tvs and printer are basically useless without being able to connect to the internet. Thank you.

13 replies

copz1998
Userlevel 5
Badge +9

@MWarner what are your metrics - Using your TM Internet app, tap on the “MORE” link at the bottom of the screen > Advanced cellular metrics > for your 5G what are:

RSRP, RSRQ, & SINR (also, what band is the 5G signal on, generally n41 or n71)

Much like computer programming, the answer is usually found in the code (or metrics in this case).  

 

I am not a T-Mobile employee, but like helping others.
M
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@copz1998 Below are my metrics for both the LTE and the 5G. When I tap on them, it says that the RSRP and the SINR are in the poor range in the LTE. And the RSRP is poor in the 5G. How do I go about making them better?

 

 

copz1998
Userlevel 5
Badge +9

@MWarner good job. The gateway uses 5G as a primary source, and your metrics are not wrong but could be better. Did you use the Placement Assistant to set up your gateway? Many of us find we can improve metrics by using the TM Internet app, refreshing the screen (swipe down), and rotating the gateway 1/8th of a turn. The antennas are located at the four corners of the gateway housing.

See if you can change RSRP towards 80 (signal strength from your tower).  Be patient and take your time; the process can take 15+ minutes. 

Let us know how it works. 

I am not a T-Mobile employee, but like helping others.
E

We have had T-Mobile Home Internet for several months, and it has been great. All of our devices (phones, tablets, tvs, and printers) connected to it perfectly.

Then all of a sudden our three tvs and printer stopped connecting to it, and when going to the network settings on the devices, none of them listed our T-Mobile Home Internet as an available Network.

I tried factory resetting the devices and our T-Mobile tower, and the problem continues. I tried making separate networks for 2.4g and 5g, and the problem continues. One T-Mobile operator suggested changing the network password, so I tried that, and it still didn't work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Our tvs and printer are basically useless without being able to connect to the internet. Thank you.

 

Turn on the mobile hotspot on your phone connect printer and computer to hotspot on phone. you should be able to print. you might have to add a new printer to the setup in your computer

M
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@copz1998 I have moved the gateway around the house (upstairs/downstairs/north/south/east/west), and there is no change at all to the RSRP.

The interesting thing is that my phone can connect to the gateway upstairs in my son's room, and then I can use my phone's T-Mobile hotspot and connect to his TV. But his TV still doesn't list our gateway as an available network, and neither does our other son's TV upstairs, nor does our TV and printer downstairs.

The frustrating thing is that all of these devices connected perfectly just a couple of weeks ago.

R
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

I’m gonna make a wild guess here.  SInce your Router is only a few months old, it is possible that it had been running old firmware when you got it, and it was just updated.  It could be that the encryption that is now used (WPA3) isn’t compatible with those devices that no longer connect (if they are “old”).  So, you could try down-grading the encryption to WPA/WPA2 to see if that works.

M
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@Rogracer2000  Well, I switched the network to WPA/WPA2, restarted both the gateway and the devices, and it still isn't showing up on the available network list. 😔  Thank you for the try, though! It was good idea. 🙂

copz1998
Userlevel 5
Badge +9

@MWarner interesting. @Rogracer2000 provided the best practice of switching security settings and restarting, but with negative results. After moving the gateway to improve signal with not change, you should take the gateway back and ask to exchange the unit. You should ask for the newer Sagemcom gateway. Something happened that caused a disconnect between your gateway and your tower. Maybe confirm with TM that you are attached to the correct tower. 

I am not a T-Mobile employee, but like helping others.
M
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@copz1998 I just got talked with a T-Mobile "technician" for almost an hour with no positive results. I could barely understand him, and he didn't seem to know what he was doing. But anyway, he said that my gateway is still under warranty, so he entered a ticket for it, and I should hear back within 48 hours.

R
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

While you are waiting, you might try running a WiFi analyzer on your phone to identify what channels your router is broadcasting on.  I don’t think this is your problem because you say you can’t see 2.4 GHz bands, but it is known that some older devices don’t play well with WiFi 6 “DFS” channels (52-116 and 132-144).  So, it might be interesting to note what channels are in-play when you can’t connect to these devices.  Unfortunately, the router auto-selects different channels at random times, and if it happens to decide on DFS channels, and you have older devices that pre-date DFS, it can create problems with connections (I have this problem with 2 older android tablets).

E

Try creating a second network and see if you can connect to it with downgraded WPA2 security.  As long as you are not on guest network computers on other network should be able to connect to printer on new network. Keep other devices on other network with higher security.

M
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@copz1998 and everyone else... UPDATE:  Well, I received my replacement gateway, hooked it up, and the problem was solved! All of our devices found the network and hooked up easily. YAY!

I check the metrics, and the RSRP is still as bad as it was with the other gateway, but it now works, so I guess that wasn't the problem.

Thank you everyone so much for your help and suggestions! I really appreciate all of you for trying to help. 🙂

copz1998
Userlevel 5
Badge +9

@MWarner glad to hear and thanks for sharing. If you can mark your issue resolved, it may help others. 

Merry Christmas!

I am not a T-Mobile employee, but like helping others.

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