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T-Mobile Home Internet setup video

copz1998
Userlevel 5
Badge +8

Good day,

As a user of T-Mobile Home Internet (TMHI), and someone who answers questions about the setup in this forum, I thought it might be helpful to post a few videos on the setup. There are many setup videos available, but the one linked below seems easy to follow and understand. For advanced users, you will find it boring.

NOTE: if you are in an area where a T-Mobile cell tower is not close, your signal and performance may not be adequate and this service may not be for you. However for me and many others, we are within about 1-2 miles (line of sight) of our cell tower for 5G service. If so, you should get “4-5 bars” and get over 75 - 150+ Mbps download speeds. 

Also - you can change your SSID / wifi network name and password (please do so) during the setup process when using the T0Mobile Internet app to setup your new gateway/device. 

And, with the second video, if the user would have rotated his gateway a few degrees and waited and check his signal, he would have probably seen a signal improvement (the 5G antennas are located at the corners of the gateway). Most users find that using the process of rotate - check speed/bars - repeat, provide good results. 

Finally, use the include app function to set the gateway/device close to a window and inline with your cell tower (placement function in the internet app). I used “share location” and “camera” to point your camera in the direction of the cell tower in your area...seemed to work well. 

I hope this helps the greater TMHI community. Did it help you setup your T-Mobile gateway? What are your speeds (speeds will vary based on your location)?

All the best!

 

copz1998 1 year ago

As a follow-up, the Tailosive Tech video below does a good job of explaining a few points:

  1. Gateway location is important
  2. Rotation/orientation is also important - if you rotate your gateway a few degrees in a circular rotation may improve your signal and download speeds
  3. 5G is the superior signal you want, and YOUR signal may differ from that of your neighbor
  4. Time off day is important - mornings and evenings may be slower than mid-day (due to deprioritization -  T-Mobile will prioritize cellular phone traffic, so home internet traffic takes a second seat. Generally, this is not an issue as you should still get over 70 Mbps download speeds, which is more than enough to stream Netflix while operating a few streaming security cameras and alike. 

I hope this helps!

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

12 replies

copz1998
Userlevel 5
Badge +8

As a follow-up, the Tailosive Tech video below does a good job of explaining a few points:

  1. Gateway location is important
  2. Rotation/orientation is also important - if you rotate your gateway a few degrees in a circular rotation may improve your signal and download speeds
  3. 5G is the superior signal you want, and YOUR signal may differ from that of your neighbor
  4. Time off day is important - mornings and evenings may be slower than mid-day (due to deprioritization -  T-Mobile will prioritize cellular phone traffic, so home internet traffic takes a second seat. Generally, this is not an issue as you should still get over 70 Mbps download speeds, which is more than enough to stream Netflix while operating a few streaming security cameras and alike. 

I hope this helps!

I am not a T-Mobile employee, but like helping others.
A
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

Great information, but I don’t think many people search for answers rather than just posting their issue. So your intended audience will probably never see your post. Just my observation and opinion.

copz1998
Userlevel 5
Badge +8

@arspe unfortunately you are correct. But, if they do post questions, we can direct them to this thread. 

Thanks!

I am not a T-Mobile employee, but like helping others.
F
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +16

@arspe unfortunately you are correct. But, if they do post questions, we can direct them to this thread. 

Thanks!


actually mark one of your responses as the answer..that way anyone attempting to search out anything close to this will spot this first.

 

@HeavenM  any way we can lock this thread to the top of the forum so its the first thing spotted at the top?

***I like many others come onto this site for assistance and to help others. Marking a reply as helpful or correct helps others with like issues when they try to search the site for assistance. I do not work for Tmobile and my suggestions and or opinions are my own**.~~~~ The site here is primarily peer to peer with some TMO moderation to keep the site in order..They do not have account access..The prefered method would be to contact TMO through either calling in (tier 1 support) or by contacting them through either Facebook/Twitter (tier 2 support)**~~~~
J
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

4 bars .. must be seeing tower outside window

S

Why does it keep shutting off and no it's not running hit and yes it's got great signal

F
Userlevel 7
Badge +11

4 bars .. must be seeing tower outside window

Not always.  But few obstacles can make a huge difference.

F
Userlevel 7
Badge +11

I will agree with the OP on this.   Location is a Very key factor.  If you have an Android phone with TMobile,  I'd recommend using Cellmapper.net app to locate your tower.  Also, Google Earth can give a 3d line to your location.  These 2 will help determine any obstructions between the tower and your location.

I've found on the Arcadyan device to point it 30-45 degrees counter clockwise from the face pointing towards the tower.  Ymmv

Placement isn't always obvious,  and some trial and error is necessary

Y

Has anyone had the issue of your data running out really quick, but on T-Mobiles end we hadnt used that much at all, what I see in my account usage is totally different than what they say we have used, but I got the email we used it all and everything so I called them and found out it showed we ran out on my account but had actually only used 77 GBs so the guy reset it back to the 300 GB but it is still showing the same thing on my account..the GBs never reset in my account when he reset them so I'm nervous it's going to happen again. Hopefully someone can understand this and may know what to do to get the right usage amount in my account please? Thank you!

K

A bit of challenge get tv wyfi connected (att, spectrum and Verizon linked easily) the signal reaches thermostat 2 ft away.  Rebooted TV reentered 4 work password, after 2nd effort caught signal.

D

What about those of us who followed the setup procedure and got a great setup with fast speeds of about 275mbps down….. for about two months and now we are lucky to get 12? What do we do?

F
Userlevel 7
Badge +11

I will agree with the OP on this.   Location is a Very key factor.  If you have an Android phone with TMobile,  I'd recommend using Cellmapper.net app to locate your tower.  Also, Google Earth can give a 3d line to your location.  These 2 will help determine any obstructions between the tower and your location.

I've found on the Arcadyan device to point it 30-45 degrees counter clockwise from the face pointing towards the tower.  Ymmv

Placement isn't always obvious,  and some trial and error is necessary

As a side note,  Arcadyan kvd21 has different rotation than newer g4se/g4ar.  G4se recommends the back towards the tower.  Also, not all material is as good for signal.  Ive found that my glass slider is worse for sinr by 2 to 6 db than the wall a few feet over.  Of course, open door beats both, but not great for weather.

As far as performance goes, i get best performance in early morning hours, even if signal is the same.  Eg.  5am, 730Mbps with sinr around 17, rsrp -100.  While sinr of better than 20, no real download difference,  upload will improve

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