Question

TV buffering

  • 26 February 2023
  • 5 replies
  • 306 views

Badge

Hi, we are using the Nokia gateway  and use Youtube to watch TV. We have tried moving the gateway all over without success. The TV ends up buffering most nights, sometimes to the point that we just give up. Our Nokia has only ever showed 2 bars at best and when using speedtest we get downloads of 45.5 and uploads of 8.02. Is there anything we can do/add to the system to help with this? Thank you.


5 replies

Userlevel 3
Badge +2

If you’ve tried moving it different spots and still only get 2 bars, the best course of action is to go back to your last internet provider then try TMO again in a year and see if signal is better in your area.  Do you have TMO phone service?  If so, is it better on the phone app?

Userlevel 4
Badge +4

https://community.t-mobile.com/tv-home-internet-7/what-i-did-to-get-better-connection-without-antenna-bucket-idea-48766

Userlevel 5
Badge +8

You may know that the number of bars is only an indicator of signal strength and not the actual download/upload capability of your signal. Thant said, when you signed up with T-Mobile, hopefully you used the coverage map: https://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/coverage-map?icid=MGPO_TMO_P_5GNETWORK_1Q1203I5JTEV42AG30718

If you meet the 5G signal strength for your area, you should get at least 3-4 bars on 5G. Do you know which signal (LTE or 5G) you are using now? Using the T-Mobile Internet app, check your metrics for (RSRQ, SINR, and RSRP). Also, using the placement app, you can get the direction of your cell tower. You can align/place your gateway in the closest position to align with the tower and the placement app. Also, not that the antennas in the gateway should be aligned with your tower, so you may test it by rotating the gateway in small ¼ turns, then checking your metrics to see if they improve. Once you get the best metrics and signal, you should notice a download/upload speed improvement. 

Please post your 5G metrics and which band you are using:

RSRQ

RSRP

SINR

I hope this helps!

Userlevel 2
Badge +1

The antenna in Nokia gateways are more directional than other models offered by T-Mobile.  You may get better reception by monitoring RSRP and SINR numbers as you rotate the gateway 15 degrees at a time.

Userlevel 1
Badge +1

You must have something else going on, 45mbps download speed is plenty for HD Video. 4K ultra he is 20. 
If your tv is connected wireless to the gateway, maybe that speed is the problem. If possible I would try a direct connection.

Reply