Question

5G home internet keeps dropping

J
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I’m having a problem with T-Mobile 5g home internet that has not been resolved despite many calls in to the help line.  I’ve had T-Mobile 5g home internet for almost a month now, and the short version is that every so often the gateway drops the network.  When I say “drop the network,” I mean to say it throws everything off of the Wifi that it’s broadcasting, and anything plugged in via ethernet says “no network found.  (To elaborate this point, cell phones switch to cellular data because wifi is gone for them, and computers hardwired into the gateway think that they are no longer plugged into anything.)  Turning off the gateway and turning it back on resolves the issue, but doesn’t prevent it from happening again.  Whatever is happening doesn’t seem to affect our connection speed/strength when the gateway IS providing signal to devices in the home, but due to the nature of our work, we need a connection that won’t just disconnect randomly.  

 

To address this, T-mobile has so far run a bunch of tests on their end, and seem to have ruled out a tower issue (which makes sense, as the tower shouldn’t have anything to do with whether or not the devices on the gateway’s wifi or ethernet connection get thrown off of the network.)  They’ve sent me a replacement gateway, which is experiencing the exact same problem (3 times in the last 36 hours, in fact).   I’ve noticed that the device gets pretty warm, so I set up a computer case fan as a cooler to force air through the device, thinking that perhaps it’s an issue with the device overheating.  However, while the gateway is notably cooler than it was without the fan, it has not prevented the issue from persisting.  The last thing that I can think to do (and my most recent attempt at resolving this issue) is to plug a router into the gateway via ethernet, and allow the router to handle the wifi/connections w/ devices in the house, and to disable wifi from the gateway all together.  Maybe the gateway is simply too overburdened with connections and gets somehow overwhelmed and shuts down, and having the router handle the “heavy lifting” of taking care of all of the individual device connections will resolve it?  I don’t have a great deal of faith that this will fix the issue (as the gateway also kicks ethernet things off of the network when it experiences this problem), but I’m running out of options/ideas of what to do in order to just get a stable, constant internet service.   

 

Is anybody else having this issue, has anybody resolved this issue, or does anybody have any advice or feedback regarding how I might get this resolved so that I can get back to having stable internet?

264 replies

R
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I called T-mobile with my issue and everything checked out. No outages in my area, nothing he could see at his end, and I had already rebooted, and reset the unit. They sent me out a replacement the very next day. It is working a little better, but does kick out a few times a day for anywhere between 10-30 seconds at a time. So I'll give it a bit more time, but if it continues, I'll be forced to stick with xfinity. I'D DEEPLY REGRET THAT. PLEASE TMO, FIX. IT ORIGINALLY WORKED FLAWLESSLY FOR OVER 2 MONTHS. 

G
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I’m having a problem with T-Mobile 5g home internet that has not been resolved despite many calls in to the help line.  I’ve had T-Mobile 5g home internet for almost a month now, and the short version is that every so often the gateway drops the network.  When I say “drop the network,” I mean to say it throws everything off of the Wifi that it’s broadcasting, and anything plugged in via ethernet says “no network found.  (To elaborate this point, cell phones switch to cellular data because wifi is gone for them, and computers hardwired into the gateway think that they are no longer plugged into anything.)  Turning off the gateway and turning it back on resolves the issue, but doesn’t prevent it from happening again.  Whatever is happening doesn’t seem to affect our connection speed/strength when the gateway IS providing signal to devices in the home, but due to the nature of our work, we need a connection that won’t just disconnect randomly.  

 

To address this, T-mobile has so far run a bunch of tests on their end, and seem to have ruled out a tower issue (which makes sense, as the tower shouldn’t have anything to do with whether or not the devices on the gateway’s wifi or ethernet connection get thrown off of the network.)  They’ve sent me a replacement gateway, which is experiencing the exact same problem (3 times in the last 36 hours, in fact).   I’ve noticed that the device gets pretty warm, so I set up a computer case fan as a cooler to force air through the device, thinking that perhaps it’s an issue with the device overheating.  However, while the gateway is notably cooler than it was without the fan, it has not prevented the issue from persisting.  The last thing that I can think to do (and my most recent attempt at resolving this issue) is to plug a router into the gateway via ethernet, and allow the router to handle the wifi/connections w/ devices in the house, and to disable wifi from the gateway all together.  Maybe the gateway is simply too overburdened with connections and gets somehow overwhelmed and shuts down, and having the router handle the “heavy lifting” of taking care of all of the individual device connections will resolve it?  I don’t have a great deal of faith that this will fix the issue (as the gateway also kicks ethernet things off of the network when it experiences this problem), but I’m running out of options/ideas of what to do in order to just get a stable, constant internet service.   

 

Is anybody else having this issue, has anybody resolved this issue, or does anybody have any advice or feedback regarding how I might get this resolved so that I can get back to having stable internet?

I just received the Arcadyan router a day ago. I actually have 4 bars and still getting max 29mbps down and 40 upload. Had the tech check the towers around me to see was anything wrong with them for why my download was so slow. He couldn’t give me an answer to why. and to add insult to comedy he asked me to do a survey after our call….LOL!!! It was so funny that i couldnt be mad at him or TMO. I really hope they get this together because i will easily hop back over to spectrum and at least get a stable coax connection with an expensive price tag… DAYUM!!! Come on TMO I’m rooting for you guys b4 i make that next move….

M

Like many of you I’ve been battling this issue as well. From 9p-6a I get decent speeds (anywhere from 75-250 down) the rest of the day the Speedtest times out and I get nothing. I find the disconnects occur when the performance is poor. I have 3-4 5G bars but the performance is unusable. 
 

Totally understand the draw on the tower during peak times but I’d assume marketing this product they’d have prepared for this, maybe I should stop assuming. 

G
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We had the same issue--frequent disconnects, inconsistent speeds (between slow and slower). After one day, it was clear it wasn’t going to work. I returned the device less than 24 hours after installing it, got a receipt, called TM to insure it was removed from our service plan (Magenta). Today, our bill has increased by $7.33 for the prorated service. Considering the misleading ads, and the assurance given on TM’s website that our residence was in the 5G internet service area, I’m now filing an online complaint with the FTC. As soon as our new phone is paid for, we are going back to Verizon. 

N

Having the same issue. Tower says it's on and has signal but nothing will connect to it, it doesn't even appear when we search for networks on our TV or phones. This is the first it has happened to us. 

M

5am and 8am. Unusable. 

L

I had to send mine back and cancel the service.  We were getting dropped out of meetings with no warning several times a week, which was unacceptable.  Real shame because XFinity is our only other option here and the TMO gateway speeds were comparable at almost ½ the cost.

D

I have had the T Mobile Home Internet for about 6 months. About a month ago it started dropping the connection a few times a day. I have done the reset thing and it works usually. 
Reading through this thread does not give me much hope that the issue will be resolved. I am going to call them and ask for a replacement unit and go from there. 
I really don’t want to go back to Spectrum. Although their service was pretty solid I just don’t care for their business model. 
Anyhoo, I was hoping there would be a magic fix y’all had figured out. Guess not…….

F
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wow - even posting here doesn’t work well - just wiped out my entire comment.  short version: tmobile internet sucks, so done with dropped meetings, shows, everything - going back to xfinity

T

I Have been rooting for you T-mobile. You are severely letting me down. I am paying more than $200 a month for FOUR locations (via two different accounts, one business and one not), yet, you will not help me. And better yet, your “promised” business hotline will NEVER pick up the phone. I have attempted to call multiple times all for me to sit on hold for great lengths of time.

 

This neglects all of the previous issues mentioned T-mobile are ignoring. I was only getting 1-2 disconnects a day from the same issue everyone else is however, after some outsourced employees messed with my router and reset it, I’m getting a disconnect for greater than 60 seconds at a time DOZENS of times an hour. Makes the internet utterly useless. This is an ongoing problem at every single location I have these routers launched. I was promised that the Business line was local for the greater portion of the day, I can’t even confirm because they will not pick up the phone!

 

TMOBILE. STOP IGNORING EVERYONE AND PICK UP YOUR ACT. I was rooting for you. Now I’m not.

I can’t wait for LinusTechTips to review this heaping piece of garbage and trash this home internet. Not like it’s available in Canada anyways.

H

We're having the same issue with losing the connection. We've had T-Mobile home internet for about 6 weeks. It was fine for about a month, but the last 2 weeks the modem will lose connection about every 1.5 to 2 days. Unplugging the modem and plugging it back in will fix it for another 1.5 to 2 days before it drops again and I have to unplug it again. I have no idea why it was good for a month then started having issues every other day. The only change I made was to add a second SSID that broadcasts just the 5Ghz signal so I can connect my cell phone to it because my phone would always connect to the 2.4Ghz network rather than being directed to the 5Ghz signal on the SSID that broadcasts both signals.

A

+

C

I’m having a problem with T-Mobile 5g home internet that has not been resolved despite many calls in to the help line.  I’ve had T-Mobile 5g home internet for almost a month now, and the short version is that every so often the gateway drops the network.  When I say “drop the network,” I mean to say it throws everything off of the Wifi that it’s broadcasting, and anything plugged in via ethernet says “no network found.  (To elaborate this point, cell phones switch to cellular data because wifi is gone for them, and computers hardwired into the gateway think that they are no longer plugged into anything.)  Turning off the gateway and turning it back on resolves the issue, but doesn’t prevent it from happening again.  Whatever is happening doesn’t seem to affect our connection speed/strength when the gateway IS providing signal to devices in the home, but due to the nature of our work, we need a connection that won’t just disconnect randomly.  

 

To address this, T-mobile has so far run a bunch of tests on their end, and seem to have ruled out a tower issue (which makes sense, as the tower shouldn’t have anything to do with whether or not the devices on the gateway’s wifi or ethernet connection get thrown off of the network.)  They’ve sent me a replacement gateway, which is experiencing the exact same problem (3 times in the last 36 hours, in fact).   I’ve noticed that the device gets pretty warm, so I set up a computer case fan as a cooler to force air through the device, thinking that perhaps it’s an issue with the device overheating.  However, while the gateway is notably cooler than it was without the fan, it has not prevented the issue from persisting.  The last thing that I can think to do (and my most recent attempt at resolving this issue) is to plug a router into the gateway via ethernet, and allow the router to handle the wifi/connections w/ devices in the house, and to disable wifi from the gateway all together.  Maybe the gateway is simply too overburdened with connections and gets somehow overwhelmed and shuts down, and having the router handle the “heavy lifting” of taking care of all of the individual device connections will resolve it?  I don’t have a great deal of faith that this will fix the issue (as the gateway also kicks ethernet things off of the network when it experiences this problem), but I’m running out of options/ideas of what to do in order to just get a stable, constant internet service.   

 

Is anybody else having this issue, has anybody resolved this issue, or does anybody have any advice or feedback regarding how I might get this resolved so that I can get back to having stable internet?

I have been having this problem for the last two months.  Tech support is extremely poor and very annoying.  My gateway worked perfectly from September 2021 to May 2022 and then started crapping out several times a day.  I have given up on the tech support team.  I don’t need the stress and frustration of dealing with them especially since they are obviously unable to fix the problem. 
 

So it’s back to Comcast.  Disgusted.  I hope they ask why I am leaving so I can give them a piece of my mind.

O
Userlevel 1
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@Fredreed I unplugged it again and did another walk around the house.  Aside from one spot in the house that I get four bars about 5% of the time, and 2 bars the rest of the time, I think it’s in the best spot.  Whatever’s happening seems to be getting worse, as I’m now up to my fourth crash in two days.  

I have 4 bars had my device in same location by window for a year no problems what so ever 2 to 3 months after the one year drops internet all the time they gave me a new gateway and guess what same no internet connection why would things work perfect for a year then mess up I don't get it

extremetm
Userlevel 3
Badge +2

Same problem here. Have had home Internet for almost a year with no problems. In the past two weeks, Internet drops one to two dimes a day. 9 pages of this and still no solution. I’m not going to waste time calling support.  We haven’t changed a thing. Maybe the dual\triple NAT and abysmal lack of settings are finally causing problems with updates from Windows and other hardware. I don’t know. But if this continues I’m going to take a peek at Verizon’s Home Internet and read some reviews. 

S

I was having the router drop the cellular connection, while showing good signal, sometimes three times a day, often during a telework meeting.  I began tracking how often I power cycled the hotspot.  I had two occurrences on 6/3/22, singles on 6/5, 6/10, 6/18, and 6/20.  And then as of 6/22 this problem cleared up.  I'm in Houston TX, in case T-Mobile fixed by infrastructure instead of firmware update.

O
Userlevel 1
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Yeah this issue hasn't cleared up its now every morning have to reset and sometimes a couple times a day.  I wish I knew what changed from my first year of service which was flawless to now 1 year 3 months and have crap service

S

I have had TM internet for over a year now.  I had maybe 1 connection drop in the first 6 months.  Then it got to be a twice a month occurrence, now it’s 5-6 times a day.  At least I know now it’s not just my service.  Hopefully it’s either gateway design or firmware issue that they can get this worked out.   

O
Userlevel 1
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Yeah idk I went 1 year no issues now I am constantly every 24 hrs having to reset my network.  Kinda funny how there is no issues or very few issues during your first year and as soon as you start on your second year problems arise that wasn't there before that now no one can fix

E

I’m also desperately trying to move away from Xfinity and was so excited to get the email that T-Mobile Home Internet was finally available at my address.  Immediately set up the equipment after delivery, and was happy to see that with the gateway in an upstairs window, I get five full bars of connection on my gateway.  But, even though I’ve only had the service for two days, I think I’m going to have to return it.  I’m getting the same performance issues everyone else is - in the morning 7:00-ish, I can’t even get a wireless connection on any device.  Then twenty minutes later I’ll test it at 300 Mbps download.  Ten minutes later it’s back to .2 (yes, point 2) Mbps download.  All of this is with “Excellent” or “Very Good” connections on the gateway.  This is unusable as I work from home.  I also called Tech support, who told me I have two towers close-by and that they may be working on them right now.  Sounds like everyone on this thread may all coincidentally have people working on their towers right now.  The connection is faster and more consistent in the night, but unfortunately I use it most during the day.  Too bad...I REALLY wanted this to work.  I’ll try it again in another year.  Until then it’s back to high prices at Comcast.

O
Userlevel 1
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Mine usually disconnects about 3 or 4 am.  When I get up have to reconnect the unit by restarting it every single morning now that I have had 1 year of flawless service.

H

Have had the device two days and it works great! :) To the point that I have cancelled xfinity internet. Not a great test period, agreed, but ….
 

Seem to have the latest black box, looks new, 4 bars signal strength. Good cell phone signal strength out and about in the neighborhood. We also recently switched cell service from Verizon to T-Mobile.

Speed test varies a bit with the box but generally can get up to 200-300 plus, download.

However, with a boatload of computer hardware/software diagnosing experience in hand, I will not spend a lot of time working with support if I start developing drops, I will just dump the service and go crawling back to Comcast. 

H

Have had the device two days and it works great! :) To the point that I have cancelled xfinity internet. Not a great test period, agreed, but ….
 

Seem to have the latest black box, looks new, 4 bars signal strength. Good cell phone signal strength out and about in the neighborhood. We also recently switched cell service from Verizon to T-Mobile.

Speed test varies a bit with the box but generally can get up to 200-300 plus, download.

However, with a boatload of computer hardware/software diagnosing experience in hand, I will not spend a lot of time working with support if I start developing drops, I will just dump the service and go crawling back to Comcast. 

Update:  I’m actually getting up into the 400-500 range at times. Even when it was showing 40-50 mbps the other night during prime time streaming, everything was running great. It’s just me and my wife here in a one story house, with not much concurrent device use. All of our devices, Roku box, iPhones, laptops, iPads, are late models that run fast.

I will update this in a month ….

 

 

O
Userlevel 1
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I run 2 cameras off it. 2 phones 2 tablets and stream on 2 different tvs at the same time when the service works it works great.  But having to reset every day sometimes now 2 to 3 times a day gets a little annoying 

J
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I’m having the same issues.  Internet has been dropping multiple times a day for the last few days after working nearly flawlessly for months.  If I’m not in a hurry, it will usually reconnect on its own within a few minutes.  Most of the time I’ll just reset the router and be back to working faster than if I were to wait.

 

After reading everyone else’s replies, I won’t bother calling Tech support.  Hopefully, they are just working on something, and it will clear up in a few more days.  If not, I have plenty of other options to go with.

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