Anyone using T Mobile for internet and TV streaming?

[Tom52]

I like the idea of $50 per month for life for T Mobile internet but Would like to hear from anyone who currently uses it. Is the service reliable? Will it handle a couple of TVs streaming content at the same time while running a couple of tablets?

I was told by T Mobile that the performance would be very good in our area running multiple devices simultaneously but they only advertise 50 mbps. I am skeptical.

if you are using T Mobile what is your experience?

 

[audreyh1]

50 mbps will totally handle 2 TVs streaming plus running a couple of tablets. That’s what we have with a different provider. One of the TVs occasionally streams 4K.

I suppose the signal strength must be outstanding in your area.

We only use T-Mobile for cellphone service and have to use wifi calling due to poor signal strength from any cell service. Wifi calling works fabulously fortunately.

 

[Trailwalker]

It all depends on your speeds. T-mobile’s infrastructure in south central Wisconsin is poor. My speeds were only 5 mbs download.

 

[Sunset]

I pay $35 for 100 Mbs with my provider , however a nice thing about using T-mobile is you could take it traveling.

 

[zinger1457]

It all depends on your speeds. T-mobile’s infrastructure in south central Wisconsin is poor. My speeds were only 5 mbs download.

When I last looked at T-Mobile home Internet before you sign up they first check your home address to see if your location is suitable and seem to imply that in worse case you would get an average of 25M, likely more. For the OP, since there are no contracts or up front cost there's little to lose to at least try it out and see how it works.

 

[qwerty3656]

T-mobile has been a disaster for me. I posted this on another thread:

I have made dozens of calls to Tmobile tech support (literally 2 hours on hold). During the day I get 50+ Mbps download speeds. At night, it often drops below 1 Mbps. The problem is they treat Internet users the same way they treat "Heavy" Data cell phone users which is last in the queue. So anytime there is congestion, you drop to the bottom. This is right out of their terms of service:

"The vast majority of customers on T-Mobile-branded, Sprint-branded, Metro by T-Mobile-branded, and Assurance Wireless-branded plans receive higher priority than the small fraction of customers who are Heavy Data Users on their rate plan, who are prioritized last on the network after exceeding the relevant threshold for the current billing cycle. T-Mobile Home Internet (available in select locations) customers receive the same network prioritization as Heavy Data Users, but should be less likely to experience congestion because the equipment is stationary and available in limited areas."

"Heavy Data Users (as defined by a customer’s rate plan) will have their data usage prioritized below the data usage (including tethering) of other customers at times and at locations where there are competing customer demands for network resources, which may result in slower data speeds"

 

[Lakedog]

T-Mobile internet did not work for me even though I was supposedly in a high signal strength area. The whole experience was a pain -- posted this in another thread recently:

T-Mobile -- made the mistake of trying their Home Internet service. The signal strength was poor and internet access was very unreliable even though their coverage map indicated otherwise. I returned the equipment within a couple of days of receiving after being told upfront that there would be no charge for trying the service if equipment was returned.

Then I started receiving bills every few days, even after calling to confirm my account had been closed. After just 4 weeks, I get a letter saying my unpaid account was going to a debt collection service. Every time I called T-Mobile I was on hold for at least an hour. During every call, I would be transferred from dept to dept as no one seemed willing/able to assist.

No way would I ever do business with T-Mobile again. I did have a prepaid phone with them years ago and had no issues, but their current customer service is among the worst I have experienced.

 

[wolf]

Been using T-Mobile home internet for about a year now. Overall, am satisfied.
Hooked it up to my existing router. Seems to aid it getting the wifi signal further out.

Was using Xfinity for years. Would sign up for the $ 19.99 one year promo, Then have to negotiate, every year for a decent rate. Finally got tired of the hassle.

Once in while, I will lose the internet signal on my TV. Just have to "turn off then on",
the t-mobile unit. This does not happen very often

Xfinity, is again, offering me the $ 19,99 special. Is cheaper than the $50 a month. T-Mobile. But, the yearly, "game", of negotiating, for me, was not worth it anymore....

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

I tried it for one month... never got good service and the Gateway was in a window facing the tower across the street. Went through 3 gateways. After all that, I cancelled and they are still billing me for the unusable service and threatening to report the non-payment to the credit agencies. Even after detailing all the communication in a letter to their resolution address via snail mail, they still insist I owe them for unusable service. Based on my experience, the service isn't mature and they are completely unreasonable and unethical (hard to tell if unethical or incompetent). I highly recommend avoiding business with T-Mobile... not worth the headache.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

T-Mobile internet did not work for me even though I was supposedly in a high signal strength area. The whole experience was a pain -- posted this in another thread recently:

T-Mobile -- made the mistake of trying their Home Internet service. The signal strength was poor and internet access was very unreliable even though their coverage map indicated otherwise. I returned the equipment within a couple of days of receiving after being told upfront that there would be no charge for trying the service if equipment was returned.

Then I started receiving bills every few days, even after calling to confirm my account had been closed. After just 4 weeks, I get a letter saying my unpaid account was going to a debt collection service. Every time I called T-Mobile I was on hold for at least an hour. During every call, I would be transferred from dept to dept as no one seemed willing/able to assist.

No way would I ever do business with T-Mobile again. I did have a prepaid phone with them years ago and had no issues, but their current customer service is among the worst I have experienced.

My experience almost exactly, stay away from this company! They (most offensive word you can tolerate) suck and are close to faceless corporate evil as you can find.

 

[OldShooter]

I hve tried T-Mobile twice for cell service and found out both times that they had lied to me about coverage at our lake home. Complaints and demands for a refund of the month prepayment had no effect. In both cases I canceled the charge with my Visa carrier and never heard a word from T-Mobile.

More generally re cell based internet plans, we had an enthusiastic young techie join our flying club and insist that we could save money with this type of plan. One was Verizon, I don't remember the other. In each case we were in and out within a month. The problem is that each radio cell has one internet pipe. When lots of users are demanding data, each user's bandwidth goes down. This is why they won't make any bandwidth promises. We switched back to our wireline carrier's DSL, where we had a "reserved seat" hard wire connection to the central office, where the ability to provide bandwidth is much more flexible. We would have tried Comcast and probably would have been happy, but Comcast wouldn't run a cable the half-mile or so it would have to bring it from the nearby street to our hangar.

So I'm a firm < not "no" but he# no >on T-Mobile and very skeptical of any cell-based internet connection. 5G is promising the world right now. Time will tell. Remember when Boeing was promising upstairs bar/lounges on every 747?

 

[wolf]

Seems customer service and internet quality, varies by location. I'm located in,
San Francisco bay area, CA. Customer service very good.

My plan if T-Mobile Home internet was unsatisfactory, I would just Cancel. (NO Contract). And go back to Xfinity. (yearly contract).

 

[qwerty3656]

Seems customer service and internet quality, varies by location. I'm located in,
San Francisco bay area, CA. Customer service very good.

My plan if T-Mobile Home internet was unsatisfactory, I would just Cancel. (NO Contract). And go back to Xfinity. (yearly contract).

I'm pretty sure their internet customer service is not local. Have you called their internet customer service? There is often over an hour wait. (Their regular customer service is fine - I'm talking specifically about their internet customer service)

 

[braumeister]

I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile for cell service four years ago and it has been wonderful. Great service, great features, great price, everything has exceeded my expectations.

But that's cell service. This thread is about their internet service which, as someone here mentioned seems to be run by different folks. I tried that about two years ago and it didn't work well enough at my home. But I simply returned their modem and got my refund immediately. No hassles.

What I think I see in this thread is just normal griping (by people who have legitimate gripes). Remember that there are also a great many like me who have had outstanding experiences with T-Mobile, so please take it all with a grain of salt.

 

[bolt]

I've used T-Mobile while traveling for its hotspot options and its been outstanding, great CS, & even where no OTA tv service is available it streams data 24hrs a day. The 50.00 unlimited seems as advertised.

 

[Lsbcal]

We have TMobil for two phones at $60/mo plus another $20/mo for our two Apple watches.

Xfinity at $55/mo for internet + streaming. Works very well for us here in Northern California.

 

[qwerty3656]

I've used T-Mobile while traveling for its hotspot options and its been outstanding, great CS, & even where no OTA tv service is available it streams data 24hrs a day. The 50.00 unlimited seems as advertised.

You are talking about cell phone service. Data on Cell phones (e.g. hotspot) is fine. T-Mobile has a home internet option (using a modem) that they do not properly support.

 

[Ian S]

We've had T-Mobile internet for over a year and a half. We live in small rural town that is poorly served by cable and telco DSL both of which have aging decrepit infrastructure which makes for a dismal combination of poor reliability and inadequate performance. T-Mobile internet has been very reliable with good performance - checked just now and we are getting 70 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload speeds. We have no problem streaming video content but rarely stream more than one program at a time.

 

[wolf]

OP. Based on the responses. T-mobile home internet.

1. If it works, great.

2. If it does not work, not so great. And poor customer service.

3. My advice. Give it a shot. Since there is no Contract. You can cancel anytime.

Good luck.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

OP. Based on the responses. T-mobile home internet.

1. If it works, great.

2. If it does not work, not so great. And poor customer service.

3. My advice. Give it a shot. Since there is no Contract. You can cancel anytime.

Good luck.

Reference #3. You'd think but I tried it, and the Gateway didn't work so they sent me another one, and then another one. I was clear in my conversations that I wanted to be a customer and was willing to be patient on the technical part as long as I wouldn't have to pay for unusable service. About halfway through the month, an autopay was processed. I asked for a refund for the month since the service was not working and my credit card was refunded a day later. After the 3rd gateway didn't work, I requested it cancelled and a return label to return the equipment. I thought all was done and told the CS agent I'll try again in a year or so and maybe the network/equipment would be better then. I only had their equipment for one month. Up until this point, I was happy with the CS, but then....



I got an un-itemized "bill" threatening to report me to the credit reporting agencies $150 for the prior month. I called and they told me bill was for the next month, and "late fee" plus the $60 that they "refunded" (they just reversed the charge and marked it as unpaid). They wouldn't help and said that I owed it and that there was no one to elevate the call to. I ended up sending a snail mail via certified mail laying out the entire timeline and asking to clear my account. I got a voicemail a week later stating that the reversed the charges for the 2nd month and late fees but that I owed the $60 (that they reversed the charges so up front). There was no direct call back number so if I want to try to call back, I'll get yet another person that I'll have to go through the whole narrative with and who will ultimately not be helpful (I've probably been on the phone with them for about 20 hours between technical support and then the absolutely horrible customer service regarding the bill). I got a follow up bill just today for the $60 -computer generated, no direct number to call. I'll probably just pay it to protect my credit score but to think trying it is no risk is BS... at this point I can pay $60 or deal with correcting my credit score if they report it unpaid.


Basically, they are extorting $60 out of me under threat of damaging my credit score. I NEVER received usable service and thus do not owe them a dime. How much more of my time to I waste to protect my credit/deny them the $60? I'm leaning towards paying the $60 and then calling them whenever I am on a long drive and asking for a refund... at least until I am sure they paid several $100 in compensation for the people I talk to. Lose-lose but better than lose-win. May be only $60 but I don't like being screwed.


I will never trust them. I currently have Metro PCS for my cellular service and have been happy with it but will probably change soon as I don't trust them at all as a subsidiary of T-Mobile. Incompetent or unethical is hard to tell but I don't trust them to do the right thing and will do my best to deny them screwing yet another individual.



I highly recommend finding another provider (yes, I know all telecoms have their issues but T-Mobile makes Spectrum (that I can't stand due to being overpriced, poor connectivity, and generally rude demeanor when contacting them) seem like angels... they never tried to rip me off though and when I cancelled it was easy and without issue.


No more ranting about this evil company by me (in this thread) but you've been warned.

 

[wolf]

FLSUnFIRE, What a mess! You are more patient than I. If the T-Moblie modem/router,
was not working. I might have got a 2nd one. But if "signal" strength was weak.
Forget it.

One call. Cancel. Next call, sign up for Xfininty.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

In the interest of fairness, I have a follow up. I called today prepared to pay the BS bill in order to protect my credit score but first asked one more time for them to fix the mess and to do the right thing. The employee that answered was receptive and worked the issue for a good 40 minutes (I was mostly on hold) and I hung up the phone being assured that my account is closed with a zero balance and I should not receive any communications/bills related to this account. She sounded sincere and sympathetic to my ordeal and provided her "name" and employee number for my notes so hopefully the umpteenth time is a charm. It will take me a while to trust this is over (I'll definitely update if the nightmare has a sequel but hopefully finally over with no more headaches).


I still don't recommend them due to the poor responsiveness, long wait times, and reluctance of their customer service system to do the right thing (I think it's more systemic than bad people) that I experienced.

 

[bolt]

You are talking about cell phone service. Data on Cell phones (e.g. hotspot) is fine. T-Mobile has a home internet option (using a modem) that they do not properly support.

You are correct.
However, my point was last couple yrs on a physical island in the FLA keys island chain. Where even the HomeDepot support staff 20 mi away confirmed theres no OTA TV service available there.

I used a 7-8 yr old iphone hotspot serviced by T-Mobile for internet & streaming almost 24/7, via the iphones hotspot feature.
I did not need a TMUS modem/router involved.

When service slowed I called TMUS and stated UNLimited meant UNLimited to me, and my TMUS service was promptly restored to 100%, month after month.
So I'd suspect TMUS allows a defined 15/20GB data w/its unlimited option, but only allows more data if you use it up & point out UNLimited is sold as UNLimited. / shrug /

I now recognize this is a TMUS dedicated internet only inquiry.
My error.
Good luck & Best wishes....

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

You are correct.
However, my point was last couple yrs on a physical island in the FLA keys island chain. Where even the HomeDepot support staff 20 mi away confirmed theres no OTA TV service available there.

I used a 7-8 yr old iphone hotspot serviced by T-Mobile for internet & streaming almost 24/7, via the iphones hotspot feature.
I did not need a TMUS modem/router involved.

When service slowed I called TMUS and stated UNLimited meant UNLimited to me, and my TMUS service was promptly restored to 100%, month after month.
So I'd suspect TMUS allows a defined 15/20GB data w/its unlimited option, but only allows more data if you use it up & point out UNLimited is sold as UNLimited. / shrug /

I now recognize this is a TMUS dedicated internet only inquiry.
My error.
Good luck & Best wishes....

The irony is the home internet gateway never gave usable service but my iPhone 8 with Metro PCS (lower tier subsidiary of T-Mobile running on on their network) has decent data rates using LTE. I was going to leave Metro PCS just to deny T-Mobile from getting any more of my money but hopefully I can stay with them as long as my billing issue is resolved.