T-Mobile 5G Home Internet Review

T-Mobile provides more than just cell phone services. T-Mobile's 5G home internet service covers over 40 million homes in 40 different states, making it the most widely available 5G internet provider. The sole T-Mobile home internet plan gets you download speeds between 35–115 Mbps and upload speeds between 6–23 Mbps. Plus, it only costs $50 per month with no contracts or data caps.

If you don’t love the ISP that services your area, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet makes a strong case as a replacement. You don't quite get fiber internet (~ 1 Gbps) speeds with 5G Home Internet, but you can get solid speeds for streaming and gaming for an affordable price. Read on for more details to help you decide if T-Mobile 5G Home Internet gives you a better deal than your current internet service provider.

You don’t need to stress about choosing an internet plan with T-Mobile because you only have one option. The stand-alone T-Mobile 5G Home Internet plan costs $50 per month and gives you download speeds somewhere between 35–115 Mbps and upload speeds between 6–23 Mbps.

It’s always refreshing to see a home internet plan that doesn’t come with data caps or contracts. The only small detail to know is that if you opt-in to the AutoPay program, you get a discount of $5 per month. Just make sure to turn off AutoPay if you plan on canceling your service.

Since there are  no contracts, you can ditch T-Mobile 5G Home Internet whenever you want. If a sexy fiber-internet provider moves into town, you can easily abandon T-Mobile and go for something faster.

T-Mobile’s home internet data speeds vary depending on factors outside of your control like location, signal strength and availability, and the time of day. Your data speeds can fluctuate pretty wildly, with a massive quality-of-life difference between 35 Mbps and 115 Mbps.

The good news is that if you find that your internet speeds fall closer to 35 Mbps than 115 Mbps, you can easily cancel your plan without incurring any annoying fees.

Will T-Mobile Home Internet be faster than what you already have? If you use a fiber-optic internet connection, then the answer to that question is a resounding “No.” On the other hand, if DSL or cable internet is the only option in your neck of the woods, then 5G home internet might work better.

For example, my parents just moved to a 55+ community in Southern California that just so happens to provide terrible internet coverage. On average, my parents get about 25 Mbps, which isn’t enough to support their favorite activity: streaming Netflix in every room of the house. In this case, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet would assuredly work better than what they currently have, despite the wide range of internet speeds. Don’t worry, I’ve already set things in motion to get my parents set up with 5G home internet access.

When you sign up for T-Mobile's home internet plan, you get sent a 5G Gateway device that functions as a router/modem combo. Just a few months ago, T-Mobile upgraded its Gateway device to include Wi-Fi 6 technology, which means your wireless signal will cover even more of your home.

Equipment setup mostly comes down to taking the Gateway device out of the box and placing it in a place that gets signal reception. We recommend putting your router/modem higher-up in your home, on a shelf or near a window, for example. If you need to connect an ethernet cable, the Gateway has two ports.

Once you find a place for the Gateway device, download the T-Mobile Internet app from any app store on your phone and follow the instructions to power up your internet service. You can use this app to set parental controls, see who’s connected to your home internet, and keep tabs on the quality of your internet connection.

T-Mobile has a dedicated customer care team that provides support for T-Mobile home internet. It’s a separate entity from the cell phone side of the business, so the customer care folks you encounter will know more about home internet issues.

T-Mobile provides two phone numbers to call if you have any problems:

• General questions: 1-844-839-5057
• Technical support:1-844-275-9310

Verizon is the other major player in the 5G home internet space and it absolutely crushes T-Mobile when it comes to data speeds. Look at how Verizon’s 5G home internet plans break down:

Verizon’s 5G home internet speeds can get up to 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps), whereas T-Mobile maxes out around 115 Mbps. If you’re choosing between the two, it’s really no competition and Verizon wins, but the catch is that Verizon isn’t nearly as widely available as T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. Lucky you, if you happen to live in one of the 40+ cities that offers Verizon 5G home internet.

While T-Mobile 5G Home Internet can’t keep up with fiber internet providers or Verizon 5G home internet, it’s certainly a better option than most DSL and cable internet providers. If you live in an area with bad options for internet providers, T-Mobile 5G home internet can be your get-out-of-jail-free card for better internet.

• Prices and plans: T-Mobile’s $50 home internet plan gives you download speeds between 35–115 Mbps and upload speeds between 6–23 Mbps, for $50/month.
• Speed: Hopefully your T-Mobile home internet speeds fall closer to the 115 Mbps end of the spectrum, otherwise you might want to consider canceling your service.
• Data caps: No data caps to worry about, so you can use as much internet data as you want.
• Contracts, equipment, and fees: You get the T-Mobile Gateway router/modem device for free when you sign up for service. The new router comes with Wi-Fi 6 technology, which helps your internet signal get around the house more easily. It also has two port options for an ethernet cable. Set up takes 15 minutes or less, and the only fee you need to worry about comes from not returning your router after canceling your service.
• Customer service: T-Mobile has a dedicated team of support agents for its home internet services, so you can expect competent help when you need it.

The main factors we considered while reviewing T-Mobile home internet include:

1. Price
2. Data speeds
3. Equipment and set up
4. Availability
5. Customer support

We came to the conclusion that T-Mobile’s home internet price is an affordable rate, but the internet speeds can fluctuate wildly. Users who experience closer to max download speeds will have a much better experience than users who routinely experience minimum download speeds. Customers won’t know what to expect until they try the service, and if it’s a bust, it’s easy to cancel your service without incurring any fees (as long as you send the Gateway router back).