T-Mobile Home Internet is a lifesaver if you’re fed up with confusing cable plans and sluggish DSL.
13 min readT-Mobile 5G Home Internet is the ultimate backup plan for folks who are fed up with their current internet service. The cellular carrier’s relatively new 5G service uses fixed wireless connections to offer solid speeds for a respectable price, earning it the top spot in our review of the best 5G home internet providers. T-Mobile’s simple pricing model eschews data caps, hidden fees, and contracts, offers a new 5-year price guarantee, and includes discounts for mobile subscribers—making T-Mobile Home Internet a cost-effective alternative to cable internet.
But is it faster than cable? Customers who use the service tell Reviews.org that it’s not the fastest internet in the world—but it still gets the job done. “It’s worked pretty well for me. The speeds feel a little up and down sometimes, but it generally does everything I need it to,” says Rick Francis, a physical therapist in rural Charlottesville, North Carolina.
“Sometimes [when I’m] streaming NBA games at night, the picture looks a little fuzzy.” -Rick Francis, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet customer
Our writers spoke with half a dozen T-Mobile Internet customers, looked at speed test results, and reviewed some surprisingly positive results from national customer satisfaction surveys to put together this comprehensive review. Read on to see if T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is right for you.
Tyler Abbott contributed research for this T-Mobile Internet review.
Guide to this T-Mobile 5G Home Internet review:
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See if you can get T-Mobile 5G Home Internet in your area
Get to know T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: Plans and pricing
*
with AutoPay, taxes and fees included.
T-Mobile offers three 5G Home Internet plans priced at $50–$70 per month, with its Amplified and All-In packages including features such as guaranteed pricing, advanced Wi-Fi devices, enhanced cybersecurity, and free subscriptions to Hulu and Paramount+. These packages provide more value while keeping prices pretty reasonable (actually, you can opt for T-Mobile's new 5-year price guarantee that locks in the base price of your internet or mobile plan for five whole years). Especially since customers with an existing T-Mobile cell phone plan can get up to $20 off any T-Mobile internet plan.
The plans offer unlimited data and deliver download speeds between 72Mbps and 245Mbps. T-Mobile doesn't impose extra fees for self-installation or equipment, although there is a one-time $35 device connection charge.
Instead of using a hardwired internet connection, the T-Mobile Wi-Fi router (a 5G Gateway device) uses a wireless cellular connection to provide Wi-Fi for your home. It’s the same network your smartphone connects to, so you should expect speeds to be slightly less stable than what you get from a cable or fiber internet provider.
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet also offers a few other supplementary plans:
- T-Mobile Away is a portable Wi-Fi plan for digital nomads or rural travelers on the go in an RV or van, and want something stronger than a hotspot.
- T-Mobile Home Internet for Metro: This is a cheaper, prepaid alternative for existing Metro by T-Mobile (formerly known as MetroPCS) customers. Besides its affordable $40 monthly price, this internet plan is also great because it runs on the same reliable 5G network as T-Mobile’s main home internet service.
- T-Mobile Home Internet Backup: This plan costs as low as $10 per month with AutoPay. Home Internet Backup comes with 130GB of data, which is enough to support a week of browsing, streaming, and working from home when your main internet isn't working.
T-Mobile is also working on expanding its fiber service, which is now available in eight states.
Which T-Mobile 5G Home Internet plan is right for you?
T-Mobile's best 5G home internet plan for most households is Rely Internet. This plan is cheaper than the rest and offers the same download speeds of 72–245Mbps. If you’ve grown weary of the unpredictable pricing from cable internet providers, this is a solid deal with a five-year price guarantee. Plus, the Gateway's portability allows for a more flexible Wi-Fi setup. And considering its similar price, it's also a great option if you live in a rural area where sluggish DSL or satellite internet (like Starlink) are the only other options.
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet fees for modem and installation
T-Mobile 5G Wi-Fi router
Included
Device connection charge
$35 one-time fee
Self-installation kit
Free
Professional installation
None
Early termination fee
None
Data overage fee
None
What makes this T-Mobile 5G Home Internet review legit?
Our review is based on interviews with internet customers from across the country, which help us understand how internet services hold up against diverse needs and challenges.
To put together this review, we spoke directly with five customers and chatted with several others on Reddit. We let their experiences guide our research and shape our conclusions. We have personally used T-Mobile 5G Home Internet on a free trial period to help inform our conclusions, and we looked closely at reputable customer satisfaction surveys and speed test data to get additional data points on whether 5G internet providers deliver what customers need.
On top of all that, we’ve been following the wider discussion around 5G for years, so we have a deep knowledge about the ins and outs of this new cellular technology and the potential it offers for home internet connections and other use cases.
Our breakdown of T-Mobile 5G Home Internet features
Our team at Reviews.org gives internet providers a rating based on three main criteria: Speed and reliability, dollar value, and customer experience. We then average the three ratings to make an overall score. See the details for T-Mobile 5G Home Internet below.
Speed and reliability
4.0/5.0
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet doesn’t boast the fastest speeds in the world, but it still offers a reliable way to stream, game, and work remotely over Wi-Fi. The provider advertises speeds ranging between 72 and 245Mbps, which is plenty for two or three users, but it may not be ideal for a household of four people or more.
As for reliability, T-Mobile Wi-Fi can get the job done for most internet tasks, but it may be a dealbreaker for things like live streaming and VR gaming. Instead of channeling internet data through cables buried underground—like fiber or cable internet—T-Mobile Internet works via wireless cellular transmitters placed around neighborhoods and cities. This is the same infrastructure T-Mobile uses to connect smartphones.
The fixed wireless nature of the service means you’re more likely to experience fluctuating speeds throughout the day—or even the occasional outage.
“Sometimes [when I’m] streaming NBA games at night, the picture looks a little fuzzy. But that might be due to me living in a slightly more rural part of North Carolina,” says Rick Francis, a T-Mobile Internet customer.
A 5G internet connection might not be the best way to go if you live in an area with poor or unreliable cellular service—like a suburban subdivision on the outskirts of town or a rural area that gets harsh winds and storms during certain times of year. It’s also possible that your T-Mobile speeds could slow down during peak usage periods (like in the evenings). But you’ll likely be just fine if you live in an area where you get reliable phone service on a consistent basis.
Dollar value
4.8/5.0
T-Mobile Home Internet’s biggest selling point is the affordable price. Beyond this, T-Mobile 5G offers a straightforward billing experience without hidden fees or "fine print" surprises in its broadband fact labels.
On top of not locking customers into a contract (no early termination fees hanging over your head either), T-Mobile also offers a new 5-year price guarantee that gives you extra peace of mind when it comes to your internet monthly bills. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet provides a fixed rate with a lot of extra perks—including unlimited data and a $10 monthly discount when you bundle the service with a T-Mobile cellular plan. This competitive pricing model stands in stark contrast to the sometimes-confusing billing practices of cable internet providers, which tend to lure customers in with promotional prices only to hit them with hefty price hikes after a year or two.
Still, T-Mobile doesn’t offer the best internet deal you can get. You’re still going to get much more bang for your buck from a fiber internet provider if one is available in your area. Verizon Fios, AT&T Fiber, and Frontier offers faster speeds for less than T-Mobile: Verizon’s 300Mbps plan costs $49.99 a month with AutoPay, while AT&T’s 300Mbps plan is $55 a month. Fiber providers in general are able to offer much faster speeds than T-Mobile on a much more consistent basis. You also get symmetrical speeds that are a game changer for content creation, video calls, and remote work.
The rate of T-Mobile's $70 All-In Home Internet plan makes the carrier lose some of its edge against its cable competition as well. You can certainly find cheaper deals from a lot of cable internet providers, although, again, cable internet comes with price hikes and other hidden surprises that bring down the overall value of your service.
Customer experience
5.0/5.0
Considering it’s a new service, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet has performed remarkably well in customer satisfaction surveys. The provider swept to the top of HighSpeedInternet.com’s 2023 Customer Satisfaction Survey with leading scores in overall satisfaction and customer experience—in the process beating out major contenders like Xfinity and Verizon. T-Mobile also swept to the top of the American Customer Satisfaction Index for non-fiber internet providers, taking the highest rating from real customers, even above Verizon 5G Home Internet, AT&T Air, and all other cable internet providers.
The rave reviews likely have a lot to do with the fact that T-Mobile makes the customer experience a breeze from the moment you sign up. The 5G Gateway device you use to get the Wi-Fi flowing is basically a fixed wireless modem and router, and it comes at no extra cost. Setup is super easy—you literally just plug it in, download the T-Mobile app, and follow the instruction prompts from the app. Customers tell Reviews.org that it’s simple to get in touch with customer service, and technical issues can be resolved in a timely fashion.
“It’s always been easy to get to a real person on the phone when I call T-Mobile,” says Steve Abbott, who recently got set up with a 5G Home Internet plan to replace his dusty old DSL service that was available in his retirement community. “I had some questions when I first set up my home internet connection, and the agent I talked to had no problem answering them.”
How long it took to get a real human on the phone: We called T-Mobile’s customer service line to test how long it takes to talk to an actual person. On a Wednesday morning, the wait time to talk to an agent was about three minutes.
How the chat service is: The chat function is also useful. Although it starts out as a Virtual Assistant, you quickly get connected to a real person who is able to answer questions in a timely and straightforward manner.
Overall quality
4.6/5.0
T-Mobile Home Internet isn’t for everybody—big households and power users aren’t going to be fans of the service’s occasionally spotty, fixed wireless connection. But this is an excellent service for regular folks looking for a simple and affordable way to get Wi-Fi in their homes. The service can withstand even heavy duty gaming and streaming if you live in an area with reliable cell service. And you can’t beat the price (except in cases when you can get fiber in your area).
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: What deals and promotions can you get?
T-Mobile constantly offers internet deals. You can get a $15 monthly discount on your plan when you combine any T-Mobile 5G Home Internet plan with a T-Mobile cell phone plan. (In some cases, you can get up to a $20 monthly discount when you have one of the flagship unlimited plans—Go5G Next or Go5G Plus.)
Get $15 off T-Mobile internet per month
Sign up for T-Mobile 5G Home Internet and add on a qualifying T-Mobile phone plan to get this gobstopper of a discount.
T-Mobile add-ons and perks
Free trial
Try 5G Home Internet for 15 days, and get your money back if you decide not to sign up.
5-year price guarantee
Lock in the base rate of your internet or mobile plan for five years.
Get streaming
Sign up for 5G Home Internet to get a free trial of the following streaming services:
- ViX Premium for 1 year
- SiriusXM Streaming for 6 mos.
- Pandora Premium for 4 mos.
Free Hulu and Paramount+
Sign up for T-Mobile All-In Internet plan to get next-level benefits like a free Hulu and Paramount+ Essential subscription.
T-Mobile Tuesdays
Download the T-Mobile Tuesdays app to get the scoop on regular deals related to food, gas, entertainment.
What do customers think of T-Mobile 5G Home Internet?
Internet providers used to operate as monopolies in American cities—there would be one cable provider in town that everyone had to stick with. If you didn’t like the speeds or prices, you could take a walk. That situation has shifted a bit in recent years, and now T-Mobile 5G Home Internet stands as a sparkly alternative to the looming grasp of Big Internet.
Steve Abbott, a T-Mobile 5G Home Internet customer in Mission Viejo, California, tells Reviews.org in an interview that he and his wife were previously stuck with a DSL plan before their son set them up with T-Mobile Home Internet. DSL is an outdated connection type that runs over landline telephone cabling. Its bandwidth hits a max of 100Mbps, and users’ speeds are often much slower.
“Overall it’s pretty solid… But online gaming is rough.” —Jordan Rivera, a T-Mobile customer in Las Vegas
“We could barely stream Lakers and Dodger games, let alone shows on Netflix,” Abbott recalls. He calls 5G Home Internet a “get out of jail free card” because it vaulted his home Wi-Fi out of the DSL dungeon. “Took us from low-quality streaming on a single TV to being able to stream two different shows in two different rooms with high definition,” he says.
Austin Aguirre, a staff writer at HighSpeedInternet.com, subscribes to T-Mobile 5G Home Internet while also maintaining a cable internet connection at his home in Tucson, Arizona. He and his partner both work from home, so they mostly rely on T-Mobile as a backup plan in case their main connection goes out.
But his 5G connection has worked so well that he ended up connecting his XBox and PlayStation 5 permanently to his home T-Mobile network. “I've never experienced latency woes or lag outside of the norm while using T-Mobile as a primary gaming connection,” Aguirre says.
5G performance still patchy for some
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet isn’t a cakewalk for everybody. The service relies on a cellular connection that broadcasts over 5G transmitters, and the wireless setup means speeds can fluctuate unpredictably, especially in areas where a user’s cell service isn’t as strong.
“I honestly gave up trying to game on this internet,” says Jordan Rivera, a T-Mobile 5G Home Internet customer in Las Vegas, Nevada. He lives close to a 5G tower, but he consistently gets high ping spikes in Apex Legends. “I would die before knowing anything hit me. I mostly play single player games now, ha.”
“Overall it’s pretty solid, especially if you don’t have other options,” Rivera adds. “But online gaming is rough.”
Dani Ruiz, a former T-Mobile Home Internet customer in Southern California, used the service briefly while she and her partner were waiting for fiber lines to be installed on their block. They got great performance out of the 5G setup, but they recently switched from T-Mobile to a Google Fiber plan, which delivers significantly faster speeds and a more reliable connection for just $10 more a month.
“T-Mobile was great as an in-between option,” Ruiz says, “but once we got fiber lines installed, it made more sense to go with Google Fiber.”
Need to contact T-Mobile for customer service or tech support?
- You can chat with customer service anytime.
- For sales support, call 1-844-897-4265.
- For tech support, call 1-855-849-7314.
How does 5G Home Internet work?
T-Mobile broke into the internet game in March 2019 when it released an invitation-only pilot program using 4G LTE. In December, T-Mobile officially announced the availability of T-Mobile 5G Home Internet for the public.
By leveraging its cellular towers to establish fixed wireless connections, T-Mobile takes a unique approach to home internet compared to cable and fiber internet providers. The service is a bit nimbler than older, better-established providers—5G internet doesn’t require a massive buildup of underground infrastructure. And setup is easy for customers as well because all you need to get it working is a Wi-Fi gateway that you plug into the wall.
That nimbleness and simplicity has been a big selling point since its original launch. As part of its marketing strategy, T-Mobile has in particular sought to pull customers away from cable internet providers like Xfinity and Spectrum by offering competitive prices and doing away with cumbersome terms like installation fees and data caps. And its new 5-year price guarantee adds an extra layer of peace of mind and financial stability on its internet and mobile plans. The service is also helpful for users in rural areas, who may have limited access to traditional internet connections.
“We launched T-Mobile 5G Home Internet to bring a reliable, affordable alternative to traditional broadband—and largely, to give people choice,” Katie Brinton, a T-Mobile spokesperson, tells Reviews.org. “Internet is relied on for so much, yet many people have limited choices for internet providers, or even no choice at all.”
But what is 5G? It’s the fifth generation of wireless technology, first launched in 2018. It initially received a ton of hype. Industry experts and media outlets claimed that it would be able to offer speeds 100 times faster than 4G and latency of 5ms or lower—enabling a futuristic level of worldwide connectivity.
Once launched, however, many mobile 5G users were unimpressed, reporting stagnant speeds and underperformance. Indeed, 5G has yet to power self-driving cars and automated factories as was originally promised. But 5G internet has been a hit, with T-Mobile and Verizon both getting rave reviews for their 5G internet services in major surveys like HighSpeedInternet.com's Customer Satisfaction survey.
Have thoughts about home internet?
We’re eager to hear from internet customers about their experiences with their home Wi-Fi. Contact us at info@reviews.org to share your thoughts, recommendations, and hot tips.
Where is T-Mobile 5G Home Internet available?
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is available in 49 states, including Hawaii. Currently, T-Mobile offers the service on a city-by-city basis, but you can check our list of T-Mobile's top cities or enter your zip code below to see if your city qualifies.
Run a search to see if you can get T-Mobile 5G Home Internet
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet vs. the competition
Provider | Plan | Monthly price | Download speed | Data cap | Details |
| AT&T Internet Air | AT&T Internet Air | $60/mo.† | Up to 300 Mbps | Unlimited |
Check Availability
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-Mobile | Rely Internet | $50/mo. w/ AutoPay* | Up to 245 Mbps | Unlimited |
Check Availability
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| T-Mobile | Amplified Internet | $60/mo. w/ AutoPay* | Up to 245 Mbps | Unlimited |
Check Availability
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| Verizon 5G Home Internet | 5G Home | $50/mo. w/ AutoPay‡ | Up to 300 Mbps | Unlimited |
Check Availability
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| Google Fiber | 1 Gig | $70/mo.^ | Up to 1000 Mbps | Unlimited |
Check Availability
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Check Availability
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†
$60/mo after $5 discount when enrolled in Autopay. Paperless billing req’d. Not available in NY. Monthly State Cost Recovery Charge in TX, OH, NV applies. . Service subj. to Internet Terms of Service at att.com/internet-terms. Offers may be modified, or discontinued, at any time without notice. Other conditions may apply to all offers. Speeds based on wired connection. Actual speeds may vary. For more info, go to www.att.com/speed101.
*
with AutoPay, taxes and fees included.
‡
w/ Auto Pay. Consumer data usage is subject to the usage restrictions set forth in Verizon's terms of service; visit: https://www.verizon.com/support/customer-agreement/ for more information about 5G Home and LTE Home Internet or https://www.verizon.com/about/terms-conditions/verizon-customer-agreement for Fios internet.
^
Plus taxes and fees. Upload/download speed and device streaming claims are based on maximum wired speeds. Actual Internet speeds are not guaranteed and may vary based on factors such as hardware and software limitations, latency, packet loss, etc.
The big question you want to ask with T-Mobile is whether it can top any of the better-established internet brands available where you live. Simply put, the 5G home internet service can’t hold a candle to fiber internet. AT&T, Verizon, Google Fiber, and the like are capable of delivering much more bandwidth (including gigabit and even multi-gig speeds), while the prices are equal or even lesser than what you pay for T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. Fiber internet providers also tend to offer similar perks to T-Mobile, such as unlimited data and no fees for installation or equipment.
T-Mobile fares better against cable internet providers. Although prices for Xfinity or Spectrum may look cheaper than T-Mobile up front, you also have to factor in extra fees for equipment and installation and price hikes that pop up like an angry Jack in the Box after a year or two when your promotional rates expire. You can get much simpler service from T-Mobile, with quicker setup and easier pricing terms.
As for rural services like DSL and satellite internet, well, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is obviously the better pick. It’s also a better option than many rural fixed wireless providers, which essentially use the same technology but may have higher prices and stricter data limitations. 5G is mostly available in cities and metropolitan areas, but if you can get T-Mobile 5G Home Internet in a small town or rural region, it’s well worth trying.
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet FAQ
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet gets between 72Mbps–245Mbps download speeds and 15–31Mbps upload speeds. The speed can slow down during peak usage periods. You may also notice you experience occasional outages or your speeds fluctuate throughout the day. This is because T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is a wireless service, which isn’t as stable as a wired connection like cable or fiber.
The downside of T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is that speeds are maxed out at 245Mbps, so users who download and upload a lot of content will find that the speed might not meet their needs. However, you can’t beat the price, so if you live in an area with reliable cell service, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet should do the job.
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is worth it for people who want an affordable internet service with easy set-up. It’s not as reliable as fiber or cable, but if you don’t want to be locked into a term contract, it’s a great flexible option.
Your T-Mobile 5G internet might be slow during peak usage periods, like evenings. This can be especially noticeable if you’re engaged in an activity that uses a lot of data, like video calls, streaming or downloading files. You may also have slower speeds if you use more than 1.2TB of data per month, due to data prioritization.
Want T-Mobile 5G Home Internet? Find it in your area
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is available all over the country. Enter your zip code below to make sure that you can get T-Mobile 5G in your area.
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