T mobile Internet

chuckbear wrote:
If the OP is referring to the HomeInternet service, this is NOT a hotspot. It is a high speed modem for home use only. It can not be moved. We have just signed up for it but have not yet received the equipment. It does not have data caps and is not throttled. Speeds are supposed to range from 50 to 100 mbps. Chuck

This is what I got, but since we have a bad signal, it is in and out. I'm taking it back.

Thinking about getting a cell booster for the house, then I will try again. Only problem is a good cell booster is about $1K... Not sure I want to pay that much to still have the issues that come with a cell modem.

LouLawrence wrote:
A mobile hotspot should get the exact same signal in the exact same location as your Home system got.

Not completely accurate unless you're comparing apples with apples. Home Internet router is 5G. Even at the lowest low-band reception, 5G mobile data speeds are up to 200Mbps on T-Mobile network, and the signal can span hundred square miles. The closer you are to the tower, the faster the speeds. Still faster than 4G.

The Home Internet router also has a larger built-in antenna than any portable hotspot device. I'm getting just 3-bar signal to my router though within 2-miles from the 5G tower accessing mid-band speeds.

If the OP is referring to the HomeInternet service, this is NOT a hotspot. It is a high speed modem for home use only. It can not be moved. We have just signed up for it but have not yet received the equipment. It does not have data caps and is not throttled. Speeds are supposed to range from 50 to 100 mbps. Chuck

Don't get me wrong, I have had T-Mobile for years. My post was about Alexandria, VA (and certainly nowhere in Canada). Your speed results there don't change the facts here.

LouLawrence wrote:
Just for fun, went to Fast.com. This appears to be a fairly worthless site. It shows internet speed of 1.3Mbps but no indication of upload or download but it does confirm the crappy service considering the phone is showing a 5G icon.
I prefer Speedtest.net and testmy.net.

You can change the settings for it to do upload, download and latency (ping).

I just tested from Regina, SK:

23 mb/s download; unloaded latency 52 ms; loaded latency 553 ms; upload speed 27 mb/s

Client Edmonton, CA 174.90.223.194 Bell Canada
Server(s) Toronto, CA | Scarborough, CA

90 MB download; 30 MG upload.

Just for fun, went to Fast.com. This appears to be a fairly worthless site. It shows internet speed of 1.3Mbps but no indication of upload or download but it does confirm the crappy service considering the phone is showing a 5G icon.
I prefer Speedtest.net and testmy.net.

To find out what? The service is terrible. No test will change that.

LouLawrence wrote:
We are now in Alexandria, VA and have run into the worst T-Mobile we have seen anywhere in our travels. The icon shows 4G and 5G but often websites won't even open. Terrible!

Try a speed test at fast.com

We are now in Alexandria, VA and have run into the worst T-Mobile we have seen anywhere in our travels. The icon shows 4G and 5G but often websites won't even open. Terrible!

Slightly off topic, but for my Winegard Connect2 4G-LTE, this summer I switched to T-Mobile, got their 100 gigs for $50/month plan, which is no longer offered, but I'm grandfathered in.
I had the first sim card fail,and they replaced it. Last month we took it to Estes Park Colorado, the Mighty 5 National Parks in Utah where we had coverage. We then boondocked just south of the Grand Canyon where we had no coverage (but their map shows it does). Overall, I like it.
JK