T-Mobile Home Internet Gateway - Replacement Isssues

[dkoldman]

There is distinction of T Mobile coverage areas versus areas they do not wish to sell Home Internet Services due to Capacity issues etc.. Home Internet users will consume a lot of bandwidth thus they frown when you take the devices mobile.

Two years ago, they did not have Home Internet at my mom's, but they do now. Her AT& T DSL is just beyond horrible. My T-Mobile Home Internet works there with 4 bars. She can get it now, but she loses her direct tv deal and not sure she is ready to switch to You Tube TV.

I don't know what part of Kansas you may be in, but I bet my T Mobile phone & Home Internet work there unless you are 50 miles in the middle of nothing but farm land?

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by happy

What steps do full time RVer's take to get T-Mobile Home Internet?

If you tell them that, they are not going to sell you their Home Internet, rather a Mobile Hotspot package.

So don't tell them that and just provide the home address that you use for the account that has a registered T Mobile phone.

So Only 1 Prerequisite Step.

1. Get T Mobile Phone and Account (if that address is not offering Home Internet services you must wait or get another Phone with an address that is

[happy]

We are in the heart of rural farmland.....land spreading out so far and wide, keep manhatten but give me that country side......sorry to digress into song.

We have kids in T-Mobile areas.....huummmm maybe need to get a phone from there.

There is a $50 Home Internet Only plan. And that T-Mobile home Box....that Judge is trying to replace is the device that gets Home Internet no matter where the box is traveling?

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by happy

We are in the heart of rural farmland.....land spreading out so far and wide, keep manhatten but give me that country side......sorry to digress into song.

Oh and I must be that Mr. Haney guy

We have kids in T-Mobile areas.....huummmm maybe need to get a phone from there.

There is a $50 Home Internet Only plan. And that T-Mobile home Box....that Judge is trying to replace is the device that gets Home Internet no matter where the box is traveling?

Yes, the Judge is providing heads up that a pattern may be forming that the boxes may fail. He and the Scuba have had failures. I have not had any issues, but the Black boxes do draw more amps (3); than my electric Makita air compressor (2.8). Maybe they plugging them in wrong, or only have 1/3 tank of fresh water

Question:

1. Are you saying you can't get a T Mobile phone at your Home address?
2. Can your kids use their T Mobile phones at your home
3. Do your kids already have a T Mobile black box?

Note: T Mobile is able to track the devices and they know if you are using on the move, but as long as it is at the permanent address most of the time you should be okay. Using an address that you are rarely at will raise flags. My guess is 4 - 6 weeks at the same non registered address may get you flagged? But if you are moving around I doubt they will ever flag especially if you eventually get it to home address or have service placed on hold. 2 weeks is the longest I have gone at fixed address other than my account address.

[happy]

Mr Haney....how much do you charge for the advice you are doling out to me?

We can not get T-Mobile at our home address according to T-Mobile.
Our kids live in an area that T-Mobile services but they do not have T-Mobile. My wondering is about me getting a phone etc and Black Box from their address, but based on the last post... sounds as if T-Mobile would catch on.

I like to kick options around but it is looking as if we need to be patient for T or VZ to bring their Home internet to our area or use Star Link.

[16ACE27]

You can have T-Mobile service at your home address but that doesn't mean your address would qualify for their Home Internet plan as they only allow it if your home address is in their 5G zone. The device would still work ad it falls back to 4G, but they don't really want that bandwidth on their 4G network.

Others have opened a Home Internet account using their kids/parents address that DOES qualify for the 5G zone and then just used the device in their 4G house area or in their RV.

[ducksface]

I went star link.
Tmobile had been a bit smarmy in the past.
They have now overloaded a tower circuit near me so bad it goes to 260k speeds at peak. Travel negates this tower of course...until they oversell other/every tower.
But
It's easy to swap carriers if they do do this.

Relatedly;
The places that Star link says they've yet to have service, is their mobile plan a viable workaround to get home service where home service isn't yet in the plan map?



Star link is comparatively stupid expense wise.
But
They don't employ transient child-minds at consumer stores.

[happy]

I wish we had some other service to turn to. We can not get any home internet except Hughes and our phone carrier's package that they will not sell without land line all bundled in. So hence my asking 1,000 questions.

There is some vague (at least for me) FCC info that they must sell internet service as a stand alone item. When this was discussed they said that that was internet at greatly reduced speeds and would not allow for business activity or streaming. I do not like pulling out my hair so I politely said thanks and hung up. But their service won't get us anything when traveling and that is our main concern. May have to try T-Mobile with our kids address and see what happens.

We do not have any 5G service here either. But it is coming we have been told. You all will have 7G by the time we get 5G......but I do love living out in the sticks.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by happy

when traveling and that is our main concern. May have to try T-Mobile with our kids address and see what happens.

We do not have any 5G service here either. But it is coming we have been told. You all will have 7G by the time we get 5G......but I do love living out in the sticks.

That is what the kiddos are far. Heck you should even get 30 days free so you can return it if you don't like. It is also month to month so it is essentially ZERO risk, even though it is not Duck approved.

In regard to 7g...

7g is not expected until the late 2030s, 7G will deliver space roaming at extremely high data rates utilizing satellites that are already in operation, such as those for global navigation, photography, etc. so it will actually be better than Starlink

But for you to be Happy; I can make you a one time deal, for a mere $25/min; I can get you signed up to 7g service right now, but you may have to climb a telephone pole to access the 7g receiver and you will need to buy a log truck trailer if you wish to go mobile. Just send me the payment for the 1st month and I can get you started.

Signed Mr. Dk Haney

[Chateau_Nomad]

Funny watching folks play musical chairs with the three cell tower providers and their protected markets. Some third party comes along and leases bandwidth - which has to come at someone else's expense. Then the music starts and everyone switches "chairs".

Then Starlink... phenomenal concept with superb results... so far. At least until all the city dwellers nearby sign up, then it's back to bandwidth reality... and endless pricing packages that change every full moon.

The real winners will ultimately be those far away from the network congestion... but at a price. Let's see how long the "pause" feature lasts.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

Funny watching folks play musical chairs with the three cell tower providers and their protected markets. Some third party comes along and leases bandwidth - which has to come at someone else's expense. Then the music starts and everyone switches "chairs".

Then Starlink... phenomenal concept with superb results... so far. At least until all the city dwellers nearby sign up, then it's back to bandwidth reality... and endless pricing packages that change every full moon.

The real winners will ultimately be those far away from the network congestion... but at a price. Let's see how long the "pause" feature lasts.

You mean like Netflix when they offer simple service pick a DVD and they shipped it right away up to your limit, but the giant Blockbuster would wait a few days until a previous DVD would return, so what did we do, we stopped going to blockbuster every Friday to rent a new movie, buy old DVDs that were for sale, the popcorn and candy that the kids just had to have, and so when Blockbuster see customers leaving by the droves they try to buy Netflix out in failed hostile takeover, so Netflix go to streaming the Blockbuster movies bragging multiple profiles in the home to share the account putting Blockbuster out of business. Now Netflix is trying their best to eliminate password sharing to see production films that is usually just some Netflix created production or shows.

It is free enterprise and I love it. Netflix has one foot out of the door. Don't be surprised if YouTubeTV doesn't buy or Partner with one of the 5G companies and offer 5G as a free commodity to access their content. For a while I was getting YouTube TV for $10 off because I had T Mobile Home internet. In a year or two, YouTube TV will cost more than the cable companies for the same channels, the difference is Quality and Customer Service.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

Then Starlink... phenomenal concept with superb results... so far. At least until all the city dwellers nearby sign up, then it's back to bandwidth reality... and endless pricing packages that change every full moon.

Bandwidth is a bit overblown by people......

Bandwidth availability concerns because everyone is jumping on the train is just failing into the hype trap in my opinion. Everyone wants more speed.... including the providers so they can all charge us more..... but how much more useable speed does one really need?

I use Starlink and T-Mobile Home. Starlink can provide 100+Mbps and T-Mobile 200+Mbps depending on the connections.

In certain situations I may only get 20 - 30Mbps from either service but that is still more than enough to stream TV and movies without any buffering or video degradation.

I actually use my old Winegard ConnecT2 and its paltry 2.4Ghz WiFi as the common connection to my Smart TV's and onboard cameras so they always use the same SSID whether I am on Starlink or T-Mobile as my source.

I stream TV and movies as well as real-time video feeds from the coach on the limited bandwidth the Winegard provides without any issues at all..... whether I am getting the 100 - 200Mbps or the 20 - 30Mbps from Starlink or T-Mobile.

As long as the provider networks are solid.... don't drop their connections... and have enough access points for the number of attempted connections for a given location..... then bandwidth is not really that big of a deal.

To prove my point...... I'm in Tucson on our way to Alaska so Vroom can replace an LCI motor that has a bad encoder (the only downside with the Vroom Slide System is the motor is more difficult to swap out so I figured I would let them do it since I was coming out this way).

I'm sitting in a Hampton Inn and according to Fast.com the speed is 13Mbs. My wife and I are having no issues surfing the web or getting email.... and I can stream videos without any issues as well.


So even if everyone and their brother jumps on the train at the same time and available speed drops from 200Mbps to 13Mbps, you still will be able to do most things... as long as it is built on a solid network. The providers want you to think it is a big deal so you pay more for faster speeds.... that you probably don't even need in many cases.

[HMCSW]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

Funny watching folks play musical chairs with the three cell tower providers and their protected markets. Some third party comes along and leases bandwidth - which has to come at someone else's expense. Then the music starts and everyone switches "chairs".

Then Starlink... phenomenal concept with superb results... so far. At least until all the city dwellers nearby sign up, then it's back to bandwidth reality... and endless pricing packages that change every full moon.

The real winners will ultimately be those far away from the network congestion... but at a price. Let's see how long the "pause" feature lasts.

We live in a semi rural area so even if everyone is on Starlink we have great speed. Getting even better over time as more sats go up. We take it with us when traveling and have always had better coverage than any of the cell we tried. We have only traveled in WA,OR,ID,MT,UT,CA,NV, and AZ. So don't know about east of that and no plans on going east so it works for us.

[happy]

I'm so happy Judge's black box broke so we can have this conversation.
Internet has become a part of most of our lives. Having a reliable source on the road can range from being entertaining to finding sources of help when in trouble. So said the man preaching to the choir..

Thank you all for allowing me to ask my questions. I believe we will try for a T-M box work around of some sort and see how it goes.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by HMCSW

We take it with us when traveling and have always had better coverage than any of the cell we tried.

I don't have Starlink and never looked to get, but what is the $600 equipment? I mean how big is it, is it truly portable?


I assumed for $600 it had to be pretty big and heavy I have put my Black Box device in my laptop bag and carried with me. I can set up any place.

Again, the only advantage I can see of Starlink is it may be in an area where no 5g exist. If so; and you need Internet there, you have no choice but Starlink. You pay 3 times as much for the privilege.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

I don't have Starlink and never looked to get, but what is the $600 equipment? I mean how big is it, is it truly portable?


I assumed for $600 it had to be pretty big and heavy I have put my Black Box device in my laptop bag and carried with me. I can set up any place.

Again, the only advantage I can see of Starlink is it may be in an area where no 5g exist. If so; and you need Internet there, you have no choice but Starlink. You pay 3 times as much for the privilege.

Plenty of videos on Starlink updates, newer equipment and pricing. Other than the price, Starlink is pretty much king for anywhere internet.

5G was originally intended as a solution to dropout areas around and in large buildings in large metro areas. The range is too short to be relevant in wide open spaces. The distance between transmitter and receiver is a huge factor.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

Plenty of videos on Starlink updates, newer equipment and pricing. Other than the price, Starlink is pretty much king for anywhere internet.

5G was originally intended as a solution to dropout areas around and in large buildings in large metro areas. The range is too short to be relevant in wide open spaces. The distance between transmitter and receiver is a huge factor.

Tell me about it, we seem to all agree and be saying the same thing.

When all things are equal the price of Starlink is through the roof.
When you live or travel in area(s) with no 5g you have no choice but Starlink or nothing.

In my Use Cases, travels from Florida to Colorado, I have never knowingly been in area where 5G was NOT available. If it were not available and I need it I would paying the outlandish prices too, just like I was willing to pay the $480/year for the T Mobile Black box, because I got tired of relying on someone else's Wifi or my limited data on hotspot from my phone.

I truly believe it is not a 5G vs Satellite thing, but how to get the service you need at lowest cost? I am not about to buy Satellite; new tires, solar, lithium and TPMS would be in front on my list. I was just curious as to what do you get for $600? I mean do you own it, if it fails do you have to buy another etc.

I promise, the 1st day I travel somewhere and get no 5G Service, I will create a new thread.

Just so you know, plenty of wide open spaces between Dallas and Houston, Dallas and Memphis. We have driven with TV streaming the full trip and never lost a signal. But again, I am not trying to say 5G has broader coverage like Satellite, it does not. I am just saying a lot of people don't need to pay the outlandish Satellite cost for the additional areas they may gain as they may never need or know they needed over 5G.

[Dan-sr@perra-us.net]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

Plenty of videos on Starlink updates, newer equipment and pricing. Other than the price, Starlink is pretty much king for anywhere internet.

5G was originally intended as a solution to dropout areas around and in large buildings in large metro areas. The range is too short to be relevant in wide open spaces. The distance between transmitter and receiver is a huge factor.

That does not apply to all carriers. T-Mobile uses frequency's that work better for longer distances. From my personal experience I belong to an archery club situated on 80 acres. The nearest cell tower is at least 7000 feet away. This to me qualifies as "wide open spaces." There are maybe 60 houses within a 1 mile radius, so no incentive to add towers. When I still had 4G service I got no reception on the property. When I got my T-Mobile 5G phone I found that I have a 5G connection in places where 4G never worked. I still run into people are surprised that I get reception at the club property.

[dkoldman]

Numbers don't lie....

During Q2 earnings last year, T-Mobile announced that it now has more than 1.5 million Home Internet customers, making it the fastest growing broadband provider for the third quarter in a row. Now, more than 40 million households – a third of them in rural America – are eligible for 5G Home Internet. Sep 6, 2022

In the third quarter of 2022, T-Mobile welcomed its two millionth internet customer, doubling its total number of customers in just six months, making T-Mobile the fastest growing internet provider for the last four quarters in a row. It's clear FWA is taking a bite out of Big Internet, growing by more than 70% across all providers since Q1 of this year. In fact, over the last year, the broadband industry’s growth has come almost entirely from fixed wireless. And that shift is expected to continue. T-Mobile and Verizon are expected to have 11 to 13 million total FWA customers by the end of 2025.

As a kid we had a Dog named Smoke, when he died we got another one; we named him Fire. We always say "where there is Smoke, there is Fire."

Our son had to go to Puerto Rico yesterday (work related). We don't have International Data plans or packs. So I called T Mobile to see how much it would cost for phone, text, internet etc., and after about 15 mins the agent said, "you know what... you been a good customer, how about we add a 10 day International Plan it will cost $35; but I can give you a $35 credit"

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Dan-sr@perra-us.net

That does not apply to all carriers. T-Mobile uses frequency's that work better for longer distances. From my personal experience I belong to an archery club situated on 80 acres. The nearest cell tower is at least 7000 feet away. This to me qualifies as "wide open spaces." There are maybe 60 houses within a 1 mile radius, so no incentive to add towers. When I still had 4G service I got no reception on the property. When I got my T-Mobile 5G phone I found that I have a 5G connection in places where 4G never worked. I still run into people are surprised that I get reception at the club property.

They are using a lower frequency in the spectrum. The 5G that's touted uses a very high frequency, which is extremely fast and can carry significantly more data. The physics of radio waves dictates that the higher the frequency, the shorter distance the signal travels... about 1,000 feet for TRUE 5G. The "5G" that's being advertised is a hybrid using lower frequencies - which comes with the trade-offs of slower data, less data saturation, but with greater range.

While nearly everything the carriers are calling "5G" is superior to 4G (except for signal range), it is NOT a replacement for 4G... unless you can convince telecoms to erect transceivers every 1/2 mile. Once you get out of the big city and off the freeway (like most national parks) the 5G, along with other cell service disappears.