T-Mobile Home Internet plans

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet options

T-Mobile Home Internet review

With the launch of T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet service, the company has become one of the fastest growing internet service providers (ISPs) in the U.S. In fact, fixed wireless internet is in demand right now.

Wondering how T-Mobile internet works? The company utilizes a wireless 5G Gateway to deliver 5G Home Internet to your home, with very easy plug-and-play equipment.

T-Mobile pricing

T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet service is one of the most affordable internet plans available at just $40/mo. with AutoPay and mobile plan bundle options. The service is $60/mo. as a standalone if you don’t bundle your cell plan with T-Mobile.

5G download and upload speeds

With T-Mobile 5G you’ll get download speeds up to 245 Mbps and upload speeds up to 31 Mbps. Keep in mind that these are max speeds, so they will likely vary based on your location.

Speeds are more erratic than traditional broadband connections because your speed largely depends on your proximity to a 5G tower, but it should be plenty for most households.

T-Mobile Home Internet bundles

If you bundle a T-Mobile phone line with T-Mobile’s Home Internet plan, you can get up to $20/mo. off your bill. The internet + mobile discount is available for customers who bundle the Go5G, Go5G Next, Go5G Plus, Magenta, Magenta MAX or Essentials phone plan with a home internet plan. 

T-Mobile Wireless phone plans

T-Mobile’s standalone cell phone plans start range from $60 – $270/mo., depending on how many lines you add.

Best T-Mobile Wi-Fi deals

As mentioned above, you can save up to $20/mo. if you bundle a mobile plan with T-Mobile Home Internet.

When you bundle T-Mobile Home Internet with any voice line, you can get a free 6-month Apple TV+ subscription. When you bundle internet with Go5G Next, Go5G Plus or Magenta® MAX, you’ll get internet for $40/mo., T-Mobile Tuesdays perks, a free Netflix subscription and a free Apple TV+ subscription.

T-Mobile often offers deals and promotions like these with its internet plans, so make sure to check out the best internet deals for the month so you can get perks with your internet purchase. 

T-Mobile internet coverage

T-Mobile’s 5G network is one of the most widely available fixed wireless networks with availability stretching across all 50 states. T-Mobile 5G internet serves 60% of the U.S., with the most complete coverage in the East and Midwest.

In late 2023, T-Mobile expanded its 5G home internet option to 99% of Utah, with plans to continue expansion throughout the Western states of Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho and Arizona. See if T-Mobile home internet is available in your state.

Fiber and cable are the most available types of internet, with fixed wireless providers like T-Mobile, Verizon, Starry and AT&T growing steadily.

T-Mobile internet contracts, equipment and fees

T-Mobile equipment

T-Mobile’s Gateway device took about 10 minutes to set up and was extremely simple. This is one of the biggest appeals of T-Mobile internet compared to a traditional provider: You won’t have to worry about scheduling an appointment with a technician or expensive installation fees.

The Gateway device is a gray cylinder about 8.5 inches tall with a small touchscreen on the top. It has two LAN ports, a USB-C port, a power jack, a port for UPS devices and an RJ-11 port for landline telephones. Oddly, T-Mobile says the UPS and RJ-11 ports don’t work. To set up internet, you download the app on your phone, which walks you through creating your Wi-Fi network.

No contracts or fees

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet has no hidden fees or contracts. You won’t be hit with early termination fees. Other providers often add extra charges that inflate the monthly rate. Those can include broadcast fees, equipment fees and others.

T-Mobile Home Internet vs. top competitors

T-Mobile home internet is generally cheaper than plans from competitors — but its competitors provide faster speeds. Spectrum, for example, charges less than T-Mobile at $49.99 for faster speeds of 300 Mbps.

When comparing prices below, keep in mind that T-Mobile internet includes all taxes and fees in its price. In most cases, you can expect to pay around $10-15 more per month than what’s listed from most providers for equipment fees and taxes.

*With AutoPay. Regularly $60/mo. That’s a savings of $10/mo. via bill credits for the life of your new Home Internet line.
Pricing per month plus taxes for length of contract. Additional fees and terms may apply. Pricing varies by location and availability. All prices subject to change at any time. May or may not be available based on service address. As of 04/18/24.
**Wireless speeds may vary.

My experience with T-Mobile 5G Internet

T-Mobile sent me its Wi-Fi Gateway device soon after it launched in early April 2021, and I began testing it soon after. In addition to running dozens of speed tests daily, I logged onto Zoom meetings, streamed live TV and connected my smart home devices — in short, everything I’d normally use the internet for.

There were a couple of bumpy moments. Two Zoom meetings glitched bad enough that I had to frantically switch back to my cable internet connection after it started — something that’s never happened with my cable internet. But aside from those two hiccups, I had no issues over my three weeks of testing the service.

Major caveat: I live alone and don’t do a ton of bandwidth-intensive activities like online gaming and 4K streaming. T-Mobile’s Home Internet was enough speed for me, but if you have a few people using the internet at once, it might not cut it. 

Download speed varied wildly, but it was usually enough

On its site, T-Mobile says it “anticipates” download speeds over 100 Mbps for some customers – up to 245 Mbps, but no household should see anything below 25 Mbps consistently. 

This was largely true. Over our three weeks of testing, I only saw download speeds dip below that 25 Mbps threshold a few times, and the lowest download speed I recorded was 19.5 Mbps. 

The T-Mobile home internet speed was more up and down than my Xfinity cable internet connection. I recorded download speeds between 19.5 Mbps and 135 Mbps with T-Mobile, while Xfinity stayed between 41 and 119 Mbps. Xfinity’s speeds were a lot more consistent, usually hovering around 115 Mbps, while T-Mobile’s often jumped up or down by 40 Mbps every half hour.

While download speeds were all over the map, T-Mobile’s upload speeds were consistently great. They averaged 54 Mbps over my three weeks of testing — 10 times higher than what I was getting with my cable internet in the same period. If you’re going to be uploading data from multiple devices at once, T-Mobile might be worth the price of admission for that alone. 

Router lacks advanced features

One complaint about the T-Mobile Wi-Fi Gateway is that it lacks some of the advanced features you’ll find on many higher-end wireless routers. You can choose between 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, but there are no clear parental controls, port forwarding or VPN options. That said, you can disconnect devices from the Gateway, and even schedule them to disconnect automatically at certain times.

You can’t take it on the go: Wi-Fi disabled with battery use

The T-Mobile Gateway has a 5,000 mAh battery, which might lead you to believe it’s designed for mobile use. But unfortunately, Wi-Fi and Ethernet are disabled while using the battery. 

Here’s what a T-Mobile rep told us: “The gateway may be used on battery power during setup to help you find a location with the best signal strength, but it is not designed to support a Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection on battery power only.”

It is still much easier to move around than a traditional modem/router combo. If you’re going to be working in another room of the house, for example, you can simply unplug the power adapter and take it wherever you need. 

If you are a T-Mobile phone customer, you can get T-Mobile Wi-Fi through your mobile hotspot wherever you have network connectivity.

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T-Mobile 5G internet takeaway

How well T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet service works largely depends on your proximity to its cell towers and whether you have anything obstructing its signal around your home. In many cities, fiber and cable internet providers will still provide a more reliable connection, but they’re also usually more expensive than T-Mobile’s $60/mo. rate with AutoPay. 

Where T-Mobile internet can really be an upgrade is in rural areas where broadband isn’t as readily available. Compared to DSL or satellite internet, T-Mobile is an absolute game changer. It should provide enough speed for streaming, gaming and working from home in most areas, and you won’t have to worry about contracts. T-Mobile does have a data cap: if you exceed 1.2 terabytes, you might get your speed throttled, however.

Unfortunately, because fixed wireless internet is so location-dependent, the only way to really know what kind of speed and reliability you’re going to get is to try out T-Mobile internet for yourself. With no installation fees or contracts, the only thing you have to lose is the time it takes to order and set up. 

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T-Mobile Home Internet FAQs

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