T-Mobile Home Internet

The T-Mobile 5G Home Internet plan

Plan name	Speeds up to	Connection type	Price
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet	245 Mbps	Wireless Reliability Moderate	$50/mo. Pricing breakdown	Check with T-Mobile Or call Or give us a call (844) 451-2720

• T-Mobile 5G Home Internet

  Speeds up to

  245 Mbps

  Contract length

  None

  Connection type

  Wireless

  Rating

  Moderate

  Plan cost

  $50/mo.

  Pricing breakdown

  Check with T-Mobile

  Or give us a call

  ---

  (844) 451-2720

Pricing breakdown

Plan cost: A price breakdown isn’t readily available.

Equipment fees: Information unavailable.

T-Mobile 5G 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.

Pricing

T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet service is one of the most affordable internet plans available at just $50/mo. with AutoPay, with taxes included. T-Mobile has just one internet-only plan and no price hikes or fees – you are locked into the price you sign up for.

One of the biggest draws of T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet service is that simplistic pricing. While most internet providers include a slew of hidden fees that make your first bill a surprise no matter what, T-Mobile’s plan is appealingly inclusive: $50/mo., all taxes and fees included. (Well, almost — that price does include a $10/mo. autopay discount.) What’s more, your price won’t ever go up. T-Mobile locks you into whatever you’re paying when you sign up.

For existing T-Mobile customers, promotions are available for bundling your current cellphone plan with T-Mobile internet.

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 rating

Allconnect Rating

3.85 / out of 5 stars

This score is based off of the 1 plans T-Mobile Home has available

Rating breakdown

• Affordability

  4.63 / 5

• Performance

  3.20 / 5

• Value

  2.98 / 5

• Customer satisfaction

  4.55 / 5

How we calculated our rating

T-Mobile contracts, equipment and fees

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.

Contracts and fees

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet has no hidden fees or contracts. You won’t be hit with early termination fees.

T-Mobile Home Internet bundles

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

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. 

Best T-Mobile deals

Like we mentioned above, you can save up to $20/mo. if you bundle a mobile plan with T-Mobile Home Internet. T-Mobile often offers deals and promotions 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 Home Internet coverage

T-Mobile’s 5G network is one of the most widely available fixed wireless networks with availability stretching across all 50 states. Right now, T-Mobile 5G serves 75% of the U.S. and is still expanding. See if T-Mobile home internet is available in your state.

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 08/09/23.
**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.

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 $50/mo. flat 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 data caps or contracts.

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. 

T-Mobile Internet FAQs

Does T-Mobile Home Internet offer TV service?

No, you won’t be able to bundle TV and internet service with T-Mobile, but it is currently partnering with YouTube TV to get you $10 off the live TV streaming service each month for as long as you’re a T-Mobile subscriber. You’ll get more than 85 channels with YouTube TV, including almost all of the popular news, sports and entertainment networks. But if you’d rather keep TV and internet all under one bill, you might be better off with a more traditional provider.

Where is T-Mobile 5G Home Internet available?

In April 2021, T-Mobile launched its 5G Home Internet service to 634 metro areas around the U.S., providing coverage to over 30 million homes — immediately making it one of the largest internet service providers by service area in the country.

Check your address on T-Mobile’s website to see if your home has access. In general, if T-Mobile’s wireless network is available in your area, you’ll probably be able to get its internet service, too.

How does T-Mobile 5G Home Internet work?

Where most home internet connections in the U.S. utilize wired infrastructure, T-Mobile’s is what’s called fixed wireless. These connections are usually much slower than fiber and cable internet, and you often have to deal with stingy data caps. But with its investment in the latest 5G technology, T-Mobile home internet speed is about what you’d get through traditional broadband providers.

While it’s not a huge step up from these connections — and in our testing it was a little less consistent than cable — it could be a big difference maker in rural areas. In these communities, slower DSL and satellite internet providers are often the only options. Compared to these, T-Mobile’s new service is an enormous upgrade.

Unfortunately, T-Mobile internet speed varies a ton depending on where you live, so the only way to know how well it works is to try it — something that most internet users probably aren’t thrilled to do.

How fast is T-Mobile 5G internet?

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet offers download speeds up to 245 Mbps and upload speeds up to 31 Mbps. The speed you receive with T-Mobile will largely depend on your proximity to a 5G tower, so you should expect speeds to vary.

What’s the total cost of T-Mobile home internet?

T-Mobile internet is a flat price of $50/mo., with taxes and fees included. If you are an existing T-Mobile customer, you can bundle your current mobile phone plan with T-Mobile 5G Home Internet for a cheaper price.

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Written by:

Joe Supan

Principal Writer, Broadband Content

Joe Supan is a principal writer for Allconnect and CNET. He has helped build the proprietary metrics used on Allconnect’s review pages, utilizing thousands of data points to help readers navigate these complex… Read more

Edited by:

Robin Layton

Editor, Broadband Content

Read bio