TIP T-Mobile Home Internet on sale for $25/Mo (for Life) (OP from Dec 2022)

phloydius

phloydius

Veteran Member
T-Mobile is having a sale of the Home Internet they offer. It has been $50/mo for a while, and right now it is $25/mo. The price is "for life" meaning until you cancel. Supposedly you can login to your account online and it *may* offer it to you, however it seems that if it does not you can call customer service and ask for the deal specifically & they will give it to you. As always there are some caveats.

  • Technically, they still charge you a $50/mo but then give you a $25/mo bill credit.
  • You can not currently have T-Mobile Home Internet, or "recently" cancelled.
  • You have to have a voice line with them already; or you can setup a new voice line when you sign up for this deal instead.
  • If you get rid of your voice line with them, then you loose the $25/mo bill credit.
  • It is one per account.
  • You have to be close enough to a cell tower to get a good signal.
The device is a similar shape as a can of soup, but bigger. No wires needed except for power. You could technically run it off a generator or battery (with the proper cables).

If there is interest in this deal/thread, I might look into it further and post updates. It seems like a good deal for select conditions.
 
phloydius

phloydius

Veteran Member
Blacknarwhal said:
I already HAVE it!

...the folks, however, don't. How long does this deal run for?
Click to expand...

I have not seen an official end date when I looked. I did see a "limited time" and a "while supplies last" in a couple of places. If I happen to see a deal end date, I'll made a note to update this thread.
 
phloydius

phloydius

Veteran Member
Did just find this on the T-Mobile site:

-----------------------------------------------

Get T-Mobile 5G Home Internet for $25/mo.

Savings via $25 monthly bill credit. Limited-time offer; subject to change. Qualifying credit, voice line, and new unlimited Home Internet line required. If you have cancelled Internet lines in past 90 days, you may need to reactivate them first. Credits may take up to 2 bill cycles; credits will stop if you cancel any lines or change plans. Limit 1/account. May not be combinable with some offers or discounts. Home Internet General Terms: During congestion, Home Internet customers may notice speeds lower than other customers due to data prioritization. Not available in all areas. $35 assisted support or device connection charge due at sale. Plus taxes & fees for accounts currently paying for a T-Mobile wireless line with additional taxes & fees: Monthly Regulatory Programs (RPF) & Telco Recovery Fee (TRF) totaling $1.40 per data only line ($0.12 for RPF & $1.28 for TRF) apply; taxes/fees approx. 3-12% of bill. Credit approval required. For use only with T-Mobile Gateway for in-home use at location provided at activation. If canceling service, return gateway or pay up to $370. Video streaming resolution depends on available speeds. For best performance, leave video streaming applications at their default resolution setting. Not compatible with some live TV streaming services. AutoPay Pricing for lines 1-8 on account. Without AutoPay, $5 more. May not be reflected on 1st bill. Network Management: Service may be slowed, suspended, terminated, or restricted for misuse, abnormal use, interference with our network or ability to provide quality service to other users. See T-Mobile.com/OpenInternet for details. See Terms and Conditions (including arbitration provision) at www.T-Mobile.com for additional information.
 
O

Ogre

Veteran Member
For those that have it, what is your experience? I have T-mobile cells and have been debating switching from google fiber. I seem to remember several months ago that they were blocking emails they didn't approve of.
 
mistaken1

mistaken1

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I used t-mobile once ..... never again. Poor coverage for my area (my fault for not checking more thoroughly) but the kicker was trying to cancel the service once the contract was up .... nightmare. That and they lost all my data to hackers.
 
1911user

1911user

Veteran Member
Also signal strength would be hurt if you have brick exterior, low-E windows, metal roof, and anything else that hurts cell phone usage. You'll need a strong signal for high data rates since it is a 5G cell phone that does data only.

I looked into it more then decided it wouldn't be a good fit for us. However, they never contacted me even when I had asked for notice when the service was available.
 
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WFK

WFK

Senior Something
The issue is coverage and whether it is available in your area. Same as Verizon Internet. Verizon has two boxes: one for 5G and LTE, the other for LTE only. T-Mobile has just one box for both. $50 is the battleground.
I had both running side by side for awhile. T-Mobile was faster; both essentially on LTE frequencies, some repurposed from
2G and 3G, so not the infamous tenths of GHz frequencies.
Speed varied significantly during the day for both. Streaming on moderate 40-in TV absolutely possible.
Verizon won, because T-Mobile Service had Internet interruptions where signal returned automatically but Internet required a reboot BUTTON to be pressed to return. Bad if you are not home. Even if you are home, how do you know it's back? Verizon box has no such reboot button, and has not required it. Hope T-Mobile fixes that in their own interest.

Location: In my second location, Verizon has the coverage, but Wireless Internet is "not available." T-Mobile does not have coverage there at all because of lack of towers. The $25 offer sounds good, but only if you use T-Mobile already.
 
phloydius

phloydius

Veteran Member
To cut down on my monthly expenses, I opted to order one of these and see if it will work for us. Was considering it as a backup internet, but now will evaluate it as a primary internet. We get a good cell signal, so I'm optimistic.
 
Sacajawea

Sacajawea

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I just replaced my roof with heavy gauge steel. Haven't noticed it affecting my cell (I'm all cell here) service even on streaming. Of course, I have a signal booster too - but weather is still the primary reason for "hangs"; wind is the worst for some reason. I have pretty clear line o' sight to the cell tower, but my D further down in the hollar DOESN'T. It's a PITA for her.
 
S

sleepyeddie

Senior Member
I applied for this service in June. They got back to me yesterday to say that I can now get it. I have decided against it because I have the option for wired internet. I would rather minimize the 5g signals that are beamed to the house. My xfinity is costing 60 a month. 10 more than tmobile. I have cell phone. It is an older phone and I pay 15 a month through xfinity for that.
 
Griz3752

Griz3752

Retired, practising Curmudgeon
phloydius said:
T-Mobile is having a sale of the Home Internet they offer. It has been $50/mo for a while, and right now it is $25/mo. The price is "for life" meaning until you cancel. Supposedly you can login to your account online and it *may* offer it to you, however it seems that if it does not you can call customer service and ask for the deal specifically & they will give it to you. As always there are some caveats.

  • Technically, they still charge you a $50/mo but then give you a $25/mo bill credit.
  • You can not currently have T-Mobile Home Internet, or "recently" cancelled.
  • You have to have a voice line with them already; or you can setup a new voice line when you sign up for this deal instead.
  • If you get rid of your voice line with them, then you loose the $25/mo bill credit.
  • It is one per account.
  • You have to be close enough to a cell tower to get a good signal.
The device is a similar shape as a can of soup, but bigger. No wires needed except for power. You could technically run it off a generator or battery (with the proper cables).

If there is interest in this deal/thread, I might look into it further and post updates. It seems like a good deal for select conditions.
Click to expand...
Of interest to us because of cost.
It would be good to know what transfer rates are being "offered" and what Media/Entertainment package might be available.

I suspect the web access rate is low because the entertainment offering is limited and pricey.

TIA for the research
 
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db cooper

db cooper

Resident Secret Squirrel
Nothing is for life. It's impossible as there are too many factors to consider. Some may be the company going out of business or being bought out. Inflation getting to the point to where they lose too much money.

Sears lifetime warranty on their Craftsman tools come to mind. Somewhere in the early 80's they modified their lifetime warranty to eliminate certain tools. Now they are belly up. The holding company that runs what remains does sell some tools and does warranty a few, but not the whole line they used to sell. This is just one example.

I really dislike the "free" and "lifetime" merchandising schemes.
 
phloydius

phloydius

Veteran Member
summer-texan said:
so 25 a month PLUS a land line which i don't have and don't need.
how much is a land line???
Click to expand...

Why would you need a land line? If it is for this T-Mobile Home Internet option, you do not. It is wireless. It connects to the internet like your cell phone. It is basically a very big cell phone without the screen.
 
Babs

Babs

Veteran Member
I have had T-Mobile for RVers for the last year and a half. A very small unit about the size of a cell phone, and I can take it anywhere and have internet, but we just use it for our home internet.
It's been wonderful, until the last week. We cannot stay connected for longer than 5 minutes before we lose internet. I don't know what's going on, but I'm about to give some tech an earful. If I didn't have a cell phone, I would have no internet at all.
 
phloydius

phloydius

Veteran Member
Babs said:
I have had T-Mobile for RVers for the last year and a half. A very small unit about the size of a cell phone, and I can take it anywhere and have internet, but we just use it for our home internet.
Click to expand...

This "Home" internet is basically the same, except that it is a larger unit (with a larger internal antenna) and connectors so you can plug it into a desktop or home network if desired (but not required). I've watched a few videos of RVers on where they have been using the Home internet in the RV while they travel and it works even though it was against TOS (until recently which has now changed apparently).

Note however, the "Home" internet box does not have an internal battery like yours does.

Babs said:
It's been wonderful, until the last week. We cannot stay connected for longer than 5 minutes before we lose internet. I don't know what's going on, but I'm about to give some tech an earful. If I didn't have a cell phone, I would have no internet at all.
Click to expand...

That is typical of two problems with a MiFi device similar to yours: (1) A bad signal; or (2) a hardware failure from over heating. There are likely other causes too, but these are probably the most common that I have heard about. The first one is pretty easy to test by moving the device to other locations. The second one can only really be tested by replacing the device with another one, and since that probably is not free it is probably worthwhile to call the tech line -- in case it is not that!
 
Babs

Babs

Veteran Member
phloydius said:
This "Home" internet is basically the same, except that it is a larger unit (with a larger internal antenna) and connectors so you can plug it into a desktop or home network if desired (but not required). I've watched a few videos of RVers on where they have been using the Home internet in the RV while they travel and it works even though it was against TOS (until recently which has now changed apparently).

Note however, the "Home" internet box does not have an internal battery like yours does.



That is typical of two problems with a MiFi device similar to yours: (1) A bad signal; or (2) a hardware failure from over heating. There are likely other causes too, but these are probably the most common that I have heard about. The first one is pretty easy to test by moving the device to other locations. The second one can only really be tested by replacing the device with another one, and since that probably is not free it is probably worthwhile to call the tech line -- in case it is not that!
Click to expand...

Thank you!
 
M

marsofold

Veteran Member
We had T-Mobile Home Internet. Worked fine for 6 weeks, then out of the blue, it refused to authenticate. Customer service refused to consider any possibility other than signal strength. So we returned it on the last day of our 'trial period". I almost gave up our satellite connection for internet. Now even if they got it working right, I don't trust them enough to take the chance again since they wouldn't address the problem the first time. Looking now at Starlink.
 
phloydius

phloydius

Veteran Member
marsofold said:
We had T-Mobile Home Internet. Worked fine for 6 weeks, then out of the blue, it refused to authenticate. Customer service refused to consider any possibility other than signal strength. So we returned it on the last day of our 'trial period". I almost gave up our satellite connection for internet. Now even if they got it working right, I don't trust them enough to take the chance again since they wouldn't address the problem the first time.
Click to expand...

I am glad you were able to get out of it relatively painlessly. How were your speeds on the T-Mobile Home Internet while you had it?

marsofold said:
Looking now at Starlink.
Click to expand...

If you choose to go with it, be aware it may be a while after you order before you get it.

We ordered it in April 2021, with an estimated service date of Fall of 2021. In Nov 2021 we received an email saying that we would be delayed due to the silicon shortage, and said that we would be given our money back if we decided to cancel. The new estimated service date was Fall of 2022.

Then in March of 2022, received an email that although I had paid the deposit and still had my place in line, the price for the product and service would be going up and I would have to pay the difference when mine did ship. Then in Sep 2022, received an email saying I would be delayed to Summer of 2023. I just logged into my account, and noticed the date has changed again to December 2023.

All that said I'm still considering getting it when I can because it looks that good compared to some of the alternatives in some areas, or at the minimum I am not going to cancel just yet, apparently I have some time to think about it...
 
S

sleepyeddie

Senior Member
phloydius said:
I am glad you were able to get out of it relatively painlessly. How were your speeds on the T-Mobile Home Internet while you had it?



If you choose to go with it, be aware it may be a while after you order before you get it.

We ordered it in April 2021, with an estimated service date of Fall of 2021. In Nov 2021 we received an email saying that we would be delayed due to the silicon shortage, and said that we would be given our money back if we decided to cancel. The new estimated service date was Fall of 2022.

Then in March of 2022, received an email that although I had paid the deposit and still had my place in line, the price for the product and service would be going up and I would have to pay the difference when mine did ship. Then in Sep 2022, received an email saying I would be delayed to Summer of 2023. I just logged into my account, and noticed the date has changed again to December 2023.

All that said I'm still considering getting it when I can because it looks that good compared to some of the alternatives in some areas, or at the minimum I am not going to cancel just yet, apparently I have some time to think about it...
Click to expand...
Both of the friends I know who have it, got between 200 and 300 mbps download. I think t-mobile advertises less than 100 download.
 
phloydius

phloydius

Veteran Member
sleepyeddie said:
Both of the friends I know who have it, got between 200 and 300 mbps download. I think t-mobile advertises less than 100 download.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the report.

When I ordered it, I found a mention on their website that said the "average" customer receives 33 Mbps - 182 Mbps. When reading, I saw some people noting they received speeds of 300 Mbps and even 600 Mbps. But for every one of those I saw, I saw people complaining about it being too slow. Many of the people complaining about it being too slow were upset that it was in the 30 Mbps to 50 Mbps range.

Obviously with something like cellular data there is going to be huge variability not only in range/signal from the tower, but the customer load on that tower, and the sorts of content someone is uploading/downloading via the signal. And those factors will change over time. I am going to be very curious about what we get here.
 
phloydius

phloydius

Veteran Member
It just came in and set it up. With only a "good" connection, I am getting 30 Mbps download and 7 Mbps upload, which is on par with what I am getting from the cable provider here. The location I put the router is not ideal, and after I play with it I think I can get the speeds higher. I will update when I have had it more than 15 minutes.

Note, when I say "good" connection, it has 5 pips: Poor, Weak, Good, Very Good, and Excellent.
 
phloydius

phloydius

Veteran Member
Found a location where I could get a "Very Good" connection. I have been testing it for almost 2 days now.

The speeds seem to be highly variable for me. There are a lot of trees between my location and the tower (in direct line of site). The download speed does go up to about 120Mbps, but does sometimes drop as low as 10Mbps. This is plenty fine for most uses such as youtube or watching movies on a laptop. If you are going to watch internet TV at UHD it may not be for you. It did not seem to care when I connected thru a couple of (consumer) VPNs that I have.

Obviously speeds will vary for each person's location, but if it works for you this might be a cheaper alternative to non-critical internet. It won't be as good as your 300Mbps wired connection in the city, but for many people, it may be fine.

I'm planning on taking it out to other locations (other cities) this weekend to test it and see if there are any geolocation blocks to force it to only one location.
 
fast89pony

fast89pony

Contributing Member
I've had it for almost a year. Maybe once in that whole time service went out for a few minutes. Also has a built in battery in case the power goes out. Her are my speeds that I usually always have.

Screenshot_20221214-101740.jpg
 
Redcat

Redcat

Veteran Member
I just got this two days ago. I am over Spectrum. I am about a mile between two T-Mobile towers I was told.

I just tested my internet speed. So far I'm really happy with this.

Internet speed test

Testing upload...
192.6
Mbps download
34.6
Mbps upload
Latency: 40 ms
Server: Toronto
Your Internet connection is very fast.
Your Internet connection should be able to handle multiple devices streaming HD videos, video conferencing, and gaming at the same time.
 
Blacknarwhal

Blacknarwhal

Let's Go Brandon!
sleepyeddie said:
If you don`t mind a 5G signal beamed from your closest cell phone tower, to inside your house where your modem is.

This just is not good for people`s health. The info is out there. Do some research.
Click to expand...

Leaving aside the fact that most T-Mobile home internet is 4G, not 5G, it's also possible to use it like a wired modem. I ran a line to it from an outbuilding and then into a multi-port Netgear switch. I can use it like normal, but with a lot of cables instead of the wi-fi included. I had a bear of a time trying to get the wi-fi part to work and never could.
 
phloydius

phloydius

Veteran Member
sleepyeddie said:
If you don`t mind a 5G signal beamed from your closest cell phone tower, to inside your house where your modem is.

This just is not good for people`s health. The info is out there. Do some research.
Click to expand...

Also note that having a 4G/5G device is not relevant to if you are being beamed by the closest cell phone tower with 4G/5G.
 
BornFree

BornFree

Came This Far
phloydius said:
Did just find this on the T-Mobile site:

-----------------------------------------------

Get T-Mobile 5G Home Internet for $25/mo.

Savings via $25 monthly bill credit. Limited-time offer; subject to change. Qualifying credit, voice line, and new unlimited Home Internet line required. If you have cancelled Internet lines in past 90 days, you may need to reactivate them first. Credits may take up to 2 bill cycles; credits will stop if you cancel any lines or change plans. Limit 1/account. May not be combinable with some offers or discounts. Home Internet General Terms: During congestion, Home Internet customers may notice speeds lower than other customers due to data prioritization. Not available in all areas. $35 assisted support or device connection charge due at sale. Plus taxes & fees for accounts currently paying for a T-Mobile wireless line with additional taxes & fees: Monthly Regulatory Programs (RPF) & Telco Recovery Fee (TRF) totaling $1.40 per data only line ($0.12 for RPF & $1.28 for TRF) apply; taxes/fees approx. 3-12% of bill. Credit approval required. For use only with T-Mobile Gateway for in-home use at location provided at activation. If canceling service, return gateway or pay up to $370. Video streaming resolution depends on available speeds. For best performance, leave video streaming applications at their default resolution setting. Not compatible with some live TV streaming services. AutoPay Pricing for lines 1-8 on account. Without AutoPay, $5 more. May not be reflected on 1st bill. Network Management: Service may be slowed, suspended, terminated, or restricted for misuse, abnormal use, interference with our network or ability to provide quality service to other users. See T-Mobile.com/OpenInternet for details. See Terms and Conditions (including arbitration provision) at www.T-Mobile.com for additional information.
Click to expand...
Basically they have provided themselves with an out to give you whatever kind of service they want to.
 
Redcat

Redcat

Veteran Member
sleepyeddie said:
If you don`t mind a 5G signal beamed from your closest cell phone tower, to inside your house where your modem is.

This just is not good for people`s health. The info is out there. Do some research.
Click to expand...
Mine is not running at 5G. I don't think that is set up here yet.
 
Repairman-Jack

Repairman-Jack

Veteran Member
sleepyeddie said:
If you don`t mind a 5G signal beamed from your closest cell phone tower, to inside your house where your modem is.

This just is not good for people`s health. The info is out there. Do some research.
Click to expand...
The 5g signal is already "beamed" regardless of some one having a modem or not....but "research" LOL
 
Repairman-Jack

Repairman-Jack

Veteran Member
Those using t-mobile service might want to check out this video on using an larger antena

Silver Cymbal - AFFORDABLE High Speed Internet Anywhere - My RURAL INTERNET Setup r/t 16:06

synopsis:Using an external cellular antenna directed at the tower to gain faster DL/UL speeds

 
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