Forum Discussion
T-Mobile Home Internet shows 4 bars but keeps dropping signal
Hi. The last month or so, a problem is occurring - the gateway/modem shows 4 bars and has been sitting there for well over two years now. Randomly, I keep getting disconnected from a game server, remote sessions halt, streaming audio stutters, everything.
I also have phone calls (from Samsung S22 Ultra) disconnect on me if the phone is using wifi mode for phone calls. If I disable wifi on the phone, phone calls still remain stable. At least for now. I sometimes still have issues with audio stuttering in regular 5G mode, and even testing a game server I got booted off with an error citing connection loss. Whatever it is, the loss is brief since connection comes back quickly.
Speedtest shows low ping and low jitter, which surprised me.
I logged into the Admin console. Is there an option to switch from 5G mode to 4G, just to rule out some possible causes of this? That sounds dumb since I have 4 bars on the modem and 5 on my phone (which generally connects to the modem's built-in wifi.) I haven't tested disabling 5G on the phone, but with 5 bars this really seems odd. Why would the phone show more bars and stronger signal strength when it's the smaller of the two devices?
I turned the modem ("silver can" in shape) off and unplugged it for 30 minutes. I'd heard this forces a firmware check and upgrade. This did not make a difference.
I keep a small fan running by the air inlet on the modem to help prevent overheating. That hasn't helped either.
The built-in battery also seems to waver in percentage; always going from 65 to 78%. It used to read 100% in the past. I think that's a separate issue.
I am having no power outage issues.
unless work is being done on the tower that normally covers that area or issues..wonder if adjustments were done to the direction the antennas are pointing or were pointing compared to now?
have you contacted TMO to put in a network ticket yet?
unless work is being done on the tower that normally covers that area or issues..wonder if adjustments were done to the direction the antennas are pointing or were pointing compared to now?
have you contacted TMO to put in a network ticket yet?
I had not yet contacted TMO, wanting to rule out everything on my end's nodes first. The friend's phone is from another carrier so they're probably leasing the same towers.
It's probable that some tower was worked on or an element is failing, but iI'd be surprised if nobody else had called in already. Still, one person calling over a minor blip isn't as minor if other people report the same issue. I should look up the number and call. Something's definitely off with a tower somewhere; I can't think of anything else at this point to try.
¡Gracias!
I think you have been using too much of their "unlimited data" and they want to weed you out. But they are sneaky about it, and want you to quit as opposed to cancelling you and not profitable customer. I have same issues.
rzolynas wrote:
I think you have been using too much of their "unlimited data" and they want to weed you out. But they are sneaky about it, and want you to quit as opposed to cancelling you and not profitable customer. I have same issues.
Thanks for the info and idea, but I don't think it's that, mostly because of the atypical nature of the dips. My friend with his phone uses another carrier and had the same problem in my area, so I don't think TMobile is weeding anyone at this time.
To be honest, if your network is typically ‘good’, or ‘very good’ (T-MObile app), and it is dropping, I’d almost suggest a replacement of the Nokia Trashcan to the Arcadyan device.
I picked this one up in December, and it has been fairly consistent. I have had occasional issues (dropped zoom), but these I suspect are more typical to the low QoS settings and time of day.
Eg. Poor performance in morning/evenings, and I don’t yet have 5G accessible by my device.
Similarly, check the difference between signal in LTE and 5G. If 5G is 'iffy' (my case SINR -2 to +2) makes it unstable when it is above 0 (weak but usable drags performance down vs. completely unusable)
We have the same issues here in Vero Beach Florida. My gateway reports a "good" signal (3bars) consistently, but the actual internet feed comes and goes, verified by a speed test. Very frustrating. I've called support multiple times and they say it's a tower issue and that it's bring worked on. Have heard them say this for the last year now.
The problem is that this is a wireless connection and not a normal land connection like fiber optics. It all lies in the security protocol where they are using a dynamic IP address which assigned to you by your internet service provider (T-Mobile) and is subject to change. This means that your IP address can and will change each time you connect to the internet, or while you are connected which causes the issue. This makes it a bit harder for criminal hackers to monitor your online habits. Until they switch over to a static IP this issue will continue to happen. Nothing you do on your end will solve the problem as you will see by reading the other posts.
Hope this helps!
fireguy_6364 wrote:
out of curiosity..why havent YOU started a class action lawsuit?
Ok, Firedude, calm down; it's on the way.
This disconnecting issue is killing me. It happens at any moment whenever it pleases, including during my online exams. It is very frustrating, and T-Mobile never has the answer.
