Forum Discussion
Why is T-Mobile 5G more like 3G?
The website Bipartisanpolicy.org compares common throughput for 3G, 4G and 5G. I am currently getting between 50kbps and 1gbps during peak drive times, which makes it impossible to use my Magenta perk of "free" Netflix, much less contact customer service or use the T-Mobile app. T-Mobile clearly throttles throughput during peak times. The best sustained throughput I have seen is about 2.4gbps according to FAST.com. This is only possible during early morning or very late evening. This is not 5G speed by any means. I'm surprised there have been no class actions regarding this issue. I wonder if Verizon is any better???
Are you watching Netflix on your phone using the mobile Netflix app? Obviously, congestion will impact data speeds along with the bands deployed where you are and are using the device. I have never experienced throttling though as a T-Mobile customer and I travel through some of the largest cities in the country each year, including up to Canada. If you are tethering, T-Mobile will throttle certain types of non-mobile traffic and traffic routed through a VPN. On 5G, It's incredibly rare to see download speeds below 150Mbps and 200Mbps is usually the minimum I see when streaming content.
Oops, I meant Mbps NOT Gbps. (If I were so lucky, I would not have posted!)
Typical peak traffic throughput. No tethering or VPN.
