Forum Discussion
wifi antennas
Since ive had Tmobile Home Internet Sercice the best signal ive gotten is "good" which is about halfway up the little bar signal and im almost positive all im recieving is 4G. Now when i looked on the Tmobile app and put in my address it said i should be getting excelant signal and 5G service but i never have. Im thinking about buying a wifi antenna and mounting it on the outside of my house right next to the window my gateway is in to pick up better service. Only problem is every wifi antenna ive looked at on the end of the wire that you connect to your gateway is coax cable connection that is a male connector that you screw in and on my gateway the only connection options are plug ins like a regular phone cable . What do i need to do to connect a wifi antenna to my gateway ?
I'd recommend using the TMobile Home Internet app for checking band/frequency, and if an antenna is truly needed. I am 75% of the time on 'good', and 25% on very good. Performance varies from "good" of 350Mbps to 450Mbps, and very good of 400Mbps to 550Mbps. Note: Time of day is also important, as these are deprioritized. Middle of the night can hit over 650.
What speed does Speedtest show on a device near your gateway?
If it is over 100 Mbps, you probably are receiving a 5G signal. If it's under, you might be receiving a 4G signal. Though T-Mobile doesn't promise 100 Mbps with 5G.
The next thing to assess is how the speeds vary throughout your house. You might be able to improve the effectiveness of the Wi-Fi signal inside your house by moving the gateway.
If you truly are not getting a good 5G signal, they do offer a newer gateway that can use an external antenna. (Not a Wi-Fi antenna, because the Wi-Fi is inside your house.) Nater Tater's YouTube channel has several videos covering this gateway and antennas.
I'd recommend using the TMobile Home Internet app for checking band/frequency, and if an antenna is truly needed. I am 75% of the time on 'good', and 25% on very good. Performance varies from "good" of 350Mbps to 450Mbps, and very good of 400Mbps to 550Mbps. Note: Time of day is also important, as these are deprioritized. Middle of the night can hit over 650.
