T-Mobile Home Internet + Google Nest WiFi

cjake wrote:

Same here with Orbi Router and two Satellites.   

Disconnect Orbi Router from cable modem and connect to T-Mobile High Speed Gateway ethernet port.

Log into Orbi router and change to Access Point mode.   Eso es todo.

Leaving both Wi-Fi networks active does not seem to be a problem.   The Gateway and Orbi Router auto-selected channels for 5G and 2.4G that did not overlap. 

I don’t think the T-Mobile Gateway supports Bridge mode.

It doesn’t support bridge mode, per se, but you can disable the SSID(s) through the web interface a 192.168.12.1. The username and password can be found on the bottom of the device, unless you changed it when you first set it up. Once logged on:

1. Navega hasta Network>Wi-Fi Networks>2.4GHz
2. Scroll down to Enable SSID, and click the slider to disable
3. Click “Save”
4. Give it a second to save, then click “Ok”
5. Go back to the SSID selection, and do the above for each SSID

Make sure you click "Save" before moving on to the next SSID, otherwise the previous changes won't save. You should only have to change (under 2.4GHz) SSID1, and (under 5 GHZ) SSID5 and SSID9. Once you've gone through and confirmed each SSID has been disabled, click on Statistics>WLAN to confirm you’re all good and disabled.

You may be tempted to also disable Activar transmisión; however, I prefer leaving this enabled so you have a another way of verifying all the SSIDs are disabled. If you disable broadcast and the SSID itself hasn't been disabled, the SSID won't show up in the typical connection dialog on your devices, but it can still be found by savvy users. On the other hand, if the SSID is disabled, broadcasting is going to be automatically disabled behind the scenes by default.

This should effectively disable Wi-Fi on your T-Mobile gateway, so now you can then just use the software for your mesh system to manage your network.

NOTE: changing these settings will still allow web access to the admin menu at the address above.

P.S. here is the link for the web interface manual in case anything changes: https://www.t-mobile.com/support/devices/web-user-interface-t-mobile-lte-wi-fi-gateway

SETTING UP GOOGLE NEST WIFI POINTS WITH T-MOBILE HOME INTERNET

Example 1: You had Google Nest Wifi Points setup with a modem from another provider.

The Google Wifi point plugged into the old modem is the "router" point and all other wifi points are "bridge" points.  Since T-Mobile is a "gateway" that means it's a modem and router all-in-one. 

1. Make sure the wifi point you plug into the T-Mobile gateway is the "router" point (the point that was plugged into your old modem), not one of the "bridge" points. Otherwise you'll have to RESET all wifi points in the mesh just like you had to do when you first setup your Google mesh.  Use the Google Home app if you need to find which point is your Google wifi "router" point.
2. Make sure that your T-mobile gateway network name is DIFFERENT from your Google mesh network name.  The T-mobile gateway is also wireless and if both your gateway and mesh networks have the same network name then you'll have problems (DOUBLE NAT) with devices and apps because your devices and apps will think they're on the same network but in reality some are on the T-Mobile wifi network and some are on the Google wifi mesh network, thus the devices and apps can't "see" each other.  (I.E. Your Roku app can't see your Roku TV or your laptop can't see your wireless printer)
3. Make sure your phone is on the correct network.  In phone settings select your Google Mesh network and connect.  Turn on "prefered network" and "automatically connect network".  All the other networks, the Google Mesh Guest and the T-Mobile network select Forget Network, unselect or turn off "prefered network" and "automatically connect network" so your phone will not automatically connect to the wrong network.  Make sure these settings off in the networks not used as the default setting is on.

Example 2: You have T-Mobile Home Internet and you want to extend it with a Google Mesh Wifi Points or Hubs.

1. The Google Wifi point you plugged into the T-Mobile “gateway” is the “router” point and all other Google wifi points are “bridge” points. 
2. Just pretend that your T-Mobile “gateway” is just a modem, not a router and do the Google Mesh Wifi setup. 
3. Make sure you follow Steps 1-3 in Example 1 as you do the setup.

WARNING: I know in the geek world to have a Google wifi point “router” plugged into the T-Mobile “gateway” router/modem is redundant and we want to FIX IT. 

Some want to make all the wifi points "bridge" points and not have the Google "router" point.  The Google mesh is designed where the Google "router" wifi point controls all the Google "bridge" points.  If you change the router wifi point to a bridge point then your mesh system will NOT work.  

Some want to reconfigure the T-Mobile "gateway" and turn off the router portion of the modem/router combo.  The research I've done suggests this can't be done because the "gateway" modem/router are integrated.

I just received my 5G gateway. I am converting from Xfinity Internet service. I have an existing nest Wi-Fi mesh already configured at home. Setting the gateway up was extremely simple. 

I am converting from Xfinity Internet service. I have an existing nest Wi-Fi mesh (gen 2) already configured at home. This mesh Wi-Fi system works perfectly fine with the Xfinity service and stable for several years.

When I connect the nest Wi-Fi router into the T-Mobile gateway (Ethernet) the Internet works however, it’s about a quarter of the speed of the T-Mobile gateway if I directly connect to it. 
 

ookla Speedtest when connected to T-Mobile Wi-Fi is great —> 330+Mbps down 33Mbps Up

ookla Speedtest when connected to Nest Wi-Fi mesh, is 45Mbps down an 13 Mbps up.

end point testing performed with iPhone 14 pro max and MBP yield Sam results 
 

my SSIDs are different for the mesh and the Gateway.

any thoughts on why such a drastic drop in performance 

I have a TP-Link Deco M9 Plus mesh router system that used to be connected to a cable modem for internet service. After setting up the T-Moble home internet device and making sure that it was working properly, I just unplugged my Deco from the cable modem and plugged it into one of the two LAN ports and after rebooting the Deco, everything worked fine. All the 30+ devices already signed into the Deco Wi-Fi continue to work normally. I have my gaming laptop signed into the T-Moble Wi-Fi directly to minimize lag. Doing a speed test on my laptop, I was very pleased to get a download speed of up to 200!

Same here with Orbi Router and two Satellites.   

Disconnect Orbi Router from cable modem and connect to T-Mobile High Speed Gateway ethernet port.

Log into Orbi router and change to Access Point mode.   Eso es todo.

Leaving both Wi-Fi networks active does not seem to be a problem.   The Gateway and Orbi Router auto-selected channels for 5G and 2.4G that did not overlap. 

I don’t think the T-Mobile Gateway supports Bridge mode.

wstockman wrote:

I just set up my T Mobile Gateway with Google WiFi Mesh as well as Sonos controller on 1-8-21. 

The Summary: Drop dead simple. 

The T Mobile High Speed Gateway is the Grey one that is Tube shaped. (I was not sure i was shipped the right hardware when it was not a small book shaped device). The Google mesh has 4 Google hardware pieces to create the mesh around the House, and the Sonos has speakers all around the house. Ethernet connection from the TMobile Gateway to the google Mesh. From the google mesh device ethernet cable to Sonos controller. Then just followed the instructions on the app TMO has you download on your phone. The google mesh just lit up and had the same network settings that i had before disconnecting from Xfinity. 

I had set hours aside, had my headset ready to go, laptop up, all ready call the TMO helpdesk. probably took 30 mins, 10 minutes of that was connecting up the hardware. 

Speed seems fine, ran 4 tv's connected via Kindle Firestick at the same time, sonos, and on the internet on laptop, seemed fine. We don't have gamers here though. thumbs up. Giving it a few days before i call Xfinity to cancel, but so looking forward to that. 

I essentially did the same thing, without the Sonos complication. But what I am seeing is no impact to downloads, but a huge hit to uploads. I've tried enabling/disabling iPv6 and changing DNS from automatic to use ISP DNS on the Nest router with no change in results. Everything else is fine except uploads.

Edit: I tried the SSID enable/disable thing above and it made no difference that I could see, only removing the option of uploading more quickly by jumping on the T-Mobile Wifi.

magenta10619898 wrote:

I purchased T-Mobile Home Internet and just set it up. When I plug the Ethernet into my Google Nest WiFi router, it does not work. Does anyone know how to get the T-Mobile Home Internet working with a Google Nest WiFi mesh network?

Hi! I just received my router (the silver cylinder). I was a little nervous about interoperability given some of the earlier responses. I'm happy to report the process (literally) couldn't be easier.

You just have to connect the Google Wifi Nest router to the T-Mobile router with an ethernet cable, and everything sets itself up automatically! No reconfigurations or extra steps necessary. It took me (without exaggeration) 3 minutes. 

Connecting your existing (or new) google mesh wifi to the Tmobile 5G Gateway is pretty easy. When you setup the Tmobile 5G Gateway make sure that you give its wifi/network a different name than the existing Google mesh wifi/network. After setting up the Tmobile 5G Gateway, connect the Google mesh router to it through the ethernet port at the back. Eso es todo. 

Your existing devices that were connected to the Google mesh wifi will automatically reconnect since you have not changed the network name of the Google mesh or its password.

It worked for me hopefully it will for you too. 

Jolt wrote:

I just received my 5G gateway. I am converting from Xfinity Internet service. I have an existing nest Wi-Fi mesh already configured at home. Setting the gateway up was extremely simple. 

I am converting from Xfinity Internet service. I have an existing nest Wi-Fi mesh (gen 2) already configured at home. This mesh Wi-Fi system works perfectly fine with the Xfinity service and stable for several years.

When I connect the nest Wi-Fi router into the T-Mobile gateway (Ethernet) the Internet works however, it’s about a quarter of the speed of the T-Mobile gateway if I directly connect to it. 
 

ookla Speedtest when connected to T-Mobile Wi-Fi is great —> 330+Mbps down 33Mbps Up

ookla Speedtest when connected to Nest Wi-Fi mesh, is 45Mbps down an 13 Mbps up.

end point testing performed with iPhone 14 pro max and MBP yield Sam results 
 

my SSIDs are different for the mesh and the Gateway.

 

any thoughts on why such a drastic drop in performance 

I have the exact same problem. The speed from the Google Wifi mesh is around a quarter of what the same device in the same positions gets from he T-Mobile gateway (different SSIDs)

same issue here. support says its cause of double nat. but no way to solve