Forum Discussion
5G home internet keeps dropping
I'm having a problem with T-Mobile 5g home internet that has not been resolved despite many calls in to the help line. I've had T-Mobile 5g home internet for almost a month now, and the short version is that every so often the gateway drops the network. When I say "drop the network," I mean to say it throws everything off of the Wifi that it's broadcasting, and anything plugged in via ethernet says "no network found. (To elaborate this point, cell phones switch to cellular data because wifi is gone for them, and computers hardwired into the gateway think that they are no longer plugged into anything.) Turning off the gateway and turning it back on resolves the issue, but doesn't prevent it from happening again. Whatever is happening doesn't seem to affect our connection speed/strength when the gateway IS providing signal to devices in the home, but due to the nature of our work, we need a connection that won't just disconnect randomly.
To address this, T-mobile has so far run a bunch of tests on their end, and seem to have ruled out a tower issue (which makes sense, as the tower shouldn't have anything to do with whether or not the devices on the gateway's wifi or ethernet connection get thrown off of the network.) They've sent me a replacement gateway, which is experiencing the exact same problem (3 times in the last 36 hours, in fact). I've noticed that the device gets pretty warm, so I set up a computer case fan as a cooler to force air through the device, thinking that perhaps it's an issue with the device overheating. However, while the gateway is notably cooler than it was without the fan, it has not prevented the issue from persisting. The last thing that I can think to do (and my most recent attempt at resolving this issue) is to plug a router into the gateway via ethernet, and allow the router to handle the wifi/connections w/ devices in the house, and to disable wifi from the gateway all together. Maybe the gateway is simply too overburdened with connections and gets somehow overwhelmed and shuts down, and having the router handle the "heavy lifting" of taking care of all of the individual device connections will resolve it? I don't have a great deal of faith that this will fix the issue (as the gateway also kicks ethernet things off of the network when it experiences this problem), but I'm running out of options/ideas of what to do in order to just get a stable, constant internet service.
Is anybody else having this issue, has anybody resolved this issue, or does anybody have any advice or feedback regarding how I might get this resolved so that I can get back to having stable internet?
I've had the same issue with my 5G trashcan. I'm actually on my 3rd one now. I use a separate router now plugged into mine, but it still randomly reboots. I don't think there will ever be a fix for it, to be honest. We'll all probably have to wait for a new equipment solution.
jdt254 wrote:
Still waiting to see the results of my pestering, but if they think they're going to blow me off that easy, they're underestimating the stubbornness of a pissed off consumer, haha.
Thank you for your work, if only we could all be as persistent. Annoy the life out of the company as long as you have problems.
I just purchase an Alexa Power Strip with three AC and three USB ports which you can control. I setup a routine that rus at 0215 which turns the power off and then back on. We'll see how that works.
I am currently troubleshooting the same issue. My set up is the trashcan connected to the WAN, fire walled, side of an Asus ac68u. The Asus is handling all LAN Wi-Fi DHCP etc. I just did a test hooking up a Roku directly to the trashcan (using the 2nd Ethernet connection) at the same time that the Asus was showing the Internet down, The Roku was able to still stream on it's wired connection.
My current working hypothesis is there is some incompatibility between the trashcan and a separate router (LAN side) vs the t-mobile is dropping the internet (WAN Side) my prior working hypothesis).
This seems unrelated, but I wonder if there is some MTU incompatibility between the WAN side of the asus and the LAN side of the trash can. https://amithkumarg.medium.com/resolved-t-mobile-home-internet-vpn-issue-2f5ca594c23e Does not seem too easy to change the MTU on the asus though.
I discovered that my attempt to autoreboot the trashcan via an Alexa smart power strip will not work since once the internet is off, so is Alexa services. I am not surprised but sad and still looking for a solution.
TucsonJim wrote:
I discovered that my attempt to autoreboot the trashcan via an Alexa smart power strip will not work since once the internet is off, so is Alexa services. I am not surprised but sad and still looking for a solution.
Since once the power goes off it switches to battery anything that interrupts the power will not work well. I mean yea after a few min off it will boot to battery then if you put the power back it should boot but not sure this is a good idea. Also yes you drop the internet so that is a monkey wrench too.
I think a small script that logs in and executes the reboot is probably the best amd clean.
I know when the power is not to the router it turns off the WIFI radios and only maintains the cellular radios. I still am not convinced a software reboot would be as effective as using the switch on the back of the router. A software reboot via a script may only perform a soft reload not a hard reload. My guess is the switch on the router is there for that very reason, to allow for a hard reboot. If the battery is not disconnected to prevent power to the board then the soft vs. hard reboot are not 100% equivalent. I believe it would actually depend upon how clean a reboot must be to achieve a total restart. Sometimes a soft reboot is enough and other times a hard reboot is required. It comes down to objectives. If the LAN ports stay up when external power is removed then using a hard wired client to run a script could be used or in the case of external wireless connected to the router via the LAN with Ethernet cabling then running a script from a local client to reload the router should work fine. I run all my equipment on UPS backups to avoid possible damage during power outages due to spikes so I can maintain internet for a good bit of time even should a power outage take place. In rush of power after an outage can do serious damage to equipment. I know from experience with the problem from living in CA and being stuck with PG&E service. Outages with PG&E in CA have been a frequent and constant problem. Using UPS systems on expensive gear is really helpful.
The Nokia router has 4 U.FL connectors, one for each antenna. The U.FL connectors are small and making the connection takes great care. When seated properly there is a distinctive click feel as the U.FL connector seats. This is a mechanical connection. The location of these U.FL connectors in the router does not offer a huge amount of real estate so making these connections would take care and focus. Maybe some of these are not connected firmly. It would take 5-10 minutes to confirm this and it might explain signal connectivity issues if this were the case. It might be a long shot but maybe not. If the cellular statistics report packet errors or drops I would investigate this. The guide waveform has is excellent so checking this is super easy. One point I would like to clarify is that IF you ever need to remove the SIM be sure to have the router horizontal with the SIM card holder so that the retention screw is to the right of the SIM when removing the SIM. There is nothing holding the SIM in the holder so if it is in a vertical position when the SIM tray is removed the SIM will fall out of the SIM tray. Just pay close attention to details as progress is made. If the U.FL connectors are checked and they look to be seated properly I would not disconnect them as they are rather delicate but careful examination would not hurt anything. Removal of the shell of the can is easy. Just take a look at the guide and read each step. If you don't feel comfortable doing so or don't have the tools that is fine. Getting a replacement router might be possible, in time, but also offers the possibility of introducing new variables.
Link to waveform guide: t-mobile-5g-gateway
SomeoneSomewhere wrote:
I am currently troubleshooting the same issue. My set up is the trashcan connected to the WAN, fire walled, side of an Asus ac68u. The Asus is handling all LAN Wi-Fi DHCP etc. I just did a test hooking up a Roku directly to the trashcan (using the 2nd Ethernet connection) at the same time that the Asus was showing the Internet down, The Roku was able to still stream on it's wired connection.
My current working hypothesis is there is some incompatibility between the trashcan and a separate router (LAN side) vs the t-mobile is dropping the internet (WAN Side) my prior working hypothesis).
This seems unrelated, but I wonder if there is some MTU incompatibility between the WAN side of the asus and the LAN side of the trash can. https://amithkumarg.medium.com/resolved-t-mobile-home-internet-vpn-issue-2f5ca594c23e Does not seem too easy to change the MTU on the asus though.
Update on troubleshooting so far. Noticed that the WAN DNS on my asus was pointing at my LAN pi hole….and DHCP on ASUS was giving out itself as DNS server to clients This was working OK when with Xfininity for several months. Have changed so that ASUS DHCP is giving out the Pi Hole as the DNS server - how it should have been all along. This has also had the effect of improving the statistics from the pie hole has it now no longer shows all queries coming from the Asus router. WAN DNS server on the ASUS is now Default, meaning is getting it from the Trashcan. I also turned off the 5Hz WiFi on the asus and turn it on on the trashcan, with the theory that if I use that while working from home & VPN in to work it should be more stable. That combo seems to of worked OK, meaning I've had about 12 hours of what I think uninterrupted uptime. Not sure if fixing the DNS server, or just changing the DNS server helped.. The advice to change the DNS server came from "Nater Tater"'s you tube channel - he has a bunch of guides on the t-mo trashcan.
OK you are troubleshooting intermittent connectivity. Let's break this down just a little. Your solution with the ASUS and the Pi-Hole network-level advertisement and internet tracker blocker opens a whole plethora of variables. The Pi-Hole is a creative, interesting software solution. It acts as a DNS server but what big boy DNS server upstream does it use? I would probably test with pings to the Google, Quad9 and CloudFlare DNS servers and pick the one with the lowest latency to point the Pi-Hole at to feed it what it needs. Given the Pi-Hole sits in the middle maybe in the tools folder there are some useful trinkets. Even without clever tools in the Pi-Hole I would speculate you have a Linux client or two, I do. Using the terminal and "netstat" there are various options for how to get the facts and build what we know vs. what we think. Taking packet captures and doing analysis on the functions of sessions is another option. Using Wireshark or taking a tcpdump can provide important clues. I don't have a Pi-Hole but I can download it and install it on one of my Linux clients to tinker with. Since I have not used the Pi-Hole software I am not the best resource on that solution but I find it very interesting. If you suspect an incompatibility between the Nokia router and another router/device then look at the communication across these devices. The answers are quite possibly in the frames/packets, session information, from the TCP/IP stack etc… There could be some issue that looks like an incompatibility but is really just a fundamental bug. Con datos you will have the silver bullet to put the wolf down.
On a side note. I observed first hand that if I leave a HTTP session with the Nokia router too long, I have not timed this, the web UI of the Nokia router will report no network connection. I used my MacBook with CAT 6 direct to LAN 1 on the router and a Linux client with a wireless connection. I opened three terminal windows and ran simultaneous pings to the Google DNS, Quad9, and CloudFlare DNS servers. All the pings went right on through and the router was really connected to the tower but the web UI reported incorrect information. I closed the tab and opened a new session to the Nokia router and taadaa the router reported the real facts. Sometimes it takes multiple forks to get proper confirmation and it takes time. I am sure you are putting considerable time into your solution given it is not a garden variety solution. You stated the ASUS was reporting the internet down but how do we quantify that? It seems similar to when I observed, on multiple occasions, the web UI of the router HTTP server being unresponsive. Sure I should have taken packet captures to confirm which side of the session was being mute but it was not that important to me as I know how to work around it. It may be how the Nokia router caches information and when the session fails it acts like Jack Oneall in Stargate, "I got nothin." I could be accused of that at times. :-)
I have spent most of my time investigating the network disconnects with ONLY the T-Mobile Nokia router and my local clients. I know it seems rather rudimentary but it has worked for me quite well. I did 3rd level network troubleshooting for +20 years on enterprise networks so since I retired I have taken a little more relaxed approach to my current network solution. I currently have over 10 days of uninterrupted uptime on my network with just the Nokia router so the KISS principle does have some merit. There are some interesting posts out on the web but don't let all that chatter take you too far down the rabbit hole. Look at the basics before jumping to the more complex thoughts. Taking packet captures will provide hard data points so you know what you know and not think what you know. My father always told me if you know the why you can figure out the how. It works for me. Around 20 years ago a network escalation engineer told me, "I don't want to know what you think. I want to know what you know." I listened to Dave and became a much better engineer. I ended up taking his seat in the office in CA and did the job for +20 years. The key was to open my mind, eat humble pie, and dig for facts. I was also fortunate to have landed in a position with some very creative team members who all became great friends.
The T-Mobile "router/gateway" may not be God's gift to mankind but it is not a "trashcan". Don't let others put a negative spin in your head. Think for yourself and determine if you really think it is a trashcan or not. I have found it very limiting for visibility to the actual network operations but in the end with careful investigation working around its limitations I managed to obtain a stable solution. The problems I had with these same issues were not with the Nokia router but with the cellular equipment on the tower. By working with the T-Mobile support engineers I was able to see the problem through. It did take a couple of weeks before things became stable but they fixed the problems. I get 10X the download and upload speeds I got in CA for less money using the T-Mobile home internet solution. It was a huge win for me. If it ain't broke don't fix it. If you can get some hard data and I can help out I will try. Please just call it a router and keep it neutral. Best wishes!
