Band locking

fixerjm wrote:

... when will we be allowed to through a firmware update to lock the bands? My trashcan keeps switching back to primary B71(LTE) and no secondary connection.

Band-locking by selecting a setting isn't a thing and won't be in the next few years anyway. The cellular system is designed to do the opposite -- drift seamlessly between towers/bands as people move around, and for traffic distribution, without any interruption in a call or internet.

Some people are located between two or more towers, roughly equal distant. That can be a problem. The 5G connection you want is a non-standalone signal pair, 4G/5G, primary/secondary, B-band/n-band. The trick is to find a location and orientation for your gateway that will somehow not leave you stuck on your slow primary-only 4G connection.

Other people, like Bond, are near both the n71 and n41, and not picking up the one they wanted, the higher speed n41. No gateway location/orientation could help him and he needed a better and more directional antenna than the ones that are included in the gateway. In that way, he was able to position and aim it in a way to get the bands he wanted and avoid the ones he didn't.

When you're experimenting with positions for the gateway and trying it in a new position, if you haven't had it unplugged, turn it off via the button on the side, let it sit for 5 seconds to forget the band it was on, and then start it again and see what bands you're connecting to and what speeds you're getting. Do a few speed tests. I've read of cases where this works, a gateway repositioning that solves the getting stuck on 4G alone problem. But more often, it doesn't work. Again, just an unfortunate location you're in, in relation to towers.

About choice, you have them. You can move to a location closer to a tower. You can try an external antenna. You can try another provider that works better at your house.

fixerjm wrote:

New to the forum here. I have a question for the T-Mobile engineers, when will we be allowed to through a firmware update to lock the bands? My trashcan keeps switching back to primary B71(LTE) and no secondary connection. If I reset it I get primary band 2(LTE) and secondary n71(5G) AND MY SPEED DOUBLES through carrier aggregation band combination. I understands what the software is doing. The primary B71 has a stronger signal than the primary Band 2 but we need a choice. So please fix this T-Mobile engineers.

Hey hello welcome. Yea the logic is not the best but after watching it for weeks I understand it. I live in an odd area n41 3 miles to the SW, B66 .5 miles to the W, and n71 2 miles to the NW. Can wants to lock on the B66 and n71 but n71 is crap so eventually it drops off and speed drops. If I am on the S side of the house it wants the n41 and B66 but when the signal swings it will drop the n41 and grab the crap n71 and no speed. After much research I installed an outside antenna pointed it at the n41 (being it is crazy fast) and done stays on n41 B66 like a rock. The antenna worked wonders getting 750 down 125 up again stays locked on like a rock no issues. Yes some cost to install an antenna but saving so much over Comcast with no data cap.

There is a Facebook group T-Mobile Home Internet that has a lot of helpful info and ppl that help out.