Forum Discussion
Slow data speeds - new customer
Hello All
T-mobile just started home internet services in my area. I've been checking the availability checker every once in awhile and Sunday said I was eligible. I jumped on it and received my modern Wednesday. Speed is a bit disappointing. I've watched some videos and read some threads explaining signal strength alone doesn't mean much. I also understand congestion. Anyway looking for help seeing if there is anything else I can do.
Can someone help review my numbers?
Gracias
With this chart you can see for your self the metrics. The 4G LTE and 5G both register in the "Good" range for RSRP which relates to the strength. The lack of the RSRQ for the 5G seems odd but that could be due to the app itself not reporting. The signal to noise ratio for the 4G is low but the 5G signal to noise ratio is still in the "Good" range. If 28 MBs down and 13 MBs are all it is doing that is not very good. What sort of client did you use to run your speed test? I tend to rely upon speedtest.net or fast.com to confirm speeds. The speedtest.net app on my computer and I run the fast.com tests using Chrome. It works on Safari as well. Test against different servers as well.
If it does no better with the n41 5G band I would suggest contacting support and find out if they are still working on the tower or what. That is pretty poor performance for the 5G on n41. You might experiment wth the location of the gateway a little more to see if you can get the metrics to improve. Don't just go by the generic bars on the LED screen. Use the metrics to fine tune the location.
RSRP/RSRQ/SNR = signal strength/signal quality/signal to noise ratio
If the RSRP, signal strength is in the good to excellent range and you are on the n41 5G then you should have much, much better download speeds.
The RSRQ, is a measure for signal quality so good or excellent should improve performance and speeds.
The SNR or SINR is the signal to noise ratio and if there is less noise, i.e. a cleaner received signal then performance should be improved as noise can impair the packet transmission leading to packet loss and retransmissions which are a reflection of poor performance.
From what I can see the signal metrics do not seem to account for such poor speeds. Testing against different servers would be good. Of course there are different speed testing "tools" available to try more than one.
Like I suggested to another user. if you look to the top of the page you see the "Coverage" link. That will take you to the Rural 5G and Internet option. If you go there that is on the marketing side and you can use the chat to have a chat session with a live person on the other end. If you are directed to a customer retention person they will probably get you to someone that can help provide answers. They want to keep customers so if you make a little noise, in a polite way, then it could be beneficial. You can call support but I found that chat with a live agent to be helpful.
