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Farjohn
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Re: Home Internet Overheating
@Unknown420: All electronic devices produce heat. When engineers design products, part of the process is to do a "thermal analysis" and then testing to ensure that the heat doesn't build up inside the enclosure, creating a safety hazard, or allow a device (think chip) to get hot enough to malfunction and quit working or perform marginally. To port the heat away, the mechanical packaging can employ active measures like the fans in your computer, or passively using convection of air through the housing as is the case with the T-Mobile gateway. Having said that, there's the always the possibility of a component failure causing dangerously high temperatures inside the enclosure (as in fire). So when you say "extremely hot", don't discount this possibility and err on the safe side by exchanging the gateway for a different one. By way of an update, I've been running my gateway for over a month, mounted atop a muffin fan forcing room temperature air in through the base of the unit without seeing the original problem of periodic decline in data throughput. Others here have reported similar experiences, though the failure mode isn't always the same. I've reported to T-Mobile my suspicion that some engineer didn't do his/her homework (adequate environmental testing) before this product was released for production. So far I've heard nothing back. Such a shame, and so short sighted of them. I know they have people monitoring this forum.26Visto1like0ComentariosRe: Thermal Issues With Home Internet Gateway/Router as a Cause of Dropped/Slow Internet or Wi-Fi Connection
@ Stary, Thank you. Do you have any sense of whether the original window location was receiving more direct sunshine than the second location? T-Mobile's installation instructions cautions customers not to place the unit in direct sunlight, which of course translates to increased temperatures.22Visto0likes0ComentariosRe: Thermal Issues With Home Internet Gateway/Router as a Cause of Dropped/Slow Internet or Wi-Fi Connection
Great, Smoky, this is exactly the kind of documentation we need. Now if you could do one more thing: Take the fan away, set the tower up like it was when it was losing connection and see how long it runs without needing a reset. It would also be helpful if you can verify that the extra airflow is the only thing that changed, that is, you didn't move the gateway to a new spot, etc.43Visto0likes0ComentariosRe: Thermal Issues With Home Internet Gateway/Router as a Cause of Dropped/Slow Internet or Wi-Fi Connection
I'm having to update my post here as the edit function doesn't seem to exist. IMPORTANT: To reboot, use the power switch; power off for 30 seconds and then power back up using the switch. If you attempt a reset by unplugging the AC adapter a portion of the modem will remain powered by the battery. I'm not sure you can get an effective reset by using that method.45Visto0likes0ComentariosRe: 5G home internet keeps dropping
@jtheiss Thank you for the reply. I've started a new thread to collect information from users like us who have experienced degradation after some period of operation. If you'd care to participate it can be found here: https://community.t-mobile.com/tv-home-internet-7/thermal-issues-with-home-internet-gateway-router-as-a-cause-of-dropped-slow-internet-or-wi-fi-connection-3670210Visto0likes0ComentariosRe: Home Internet Overheating
@jlillard I've created a new discussion on the heating issue you steered me to at https://community.t-mobile.com/tv-home-internet-7/thermal-issues-with-home-internet-gateway-router-as-a-cause-of-dropped-slow-internet-or-wi-fi-connection-36702 I Thought I'd post it under your thread as others might look here. Thank you for first tipping us off on the thermal connection.13Visto0likes0ComentariosThermal Issues With Home Internet Gateway/Router as a Cause of Dropped/Slow Internet or Wi-Fi Connection
I am a Newbie here and a fairly new T-Mobile Home Internet customer. But my background is electrical engineering and I've been around a while. Like many community members I have experienced frustrating degradation of my internet connectivity after a period of operation, which is temporarily fixed by cycling the Gateway's power (otherwise known as a soft reset, not the paperclip nuclear option). The standard fix per T-Mobile Tech Support is to just perform that reset, which isn't a "fix" at all. Though many others have noted the thermal connection, I feel it's time we get organized on this. Without going into great detail and after surfing a number of forum threads and through my own direct experience, I have become convinced that the primary cause of the various complaints expressed by posters is heat buildup in the Gateway's enclosure and a subsequent compromise in performance in one or several of the Gateways numerous devices. There could be multiple devices affected, manifesting in different failure modes, but one primary cause - heat. What I'm asking community members to do is to test this theory by keeping a record of the time from device reset (powering down, then back up) to failure or degradation of either internet or wi-fi connectivity or any other failure mode, and then to apply some means of enhanced airflow through the Gateway's enclosure, whether it be placing a muffin fan on top of the Gateway (blowing up, not down) or simply sitting the Gateway atop an A/C vent in your home with constant airflow and recording any difference in the time between reset and the failure. Repeating this sequence several times and then posting your results here, on this thread, will be most helpful. If, as I strongly suspect will be the case, a correlation between enhanced airflow and increased "up-time" is documented in one place (here) by multiple forum members, we will have a powerful tool to get T-Mobile's management to fix this problem. Please don't post here unless you have performed the requested action; there are many other threads to use. What do you say?14KViews1like35ComentariosRe: 5G home internet keeps dropping
@jtheiss I like your suggestion that we document our experiences on one thread in as detailed a way as possible. One idea would be for users using additional airflow to record the mean time from reboot to failure both with and without such airflow. I'm convinced its a heat issue, but know from experience that trying to get action on this through bottom tier tech support in Mexico is futile. Nothing speaks louder than hard data, and the possibility of exposure through a major publication. I intend to make this case to T-Mob management directly, and it will be very helpful to have a user group compiling this data to point to. Thank you for your efforts.22Visto2likes0ComentariosRe: 5G home internet keeps dropping
@jtheiss - I'm curious to know if both the gateways behaved identically. That is, were you running the cooling fan on both of them? Same exact failure mode, etc? Even if not, there are enough variables in any design that if the problem is with a voltage regulator, for example, many other components "could" be affected differently due to varying component sensitivities to low voltage conditions. This could lead to a difference in failure modes in something as complex as a combination gateway / wireless router. The fact that a Tech Support person offered the fan solution and was surprised that it didn't fix the problem is significant. I've worked in companies where products have known and fixable design issues and management decided to ignore the issue after a cost / benefit analysis. And of course we've all heard the horror stories about the auto industry. Thanks for your input. FJ13Visto1like0Comentarios