Well, I can add a couple of data points. This morning Fang and I had to run an errand so I tossed the home internet device (it seems like more than a hotspot) on the seat of the truck and set my phone to use only wifi for data and to stream Pandora (Fang prefers hits of the 50's and 60's, of course) while running speedtest.net. I only got about ten miles from home, but the route was mostly dense city so I'm sure I hit a lot of different towers.
It worked like a champ and showed me speeds from a low of 38 meg to 114 meg with an average of probably 75 meg. I think we can safely say that the device is not locked to a particular tower. It may be locked to a broader geographic region, though, but - other than Tmo's web page - there's no indication of that.
My return route was through a known dead spot and I lost the signal right were I expected to lose it. Oddly, the lights on the device continued to show that I had an LTE signal.
One thing I noticed last night when I was playing with the thing was that I couldn't get back in to the configuration pages with all the router stuff until I did a factory reset. Their FAQ addresses this and attributes it to proxy settings so it is a known problem. I don't envision doing a lot of configuration so this isn't a huge problem and if I had a complex configuration, I'd save it to a file and reload after doing a reset. I'm going to try an ethernet connection to see if I can get in to the config pages that way.
*IF* it turns out that there is some sort of geographic lock, perhaps a factory reset will overcome this problem. Alternatively, if we find a geographic restriction, I intend to try swapping the SIM in to a phone that uses the 600 meg band to see if I can access the unlimited data plan that way.
So far, I'm quite impressed with the device. Speeds are better than I usually see on my prepaid Verizon 8800 MiFi and the price is $20/mo less expensive. There are no antenna ports on this device, but I can't tell that the antenna ports on the 8800 make any difference. I'll have to see if my Wilson booster uses the 600 meg band, but I doubt that it does. The ethernet ports are a nice touch.
I plan to stream the TV through the device, tonight, just to see how it does. Because of my business data needs, I'm not planning to cut my 300 meg pipe any time soon, but for general home use, this little box may turn out to be a viable alternative.
I will be receiving the TMO 5G home internet device next month. I am a full time rv'er travelling up and down the East coast throughout the year. I currently use Unlimited to go ($99mo - have been for three years now). I was not invited to buy and when using the TMO inquiry was rejected for the location I am currently at. I took it upon myself to call and petition to make the purchase. I communicated my situation to the TMO sales rep when making my purchase. They routed me through several different sales & tech reps and finally approved me to make the purchase. I was told that I may have to do the factory reset upon location changes. I am excited to see if it is that easy and if this works for full timing scenarios. I will report back when I receive the device.
T-mobile Home Internet
in Internet Access on the Road
Posted
I will be receiving the TMO 5G home internet device next month. I am a full time rv'er travelling up and down the East coast throughout the year. I currently use Unlimited to go ($99mo - have been for three years now). I was not invited to buy and when using the TMO inquiry was rejected for the location I am currently at. I took it upon myself to call and petition to make the purchase. I communicated my situation to the TMO sales rep when making my purchase. They routed me through several different sales & tech reps and finally approved me to make the purchase. I was told that I may have to do the factory reset upon location changes. I am excited to see if it is that easy and if this works for full timing scenarios. I will report back when I receive the device.