T-Mobile Home Internet Review: Plans, Prices, and Availability

Choosing internet service for your new home often isn’t much of a choice at all — one in four people only have one provider available at their address. T-Mobile is here to give you another option. Launched in 2021, it’s already available to more than 40 million households. T-Mobile only offers one plan, which provides enough speed for households with three or fewer people:

Plans and pricing

If shopping for internet plans feels overwhelming, T-Mobile is the provider for you. It prides itself on simplicity when it comes to home internet, with a single one-size-fits-all plan. Here’s what you’ll get:

Your entire internet bill will cost $50/mo. before taxes and fees. That includes all the equipment you’ll need, and there are no extra charges for things like data usage. 

Deals

Like most internet service providers, T-Mobile offers a bunch of enticing perks to get you to switch over. That said, these change regularly, so make sure you check their deals page to see the most up-to-date offers. Here’s what they currently have:

• $50 Virtual Prepaid Mastercard®
• 65% off Google Nest Wi-Fi routers
• One year of Paramount+
• Six months of SiriusXM
• $10 off YouTube TV for one year
• $20 off each month when you bundle with two or more lines on T-Mobile Magenta MAX cellphone plan

Speed

Unlike other internet providers, which usually give you a few speed tiers to choose from, all T-Mobile customers receive the same speed range. You’ll get between 33 and 182 Mbps download speeds and 6 and 23 Mbps upload. That’s a pretty wide range.

On the bright side, T-Mobile’s 5G network consistently ranks as one of the fastest around. According to the speed test data from Ookla, T-Mobile customers get 151 Mbps download and 13 Mbps upload speeds on average — the highest speeds of any mobile network. That’s on par with traditional ISPs like Xfinity and Spectrum.  

So, is T-Mobile fast enough for your home? T-Mobile should be fine for a house with four or fewer people using the internet at once, but those who do bandwidth-heavy activities like 4K streaming or online gaming might want to look elsewhere.

How T-Mobile 5G Home Internet works

T-Mobile is part of a wave of cellphone networks that are using their networks for 5G home internet. Unlike cable or fiber internet providers, the signal is sent wirelessly instead of through phone lines or cable, so you can get a solid internet connection in most areas. 

The tradeoff, however, is that you won’t get the blazing fast speeds that other providers can offer, and the wireless connection may be slightly less reliable. The speeds you get will vary “depending on your location, signal strength and availability, time of day, and other factors,” according to T-Mobile’s Home Internet FAQ. 

In other words, you won’t know until you try it. Fortunately, T-Mobile internet is incredibly simple to set up, and you can cancel within 15 days for a full refund. 

T-Mobile 5G Home availability

One of the biggest appeals of 5G home internet is that you aren’t tied down to whatever internet provider happens to control the cables running to your home. Even as a newer ISP, T-Mobile internet is already available to more than 40 million homes nationwide, and coverage in every state but Alaska. You can check your eligibility here. 

How does T-Mobile compare?

T-Mobile is generally in the middle of the pack when it comes to price and speed. But while other providers might look like a better deal, T-Mobile internet might win out in the long run because it never raises your price. Spectrum’s introductory plan, for example, increases to $74.99/mo. in the second year.

Our take

T-Mobile Home Internet is reasonably priced, equipment is included at no extra cost, and speeds are plenty for a household with only one or two people using the internet at a time. If you have more than one person working or learning from home, though, T-Mobile’s speeds might not be fast enough.

We recommend trying it out if the only other options available at your address are cable providers like Xfinity and Spectrum. But if you can get fiber internet from providers like AT&T or Verizon Fios, you should do it. (If you’re choosing between DSL or satellite and T-Mobile, choose T-Mobile.)

Because wireless connections are a little more variable, you’ll have to test out T-Mobile for yourself to know exactly how it performs. Fortunately, T-Mobile gives you a 15-day free trial to do just that.