T-Mobile Unlimited Data?

[filo4u]

Hello, I'm new at all this and tried out my t-mobile sim that's on an unlimited plan. I have my sim card inside an old Netgear LB1120 that my friend let me borrow for a couple of weeks, and everything is working great. At first, I was getting really slow speeds, but thanks to this forum, I found tips to change TTL value to 65. Now my download and upload speeds are the same as when I was testing it on my phone.

My question is, has anyone here received a warning or letter from t-mobile that you have been using way too much data? I know Sprint doesn't care because I am a hotspot user with the unlimited LTE plan. My only problem with Sprint is signal isn't great where I live and would need to invest in high-end antennas, LTE modem, and router to make it work better. Should I keep using T-Mobile or invest in getting Sprint to work? My other problem is, would all my investments in equipment be useless once T-Mobile and Sprint merge? Thank you in advance.

[filo4u]

Answering my own question here. Reading from a bunch of different articles and forums assuming the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint happens, T-Mobiles plan for band 41 is for 5g and not LTE. Investing equipment for Sprint's band 41 might not be worth it.

[terryjett]

Greetings and welcome!

Honestly, I would lean towards T-mobile. Sprint's network is not near as solid and they have not invested near the $$$$ as t-mobile.

Been a Sprint user for years and it has always been "hit & miss" with network reliability. A coverage area that was rocking last month, may be barely usable t his month - been that way for years and has never changed.

Have also tested T-mobile over the years and for longest, I called them the "big city and interstate cell provider". Meaning they worked great in larger cities and along the interstate highway. Have always like T-mobile and the CEO, good people.

Concerning the merger, there are so many rumors could drive you insane. Here is a good reliable source of information:

https://www.cnet.com/news/sprint-posts- ... s-on-hold/

If I were going to invest in any equipment for either of the two, I would put my money on T-mobile.

[filo4u]

Thank you for the excellent response! I do like T-Mobile's reliability. I'm just a little worried that I may be using too much data with just a regular unlimited cellphone line. I will eventually get the T-Mobile ISP service, but it isn't available in my area yet. I am just wondering if anyone has received a letter or call from t-mobile warning them about too much data use.

[hinch16a]

Upgrading your equipment is a definite: Router with custom firmware, Sierra modem, directional antenna, LMR 400, etc. Honestly, I wouldn't worry about 5g right now. Wait a few years. My 4g setup is pulling 50mb down/ 8mb up. I'm using AT&T, and during congestion I am prioritized. Might try Sprint because it's CDMA, or T-Mobile because their tower is the closest. I easily use 200Gb of data per month, so having little to no prioritization is a key factor.

[SouthernBoyd]

I have been using T-Mobile Unlimited for a couple years in a 4G router (both ZBT WE826-T and WG3526). I also have several friends/customers who I helped set up the same. I typically use 200-300 GB per month and have never had an issue, nor have my friends. We use the connection for online gaming (Xbox Live) sometimes two at a time. We rarely see the effects of prioritization.

Early on, I found that I had to add the "Plus International" option that included unlimited high speed mobile hotspot (+$25/month) in order to get high speed through the router. I didn't know about the TTL setting at the time. This plan option is no longer available, so I am hesitant to remove it now that I know about the TTL setting. What is the plan you are using? They have a couple different levels of "Unlimited".

[gscheb]

Hello,
Been using T-Mobile for well over a year now. Got the Same unlimited Hot Spot plan. Keep it because it is the "right" thing to do and it includes HD streaming. Not breaking any rules with it that way. Told the guy at the T-Mobile store what I was going to do with it. Currently in a Mofi 4500. Like you didn't know about TTL Setting and at the time was just trying to get unlimited hot spot data. My son uses allot of data at times down loading computer stuff and have never had issues with being prioritized or them contacting me about my data use.
[attachment=0]T-Mobile Usage.jpg[/attachment]

[SouthernBoyd]

Keep it because it is the "right" thing to do and it includes HD streaming. Not breaking any rules with it that way.

I tend to feel the same way about this.

[gscheb]

Seems you can still get but got to know what to ask for. And it is a little more expensive now. Called Global plus 15 GB. Here is a link for the info on it if anyone is interested in it. Has unlimited 4G hotspot and HD streaming.
https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-39110

[chts2019]

Hello, I'm new at all this and tried out my t-mobile sim that's on an unlimited plan. I have my sim card inside an old Netgear LB1120 that my friend let me borrow for a couple of weeks, and everything is working great. At first, I was getting really slow speeds, but thanks to this forum, I found tips to change TTL value to 65. Now my download and upload speeds are the same as when I was testing it on my phone.

My question is, has anyone here received a warning or letter from t-mobile that you have been using way too much data? I know Sprint doesn't care because I am a hotspot user with the unlimited LTE plan. My only problem with Sprint is signal isn't great where I live and would need to invest in high-end antennas, LTE modem, and router to make it work better. Should I keep using T-Mobile or invest in getting Sprint to work? My other problem is, would all my investments in equipment be useless once T-Mobile and Sprint merge? Thank you in advance.

Help filo4u,

I am trying desperately to get a Netgear LB1120 to work with a T-Mobile One unlimited tablet data plan. Is there anyway I could contact you on more details on how you did this? I would be happy to pay you for your time. I just signed up as a T-Mobile business partner and have 25 SIM cards to activate for some very rural internet service. The company that sold me the SIM cards said that it would not be any problem for this to work. It worked great for one day and now it only goes to a T-Mobile site that says “your data plan does not work on this device”. I am guessing that I will need to purchase a special router to make the changes needed. Again I appreciate any help you can give me!

[BillA]

Help filo4u,

I am trying desperately to get a Netgear LB1120 to work with a T-Mobile One unlimited tablet data plan. Is there anyway I could contact you on more details on how you did this? I would be happy to pay you for your time. I just signed up as a T-Mobile business partner and have 25 SIM cards to activate for some very rural internet service. The company that sold me the SIM cards said that it would not be any problem for this to work. It worked great for one day and now it only goes to a T-Mobile site that says “your data plan does not work on this device”. I am guessing that I will need to purchase a special router to make the changes needed. Again I appreciate any help you can give me!

From what you have described, it sounds like the sim card contains a limited amount of data and/or hotspot/tether data, and once that ran out, you've got the dreaded “Your data plan does not work on this device” message. Not knowing which is the case exacly, if you set the TTL to 65, and it starts working again then it's just a limited hotspot/tether service. On the other hand, If it still doesn't work with the TTL settings, then it's most likely a limited amount of data plan, and there's nothing more you can do, other than changing the plan to a more expensive truly unlimited data plan.
For testing purposes, you can connect the LB1120 to your pc via ethernet, then once you get the “Your data plan does not work on this device” message in a browser, then send these TTL settings in Windows' CMD window (WinKey + R, enter CMD), then copy and paste these two commands one by one:

netsh int ipv4 set global defaultcurhoplimit=65
netsh int ipv6 set global defaultcurhoplimit=65

This will essentially do the same as the TTL settings in a router just so you can quickly find out the issue with your data.
If your data starts working then it's likely a limited hotspot/tether plan, and the solution is to get a router with TTL settings capability, otherwise you will need to upgrade to a more expensive unlimited data plan.

[BillA]

Thank you for the excellent response! I do like T-Mobile's reliability. I'm just a little worried that I may be using too much data with just a regular unlimited cellphone line. I will eventually get the T-Mobile ISP service, but it isn't available in my area yet. I am just wondering if anyone has received a letter or call from t-mobile warning them about too much data use.

So, I've done some research on this new "Home Internet" service by Tmobile (https://www.t-mobile.com/ISP), and here's what I have found so far. It's basically an attempt to bring internet service to underserved rural areas (sort of).
Here comes the goodies...

*** Pros ***
1.
It's available now, but only in very limited areas, more on this below.
That's it folks for all the pros.... not kidding. lol


*** Cons ***
(Cons says "Hold my beer!" to the Pros xD)
1.
It's only available in VERY limited areas. You may be asking "But why?!"
Well, according to a manager at my local Tmobile shop, it's basically a limited service Tmobile has launched, in order to maximize the bandwidth/tower usage in sparsely populated rural areas (where population count is around ten cows per human, jk), while trying to make a buck at the same time. The reason why it's a secret, by invitation only service, is because they don't want city slickers to even know about (not kidding). Based on their slick video presentation, it's clearly marketed toward rural folks only. With that out of the way, let's see what you get.

2.
You get some cheesy run-of-the-mill "hotspot" box, with no external antennas for LTE or WiFi (and you know what that means, right?!) Yep, you will get a speed-limiting break built right in, due to the less than adequate antenna system.
So while they're touting 50Mbps, good luck with that. At this point JimHelms is probably cracking up, you can almost hear it! ;D

But wait, there's more:
"There are no data caps and no speed caps. We expect download speeds of around 50 Mbps." - Riiiiight!

"The T-Mobile Home Internet LTE Wi-Fi Gateway will be geographically locked to your specified home's location so you won't be able to move it from one home to another." - WTF? RV'ers you're SOL! It's almost worse than cable. lol

"Live TV (e.g. live sports and live broadcasts) is not currently supported." - Goodbye live sports/TV, Hello packet filtering!

"Can I use my T-Mobile Home Internet service with my TVision™ Home service? Not at this time." - That sucks!

"Currently, we do not offer T-Mobile Home Internet for business." - Guess they don't want your business! xD

"T-Mobile Home Internet Wi-Fi signal which ranges depending on interference and obstructions, but we estimate it will be approximately 30 feet, give or take." - Wooot? 30 feet? Give or take? Hmmm...

"T-Mobile Home Internet is currently available by invitation only to existing T-Mobile customers at limited select home addresses." - Hmmm, this must be some sort of secret Illuminati club. lol

3.
The service costs around $60/per month, $50 with auto-pay (since my card got hacked online twice already, I sure as hell don't need that hassle ever again, for real!)


So, that's in a nutshell for now.
Maybe one day when they come out with a half decent router including antennas (even with 5G), and lift all those limitations, it might become a contender some day, but not right now. In the meantime, it's better to build your own from thewirelesshaven.com

[jolly]

Can the sim be moved to a different device?

[BillA]

Can the sim be moved to a different device?

From what I've heard so far no, the sim is tied to the imei of the device.

[Zel99]

Does anyone know if something changed recently in regards to "masking" your internet usage on T-Mobile?

I purchased a sim and plan through Teltik that had 20gb of hotspot data. I set up my modem/goldenorb as suggested, setting my custom TTL to 65.

I then blew through all 20gb of hotspot data despite my TTL being set to 65. I've since tried every other TTL in the drop down just incase those might work (they didn't).

If I use a speedtest.net test, I get my full fat 30-40mbps speeds, however any other speed test results in my actual 500-700kbps speeds.

Do you think they're checking my IMEI or something?

[gscheb]

If I use a speedtest.net test, I get my full fat 30-40mbps speeds, however any other speed test results in my actual 500-700kbps speeds.

It could be the lack of HD streaming.
speedtest.net does not check for HD streaming just checks speed. Fast.com and some others check HD streaming abilities for watching videos and etc.

[BillA]

Does anyone know if something changed recently in regards to "masking" your internet usage on T-Mobile?

I purchased a sim and plan through Teltik that had 20gb of hotspot data. I set up my modem/goldenorb as suggested, setting my custom TTL to 65.

I then blew through all 20gb of hotspot data despite my TTL being set to 65. I've since tried every other TTL in the drop down just incase those might work (they didn't).

If I use a speedtest.net test, I get my full fat 30-40mbps speeds, however any other speed test results in my actual 500-700kbps speeds.

Do you think they're checking my IMEI or something?

Run both of these speed tests, the first one is HTTP while the second is HTTPS, and see i it makes a difference.

http://www.bing.com/widget/t/speedtest

https://www.bing.com/widget/t/speedtest

[frappychino]

I had this problem recently with a T-Mobile reseller. After months being with this provider, one day, I was being throttled on my modem. I could tell it was throttling because video was defaulting to 360p where streaming services support that resolution, and buffering indefinitely on other services. Speeds were .7 - 1.5 Mbps on any device in my home whereas they'd been upwards of 50-75 Mbps until that point.

My usage pattern hadn't changed at all in this time on an unlimited plan.

When I complained, the provider said moving the SIM can cause this issue, and re-provisioned my SIM card. Whether or not they were being honest, it fixed the issue and things have been without issue since.

It'd be worth a try to ask them to do the same for you.

[antons]

I just assembled my solution for T-Mobile few days ago (prepaid unlimited 50$ plan). At current set up I get up to 25Mbs both ways (I expect it to go up when I bring antenna up to the roof). However seems like I get throttled periodically and speeds go all the way down to 100Kbs (it recovers after some time or after hard reboot). TTL is set to 65 from the get go. Not quite sure what causes the throttle

My setup: directional antenna in WiFiX box with Mofi4500 SIM7 inside (I found out about Wireless Joint after I already got Mofi; I was considering returning it, but seems like it does the job so I haven't found enough reasons to justify it yet). I'm using Band lock on band66 (seems to have best performance out here)

[Didneywhorl]

I just assembled my solution for T-Mobile few days ago (prepaid unlimited 50$ plan). At current set up I get up to 25Mbs both ways (I expect it to go up when I bring antenna up to the roof). However seems like I get throttled periodically and speeds go all the way down to 100Kbs (it recovers after some time or after hard reboot). TTL is set to 65 from the get go. Not quite sure what causes the throttle

My setup: directional antenna in WiFiX box with Mofi4500 SIM7 inside (I found out about Wireless Joint after I already got Mofi; I was considering returning it, but seems like it does the job so I haven't found enough reasons to justify it yet). I'm using Band lock on band66 (seems to have best performance out here)

How are you setting TTL?
There may be bleed through. Are you setting both the ipv4 AND ipv6 TTL?

[antons]

How are you setting TTL?
There may be bleed through. Are you setting both the ipv4 AND ipv6 TTL?

Mofi4500 has admin interface and there is only one field for TTLs. I would assume they do for both ipv4 and ipv6 but I will follow up with them. Also ipv6 is turned off by default and I haven't enabled it yet, so I don't think this is the problem