I Replaced My Cable Internet with 5G Home Internet for 6 Months - Here's How It Went
After seeing T-Mobile's 5G home internet ads everywhere promising "no data caps, no contracts, just $50/month," I finally pulled the trigger in May. After six months of daily use, I've got a lot to say about when 5G home internet is awesome and when it's... not.
Fair warning: this is going to be a long one because there's alot of nuance here.
Why I Switched (Spoiler: I Hate Comcast)
I was paying Comcast $85/month for 300 Mbps internet that regularly dropped to 150 Mbps during peak hours. Plus they'd raised my rate three times in two years, and customer service was a nightmare.
T-Mobile's pitch was simple: $50/month, no installation, no contract, no data caps. If it sucked, I could just return the gateway and cancel. Worth a shot, right?
The First Week: Unrealistically Good
The gateway arrived, I plugged it in, and within 5 minutes I was connected. No tech visit, no drilling holes, no 4-hour installation window. Already better than cable.
Initial speed tests were incredible:
- Download: 380-450 Mbps
- Upload: 45-65 Mbps
- Ping: 25-35ms
I was thrilled. Faster than my cable, half the price, no Comcast. This was going to be great!
...Then reality set in.
Month 1-2: The Honeymoon Ends
About two weeks in, I started noticing patterns. The speeds were all over the place depending on time of day:
- Early morning (5-9 AM): 400+ Mbps - fantastic
- Midday (9 AM-5 PM): 250-350 Mbps - pretty good
- Evening (5-10 PM): 80-180 Mbps - ugh
- Late night (10 PM-1 AM): 300-400 Mbps - back to great
So during the hours when I actually use the internet most (evenings), I was getting the worst speeds. Classic.
Also discovered that the connection would randomly drop for 30-60 seconds a few times a day. Not often enough to be unusable, but often enough to be annoying during video calls.
Month 3: Gateway Placement is Everything
After complaining on Reddit, someone suggested I try moving the gateway around to find better signal. This turned into a whole thing.
I walked around my apartment with the gateway checking signal strength on the admin page. Found out:
- Near my north-facing window: 3 bars, "Very Good" signal
- Near my east-facing window: 4 bars, "Excellent" signal
- In the living room where I initially had it: 2 bars, "Good" signal
Moving it to that east window made a huge difference:
- Evening speeds improved from 80-180 Mbps to 150-250 Mbps
- Random disconnects went from 3-4/day to maybe 1/day
- Overall more consistent
Pro tip:
If you try 5G home internet, spend your first week moving the gateway around and testing different locations. The difference between 2 bars and 4 bars is massive. Even a few feet can matter.
Month 4: Weather is a Factor (Wait, What?)
This one caught me off guard. During a week of heavy storms in August, my speeds tanked. We're talking 40-80 Mbps when it was raining hard.
Turns out 5G signals can be affected by weather - especially heavy rain. It's not a huge problem, but it's definitely a thing that cable internet doesn't have to deal with.
Also noticed slower speeds on super hot days (95°F+). Not sure if that's the tower getting congested because everyone's running AC, or if heat affects the signal, but it was noticeable.
Month 5-6: I've Adapted, But There Are Tradeoffs
By this point, I'd learned to work around the limitations:
- Schedule big downloads for morning or late night
- Keep my old cable connection info in case I need to switch back (I haven't)
- Have my phone hotspot ready as backup for important video calls
- Accept that evening speeds will be slower
The question became: are these workarounds worth the $35/month savings?
The Good: What I Love About 5G Home Internet
- Price: $50/month vs $85/month for cable. That's $420/year saved.
- No contract: I can cancel anytime if it stops working well
- No data caps: I've used 2+ TB some months with zero issues
- Upload speeds: 50-60 Mbps vs 10 Mbps with cable. Huge difference for video calls.
- Simple setup: Literally plug it in and you're done
- No dealing with Comcast: This alone might be worth the tradeoffs
The Bad: What Drives Me Crazy
- Evening congestion: Speeds drop significantly when everyone's home
- Inconsistency: Never know exactly what speeds I'll get
- Random dropouts: Brief disconnections still happen occasionally
- Weather sensitivity: Performance degrades during storms
- Gaming ping: 25-45ms vs 15-20ms on cable. Noticeable in competitive games.
- Can't hardwire everything: Gateway only has 2 ethernet ports
When 5G Home Internet Makes Sense
After 6 months, here's my honest take on who should consider it:
5G home internet is great if you:
- Live in an area with good T-Mobile/Verizon 5G coverage
- Hate your cable company (valid)
- Want to save money on internet
- Don't do competitive online gaming
- Can be flexible about when you do bandwidth-heavy stuff
- Need internet RIGHT NOW and can't wait for installation
- Rent and might move soon (no contract to deal with)
Stick with cable/fiber if you:
- Work from home with constant video calls
- Do competitive gaming where ping matters
- Need 100% reliable, consistent speeds
- Have fiber available (fiber is still king)
- Have a good cable plan that actually delivers advertised speeds
- Live in an area with weak 5G signal
Important:
Before committing to 5G home internet, check if there's a trial period. T-Mobile and Verizon both offer returns within 14-15 days. Use that time to really test it - different times of day, different weather, etc. Don't just test it once and assume it'll always work that well.
The Verdict: Am I Keeping It?
Yes, but with caveats.
For my situation (working from home but flexible hours, living alone, not a competitive gamer), the savings and simplicity outweigh the inconsistency. I've saved over $200 so far, and I haven't had any show-stopping issues.
Would I recommend it to my parents? No - they need something that just works consistently without thinking about it.
Would I recommend it to my gamer friend? No - the ping variability would drive him nuts.
Would I recommend it to someone paying $100+/month for cable internet? Yeah, worth trying at least.
Tips If You Decide to Try It
- Test placement thoroughly: Spend the first week finding the optimal spot for the gateway. Near a window is usually best.
- Check signal strength: Log into the gateway admin page and check your signal metrics. Aim for 3+ bars.
- Test at different times: Run speed tests throughout the day to see the variability.
- Keep backup internet: Don't cancel cable until you're sure 5G works for you.
- Buy your own mesh system: The built-in WiFi on these gateways is mediocre. I'm using it with my own mesh WiFi system.
- Monitor data usage: Even though it's "unlimited," I've heard stories of throttling after like 1TB. Hasn't happened to me yet.
Final Thoughts
5G home internet isn't perfect, but it's gotten way better than when it first launched. For the right situation, it's a genuine alternative to cable.
The key is understanding what you're getting into - it's not as consistent as wired internet, but it's also half the price with no contract. That trade-off works for some people (like me) and doesn't work for others.
If you're on the fence, I'd say try it. Worst case scenario, you return it and go back to cable. Best case, you save a bunch of money and escape your cable company.
Just... don't expect miracles. It's good internet at a great price, not perfect internet.
Considering the switch?
Test your current speeds at different times of day to see what you're getting now. Then you'll have a baseline to compare against if you try 5G home internet.