OT: Does anyone have Fios or T-Mobile internet?

[cliftonparksufan]

Pros/Cons. Pricing? Speed? Really more interested in T-Mobile instead of Verizon, but open to all available options

 

[bozophobe]

I recently "cut the cord" after having Verizon Fios since 2006. Got rid of the cable, I mean. Will have to access S.U. sports in other ways. Fios seems to be the best way to access the most games. ACC network worked mostly, but there have been changes. And having Verizon allowed access to online ESPN services, so the one-third of the time or so you can't watch S.U. games on tv, you could stream it by hooking up a laptop to the tv or some other way, although one experiences freezing more often that way.

I was paying about 200 a month for cable/internet/home phone. I only have Fios internet now, and that's about $100 a month. There are cheaper options, but I want to hear more from others who have these new T-Mobile or XFinity services that claim super fast service without traditional equipment.

Fios internet in general has been really reliable, but upload/download speeds are never quite what are advertised. Spectrum is offering both internet and one cell line for $49.99, but a lot of people are complaining that they hike prices.

 

[oldpinepoint]

Spectrum is straight up trash, loved fios at my old house

 

[cto]

I like Fios. Good product and great customer service. I have it for tv and internet.

 

[CU44SE]

Want to clarify because you also said T-Mobile. Are you talking Verizon Wifi 5g home internet or Fios?

I just went 5g home internet with Verizon and I have been mixed. I almost returned it several times. I made the switch because I despise spectrum. Spectrum service was spotty but then got much better but they price hike you constantly and I don’t want to play that game.

My issues with 5g internet is the ping. I had problems for 4 weeks straight where I had to reset my modem daily and the ping would be 700 and the internet unusable. I called 4 times. I don’t know what changed but since that time it’s been great with no issues. But if I had the option with this and Fios. I would probably do the wired (Fios) connection.

 

[DoubleDee]

I read the small print on the Verizon 5g home internet. I stopped reading when I read I could not connect my Mac to it. Have to have Wi-Fi

 

[CU44SE]

I read the small print on the Verizon 5g home internet. I stopped reading when I read I could not connect my Mac to it. Have to have Wi-Fi

Not sure what you read. But I have a mac, iPad, iPhone. No issues with any of them connecting.

 

[DoubleDee]

Not sure what you read. But I have a mac, iPad, iPhone. No issues with any of them connecting.

I may be a tad off. I currently have fios. I was reading up on their new wireless home internet (basically their mobile service) that is like $35/month. That will not support a mac and a lot of other devices due to mhz or something like that. We're probably talking about different things.

 

[CU44SE]

I may be a tad off. I currently have fios. I was reading up on their new wireless home internet (basically their mobile service) that is like $35/month. That will not support a mac and a lot of other devices due to mhz or something like that. We're probably talking about different things.

Nope we’re talking about the same thing. I have wireless 5g with Verizon. The 35 dollar one.

One note, I do not have the ultra wide band service that gets up to 1gb speeds. That is only available in select big city’s and needs an antenna or some device on each block. Which also requires a different type of modem that needs to go on your window.

I do have the second tier one. I get on average 250-300 speeds. I did have ping issues which made it unusable for a couple weeks initially but have not had any issues within the past month. As I stated above, I am connected with Mac’s, iPhones, tablets, shields, roughly 70 internet connections without any issues.

 

[DoubleDee]

Nope we’re talking about the same thing. I have wireless 5g with Verizon. The 35 dollar one.

One note, I do not have the ultra wide band service that gets up to 1gb speeds. That is only available in select big city’s and needs an antenna or some device on each block. Which also requires a different type of modem that needs to go on your window.

I do have the second tier one. I get on average 250-300 speeds. I did have ping issues which made it unusable for a couple weeks initially but have not had any issues within the past month. As I stated above, I am connected with Mac’s, iPhones, tablets, shields, roughly 70 internet connections without any issues.

Good to know

 

[atlanticuse]

I had T-Mobile 5G Home (as backup) for about a year after experiencing a weeklong outage with ATT Fiber. We had the grey colored trash can shaped device.

Speed was all over the place. It would range from 400mbps+ (11pm) to under 80mbps download during rush hour. Yes, you’re sharing with phone users, and they do throttle (like the sarcastic commercials).

Upload was never better than 11mbps. The reality is that “5G” is BS - you can see one or both radios are running on LTE.

Support tried to shame me that I had unlimited and never would again.

The final straw was repeated reboots and outages. Retail store wouldn’t do anything. Even after support recommended I go to one.

As an aside, we have ATT for mobile, and I got Verizon as a backup (it turned out to be zero-sum/increase when my parents changed their plan since I BYO my iPhone 14 Pro).

VZ is reliably between 200mbps and 3600mbps (outdoor/rare/mmWave). Mid range is 400-600 over C-band. Upload is 25-80mbps.

Funny final comment - you can test T-Mo and VZW for free on eSIM devices. But what I found is that performance during the free 30-day trial is much faster than reality once you pay. It’s not hyperbole - I’ve confirmed with 10 people and 25+ devices. Basically they put new trial users on a higher priority (PRI).

 

[cliftonparksufan]

I had T-Mobile 5G Home (as backup) for about a year after experiencing a weeklong outage with ATT Fiber. We had the grey colored trash can shaped device.

Speed was all over the place. It would range from 400mbps+ (11pm) to under 80mbps download during rush hour. Yes, you’re sharing with phone users, and they do throttle (like the sarcastic commercials).

Upload was never better than 11mbps. The reality is that “5G” is BS - you can see one or both radios are running on LTE.

Support tried to shame me that I had unlimited and never would again.

The final straw was repeated reboots and outages. Retail store wouldn’t do anything. Even after support recommended I go to one.

As an aside, we have ATT for mobile, and I got Verizon as a backup (it turned out to be zero-sum/increase when my parents changed their plan since I BYO my iPhone 14 Pro).

VZ is reliably between 200mbps and 3600mbps (outdoor/rare/mmWave). Mid range is 400-600 over C-band. Upload is 25-80mbps.

Funny final comment - you can test T-Mo and VZW for free on eSIM devices. But what I found is that performance during the free 30-day trial is much faster than reality once you pay. It’s not hyperbole - I’ve confirmed with 10 people and 25+ devices. Basically they put new trial users on a higher priority (PRI).

So here is my situation. With Spectrum currently, I have the up to 300 mbps plan but it tests at around 51 download and 11 upload. However, that has been sufficient for us at $87 a month. T-Mobile would be 150 mbps at $30 a month. Verizon is $50 for 300 mbps. I think I'm willing to try the T-Mobile first to see if it's any different than Spectrum.

 

[atlanticuse]

So here is my situation. With Spectrum currently, I have the up to 300 mbps plan but it tests at around 51 download and 11 upload. However, that has been sufficient for us at $87 a month. T-Mobile would be 150 mbps at $30 a month. Verizon is $50 for 300 mbps. I think I'm willing to try the T-Mobile first to see if it's any different than Spectrum.

TMobile is wonky. Again not sure if “5G Home” is better than “an iPhone” or mobile hotspot, but it’s *supposed to be more durable since it’s bigger device with two radios.

I’ve proven that wrong.

Our ATT Fiber is 2gbps and great, but expensive.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

TMobile is wonky. Again not sure if “5G Home” is better than “an iPhone” or mobile hotspot, but it’s *supposed to be more durable since it’s bigger device with two radios.

I’ve proven that wrong.

Our ATT Fiber is 2gbps and great, but expensive.

Thanks. I don't think ATT is an option for me. Whatever I select needs to work otherwise the Queen of the castle will let her displeasure been known.

 

[atlanticuse]

Thanks. I don't think ATT is an option for me. Whatever I select needs to work otherwise the Queen of the castle will let her displeasure been known.

Verizon wireless is terrific, but their 5G [Fixed Wireless/Home] is limited in availability.

 

[Newhouser]

I have FIOS for everything and have had no issues (hope I didn't just jinx myself). It isn't cheap.

 

[Sbucketball]

Spectrum is the worst. We aren't getting the games on cable due to its negotiations with Disney/ESPN.

One time a few years ago I noticed Showtime was suddenly unavailable despite me paying for the package that includes all those movie channels, and when I called Spectrum the rep said they cancelled that channel and others that people might not be using without sending any notice or discounting the subscription. They reactivitated it only because I called and asked why I wasn't getting it. Insane business practice. They sell you the package and then in the middle of the night reduce it to a cheaper package without telling you and without reducing the price.

Another time I wasn't receiving a signal and they sent a test to my box which promptly killed my TV, and they denied it was Spectrum's fault. I can't imagine it was a coincident the TV died the exact moment they were sending some sort of test to my system (this one, although aggravating, worked out ok because it was a good excuse to get a new tv).

Many more examples, but I digress. Spectrum was the only provider at my previous house, but we moved two years ago and now I can get Fios. I might make the change. I also get most of the streaming services, and all of it together seems like a waste of money. Probably should downsize but I'd like to see one service have most of the things I want, Cuse games prime among them.

 

[andyw715]

I have T-Mobile Home Internet (5G)

The Good:
It's great. I get between 300-500*** Mbps download and 10-40 Mbps upload. And the price is right.
YMMV though as the experience is dependent on a few things.
Location/geography: being close to a 5G tower is imperative as the signal on n41 band has limited reach (2mi?). Line of sight is best but even through trees I get good throughput.
Tower saturation: its best to be in a area with less T-Mobile users! duh. But really, congested areas with high client numbers will adversely affect your service.

The Bad:
As mentioned above, ping times aren't the best which is common among cellular connections.
Also the current batch of gateways don't allow you to disable their built-in WiFi router so there is a thing called double NATing that takes place.
For most these don't cause an issue; unless the pings are super long or you are a gamer and the double NATing gets in the way.

Outook - T Mobile has introduced 2 new gateways this August which are supposed to provide a faster and more reliable connection. They have embraced the idea of a possible external antenna (without the need to open up the gateway).

Again YMMV with TMobile but you can try it out for 15 days, setup its internal wifi and point some devices to it and give it a run.

Closing, if price isn't a consideration than a wired solution is generally the best. But also depends on the company. I haven't had to deal with TMob customer service yet, but I know Spectrum sux. That in and of itself was reason enough for me to switch.


***bandwidth needs are an individual thing, but I feel bandwidth has been way oversold to the general public. With 4 people in our household and the 50+ devices on the network 100 Mbps would be plenty.

 

[tptcuse]

I have FIOS for everything and have had no issues (hope I didn't just jinx myself). It isn't cheap.

Same. No issues at all and I watch any game I want. I am always wondering if there is a cheaper way to get that, but maybe too old to give it much real thought.

 

[Red Holzman]

Switched from Spectrum to several Fios years ago.
When the tech hooked Fios up I commented on how my TV picture seemed much improved.
He said that's b/c the Spectrum line is shared, and Fios is not.
No issue w/outages. The Spectrum truck visits neighbor across the street from time to time, and I smile.
Fios FanBoy.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Pros/Cons. Pricing? Speed? Really more interested in T-Mobile instead of Verizon, but open to all available options

FIOS service is outstanding. I have Gigabit internet. TV is expensive, but the Internet is smoking.