T-Mobile doesn’t want you moving around with your 5G gateway without paying more

T-Mobile will track the 5G gateway through its GPS to ensure that you use it at the billing address only.

T-Mobile doesn’t want you moving around with your 5G gateway without paying more
T Mobile logo on smartphone (1)
Credit: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
  • T-Mobile recently launched new 5G Internet plans, one of which was focused on travelers who use the 5G gateway device at different locations.
  • However, users could theoretically use cheaper plans and still move the 5G gateway to other locations.
  • T-Mobile could fix this loophole by tracking the 5G gateway to ensure its use only at validated locations.

T-Mobile recently announced two new 5G internet plans, “Home Internet Plus” and “Away.” The Home Internet Plus plan is for households that need whole-home Wi-Fi, and it uses T-Mobile’s 5G gateway and a Wi-Fi Mesh Access Point for $70/month with AutoPay. The Away plan is for travelers and also uses T-Mobile’s 5G gateway, but it starts at $160/month with AutoPay for the unlimited plan. However, since both plans use T-Mobile’s 5G gateway, there’s nothing actually stopping Home Internet Plus users from just taking their router along with them.

Both 5G internet plans use T-Mobile’s “mobile” network, so you could theoretically pay for the cheaper Home Internet Plus plan and still carry your 5G gateway (modem and router device) beyond your home address. That would defeat the entire point of the Away plan, for which T-Mobile is charging a premium.