Forum Discussion
Severe slowdowns and lag after 2am CT
I had noticed that my T Mobile home internet slows down after midnight, then it would disconnect, reconnect and everything was fine. Fast forward to today and my speed drop to 8Mbps download and zero upload. I tried calling customer service and they said to reboot, reboot, and you know, reboot the modem.
After a short amount of time with customer support my modem speeds increased to 56.52 download and 9.86 upload. The latency is 275 down and 517 up. Prior to 2am today my speeds were 225.57 down and 8.07 up with a latency of 192 down and 492 up.
The support rep on the phone said that 56 down is acceptable but I disagree as I was having 225 down prior to 2am this morning.
Is anyone else seeing a significant decrease in speeds and latency after midnight?
Yes, I experience severe slowdowns and drops around and after midnight. It’s been frustrating. I get 4 bars all day long with speeds of 200+ mbps. I haven’t found a rational explanation for this.
- hyh23Newbie Caller
Yes, I experience severe slowdowns and drops around and after midnight. It’s been frustrating. I get 4 bars all day long with speeds of 200+ mbps. I haven’t found a rational explanation for this.
- rdj76Newbie Caller
We are at home and getting 2-bars. Started yesterday and fluctuates all day long. Streaming video on the tele freezes often, computer takes, what seems like, forever to load a page and just all around sluggishness. We haven’t added anything new or moved anything until it quit working - now starting to try to trouble shoot.
- copz1998Connection Curator
@sdscott, many users who experience your symptoms (fluctuations in performance) return to the basics and find a resolution. Here are a few steps to double-check. For perspective, remember that the TM tower never moves, as with your gateway, so placement is important.
Did you use the Placement Assistant in the T-Mobile Internet app? If not, you can access it from the TM Home Internet app (or T-Life app). Home Screen: tap the More about connection quality link on the Home Screen > Launch placement assistant > OK! Let's do this > You can watch the video if it will help, then “skip video,” which will launch the placement assistant > enter your address or share location (if you use “share location” and your address shows up, then you are assured to be connected to the network). It will take 30-45 seconds to confirm your location. Use the “Camera” mode for a direct visual of where your cell tower is located and where your gateway is located in your home. Ensure your gateway is located at a high point of your home and clear of any obstructions. Here is a helpful video: https://youtu.be/Q-DmRbQFuo0
What are your metrics - now that you are confident your gateway is located in the best possible location, your metrics will show the quality of your connection. In your T-Mobile Internet app > tap “MORE” at the bottom of the Home Screen > tap “Advanced cellular metrics” > tap “5G” > and let us know your RSRQ, RSRP, SINR, and which band you are connected to. You should be on band n41 or n71. Look at the chart posted below. To get the ideal readings, slightly rotate your gateway about 1/8th of a turn and then check the metrics to see if they change for the better. Repeat until you get the best metrics.
My metrics are RSRP 74, RSRQ 19, SINR 40, and I generally get +/- 100 Mbps down and 30 Mbps up.
Let us know what you find.
- sdscottTransmission Trainee
First I am a bit confused as to who marked my post as SOLVED and who marked “copz1998” response as “Best answer”? I did not mark my post as solved nor did I mark his post as best answer.
Second, I asked exactly one question in my post which is the very last sentence. It was: “Is anyone else seeing a significant decrease in speeds and latency after midnight?”
So anyone comprehending my post would see that I wasn’t asking for a solution to the speed issue. All I asked was if anyone else is experiencing significant speed decreases after midnight.
Third, don’t come into someones post and start pasting the FAQ without comprehending what the person posts. I stated that my internet speed drops significantly after 2am. Since you stated the obvious that the towers don’t move (seriously, who ever thought that they grew legs and moved around?) and I am going to state my modem hasn’t moved therefore the speeds should be consistent.
My 23 years of IT as a Sr Data Integration Developer has given me somewhat of a decent foundation in IT.
Not that it matters to this post but yes, I used the placement app when I set up my internet. I read, comprehended, and executed the directions when I set up my internet. This post is not trying to solve the internet speed issue. It is simply asking if others experience a significant drop in speed after midnight.
- copz1998Connection Curator
@sdscott, My apologies for missing your question. Where I am located (near a major freeway), the traffic thins out, and my speeds increase at night. Then my speeds slow down in morning commute hours.
T-Mobile prioritizes speeds for home internet AFTER cellular service. It it possible that you live in an area with a lot of vehicle and cellular traffic in the evenings (people getting home from work and jumping online or streaming?
Again, I'm sorry for misunderstanding your question. I understood your question from a different perspective.
I do not have any other suggestions for your symptoms, but perhaps someone else does.
Best of luck!
- sdscottTransmission Trainee
@copz1998 I live in a small town of under 10k including cats and dogs. It’s a farming area. The issue isn’t the evenings, my internet is still strong. My issue is after midnight. Specifically for me after 2am. This area is completely dead at 2am as McDonald’s is the only company open after 11pm.
I wouldn’t have been so aggressive in my reply except for the fact that my post is marked as SOLVED and it has a BEST ANSWER. It’s my post. How is it marked as SOLVED? How is it marked as BEST ANSWER? It neither solves nor answers my post. I find that to be incredibly rude and disrespectful. I don’t have the ability to change it either. Only one person has the right to state if a post is solved, the person who entered it. Same goes for BEST ANSWER.
Still not looking for suggestions for my symptoms. My one and only question is if others see a speed decrease after midnight.
My one and only question: “Is anyone else seeing a significant decrease in speeds and latency after midnight?”
I have been a T Mobile supporter most of my career. i am shocked that their forums are so easily manipulated in regards to SOLVED and BEST ANSWER. I am also surprised that they don’t have a ticketing system. They have dropped significantly in my eyes. Being in IT I can see a negative trend in the T Mobile roadmap.
- copz1998Connection Curator
@sdscott, based on the information you provided, I can’t find a reasonable technical explanation for your speed dips. How do your cell metrics look? RSRP, RSRQ, SINR? sometimes if RSRP is lower than desired, speed drops caused by high latency can occur. That is why I suggested rotating the gateway and rechecking the metrics to see if they improve.
The BEST ANSWER was a mistake on my part. I thought the forum was asking me about my (not your) experience.
- sdscottTransmission Trainee
@copz1998 I have stated several times that this post is not about solving my speed issues. Yet you refuse to comprehend that. Why?
I’ll state the purpose of this post one last time. I posted one question and only one question. It was “Is anyone else seeing a significant decrease in speeds and latency after midnight?”
In order to troubleshoot an issue an analyst must first gather data. Therefore, my question is an attempt to gather data and see if anyone else is experiencing a significant speed decrease after midnight. Any other responses are noise distracting from the original purpose of this post.
https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/troubleshooting
Step 1. Gather information
The first troubleshooting step for just about any problem is gathering information about it.
So if you aren’t here to answer the question “Is anyone else seeing a significant decrease in speeds and latency after midnight?” then you shouldn’t be posting in this post. It’s that simple. Don’t try and solve something that the poster didn’t ask for help with. Stop projecting your agenda onto the person who posted. It’s disrespectful and rude.
You expect me to believe you didn’t know how the forum works? You have 506 replies and “solved” 57. That’s a lot of replies and resolutions for someone who doesn’t understand how this forum works. That’s a very hard statement to believe.
- HeavenMCommunity Manager
@sdscott My sincerest apologies. As the moderator on the forum, I am able to mark responses as the best answer. That is what I did in this situation. I believed that @copz1998 provided some great information regarding the slowdowns and some good suggestions about what to look at. I meant no disrespect.
You are correct that the information that was provided does not answer your primary question in asking for others experience with slowdowns and when they might happen. I agree that we jumped a couple steps by trying to offer help where you were still gathering data. You can pop into the Troubleshooting | T-Mobile Community board to see many examples of people talking about latency and slowdowns and many of them mention what time of day those slowdowns happen.
Again, I am sorry for marking the suggestion as the best answer and have unmarked it.
- sdscottTransmission Trainee
I typed up a rather large reply with statistics but after I clicked send it did not post. It’s very frustrating when you put a lot into a reply to have it lost. Pressing the back button did not recover it either.
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