How to Set up a Mesh Network with T-Mobile 5G Home Internet

When setting up the mesh network, I would use different SSIDs to avoid any drops or glitches from devices hopping between the two WiFi networks.

Bridge mode is something you would set on your router to pass through the internet connection to another device (e.g., your mesh router). This would essentially turn off WiFi on your router to eliminate any interference or conflicts.

However, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet routers don’t support bridge mode, nor can you manually turn off the WiFi. So to use T-Mobile 5G Home Internet with Eero, Nest or another mesh router system, follow the steps above to get it set up and help reduce potential WiFi interference.

I researched this and came up with a lot of murky explanations, some of which don’t make sense (including from Sonos). My best guess from what I’ve read is that it has to do with the way the T-Mobile 5G router assigns and shares access between the 5GHz and 2.4 GHz WiFi bands which prevents the speakers from connecting to each other through the network. There are two possible easy solutions to try before you buy another router or mesh system.

First, set the WiFi network to only run in 2.4GHz in the T-Mobile Internet app settings. By forcing everything to remain on 2.4GHz, it may fix the communication issues. There is a little downside to killing the 5GHz as far as network speed and congestion, but it probably won’t be significant.

The second option is to plug your first Sonos speaker into the 5G router via Ethernet and then continue the setup with the other Sonos devices. I’ve read (but haven’t confirmed) that this will cause the Sonos speaker to set up a private 2.4GHz network for communicating with other Sonos devices, avoiding the T-Mobile WiFi network entirely. It’s not clear to me if you have to keep this speaker plugged in to Ethernet or can remove it to use on WiFi after setup.

If neither of those options work, then you may have to try Eero or another system that offers more flexibility in the router options and, perhaps, better cross-band sharing. Eero would also resolve any issues with internal static IP addresses, though I’m not clear that is actually the issue as the T-Mobile router shouldn’t be swapping IP addresses on your network every 30 minutes.

Please let me know what ends up working for you.

Yes, this setup creates a double NAT, but I just set up the T-Mobile router again to test with Eero and had no issues with VPN (ProtonVPN), Tor, or any secure sites. I didn’t test with Xbox, but if you are experiencing issues, you could hardwire the Xbox into the T-Mobile router or use the T-Mobile WiFi network instead of the mesh network (the T-Mobile WiFi never gets shut off, so it’s still available). Note that the T-Mobile router doesn’t allow port forwarding at all.

So, the real world impact of a double NAT scenario created by adding a mesh system on top of the T-Mobile router is pretty limited for most users.

The Nest mesh system should work with any of the T-Mobile routers. If you can provide more specifics on what you’re reading, along with a link, I can give a more direct answer.

Not sure if anyone can comment but I get 50 Down / 50 Up when connected directly to the TM5G gateway wifi. When connected either wirelessly or wired LAN to my Google Home mesh wifi system with 4 access points, speeds drop to 15 up / 2 down! I rely on the mesh system given size of home and outbuildings. All mesh access points are wired. Google tech support wasn’t of much help. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Helpful article but I guess I need the setup for dummies version. I’m trying to set up 3 new Google Nest Wifi routers (NOT the Pro model) to extend my T-Mobile Gateway (ARC KVD21 GATEWAY). I have two problems. 1) The first Nest Wifi router I set up doesn’t seem to work after I disconnect it from the Gateway Ethernet and move it. 2) When I try to set up a second Nest Wifi router I get a “Network is offline” error.

I set up the first Google Nest Wifi Router with its own unique SSID, then I disconnected it from the T-Mobile Gateway. I moved the wifi point across the room and plugged it in—so now it is not tethered by Ethernet to the Gateway, only connected to power. I can connect to this newly set up wifi point on my laptop this way, it shows it’s connected and green, but I can’t access the internet. I tried unplugging and plugging it.

Then I tried to connect a second Google Nest Wifi Router to the T-Mobile Gateway. I click on “add a new device.” The app finds the device, but when it tries to connect it says “Network is offline.” Both the T-Mobile Gateway (which is working) and the first Google Nest Wifi Router (which is plugged in but can’t access the internet) are showing up on my laptop. I tried unplugging and plugging it. I tried rebooting Google Home (again).

My iPhone meets all the iOS requirements, I’ve loaded Google Home, I’ve troubleshooted all the possible setting errors with using iOS and I already had everything set the way it’s supposed to be (e.g. no VPN). I’ve tried rebooting Google Home. I really don’t want to have to delete all my other “known networks” on my phone and computer on the off chance that that’s a problem. Any suggestions?

I just got the new T-Mobile 5G Gateway (15-day free trial, white box). Couple of questions - I’ve moved the gateway at various locations close to windows and at best, I only get “Good” signal strength. I am able to connect all my systems and devices without much issues though. Speedtest varies - ranging from 40-120Mbps download, but upload is not that great (2-9Mbps). I’m concerned connecting all my systems/devices directly to this gateway wifi, hence what would you recommend making this more secure? I’ve tried connecting the Eero 6+ mesh devices, but these did not make much difference in terms of speed. Besides, I would have to sign up for their subscription service for the enhanced features. BTW, when you connect the Eero using Bridge mode, the enhanced features capabilities disappear. When you revert back to the Automatic DHCP option, the enhanced features appear back, but you would have to sign up for the subscription. Basically, would you recommend connecting all my systems/devices directly to the T-Mobile gateway wifi (from a Security standpoint)?

I’m having an issue due to existing Mesh (Asus) mesh network and am thinking I need to rename.  The T-Mobile gateway has it’s named network but the mesh system has it’s differently named network.  Even though the gateway is plugged into the mesh system, the two networks are still remaining separate and so printers and items on the former mesh network are not accessible from the 5G network.  Is there a workaround? or do I need to “remove” the mesh network and start all over?