Option 1. Move your Gateway Outside in an Outdoor Gateway Enclosure
There are two ways to improve signal that we commonly recommend, either use an outdoor enclosure and move your gateway outside, or adding external antennas.
If you don't want to modify your device, we recommend that you move your gateway where the signal is.
The simplest choice is the Outdoor Gateway Enclosure which allows you to place your G5AR outdoors, where cellular signal is strongest, without opening or modifying the gateway.
Improves G5AR's performance by securely moving it outdoors in a weatherproof enclosure with integrated PoE.
Wall-mounted and weather-rated, the Outdoor Gateway Enclosure uses integrated PoE++ to power the gateway and bring data indoors over Ethernet. By placing the gateway outside, its built-in antennas can perform at their best with no aiming required.
IMPORTANT NOTE: In this setup, the gateway functions as a cellular modem only, so a separate Wi-Fi router is needed to provide wireless coverage throughout your home.
Option 2. Modify the Gateway and Add External Antennas
The G5AR's antenna ports aren't accessible from the outside, you'll need to make minor modifications to reach them internally. This is more challenging and risks your warranty, but might yield better performance.
We recommend two different MIMO antenna options for use with the T-Mobile 5G Internet Gateway (5GAR).
The easiest antenna choice for most people is our QuadMini Duo Antenna Kit. With up to 5.2 dBi of omnidirectional gain and multiple mounting options, it is designed to be extremely simple to install outdoors or indoors, at home or in an RV.
Upgrade your G5AR in minutes with this complete kit, featuring omnidirectional antennas and everything you need for an easy install.
However, if you're willing to spend a little bit of time aiming, our QuadPro Duo 8x8 Antenna Kit will generally get you the fastest data speeds, thanks to its 9.1 dBi of directional gain. This is particularly important if you're on the edge of coverage, or have very weak signal.
The T-Mobile 5G Internet Gateway has eight internal U.FL ports, which allow for two 4x4 MIMO antennas to be connected to the device.
Unlike T-Mobile's previous-generation G4AR, the G5AR's antenna ports aren't accessible from the outside, you'll need to open and make minor modifications to reach them.
Don't fret - we'll walk you through it step-by-step. All you really need is a screwdriver.
Installing External Antennas to the T-Mobile 5G Internet Gateway
In the next section of this guide, we'll show you how to open up your Gateway, connect adapters for external antennas, and close it back up.
Before you get started, you will need the following:
A small phillips head screwdriver
A Torx T10 screwdriver
A thin plastic prying tool, needle-nose pliers, or tweezers
Eight U.FL to SMA-Female pigtail adapters (included in our Antenna kits)
Tape for securing and labelling cables. Painters or Electrical tape works best.
A secure container to keep screws and small parts safe while you work
Important Note:
To connect external antennas, you will need to open your T-Mobile Home Internet Gateway.
Gateways are owned by T-Mobile, and breaking the tamper seals will likely result in charges for the full device value when you return it.
Waveform does not make any guarantees nor take any responsibility for damage caused to your unit when following these instructions. Please proceed at your own risk.
If you return your unit to T-Mobile, make sure to reconnect the original internal antenna connectors before doing so.
Step-by-Step Guide to Installing Adapters for External Antennas
Step 1: Power off the T-Mobile 5G Internet Gateway and unplug the power cable.
Step 2: Using a Torx T10 screwdriver, remove the two screws hidden beneath the G5AR’s feet. One screw is under a warranty seal - puncture the seal to access it. For easier removal, scrape or push back the sticker edges around the hole.
Step 3: On the front of the gateway, insert a prying tool into the seam at the top-right corner and press the cover downward. Repeat on the top-left corner to release the front cover.
Step 4: Lift off the front cover and place it to the side.
Step 5: Using a Torx T10 screwdriver, remove the four screws that secure the center body to the outer enclosure:
Below the “5G Rx” antenna (right side).
Below the silver plate under the “6G Rx” antenna (left side).
Inside the deep hole left of the “D_2” antenna (right side).
Inside the deep hole right of the “6G4” antenna (left side).
Step 6: Carefully lift the center body up and out of the outer enclosure. Then, place it to the side.
Step 7: Use a prying tool to release the 12 clasps along the inner edge of the outer enclosure, separating the back cover from the side cover.
Step 8: Use tweezers to lift and peel back a loose section of the top mesh. If none is available, carefully cut away a section with a box cutter or X-Acto knife.
Step 9: Feed all U.FL pigtail connectors through the mesh opening.
Step 10: Reattach the side cover to the back cover and set it aside.
Tip: If the side cover catches, check that it clears the two ribs extending from the bottom of the back cover.
Step 11: Flip the center body over and use a Phillips-head screwdriver to remove the four screws securing the heatsink onto the PCB.
Step 12: Carefully lift the bottom of the heatsink and slide it downward to clear the white plastic plate, keeping an eye on the GPS antenna.
You may need to pull slightly on the right side of the plate to free the heatsink’s bottom-right foot. As you remove it, take care to leave the two grey thermal pads (one small, one large) flat and in place on the PCB.
Step 13: Use a prying tool to disconnect the eight factory antenna cables (labeled 0–7). Wrap tape around the connectors to prevent shorts, then move the cables to the side of the enclosure.
Step 14: Feed each U.FL pigtail through the top of the inner enclosure. Add a label near the SMA connector to mark which port it connects to. Then plug it into the matching antenna port. Repeat for all eight ports.
Use the reference below to help you label each pigtail.
Once you've done all eight, it should look something like this.
Step 15: Position the heatsink back in place and secure it with the four screws.
Step 16: Rotate the center body and lower it into the outer enclosure, keeping slight tension on the pigtail cables so they don’t catch.
Tip: Holding the unit upright can help align the white plastic plate at the bottom so it sits flush with the enclosure.
Step 17: Reinstall the four screws that secure the center body to the outer enclosure.
Step 18: Position the front cover on the center body, push it upward until it clicks, then reinstall the two screws.
Your T-Mobile 5G Internet Gateway should now be fully re-assembled, with the pigtail adapters protruding from the top.
Step 19: Connect your external MIMO Antenna to the labelled adapters installed on your Gateway, in the order shown below:
Congrats! Your T-Mobile 5G Internet Gateway is now connected to your more powerful MIMO External Antennas.
Why Improving Signal Matters
There's a commonmisconception that improving cellular performance is mostly about increasing signal strength. In reality, signal strength is often one of the lesser important factors.
What really drives performance in 4G LTE and 5G networks is:
Signal quality (SINR / RSRQ)
Access to higher-capacity bands
Clear MIMO signal paths
Whether you improve performance by placing the gateway outdoors or by adding external antennas, both approaches work because they improve these underlying factors - not just signal strength.
1. They Improve Signal Quality
In 4G LTE and 5G networks, signal quality is measured as SINR (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio) or sometimes as RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality).
Improving signal quality has a huge impact on your data rates.
Higher data rates allow your hotspot to communicate using "higher order modulation schemes." That means they can use the same wireless spectrum to send more data per second.
However, there's one big caveat:
In order to improve your signal quality, you need to both aim your outdoor antenna properly or shield your outdoor enclosure. We talk more about this in the next section.
2. They Allow You To Connect On More Bands
Hotspots like the T-Mobile 5G Internet Gateway support a feature called "carrier aggregation."
Carrier aggregation allows the Gateway to connect on multiple cellular bands simultaneously.
The more bands you're connected on, the greater the bandwidth, and the higher your data rates.
However, many of the higher frequency bands aren't able to penetrate into buildings. Both outdoor placement and using external antennas allows you to access higher frequency bands, which are often less congested and offer higher speeds than lower frequency bands.
3.MIMO Isolation
MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology uses signals traveling along multiple paths simultaneously, increasing both bandwidth and reliability in wireless connections.
MIMO isolation is the antenna's ability to handle several data streams at once, cleanly and without interference, leading to quicker data speeds and steadier connections.
Our external antennas are specifically designed for superior MIMO isolation, and dramatically outperform standard built-in antennas found in most home devices.
This means you'll see a more reliable connection with enhanced bandwidth, ensuring smoother streaming, gaming, and browsing with minimal interruptions
Positioning and Aiming an Outdoor Enclosure & MIMO Antennas
Whether you’re using external MIMO antennas or placing your gateway in an Outdoor Gateway Enclosure, positioning is one of the most important factors in getting the best possible performance from your T-Mobile 5G Internet Gateway, or any other cellular hotspot.
We've actually compiled detailed instruction manuals to accompany our own MIMO Antenna Kits, where we go into depth on the best ways to aim the antennas. See QuadPro Duo's manual and QuadMini Duo's manual here for antenna-specific guidance.
If you’re using the Outdoor Gateway Enclosure, the same principles apply - except instead of aiming antennas, you’re testing different outdoor positions for the enclosure itself. See the Outdoor Gateway Enclosure's manual here.
The goal is the same in both cases: find the best location and direction, to maximize data rates to the T-Mobile Gateway. It can take a little patience, but can have a huge impact – it’s worth a bit of extra effort!
For your MIMO external antennas; connect them to your modified T-Mobile 5G Internet Gateway via the newly installed pigtail adapters, and go outside with your "test-rig". For your outdoor enclosure, take the gateway outside and connect your phone to the gateway's WiFi, or connect the gateway inside the outdoor enclosure and take them both outside to begin testing.
With each location and direction you try, run a couple speed tests, and make a note of the results. Here are all the locations and directions where we recommend testing:
Pro Tips:
Don’t just go to the highest point of the roof! While signal is generally stronger the higher you go, there’s also often more interference. We’ve found it’s often better to mount the antennas on the side of the building where the structure can shield the antennas from interference.
With each new location, restart your gateway by disconnecting and reconnecting it’s power cable. This forces your gateway to connect to the best bands available at each location.
Once you've found the position which gets you the fastest connection to the T-Mobile Gateway, that's where you'll want to install your equipment. Go ahead secure the antennas or enclosure, route cabling indoors, connect everything up, and enjoy superior data rates!
Antenna Port Specifications
Key:
Tx# = Uplink transmitters.
PRX/PRX# = Downlink “primary” receivers. Used for data throughput.
DRX/DRX# = Downlink “diversity” receivers. Used for monitoring carrier aggregation & combating fading/multi-path through spatial diversity.
LB: B5, B12, B71/n71
MB: B2, B4, n25, B66/n66
PRX (primary receive) and DRX (diversity receive) are paired MIMO couplets. This means:
