Hulu’s live TV doesn’t work on T-Mobile home Internet

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T-Mobile's wireless home Internet service could become more widely available later this year, but potential customers should be aware of a limitation listed in the terms of service: it is "not compatible with some live TV streaming services," according to T-Mobile.

The reason for this limit isn't immediately apparent, but complaints in customer forums show that the problem affects Hulu's live TV service. T-Mobile has been piloting its Home Internet plan at up to 50,000 homes over the past year, and some of the early adopters haven't been able to use Hulu + Live TV.

The problem appears to be that Hulu's system for verifying a user's home location interprets the T-Mobile router as a mobile hotspot instead of a home Internet device. This isn't an unreasonable assumption, since the device connects to T-Mobile's LTE network in order to provide in-home Wi-Fi, so it basically is a mobile hotspot. But other live-TV streaming services apparently work fine on the T-Mobile home Internet plan.

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