Internet for Apartments: How to Get Wi-Fi Where You Live

Does your apartment come with internet service?

When you’re shopping for apartments, make sure to ask the landlord or broker about the Wi-Fi situation. Here are some examples of what you should ask about:

• Is Wi-Fi available in the unit, or do tenants have to buy their own internet service separately?
• Is the apartment “cable ready”—meaning the wiring for cable internet is installed?
• Can you get fiber internet in your apartment?
• Is 5G available on your block—and if so, will 5G home internet be an option?

It’s likely that you won’t have internet included as part of your lease, so you’ll have to get a plan on your own. But depending on how new the building is, you may have wiring installed that allows an easy internet setup. In that case, you can save money by choosing self-installation instead of having a professional do it.

If you can get fiber internet in your area, that’s great news. You’ll be able to get the fastest speeds. If you don’t have fiber available, you can also get solid service from a cable, DSL, or 5G home internet provider.

Best internet plans for apartments

AT&T’s Fiber Internet 300 is the best internet plan for an apartment. It’s affordable, and it delivers superb performance, with 300 Mbps speeds over a fiber-optic connection. That’s plenty fast for working from home and sharing the Wi-Fi with roommates and visitors, giving you ample bandwidth to attend Zoom meetings, play online games, stream in 4K, and more.

Cable providers like Xfinity also offer great internet plans for apartments. You can get fast speeds (100 Mbps and up) for an affordable price. If you live alone or with just one other person, then consider the 50 Mbps Internet plan from Astound Broadband Powered by RCN—that’s pretty much the cheapest price you can get for internet and you’ll still have enough Wi-Fi speed to let you stream movies in HD on multiple devices.

Consider T-Mobile 5G Home Internet as an alternative to fiber, cable, and DSL options. This relatively new service, which runs over 4G LTE and 5G wireless signals, gives you fast internet at a low price with lots of perks thrown in. No need to worry about installation costs, extra fees, or data caps here—it’s all included in the simple monthly fee. And because T-Mobile’s internet service is completely wireless, it’s really easy to set up with no need for a technician or installation appointment. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet may also be a good option if you don’t want to use your apartment complex’s main ISP.

Some apartments may only have access to sluggish DSL internet—it’s not common, but it happens. In the event that you have to go with a DSL internet provider, choose AT&T, CenturyLink, or EarthLink. Either of those providers can get you adequate speeds for a not-unfair price.

How do you get internet for your apartment?

Take a look at the different providers and see what type of internet they have. Knowing the connection type will be the first hint at whether you can get gigabit speeds, budget prices, or something more limited.

Most common types of internet in apartments

Data effective as of 5/23/2022.

Also, pay attention to speeds, prices, and perks—like whether you can do a no-contract option or get unlimited data. Some ISPs offer limited-time-only bonuses like streaming service subscriptions or VISA prepaid gift cards to first-time customers, so don’t miss out.

What is your ideal bandwidth?

You don’t want internet that’s too slow, but you also might not need to pay a premium for the fastest plan. Like Goldilocks, you want an internet plan and price that’s just right. Figure out your ideal bandwidth by running a quick test with our “How Much Internet Speed Do I Need?” Tool.

Should you use your apartment’s internet? Or get your own?

If Wi-Fi comes with your apartment, the easiest and most convenient thing to do is just stick with what’s already available on-site. That way, you won’t have to deal with shopping around, picking a time for installation, or paying money for a monthly bill and other charges.

However, the easiest option may not always be the best option. Your apartment’s preferred internet service could be great—or it could be slow, have security issues, or use outdated equipment. These shared services often pack a bunch of residents on a single Wi-Fi router, which is a recipe for slowdowns and network congestion. You’ll also have no recourse if you need more speed, as you’re stuck with the plan chosen by the apartment complex. Lastly, you lose the ability to have a direct Ethernet connection, which is faster and more stable than internet over Wi-Fi.

Make sure to check with your landlord to see if your lease requires that you stick with the building’s chosen internet provider. If that’s the case, you’ll want to make sure the service will meet your needs. If the available wiring is an issue, such as a building that isn’t wired for cable or fiber internet, explore wireless options like T-Mobile 5G Home Internet.

Internet types

As you shop around, you’ll notice that internet service comes not just at different speeds and prices but also as different types—that is, the type of connection used to deliver the Wi-Fi we all love. The most common types of internet you’ll see are fiber, cable, DSL, and satellite.

Fiber

The galloping gazelle of internet types, fiber-optic internet is the finest, rarest, and fastest of the bunch. Running on light signals over fiber-optic cabling, fiber tends to be more expensive than the rest. And it can be difficult to come by, since it’s so costly for ISPs to build fiber infrastructure.

Most fiber-optic internet plans deliver record speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps (10 times faster than DSL), while a few plans go even faster. Fiber has an extremely reliable connection with minimal interference. So it’s well worth the investment if you want silky-smooth Wi-Fi.

Cable

Cable internet runs over the copper wiring of a coaxial cable company. It gives you fast download speeds—equal to fiber in many cases, topping out at 1,200 Mbps—and a solid connection.

Cable doesn’t deliver the same, ultrafast upload speeds as fiber internet, but most internet users spend most of their time downloading data, so you likely won’t notice the difference. Uploading data comes when you upload files to a server or make video calls on Skype or Zoom. Though cable has enough upload speed for your average video calls and uploading, you may notice the slower upload speeds if you spend a lot of time doing upload-heavy tasks like these.

There’s an added convenience if you find one of those cable-ready apartments we mentioned earlier. If the coaxial cabling is already set up in your place, then installation will be much easier. You may still need to schedule a technician appointment though. Apartment buildings use a junction box to house the tap that connects each apartment to the ISP’s network. These boxes are locked and off-limits to residents—if your apartment isn’t hooked up to the tap, you’ll need a technician to access the box and connect the appropriate cabling.

Fixed Wireless

Fixed-wireless internet uses the 4G and 5G signals from cell towers to bring internet service into your home. This relatively new internet type has seen a lot of praise from customers. It’s fast, often affordable, and very convenient due to requiring no networking cables. Installation is usually easy and free.

DSL

DSL internet operates over your old landline phone network. The domesticated pigeon of internet, it’s not the fastest (it hits top speeds of only around 100 Mbps). But it’s available basically anywhere and is a great budget option, with prices that tend to be lower than fiber and cable. You won’t get the fantastic speeds of fiber or cable—but you also won’t get cable’s neighborhood-wide slowdowns since a DSL connection is linked directly into your domicile.

Satellite

Satellite internet relies on a signal that gets beamed down from space. It’s slow and expensive, so we recommend choosing satellite only as the fallback option if you live in a remote or rural area and there are no other internet types to choose from.

Internet speeds

Most internet companies like to show off how fast their internet goes, so they wave around bigger and bigger numbers. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be getting something you actually want.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines high-speed, broadband internet as anything that delivers 25 Mbps download speeds or faster. Some internet users (particularly those living in rural areas) would cry tears of joy to get Wi-Fi that fast. Many seasoned internet geeks, however, are used to exponentially faster internet speeds—up to 1,000 Mbps, which is 3,900% faster than 25 Mbps to be exact!

Measure your bandwidth

Download our speed test app to see how much bandwidth you’ve got going on with your current plan. You can also use this test to make sure your internet provider isn’t cheating you on the speeds you’re paying for.

Measure your bandwidth

Use our speed test to see how much bandwidth you’ve got going on with your current plan. You can also use this test to make sure your internet provider isn’t cheating you on the speeds you’re paying for.

Here’s a quick rundown to see the most common speed ranges and what you can do with them. For more information, take a look at our internet speed guide.

0.5 Mbps–25 Mbps

This is what you’ll get on lower-end DSL plans. It’s good enough if you’re living by yourself or in a small household. You’ll be able to download small files, stream music and movies, and video chat on apps like Facebook Messenger and Zoom. If your speed is closer to 25 Mbps, then it’s a solid speed and could work well for two or more people rather than just one.

But most internet providers offer much faster speeds than this. And they usually come at the same price or just a bit higher, so we recommend avoiding anything this slow if you can.

25 Mbps–100 Mbps

Most apartment dwellers will be happy with an internet plan that falls within this speed range. A download speed of 25 Mbps is enough to let you stream movies in 1080p on multiple devices, download files that are 1 GB or bigger in a reasonable time frame, and operate smart home devices.

Consider aiming more towards the 50 Mbps or 100 Mbps range if you live with a partner, have multiple roommates, or want to stream movies in 4K on multiple devices with minimal buffering.

100 Mbps–800 Mbps

Ooh, now we’re talking! Most cable internet providers offer plans in this range of speeds—and they usually don’t charge much more for this than they would for slower speeds.

Speeds in the ballpark of 100–300 Mbps will be awesome for multiple people who love binge-watching, marathon gaming, downloading, uploading, and more on multiple devices all at the same time. An internet plan in the range of 500–800 Mbps will really come in handy if you work from home and do bandwidth-heavy tasks like content creation and working over cloud servers.

Also, keep an eye out for “symmetrical” speeds (i.e., internet plans in which upload and download speeds are the same). Upload speeds tend to be a lot slower than download speeds, so having a symmetrical plan makes it a lot easier to do things like uploading big files to a website or teleconferencing with large groups.

1,000 Mbps and faster

This is the white whale of internet speeds that seemingly every fiber and cable internet provider has been hitting (or at least aiming for) lately. Some of them will hedge their bets by advertising 940 Mbps and then offer promotional prices to get you interested.

Having 940–1,000 Mbps speed lets you basically do anything over the internet quickly and easily—so it’s the go-to if you’re a professional gamer, full-time Bitcoin miner, freelance writer, or social media influencer who’s uploading new videos every day.

Not surprisingly, these speeds come at a higher price. Do you need gigabit internet? Not necessarily. Do you want it? You do you, apartment dweller. The choice is yours.

Buying or renting modems and routers

Modems and routers are pieces of hardware that get your Wi-Fi going and allow you to connect a signal to your many devices. If you have Wi-Fi service in your apartment, then you won’t need to worry about getting these, since it’s already likely supplied. If you sign up for a plan with an internet provider yourself, you can rent a gateway device (which is essentially a modem and router combined into one) from the ISP.

If you plan on sticking with your provider and settling into your new place for a long period, you may want to consider buying your own gear. It takes more effort to shop for gear and costs more money upfront, but it saves you money in the long run because then you won’t be racking up rental costs for all eternity. You can also be more picky about your setup when it comes to speed capabilities, security, and signal range.

FAQ about internet for your apartment