Safaricom’s 5G Home Internet has quickly become one of Kenya’s most popular broadband options, offering users high-speed connectivity and flexible data plans. For many, the experience has been solid — fast, reliable, and simple to set up. But over the past couple of days, things have changed, and for the first time, I’ve had a genuinely frustrating experience with Safaricom’s 5G router.
Recent reports of slowdowns
The issue started midweek while I was streaming the UEFA Champions League games. Normally, I stream in 1080p without a hitch, but this time the picture quality tanked. My TV struggled to hold even 720p, and sometimes it felt worse. Multiple internet speed tests confirmed that my Safaricom 5G router was having poor network. It was especially disappointing considering how action-packed the fixtures were and the fact that I pay KES 4,000 per month for the 50Mbps plan, which should easily handle full HD streaming.
Speedtest by Ookla – The Global Broadband Speed Test share.google/Ecp1MaSqdMtYPv…
To be fair, this was the first time I’d seen such poor performance in three months of use. But things got even stranger the following morning.
While watching a YouTube video on my laptop, I noticed the picture quality looked unusually soft. I checked the settings and realized YouTube had auto-switched to 480p, something it only does when the connection can’t sustain higher resolutions. When I manually forced it to 1080p, the video simply refused to play and froze. It’s only after switching to 720p that it played, and that too, not smoothly and freezing every few seconds.
That’s when I decided to run another speed test, and the results spoke for themselves: I was getting speeds between 1Mbps and 5Mbps, occasionally spiking to around 10Mbps before dropping again. Completely unacceptable for a 50Mbps plan.
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But when I went on X (formerly Twitter), I realized I wasn’t alone. A few others were reporting similar issues with Safaricom 5G home internet. One user said their 5G was “running like 3G” and couldn’t handle gaming or streaming, while another complained the 5G network had been “non-existent since yesterday.” Someone even shared a speed test showing 0.96Mbps, tagging @SafaricomPLC and @Safaricom_Care in frustration.
That told me this wasn’t just my unit acting up. It looked like a broader issue, at least for some 5G router users. I rebooted my router as Safaricom support suggested, and while it didn’t help immediately, things thankfully started returning to normal this morning.
The FUP problem
This whole experience got me thinking about other frustrations I’ve had with Safaricom’s 5G router, and one of them is how little transparency there is around data usage.
Safaricom’s 5G home plans are subject to a Fair Usage Policy (FUP) that completely kills internet once you exceed certain data thresholds without a single warning. That’s not uncommon among ISPs, but here’s the catch: there’s no way to see your data usage or remaining balance in the MySafaricom app.
If you want to know how much data you’ve used, you actually have to call customer care or — believe it or not — email them to request your usage stats. That’s an absurd process in 2025, especially for a premium 5G product. For heavy internet users, it’s basically impossible to monitor usage in real time, which can lead to unexpected disconnections when the FUP kicks in.
Paying shouldn’t be this hard
Another issue that’s equally baffling is that you can’t pay for your 5G plan through the MySafaricom app. The option just doesn’t work. The only reliable way to renew your plan is through USSD, which feels like a step back to 2010.
For a service positioned as the future of home internet, it’s ironic that you can’t make or renew payments digitally within Safaricom’s own app, something that should be a given by now.
I tried using the Paybill 150501 and acc no as my 5G account no but it’s not going. I get the error “Dear customer, suffix <acc. No> is invalid.”
Mostly solid, but not perfect
To give credit where it’s due, these issues haven’t been frequent for me. In three months of daily use, this week’s slowdown has been my first major experience with poor performance. Most of the time, speeds have been excellent, and the router has worked flawlessly.
But between this temporary slowdown, the hidden FUP details, and the broken app payments, it’s clear Safaricom still has some polishing to do on its 5G Home Internet service. For a product that costs a premium, the user experience shouldn’t rely on USSD menus or support emails.
Granted, I’m curious to hear how things are on your end. If you’re also using Safaricom’s 5G router, how would you rate your experience so far? Vote below and let us know how your Safaricom 5G router has been performing. You can also tag @TechishKenya on X with your feedback — I’ll be keeping an eye out to see whether these issues are isolated or more widespread.
Safaricom’s 5G Home Internet still feels like one of the best broadband options available in Kenya when it’s working well. But between this week’s speed drops, the lack of data transparency, and outdated payment options, it’s clear there’s room for improvement. Hopefully, Safaricom takes note and irons out these wrinkles soon, because 5G at 3G speeds (and with USSD payments) isn’t the experience we signed up for.
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