T-Mobile users

[Rob0115 1,105]

I'm thinking of switching from ATT. I bought a phone of craigslist to try it out and the coverage has been fine and so have the data speeds. I have 5 smartphones including my wife and kids and the bill would be reduced by more than 130 bucks a month. T-mobile is also willing to pay for your early terminations fees.

 

My week with t-mobile seems to have been fine but I'd like to hear from others.

 

Cheers

[Krdshrk 3,877]

Depending on the area the coverage can be spotty.  I have a T-Mobile blackberry for work.  Inside some buildings I get no signal in NYC while my Verizon iPhone has full bars.  The frequencies that T-Mobile uses aren't as good at penetrating structures.

[NJKen 23]

I use my smartphone intensely for work.  I have tried everyone and found verizon to be the most reliable and ATT to be the least reliable.  Every carrier has dead spots.  Verizon has one rite in the middle of the neighborhood just 5 blocks up from me.  If you are having good results with t-mobil go for it!

Ken

[djg0770 481]

I believe Average Joe has T-mobile.

[RobertJames 14]

I use my smartphone intensely for work.  I have tried everyone and found verizon to be the most reliable and ATT to be the least reliable.  Every carrier has dead spots.  Verizon has one rite in the middle of the neighborhood just 5 blocks up from me.  If you are having good results with t-mobil go for it!

Ken

 

My experience is just the opposite.  Verizon would drop calls constantly, I would get voicemails and texts days after they were sent to me, and lots and lots of dead zones.  I switched to AT&T, the customer support is leaps and bounds better than Verizon, and about the only dead zones so far have been in the desert southwest.  I might not get 4g service everywhere, but I can almost always make a call that is not dropped.  YMMV.  

 

To the OP, I don't know anyone with TMobile, sorry can't help.

[Krdshrk 3,877]

I believe Average Joe has T-mobile.

Works at.

[302w 83]

T-Mobile is okay.

 

I get good coverage through most of NJ, and all in all T-Mobile has treated us well. The only places I have issues are in the sticks of Warren County and around Monroe County PA. Verizon definitely has better coverage. My family has used it probably 10 plus years

[Howard 538]

My wife had a T-Mobile Blackberry for work and here in Randolph we got almost no signals half the time.

[NJKen 23]

My experience is just the opposite.  Verizon would drop calls constantly, I would get voicemails and texts days after they were sent to me, and lots and lots of dead zones.  I switched to AT&T, the customer support is leaps and bounds better than Verizon, and about the only dead zones so far have been in the desert southwest.  I might not get 4g service everywhere, but I can almost always make a call that is not dropped.  YMMV.  

 

To the OP, I don't know anyone with TMobile, sorry can't help.

Funny thing, I had that same problem and it turned out to be the phone I had.  I think that can happen to anyone on any network.  I still get 2 or 3 day old text messages but only from sprint customers.  I supose that is a problem on Sprints network since it never happens with any other carrier.

 

Ken

[mikka1 2]

I use T-Mobile for around 1,5 years now. Before that I used ATT for roughly the same amount of time. Mi first impression when I got a 4g TMo phone was just "Wow. That's fast". I've never ever experienced anything even close to TMo download speeds using ATT in my area. It's even much faster than my cable internet at home.

 

I am also a very big fan of buying phones for the full price and having prepaid plans. TMo has some nice prepaid plans, especially sold through Walmart and especially for those who use the phone for online access primarily, but not for voice. I still pay $30 a month for 5Gb 4g data + 100 voice minutes a month. 100 is really not much, but I have another phone for work, so I am fine with that for the price.

 

I also had an impression of TMo losing signal exactly in the same spots (especially in hilly terrain) where Verizon does. We were even joking with my friend during our trip to Smokies - "You pay $30 for your phone service, I pay nearly $70, so Verizon should be at least 2 times better... Oh, sh*t, no signal as well... What I'm paying for, LOL"

 

Bottom line - I would really recommend TMo in terms of value for money, but should you ever have some issues with your service, their customer service is not bad, it's just F*****G AWFUL. I suppose lots of people just drop TMo service after their very first encounter with TMo CSRs. It's a different story, but I spent 8 (EIGHT!) hours on the phone in total to resolve one minor problem with my account last year. Nobody really gives a damn there.

[ryan_j 0]

T mobile doesn't have a lot if coverage up here in sussex county. ATT is better by some but Verizon's still the best up here.

[ManWithBeard 2]

I'm thinking of switching from ATT. I bought a phone of craigslist to try it out and the coverage has been fine and so have the data speeds. I have 5 smartphones including my wife and kids and the bill would be reduced by more than 130 bucks a month. T-mobile is also willing to pay for your early terminations fees.

 

My week with t-mobile seems to have been fine but I'd like to hear from others.

 

Cheers

 

T-mobile will only pay your ETF if you trade in your devices. I've had ATT since it was Cingular. Never had a problem. Drove cross country over the summer, only time I didn't have service is when no one had service in Yosemite.

[AverageJoe 95]

I believe Average Joe has T-mobile.

 

 

Works at.

 

To the OP, what are you primarily you sing your phone(s) for...and where? Look, I mean all carriers are going to have their issues. Ask 10 diff people and you'll get 10 diff experiences. I'm a switch technician in the engineering and operations side of the house for NJ. I can't really comment comment much on plans, or customer service as I don't have to interact with either lol...What I can say about T-Mobile, is that we are aggressively attacking the network as far as building out LTE, and monitoring the network. We proactively watch drop call reports on an hourly basis and jump on problematic areas. Three years ago I drove from Trenton to Wayne on a conference call, and the call stay completed the entire time, 6+ years ago that would have never have happened. The network has come a long way since back then. Also, we just acquired spectrum in the 700Mhz band, which help in penetrating thru structure(s) much more efficiently. 

 

Also, sometimes people complain and they just don't want to understand what can be causing the issue...I was submitting for permits and the dispatcher saw I worked for T-MO and she started off ranting about zero coverage at her house. I took her information, looked into it and it turns out she is using an OLD SIdekick and that the frequency that is covering her house is not supported by that device. PCS1900 spectrum, where we took 1/2 of our 2G GSM1900 spectrum and refarmed it for 4G(this is what allowed us to be able to carry the iPhone). All she has to do is use a newer device and she'll have full 4G, to which I politely informed her of.

 

If you have any questions on any coverage areas, let me know, I can look it up internally, rather than that crappy coverage map lol. As well as any network issues.

[djg0770 481]

Works at.

Yeah - was trying to preserve some OPSEC in the event he didn't want to disclose

[TooBigToFit 2]

If you have any questions on any coverage areas, let me know, I can look it up internally, rather than that crappy coverage map lol. As well as any network issues.

Yeah, it's pretty hard to read their coverage map when it only consists of 5 shades of pink.

 

In any case, my BiL just switched from VZW to TMO, and he hasn't complained yet of any coverage issues.

[Vini 0]

Some time ago I've switched from ATT to Tmobile. Two weeks later I've switched to Verizon. 

With Tmobile I had voice and data issues through some spots in Northern NJ, parts of Connecticut and NYC. 

I don't like Verizon as corporation, their customer service reps not as sweet talking as others, but their coverage is good. 

From Boston to Toronto I haven't had any issues.

[SgtToadette 59]

I'll just leave this here:

 

http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/T-Mobile-Is-Paying-Verizon-2-3-Billion-In-Cash-5117475.php

[raz-0 1,259]

I'll give my experiences:

 

ALL of them:

 

Nobody has a signal that magically penetrates structures better. At least not better enough to make a real difference. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_frequencies notice that verizon and AT&T are basically the same or damn close despite using different technology to encode the signal. Short of a building having a particular company's tower really close, what you actually have are RF feeds to the inside of buildings via leaky co-ax cables, or via an actual microcell type setup. THat goes two ways, either the carrier pays for the right of way, or the folks who own the building pay to put it in. Unless it changed, the train tunnels into NY and subway are  verizon turf as they pay to have exclusive access. At least they did. 

We live in the promised land of coverage here where you can actually have an argument about this stuff. Lots of places are dominated by a single provider that is usable. One of the biggest problems we do face because of this are underprovisioned legacy spectrum AND LTE spectrum. BAsically, you have 4-5 bars of signal, but you can'tuse data or sometimes make a call due to to many people on a single cell. They don't build out the 3G cell for capacity because they are moving to LTE, and LTE doesn't have enough capacity yet because they are not rolling it out fast enough. 

 

T-mobile: I was with them for a while from they were omnipoint. About 1997-2001, maybe 2002. Absolutely the NICEST CS I have dealt with for phone service of any kind. I got service in all sorts of weird places provided it was near an interstate highway. However, I had to leave because of lack of coverage. They billed for the month passed, which is how it should be. 

 

Verizon: The best coverage overall. There are still places where their coverage sucks. For example, my mom lives way down south in jersey near the border. Verizon coverage there is weak. Once they stopped selling handsets with extendable antennas and higher radiation levels, verizon stopped working in large areas. Also, I had them when I went to L:as vegas in 2006 and had all sorts of hard times making and receiving calls from them. They were also marginal at the CJ range, and useless at OB indoors. They bill for the month ahead an the usage for last month. so when you start a contract, you have to pay for amonth before you make a call, and when you cancel, somehow you don't have anything refundable despite  having paid for a month you didn't use or fully use. CS is unfriendly, and on top of that their VOIP call system is so quiet as to be unusable. I suspect this is deliberate. I currently have verizon service on my work phone. They are more likely to pay for small building mounted antennas to support existing customer bases. 

 

AT&T: IMO second best coverage. There are VERY few places verizon works for me that AT&T doesn't. There are some places AT&T works for me that  verizon doesn't that represent actual outdoor coverage. There are places that verizon works that ATT doesn't, but they are mostly tunnels where verizon has the contract, or buildings where indoor coverage is paid for by a company that has a verizon corporate contract.  I find their CS to be OK in terms of attitude, but light years better in terms of being able ot actually fix a screwup. Granted, as a carrier, I've had them make more screw ups, especially provisioning new hardware, but they fix it, and usually in one call. I go with them mainly because service is acceptable, and I have coverage at the places I shoot, down at my mom's place, and in the machine room at work (becuase they put in leaky co-ax as part of a deal for hanging an antenna on the building). They are more likely to pay for small building mounted antennas for access to a new customers. 

 

Sprint: I only have a WiMax hotspot for this, but it is feeling very t-mobile in terms of coverage. From friends and family that have had it, very rarely does it shine, but it works a lot of places for having such a bad rep. When I had family in pamlico county, NC it was pretty much what you were stuck with for cell coverage. 

 

As fro the t-mobile ETF stuff, It's mostly a trap for people who can't do math and want their stuff now despite not having the money for it.  

 

For exmaple, lets take an att to verizon hop. Call monthly service $50 to make the math simple and assume that t-mobile is the same, so we will leave that cost out of the numbers.  With a $300 ETF charge, and a $99 subsidized phone price. and a $40 activation fee, verizon has a $439 cost above monthly contract for the move, but it is all up front.  For t mobile, for the same device, The monthly financing is $25/mo (I picked and HTC one since they both have it), and they have no activation fee. Cost to move is $600, but it is spread out over 2 years, even if they cover your entire ETF. That's IF you qualify for the 0% APR, which you may not. 

 

THEN lets say you want to leave after 6 months because of coverage (it sucks, you moved, whatever). You owe $180 ETF on your ocntract, and as far as I can tell you have to pay off the outstanding $450 on the phone too, although I suspect you still do it monthly. They have made it hard to find details on the terms of financing for this, so I'm guessing sane terms. They might be horrible. 

 

It is pretty safe to say that NOTHING any of the wireless carriers are doing at this point is financially beneficial to the customer. Period. 

[Shawnmoore81 623]

I walked on tmobile and am still fighting over the cancelation fee. When I had a flip phone they were great and cheap. When I switched to a smart phone they were horrible. When I was texting someone back and worth it would randomly send one or 2 of the texts to other people in my phone book. That's not a good thing especially late at night. Replaced the phone over and over and it kept doing it. They had no clue why but didn't seem to wanna fix it. I went and bought an iPhone with AT&T. No problems since. But I will say I'll never pay that fee.

[A-Tech 8]

Completely off topic, but if I could find a provider that efficiently gives 4g download speeds inside The Rock that would be enough for me to drop Verizon. It shows me as having 4g, but I could mail a hand written letter faster than loading Google in that place.

[Krdshrk 3,877]

Completely off topic, but if I could find a provider that efficiently gives 4g download speeds inside The Rock that would be enough for me to drop Verizon. It shows me as having 4g, but I could mail a hand written letter faster than loading Google in that place.

Where is "The Rock"?  Rockefeller Center NYC?  If an area has a high amount of 4G usage, your data speeds will suck.  I've found myself switching to 3G in some areas in NYC to get faster speeds.

[A-Tech 8]

Where is "The Rock"? Rockefeller Center NYC? If an area has a high amount of 4G usage, your data speeds will suck. I've found myself switching to 3G in some areas in NYC to get faster speeds.

 

It's home to the greatest sports team in the world. The New Jersey Devils

[AverageJoe 95]

Ugh, standby...freggin site F'ed up the multiquote

[AverageJoe 95]

I'll give my experiences:

 

ALL of them:

 

Nobody has a signal that magically penetrates structures better. At least not better enough to make a real difference

T-mobile: I was with them for a while from they were omnipoint. About 1997-2001, maybe 2002. Absolutely the NICEST CS I have dealt with for phone service of any kind. I got service in all sorts of weird places provided it was near an interstate highway. However, I had to leave because of lack of coverage. They billed for the month passed, which is how it should be. 

It is pretty safe to say that NOTHING any of the wireless carriers are doing at this point is financially beneficial to the customer. Period. 

This couldn't be more wrong...There absolutely is better frequency to which can penetrate structure more efficiently due to the curve. Back in the day Verizon and ATT cornered a lot of the lower band frequency buying it all up and just sitting on it...fast forward to the late 90's early 2K's...newer companies had to resort to the "scraps" so to speak...whenever the government made/makes blocks of spectrum available to bid, your big money corporations are able to outbid the smaller guys...without making this too confusing for everyone...this simple pic shows exactly how it works...its like skipping a rock on water, a slim smooth rock(high band frequency) skips nicely across a pond...a big clunky rock(low band frequency) just sinks. 

 

 

 

Also, looks like you never really had T-Mobile...back then was Omnipoint and Voicestream and the network back then was utter garbage lmao...I'm here 14 years, and I'm amazed at how far the network has come.

 

All wireless carriers are a BUSINESS. I'm pretty sure there might be a tiny section in their business models that talks about making money lol.

[AverageJoe 95]

It's home to the greatest sports team in the world. The New Jersey Devils

 

 

Completely off topic, but if I could find a provider that efficiently gives 4g download speeds inside The Rock that would be enough for me to drop Verizon. It shows me as having 4g, but I could mail a hand written letter faster than loading Google in that place.

 

Ok slow down lol...The Rock is a unique situation...Verizon forced The Rock into being the only wireless carrier to be allowed to provide actual in building coverage...been a battle ever since.

[mikka1 2]

(...)

All wireless carriers are a BUSINESS. I'm pretty sure there might be a tiny section in their business models that talks about making money lol.

 

LOL, I'd say T-Mobile lacks a section in their business model that talks about customer service, specifically for prepaid (or what they call it Monthly4g) customers, or this section is basically condensed in one expression - "Fugg prepaid clients, they are junk" :-)

I encountered with their CS twice last year and both times it was a huuuuge pain in the neck to make everything right with a lot of resistance and lack of willingness not even to help, but just to try to explain what the problem was.

 

On a good side, as I mentioned before, from the technical standpoint TMo is just superb for my needs, a lot better than ATT in my area. Can't complain at all, 100% happy with the service. Seems that AverageJoe does his job extremely well. Sad I can't say the same about his colleagues in front-line CS :-)

[AverageJoe 95]

LOL, I'd say T-Mobile lacks a section in their business model that talks about customer service, specifically for prepaid (or what they call it Monthly4g) customers, or this section is basically condensed in one expression - "Fugg prepaid clients, they are junk" :-)

I encountered with their CS twice last year and both times it was a huuuuge pain in the neck to make everything right with a lot of resistance and lack of willingness not even to help, but just to try to explain what the problem was.

 

On a good side, as I mentioned before, from the technical standpoint TMo is just superb for my needs, a lot better than ATT in my area. Can't complain at all, 100% happy with the service. Seems that AverageJoe does his job extremely well. Sad I can't say the same about his colleagues in front-line CS :-)

Thanks, we try...we're a team of 10 switch engineers, 30 field techs, and I think around 15 or so RF engineers for NJ, part of PA, NY, and CT...this industry changes so fast its crazy, last year this time we had almost no LTE in NJ, now I think we're somewhere around 88% of the NJ market has LTE with the rest to built out this year. Do you have our CEO's email? He publicly gave it out a while ago, you can easily google to find it...If you ever feel that you're not getting what you deserve(like from cust care), email him your situation and he will absolutely return your email...it may take a little bit, but I hear he will in fact reply.  

[AverageJoe 95]

Just a little insider info...TMO VoLTE (Voice Over LTE) is on the way... I just got done with a work order that is starting to kick off the beginning stages of VoLTE here in NJ. Pretty cool stuff!

[Blacksmythe 71]

Depending on the area the coverage can be spotty.  I have a T-Mobile blackberry for work.  Inside some buildings I get no signal in NYC while my Verizon iPhone has full bars.  The frequencies that T-Mobile uses aren't as good at penetrating structures.

[A-Tech 8]

Ok slow down lol...The Rock is a unique situation...Verizon forced The Rock into being the only wireless carrier to be allowed to provide actual in building coverage...been a battle ever since.

I knew I would get a response from you...if it's the only carrier inside The Rock, then why does it suck so bad. It's literally as soon as I walk through the doors, I have good service and shitty download speed. So bad I don't even look at my phone! The horror!