Well, i'm with T-Mobile and i've finally finished my contract. I've hated t-mobile ever since i started it. Terrible signal, terrible internet speeds, terrible customer service and terrible prices for upgrades. To upgrade to a Xperia X10 from my G1 (not upgrading though, as i have a Nexus) it would extend my contract, cost me an extra £10 a month (so up to £30!) AND the phone would cost me £290! I mean, i can get hold of the phone on its own for £230!
Basically, i cannot stand t-mobile any longer and i was wondering what operators you are all with and how happy you are with them.
My girlfriend's on Orange so i'm leaning towards them at the moment.
Cheers guys
I am also in the same boat but I think I have to choose Vodafone or 02, I believe they have the best mobile internet in the UK, been happy with t-mobile most the time but signal is non existent in my work place, think it's because they have the **** spectrum. So I can't see any improvement until the gov auctions off the better part but that won't be till 2011.
I left T-Mobile for O2 a few years ago and have not looked back. Orange are also good though - if I ever ran into an issue that prompted me to leave O2, I'd go to Orange.
O2 PAYG,quite good
get lots of free texts and minutes,plus 3g allowance for a month worth 7 quid
Just rang up and cancelled, meaning to do this for a while August last bill, might order a few free sims to test how the networks are.
I've been with T-Mobile for 15 years (since they were Mercury One2One). I haven't had too many problems, although I'm probably only still with them because I was getting a loyalty bonus.
One thing to bear in mind is that they are merging with Orange so we will be able to use their network, so it might be worth seeing what they will offer you in the way of reducing your bill if you stay with them, especially as you don't need a new handset.
I think also the data allowance is better on T-Mobile as well (I get 3GB), I think you generally get less with the other UK networks. Also roaming data is quite good (£10 for 50MB in EU).
Good point. I might ring up and threaten to cancel to see if i can get a good deal out of them
Thanks for your help everyone!
You'll find lots of people saying every network has the worst coverage and the worst customer server and the worst deals. The truth is...
Network Coverage:
All networks have pretty good coverage, except Three. They will roam you onto Orange as their 2g backup, and if you use 2g alot they will hassle you and posibly cut you off.
In my experience Orange have the worst overall coverage out of the 4 other networks.
Three and T-Mobile have a RAN sharing agreement which means they share 3g radio towers, so they curently have very good 3g coverage. Three are on a push to upgrade their 3g network so this can only help.
You're best bet is to find a friend with the network you're thinking of going to and check reception in the main places you will use it. Probably home and work. If you can't find a friend then go pick up a pay as you go sim for 1 pound and use that to check. You can actually get free sims from every network from their website too.
Every network has blackspots - some really bad, and this usually leads to some forum rant about how that particular network is total ****e, with another one 3 posts down about how that network's reception is amazing! It ultimatly depends where you live.
Worst customer service
Although some networks have been known to have totally terible customer services in the past (three), most have shaped up and are reasonably good. Like everything the experience goes up and down over the months, and todays amazing network is tommorows dog. If you had a reall bad experience with t-mobile then move (see next section), if only for your own sanity! Otherwise you'll probably have a short fuse every time you call them from now on.
Again ask friends etc about how they're finding customer service. Usually one or tworeally bad experience end up in rants on forums, and the worst stories always stick in the mind.
worst deals
Staying with the same network will never get you a great deal. Most networks have a ratio that the retentions team look at. It shows how much you use your phone and how much it has actually cost them. For example if you have 900 mins and make mostly t-mobile only calls you'll have a better ratio than others. They also look at how long you've been with them, how many months out of contract (before u took a new phone etc).
All these things means that _sometimes_ people get amazing deals, because the specific person you speak to decides you ar worth keeping no matter what. Typically tho you will end up calling customer services yourself and talk to a minion who spouts the standard deals and has only a marginal discount to offer.
Remember if you move network you will ALWAYS get a better deal. Look at all the new contract deals out there, even at places like phones4u. Dont every expect your network to match those, they wont. There may be the odd story about someone getting some amazing deal, but its rare.
Just get you PAC code and use it with a third party seller to get the best deal you can. And dont look back.
Interesting comments.
I've been with T-Mobile ever since I moved to the UK two years ago. My contract ran out a month or so ago and I was looking around if there are better operators. Everyone had something bad to say about all of them: O2, Vodafone, Orange, 3 - but no one said anything bad about T-Mobile. My experience was also quite good with them, so I stayed
I guess I should try other carriers just to see what kind of coverage and speeds they provide, but T-Mobile meets my needs fully, so I don't see any point to leave.
Related
I'm interested to know what carrier / pre-paid option you chose & how your voice service & data performance is.
I might make the jump come next year, I'm patient enough to hold out for a 32GB version (I have a feeling it'll come Q1 2013). :fingers-crossed:
I'm worried about chooing T-Mobile, I don't know anyone on T-Mobile but their HSPA+ is tempting as is getting a better data deal
However AT&T seems to be proven but the people who I knew that had AT&T have either switched to Sprint or Verizon.
Your help is appreciated.
Thanks.
Edit: This forum is too active
I use T-mobile. I've been happy with both their voice and data service for years now - I switched when the G1 came out.
If you go camping/etc you'll probably run into coverage issues. However, in the Philadelphia suburbs you're not going to have problems, beyond the rare issue in a building or whatever that everybody has. I've found the coverage map on their website to be accurate - it has a google-maps-like interface and you can see coverage down to the street level.
Definitely get an unsubsidized plan. With monthly payments if you buy a phone from them it is no more expensive than the subsidized plans anyway. However, it gives you the flexibility to go elsewhere for your gear or update on your own schedule penalty-free. Obviously paying $350 for a Nexus 4 makes a lot more sense than paying $600 for the exact same device.
Compared to Verizon or ATT you'll save buckets of cash.
I'd say go att if you plan on going to south jersey. Edge sucks.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
T-mobile for the past 6 years in Philly and surrounding areas. I really can't complain. I have the occasional issue in a particular building or someone's house but I'm paying $50/mo. Their service has gradually become better year after year. I would definitely recommend.
I'm on AT&T in the Philadelphia area, and their HSPA+ here is sloooowwww. I'm lucky if I get 2-4mbps. The coverage is great (I switched from Verizon, and AT&T is much better in the areas that I frequent) but the speed is meh. Still much better than 3G, but nothing like the speeds I've heard of from T-mobile.
T-Mobile value here. The shore and poconos are much spottier than AT&T but delco, at least, is better. I never really did any wireless speed tests to compare.
the ~$600 a year savings made it a no brainer for me.
I'm out in Montgomery County and have been on Straight Talk AT&T for a while. Just got my new sim for ST T-Mobile. All I did was call them and gave them the new SIM PIN and within an hour or so, all was done. Costs 48/month with all unlimited, throttling data after 2GBs? I don't use that much data so I'm not sure. Coverage for AT&T was fine, but data speeds were slow. T-Mobile is already giving me about double the speeds: 6741kpbs down 2211kbps up. I'm guessing it'll be faster when I'm in the city. The SIM cards only cost ~10 bucks with free overnight shipping. I'd say go with ST if you don't need over 2GBs of data and then you can try both and be totally content with your decision.
Didn't think T-Mobile would get the nod here. I do work in Center City West so I was worried about the building I'm in and around me. But I have to remember I'm ok, given I'm not tied down.
Sent from my iPod Touch 5
Hi I need advice from you learned people.
I am getting good reports about Three UK.
The problem I have is that because I am in the upgrade period of my contract with Vodafone they are offering me a good deal to stay (4Gig data / unlimited mins & texts for £27pm + £80 up front). I can also easily get by with less then this so I will probably haggle further.
Three obviously have better deals however Vodafone have a very robust phone signal which is why am unsure about moving elsewhere. The phone signal is most important to me & I know that T-mobile is less than perfect using the 1800 frequency, which is the same as Three.
I think Vodafone use this to charge more (as do O2), but I have not had a dropped call or other major problem in 10 years.
I am just trying to weigh up if the money I save on Three will be at the expense of quality of service, in particular the phone signal. I suppose the real question is "do we think that Three have a decent enough phone signal to warrant moving from a really good upgrade offer on Vodafone?"
I do realise I am probably over thinking this but I don't won't to regret a 2 year contract!
Thanks for any advice on this.
ianovic said:
Hi I need advice from you learned people.
I am getting good reports about Three UK.
The problem I have is that because I am in the upgrade period of my contract with Vodafone they are offering me a good deal to stay (4Gig data / unlimited mins & texts for £27pm + £80 up front). I can also easily get by with less then this so I will probably haggle further.
Three obviously have better deals however Vodafone have a very robust phone signal which is why am unsure about moving elsewhere. The phone signal is most important to me & I know that T-mobile is less than perfect using the 1800 frequency, which is the same as Three.
I think Vodafone use this to charge more (as do O2), but I have not had a dropped call or other major problem in 10 years.
I am just trying to weigh up if the money I save on Three will be at the expense of quality of service, in particular the phone signal. I suppose the real question is "do we think that Three have a decent enough phone signal to warrant moving from a really good upgrade offer on Vodafone?"
I do realise I am probably over thinking this but I don't won't to regret a 2 year contract!
Thanks for any advice on this.
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Click to collapse
It depends on your location. I remember that when I was with three, I had almost no signal in my house, IN THE CENTRE OF GLASGOW, where signal should be excellent. But some people says that three has the best signal. I moved myself to t-mobile (now EE) and I never had any problems with signal since then. Maybe buy a pay as you go SIM card on three, and check how it will work?
Sent from my HTC One X.
POLSKAAAAAA BIAAAALOOOO CZEEEERWONIIIII!!!!!!!!!
"Android's source is better than most liquor stores, it's opened 24/7" gallardo5 aka Daniel
Do not go to 3 network. The connection is good and prices are a steal but the customer service will make you commit suicide. I was on three network two years and only once have they tried to help with my network problems. I moved to T-Mobile/EE this year.
T-Mobile/EE have improved their signal ten fold. I have noticed a difference. I barely lose signal and the contracts are pretty good. The customer service is really good. All my problems have been solved.
gallardo5 said:
It depends on your location. I remember that when I was with three, I had almost no signal in my house, IN THE CENTRE OF GLASGOW, where signal should be excellent. But some people says that three has the best signal. I moved myself to t-mobile (now EE) and I never had any problems with signal since then. Maybe buy a pay as you go SIM card on three, and check how it will work?
Sent from my HTC One X.
POLSKAAAAAA BIAAAALOOOO CZEEEERWONIIIII!!!!!!!!!
"Android's source is better than most liquor stores, it's opened 24/7" gallardo5 aka Daniel
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Thanks. I am still not sure. Three have a much better coverage now. Also CS is not really an issue for me. I don't want to use T-Mobile atm.
From somebody who works for an I dependant UK third party retailer. I wouldn't advise going to three. Upgrade with coda or switch to orange, t-mob or we. Truuuuuust me
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
wiggey1337 said:
From somebody who works for an I dependant UK third party retailer. I wouldn't advise going to three. Upgrade with coda or switch to orange, t-mob or we. Truuuuuust me
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
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What do you base this on?
I am finding T-Mob/Orange coverage very patchy compared to Three.
Well, I stayed with Vodafone & haggled an upgrade on a two year contract.
I got a Note 2 GT-N7105 with a £30 cost for the phone which they have forgotten to charge me for. I have unlimited minutes, unlimited texts & 4Gig of data per month all for the cost of £26 per month!!!
As far as I am concerned that is deal of the century so I am very happy.
Thanks for all the help.
Post screenshots. As of now I don't think Wideband in Columbus, Ohio is live. My speeds are the same as before. What speeds should we be getting?
Anyone know the screen mode # for the flex to see the information?
I see this hidden menu option but not sure where to find if I'm on 15mhz.
*3845#*959# And don't want to mess my phone up. Lol
http://www.lg-phones.org/lg-g-flex-hidden-service-menu.html
Sent from my LG-D959 using Tapatalk
Hmmmmm i tried them numbers for Sprint and it didn't work but in your menu do you see lte engineering? I know for Sprint what i do is ##debug# takes me to a menu where i can see lte engineering and in there it would show which band your connected to.
yellowman82 said:
Hmmmmm i tried them numbers for Sprint and it didn't work but in your menu do you see lte engineering? I know for Sprint what i do is ##debug# takes me to a menu where i can see lte engineering and in there it would show which band your connected to.
Click to expand...
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I looked and don't see that. Maybe I'll post all the options later. It's like 3 screen shots.
3845#*959# This is the hidden menu for T-Mobile. In the OP I had a * in front and was wondering why it didn't work. lol
For AT&T: Go to dialer and enter 3845#*950#
For Sprint: Go to dialer and enter 3845#*995#
39.51 down, 11.86 up, on VOLTE inside my house, outside of Chicago..
wase4711 said:
39.51 down, 11.86 up, on VOLTE inside my house, outside of Chicago..
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Nice but do VOLTE has anything to do with your network speed? Thought VOLTE was voice over lte so you can talk on the phone while browsing the web using lte?
yellowman82 said:
Nice but do VOLTE has anything to do with your network speed? Thought VOLTE was voice over lte so you can talk on the phone while browsing the web using lte?
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Click to collapse
Not sure if it does anything for speed, since I am usually on wifi, and dont pay alot of attention to OTA data speed..
If I recall, when I did some tests awhile ago, I never got more than 14-20 megs down, and 6-7 megs up while in my house.
I thought those speeds were acceptable.
T-Mobile has a fantastic network in my area, and I was very happy with their phone/data speeds and quality, even before these updates..
wase4711 said:
Not sure if it does anything for speed, since I am usually on wifi, and dont pay alot of attention to OTA data speed..
If I recall, when I did some tests awhile ago, I never got more than 14-20 megs down, and 6-7 megs up while in my house.
I thought those speeds were acceptable.
T-Mobile has a fantastic network in my area, and I was very happy with their phone/data speeds and quality, even before these updates..
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Click to collapse
Yea i just did a google search and basically VOLTE really doesn't improve network speeds either T-Mobile updated something through that update or probably the tower around you got a small upgrade. I'm on sprint and i can't complain much as to they are really improving their network and trying to get everywhere covered here's some speeds of mine on sprint.
wow, where are you located?
before I came to Tmobile in February, I was a Sprint user for many years, and, I never had many problems with their network, although the data speeds were horrible.
when they announced the "new" network last year, I was excited that Chicago was one of the first cities to be upgraded; however, once the "upgrade" started, the network was horrific for me; we couldnt make phone calls from our house, data/calls would drop everywhere, and even with an AirRave, their service went from OK to unusable for me. Fortunately, Tmobile announced their program to pay your cancellation fees and such at that time, so we switched to TMO, and have had fantastic service from Day one.
I hated to leave Sprint after all those years, and especially when there was this promise of their great "new" network, so I am amazed to see you have such fantastic speeds and good call quality with them now.
wase4711 said:
wow, where are you located?
before I came to Tmobile in February, I was a Sprint user for many years, and, I never had many problems with their network, although the data speeds were horrible.
when they announced the "new" network last year, I was excited that Chicago was one of the first cities to be upgraded; however, once the "upgrade" started, the network was horrific for me; we couldnt make phone calls from our house, data/calls would drop everywhere, and even with an AirRave, their service went from OK to unusable for me. Fortunately, Tmobile announced their program to pay your cancellation fees and such at that time, so we switched to TMO, and have had fantastic service from Day one.
I hated to leave Sprint after all those years, and especially when there was this promise of their great "new" network, so I am amazed to see you have such fantastic speeds and good call quality with them now.
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Click to collapse
I'm located in Miami and before having a sprint spark phone i had the note 2 which was really struggling on the band 25 network, i too was considering leaving them for T-Mobile but when the flex came out i went to the store to check it out and ran some speed test while i was there and i was amazed by sprint spark new bands so i decided to stay but I'm pretty sure Chicago should be good now or atleast picking up, sprint choose the best route in upgrading their network so it's really going to pay off when they are complete.
Stay on topic please both of you. Hehe j/k.
I left Sprint after 14 years for T-Mobile a little over a year ago. It's kind of funny how Sprint and T-Mobile switched roles at least in some places. T-Mobile use to suck but now Sprint does. I'm really surprised how quick T-Mobile improved the network. I thought Softbank would turn Sprint around quickly but that didn't happen. Now if the Sprint/Tmobile merger happens I don't see that being a good thing. If it does happen I'll probably go to AT&T.
I get around 20mbps with T-Mobile and that's more then enough for me. I'm running a lot of speed test waiting for the Wideband LTE to be active though. Lol
Man those Spark speeds from Sprint are insane! Honestly if Sprint could roll those numbers out for majority of consumers, I'd all be for the merger, lol!
JesseMT4G said:
Man those Spark speeds from Sprint are insane! Honestly if Sprint could roll those numbers out for majority of consumers, I'd all be for the merger, lol!
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I was more shocked when i ran the app and got these results when i'm usually averaging between 25~40mbps. I would like the merger to happen because it will actually give them a chance to compete against the big 2 major carrier especially with their prices.
I cant imagine that with the hundreds of millions they have both spent recently to upgrade their networks, their networks beings incompatible with each other, that there will ever be a merger between these 2..would the "merged" company be GSM or CDMA? Would they have spent 100's of millions to upgrade their incompatible networks, if a merger was in the works?
Doesn't make any sense, but who knows..
Sprint is taking years upgrading it's network even with Sotfbanks $. T-Mobile upgraded the network in a year. I really don't see prices going down if the merger happens. If anything they would go up. I'm just shocked Hesse still has a job. I do want to see Sprint turn things around though.
sweets55 said:
Sprint is taking years upgrading it's network even with Sotfbanks $. T-Mobile upgraded the network in a year. I really don't see prices going down if the merger happens. If anything they would go up. I'm just shocked Hesse still has a job. I do want to see Sprint turn things around though.
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Well you see that's where you don't know the difference the reason they're taking longer is the direction they went by also changing the whole equipment base etc at each site which are going to pay off in the long run tmobile isn't doing that they just upgrading their speed and such that's why they are finishing way quicker which is going to hurt them later on in the future when they really realize that it would have to replace almost all the equipment in that base site which will lead to problems like customer calling and complaining about the issue they are having with their service and such basically its going to be a deja vu all over again.
Here's what I'm seeing in Birmingham, Alabama. War Eagle !
Sent from my LG-D959 using Tapatalk
yellowman82 said:
Well you see that's where you don't know the difference the reason they're taking longer is the direction they went by also changing the whole equipment base etc at each site which are going to pay off in the long run tmobile isn't doing that they just upgrading their speed and such that's why they are finishing way quicker which is going to hurt them later on in the future when they really realize that it would have to replace almost all the equipment in that base site which will lead to problems like customer calling and complaining about the issue they are having with their service and such basically its going to be a deja vu all over again.
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Click to collapse
Dude take off your Sprint blinders. lol I was with Sprint for 14 years and had so many phones I've lost track. lol My point is I know what's going on in the wireless industry. Sprint is taking years to upgrade the network because they keep making bad decisions. Clearwire was a bust. WiMAX was a bust. LightSquared deal was a bust too – granted, that one wasn't really Sprint’s fault. Oh and the big Nextel mistake. Sprints history shows an inability to pick a winner. The only customers calling to complain are Sprints. I feel bad for Sprint customers when Hesse says "just wait for the network of your dreams". lmao They have been waiting for years. Sprint should be giving them a credit since some can't even watch a youtube video. I was one a year ago and Sprint said all 4 of my phones were defective. lol They offered me a one time $5 credit. I laughed then hung up the phone and went to T-Mobile. Then Sprint comes out with Framily. lol I think that's so stupid. I don't want to have recruit strangers and then worry about them paying the bill on time so my bill doesn't change.
T-Mobile has expanded Wideband LTE into 16 total markets, giving all T-Mobile LTE devices a speed boost with capable peak network download speeds up to nearly 150 Mbps. In January T-Mobile bought a swath of unused spectrum from Verizon Wireless for $3.3 billion that will help expand its coverage to more regions outside of the metropolitan areas.
I really hope the merger doesn't happen because T-Mobile is hot and Sprint will just cool them off. lol Hopefully T-Mobile can get another 3 billion for the failed deal like what happened with AT&T. No one can predict the future as far as you saying T-Mobile will go through what Sprint is going through now. Good thing is I'm not in a contract. Hopefully Sprint can turn things around and fix the bad image they have now. No one can deny, 2013 was T-Mobile’s year.
Report: T-Mobile best, Sprint worst carrier in KC
http://m.bizjournals.com/kansascity...e-best-sprint-worst-carrier-in-kc.html?r=full
Seems like I read somewhere that as of Jan 1st 2014 T-Mobile opened up 75,000 new towers in North America, supporting 4g LTE. I had Verizon for years then went to AT&T for about 6 months and now on T-Mobile. Verizon did have the best coverage of 4g lte , at&t was OK but I always had to fight them about BS on my bill and overages. I had a GS4 on AT&T during the 4.2 to 4.3 update, I was rooted with unlocked boot loader I couldn't take the OTA but that didn't stop them from sending the 592mb update 17 times one month and 22 times another month. Forcing me to have overages. I had to call and fight my way out of them both times. And if I didn't know as much as I do about android and our systems I couldn't have convinced the customer service MANAGER that that was what it was. Then after having issues with the network cust. Service told me they couldn't support or help me with my issue until I took the update. They said "Our tech support is trained to handle issues with 4.3" so I asked "what happened to the crew that was trained on 4.2, did you fire all of them?",
Long story short I left and got ETF paid by T-Mobile and got unlimited data again. I average 40-45 mBs download speeds and have had the best customer service experience with tmo.
And I love being able to use thus much data :
thats ALOT of Porno viewing, bro..:cyclops:
Agree with everything you said; Verizon is great if you travel for a living, but I dont do that anymore, so I only care what works in Chicago land; ATT was fine after they updated their network here a couple of years ago, but, their cust svc/tech support was lame at best, and after a brief try with Sprint, and their "Alleged" great new network, we decided our last hope was T-Mobile, and we love everything about them, for us, in Chicago land..
Great Customer service when we need them, great low pricing, great service in our area, and all issues are taken care of immediately, without a question or argument...We couldnt be happier with our cellular choices right now, and hope it stays this way for a long time..
We are moving to the Dallas area in a year or 2, so I hope their coverage is as good down there as it is up here..
I even bricked my first rooted g flex and took it to the T-Mobile store and for $5 shipping charge they sent me a brand new one not refurbished but new. The first one was only 3 weeks old.
The CEO and Head of Marketing are determined to make T-Mobile a monopoly and out to show other carriers it can be done better, faster, cheaper, and unlimited. Any company, mobile carrier or not, that does not take cues or adapt this mentality of business and customer care is run by morons.
I just wanted to put a feeler out there. Hopefully those who may have switched from Verizon might chime in and give me some helpful advice.
I've been with Verizon since the GS3 came out and I've had it with that company. They have excellent service, and I have signal just about anywhere I go, but there are a lot of things about them that bother me, and I'm ready to jump ship. This all started when I had a Note 4 in hand at the VZW store the other day, and after speaking to the ASSociate there, I'm ready to leave. I'm on the EDGE plan (kinda like JUMP), and was an early adopter to that, so I had the 50% pay off to get a new phone after 11 mo. First thing I don't like is the cost. With a 21% discount, I was paying $121/mo for the Note 3 with 5GB data, 450min, and 1000 text messages (I never used up the minutes or texts). I didn't think that was too outrageous since I was paying off that N3 every month, and I was OK with it because I'm a complete nerd and like to have a new phone every year. However, they now want you to pay off 75% of the phone over 18 months. What is that bs? If I'm paying 75% of an $800 phone, I might as well just sell it on eBay. Another issue is the bootloader, of course. Verizon locks down their phones hardcore. Even rooting them is a chore on VZW, and I'm tired of it. I'm not even a huge "power-user". I just like to have my Titanium Backup and freedom of controlling my system apps. T-Mobile obviously doesn't have any of these issues, but everyone I talk to says the service isn't that great, especially in rural areas. I take a lot of trips to remote locations, and fear that I will not have signal at any of them. For a person who always has their phone on them and is an extension of themselves, this could be a deal-breaker.
Any advice? I'm seriously considering it, and TMo is sending me an iPhone 5s to test this week, but I'm still afraid of the commitment.
I just traded in my Verizon Note 3 and switched to tmobile. I am loving it so far. I actually get better reception that Verizon here in my part of Pittsburgh. I recently upgraded to the unlimited 4g plan and decided I am going to ditch Comcast too. I will get a Chromecast and/or MHL cable to hook my note up to my tv and occasionally for youtube ans netflix, wifi Hotspot when I am using the computer.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app
i made the switch from verizon to t-mobile on friday. i'm giving up verizon's unlimited data plan because they won't let me upgrade unless i pay full price or give up the unlimited. i chose to go with t-mobile's $80 unlimited everything plan w/ 5gb of hotspot. my situation is a little different than yours, though. i was already a t-mobile customer (back when they were voicestream until 2010), so i already know what i'm getting myself into in terms of quality (plus, my parents, brother, and sister-in-law are on t-mobile). i live in chicago also, so that makes a difference. i've never had an issue with t-mobile's service. the only reason i had originally switched the first time is because when the smartphone race began, t-mobile had some of the worst selections.
again, i live in chicago, so your results might vary, but i did a ookla speedtest on my brother's note 4 (on t-mobile) and my galaxy s4 (on verizon) and his numbers beat my numbers consistently (which genuinely surprised me).
Do the T-mobile test drive first available here http://explore.t-mobile.com/test-drive-free-trial?cmpid=WTR_PB_N62kxn2C&002=2202007&004=13691619257&005=47088372328&006=45480286217&007=Search&008=&025=c&026=&gclid=Cj0KEQjwt7KiBRD9lOePpe_BhrgBEiQAHaS_116jcCU3lPFxN-073akQkOmUEMwL_jAlA8fhsqPxLb4aAuDY8P8HAQ. They will send you a phone to try out for a week. I wanted to switch, but found out that they actually have no service at my home and half of the areas on my way to work, even though on their website it says there is full 2g service in all these places. Their coverage map is extremely misleading. Just read all the customer dissatisfaction with coverage via this link. http://support.t-mobile.com/community/coverage/content?filterID=contentstatus%5Bpublished%5D~objecttype~objecttype%5Bthread%5D
Cicatrize said:
I just wanted to put a feeler out there. Hopefully those who may have switched from Verizon might chime in and give me some helpful advice.
I've been with Verizon since the GS3 came out and I've had it with that company. They have excellent service, and I have signal just about anywhere I go, but there are a lot of things about them that bother me, and I'm ready to jump ship. This all started when I had a Note 4 in hand at the VZW store the other day, and after speaking to the ASSociate there, I'm ready to leave. I'm on the EDGE plan (kinda like JUMP), and was an early adopter to that, so I had the 50% pay off to get a new phone after 11 mo. First thing I don't like is the cost. With a 21% discount, I was paying $121/mo for the Note 3 with 5GB data, 450min, and 1000 text messages (I never used up the minutes or texts). I didn't think that was too outrageous since I was paying off that N3 every month, and I was OK with it because I'm a complete nerd and like to have a new phone every year. However, they now want you to pay off 75% of the phone over 18 months. What is that bs? If I'm paying 75% of an $800 phone, I might as well just sell it on eBay. Another issue is the bootloader, of course. Verizon locks down their phones hardcore. Even rooting them is a chore on VZW, and I'm tired of it. I'm not even a huge "power-user". I just like to have my Titanium Backup and freedom of controlling my system apps. T-Mobile obviously doesn't have any of these issues, but everyone I talk to says the service isn't that great, especially in rural areas. I take a lot of trips to remote locations, and fear that I will not have signal at any of them. For a person who always has their phone on them and is an extension of themselves, this could be a deal-breaker.
Any advice? I'm seriously considering it, and TMo is sending me an iPhone 5s to test this week, but I'm still afraid of the commitment.
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I made the switch yesterday . Screw Verizon I had the note 3 and was out of contract . So I just switched over got the note 4 and so far so good . I stay in Caldwell Idaho .
NWNJ said:
Do the T-mobile test drive first available here http://explore.t-mobile.com/test-drive-free-trial?cmpid=WTR_PB_N62kxn2C&002=2202007&004=13691619257&005=47088372328&006=45480286217&007=Search&008=&025=c&026=&gclid=Cj0KEQjwt7KiBRD9lOePpe_BhrgBEiQAHaS_116jcCU3lPFxN-073akQkOmUEMwL_jAlA8fhsqPxLb4aAuDY8P8HAQ. They will send you a phone to try out for a week. I wanted to switch, but found out that they actually have no service at my home and half of the areas on my way to work, even though on their website it says there is full 2g service in all these places. Their coverage map is extremely misleading. Just read all the customer dissatisfaction with coverage via this link. http://support.t-mobile.com/community/coverage/content?filterID=contentstatus%5Bpublished%5D~objecttype~objecttype%5Bthread%5D
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I think my anger with Verizon caused me to leave that part out of my long post, lol. I did that, and they're sending me an iPhone 5s to test, which will be here on Tuesday. I'm excited to try it out, but the consensus around my office with T-Mobile customers is that it's not very good service. Time will tell, I guess.
How is T-Mobile's customer service? I was a T-Mo customer about 10 years ago and it was excellent back then.
JUST DO IT. VERIZON SUCKS. COMPLETELY OVER RATES THEM SELVES.
I've had better coverage data speeds and call quality in the last week with my note 4 then the last 8 years with Verizon. Not to mention Tmobiles not a bunch of ****ing blood suckers.
I switched from att to tmobile two weeks. I'm in northern new jersey and I'm not looking back. I originally got the note 3 but decided I wanted to make sure I had the latest phone so I got the note 4 before the return period was up. I ported over two lines and a tablet. I'm saving about $50 per month on tmobile. The service has been great so far. The speeds have been excellent and coverage at my job and house is five bars. The fact that their phones have unlocked bootloaders is of course a plus. I'd say if coverage is good then make the switch.
Taking Notes on my Note 4
Well these are interesting responses.
As far as my work goes, nothing seems to penetrate that building except AT&T, which would be nice, but they have the same issues that Verizon has. It's interesting, because I thought TMo piggy backed off of AT&T towers for roaming...
Depends on the service in your area. I live in NYC so I've notice hardly any difference in service and faster speeds with T-mobile. However if you travel a lot I would say Verizon is better because that map does not lie, you really do have service everywhere with them.
idelgado782 said:
I switched from att to tmobile two weeks. I'm in northern new jersey and I'm not looking back. I originally got the note 3 but decided I wanted to make sure I had the latest phone so I got the note 4 before the return period was up. I ported over two lines and a tablet. I'm saving about $50 per month on tmobile. The service has been great so far. The speeds have been excellent and coverage at my job and house is five bars. The fact that their phones have unlocked bootloaders is of course a plus. I'd say if coverage is good then make the switch.
Taking Notes on my Note 4
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Ditto. I switched from Verizon this past Thursday and not looking back. I love the freedom with bootloaders. I was with TMob 8 years ago and the service to be honest was horrible. But now TMob has greatly improved. I haven't dropped calls and data speeds are fast.
Cicatrize said:
Well these are interesting responses.
As far as my work goes, nothing seems to penetrate that building except AT&T, which would be nice, but they have the same issues that Verizon has. It's interesting, because I thought TMo piggy backed off of AT&T towers for roaming...
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As far as penetrating buildings goes, earlier this year tmobile just bought the rights to new frequencies that have a lower wave length and will penetrate buildings considerably... they haven't made the activation on this frequency everywhere yet, but the Note 4 is one of the first phones(if not the first?) to have the ability to receive this frequency built in, so as soon as it goes live in your given area, you'll get the benefits! This is a hardware thing too, so it's not like they can just update other phones n they'll have it too, only new phones built to receive it
p()()pypants said:
As far as penetrating buildings goes, earlier this year tmobile just bought the rights to new frequencies that have a lower wave length and will penetrate buildings considerably... they haven't made the activation on this frequency everywhere yet, but the Note 4 is one of the first phones(if not the first?) to have the ability to receive this frequency built in, so as soon as it goes live in your given area, you'll get the benefits! This is a hardware thing too, so it's not like they can just update other phones n they'll have it too, only new phones built to receive it
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That's interesting. I didn't know that. Did they give an eta when they expect to turn on those frequencies?
Taking Notes
p()()pypants said:
As far as penetrating buildings goes, earlier this year tmobile just bought the rights to new frequencies that have a lower wave length and will penetrate buildings considerably... they haven't made the activation on this frequency everywhere yet, but the Note 4 is one of the first phones(if not the first?) to have the ability to receive this frequency built in, so as soon as it goes live in your given area, you'll get the benefits! This is a hardware thing too, so it's not like they can just update other phones n they'll have it too, only new phones built to receive it
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Are you referring to the 700MHz spectrum they're rolling out? Link here: https://sites.google.com/site/cellularbinder/t-mobile-700a-spectrum
If that's the case, I'm in Southwest Michigan, and it looks like they need to clear up some stuff before that happens in my area (if I'm reading that correctly)?
EDIT: Also, is not the 700MHz for LTE band 12 only? I would love to have LTE inside of work, but less necessary than just a regular GSM phone signal.
Verizon sucks...PERIOD
the ONLY reason to even consider them is if you need coverage in the most obscure areas of the US; if not, kick those scumbags to the curb..
If you have decent coverage in your area, then no one can beat T-mobile for coverage, price, customer service, and everything else.
Do the test drive, go to all the areas you are concerned about, and if you get coverage, then switch
wase4711 said:
Verizon sucks...PERIOD
the ONLY reason to even consider them is if you need coverage in the most obscure areas of the US; if not, kick those scumbags to the curb..
If you have decent coverage in your area, then no one can beat T-mobile for coverage, price, customer service, and everything else.
Do the test drive, go to all the areas you are concerned about, and if you get coverage, then switch
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My fiancee and I are both geocachers and use an app to post our finds immediately, so we do actually need coverage in obscure areas. We often have trouble even with Verizon, but that trouble is 1-2 bars of 3G. I'm hoping that doesn't translate into zero signal with T-Mobile. You are right, though. The plan is to do the test drive and see how it goes. With an unlocked bootloader and an eventual SIM unlock, I could always switch to AT&T if it ends up not working out very well. I have none of those freedoms with Verizon.
yeah, as much as I dislike "the deathstar", I hate verizon more, so given the choice of 2 evils, ATT would be your way out..
but, here again, go nuts on the 7 day tmobile test drive and see how good/bad they are in your area..
I use AT&T go phone prepaid with my tmo gn4. $60mo unl talk and text and 3gb LTE. I can add additional lte at $10 per gb. Just have to pay full price for my devices. I LOVE my set up. I travel, so tmo isn't an option for me. Hope you find a set up. Also, vz just released their prepaid plan mostly the same at $65mo with LTE service, and they're getting the gn4 developer edition with bootloader unlocked. Again, just have to pay full price.
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I have both so I know. I'd go with TM any day. Don't think about it. Just do it. Depending on your usage, if you don't talk much, the $30 pre paid plan is unbeatable. 5gb of data.
Well I've had this iPhone for an hour now. Hate the phone, but one thing I've seen already is the LTE speed is DOUBLE what I get from Verizon. It gets around 40mbps down and 10mbps up in my house, which is ridiculous. I can't even get that on Verizon outside with full bars.
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I am pretty much fed up with Verizon locking everything down and shipping phones later than everyone else. I am ready to make the move to T Mobile. I have a lot of people saying I am making a mistake in terms of coverage and that it is not even close. What has been your experience with T Mobile? Whats it like when travelling? The Note 4 is a great device and I really need it to be unlocked so I am looking for some feedback. I am in the San Francisco bay area and will be moving to Bend Oregon next June. Any real world feedback from people that have made the same move would be appreciated before I make the switch.
Thank you!
Jerry
I can't personally speak to your benefit since I don't live in your area, but in Southwest Michigan, Verizon is the king of carriers. I've had VZW for a few years and I made the switch to T-Mo last Thursday. Before you switch, take the test drive: http://explore.t-mobile.com/test-drive-free-trial
They send you an iPhone 5s that you can use for a week on their network for free. It's easy and pretty painless, with the exception that you have to use that phone.
As far as comparing to Verizon, it IS close, but Verizon IS better when it comes to pure coverage. It was a rarity for me to have no signal with Verizon, and it is so with T-Mo too, but the 3G on VZW was still usable, whereas with TMo, I can't get stuff done when I'm without good signal sometimes. It's a trade-off, though. TMo is MUCH cheaper, much less restricted, and the LTE is a hell of a lot faster (VZW I got about 8mbps down in my house, TMo gives me 40mbps). Verizon has much better coverage and low-band area, but that's really the only pro I have for them. Take the test drive and decide.
Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it. After having the Note 4 for a week there is no way I could use an iphone but thanks for the suggestion. I think I might take the chance since I have 14 days to get out if I need to. Thats the only thing holding me back because you guys already have roms and this device is too good to not have it fully unlocked. Thanks again I might soon be #teamtmobile
Try and get your hands on a used Tmo device to test out the network a bit. There are no contracts for the service, only if you buy a phone from them. Even then, that's only until the phone is paid off. If you bring your own phone, you can test as much as needed, and cancel if it doesn't work out for you.
You're probably going to have perfectly fine coverage in San Francisco, but Bend Oregon is the real question. Even if you could do the test drive alongside your Note 4, unless you are going to visit Bend within the trial time, you won't learn much.
Thanks guys. I just talked to my sister in Bend and she says that she has friends on T mobile and that if it was bad they would have changed carriers so Ill take that as a maybe. The map shows the 2nd best signal for my house in Bend so I might be ok. Im really leaning towards switching and have had the plan picked and devices in my cart but I want to make sure my return with Verizon is good to go tomorrow before I switch for good. Thanks for the feedback guys!
drum747 said:
I am pretty much fed up with Verizon locking everything down and shipping phones later than everyone else. I am ready to make the move to T Mobile. I have a lot of people saying I am making a mistake in terms of coverage and that it is not even close. What has been your experience with T Mobile? Whats it like when travelling? The Note 4 is a great device and I really need it to be unlocked so I am looking for some feedback. I am in the San Francisco bay area and will be moving to Bend Oregon next June. Any real world feedback from people that have made the same move would be appreciated before I make the switch.
Thank you!
Jerry
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It would depend on the coverage in your area. I believe T-Mobile Customer Care can answer the question pretty accurately. Last time I checked they also had an interactive web map to show you the signal strengths in specific zip codes. I live in the Boston Area. I've had my best speedtest top out at 62mbps with an average of 30-50mpbs. It's unreal. Their customer care is bar none. I've been with them over about 10 years and I have only great things to say about them. Check your coverage and then make the switch. I've traveled to surrounding states and have had great coverage as well. You always find one town out of a few hundred where you don't get a signal. Kind of rare, IMO. Hope this helps.
Bayarea
Att to Tmobile. The signal outside is much stronger on Tmobile but inside buildings is a bar or 2 less. I think customer service is better than att as well. Overall, I'm pleased with the unlimited data( not the fake unlimited like att) and unlocked bootloader.
I'm on t-mobile in San Francisco.. Came over from Sprint and have no regrets. Used 25+gb this month already.
Tried in New York, more precisely near Time Square. Fast is the only word.
I live in rural Texas. As long as you don't leave the city you will have LTE/HSPA+. As soon as you leave the main city you will be knocked down to 2G/EDGE. Fine for texing or making calls, just no data.
I made the jump from Verizon about 12 days ago. So far so good. I have excellent coverage everywhere in the city(Indianapolis, IN) and the burbs. The only problem I have is coverage at my place of employment. I had 3g with Verizon a few bars in certain areas, but T-Mobile its zilch. This is only during lunch. I guess I need to find something better to do on my lunch than to play with my phone for an hour or so lol. Other than that i noticed my speeds are faster than Verizon. I love the freedom of the unlocked bootloader and unlimited data, that only is worth the jump for me.