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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
Just trying to figure out if anyone had a previous 4G LTE plan prior to ordering the N5 and if its proved to be worth it or Not. Being New to that whole side of LTE things. How much GB allowance do you receive a month and average use total.
I have a 3G unlimited plan on O2 which are rare lately since 3 network is the only network that doesn't unlimited DAT at me moment.
Now the nexus 5 is 4G ready in the UK is it really worth chasing a 4G plan yet or wait because 3g works quite fine at moment with hotspots everywhere. Cheapest 4g plan is around £26 for 1gb I think. I didn't even mention 500mb cors that's just silly to even consider on 4G.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
In the same boat as yourself at the moment - (o2 simplicity with unlimited data)... Going to switch to giff-gaff (12 quid bundle) and wait it out and see whether 4G prices drop...
At the moment from what I can gather, EE have the monopoly coverage wise so hopefully when the competition kicks in prices will drop.
Certainly don't want to get tied into a long 4G contract at the moment to find high prices & crap coverage ruins the experience...
I'm currently on 3 with an iPhone 5. Going to stick with them if I get a Nexus 5. 2000 minutes, 5000 3-3 minutes, 5000 texts, Totally Unlimited data with unlimited tethering, and 4G at no extra cost in December, all for just £15 a month
As nellisere says, the best one for me is 3. 4g coming next month (very limited) and is cheap and reliable with excellent HSDPA coverage (left voda on my n4 after 8 months of crap service).
I'd look around
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
4G isn't in my city yet so I won't be switching until that happens, obviously.
Three is the best for data.
Up to 20mb (10-15mb average) on 3G.
Truly unlimited for £12.90 a month.
And 4G will be free - no charge difference or plan changes.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA-Premium 4
I think I'm going to leave Orange due to poor network coverage, and move to Three.
Nellisere - think I'll get that same plan that you're already on. is the unlimited tethering available for new customers do you know? I've looked on their website but can't find confirmation about that. Cheers.
Another vote for three from me, get great 3G (15 - 20 Mbps) and when 4G turns up it won't cost me any extra. Totally unlimited data as well, I recently used nearly a gigabyte while on holiday in Italy at no extra cost due to their "Feel At Home" deal.
Three is awesome
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
My dad is on Vodafone and barely gets any decent signal on his S4 and all so I can't expect any better. 02 simplicity has been awesome for me. Only capped once. I'm waiting to see what they do then 3 week brings completion. I was using the n4 before never really bothered much before.
Seems like 3 is the one to watch but is EE coverage that good. Cors its definitely too pricey for me.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Does anyone know if, when 3 changes to LTE in December, will the change in frequency improve penetration into buildings? I had heard somewhere that this would be the case but not really found any info (not looked properly yet to be honest!) Just got my n5 today (a beast!) And want to take advantage of LTE when it arrives, as well as Google music... can't really do so just now as it uses so much data.
Tried a 3 sim but not much use in my flat as the signal is non existent... on virgin "unlimited" but capped after 3.5GB, would love the option to have truly unlimited, LTE would be a bonus ..
Edit: sorry for changing the subject a wee bit - I use approx 2-3gb per month, but that's with me being careful... don't use the phone that much for Google music, but would deff use it more if I had unlimited!
...sent from the Nexus 5000
I will probably stay on Tesco network for 4G (but only upgrade when they have 4G in my city) for only £2.50 extra. Three is tempting but who knows when they will have 4G in my area - I can't imagine Plymouth is anywhere near their top priority list. Plus, I must keep my phone number and it'd be quite a hassle to switch networks while keeping same number. Then again, unlimited data would be great. I don't use 3G that much at the moment as WiFi is faster but that would change with 4G so I would appreciate unlimited data then! I may switch but I don't expect there will be 4G on any network in Plymouth for at least another year anyways.
androidsnax said:
Does anyone know if, when 3 changes to LTE in December, will the change in frequency improve penetration into buildings? I had heard somewhere that this would be the case but not really found any info (not looked properly yet to be honest!) Just got my n5 today (a beast!) And want to take advantage of LTE when it arrives, as well as Google music... can't really do so just now as it uses so much data.
Tried a 3 sim but not much use in my flat as the signal is non existent... on virgin "unlimited" but capped after 3.5GB, would love the option to have truly unlimited, LTE would be a bonus ..
Edit: sorry for changing the subject a wee bit - I use approx 2-3gb per month, but that's with me being careful... don't use the phone that much for Google music, but would deff use it more if I had unlimited!
...sent from the Nexus 5000
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I'm also with Three but I have to disagree with their 3G and HSDPA being lightning fast. There have been numerous occasions where I have had no signal in Central London! Also, at home (I live in London also), I get a speed of 5-6Mbps on my iPhone 5.
That said, I'm hoping their signals and speed improve. I certainly can't complain for unlimited data and tethering for £15.
IdodgerI said:
I think I'm going to leave Orange due to poor network coverage, and move to Three.
Nellisere - think I'll get that same plan that you're already on. is the unlimited tethering available for new customers do you know? I've looked on their website but can't find confirmation about that. Cheers.
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Tethering free only on The One plan. Ie £15pm 12month contract, or £18pm on 30 day rolling. I'm on the former and have no complaints with 3.
Sent from N4 ?
I was once a happy T-Mobile customer for 24 months until September when I moved to giffgaff on the £10 goodybag. Wherever I was, I always seemed to have signal with T-Mobile, usually 3G or HSDPA most of the time.
Along with the great signal, my T-Mobile deal was simply brilliant: 600 minutes, 500 texts, Unlimited Internet and a free phone (a Wildfire S) for just £11 a month! It seemed however that T-Mobile did not care much for my custom as in the 25th month (after the 24 month offer) the price doubled to £22! I then quickly grabbed a PAC Code (surprisingly very easy) and switched to giffgaff.
However, since my Nexus 5 purchase, I'm looking for a 4G deal and Three is calling to me with it's '4G at no extra cost' promise. Can anyone on Three vouch for it's signal strength, stability and speed?
artturnip said:
I was once a happy T-Mobile customer for 24 months until September when I moved to giffgaff on the £10 goodybag. Wherever I was, I always seemed to have signal with T-Mobile, usually 3G or HSDPA most of the time.
Along with the great signal, my T-Mobile deal was simply brilliant: 600 minutes, 500 texts, Unlimited Internet and a free phone (a Wildfire S) for just £11 a month! It seemed however that T-Mobile did not care much for my custom as in the 25th month (after the 24 month offer) the price doubled to £22! I then quickly grabbed a PAC Code (surprisingly very easy) and switched to giffgaff.
However, since my Nexus 5 purchase, I'm looking for a 4G deal and Three is calling to me with it's '4G at no extra cost' promise. Can anyone on Three vouch for it's signal strength, stability and speed?
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No. As it's unlikely that we live, work and visit same areas as you. You have 7 days to cancel though. I've been all around London, Cambridge, Oxford and few other places and the only place that wasn't too good was Cambridge. Now and again you get a bad spot, but it's so small that it looks like a local issue with a mast rather than poor coverage.
Sent from N4 ?
Arturnip it depends on location so where do you live? Personally I live in Plymouth and everywhere I go apart from forde valley and manedon main road I have excellent signal, it is more reliable than Orange/t-mobile/virgin from my personal experience (cant comment on O2 but family on vodafone and it seems terrible) and much faster for instance at my place of work I get 20mb/s with <90ms ping on Three but on T-mobile I got 8mb(same as Virgin) and on Orange I got 2mb with high ping, glad I left Orange as it was one of the worst and the most expensive! Currently paying £8.50 a month for one plan at Three due to some deals added together (12 month contract) so very happy as its cheap as chips, extremely fast and can only get better with FREE (or close to it...) 4g! Shame its arriving sometime next year and not now .
I'm happy enough with Three's DC-HSDPA speeds
Switch to Three! There 3G speeds are nuts I get around 15Mbit DL and 5Mbit UL. They are rolling out 4G over the next year or so and will not be charging extra for it, meaning if you have a 3G unlimited data plan you will still have unlimited data with 4G.
Three are the only UK provider that will offer unlimited 4G with no extra cost, madness when you compare what EE are offering.
I'm happy with three.
Also on the one plan unlimited internet and tethering for £15 a month is a steal! (Includes 4G when available also).
All depends on there coverage in the places you visit most and people can't tell you on here. Grab a sim (even PAYG) and try it. Can always cancel.
Here is my speeds and I don't exactly live in a high populated area. (Nottinghamshire)
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
I have been on ATT in the Chicago burbs for a few years now, been happy and satisfied with their service, no issues, and we have a good plan = 2 lines Unlimited minutes Unlimited texts, and 10GB shared Data for $130/Month. And with me on next it is $155/Month.
But I always like to at least root my Wife's phone for AdAway and XPosed stuff to tweak her phones better, and me I always root, and install Custom Recovery and ROM my phones, right now on a HTC One M8 converted to GPE and love this phone.
My point is, ATT has gotten worse and worse the last 18 months with locking down their phones, even root can take months to come by on flagship phones. And on principle it is really pissing me off, why give ATT money, if they won't even let me customize my phone anymore ? The ATT Note 2 I had two years ago, was the last best ATT phone IMO, I rooted it and ROM'd the heck out of that phone, but sadly with the new Note 4 those days are long gone and history with ATT.
Long story short, does T-Mobile offer competitive plans to what i currently have ? And how is their service in Chicago area ? Thank you
Well, you have two choices based on what you're interested in:
1. Switch service to T-Mobile. I also live in Chicago. The service isn't as good as AT&T here in the city, or elsewhere. LTE/3G data doesn't penetrate buildings as well. The calling and texting seems to be about the same when towers are near, but I know for a fact that AT&T has them beat in terms of coverage outside of major metro areas. I frequently drive between Chicago and Indianapolis- AT&T has 4G or LTE about 85% of the drive, while T-mobile will barely get phone calls to go through, much less high speed data. T-Mobile is cheaper service than AT&T, but you're getting what you pay for.
2. Buy the T-Mobile Note 4 off-contract and unlock it for AT&T. There are lots of threads here on xda about this- and it's what I've just done with my T-Mo note 4! I had done the same with my Note 3, there are presently no issues with t-mobile samsungs and at&T. connecting to LTE, phone calls, mms, sms, etc all works perfectly.
As you said, the AT&T variants are locked down and will probably remain that way. The ONLY note 4 you can buy that has the unlocked bootloader AS WELL AS support for LTE networks in the United States is the T-mobile Note 4. How much of a premium are you willing to pay for having the unlocked bootloader, is what you need to ask yourself. An off contract Note 4 from T-mobile costs $850 after Illinois taxes, and you'll need to activate the line for at least one day, meaning a few more bucks.
Hope that helps. I would go with option #2, especially if you're like me- grandfathered unlimited data from at&t.
obviously, the cost of the note 4's from t-mobile will decrease after the product is widely available and the initial hype dies down. So if you're enjoying your M8, wait a few months and grab a note 4 from swappa.com, ebay, or craigslist
Good points thanks.
I would almost like to test drive T-Mobile first for like a week, see how it is around town and in my office, etc... I am happy with ATT the past couple years, good service, it's just the principle of them locking down phones really irks me, and makes me want to take business elsewhere.
hey man, nice to see you here
I dont know about that other dude, but my service in the burr ridge/willowbrook area is fantastic with T-mobile
Also, I travel through lombard/villa park/elmhurst alot, and always have super strong signal, and in 8 months, I dont think I have dropped a single call; 4g speeds usually between 15-35 down,and 6-15 up, so I am one happy camper with Tmobile in chicagoland..
Do the test drive if you want confirmation yourself..
wase4711 said:
hey man, nice to see you here
I dont know about that other dude, but my service in the burr ridge/willowbrook area is fantastic with T-mobile
Also, I travel through lombard/villa park/elmhurst alot, and always have super strong signal, and in 8 months, I dont think I have dropped a single call; 4g speeds usually between 15-35 down,and 6-15 up, so I am one happy camper with Tmobile in chicagoland..
Do the test drive if you want confirmation yourself..
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Hello neighbor
I work in Willowbrook, and most of my business is in the western burbs, so thanks for your input.
And the principle of the idea is pushing me away from ATT, the whole lockdown is so upsetting.
How quick is a port of our numbers from ATT to T-Mobile, if I pick up the Note 4 ?
If I recall, when I switched, the number porting was done by the time we left the store!
just bring in your old ATT bill, and make sure you know the password on your ATT account, and the porting should be really fast..
I am in IL, but downstate and live in the Metro St. Louis area. The comments about T-Mo coverage are spot on. If you are downtown, or within about a 10-15 mile radius of it, you should be good. I was a long time Verizon customer, and I jumped to T-Mo when VZW pissed me off with that "network optimization" nonsense.
My experience at the office with T-Mo has been great. Faster even that Verizon. At home (30 miles NE of downtown STL) it is a different story. Maybe 1 bar of HSPA (never LTE) inside my house. I don't travel much, so I can't comment there yet, but I will say that if you spend a lot of time on the road you probably are best off buying the T-Mo Note 4 and staying with AT&T.
I really like what T-Mo is trying to do, they just have to get more towers out there.
Porting the number takes less than 30 seconds flat... It is incredibly fast. (done it already with 2 lines from AT&T to T-Mobile) Now I have 3 lines in total with T-Mobile, (an old one plus 2 new ones coming from AT&T)
robroy90 said:
I am in IL, but downstate and live in the Metro St. Louis area. The comments about T-Mo coverage are spot on. If you are downtown, or within about a 10-15 mile radius of it, you should be good. I was a long time Verizon customer, and I jumped to T-Mo when VZW pissed me off with that "network optimization" nonsense.
My experience at the office with T-Mo has been great. Faster even that Verizon. At home (30 miles NE of downtown STL) it is a different story. Maybe 1 bar of HSPA (never LTE) inside my house. I don't travel much, so I can't comment there yet, but I will say that if you spend a lot of time on the road you probably are best off buying the T-Mo Note 4 and staying with AT&T.
I really like what T-Mo is trying to do, they just have to get more towers out there.
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you know you can get them to "give" you a asus router, so you get a super wifi signal in your house, for data and calling...
wase4711 said:
you know you can get them to "give" you a asus router, so you get a super wifi signal in your house, for data and calling...
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Thanks, but I already have a better WiFi solution than their router. I had them send me their new LTE Booster and it helps a little, but it is still very spotty.
robroy90 said:
Thanks, but I already have a better WiFi solution than their router. I had them send me their new LTE Booster and it helps a little, but it is still very spotty.
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can I ask what solution you have that is better than a free AC router?
I had the asus RT-AC87, but returned it, because I got the same wifi speeds from the T-Mobile router, as I did from the $300 RT87..
How did you get tmo to give you an Asus router? I just switched from att to tmo here in jersey and my reason was for cheaper prices. I'm still within my 14 days but I will say I'm impressed so far. Greats LTE speeds, no issues with calls. I have derive at work & home so I think I'll be staying. I'm on the note 3 now waiting for n4 pre-order.
idelgado782 said:
How did you get tmo to give you an Asus router? I just switched from att to tmo here in jersey and my reason was for cheaper prices. I'm still within my 14 days but I will say I'm impressed so far. Greats LTE speeds, no issues with calls. I have derive at work & home so I think I'll be staying. I'm on the note 3 now waiting for n4 pre-order.
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info here and via google..
http://www.phonearena.com/news/T-Mobiles-CellSpot-Wi-Fi-router-available-now_id60802
https://www.google.com/search?utm_s...tmobile+wifi+router+available+date&gws_rd=ssl
edouble312 said:
Well, you have two choices based on what you're interested in:
2. Buy the T-Mobile Note 4 off-contract and unlock it for AT&T. There are lots of threads here on xda about this- and it's what I've just done with my T-Mo note 4! I had done the same with my Note 3, there are presently no issues with t-mobile samsungs and at&T. connecting to LTE, phone calls, mms, sms, etc all works perfectly.
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Click to collapse
So can you confirm the t mobile note 4 works fine with 4g lte on att? How did you unlock it? I current have the att note 3 on contract so would be paying out of contract prices and it seems to make more sense to go with t mobile if I want to customize it at some point or switch to t mobile later on. Also the t mobile note 4 is cheaper out of contract than att. If you are currently using the t mobile note 4 on att and everything works that's the route I'm going to go too. Just waiting for someone to verify that works as there are some threads with people having issues when going this route with the note 3. I've also heard if att ever asks for your imei or other phone info you should give them the numbers from an older att phone so they don't blacklist you and block you from using lte.
mike__o said:
So can you confirm the t mobile note 4 works fine with 4g lte on att? How did you unlock it? I current have the att note 3 on contract so would be paying out of contract prices and it seems to make more sense to go with t mobile if I want to customize it at some point or switch to t mobile later on. Also the t mobile note 4 is cheaper out of contract than att. If you are currently using the t mobile note 4 on att and everything works that's the route I'm going to go too. Just waiting for someone to verify that works as there are some threads with people having issues when going this route with the note 3. I've also heard if att ever asks for your imei or other phone info you should give them the numbers from an older att phone so they don't blacklist you and block you from using lte.
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correct about the imei. phone's working fine for me. speed tests are great, no issues with any LTE coverage. Maybe a little better than my previous phone- the T-mo Note 3 unlocked on AT&T.
I found a seller on eBay who got me the code. There's a thread in the questions/problems section that discusses my guys and all the other sellers.
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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Guys been with sprint 15 years I have a note 3 which I am able to do voice and data simultaneously. I am trying to update but non of the phones aprint offers are abke to do that. So i am lookjng around. What are the experience on team mobil? What to look for what sucks whats good thanks
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A lot depends on location and where you may travel. I live in KC (home of Sprint) and had Sprint for 4 years before I switched to T-Mobile earlier this year. In KC where Sprint advertises they are the #1 carrier my T-Mobile service blows them out of the water. For data I would get 5 to 7 mbps down on Sprint and on T-Mobile I get 12-20+ . However I went to a wedding in the middle of no-where Iowa and did not have service most of the time. I have also been to Omaha for business and can have great service at one spot and then a few blocks away no service. My son also had problems when he was there and was going to go in to a T-Mobile store, but there were none in Omaha. So to be location is the biggest issue.
I am on a 4 line 10gb per month per line plan, the 10gb is LTE then it goes to 2x data (not that I have gone over 10gb in a month). Three of the lines have the data stash built up to 20GB so we will always have LTE. My son who streams all the time on his phone this month is at 28GB used on the network, but only 9GB used on plan because of Binge On, he also had 9GB in his data stash (since YouTube was added to Binge On). He does not have cable in his apartment and they have a wifi cap on their internet plan so he does not connect to Wifi even at home. This has worked great for him. He is in a smaller college town in Missouri and has very good coverage there as well.
I am paying less for T-Mobile than Sprint and with the Jump On Demand, have had the Note 5, S7 Edge and now the Note 7 since I started in January. I could not be happier and unless they drop Jump on Demand or their coverage get worse (both unlikely) I would not switch to another carrier if they even beat T-Mobiles price by a few dollars.
He previously stated location matters.
I have had all phone carriers and tested many many devices of the years. There are 2 absolute truths about the cellular industry.
1. The Hardware you use can affect the level of service
2. The service you select has strong areas and weak ones.
To give an example. I am in Sacramento, CA on T-Mobile. I just Jumped to the Note 7 because the iPhone 6S Plus I was on kept dropping data and calls in the states capital. Knowing that equipment and switches in the towers can "not get along very well" I decided to try the Note 7 in the exact same areas. I have had 100% LTE coverage with very fast data in all areas but on T-Mobile still.
So the trick is finding the right Phone and the Right service. I personally like T-Mobile the best right now after trying all carriers. They have great data and voice coverage for me in my area and places I have been and they offer many more benefits and respect me more as a customer than Big Red or Baby Blue. I did not have the best experience on Sprint in my area regardless of the device.
The cost and benefits are what continue to make me a happy T-Mobile customer. I do think Android devices are superior in connectivity and customization but iPhone hands down has a more seamless out of the box user experience. I would not give my note 7 up for one again though.
Thanks,
Sprint sucks. Couldn't pay me to use Sprint. Go for T-Mobile. Do it.
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What's team mobil?
Sprint has the same coverage as Verizon if you squint
Ha Ha
I've had T-Mobile for 12 years now and would never go to another. As stated above location does matter, at my house I have 4-5 Mbps and just 3 miles to the North I get around 50 Mbps. At home I'm on wifi most of the time but data is usually enough to use as a hotspot when the internet is down.
I live in central Florida, and we just moved our family plan from Sprint to T-Mobile, after 13 years. After 1 week so far on T-Mobile, i don't regret it 1 bit! What good is unlimited data on Sprint, if it's unusable? Time will tell I guess, but so far, I'm happy!
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I love T-Mobile, they really shake up whole phone industry and 60mbps lte at my home plus wifi calling (which nobody else had until just couple yrs ago) does help, but even oh so vain VZ has dead spots (been there), so maybe get 1 month prepaid SIM card and see how it works in your area to be sure? But probably local T-mo shop would be the best place to ask. Best thing about T-mo: no contract (thank you T-mo for bringing it in) except for phone payments , if you buy it on instalments, so if you not happy, pay off the phone, sell it and be on your marry way
Thanks for all the comments. Do you have voice and data simultaneously with out using wifi?
Yes all GSM network are voice and data at the same time after Edge(2G).
Been with all 4 major carriers since the 90's (work reasons) and we dropped Sprint roughly 5 years ago. We helped them build a tower on the property and they tried to can us and make up pay the ETF for excessive roaming... How do you figure that one when everyone they canned and lost our numbers when we are less than 1/10 a mile from their tower we can see out the window.
T-Mobile if they have the coverage they are the best bang for your buck. Sorry, but I can not for the life of me paying 40% less than Verizon, but only gettinf 20% of the coverage in places of travel.
Take T-Mobile Jump on Demand if you switch. If they don't have the coverage you need they'll unlock your phone and let you switch carriers(you still have to pay payments for your phone).
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Tidbits said:
Yes all GSM network are voice and data at the same time after Edge(2G).
Been with all 4 major carriers since the 90's (work reasons) and we dropped Sprint roughly 5 years ago. We helped them build a tower on the property and they tried to can us and make up pay the ETF for excessive roaming... How do you figure that one when everyone they canned and lost our numbers when we are less than 1/10 a mile from their tower we can see out the window.
T-Mobile if they have the coverage they are the best bang for your buck. Sorry, but I can not for the life of me paying 40% less than Verizon, but only gettinf 20% of the coverage in places of travel.
Take T-Mobile Jump on Demand if you switch. If they don't have the coverage you need they'll unlock your phone and let you switch carriers(you still have to pay payments for your phone).
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You must be going to pretty far away places, because before I switched I had VZ and my friend had T-mo. We travelled together along east coast, from NY to Fla and we were dead even as far as coverage, except Everglades, where T-mo had some spotty signal and VZ didn't, that was the day I switched and never looked back. This was few yrs ago, but if anything things are better now. VZ usually has better coverage in less populated areas, but not as much as you make it and in most higher population areas like whole east coast, they're pretty much even. Of course if you dont have signal and you need it, you dont care, if it was the only place in whole US, but my wife called me on t-mo sim card over wifi from China, for free. Try that on VZ .
That's high populated places... outside that Verizon and AT&T win hands down. Also there have been numerous times in populated places like San Francisco where T-Mobile has little to no coverage in many parts. My job requires me to be in on multiple places in a single city. If the coverage was like how you think it is Verizon wouldn't be our main provider. Yes they have gotten better but not as good as the media or you experienced.
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