The thing is AT&T has the best building penetration but all also comes down to how many towers are in the area and how far, distance of the towers and their transmitting power are another factor of its own.
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All you need to know about iPhone 4/4S & 5 + T-Mobile HSPA+/LTE
- Thread starter Satnam1989
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The thing is AT&T has the best building penetration but all also comes down to how many towers are in the area and how far, distance of the towers and their transmitting power are another factor of its own.
my original post is finally complete with the last bit of info it needed to help those of you that need/want to know all about the T-Mobile iPhone compatibility/model.
T-Mobile HSDPS+ 42 on iPhone 5 A1429 GSM from Singapore
I'm coming to New York City and I would like to take advantage of T-Mobile's HSDPA+ 42 on pre-paid. I'm using an iPhone 5 A1429 GSM model from Singtel in Singapore. Is my phone compatible with T-Mobile's HSDPA+ 42 or will I get relegated to slower +21 or even slower speed?
Also, is there a 4G LTE network I can use? I read that US carriers do not support the 4G LTE Band my phone has. Just trying my luck.
Thanks in advance everyone for your responses
I'm coming to New York City and I would like to take advantage of T-Mobile's HSDPA+ 42 on pre-paid. I'm using an iPhone 5 A1429 GSM model from Singtel in Singapore. Is my phone compatible with T-Mobile's HSDPA+ 42 or will I get relegated to slower +21 or even slower speed?
Also, is there a 4G LTE network I can use? I read that US carriers do not support the 4G LTE Band my phone has. Just trying my luck.
Thanks in advance everyone for your responses
I'm coming to New York City and I would like to take advantage of T-Mobile's HSDPA+ 42 on pre-paid. I'm using an iPhone 5 A1429 GSM model from Singtel in Singapore. Is my phone compatible with T-Mobile's HSDPA+ 42 or will I get relegated to slower +21 or even slower speed?
Also, is there a 4G LTE network I can use? I read that US carriers do not support the 4G LTE Band my phone has. Just trying my luck.
Thanks in advance everyone for your responses
No your A1429 GSM phone will not have access to TMobile LTE or HSPA+42.
You may have access to HSPA21 which is on tmobiles 1900 band but the coverage of that band is poor so you'll most likely see Edge mainly.
Depending on where you are in New York City, you will most likely pick up refarmed coverage. Its good, but there certainly may be patches of EDGE in some areas.
Do you mean that I will mostly get HSPA+ 21 on 1900mhz since NYC is 97% refarmed? I'm not sure how 4G is defined in the US. Is there any configuration or registration that I should need to do with my phone for it to work?
Again, thank you very much for all of your responses.
Given my phone, can you suggest any other network that can provide faster mobile internet access on pre-paid in NYC? Thank you very much.
Nope, T-Mobile will be the fastest in NYC on your type of phone. Which is kind of amazing#
You can always go with AT&T GoPhone....next to T-Mobile this will be your best bet althought limited data though....$60 Unlimited Talk+Text & 1GB Data...or $50 = 250 Min + Unlimited Text + 1GB Data and you can add more data if needed...
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/plans/prepaidplans.html
The pre-paid plan is still bundled with a phone which is utterly stupid. Anyway, I'll just stick with T-Mobile 3G on my iPhone 5. Is there any registration or configuration I need to do to get the phone work with the network?
Thanks.
no you can just get the plan with a SIM....dont need to take the phone...you can just drop in at a AT&T store and grab a SIM....Ive done it many times...or order a AT&T SIM from eBay to your addressthat you will be staying at...its very convenient
wouldn't he need to grab it from a t-mobile store? and what are the chances they'd have a micro sim for prepaid available?
I said that if you wanted to get the AT&T Prepaid plan....
Yes you can get at T-Mobile store or AT&T store what ever plan you decide to get.
Not true. He will get HSPA+ in NYC. NYC is refarmed.
Go to any T-Mobile store and purchase a micro SIM. After you reboot your phone you will get a notice for a carrier update to install the carrier config file on your phone. Once you return to your country your provider carrier file will over write T-Mobiles.
Finally did the iOS update to 6.1.3 + the carrier update on my 4S, and as expected lost the tethering option.
Called up t-mobile to inquire if my grandfathered 2 GB unlimited data plan still included mobile hotspot and sure enough it did! She updated it to 2.5 GB for the 500 MB of tethering and apparently it takes 2 hours to get going. Still waiting, hopefully it shows up soon!
Called up t-mobile to inquire if my grandfathered 2 GB unlimited data plan still included mobile hotspot and sure enough it did! She updated it to 2.5 GB for the 500 MB of tethering and apparently it takes 2 hours to get going. Still waiting, hopefully it shows up soon!
Good data speed in San Francisco
T-Mobile seems to be/become a very viable option in San Francisco. I am still bound on ATT until November but will switch then ASAP. A friend bought the current T-Mobile iPhone 5 last week and gets 40 Mbit down when on LTE. That's like Comcast at home.
I got myself a prepaid T-Mobile card and paid $3/day for a day pass to compare my 4S on ATT vs T-Mobile:
So to me it looks like with the updated settings on ATT there is no speed difference any longer in SF between ATT and T-Mobile. The good news is that with the refarmed band (1900) the 4S is totally usable on T-Mobile in SF and will get 3G speeds when in major cities. So, same data speed, but Mobile is cheaper. I did get a few moments with the dreadful "E" though, mostly indoors though. And I only tested 2 days on a handful of inner city locations.
Now, for me it is clear that when my contract is done in November I will either switch to T-Mobile and stay 4S or get the next 5S/6 and enjoy the T-Mobile version and enjoy LTE. But after 4 years it's time to leave ATT in SF. I have seen a few friends here switch already. Chances are its best to move to T-Mobile with iPhone >5.
T-Mobile seems to be/become a very viable option in San Francisco. I am still bound on ATT until November but will switch then ASAP. A friend bought the current T-Mobile iPhone 5 last week and gets 40 Mbit down when on LTE. That's like Comcast at home.
I got myself a prepaid T-Mobile card and paid $3/day for a day pass to compare my 4S on ATT vs T-Mobile:
- ATT - default carrier settings (3G displayed as 4G) 3.29 down and 0.98 up (89 ping)
- T-Mobile - (3G displayed as 4G) 7.99 down and 1.03 up (90 ping)
- ATT - custom carrier settings - 4.88 down and 0.89 up another day I even got 7.04 down and 1.15 up
So to me it looks like with the updated settings on ATT there is no speed difference any longer in SF between ATT and T-Mobile. The good news is that with the refarmed band (1900) the 4S is totally usable on T-Mobile in SF and will get 3G speeds when in major cities. So, same data speed, but Mobile is cheaper. I did get a few moments with the dreadful "E" though, mostly indoors though. And I only tested 2 days on a handful of inner city locations.
Now, for me it is clear that when my contract is done in November I will either switch to T-Mobile and stay 4S or get the next 5S/6 and enjoy the T-Mobile version and enjoy LTE. But after 4 years it's time to leave ATT in SF. I have seen a few friends here switch already. Chances are its best to move to T-Mobile with iPhone >5.
It'll be a good move but always remember T-Mobile Indoor coverage is always going be crappy due to 1700/2100 AWS and 1900MHz because higher MHz = lower building penetration. T-Mobile is great for those that can do with it but otherwise for people like me its definitely something holding me back from switching over.
Have you considered AT&T's new $60 Prepaid plan?
- Unlimited Talk + Unlimited Text (Includes International) + Unlimited MMS
- Visual Voice Mail
- 2GB 4G + LTE DATA/month
iPhones give "No Service" error
First, I'd like to thank the OP and everyone else who has posted here. The information provided has been very educational, and it's helped me to understand the alphabet soup of the cellular industry.
Second, I'd like to add my experience using different iPhone models with T-Mobile, as it may prove instructional to others.
Recently, my family and I were on the Wal-Mart Family Mobile Plan with 5 phones, but I realized we could actually save money by switching to T-Mobile's family plan. The fact that TMO includes a 10% education discount was gratefully received, as I didn't realize they had one until I heard about it from an in-store rep, and after I saw the discount applied to my bill.
One person on my plan has an iPhone 3GS, another has an iPhone 4, and I use an iPhone 4s. With all three phones, we get shoddy and sometimes downright unacceptable service from TMO. Specifically, the phones will constantly fluctuate between "Searching..." and "No Service" messages on a daily basis. All three phones are legally unlocked from AT&T, are not jailbroken, running the latest version of iOS 6, and are not blacklisted.
I've tried changing SIM cards in all of them to see if it would remedy the problem, as well as various suggestions including turning off 3G, ensuring all three phones have the latest carrier update, tweaking the MMS and Cellular Data settings, and so on. Nothing works.
Since we live in Colorado Springs, I understand that we won't get constant 3G service, although I actually have noticed it in certain spots in town. If we lived in Denver, then according to T-Mobile's rollout report, we'd have access to 3G, and even 4G if we were using iPhone 5s. I'm fine with our data speeds being only Edge, as the savings are definitely worth it with 5 users, and not all of us have smartphones anyway. Those of us that do are content with Wi-Fi, which we use 99% of the time.
What gets me is the completely unreliable service among those of us using unlocked iPhones, regardless of model or phone settings. As much as I love the no contract family plan, it's rough to use with iPhones where I live, because "call failed" messages and loss of service are the norm. What's really tragic is that we were experiencing the same issues with Family Mobile, and I had hoped that the switch to TMO would give us access to its wider selection of towers which might have remedied the problem. Sadly, it made no difference.
Naturally, I'd upgrade those of us on the plan who use iPhones to the "5" model directly from T-Mobile, as I'm sure it would guarantee reliable service, and possibly even faster data speeds. But the cost is certainly prohibitive, and we've already invested so much into our current hardware as it is.
It is too bad that the older iPhones don't have the same frequency that T-Mobile uses, at least with regards to data. But why can't we at least have an iPhone that will work as an actual phone? Doesn't seem right to me, and it has certainly been a frustrating experience.
First, I'd like to thank the OP and everyone else who has posted here. The information provided has been very educational, and it's helped me to understand the alphabet soup of the cellular industry.
Second, I'd like to add my experience using different iPhone models with T-Mobile, as it may prove instructional to others.
Recently, my family and I were on the Wal-Mart Family Mobile Plan with 5 phones, but I realized we could actually save money by switching to T-Mobile's family plan. The fact that TMO includes a 10% education discount was gratefully received, as I didn't realize they had one until I heard about it from an in-store rep, and after I saw the discount applied to my bill.
One person on my plan has an iPhone 3GS, another has an iPhone 4, and I use an iPhone 4s. With all three phones, we get shoddy and sometimes downright unacceptable service from TMO. Specifically, the phones will constantly fluctuate between "Searching..." and "No Service" messages on a daily basis. All three phones are legally unlocked from AT&T, are not jailbroken, running the latest version of iOS 6, and are not blacklisted.
I've tried changing SIM cards in all of them to see if it would remedy the problem, as well as various suggestions including turning off 3G, ensuring all three phones have the latest carrier update, tweaking the MMS and Cellular Data settings, and so on. Nothing works.
Since we live in Colorado Springs, I understand that we won't get constant 3G service, although I actually have noticed it in certain spots in town. If we lived in Denver, then according to T-Mobile's rollout report, we'd have access to 3G, and even 4G if we were using iPhone 5s. I'm fine with our data speeds being only Edge, as the savings are definitely worth it with 5 users, and not all of us have smartphones anyway. Those of us that do are content with Wi-Fi, which we use 99% of the time.
What gets me is the completely unreliable service among those of us using unlocked iPhones, regardless of model or phone settings. As much as I love the no contract family plan, it's rough to use with iPhones where I live, because "call failed" messages and loss of service are the norm. What's really tragic is that we were experiencing the same issues with Family Mobile, and I had hoped that the switch to TMO would give us access to its wider selection of towers which might have remedied the problem. Sadly, it made no difference.
Naturally, I'd upgrade those of us on the plan who use iPhones to the "5" model directly from T-Mobile, as I'm sure it would guarantee reliable service, and possibly even faster data speeds. But the cost is certainly prohibitive, and we've already invested so much into our current hardware as it is.
It is too bad that the older iPhones don't have the same frequency that T-Mobile uses, at least with regards to data. But why can't we at least have an iPhone that will work as an actual phone? Doesn't seem right to me, and it has certainly been a frustrating experience.
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Family Mobile by Walmart uses T-Mobile service, any MVNO generally has access to same towers that the main carrier (T-Mobile in your case) has, only difference would be the data speeds would be/are limited to a certain amount ex 5-8Mbps.
iPhone 2G-4S do not support the 1700MHz band, so you will not be able to utilize the T-Mobile 3G/4G network, also being in the "Coverage Area" doesn't necessarily mean you actually will get to enjoy T-Mobile's 1900MHz refarmed coverage because if there aren't enough towers, then you will definitely be limited again because 1900MHz also has lower building/distance it can penetrate/cover per tower.
Speaking of colorado, I was in colorado springs back in 2010 and using AT&T (Straight Talk) at the time, sadly I did experience extremely spotty coverage, it seems T-Mobile & AT&T have poor coverage in that area, but its been 2 years so I'm sure AT&T at least has improved and maybe T-Mobile does have great coverage...on 1700AWS but I wouldn't know because I never got to test it.
I would recommend ditching your 3GS ($100) 4 ($170-$200?) and 4S ($275-$300) on Craigslist while you can because launch of 5S/6 in couple months is going to drop the older iPhone prices farther...if you have boxes n the phones are in good condition...you can walk away with roughly $500-$600 Total...that should give you enough to put money down on 3 iPhone 5's and pay $20/month....where you were paying higher with family mobile, I'm sure you can put those savings into the monthly fee's of 3 iPhone 5's and actually enjoy the iPhone experience....what you say?
Thanks for the prompt and helpful reply Satnam1989! Your advice is much appreciated, and I thank you for your insight into the T-Mobile iPhone situation.
Yeah, I had heard that the older iPhones don't support the 1700MHz band, hence T-Mobile releasing its own iPhone 5 model.
You're absolutely right, the 1900MHz coverage varies widely. I was in Denver a while back, and I was getting 3G the entire time on my iPhone 4s with TMO. But in CS, as I said before, and as you have noticed, coverage is iffy, with EDGE the norm 95% of the time. The good news is that, since you visited the Springs back in '10, Straight Talk has improved its coverage immensely. I have a friend who had an iPhone 4s with Straight Talk (it had an AT&T compatible SIM in it, something they regrettably stopped offering), and while he was using the phone for the past year or so, he had excellent service, including near-constant 3G speeds! So AT&T/Straight Talk hasn't completely forgotten CS, but it appears that TMO has, at least for now.
Naturally, Verizon coverage is really good here as well. I have a family member who is on a 2 year contract iPhone 5 with them, and he always has LTE. Of course, he's paying almost as much for himself individually then the rest of us are on the TMO family plan combined, so you pay for what you get I suppose. At least we aren't on contract, so that's a good thing.
This is an excellent idea! I never thought about putting the savings from switching plans toward new phones, but that's probably the best solution. The price of the iPhone 5 is going to drop once the new model comes out, so that will certainly make it more affordable right?
I just have a couple questions: if the iPhone 5 or the next gen is from TMO, would we get reliable service? It would be a shame to upgrade, only to have the same "Searching" and "No Service" messages pop up constantly.
Additionally, what would data speeds look like? I'm not expecting miraculous coverage from TMO (this being Colorado Springs) but could we expect better than EDGE speeds at least? Or does that just come down to their existing coverage, like it does now with our current iPhones?
I think what I've learned from this whole experience is that TMO is great for the family plan/group discount approach, but if one is using a non-TMO iPhone, then performance and reliability is really going to come down to location. If we lived in Denver, for example, we might not even have to upgrade, because that city has already been refarmed, so we'd be enjoying that 1900MHz coverage, which would include the 3G speeds the iPhones we have now are capable of.
If you are thinking of getting a USED iPhone 5:
1) Make sure its T-Mobile/AWS Compatible
2) Make sure the iPhone isn't blacklisted, Call up AT&T (I recommend buying AT&T iPhone 5 with AWS because its super cheap to unlock compared to a T-Mobile one) and verify the IMEI before you purchase because most cases (since I do unlocking services) people find them selves with a brick as the chance of getting a phone that is blacklisted from craigslist is very high due to many people scamming! Esp T-Mobile locked iPhone 5's as people get them on the $99 down and $20/month tab and then sell them...only to cancel the payment plan...but to never actually pay it off, causing carriers like T-Mobile to blacklist the smartphone. This does happen with AT&T as well, as I see almost 1-5 cases/week, unfortunately nothing we can do for those that fall victim's to these people's scams.
3) Get a family or friend who has a T-Mobile branded smartphone because this way you know it for sure will have access to 1700AWS 4G while you test it around your area to see what type of signal, speeds and service quality you get, that will help you determine if you should go ahead and do the upgrade and continue to be with T-Mobile.
hope that helps.
Thanks again Satnam, your advice is gratefully received.
I'm not sure if we would go with a used iPhone 5, just because TMO will offer them at a reduced price once the new model hits. In this way, we can also ensure that it is compatible with their network, as it is purchased directly from them.
You do bring up an excellent point about scammers, however. All of our current iPhones were purchased off of Craigslist, and while all of them were locked, thankfully, none of them were blacklisted. I even had one buyer assure me the iPhone he was selling was unlocked, only to find out that he was lying. Fortunately, the phone was out of contract, so I simply called AT&T and had them submit the unlock request without issue.
Another thing to avoid with scammers is the selling of non-functioning phones. I bought one iPhone from someone on Craigslist, and it was unlocked on TMO's network, but the phone quit working a week later, and I discovered it had a bad logic board. So it can be a roll of the dice with Craigslist purchases, and it's always a good idea to call in the phone's IMEI to check its carrier status, as you suggested. In this way, you can avoid buying a bricked or blacklisted phone.
As fate would have it, I do have a family member who will go with an iPhone 5 from TMO, but not until October when she is off contract, so I won't be able to borrow it for testing. As a result, I'm wondering if I could get an iPhone 5 with a down payment from a TMO store around town, and try it for a couple of days. Once I see how good the service is, I can always return it with the original packaging. I might have to pay a restocking fee, but at least I would know whether or not the iPhone 5 would work better than our current models.