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AT&T to T-mobile switch

D

DaveMike11

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 26, 2014
142
10
Hello everyone,

I need your suggestions. I'm planning to switch from AT&T to T-mobile to save some money.

I currently have 2 lines with AT&T. I use iphone 6+ (6 months old) & my wife is using iphone 5s (1 year old). Both of the phones is on AT&T Next plan.

My questions:

1. Will the iphone 6+ & 5s work on T-mobile 4G LTE network if i unlock my phones from AT&T? I know for sure the calling + 3G will work but not sure if the 4G LTE works?

2. Can I claim the ETF of $350 each from T-mobile even for AT&T Next plan if I payoff the AT&T and switch to T-mobile ?

3. I'm thinking of adding my 2 lines to my brother's existing family Account who already has 4 lines. If i port my connection to my brother's family Account will i still be able to claim the ETF of $350 each or this ETF applies only to a new T-mobile Account ?

4. I have to pay off $636.75 for iphone 6+ and $374.99 for iphone 5s to make this switch from AT&T. I have been paying around $160 a month for 2 lines. Any other tips to save some money ?

Thanks for your time and advice.
 
DaveMike11 said:
Hello everyone,

I need your suggestions. I'm planning to switch from AT&T to T-mobile to save some money.

I currently have 2 lines with AT&T. I use iphone 6+ (6 months old) & my wife is using iphone 5s (1 year old). Both of the phones is on AT&T Next plan.

My questions:

1. Will the iphone 6+ & 5s work on T-mobile 4G LTE network if i unlock my phones from AT&T? I know for sure the calling + 3G will work but not sure if the 4G LTE works?

2. Can I claim the ETF of $350 each from T-mobile even for AT&T Next plan if I payoff the AT&T and switch to T-mobile ?

3. I'm thinking of adding my 2 lines to my brother's existing family Account who already has 4 lines. If i port my connection to my brother's family Account will i still be able to claim the ETF of $350 each or this ETF applies only to a new T-mobile Account ?

4. I have to pay off $636.75 for iphone 6+ and $374.99 for iphone 5s to make this switch from AT&T. I have been paying around $160 a month for 2 lines. Any other tips to save some money ?

Thanks for your time and advice.
Click to expand...

1. Yes 4G LTE and everything will work on T-Mobile. The T-Mobile versions of those iPhones are identical to the AT&T versions.

2. If there's an ETF owed to AT&T after you've paid off your NEXT plan then yes they will pay it.

3. The ETF payoff doesn't have to be on new service. If you add to an existing account then those ported in lines are still eligible for the ETF payoff.

4. I'd go for the 2 lines unlimited data for $100 that they have going on right now since you already own your iPhones. The $60 saved per month would add up rather quickly. If you don't use very much data then you could try the 1GB per line which would come out to around $80/mo.
 
CEmajr said:
1. Yes 4G LTE and everything will work on T-Mobile. The T-Mobile versions of those iPhones are identical to the AT&T versions.

2. If there's an ETF owed to AT&T after you've paid off your NEXT plan then yes they will pay it.

3. The ETF payoff doesn't have to be on new service. If you add to an existing account then those ported in lines are still eligible for the ETF payoff.

4. I'd go for the 2 lines unlimited data for $100 that they have going on right now since you already own your iPhones. The $60 saved per month would add up rather quickly. If you don't use very much data then you could try the 1GB per line which would come out to around $80/mo.
Click to expand...

Actually in order to receive the ETF to have to trade in a smartphone. The ETF is "up to" $350.
 
CEmajr said:
1. Yes 4G LTE and everything will work on T-Mobile. The T-Mobile versions of those iPhones are identical to the AT&T versions.

2. If there's an ETF owed to AT&T after you've paid off your NEXT plan then yes they will pay it.

3. The ETF payoff doesn't have to be on new service. If you add to an existing account then those ported in lines are still eligible for the ETF payoff.

4. I'd go for the 2 lines unlimited data for $100 that they have going on right now since you already own your iPhones. The $60 saved per month would add up rather quickly. If you don't use very much data then you could try the 1GB per line which would come out to around $80/mo.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your response.

----------
mattopotamus said:
Actually it order to receive the ETF to have to trade in a smartphone.
Click to expand...

Yes for claiming the ETF, I will be doing the trading process of getting a cheapest AT&T smartphone to trade-in and buy the cheapest available phone with T-mobile.
 
Does anyone know if AT&T's and T-mobile's LTE bands are same or its different?
 
If go online and look at coverage maps, you'll see that AT&T has far great coverage than T-Mobile. But, T-Mobile's coverage may be sufficient for your needs.
 
To begin with, TMobile will not pay your fees for Next phone payments. It's listed in their FAQ:
http://www.t-mobile.com/offer/switch-carriers-no-early-termination-fee.html

So let's pretend you paid off your devices and took them to TMobile. Now you're doing $100/mo for two lines with unlimited data.

But, if you're paying $160/mo how much of that are your Next payments? Let's say you had 16GB models on both and you choose Next 24. That's going to be between $45-50/mo just in phone payments. Worst case, that brings your AT&T bill down to $115/mo and that's with taxes included I assume?

To go to TMobile you'd need to shell out $1000 with no reimbursement from TMobile (because Next payments aren't covered under the "Pay your ETF" program) and you'd be saving something like $10-15/mo. That doesn't seem worth it to me.

Unless the $160 figure you mentioned doesn't include your phone payments.
 
AllergyDoc said:
If go online and look at coverage maps, you'll see that AT&T has far great coverage than T-Mobile. But, T-Mobile's coverage may be sufficient for your needs.
Click to expand...

+1 this.

I am growing increasingly frustrated with T-Mobile because about 3-4 times a month I'll need my phone for either the internet or a phone call and I'll be in a no service area or have just one bar of 4g which makes internet usage almost non existent.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side. Maybe this won't bother other people but I'm thinking about switching to AT&T.
 
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