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Carrier Been with T-Mo about 6 weeks with 7+ - looking to switch

M

maverick22

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 30, 2012
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I'm trying hard to love the "$100 for 2 lines - no taxes" with T-Mobile, but I just don't know how much more I want to put up with some if its weaknesses:

1) at certain times inside buildings can't call or text
2) people can't hear me on the phone while I'm at home unless I switch LTE off for voice (live just south of Dallas)
3) inside buildings can't use data (can't browse, IG would hardly load, tried to set up a DVR recording but couldn't because no Internet)

Well, I'm not exactly sure how much is T-Mobile's network's fault OR my iphone 7+'s weaker mobile Intel chip (as opposed to Qualcomm).

With AT&T none of these were an issue with an ip6, well except at my in-laws' I couldn't reach my wife (no service there where T-Mo somehow could).

If I go back to AT&T would my T-Mobile 7+ have any issues?

I assume I can't use that T-Mobile 7+ on Verizon since different technologies, right?

Any other suggestions? Thanks!
 
T-Mobile has their satisfaction guarantee.

If the service is not what you expected, they will unlock your phone and you can take it back to AT&T. They will even continue to allow you to pay on any lease payments or EIP each month if you don't want to pay it off when you leave.

But you need to contact them, explain the problems and ask them to honor the guarantee.
 
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mhdena said:
I've been with T-Mobile since February after 20+ yrs with AT&T.

My service works great in So Cal.
Click to expand...

Switch from VZW to TMo a couple of months ago and it's also working great here in So Cal. I just turned off VoLTE and it works great inside buildings - in certain places even better where I previously had "no service" with those greedy bastards known as Verizon.

Also got MLB TV for free with T-Mobile and my monthly bill is $60 for 2 lines unlimited everything. I'm in a happy place for sure.
 
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12vElectronics said:
I switched from ATT to T Mobile in September for the 7 and unlimited data. My experience with the reception has been terrible. Like I can't believe it's still that bad in 2017. And I live in the Bay Area where you'd think they would invest for the best service...
Click to expand...
I live in So Cal, but the same issue. I went from AT&T to T-Mobile to save money, suffered for almost a year, and now I lost money on the sale of my iPhone 7 to buy a Verizon iPhone 7. Practically the only time I could use my phone with T-Mobile was when I had WiFi, which made me wonder why I even bothered having cell phone service at all.

Now that I'm on Verizon it's so nice to actually be able to use my cell phone when I want to (make a call while driving, look up a review of a product at a store, etc).

My brother lives in Glendale and says the service is great there, and some of my other family went to NYC and said it was great there too. I'd really only recommend T-Mobile if you live directly in a big city. I live in the IE, which I thought would be good enough, but it's practically useless out here. Like, I don't know why they even bother.
 
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Howyalikdemapls said:
I live in So Cal, but the same issue. I went from AT&T to T-Mobile to save money, suffered for almost a year, and now I lost money on the sale of my iPhone 7 to buy a Verizon iPhone 7. Practically the only time I could use my phone with T-Mobile was when I had WiFi, which made me wonder why I even bothered having cell phone service at all.

Now that I'm on Verizon it's so nice to actually be able to use my cell phone when I want to (make a call while driving, look up a review of a product at a store, etc).

My brother lives in Glendale and says the service is great there, and some of my other family went to NYC and said it was great there too. I'd really only recommend T-Mobile if you live directly in a big city. I live in the IE, which I thought would be good enough, but it's practically useless out here. Like, I don't know why they even bother.
Click to expand...

You are literally describing my exact experience. It's literally unusable. The only reason I switched was because at the time I needed Unlimited Data and neither Verizon or ATT offered it.

Now I really want to go to Verizon but dread dealing with the cancellation and all the fees involved with switching and the Credit Check hard pull etc.. Ugh
 
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I'm confused, I've switched my iPhone 6 from Verizon, to T-mobile, back to Verizon nad then back to t-mobile. I also just switched my 7 from Verizon to t-mobile. Verizon and t-mobile phones are compatible.

Howyalikdemapls said:
I live in So Cal, but the same issue. I went from AT&T to T-Mobile to save money, suffered for almost a year, and now I lost money on the sale of my iPhone 7 to buy a Verizon iPhone 7. Practically the only time I could use my phone with T-Mobile was when I had WiFi, which made me wonder why I even bothered having cell phone service at all.

Now that I'm on Verizon it's so nice to actually be able to use my cell phone when I want to (make a call while driving, look up a review of a product at a store, etc).

My brother lives in Glendale and says the service is great there, and some of my other family went to NYC and said it was great there too. I'd really only recommend T-Mobile if you live directly in a big city. I live in the IE, which I thought would be good enough, but it's practically useless out here. Like, I don't know why they even bother.
Click to expand...
 
Jdonofrio said:
I'm confused, I've switched my iPhone 6 from Verizon, to T-mobile, back to Verizon nad then back to t-mobile. I also just switched my 7 from Verizon to t-mobile. Verizon and t-mobile phones are compatible.
Click to expand...
OP has an AT&T/T-Mobile iPhone 7+. Apple made two models that year. One has the Qualcom modem which is CDMA and GSM. OP has the model with the Intel modem which is GSM only and thus only AT&T and T-Mobile in the US.
 
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Jdonofrio said:
I'm confused, I've switched my iPhone 6 from Verizon, to T-mobile, back to Verizon nad then back to t-mobile. I also just switched my 7 from Verizon to t-mobile. Verizon and t-mobile phones are compatible.
Click to expand...

The Verizon iPhone 7 is compatible with all four major U.S. carriers. That is also the phone Apple will sell you if you buy the SIM-free iPhone 7 from them. The iPhone 7 that is sold by AT&T and T-Mobile is not compatible with Verizon and Sprint.
 
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maverick22 said:
I'm trying hard to love the "$100 for 2 lines - no taxes" with T-Mobile, but I just don't know how much more I want to put up with some if its weaknesses:

1) at certain times inside buildings can't call or text
2) people can't hear me on the phone while I'm at home unless I switch LTE off for voice (live just south of Dallas)
3) inside buildings can't use data (can't browse, IG would hardly load, tried to set up a DVR recording but couldn't because no Internet)

Well, I'm not exactly sure how much is T-Mobile's network's fault OR my iphone 7+'s weaker mobile Intel chip (as opposed to Qualcomm).

With AT&T none of these were an issue with an ip6, well except at my in-laws' I couldn't reach my wife (no service there where T-Mo somehow could).

If I go back to AT&T would my T-Mobile 7+ have any issues?

I assume I can't use that T-Mobile 7+ on Verizon since different technologies, right?

Any other suggestions? Thanks!
Click to expand...


I've worked in cellular since 2003. In my time I've worked for 3 out of the 4 major wireless carriers as well as a few regional carriers. One of these carriers was T-Mobile US. The majority of T-Mobile US's spectrum is in the AWS band. AWS stands for Advanced Wireless Services which refers to the pairing of 1700/2100 MHz wireless frequencies. This higher frequency has poor in building penetration. When outdoors with good signal AWS generally provides lower latency, faster speeds, and greater capacity. However, carriers like Verizon and AT&T have a combination of higher frequency AWS spectrum as well as lower 700 MHz spectrum to enhance indoor coverage.
 
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eyoungren said:
T-Mobile has their satisfaction guarantee.

If the service is not what you expected, they will unlock your phone and you can take it back to AT&T. They will even continue to allow you to pay on any lease payments or EIP each month if you don't want to pay it off when you leave.

But you need to contact them, explain the problems and ask them to honor the guarantee.
Click to expand...
This only applies to Jump On Demand. Not EIP. See details here:
https://explore.t-mobile.com/coverage-guarantee
 
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eyoungren said:
16 years with Sprint, we switched in September 2015.

T-Mob's been awesome in Phoenix. Sprint still can't get it's stuff together here.
Click to expand...
Kinda funny. I live in Phoenix. T-Mobile was barely OK for me. Still better than Sprint... but not great. Around the valley.... it would be mostly fine... but like the OP experienced... many times coverage sucks in buildings. Also.... On my route to/from work and listening to music streaming....etc... there are areas along I-17 where I would have a full LTE signal... but my data would not work.... and I couldn't even stream a song! All of these problems.... plus the lack of native coverage whenever my lady and I drive up to Show Low, Pinetop-Lakeside caused me to switch to Verizon. They pretty much have the state blanketed in LTE coverage. Phone actually works and works everywhere!
 
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1080p said:
Kinda funny. I live in Phoenix. T-Mobile was barely OK for me. Still better than Sprint... but not great. Around the valley.... it would be mostly fine... but like the OP experienced... many times coverage sucks in buildings. Also.... On my route to/from work and listening to music streaming....etc... there are areas along I-17 where I would have a full LTE signal... but my data would not work.... and I couldn't even stream a song! All of these problems.... plus the lack of native coverage whenever my lady and I drive up to Show Low, Pinetop-Lakeside caused me to switch to Verizon. They pretty much have the state blanketed in LTE coverage. Phone actually works and works everywhere!
Click to expand...
We don't travel much and we live in the West Valley (83rd and Indian School).

Sprint is pretty much swiss cheese west of the 101. We had LTE at home but at sub 1mbps speeds. 3G was even worse. Streaming music was impossible when driving because not all the towers were upgraded to LTE and at one point, depending on which part of the building at work I was in I could be on 3G only or awful LTE. I work in Glendale (59th and Palmaire).

The best speed test I ever got from Sprint at work on LTE was 13 down on LTE. I equaled and topped that with a 4G only speed test on T-Mobile. I have great LTE at work on T-Mob, but will admit to a slow down mid-day. Where I work is right next to Glendale City Hall.

There has been only a few places I've encountered 4G only on T-Mob and it's still been quick. I don't need ~100+ speeds down, I just need 3 down at minimum and T-Mob gives me that and more. Sprint struggled to give it to me except in the places I usually am not.

I will admit that between Buckeye and Indio T-Mob has some work to do. We had pretty much no signal when going to SoCal for Christmas. However, I did recently make a short run from Phoenix to Eloy to pick up a Mac and I had strong signal the entire way. I was using my iPad for nav in the car and it was perfect.

My only complaints have been one or two times with their customer service. But given my burned in-protective measures learned from dealing with Sprint customer service for so long these issues never became problems (always check up on your reps).

And finally, T-Mob only has 4G at home. However, 4G at home is measured in speeds above 10mbps down so I really can't complain. T-Mob gave me a 4G LTE CellSpot too so I do get LTE at home that way.

Two of my lines ended up being free and T-Mob gave me the devices for them free. I have 20GB of data stash on each of those lines, two UD lines, two tablets with 5GB of data monthly and an additional 4GB data stash. And my last two lines are 2GB, but only $10 per month.

All the way around T-Mob has been way better for us than Sprint ever was.

Sorry your particular experience was less than great.
 
In the end its up to individual results and coverage will vary by location for everyone.
Every carrier has bad and good areas so if one is not working well then its better to switch to a carrier that does.
For me Tmobile has been solid for about 2 years now, great coverage, fast LTE speeds and great prices.
Couldn't be happier.
 
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LTE Data works well in my house...about 30mbps on average
LTE voice doesn't work well (people say I cut in/out...sound like I keep taking my mouth away from phone)

LTE Data works okay driving around in different areas -- have gotten over 100mbps in some places; not well for buildings
LTE voice works better in the car than in my house...horrible in buildings

I figured out I think for buildings that turning off LTE for data works better.

I miss that with AT&T I could just leave LTE ON all the time and not worry about anything. As mentioned, one spot where my in-laws live, AT&T gets "no service" for some weird reason..but T-Mo works well.

So, for me, when T-Mo works, it works well. Unfortunately it only works well about half the time. I'm saving about $50/month vs. AT&T so I may just have to "work a little harder" with T-Mo (turning off LTE for certain ares) to get it to work fairly well if I want to keep the savings.

I'm really interested in trying Verizon. That would require both my wife and me to get new phones though...don't want to do that right now.
 
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Applejuiced said:
You can also turn off LTE for voice if that is a problem in your area without turning off LTE completely for data.
Settings/cellular/cellular data options/enable LTE/ You can pick for voice and data or data only.
Click to expand...

Yes, thanks, what seems to work best is:

1) at home, turn off LTE for voice
2) buildings, turn off LTE for voice, if LTE data is slow turn that off too

Does LTE voice provide any benefits (clearer calls)? I have just been keeping it off.
 
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HickDead said:
Switch from VZW to TMo a couple of months ago and it's also working great here in So Cal. I just turned off VoLTE and it works great inside buildings - in certain places even better where I previously had "no service" with those greedy bastards known as Verizon.

Also got MLB TV for free with T-Mobile and my monthly bill is $60 for 2 lines unlimited everything. I'm in a happy place for sure.
Click to expand...

I'd be interested to know if turning off VoLTE really does make a different for building penetration! I've been with T-Mobile for two weeks now. I get decent signal at home where I have wifi anyway, but it's hit or miss at work. I work at a school, so I get decent service in exterior rooms like my classroom but terrible coverage in the teacher's lounge which is an interior room of cinder blocks. It wouldn't be so bad if they had a router in there where I could connect to the wifi!

Other than that I live about 45 minutes from Kansas City, so I get a decent two bars around where I live and about four bars when I venture into the metro. The slight downgrade in signal quality is a fair enough trade off to save some money compared to Verizon.
 
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KUguardgrl13 said:
I'd be interested to know if turning off VoLTE really does make a different for building penetration! I've been with T-Mobile for two weeks now. I get decent signal at home where I have wifi anyway, but it's hit or miss at work. I work at a school, so I get decent service in exterior rooms like my classroom but terrible coverage in the teacher's lounge which is an interior room of cinder blocks. It wouldn't be so bad if they had a router in there where I could connect to the wifi!

Other than that I live about 45 minutes from Kansas City, so I get a decent two bars around where I live and about four bars when I venture into the metro. The slight downgrade in signal quality is a fair enough trade off to save some money compared to Verizon.
Click to expand...
T-Mobile has a problem with penetration due to the particular frequency that they primarily use. I doubt that turning off VoLTE would make much of a difference, unfortunately.
 
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KUguardgrl13 said:
I'd be interested to know if turning off VoLTE really does make a different for building penetration! I've been with T-Mobile for two weeks now. I get decent signal at home where I have wifi anyway, but it's hit or miss at work. I work at a school, so I get decent service in exterior rooms like my classroom but terrible coverage in the teacher's lounge which is an interior room of cinder blocks. It wouldn't be so bad if they had a router in there where I could connect to the wifi!

Other than that I live about 45 minutes from Kansas City, so I get a decent two bars around where I live and about four bars when I venture into the metro. The slight downgrade in signal quality is a fair enough trade off to save some money compared to Verizon.
Click to expand...
Teacher? :)

My mom taught school for over 40 years, my sister is a Special Ed teacher in Seattle and my wife is currently in the iTeach program at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College (ASU).

Does your school not have WiFi? All of the schools in the Pendergast district (our kids district) have WiFi. They even have guest access and access at one school give you access at the rest.
 
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eyoungren said:
Teacher? :)

My mom taught school for over 40 years, my sister is a Special Ed teacher in Seattle and my wife is currently in the iTeach program at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College (ASU).

Does your school not have WiFi? All of the schools in the Pendergast district (our kids district) have WiFi. They even have guest access and access at one school give you access at the rest.
Click to expand...

Para :). Also going to school for Elementary Education.

The building has wifi, but for some reason there is not a router in the teachers lounge. It's right in the middle of the school, and the walls are cinder block. I can't pick up any wifi signals, and I can barely get a 4G signal which can't load anything I want to look at. They just finished remodeling the building, so I doubt ther will be a lot of technology updates anytime soon.
 
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