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Considering switching from VZW to T-Mobile for iphone 5?

MacAir47

MacAir47

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 3, 2011
33
6
Seattle, WA
My contract with Verizon is over, and I am considering switching to T-Mobile. I am using the iPhone 4 since it came out on the market. I do want to get the iPhone 5, and I think T-Mobile will work better than using Verizon. I am just curious how T-Mobile is any different from other carriers. I have read that T-Mobile does have a reputation with subpar service compared to Verizon or AT&T.

I live in Seattle, Washington, and I know that T-Mobile does not have their LTE service in my area yet. If I were to switch to T-Mobile will I notice any difference with phone calls or using the internet from Verizon? Also, should I wait until the LTE service has been upgraded to my city as well as on the new model of the iPhone 5S, 6, or whatever Apple will call it?

David
 
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T-Mobile will save you money. As to whether or not their service or data speeds will be better than what you're getting with Verizon, someone with T-Mobile in your area will have to chime in. I would imagine that T-Mobile would have pretty good coverage in your area since their corporate headquarters is only 10 miles away in Bellevue.
 
Considering that you're coming from an iPhone 4, you'll notice a significant speed boost with an iPhone 5 on Tmobile "4G" HSPA+. Check their coverage in your area on the website and basically if you're in the green areas then you'll have good data speeds. It's on par with LTE in some places.
 
MacAir47 said:
My contract with Verizon is over, and I am considering switching to T-Mobile. I am using the iPhone 4 since it came out on the market. I do want to get the iPhone 5, and I think T-Mobile will work better than using Verizon. I am just curious how T-Mobile is any different from other carriers. I have read that T-Mobile does have a reputation with subpar service compared to Verizon or AT&T.

I live in Seattle, Washington, and I know that T-Mobile does not have their LTE service in my area yet. If I were to switch to T-Mobile will I notice any difference with phone calls or using the internet from Verizon? Also, should I wait until the LTE service has been upgraded to my city as well as on the new model of the iPhone 5S, 6, or whatever Apple will call it?

David
Click to expand...

Seattle is known to have some of the best T-Mobile coverage. I would go for it. You'll save a bunch of money too.
 
MacAir47 said:
I have read that T-Mobile does have a reputation with subpar service compared to Verizon or AT&T.
Click to expand...
Always consider the source. Broad, sweeping generalizations like that are fairly meaningless. Coverage varies by (and even within) market. You need to consider coverage where you need it -- same as anyone else shopping carriers.

MacAir47 said:
If I were to switch to T-Mobile will I notice any difference with phone calls or using the internet from Verizon?
Click to expand...
Possibly. It's doubtful that their coverage is exactly the same.

MacAir47 said:
Also, should I wait until the LTE service has been upgraded to my city as well as on the new model of the iPhone 5S, 6, or whatever Apple will call it?
Click to expand...
That's your call to make. What are your priorities? Sort them out and you'll have your answer.
 
i have very few friends with tmobile. i myself had them back in 2004/05 for just one year. reception back then was horrible in my area, and i had no service at home. after a brief stint with sprint, which i only did to get their SERO plan at $55 a month, i was looking to try a new carrier i had been with at&t since 2006. i decided to give tmobile a try again in 2009. i had them for literally 3 hours, went back to return the phone. it was no better than before so i ported back to att. tmobile is absolutely horrible for indoor reception here in NJ. if you switch, i am willing to bet you will port back. just check with verizon and ask them what that time frame is, may be 14-30 days. i dont care how much i could be saving to be with them, its not worth the reception frustration.
 
order the TMobile iphone and try it out, just dont port over your number until you've tested the coverage. I ordered an iPhone5 from TMobile and the coverage is unusable at my house or at the Target by my house. It fine at my office but the speeds are that much better than what I get from 3G on my AT&T iPhone 4. Looks like i'll be stuck with AT&T. TMobile can be a lot cheaper ($30 a month!) but its not worth it if you cant use the phone when you want to
 
As previous people have said, test out first.

I bought a T-Mobile iPhone 5 and got a pay as a you $3 a day, prepaid sim card. Put $9 onto the card and tested it out for 3 days.

This way you don't need to port over and then port back if the service is not acceptable.

As for the iPhone 5, buy it from an Apple Store, that way you can get 100% money back without restocking fees (Within the return period).
 
Thanks for everyone's responses. I am planning to wait a little longer once I am confident in buying the iPhone 5. I am hoping that Verizon will compete with T-Mobile with similar plans such as no 2 year contracts, but I am not holding my breath for that to happen. It seems that it does not matter which carrier you use since these companies only care about the bottom line.

David
 
for what it's worth, I compared the speed between my friend's Iphone 5 Verizon version vs. My T-Mobile Iphone 5 via the speedtest.net app. He's on LTE and I'm on HSPA+. We had similar results -- approx 10 mbps vs. 9 mbps download respectively. Only difference is my cost is $60 a month, his is over $100 ;) We're in SoCal.
 
T-Mobile will save you money, but that's about it. Their network is completely mediocre. Instead of getting fast LTE on VZW everywhere, you're going to basically be stuck with EDGE and a spotty 3G network.

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crisg said:
for what it's worth, I compared the speed between my friend's Iphone 5 Verizon version vs. My T-Mobile Iphone 5 via the speedtest.net app. He's on LTE and I'm on HSPA+. We had similar results -- approx 10 mbps vs. 9 mbps download respectively. Only difference is my cost is $60 a month, his is over $100 ;) We're in SoCal.
Click to expand...

and once you leave SoCal, there's a 95% chance he will have LTE everywhere, whereas you on TMo will be stuck on their crappy EDGE/GPRS network.
 
crisg said:
for what it's worth, I compared the speed between my friend's Iphone 5 Verizon version vs. My T-Mobile Iphone 5 via the speedtest.net app. He's on LTE and I'm on HSPA+. We had similar results -- approx 10 mbps vs. 9 mbps download respectively. Only difference is my cost is $60 a month, his is over $100 ;) We're in SoCal.
Click to expand...

yea well 10 mbps on LTE is very slow, but thats on par for HSPA+. if you were to be in a better LTE area, you would see LTE bringing in 20-30+ mbps, while HSPA+ will stay around the 10 mark.
 
AutoUnion39 said:
T-Mobile will save you money, but that's about it. Their network is completely mediocre. Instead of getting fast LTE on VZW everywhere, you're going to basically be stuck with EDGE and a spotty 3G network.

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and once you leave SoCal, there's a 95% chance he will have LTE everywhere, whereas you on TMo will be stuck on their crappy EDGE/GPRS network.
Click to expand...
Since I received my iPhone 5 I have not been on EDGE/GPRS or 3G. I've been getting a steady 4G signal. I traveled from New York to Philadelphia on the train constant 4G signal the entire trip.
 
AutoUnion39 said:
T-Mobile will save you money, but that's about it. Their network is completely mediocre. Instead of getting fast LTE on VZW everywhere, you're going to basically be stuck with EDGE and a spotty 3G network.

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and once you leave SoCal, there's a 95% chance he will have LTE everywhere, whereas you on TMo will be stuck on their crappy EDGE/GPRS network.
Click to expand...

Sweet! I live 99.999999999999% of my life in city where I have great 4G signal :)
 
AutoUnion39 said:
T-Mobile will save you money, but that's about it. Their network is completely mediocre. Instead of getting fast LTE on VZW everywhere, you're going to basically be stuck with EDGE and a spotty 3G network.
Click to expand...

It is true that T-Mobile doesn't have the coverage that VZW or AT&T has. But T-Mobile's HSPA+ network runs circles around the big two where it is available in terms of speed. AT&T has tremendous coverage but these days if you aren't on their LTE network, you are most likely going to get terrible 3G speeds.
 
bozzykid said:
It is true that T-Mobile doesn't have the coverage that VZW or AT&T has. But T-Mobile's HSPA+ network runs circles around the big two where it is available in terms of speed. AT&T has tremendous coverage but these days if you aren't on their LTE network, you are most likely going to get terrible 3G speeds.
Click to expand...

... So what you're saying is AT&T and Verizon LTE > tmobile edge. But T-Mobile HSPA+ > AT&T and Verizon 3G. Interesting.
 
osofast240sx said:
Since I received my iPhone 5 I have not been on EDGE/GPRS or 3G. I've been getting a steady 4G signal. I traveled from New York to Philadelphia on the train constant 4G signal the entire trip.
Click to expand...

That is a complete lie. There are tons of areas with EDGE between NY and Philadelphia. I recently drove from Boston down to NoVA and visited family in Phily. My Audi's navigation couldn't buffer data in some parts between NY and Phily.

and fyi, 3G=4G on TMobile (and AT&T) :) LTE is the next level up.

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bozzykid said:
It is true that T-Mobile doesn't have the coverage that VZW or AT&T has. But T-Mobile's HSPA+ network runs circles around the big two where it is available in terms of speed. AT&T has tremendous coverage but these days if you aren't on their LTE network, you are most likely going to get terrible 3G speeds.
Click to expand...

Except VZW and AT&T probably have More LTE than T-Mobile has 3G these days, so your point is invalid.

LTE has better latency, faster speeds, and can handle high traffic significantly better.
 
AutoUnion39 said:
That is a complete lie. There are tons of areas with EDGE between NY and Philadelphia. I recently drove from Boston down to NoVA and visited family in Phily. My Audi's navigation couldn't buffer data in some parts between NY and Phily.

and fyi, 3G=4G on TMobile (and AT&T) :) LTE is the next level up.
Click to expand...

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Which iPhone are you using? :confused:
 
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Bozzy, have you seen a VZW LTE coverage map recently?

Here in Oregon I'm on LTE most of the places I go, and I assure you I'm not staying just in the cities.
 
bozzykid said:
That is completely untrue (neither have close to the same coverage T-Mobile's HSPA network).
Click to expand...

I would say Verizon does. They have LTE almost everywhere. AT&T LTE? Not even close. That's a major exaggeration. Look at the coverage maps.
 
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bozzykid said:
That is completely untrue (neither have close to the same coverage T-Mobile's HSPA network).
Click to expand...

Go look at a VZW LTE coverage map. They have more LTE than T-Mobile has HSPA/EDGE.

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CEmajr said:
I would say Verizon does. They have LTE almost everywhere. AT&T LTE? Not even close.
Click to expand...

Nope. Not an exaggeration at all. In the Northeast, AT&T has more LTE than TMobile has HSPA.

And by the end of summer, they just announced 77 new LTE markets. Some -places where T-Mobile still has EDGE.

VZW has pledged LTE rollout will be done by the end of the year. AT&T has said mid next year. They are well on their way. On the other hand, TMobile is ****ing around with an abysmal 3G footprint that barely covers anything.
 
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