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Carrier Continued reception trouble on T-Mobile w/7+

M

maverick22

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 30, 2012
685
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I posted something similar a couple of months ago. I thought T-mobile's reception was getting better, but apparently not. People are still telling me I am cutting out (as if I keep taking my phone away from my mouth). I wasn't sure if it is the Intel modem or T-Mo's reception.

My sister recently got a 7 on Sprint, and people tell her she cuts out also. Don't Sprint iPhones use the Qualcomm modems?

It also frustrated me while I was at the mall this weekend. My wife and daughter were shopping, and while I was waiting I couldn't text or get on the Internet. I saw several people nearby texting, browsing Instagram, and the Internet.

I don't know where to point the finger. If I get a 7s or 8, should I try Verizon or AT&T instead?

Thanks
 
maverick22 said:
Dallas (just south of it)
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Weird, Dallas is supposed to be one of T-Mobile's strongest markets, and you have a band 12 capable phone already. Do you have poor reception only indoors or all the time?

ForumChick said:
T-Mobile has bad reception in every area
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That's just not true at all. Several third-party carrier analysis companies have confirmed that T-Mobile's network is excellent and continues to get stronger. I live in NYC and T-Mobile is nearly as good as Verizon except for indoors in certain places. The notion that T-Mobile has bad reception everywhere may have been true years ago, but they've become an extremely strong competitor now in nearly every metropolitan market.
 
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LTE signal is mainly just poor indoors (bigger buildings)

People say I cut out during phone calls all the time (inside my house, while driving, in stores of course).
 
ForumChick said:
T-Mobile has bad reception in every area
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All carriers have bad areas. I am getting better service with T-Mobile in areas where Verizon struggled. In some areas where Verizon worked, T-Mobile struggles. With both I generally always had/have service though.

upandown said:
you get what you pay for
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I don't get this comment. Last time I checked pretty much all carriers were similarly priced. Unless you're referring to MVNO's which are much cheaper.
 
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ForumChick said:
T-Mobile has bad reception in every area
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Should I go back to Sprint?

I mean in the places I am at in Phoenix, Sprint gives me call failures and less than 1 down on LTE.

T-Mobile does on average about 20 down everywhere I'm at and I can make phone calls with no problems.

You think that's bad coverage?
[doublepost=1504135449][/doublepost]
upandown said:
you get what you pay for
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Hot DAMN!

Should be getting a HELL of a lot then for my $330 per month! Awesome!!!!
 
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So, it might not be modem related? However, I did have the opportunity to try a friends iPhone 7 from Verizon on my T-Mobile and it definitely yielded different results. Massively. We're talking the Verizon having me at around -75 to -90 dBm in my bathroom. Consistently tested throughout my apartment and never got above -92 dBm. She let me use it a whole day while she used an old iPhone 5 (She was so nice, I bet she missed her phone).

Meanwhile, my 7 Plus:

It only shows the lowest at -88 dBm when my device is restarted or I turn off cellular and then turn it back on. Then it'll shoot back up to high -90's through -110 or even -120 dBm!

Drives me bonkers.

I'm in the restroom now.
93414d090dbbba9520adf828daebea34.png


* Fixed typo.
 
maverick22 said:
LTE signal is mainly just poor indoors (bigger buildings)

People say I cut out during phone calls all the time (inside my house, while driving, in stores of course).
Click to expand...
I'm from Houston and I know people that have t-mobile and have the same issues.
 
maverick22 said:
LTE signal is mainly just poor indoors (bigger buildings)

People say I cut out during phone calls all the time (inside my house, while driving, in stores of course).
Click to expand...
The bad LTE signal and other type of signals inside buildings are the "main" T-Mobile weakness that forced me to leave T-Mobile, beside weak or almost no signals at certain areas or rural areas.

Verizon is the best of the best carrier in the US and worth every penny of it. Fortunate for those including myself who can afford it regardless pricing hike. Verizon has the best coverage inside and outside buildings and metropolitan areas regardless any zip codes and widest coverage in the US. Premium services should have premium price like Apple products.
 
My personal experience with ATT, Verizon and TMO in NYC is that the former two do well regardless of where you are, while TMO is garbage just about everywhere. Indoors it's useless, outdoors it's useable but there aren't enough towers. I can literally be standing in a wide open area and have trouble loading websites. The only location where TMO impresses me is in the subway stations.

Not worth the money savings imo and I'll be switching back to Verizon soon. Wish they were better since I got in on the 3 lines for $100 promo but I'd rather pay more for consistently reliable service.
 
Tronic said:
My personal experience with ATT, Verizon and TMO in NYC is that the former two do well regardless of where you are, while TMO is garbage just about everywhere. Indoors it's useless, outdoors it's useable but there aren't enough towers. I can literally be standing in a wide open area and have trouble loading websites. The only location where TMO impresses me is in the subway stations.

Not worth the money savings imo and I'll be switching back to Verizon soon. Wish they were better since I got in on the 3 lines for $100 promo but I'd rather pay more for consistently reliable service.
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Just out of curiosity what phones are you experiencing these issues on?
 
I think it's the modem. I just replaced my 6s with a 7+ through T-Mobile. Getting less "bars" on my current phone than my old 6s at home.

Oh well. But the jet black is super nice through.
 
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democracyrules said:
Verizon is the best of the best carrier in the US and worth every penny of it. Fortunate for those including myself who can afford it regardless pricing hike. Verizon has the best coverage inside and outside buildings and metropolitan areas regardless any zip codes and widest coverage in the US. Premium services should have premium price like Apple products.
Click to expand...

I get much better coverage on AT&T in my area than I did on Verizon. At my house, Verizon is "Extended 1x" where I get 2 bars of LTE on AT&T. Maybe overall Verizon has more square miles of coverage, but saying Verizon is the best "regardless of any zip codes" is a sweeping generalization. It all depends on where you live and travel. No need for me to pay for coverage in an area I'll never go.
 
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predation said:
I think it's the modem. I just replaced my 6s with a 7+ through T-Mobile. Getting less "bars" on my current phone than my old 6s at home.

Oh well. But the jet black is super nice through.
Click to expand...

Since I kept my 6s alongside my 7 Plus, I have definitely noticed the difference. Especially in my apartment and when traveling.

I agree though, the jet black is really gorgeous to look at. Just wish if not financed through T-Mobile and got the unlocked Qualcomm to try.
 
I used to have a 7 on T-Mobile. Reception was absolutely terrible. Service would drop out and I would have to throw my phone into airplane mode and back out to get reception again. Building penetration was nonexistent for LTE and very slow when "4g" was available. This is in the Dallas market. I experienced it from downtown to the mid cities to north Dallas. Never went to south Dallas, but doesn't sound any better.

Service is still terrible. A co-worker with an Android still has connection problems and continually is unable to make/receive calls when we're out and about.

I switched to Verizon after a couple months of missed calls, dropped calls and missed texts. It was really awful. Reception is much better now.
 
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