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Goodbye AT&T, Hello T-Mobile

miamialley said:
I'm not convinced their coverage and speed is comparable to verizon or ATT.
Click to expand...

Not even close, when it comes to overall coverage.

Some food for thought: http://about.att.com/story/att_4g_lte_network_expands_reach_to_more_than_300_million_americans.html

AT&T covers ~300 million people with their LTE. That's larger than the entire T-Mobile footprint, including their 2G network.

T-Mobile users can cherry pick all they want, but they are not even remotely comparable to the likes of the Death Star or Big Red.
 
I live in ny and switched to tmobile 4 months ago and I get the same cell coverage. I was a skeptic because I had tmo when I lived in Massachusetts and it sucked. But my service has been just as good as At&t. I don't do road trips but fly often out of state and out of the country and haven't had any problems or complaints. I'm waiting a while though before jumping the gun on the 6. I had a nightmare experience when the 5 and the 5s were released after never going thru it with any other launch. Can't wait to see all of you post pics though lol.
 
BeSweeet said:
Why are you posting images from an outdated report? http://www.rootmetrics.com/us/rsr/san-francisco-ca

Oh, that was for the national report. My fault. Still, unless you plan on visiting every inch of land in the entire country, it's hard for that to be relevant.
Click to expand...

Right, assuming the efficacy of the report is accurate, this would be relevant for those living in San Francisco. Likewise, it would be completely meaningless to those who don't, or live out in the city's deep woods or near the Sunset Ocean with limited towers where no carrier has every inch covered.
 
I switching too. I'm fed up of having to pay extra for tethering on ATT. I rarely use it, but when you need it, you need it.
 
my main reasons for switching:

- Recently incurred $250 of overage charges. Went over minutes. Had no idea tbh. We had tons of roll over minutes but they got used up. Had we been on t-mobile, would have never happened.Our fault here, but totally unavoidable. Rep offered to switch us to a new plan and wipe the fees, but we had to give up unlimited data.

-Tired of the constant GF Unlimited Data worry. Every years its a dilemma. We were planning on paying $1500 for our phones to keep unlimited data. Thats crazy. T-mobile gives u truly unlimited data. The phone is cheaper after we sell and trade in a device. Don't have to worry about keeping GF status.

- Music Streaming. I stream tons of music. T-Mobile utilizes 3g network for this. That is perfect. AT&T doesn't give you that option. If you go over your data (either the preset amount or 5gb) you pay overage or your speeds are terrible. I usually hit 5gbs of data in the first week if not sooner (i am a heavy user), then spend the rest of the month throttled.

- Reception. I live in Hawaii. Verizon is the best. But they don't offer a data solution that will fit my needs. With AT&T i have to go outside my house and stand in one certain area to talk. In 2014. I called and asked what i could do and they said fork out $200 + a monthly fee for a microcell. T-Mobile does WiFI Calling. Problem solved.

- Data Speed. AT&T was fast. Not anymore. During peak hours it sucks. If you are on the phone, your internet is unusable. It is terrible. So many times I will be on the phone with someone, but I need to check my bank account, and I can't load the app. Seriously? Oh wait, I have to give up unlimited data to fix that.

-AT&T Customer service sucks. They are the worst company ever to deal with. My line has been with AT&T/Cingular/whatever its called since 2001. We have gotten every new iPhone every year paying whatever the price they asked. The new upgrade fee increase, along with the more expensive bill, isn't worth it.

These are the top reasons. We have 0 reasons for being on AT&T. Verizon is the best. Sprint isn't even an option. T-Mobile and AT&T are basically equal IMO. Why pay more when you actually get less with AT&T?

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miamialley said:
Ha, that's a little bit limiting. I'll stay with the big guys for now.
Click to expand...

The only 'big guy' is verizon imo. They are the best. AT&T is TERRIBLE. Do you not remember how far behind AT&T was with their LTE rollout? Remember the fake 4g LTE HSPDATAADAATA+++@+? My buddy on verizon would give me so much crap with my shiny iPhone on AT&T's so-called 4g LTE network that was 1/4 as fast.The only thing AT&T ever had going for it was the fact they had the iPhone exclusively.

With the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, T-Mobile will take the #2 spot.
 
I'm really sick of Att too, but not sure about t-mobile's coverage in my area...their deals are tempting though...
 
CooKieMoNs7eR said:
I'm really sick of Att too, but not sure about t-mobile's coverage in my area...their deals are tempting though...
Click to expand...

Here is what we are doing.

1) Preordering from t-mobile website but NOT porting AT&T Numbers. The T-Mobile rep on the phone said we can port at a later time.

2) Once phones are received, we are piloting the t-mobile service. We did it once before, along with my brother and tons of friends having t-mobile.

3) Once satisfied, we are porting numbers.

Now here is the trick with switching to t-mobile, getting all the good deals, and keeping your cell service working until you get your new I6+:

1) You can go to the t-mobile store tomorrow and preorder. Pretty simple explanation.

2) Pre-Order online. However, if you port your number, your service deactivates right away. You can port at a later time. However, the rep on the phone said that once you get your new iPhone 6's, you can take it down to the store and return and resign up for the phones to get the ETF paid and Device trade in credit. He is unsure if you can get the ETF Credit and device trade in. Also you can do a Deferred Device Trade in and send in a device at a later date.

Note: I have not confirmed this, but the rep said that you can trade in ANY working phone with an IMEI number and get your ETF fee paid. He instructed me to go to Walmart and get a cheap pay per use phone, trade that in, and keep my iPhone 5. Crazy.

We will be doing #2.

We will be saving so much money on our phones. We talk a lot on our phones, but at home. We use our phones more as media devices. Games, Web surfing, Reading, Texting, Skype, Calendar, Working out, etc. T-Mobile is great for that.
 
What is your monthly bill per phone on the new T Mobile deal?
If you had 24% off and unlimited data, wasn't your bill around $55 per iPhone? What deal beats that?
 
sleepyking said:
What is your monthly bill per phone on the new T Mobile deal?
If you had 24% off and unlimited data, wasn't your bill around $55 per iPhone? What deal beats that?
Click to expand...



Our total bill per month is $134 on AT&T. This includes 550 minutes, unlimited text, and unlimited data. Note that the 24% discount is not applied to everything.

With T-Mobile, we pay $140 a month for Unlimited Talk, Text, and Data (3g/LTE). Also get Rhapsody Subscription and 5gb of Tethering for each line. This is huge for us. This saved us $260 on iPad Mini's. Plus we are both very active and it makes bringing our Laptops with us so much easier as we both refuse to join any public wifi.

Remember, you can not have Grandfathered unlimited data AND the ability to Tether with AT&T. If we were to try and get the same package on AT&T the price is vastly more.
 
mademan118 said:
my main reasons for switching:

- Recently incurred $250 of overage charges. Went over minutes. Had no idea tbh. We had tons of roll over minutes but they got used up. Had we been on t-mobile, would have never happened.Our fault here, but totally unavoidable. Rep offered to switch us to a new plan and wipe the fees, but we had to give up unlimited data.

-Tired of the constant GF Unlimited Data worry. Every years its a dilemma. We were planning on paying $1500 for our phones to keep unlimited data. Thats crazy. T-mobile gives u truly unlimited data. The phone is cheaper after we sell and trade in a device. Don't have to worry about keeping GF status.

- Music Streaming. I stream tons of music. T-Mobile utilizes 3g network for this. That is perfect. AT&T doesn't give you that option. If you go over your data (either the preset amount or 5gb) you pay overage or your speeds are terrible. I usually hit 5gbs of data in the first week if not sooner (i am a heavy user), then spend the rest of the month throttled.

- Reception. I live in Hawaii. Verizon is the best. But they don't offer a data solution that will fit my needs. With AT&T i have to go outside my house and stand in one certain area to talk. In 2014. I called and asked what i could do and they said fork out $200 + a monthly fee for a microcell. T-Mobile does WiFI Calling. Problem solved.

- Data Speed. AT&T was fast. Not anymore. During peak hours it sucks. If you are on the phone, your internet is unusable. It is terrible. So many times I will be on the phone with someone, but I need to check my bank account, and I can't load the app. Seriously? Oh wait, I have to give up unlimited data to fix that.

-AT&T Customer service sucks. They are the worst company ever to deal with. My line has been with AT&T/Cingular/whatever its called since 2001. We have gotten every new iPhone every year paying whatever the price they asked. The new upgrade fee increase, along with the more expensive bill, isn't worth it.

These are the top reasons. We have 0 reasons for being on AT&T. Verizon is the best. Sprint isn't even an option. T-Mobile and AT&T are basically equal IMO. Why pay more when you actually get less with AT&T?

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The only 'big guy' is verizon imo. They are the best. AT&T is TERRIBLE. Do you not remember how far behind AT&T was with their LTE rollout? Remember the fake 4g LTE HSPDATAADAATA+++@+? My buddy on verizon would give me so much crap with my shiny iPhone on AT&T's so-called 4g LTE network that was 1/4 as fast.The only thing AT&T ever had going for it was the fact they had the iPhone exclusively.

With the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, T-Mobile will take the #2 spot.
Click to expand...

ATT was slower, but only for the areas where there are no people where you will never go. I'm not concerned with coverage in rural Nebraska! I like being able to use internet while using phone. I use that a lot.
 
mademan118 said:
Here is what we are doing.

1) Preordering from t-mobile website but NOT porting AT&T Numbers. The T-Mobile rep on the phone said we can port at a later time.

2) Once phones are received, we are piloting the t-mobile service. We did it once before, along with my brother and tons of friends having t-mobile.

3) Once satisfied, we are porting numbers.

Now here is the trick with switching to t-mobile, getting all the good deals, and keeping your cell service working until you get your new I6+:

1) You can go to the t-mobile store tomorrow and preorder. Pretty simple explanation.

2) Pre-Order online. However, if you port your number, your service deactivates right away. You can port at a later time. However, the rep on the phone said that once you get your new iPhone 6's, you can take it down to the store and return and resign up for the phones to get the ETF paid and Device trade in credit. He is unsure if you can get the ETF Credit and device trade in. Also you can do a Deferred Device Trade in and send in a device at a later date.

Note: I have not confirmed this, but the rep said that you can trade in ANY working phone with an IMEI number and get your ETF fee paid. He instructed me to go to Walmart and get a cheap pay per use phone, trade that in, and keep my iPhone 5. Crazy.

We will be doing #2.

We will be saving so much money on our phones. We talk a lot on our phones, but at home. We use our phones more as media devices. Games, Web surfing, Reading, Texting, Skype, Calendar, Working out, etc. T-Mobile is great for that.
Click to expand...
They won't pay my ETF unless I trade in my current iPhone 5S, and they don't pay more than $250-$300 for that, I can literally sell my iPhone 5S 64GB which is unlocked + jailbroken for at least $550-$650 on craigslist as I do this every year....I sold my iPhone 5 last year for $580.
 
I live on the island of Oahu located in the middle of the pacific ocean. I live in the so-called 'Second City' where the FBI just built a huge new Cyber terrorism building, the NSA works underground just a few miles away, and we have had an enormous population explosion in just a matter of years. I am not in some rural area.

I can not use my internet while on the phone with AT&T. It is absolutely slow. Most of the times i tell the person I will call them back, hang up, and then the page loads instantly.

Have you been throttled with AT&T?


-Cookiemonster:

We will be doing the same as you with regards to selling the iPhones on Craigslist. We didn't go that route last year as our iPhone 5s are still working fine and the 5s was such a small upgrade. Its looking like we can get about 300 each for our iPhone 5's here.
 
mademan118 said:
Remember, you can not have Grandfathered unlimited data AND the ability to Tether with AT&T. If we were to try and get the same package on AT&T the price is vastly more.
Click to expand...

Makes sense then. I've never used tethering or ever felt the need to so I guess I never factored that in
 
Back on July...In Orlando, FL

I unlocked my iPhone 5 with AT&T and Tmobile transferred the number. I was happy. Was going to get a decent price and the internet was unlimited and really fast.

That was a Sunday, Monday during the day I had 3 dropped calls and "no service" message more than four times. I know that there are areas that with good service. Sadly, that was not my case. I called AT&T on Monday and they got the number back and I reactive the service with them. Was lucky to kept my unlimited data with ATT.

Tmobile is a good company where the service is good (if you have great coverage). Last week, I got a bill from Tmobile and it was a overdue bill for $85.

I said "let me call then" and this will be easy to fix! Wrong! They were polite, but was told that even with a one day of service if I cancel the service via a "porting" number to another carrier the agreement stated that I was going to be charge for 30 days. If I did not pay it it will go to collections eventually.

I have a bad impression regarding Tmobile because of this. I immediately posted the situation on Twitter and someone from Tmobile responded back, we chatted. No need to pay, it was a mistake. She was very nice and polite.

Now, even if they improve the service 100% i will really think it twice before going back to them.
 
mademan118 said:
2) Pre-Order online. However, if you port your number, your service deactivates right away. You can port at a later time. However, the rep on the phone said that once you get your new iPhone 6's, you can take it down to the store and return and resign up for the phones to get the ETF paid and Device trade in credit. He is unsure if you can get the ETF Credit and device trade in. Also you can do a Deferred Device Trade in and send in a device at a later date.
Click to expand...

Is that true? I was going to switch from ATT to tmobile but I kinda need my phone for the week still. I didn't want to bother with porting at a later time.
 
Kuroz said:
Is that true? I was going to switch from ATT to tmobile but I kinda need my phone for the week still. I didn't want to bother with porting at a later time.
Click to expand...

I can't say whether it is true or not...only what the rep told me. I was told that the moment I put in the request to port my number, I will lose my service on my existing device meaning that I will not have a working cellphone until we receive the iPhone 6+'s. However, you can order the phone's right now, and then port when you get your phone's either by calling T-mobile or going to a store.

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lordofthereef said:
Every one of these threads reminds me how sad I am that New England has crappy TMO coverage :(
Click to expand...

It seem's that the only reason people say not to go with T-Mobile is based on the coverage in your area. However, this can be said about all the carriers except Verizon IMO. AT&T Is absolutely terrible where I live (which is several hundred feet above sea level), but absolutely fine when I go to flat land. Even then, I can drive through many area's on the island where the bottom 3 providers ALL suck. If I can't have the best (Verizon), I am going to pick the least crappiest carrier available, and at this time, that happens to be T-Mobile. Plus its contract free with the exception of the phone financing.


EDIT: As I read this, I feel like I sound like a T-Mobile Sales person. Rest assured. I DO NOT WORK FOR T-MOBILE OR ANY CELL PROVIDER. I (and my GF for that matter) am simply a consumer out looking to get the most for my money and save where I can. I couldn't believe how much we got with T-mobile and how much the price was. That is all.
 
mademan118 said:
I can't say whether it is true or not...only what the rep told me. I was told that the moment I put in the request to port my number, I will lose my service on my existing device meaning that I will not have a working cellphone until we receive the iPhone 6+'s. However, you can order the phone's right now, and then port when you get your phone's either by calling T-mobile or going to a store.

----------



It seem's that the only reason people say not to go with T-Mobile is based on the coverage in your area. However, this can be said about all the carriers except Verizon IMO. AT&T Is absolutely terrible where I live (which is several hundred feet above sea level), but absolutely fine when I go to flat land. Even then, I can drive through many area's on the island where the bottom 3 providers ALL suck. If I can't have the best (Verizon), I am going to pick the least crappiest carrier available, and at this time, that happens to be T-Mobile. Plus its contract free with the exception of the phone financing.


EDIT: As I read this, I feel like I sound like a T-Mobile Sales person. Rest assured. I DO NOT WORK FOR T-MOBILE OR ANY CELL PROVIDER. I (and my GF for that matter) am simply a consumer out looking to get the most for my money and save where I can. I couldn't believe how much we got with T-mobile and how much the price was. That is all.
Click to expand...

Kinda makes me worry. Cause I have a contract with att still and would need them to pay off my early termination fee.
 
I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile about 6 months ago, and I live in San Francisco. I thought I'd chime in and give my 2 cents.

First, the bad - overall coverage is definitely worse. This is most noticeable when in buildings, but it's not uncommon to see my phone change to 4G back to LTE back to 4G depending where I am.

The good
- When I have full LTE, it is MUCH faster than AT&T was, typically 2x to 3x or sometimes way more.
- T-Mobile 4G is actually fairly speedy.
- They are actively working on the network. I have seen improvements since I joined.
- I have unlimited data and a lot of tethering data, and my bill is cheaper than it was on AT&T
- I get to have John Legere as my Wireless CEO, and I believe in his direction.

It's not all roses, but it's not all poop :).
 
I don't get the negativity in this thread. T-Mobile has a test drive program so just go test out the network.

For many people, Nationwide research means absolutely nothing because you spend most of your daily routine around the same area unless you have to travel around the country but then again if your job requires you to travel around the country, you probably have some sort of work phone with VZ or ATT but I digress.

That said, I was skeptical myself and T-Mobile did NOT have good reception 2-3 years ago when I used them. Did the test drive program few months ago and the reception is 99% spotless from where I live, where I work, and places where I go for leisure. There is literally this one spot on the way to work where the reception would cut off for 5 seconds.

This, in addition to great international perks, sealed the deal for me.

Why bash other people who found T-Mobile to be suitable for their needs? Just because YOUR area does not have good T-Mobile reception, doesn't mean you should be bashing them. Especially using meaningless statistics such as nationwide tests (again unless you will be traveling around the country as part of your profession)
 
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