floats, did you fill out the unlock request form on ATT immediately after switching to Tmo and was approved for unlocking? I have been wanting to switch to Tmo and do what you did, but based on what I gathered so far, one has to wait for the ETF to show up on final bill and then pays it off, before ATT would grant the unlock request. This means I would have to fall back to some old phone (or the cheapest TMo phone bought) for a good 2-3 weeks, depending on when i switch during the monthly billing cycle I guess, before I get to use my then_unlocked_iPhone 6 again. This has been the main reason I have not taken the step to switch. Has anyone successfully had ATT unlock their phones after switching but before paying off ETF?
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Switching from AT&T to T-Mobile
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floats, did you fill out the unlock request form on ATT immediately after switching to Tmo and was approved for unlocking? I have been wanting to switch to Tmo and do what you did, but based on what I gathered so far, one has to wait for the ETF to show up on final bill and then pays it off, before ATT would grant the unlock request. This means I would have to fall back to some old phone (or the cheapest TMo phone bought) for a good 2-3 weeks, depending on when i switch during the monthly billing cycle I guess, before I get to use my then_unlocked_iPhone 6 again. This has been the main reason I have not taken the step to switch. Has anyone successfully had ATT unlock their phones after switching but before paying off ETF?
A few months ago I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile and I was not pleased. I lived in a major metropolitan area and got Edge coverage on my iPhone 5S at the time! I haven't seen Edge since the first iPhone. After a few days of suffering with spotty coverage, I switched back to AT&T.
Moral of the story, check your coverage map before switching.
Moral of the story, check your coverage map before switching.
I'm a happy switcher. Hated AT&T for their tethering policy - I need it only occasionally, but their implementation/limitation was upsetting.
Coverage is generally good in San Diego, but can be spotty out of town. I recent drove to Vegas and I had no service for a good stretch and then signal but no data at other times.
In Vegas I was fine on the strip, but had no service at the Premium Outlets.
In short - t-mobs service has been good at home and work which is 90% of my life. If my job involved more travel then I would need better service. For now the trade off works for better plans and lower cost.
Coverage is generally good in San Diego, but can be spotty out of town. I recent drove to Vegas and I had no service for a good stretch and then signal but no data at other times.
In Vegas I was fine on the strip, but had no service at the Premium Outlets.
In short - t-mobs service has been good at home and work which is 90% of my life. If my job involved more travel then I would need better service. For now the trade off works for better plans and lower cost.
Very similar experience for me. I left T-Mobile for AT&T when the original iPhone was released. My wife continued to use them since the rest of her family was on T-Mobile and the unlimited 'Mobile-to-Mobile' minutes made it a better value. I always appreciated T-Mobile's customer service but the coverage was just terrible. I think it got worse for us when we both had the service. T-Mobile tried sending out a Signal Booster to help but it didn't help much (one star to sometimes two star) After 3 months we ran back to AT&T.
I went into a T-Mobile and signed a contract, got a new SIM card but didn't actually walk out with a new phone. I called AT&T that night and asked about paying the ETF so I could unlock my phone. I asked them to bill me for the ETF right then and there. I've checked my bill since and have not received a new bill for the ETF. They said I had to make the unlock request online, which I did after I got off the phone. Either the next day or the day after, I got a notification saying the unlock completed. I think it was a text message. , I tried the SIM that I picked up from T-Mobile the first day and it worked. I didn't have to do a restore of my phone, either. I went to Target and picked up the cheapie pre-paid phone and then went directly over to T-Mobile to finish up the transaction. Traded in the Target pre-paid phone, paid for the mandatory T-Mobile phone and went through the process to port my number over from AT&T. Oh, make sure you have your security/pass code from AT&T as you'll need that to port the number. I called AT&T and they verified that it was the last 4 of my social security number. By the time I drove home, I received confirmation that my number ported over successfully.
Yep, I traded in 3 old phones for my ETF trade-in, one of them didn't work (didn't turn on), another had a malfunction (was stuck on INSERT SIM screen), and then another was from a different carrier than the other two.
I'll be switching from AT&T to T-Mobile in the next day or two. If anybody wants to refer me and take advantage of the free unlimited data before it expires, then send me a PM. I will definitely start service before the 9th.
I'm on TMo now after years with AT$T. Just got two new iPhones with TMo, in this area AT&T has full bars/dots signal strength on my old iPhones, almost everywhere. The two new iPhones, lucky to get 2 or 3. The one phone has already been dropping a few calls. Mine was not sending sms texts today, but seems to be alright now.
I just activated these new iPhones, so I'll have to give it some time to see how things work. Not overly impressed at the moment.
I just activated these new iPhones, so I'll have to give it some time to see how things work. Not overly impressed at the moment.
Or even better, try out T-Mobile's Test Drive service. I just signed up over the weekend, so I should get a trial iPhone soon.
http://explore.t-mobile.com/test-drive-free-trial
I read a similar process on reddit (link). I didn't think about having to use a temporary phone before being able to unlock iPhone and move it to T-Mobile, but makes sense. My concern then is how to use a nano-SIM in a flip phone. I guess there are SIM adapters for that?
Anyways, sounds like an even bigger PITA than I originally thought.
Did the same - scheduled to get it tomorrow. Will also allow me to see if Touch ID is as great an experience as reported with regard to Password Manager extensions.
I've been using Touch ID with Last Pass app and it works pretty well. Unfortunately only Safari has the extension support. Chrome is my browser of choice on iOS (and other platforms), and Last Pass doesn't integrate with it.
Sometimes you can buy an iPhone and the AT&T website glitches giving it a free unlock.
My 2cents.
Buy iPhone on AT&T
Sign up at T-mo and trade in flip phone
Buy a used iPhone 3GS or 4 on craigslist (<100 bucks)
Pay off AT&T final bill
File for unlock
Send bill to T-mo for reinbursement
Once AT&T grants the unlock go from the iPhone 4 to the 6.
My 2cents.
Buy iPhone on AT&T
Sign up at T-mo and trade in flip phone
Buy a used iPhone 3GS or 4 on craigslist (<100 bucks)
Pay off AT&T final bill
File for unlock
Send bill to T-mo for reinbursement
Once AT&T grants the unlock go from the iPhone 4 to the 6.
Essentially what I am doing but I am selling my iPhone 6 and going to buy the 6 Plus. Bought a flip phone for 15 dollars to trade in. Not going to pay much more the 6 plus. I get the phone tomorrow.
Same here. They really Ned to work in their network. I guess by summer next year with all those upgrades it would help.
Got an e-mail from UPS My Choice saying my T-Mobile Test Drive iPhone should deliver tomorrow. Oddly enough, never got any e-mail from T-Mobile after signing up. Their website even states they will send an e-mail upon shipping. Oh well, at least I know it's on it way.
I would keep the 6. I have both a 6 and 6 Plus and I almost never use the 6 because it's cumbersome.
Beware of T-Mobile. You might find that your iPhone is a glorified ipod touch when leaving the city limits.
T-Mobile Test Drive
My T-Mobile test drive iPhone 5S was waiting for me when I got home from school. My first time with a white version - not bad. Loving Touch ID. Learning to reach into my pocket, give the button a quick press and release while still touching the button so it's unlocked when I look at it. Killer.
Called to my work phone and left a message. Audio was fine while listening to my recorded prompt and the message I left sounded good when I came into work today. Forgot to set up WiFi calling and test the audio, so will test that today at home and tomorrow at school.
Speed tests at home show AT&T LTE is faster but not noticing it with actual use with YouTube videos or browsing. Was able to glance at both phones during my transit when at stop lights and did not see any noticeable difference in bars. Will stream the local radio station on both phones on the way home. Normally, AT&T stutters in certain areas.
Speed tests at my work parking lot also show AT&T is faster. However, when I'm in the building, T-Mobile seems to have better penetration and I can browse websites and even play YouTube videos; not something I can easily do on AT&T. I used to have difficulty
Going shopping later today and expect the same. AT&T has difficulty penetrating the brick and mortar stores. Tomorrow I'm back in school and will test my speeds (speed tests and actual use).
Don't know if the better connectivity is due to T-Mobile having a strong signal in my area, upgrades in the antenna as compared to my iPhone 5, or a combination, but so far, a very positive experience with the iPhone 5S and T-Mobile.
My T-Mobile test drive iPhone 5S was waiting for me when I got home from school. My first time with a white version - not bad. Loving Touch ID. Learning to reach into my pocket, give the button a quick press and release while still touching the button so it's unlocked when I look at it. Killer.
Called to my work phone and left a message. Audio was fine while listening to my recorded prompt and the message I left sounded good when I came into work today. Forgot to set up WiFi calling and test the audio, so will test that today at home and tomorrow at school.
Speed tests at home show AT&T LTE is faster but not noticing it with actual use with YouTube videos or browsing. Was able to glance at both phones during my transit when at stop lights and did not see any noticeable difference in bars. Will stream the local radio station on both phones on the way home. Normally, AT&T stutters in certain areas.
Speed tests at my work parking lot also show AT&T is faster. However, when I'm in the building, T-Mobile seems to have better penetration and I can browse websites and even play YouTube videos; not something I can easily do on AT&T. I used to have difficulty
Going shopping later today and expect the same. AT&T has difficulty penetrating the brick and mortar stores. Tomorrow I'm back in school and will test my speeds (speed tests and actual use).
Don't know if the better connectivity is due to T-Mobile having a strong signal in my area, upgrades in the antenna as compared to my iPhone 5, or a combination, but so far, a very positive experience with the iPhone 5S and T-Mobile.
Around here you don't even have to leave city limits for it to happen.
Haha yeah it is like that in some towns too.