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Switching from AT&T to T-Mobile
- Thread starter wolve
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I liked the program quite a bit and iPhone 5s I got worked great. I've read some people having issues with Test Drive, such as the iPhone not working because it wasn't activated. In terms of signal strength, I live in Los Angeles and it was pretty good around my usual commute areas.
Perhaps the only issue I had was nothing to do with T-Mobile. If you have an existing iPhone and use iMessage, I suggest not adding your Apple ID onto the Test Drive phone. Otherwise you'll link another phone # to your Apple account and that may screw around things with iMessage. I even specifically configured iMessage to not use the T-mobile #. However, I still got some weird errors on my iPhone 6 after returning the Test Drive phone.
BTW haven't made the switch yet, but planning to do it this weekend. Looking forward to ditching AT&T!
BTW haven't made the switch yet, but planning to do it this weekend. Looking forward to ditching AT&T!
Although the free unlimited data promotion has ended, you can still get $25 in the form of a T-Mobile gift card if you have someone refer you. Once you're activated, if you want to PM me I can get you referred.
And even in the city. I've been with T-Mobile for a few years and like them overall, but I do get very frustrated from time to time. You'll completely lose service sometime and it's very irritating.
I take my dad to physical therapy twice a week for an hour and I lose service most of the time in the building and even in the parking lot. I also went to take my car to be repaired a few weeks ago and decided to wait the hour and a half and I had no service the whole time. And both of these instances were in a major city.
I keep saying that I'm going to go back to AT&T because this would never happen with them but I don't do it. I'm on prepaid too so it's not a problem to move back. I would say I'm happy with T-Mobile 95 percent of the time overall. But I do know that their service will frustrate many people.
The only time I can remember having service problems with T-Mobile was in a building in Boston. As soon as I walked in, nothing, yet I can do a network scan on my iPhone and it'll see Sprint, Verizon and AT&T, but no T-Mobile. As soon as I went out, I had a moderate LTE signal with fast speeds. And in addition to airplanes, I can't recall the last time I went anytime without service over the past 19 months. As much as I like having fast data, I don't mind the occasional one or two bars of 3G or 2G while on a short road trip through areas that haven't had the 2G to LTE upgrade treatment.
Yeah their lack of low band spectrum makes them terrible in buildings too. You can be in downtown Atlanta or Miami and have 1 bar or no service.
Not even EDGE?
The answer is probably obvious, but are you guys using iPhones when experiencing those issues? If so, I'd place partial blame on the iPhone. It's just not nearly that good when it comes to RF performance, especially when compared to a lot of Android devices. My $140 Moto G LTE holds onto usable LTE (T-Mobile micro-SIM inserted) in many places where my iPhone 6+ (and previously my 5s) falls back to very slow HSPA or even EDGE (sometimes it'll say "no service" for a while because it has no idea what to do).
It may be worth testing with other devices to see how their connectivity stacks up just in case.
I personally don't use them. I'm on Verizon. My gf has them though and refuses to switch. She has the 6 Plus now. Inside a lot of those thick buildings it's a toss up between LTE, 4G, EDGE, and No Service. It's really unpredictable and varies by building. It usually only holds up in the areas where T-Mobile has a very dense grid.
Interesting interview about T-Mobile U.S. business from T-Mobile's parent company.
Longer term, Hoettges admitted that T-Mobile’s current approach is not sustainable, especially given the need to invest between $4 billion and $5 billion each year just to keep up.
“The question is always the economics in the long term … and earning appropriate money,” Hoettges said. “You have to earn your money back at one point in time.”
Longer term, Hoettges admitted that T-Mobile’s current approach is not sustainable, especially given the need to invest between $4 billion and $5 billion each year just to keep up.
“The question is always the economics in the long term … and earning appropriate money,” Hoettges said. “You have to earn your money back at one point in time.”
Got to admire him
but, it doesn't change the facts that they are not nearly bringing in the income they need.They will eventually need to increase prices.
Got to admire him
They will eventually need to increase prices.
Maybe, but after the network gets more heavy upgrades, they should be getting plenty of new customers to start equalizing things, no?
I think they're banking on increasing customers in the short term in order to create more profitability in the long term. Let's not forget that before Uncarrier when Humm had T-mobile floundering near death they were actually making decent profit every quarter. Obviously that wasn't workong out for them either. I think the current strategy is better.
Sounds more like Deutsche Telekom's CEO is lobbying for a merger with one of the other carriers. Note how he focuses on the political climate. It's no secret that the parent company wants to spin off T-Mobile USA. But, the FTC made it clear that they will not support further consolidation among the four national wireless carriers. If Deutsche Telekom wants to unload T-Mobile, they'll need to find a different partner, even if it's not as lucrative as the proposed mergers with AT&T or Sprint might have been.
The Ars article points out that T-Mobile has lost money 5 out of the last 6 quarters. But, what it doesn't point out is how the profitable quarter essentially negates the other quarterly losses. That might be what Legere was calling out as bullcrap.
Yeah, Deutsche Telekom's pouring billions into the infrastructure upgrades. But, T-Mobile USA is also growing their customer and revenue base at a rapid rate, and breaking even in the process.
Nope just no service. T-Mobile is great like 98 percent of the time but it's just those moments when you're sitting in a doctors office for an hour or waiting for an oil change and you get no service so you basically have to stare at the walls.
I may switch to Straight Talk and back to AT&T. I'll get 3gb of LTE data over the 2 I get on T-Mobile now at the same price. I wonder if you still have to change a bunch of stuff in your settings to get Straight Talk to work like you had too a few years ago? Or if you buy a sim card at Wal-Mart is it just put it in your phone and it works right away?
I agree T-mobile has issues inside big buildings. But generally there is Wi-Fi everywhere now. I keep the Wi-Fi calling switched on all the time, so it automatically goes on Wi-Fi calling when connected to a WI-Fi signal. Since this feature works overseas as well, the benefits of T-mobile balance out the short comings. I would also like to see more 4G coverage on the freeways. I have 6 phones on my plan. For $10 extra I get unlimited international calling on all lines. Benefits like these is what has made me stick with T-mobile for over a decade now.
I don't think we'll see more freeway work until they get more low band spectrum to more economically upgrade things. I personally haven't had any real issues on freeways. As long as I have 2 bars of EDGE when driving (which is still fine for texts and calls), I'm good, despite how much I may like having fast Internet in certain places.
They're supposed to have the whole native footprint covered to LTE by the summer. It will be done with the existing PCS spectrum for the most part. I know here in NC they've significantly upgraded most of our freeways over the past 3-4 months.
By freeways, I meant densifying their grid. If you're only getting 1-2 bars of EDGE/GPRS now, adding LTE to that same site might not help you. For example, between Jacksonville, FL and Daytona Beach, all of the sites along I-95 have been modernized and have band 4 LTE, but there are a few 5-8 mile gaps between towers where I'm on somewhat-strong EDGE or barely a bar of HSPA (practically unusable).
The gaps in T-Mobile's network won't fill in until they widely deploy the 700 MHz Band 12 service. For most users, this will necessitate upgrading their phone, since even the iPhone 6/6 Plus don't support LTE Band 12.
T-Mobile has focused on the urban areas where most of their customers live and work. Just around my office, I've seen the service go from HSPA+ to LTE to Wideband LTE in less than a year. Those areas with decent T-Mobile service right now will keep getting better. Those areas without good reception won't improve until 700 MHz service arrives.
Exactly (as mentioned earlier). Low band spectrum is definitely what some of those areas need, and it's not like they need a 10x10 band 12 setup either.
Looking at the update coverage maps even T-Mobile's EDGE to LTE upgrade won't be as great as some think. A lot of those upgraded sites have EDGE areas on the fringes and when driving down a freeway in a rural area this means you might get sections of 1-2 miles of EDGE in between LTE areas. I guess it's not a big deal if you're streaming music or something but it's going to be bad for people talking on the phone over LTE. That means dropped calls.
Until they get the low band deployed they can't offer a seamless driving experience in rural areas. This is just a band aid patching all the gunshot holes in their coverage area.
Until they get the low band deployed they can't offer a seamless driving experience in rural areas. This is just a band aid patching all the gunshot holes in their coverage area.
Calls should fall back to EDGE or GPRS without dropping for call when leaving LTE coverage. VoLTE still isn't ready for wide use anyway IMO. I'd personally use what is more reliable, even if it means I get no data when on a call.
Even PCS LTE can travel further than you may think, and might not be that bad on highways. For example, look at Tifton, GA on the map, and follow I-75 all the way up to Atlanta. I held onto usable TE the entire drive. A few spots may have had 1 bar for a while (as also indicated on the map), but it still worked fine with decent speeds. Low band spectrum on 1 bar might not fare as well.
Joining t-mobile? Get $25 from referral
T-Mobile offers $25 to referrer and referee. Here's the website https://referral.t-mobile.com/
Just register there and use my email - mm.p7510@gmail.com and in about a month or two you (and I) will get $25 gift card from T-Mobile which can used towards your bill. You can only get $25 for one line (use the email above for one line ONLY), you If you have more than one line, you can try my other email - iryna.rebates@gmail.com for your 2nd line. PM (or email mm.p7510@gmail.com) me if more emails needed (if you have more than 2 lines).
Thanks
T-Mobile offers $25 to referrer and referee. Here's the website https://referral.t-mobile.com/
Just register there and use my email - mm.p7510@gmail.com and in about a month or two you (and I) will get $25 gift card from T-Mobile which can used towards your bill. You can only get $25 for one line (use the email above for one line ONLY), you If you have more than one line, you can try my other email - iryna.rebates@gmail.com for your 2nd line. PM (or email mm.p7510@gmail.com) me if more emails needed (if you have more than 2 lines).
Thanks
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You can use + modifiers for masking multiple email addresses but have everything go to just one.