Carrier switching to tmobile...

Talk to someone who has T-Mobile where you want to use it. If you read these forums, you see the post from many people who switched to T-Mobile and then had to switch back because they were getting terrible coverage. T-Mobile is great (and cheap) if you have the coverage where you need it. Otherwise, I would probably consider switching to AT&T if Verizon is too expensive.

 

You're 5S will work perfectly on Tmobile. The AT&T Tmobile and Verizon models all use the same bands.

 

Yes GSM too.

 

I recently switched to tmobile from Verizon. I get great lte, unlimited data, and no drop calls. I don't know how it would work if you travel because i dont travel. If I were you I would do a coverage check before switching

 

Removed

 

I think I may be doing the same soon, but coming from ATT, not Verizon. We have two T-Mobile iPads right now and the data coverage is better in our area than ATT. Between my wife and I we would save quite a bit going over to T-Mobile.

Now I am just trying to decide whether or not to go the ETF route or just wait until the ATT contracts are up in September.

 

Why not just wait a little longer until iPhone 6 comes out and then do the trade in and ETF penalty. With a new phone, it would make sense to not keep your 5S but instead trade it in to get ETF paid and also buy a new phone. Only 5 more months.

 

Probably. But if you hear that they will get rid of it on a certain date, you can always do what you were planning on doing today at that time. And your ETF would be lower by that time anyways.

 

The verizon 5S is fully unlocked for GSM use.
HSPA+ and LTE will work fine with Tmobile and AT&T.

 

No. Your phone will work on tmobile just fine.

 

Of course verizon is going to tell you that. They don't want you to leave. It works.

 

I made the switch. It'll work just fine.

 

My wife switched from Verizon to AT&T with her iPhone 5s. It works perfectly fine and it is completely unlocked.

The T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon iPhones are all identical hardware. The carriers themselves impose locks and restrict you from using other networks, but the Verizon model is completely carrier unlocked and will work on any of major carriers(except Sprint).

 

It was definitely worth it, for the price at least. I switched w/ a 5, and the only gripe is that the 5 doesn't support the same LTE bands (not the case w/ the 5S where all US versions support all the major US carriers), and HSPA+ is noticeably less reliable and fast =/

 

Just my .02 about T-Mobile. The prices are low, but you get what you pay for. I live in Atlanta, and where the LTE works it's blazing fast. Even the fallback 4G (3G) is pretty fast. The problem is when you walk into a building, or hit the road on a trip. Their frequencies are too high for any useful building penetration, and when you hit the road and get a few miles outside of a metro area you quickly go to Edge speeds or No Service.
By no means telling you what to do, but I dumped T-mobile and went with Straight Talk. The speeds are just as fast, and for $46.52 after junk fees and taxes, the price is pretty much equal to my former T-mobile plan. It uses AT&T towers and service, so the coverage and building penetration are great in comparison. I get 2.5 gigs of full throttle data (same as I had on T-mobile), and unlimited talk and text. Just food for thought.

Just remembered that a buddy who had Verizon took his 5S to Straight Talk as well.