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T-Mobile iPhone 5 user near Tampa?

I like T-Mobile a lot, but I personally don't think their 1900mhz network will be ready until the end of next year at the earliest. T-Mobile is claiming many cities have been fully re-farmed when they have not been.

Many also claim that the 1900mhz 3G is extremely spotty and constantly bouncing back to EDGE.

I'd give them another year before you switch.
 
MattMJB0188 said:
I like T-Mobile a lot, but I personally don't think their 1900mhz network will be ready until the end of next year at the earliest. T-Mobile is claiming many cities have been fully re-farmed when they have not been.

Many also claim that the 1900mhz 3G is extremely spotty and constantly bouncing back to EDGE.

I'd give them another year before you switch.
Click to expand...

Yes, I live in the Miami area which south Florida I read wasnon the list and my 3G is spotty. Still don't get it deep in my house. By the windows I do get 3G. But it is improving. Also when I activated my iPhone 5 they told me that the refarming in SFL won't be done till the end of January. I just hope the woman was correct and the signal improves. When 3G is working I get very fast HSPA+ speeds though.
 
Prime85 said:
Yes, I live in the Miami area which south Florida I read wasnon the list and my 3G is spotty. Still don't get it deep in my house. By the windows I do get 3G. But it is improving. Also when I activated my iPhone 5 they told me that the refarming in SFL won't be done till the end of January. I just hope the woman was correct and the signal improves. When 3G is working I get very fast HSPA+ speeds though.
Click to expand...

I do not have T-Mobile, but I can imagine how it is. My sister has a T-Mobile Samsung 4G phone and that phone only supports AWS (1700/2100) 3G and even that bounces back to EDGE periodically.

T-Mobile needs to work on their existing network before they upgrade IMO. See that's why I like AT&T's HSPA+ network. Its very mature. T-Mobile seems to be all over the place.
 
Wanted to bring this up again now that Tampa is a "refarmed" market. I was wondering how the 3G coverage on the iPhone 4S and 5 is. With their new rate plans dropping soon I'm ready to jump ship. I'm up in Pasco County, New Port Richey specifically.
 
I'm VERY curious too. I'm in north tampa and I'd love to ditch Verizon's high bills. But I don't think I can deal with spotty service in the middle of a major city. Anyone out there?
 
tardman91 said:
Well that's a real let down. According to a couple maps I found online there's supposedly some spots near downtown that should have 3G coverage, but I'm about 30 miles from there. I'll swing into a tmobile store today and see if they have any info on the rollout.
Click to expand...

Just to add about penetration.....

I live in Dunedin, about 22 miles from downtown Tampa, and a friends T-Mobil device, none apple, gets 0 to 1 bar inside a concrete building, and data not so good, but does say voice is OK for her. With the new T-Mobil spectrum coming next month, maybe there will be some improvements, not sure. Will have to listen/read from those early adopters. ;)
 
shoota said:
I'm VERY curious too. I'm in north tampa and I'd love to ditch Verizon's high bills. But I don't think I can deal with spotty service in the middle of a major city. Anyone out there?
Click to expand...

If you have verizon you will need a new phone anyway so just wait till the 12th and get the new iphone so the refarming wont matter to you.
 
Prime85 said:
If you have verizon you will need a new phone anyway so just wait till the 12th and get the new iphone so the refarming wont matter to you.
Click to expand...

Ok that brings up two things for me.
1) I'm actually not very interested in getting an iPhone,
2) but if I were, how is the iPhone's service different than other phones' because of the refarming? I'm not very familiar with this at all.
 
shoota said:
Ok that brings up two things for me.
1) I'm actually not very interested in getting an iPhone,
2) but if I were, how is the iPhone's service different than other phones' because of the refarming? I'm not very familiar with this at all.
Click to expand...

If you live in a refarmed area then there really is no differance. In theory refarmed can go up to 21mbs and AWS HSPA+ goes to 42mbs. In reality though my iphone gets the same speed as a friends S3 (this is in Miami, i am not sure about Tampa). We both dont see over 15mbs but in theory like i said the HSPA+ 42 AWS should get faster speeds then the HSPA+ 21.

Once LTE is activated there shouldnt be any differance.
 
Can't wait to switch back to T-Mobile on the 12th. AT&T in New Port Richey, especially my house sucks. I would have to pay that devilish ETF fee, ugh.
 
Prime85 said:
If you live in a refarmed area then there really is no differance. In theory refarmed can go up to 21mbs and AWS HSPA+ goes to 42mbs. In reality though my iphone gets the same speed as a friends S3 (this is in Miami, i am not sure about Tampa). We both dont see over 15mbs but in theory like i said the HSPA+ 42 AWS should get faster speeds then the HSPA+ 21.

Once LTE is activated there shouldnt be any differance.
Click to expand...

I guess I don't understand why the iPhone is special here. Don't other phones, like the Nexus 4, have HSPA+ ?
 
tardman91 said:
Wanted to bring this up again now that Tampa is a "refarmed" market. I was wondering how the 3G coverage on the iPhone 4S and 5 is. With their new rate plans dropping soon I'm ready to jump ship. I'm up in Pasco County, New Port Richey specifically.
Click to expand...

Here's my speed test for New Port Richey.
 

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T-Mo Coverage in Tampa

Can any of you tell me how the T-Mo coverage is in and around Tampa? I'm moving to Wesley Chapel in a couple of weeks and looking at leaving VZW to T-Mo. Looking for thoughts on voice not just data and also building penetration.
 
JoJoCal19 said:
Can any of you tell me how the T-Mo coverage is in and around Tampa? I'm moving to Wesley Chapel in a couple of weeks and looking at leaving VZW to T-Mo. Looking for thoughts on voice not just data and also building penetration.
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Call quality for me so far is crystal clear. I haven't had any issues yet. I'll test later when I'm down in St. Pete
 
That speedtest result is awesome. My Verizon download speed rarely surpasses the T-Mobile upload speed. I can't wait to ditch Verizon!
 
PsstGreek said:
Call quality for me so far is crystal clear. I haven't had any issues yet. I'll test later when I'm down in St. Pete
Click to expand...

While you are at it, please do a test while going down to St. Pete (US 19) and maybe Dunedin area if possible. What worries me is the building penetration.. ;)
 
3rd Rock said:
While you are at it, please do a test while going down to St. Pete (US 19) and maybe Dunedin area if possible. What worries me is the building penetration.. ;)
Click to expand...

I'm at my girlfriend's house off 4th St and I'm getting around 3-4 bars right now.
 

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T-Mobile Coverage in Tampa

Are you guys happy with the coverage in Tampa using an iPhone? I've been on T-Mobile for years, but hate my Samsung Galaxy. I'm saving up for an iPhone 5/5S based on everything I've learned on this forum regarding iPhones that are good to use with TM. I need better coverage in my cement-block house.
 
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