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T-Mobile LTE & NYC Subway Service

J

Jades

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 15, 2012
317
51
Just thought I would post this for anyone who was curious

First, my AT&T iPhone 5 was having an issue with the power button so the Apple Store on 5th Avenue replaced it with an AWS version. For those curious - it came out to be 6.1.3 and I got the second to last AWS phone in stock for replacements.

Grabbed my T-Mobile SIM Card to run some tests.

Another poster on this forum mentioned that he picked up T-Mobile LTE in the subway station. So I went there to investigate.

I attached some photos of the DAS that Transit Wireless set up

Please note that my T-Mobile SIM is throttled, so ignore the speed test results but pay more attention to the latency.

My AT&T iPad was showing 20 down and 10 up

I also realized that the output power coming out of these antennas are VERY low, so unfortunately once the train departs the platform, you are going to loose service on the spot. Hopefully in the near future we will see some more power or some cell sites through the train's paths.

Additionally, my call did not drop going into the subway station as well as coming out
 

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Here is the AT&T screen shots
 

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I am curious to know whether there is 4G service on the 1700/2100 band for T-Mobile on the subway.
 
There isn't, which is unfortunate. :p I still haven't replaced my iPhone 5 yet, which is how I know. I haven't gone to Times Square yet however, might head there to try LTE out.
 
Jades said:
J
I also realized that the output power coming out of these antennas are VERY low, so unfortunately once the train departs the platform, you are going to loose service on the spot. Hopefully in the near future we will see some more power or some cell sites through the train's paths.
Click to expand...

They recently deployed underground service here in Boston. The DAS extends out to all the train paths too. You can carry calls/use data through the tunnels.

I'm sure they will extend out the DAS through the tunnels in NYC soon enough.
 
AutoUnion39 said:
They recently deployed underground service here in Boston. The DAS extends out to all the train paths too. You can carry calls/use data through the tunnels.

I'm sure they will extend out the DAS through the tunnels in NYC soon enough.
Click to expand...

I hope not. I don't want to overhear someone's loud phone call. It's also a brief respite from texting. It's nice to have in the station though.
 
Jades said:
Just thought I would post this for anyone who was curious

First, my AT&T iPhone 5 was having an issue with the power button so the Apple Store on 5th Avenue replaced it with an AWS version. For those curious - it came out to be 6.1.3 and I got the second to last AWS phone in stock for replacements.

Grabbed my T-Mobile SIM Card to run some tests.

Another poster on this forum mentioned that he picked up T-Mobile LTE in the subway station. So I went there to investigate.

I attached some photos of the DAS that Transit Wireless set up

Please note that my T-Mobile SIM is throttled, so ignore the speed test results but pay more attention to the latency.

My AT&T iPad was showing 20 down and 10 up

I also realized that the output power coming out of these antennas are VERY low, so unfortunately once the train departs the platform, you are going to loose service on the spot. Hopefully in the near future we will see some more power or some cell sites through the train's paths.

Additionally, my call did not drop going into the subway station as well as coming out
Click to expand...
Which iPhone model did you have replaced? 16GB, 32GB or 64GB?

----------
barkomatic said:
I hope not. I don't want to overhear someone's loud phone call. It's also a brief respite from texting. It's nice to have in the station though.
Click to expand...
I want it in the tunnels. I like to listen to streaming music and it would be nice to have while on the subway. I don't care about other people making loud phone calls since I'm always wearing headphones.
 
Coleman2010 said:
Which iPhone model did you have replaced? 16GB, 32GB or 64GB?

----------


I want it in the tunnels. I like to listen to streaming music and it would be nice to have while on the subway. I don't care about other people making loud phone calls since I'm always wearing headphones.
Click to expand...

I replaced the 16 GB white
And agreed with you 100% on the tunnels. Definitely would like to see service in the tunnels mainly for streaming or browsing. The subway is anyways too loud to talk on the phone and too distracting.
 
I made another trip to the Apple Store with the intention of using my Apple Care+ and buying a replacement iPhone for $50. I lucked out with the Apple Genius.

He looked at my iPhone and said you're on T-Mobile? I am to. You're gonna get Edge sometimes unless you get the iPhone that supports all of the bands. So he said let me check if I have an unlocked 64GB. Then came back and swapped my phone for free. :)

I did lose my jailbreak. The replacement is 6.1.3.
 
Last edited:
Coleman2010 said:
I made another trip to the Apple Store with the intention of using my Apple Care+ and buying a replacement iPhone for $50. I lucked out with the Apple Genius.

He looked at my iPhone and said you're on T-Mobile? I am to. You're gonna get Edge sometimes unless you get the iPhone that supports all of the bands. So he said let me check if I have an unlocked 64GB. Then came back and swapped my phone for free. :)

I did lose my jailbreak. The replacement is 6.1.3.
Click to expand...
nice
 
My phone came with .2 not .3 but I'm not jail breaking. With my luck I'd brick the heck out of it. Not a techie compared to you all. It did notify me of the update. My connection is zippy,would do a speed test but I heard those are data hogs. I only have 5 gbs.
 
Pinkstiletto66 said:
My phone came with .2 not .3 but I'm not jail breaking. With my luck I'd brick the heck out of it. Not a techie compared to you all. It did notify me of the update. My connection is zippy,would do a speed test but I heard those are data hogs. I only have 5 gbs.
Click to expand...
What size and what color is your iPhone 5? Is it unlocked?
 
There were reports of a site in Central Park having LTE on right now over at HoFo
 
Riding the 1 train I was able to listen to pandora from 147st to 14st nonstop.

These are the signals I was getting while riding the train.
14th 4G
18th LTE
23rd LTE
28th LTE
34th NS
42nd LTE
50th LTE
59th E
66th LTE
72nd LTE
79th 4G
86th 4G
96th LTE
 
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