T-Mobile questions!

[canwe3]

T-mobile have the lowest family plan so I'm consider switching.

1. How good is their coverage and speed???? Sprint have horrible speed

2. Can I use my sprint iphone 5 on t mobile network? According to their website I can. I don't want a phone that gives me limit access to tmobile network.

WHy is it so freaking cheap???? hidden fees/chargers???? If the plan cost 130$ what am I looking at after tax and fees?

 

[osofast240sx]

T-mobile have the lowest family plan so I'm consider switching.

1. How good is their coverage and speed???? Sprint have horrible speed

2. Can I use my sprint iphone 5 on t mobile network? According to their website I can. I don't want a phone that gives me limit access to tmobile network.

WHy is it so freaking cheap???? hidden fees/chargers???? If the plan cost 130$ what am I looking at after tax and fees?

1. Depends on your location.
2. Not recommend to use a sprint iPhone 5 on tmobile.
No cheap others are just expensive.

 

[Applejuiced]

You cannot use a Sprint i5 on Tmobile USA.

 

[canwe3]

1. Depends on your location.
2. Not recommend to use a sprint iPhone 5 on tmobile.
No cheap others are just expensive.

I was asking about overall tmobile network speed and coverage. sprint have slowest 3g data for example.

I just compare the prices again. The prices are only good if you already have your phone. Next nexus will have LTE so I'm going to buy that for $300 and switch over to t-mobile after my contract is over.

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You cannot use a Sprint i5 on Tmobile USA.

check the tmobile site, it says you can lol

 

[Applejuiced]

Put a tmobile sim inside your sprint i5 and see how far you get

 

[ipaclansite]

T-mobile coverage depends on where you live. Take a look at their coverage maps on their site. If you somehow get the Sprint iPhone 5 unlocked, which it isnt natively, then you can use it, depending on the market you are in however, you still may not get full 3G/4G speeds because the bands on the CDMA iPhone wont pick it up, nor will you get LTE service.

So of course they'll say you can use it. You just wont get full access, and your Sprint phone had better be unlocked.

They're cheap because they are trying to remain competitive, and they want to be known as the value carrier.

 

[osofast240sx]

I was asking about overall tmobile network speed and coverage. sprint have slowest 3g data for example.

I just compare the prices again. The prices are only good if you already have your phone. Next nexus will have LTE so I'm going to buy that for $300 and switch over to t-mobile after my contract is over.

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check the tmobile site, it says you can lol

again any carrier depends on your location. Each market has a different capacity and speeds.

 

[AutoUnion39]

You get what you pay for. TMobile is cheap for a reason. They cater to a lower class crowd and have the crappy network to back it up. Maybe their users don't care but the rest of us are on AT&T and VZW for a reason.

 

[osofast240sx]

You get what you pay for. TMobile is cheap for a reason. They cater to a lower end crowd and have the crappy network to back it up.

is that why Att risked do much to aquire T-Mobile? It was not crapy to ATT.

 

[CEmajr]

Price is their competitive advantage. They don't have the rural coverage that Verizon does so they compete on price. It's a great value of they have good coverage in your area. The prices are amazing. You'll need to get the Tmobile iPhone 5 though because there is no way to use your Sprint one on Tmobile.

 

[3rd Rock]

T-mobile have the lowest family plan so I'm consider switching.

1. How good is their coverage and speed???? Sprint have horrible speed

2. Can I use my sprint iphone 5 on t mobile network? According to their website I can. I don't want a phone that gives me limit access to tmobile network.

WHy is it so freaking cheap???? hidden fees/chargers???? If the plan cost 130$ what am I looking at after tax and fees?

Cell Signal Sites. See if these links help. No one can help you with your first question. It depends

http://www.signalmap.com

http://www.cellreception.com/coverage/

http://www.rootmetrics.com/map/

http://opensignal.com/coverage-maps/US/

http://www.airportal.de T-Mobil (the older 1900MHz definitely lacks building penetration)

 

[AutoUnion39]

is that why Att risked do much to aquire T-Mobile? It was not crapy to ATT.

Loosing more credibility...

AT&T didn't risk anything. Just a few billion dollars, but they have lots of free cash. It was made clear that they were buying TMo for the AWS spectrum they hold, so they could deploy LTE in both 700 and AWS to load balance their network (like VZW will be doing in the near future). They were going to dismantle TMo's HSPA off AWS and deploy LTE right after it went through.

Glad it didn't go through. At&t pretty much has more LTE than TMo has HSPA these days. Tmo is too busy picking up the lower class and the scraps that couldn't get service from VZW and AT&T anyways.

 

[osofast240sx]

Loosing more credibility...

AT&T didn't risk anything. Just a few billion dollars, but they have lots of free cash. It was made clear that they were buying TMo for the AWS spectrum they hold, so they could deploy LTE in both 700 and AWS to load balance their network (like VZW will be doing in the near future). They were going to dismantle TMo's HSPA off AWS and deploy LTE right after it went through.

Glad it didn't go through. At&t pretty much has more LTE than TMo has HSPA these days. Tmo is too busy picking up the lower class and the scraps that couldn't get service from VZW and AT&T anyways.

U say They did not risked anything. Just a few billion? You are contradicting yourself. They also lost spectrum. Need I go on. I get it now your a Att fanboy. Just to be clear att lost almost 7 billion dollars because of the failed merger

 

[AutoUnion39]

U say They did not risked anything. Just a few billion? You are contradicting yourself. They also lost spectrum. Need I go on. I get it now your a Att fanboy.

You fail to acknowledge simple facts like VZW and AT&t have more Lte than your beloved TMo has 3G.

A few billion dollars is nothing for a company as large as AT&T. The lost spectrum is a moot point because they ended up buying some from VZW (to deploy 10x10 in OKC, Chi, LA, etc)

 

[NewAnger]

T-mobile have the lowest family plan so I'm consider switching.

1. How good is their coverage and speed???? Sprint have horrible speed

2. Can I use my sprint iphone 5 on t mobile network? According to their website I can. I don't want a phone that gives me limit access to tmobile network.

WHy is it so freaking cheap???? hidden fees/chargers???? If the plan cost 130$ what am I looking at after tax and fees?

You will need an unlocked iPhone that can use T-Mobiles Network, Sprints iPhone will not work. The unlocked iPhone 5 or T-Mobiles iPhone 5 are designed to work on T-Mobiles network. You won't get the frequent 4G switching to edge that I get with my 4S or any other iPhone because the iPhone 5 has T-Mobiles frequencies built in.

I dumped AT&Ts crappy network here in Denver for T-Mobile and have never been happier. In fact, I have four T-Mobile accounts because it is that good.

The best service though comes through using my Nexus 4 and Nexus 7. The are designed for the frequencies that T-mobile uses so I get great data speeds no matter where I go.

As far as iPhones, I have a 4S and 3GS. At home using the 4S, I get 4-10Mbps. It works so good that I rarely use my WiFi. On the 3GS, it's pretty much just as bad as AT&T where I would get 0.00 speeds. If I leave home, I often get edge speeds occasionally because the phone T-Mobiles network isn't built up good enough yet to provide reliable coverage for any iPhones other than the iPhone 5. I put up with AT&Ts crappy data speeds for 6 years just to have the iPhone and finally have a great carrier that has the iPhone. Verizons speeds were just as bad in my area. I had no 3G and always had the big O instead of 3G.

 

[AutoUnion39]

I put up with AT&Ts crappy data speeds for 6 years just to have the iPhone and finally have a great carrier that has the iPhone. Verizons speeds were just as bad in my area. I had no 3G and always had the big O instead of 3G.

If VZW and AT&T are so bad in Denver, why did T-Mobile not win 04/13 Rootmetrics comparison? In fact, VZW won for the best overall network and AT&T came in second. If TMo is so superior, why are they not #1?

http://www.rootmetrics.com/compare-carriers/united-states/denver/denver-april-2013/

 

[NewAnger]

You know as well as I do that all it takes is the distance of one block to mean the difference in getting 3G and edge. Get real. Do you work for AT&T? It sounds like you do to be want to disprove that T-Mobile could be better than AT&T

On 9news.com, they polled people about a year ago here in Denver and AT&T was rated the worst. I'll do a speed test on my 4S in a minute and post the results between a T-Mobile data sim and a AT&T data sim.

If VZW and AT&T are so bad in Denver, why did T-Mobile not win 04/13 Rootmetrics comparison? In fact, VZW won for the best overall network and AT&T came in second. If TMo is so superior, why are they not #1?

http://www.rootmetrics.com/compare-carriers/united-states/denver/denver-april-2013/

Image

 

[AutoUnion39]

You know as well as I do that all it takes is the distance of one block to mean the difference in getting 3G and edge. Get real. Do you work for AT&T?

On 9news.com, they polled people about a year ago here in Denver and AT&T was rated the worst. I'll do a speed test on my 4S in a minute and post the results between a T-Mobile data sim and a AT&T data sim.

I'm not even talking about AT&T.

The T-Mobile, you praise, was ranked 3rd, as recent as 1 month ago. VZW (whom you claim sucks) was rated #1 by a reputable 3rd party testing source.

Data speeds weren't even close.

Why should I believe an anecdotal story, when there are 3rd party sources testing these things for a living?

We all know that VZW has more LTE than TMobile has 3G these days. Let's not pretend that TMobile is some superior being, when, in fact, they're mediocre. On par with Sprint.

 

[NewAnger]

What matters is real life experiences. Do yo think that I would break my Verizon contract in January due to crapy speeds and then break my AT&T contract in February due to crappy speeds and not pay the ETFs to move to T-Mobile if I didn't have better speeds?

I'm not even talking about AT&T.

The T-Mobile, you praise, was ranked 3rd, as recent as 1 month ago. VZW (whom you claim sucks) was rated #1 by a reputable 3rd party testing source.

Image
Data speeds weren't even close.

Why should I believe an anecdotal story, when there are 3rd party sources testing these things for a living?

 

[scaredpoet]

T-Mobile's network situation is largely the result of poor investment over the years by its parent company, who wasn't sure about expending so much cash for what they basically viewed as cheap roaming for their European customers.

That said, the spectrum they got from AT&T, plus the MetroPCS acquisition, has changed things quite a bit, and the parent company appears to be finally taking things seriously here. I'm far from low-rent, but I'm still eyeing T-Mobile very carefully. T-Mobile's dual-carrier HSPA+ is a significant leap from AT&T's implementation, and when they start offering LTE where I live, it'll make less and less sense to continue to pay a premium for AT&T. And I've already got my AWS-enabled iPhone 5, so I can swap even before the next iteration if I decide to make the leap.

My decision - like everyone else's - should be based solely on what the carrier offers compared to price. Not whether some troll on the internet THINKS a network is "low class."

 

[NewAnger]

Here are two screen caps using my unlocked 4S. One with T-Mobile and the other with AT&T. Proof to back up my claim how crappy AT&T service is here in Denver.

 

[AutoUnion39]

T-Mobile's network situation is largely the result of poor investment over the years by its parent company, who wasn't sure about expending so much cash for what they basically viewed as cheap roaming for their European customers.

Same excuse as the Sprint folks. Come on. Think of something better. It's not that they don't have coverage, they do. Problem is that they've let it rot on EDGE/GPRS for too long. There is no excuse for that, especially with their major competitors running full-speed ahead with LTE.

That said, the spectrum they got from AT&T, plus the MetroPCS acquisition, has changed things quite a bit, and the parent company appears to be finally taking things seriously here.

Some people keep forgetting key information. TMobile doesn't need any help with their network in major cities. It runs fine. MetroPCS holds spectrum in major cities. Again, this is not where TMobile's problems lie. Gaining spectrum in the middle of major cities won't help them get rid of EDGE/GPRS everywhere else. It doesn't work like that.

Here in the Northeast, MetroPCS basically runs a network in Boston, that's it. Now look north of Boston. TMo is basically EDGE, whereas AT&T and VZW have LTE up. Gaining MetroPCS spectrum doesn't help them.

T-Mobile's dual-carrier HSPA+ is a significant leap from AT&T's implementation, and when they start offering LTE where I live, it'll make less and less sense to continue to pay a premium for AT&T.

DC-HSPA + LTE can't be run together in all areas. Only some. TMobile only owns enough spectrum in places, like Salt Lake City, Houston to do this. Everywhere else, they will have to downgrade to HSPA 21 to deploy LTE. For example, NYC is launching at 5x5 LTE with DC HSPA. They will have to get rid of DC HSPA to upgrade the LTE network up to 10x10.

 

[CEmajr]

It's hard for some people to believe that Tmobile outperforms Verizon or AT&T in some areas. I always say that if you're in a city then the cell market is competitive between all 4 carriers (well maybe not Sprint). It's in the rural areas where Verizon and to a lesser degree AT&T have the competitive advantage.

I had 1 bar of service with data switching back and forth between LTE, 3G and 1x on my iPhone 5 with Verizon when in my neighborhood. Speeds aroind 3-7mbps down when LTE actually connected. While in the same area I now have 5 bars and constant 4G with Tmobile. Speeds around 18-25mbps down.

I've been with AT&T as well when I had a 4S and the service was no better than Tmobile. Same level of building penetration as they own no 850mhz spectrum here. So there was no point in paying their premium.

I don't make long road trips enough to the point where the extra $1000+ per year paid to Verizon is justified. Just my opinion.

 

[NewAnger]

It's hard for some people to believe that Tmobile outperforms Verizon or AT&T in some areas. I always say that if you're in a city then the cell market is competitive between all 4 carriers (well maybe not Sprint). It's in the rural areas where Verizon and to a lesser degree AT&T have the competitive advantage.

I had 1 bar of service with data switching back and forth between LTE, 3G and 1x on my iPhone 5 with Verizon when in my neighborhood. Speeds aroind 3-7mbps down when LTE actually connected. While in the same area I now have 5 bars and constant 4G with Tmobile. Speeds around 18-25mbps down.

I've been with AT&T as well when I had a 4S and the service was no better than Tmobile. Same level of building penetration as they own no 850mhz spectrum here. So there was no point in paying their premium.

I don't make long road trips enough to the point where the extra $1000+ per year paid to Verizon is justified. Just my opinion.

Very true. It doesn't matter what some company tests a particular carrier at. What matters is INDIVIDUAL speed tests since it is the actual person who will be using that carrier and not what tests some company did.

I posted my speed tests between AT&T and T-Mobile above. T-Mobile always has better speeds where I am and that's what matters. Who cares about what some person on a message board is trying to tell me is true when I posted my individual results above to back up my claims.

 

[paulbennett95]

This thread has the maturity level of a grade school lunch table

But back to the topic at hand, I have T-Mobile, and the "4G" speeds on Long Island (essentially suburbs of NYC) are roughly 5mbps down and 1mbps up on my non-AWS 4S (so I have no experience with their AWS speeds and coverage, sorry)
Coverage is relatively good, with upgrades to 4G and whatnot happening often ( I had barely no coverage in my room when I got T-Mo, and all my house was edge, but about 2 weeks ago I got nice 4G all around my house, I use wifi here so it didn't matter but still)
Along the main road in the next town on my island (I live on a barrier island) there's a spot with no coverage, but since I'm always in a car when I hit that area, it only lasts for 5 seconds or so.
Pricing is cheap because T-Mobile needs to be competitive and because they don't subsidize the phones they sell (well not as much as the big 3 do)
I'd definitely recommend T-Mobile IF they have coverage in your area, so if you live in a rural area it might not be best for you.

Hope my input helps.

Attached is the best speed I've *recorded* in my area, it's usually a little slower than that, but still good.