... Why would someone want to unlock and go to T-Mobile? ...
...'cause some are smarter and can do math....
And for what it's worth, I travel around a bit and T-Mobile coverage is generally every bit as good as AT&T's was.
... Why would someone want to unlock and go to T-Mobile? ...
Their 3G isn't compatible with the iPhone. Different frequency, which isn't available on the iPhone.
I'm really considering switching from Straight Talk to the T-mobile prepaid $30 deal, but two things are stopping me:
1) No 1900Mhz service map. Right now I have no clue what areas are 3G and which are EDGE, and it seems like nobody else does either. If my office was covered by 3G here in Bethesda it would probably be enough for me to switch since wifi and EDGE would work fine near home. Nobody can tell me what the local coverage is like on the 1900 Mhz band, though.
2) No micro SIM cards for prepaid. Yes, I know you can trim the normal cards (and I have a cutter somewhere). It just strikes me that they aren't really serious about BYOD if they can't get this detail right. I may stop in at one of their retail stores next time I see one and ask if they can sell one, but they don't offer them online.
T-Mobile is desperate for iPhone users. Well they need to step-up to bring iPhone users to their network a subsidized iPhone. How? They can offer a partial refund or offer a rebate if you lock-in and sign a contract to them for 2 years. This way they can keep their loyal customers or bring back some of their lost customers. Lets put it this way, we all know that the reason we get the $199 iPhone is because AT&T & Verizon paid the rest of the amount to Apple. So why not T- Mobile will give you a refund when you are willing to stay with them for 2 years, or maybe give you a couple of months no bills to pay. Because if I pay for a full price of the iPhone I probably just get the VM prepaid. For $30 you get 300 mins. unlimited text & data that still half the price what T-Mobile offers with a crippled 3G.
Can't believe the prices for you US guys...
I am paying £10 a month for unlimited data in the UK, unlimited texts and 250 minutes.
Sad thing for us though, is no 4G and 3G only in the major cities.
T-Mobile is desperate for iPhone users. Well they need to step-up to bring iPhone users to their network a subsidized iPhone. How? They can offer a partial refund or offer a rebate if you lock-in and sign a contract to them for 2 years. This way they can keep their loyal customers or bring back some of their lost customers. Lets put it this way, we all know that the reason we get the $199 iPhone is because AT&T & Verizon paid the rest of the amount to Apple. So why not T- Mobile will give you a refund when you are willing to stay with them for 2 years, or maybe give you a couple of months no bills to pay. Because if I pay for a full price of the iPhone I probably just get the VM prepaid. For $30 you get 300 mins. unlimited text & data that still half the price what T-Mobile offers with a crippled 3G.
I'm so sick of these comments. I mean, you basically admitted the service you have is crap. And geez, how much territory does it cover? We're covered from Pacidic to Atlantic here. Have the place barely hasn't any people on it but damned if there isn't 3G at least in those areas.
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Why don't you jus buy the phone outright and save the $20-$30 a month instead. Plus you're not locked into a contract. Contracts just slow down competition. Such a high percentage of the customers are locked in that the companies don't have to worry about keeping you except every couple years.
Buy the phone. You can switch carriers, sell it, do whatever you want. You're free.
Oh, right. America would rather choose security over freedom. Never mind.
Ok I'm sold!!! But how long is there rate gonna last???? It's cheap but I foresee them raising their fee![]()
I bought an unlocked iPhone 4S in March. Got the T-mobile 1500 min/txt msg plan for $30 a month. Only includes 30 MB of data, but it's actually enough for me as long as I don't check my e-mail often. I switched over from an iPhone 3GS with AT&T for which I was paying over $100 for 450 min, 1500 txts, and unlimited data. Took me awhile to realize that I wasn't using that much data away from a WiFi network. So I've been saving $70 per month. By December, it will have paid for my entire iPhone. Plus, I can use it anywhere I go traveling outside the U.S. without jailbreaking it. Plus, I can probably sell it for at least $300-400 when the new phone comes and only pay a couple hundred more to upgrade.
I do miss having more data a little bit however because I wish I could use Siri more on the go. One question: if the new iPhone has 4G/LTE, will T-mobile's current 4G network be compatible?
Guys, a little help here. I'm new in the US and I'm living in the region of Champaign-Urbana IL. According to T-Mobile chat support this area is covered with the HSPA+ ("4G") signal, and there are lots of stores selling 4G phones and plans, but I can't get my iPhone 4 to connect to it.
Is it possible that this 4G is running on a frequency other than 1900 MHz? Or are all the 4G networks on 1900 MHz?
They are upgrading towers as we speak. The towers in your area aren't currently compatible yet. If you head to Chicago, you can test the 4G there as the equipment has already been updated. It's been reported that the upgrade to the 1700MHz band nationwide will be finished late this year/early next year.
I didn't know this plan existed until you mentioned it. But then I went to my account and the option doesn't exist for me. Maybe it's only an option for people who buy a T-mobile phone?If you need the data, why not just go with the 100 minutes, unlimited text, unlimited 4G for the same $30 a month. I'm rocking this right now with my Galaxy Nexus and couldn't be happier. For more minutes, I use Groove IP (iPhone users can grab Talkatone to the same effect I think), and I don't have to give out my actual number to people that I may end up blacklisting later on (like store promotional crap). Soon, you'll be able to jump on the T-Mobile iPhone compatible "4G" network and enjoy Siri and navigation while out and about around town.
From what I've been reading, every LTE AT&T device can fall back to their HSPA+ "4G" network, I don't see why the next iPhone would be any different.
I have a couple friends on TMobile who are needing new phones, I told them to wait until the iPhone launched because it might be on TMobile. Well, since it doesn't seem like it will be, they're just gonna have to get an Android or WP7 phone instead. They don't want to, but they need new phones. And once they get invested into a platform, it's unlikely they will switch later on.
I didn't know this plan existed until you mentioned it. But then I went to my account and the option doesn't exist for me. Maybe it's only an option for people who buy a T-mobile phone?
Chancer, T-Mobile doesn't do any LTE at all right now, the "4G" they speak of is HSPA+, which is pretty darn fast (some phones support it up to 40mbps, but I've never seen a T-Mobile connection beyond 15mbps - the pings are usually pretty decent though!)
At home I usually get around 7mbit/sec and a 65ms ping.
You're right on the money though - the 'refarming' is where they replace EDGE towers with HSPA+ ones that run on the new band (which is compatible with the iPhone). Until that happens in your area, you're stuck with EDGE.
I didn't know this plan existed until you mentioned it. But then I went to my account and the option doesn't exist for me. Maybe it's only an option for people who buy a T-mobile phone?
I was really hoping TMobile would have finished their spectrum upgrades and everything by the time the iPhone launched. It would have been great to see them carry the iPhone. Apple needs to be on all the carriers. Apple should just let TMobile carry it, even if some customers are stuck on 2G. It's a hell of a lot better than this fiasco TMobile is pulling.
I have a couple friends on TMobile who are needing new phones, I told them to wait until the iPhone launched because it might be on TMobile. Well, since it doesn't seem like it will be, they're just gonna have to get an Android or WP7 phone instead. They don't want to, but they need new phones. And once they get invested into a platform, it's unlikely they will switch later on.
Interesting that T-Mobile would be so eager to make bringing an iPhone to their network so easy, after they said they would try to "sell against the iPhone". Oh, and this ad.
This strategy *is* selling against the iPhone.
It's a clever move, given the relatively small scope of upgrade in this hardware update. Will be interesting to see if it catches on.
I didn't know this plan existed until you mentioned it. But then I went to my account and the option doesn't exist for me. Maybe it's only an option for people who buy a T-mobile phone?
HSPA+ was deemed '4G' after AT&T and T-Mobile wailed about it. LTE isn't even 4G. It's 3.9G. You have to go to LTE Advanced and 100+ Mbps to get true 4G.
Respect to T-Mobile as they're doing everything possible to align with AT&T's frequencies, and stay competitive. They've had such a limited amount of spectrum to work with, but they've deployed ALL of their licences (unlike AT&T that's squatting on tons of spectrum), and their HSPA+ outperforms AT&T's here in NYC by order of magnitude! Also, next year their LTE will align with AT&T's band 4 AWS, so the iPhone will be LTE compatible with T-Mobile out of the box.
And btw, T-Mobile HSPA+ on PCS is actually on in parts of NYC:
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