TMO Boston

[lordofthereef]

Everything that has been said here about coverage by AutoUnion39 is spot on (thanks for that). Not that I didn't believe it, but I already had ordered everything by the time I got any feedback. That's ok, it probably would have killed me to not have first hand experience anyway.

I didn't even bother to do more speed tests because actually getting out and trying to use data was such a headache that it wasn't even worth my time. To sum up my experiences, we did a bit of driving around, as well as spent some time in Porter. The most bizarre thing I experienced is that I could have 2-3 bars of 3G and then all of the sudden drop to edge, generally full bars, but then back to 2-3 bars 3G. And no, that's not necessarily while driving around, or even walking, for that matter. If it is dumping 3G for the "better signal", that is a poor implementation, IMO. I would always rather have a couple of bars of 3G than full bars of 2G. Also, no sign of LTE, not that I expected it yet, but it was mentioned that Boston and Cambridge were getting it some time this month. Also, indoor signal strength has been terrible. I couldn't get signal almost anywhere we went. I had to keep asking my wife to pull out her phone if we needed to look something up (we are still pretty new to the area... 6 months-ish).

Anyway, going to call TMO tomorrow night and tell them to cancel all of our lines. This weekend's events were enough for me to realize that this simply isn't going to work for me. Despite the nice savings, the service is so unusable that I couldn't deal with it. I will say that their coverage is fine, for those who only make phone calls and text. So a family plan with five lines on it could still be a very economical way to go. For data, she is so far from ATT and VZW that it feels like an unfair comparison.

 

[2298754]

Glad to hear you tried it out. Yeah, you're spot on. What's the point of it being so cheap, if it is completely unusable?

Its seems that they don't have HSPA up on every tower and expect a stronger EDGE signal to suffice, which is completely ridiculous, especially in 2013.

 

[Apple Trees]

Yep sounds typical of T-Mobile. Honestly I am a little surprised since they have decent service in major cities most of the time so poor service in a major metro like Boston is pathetic. They'll never be able to compete with Verizon or AT&T if they can't even cover all the major cities at a minimum. Unlimited data is useless if you can't even use it reliably. Same old story with Sprint and T-Mobile.

 

[7enderbender]

TMobile is pretty abysmal around Boston. Signal drops in and out all over town. Only good thing about them is that they share the DAS system with AT&T for MBTA stations. Other than that, you go North into NH and it's all EDGE. Try going to CT, etc, and most highways are still EDGE. Complete letdown.

I can't confirm that. I've been on T-mobile in Boston since the Voicestream times and find them pretty decent from both a customer service and cost perspective as well as coverage.

I work in Boston and live North of Boston. Pretty good signals everywhere, even in areas where AT&T has major issues. Some of my neighbors are stuck with them and have to leave the house to make a phone call. Whereas for me LTE just lit up on Friday. Even at my house which I totally didn't expect.

Not much of a speed improvement from 4G to LTE though. 4G on the iphone 5 is already pretty good here.

 

[2298754]

^ Come to Brookline and Fenway area. It's terrible.



Back on topic, where is everyone seeing LTE? Nothing here yet.

 

[lordofthereef]

I can't confirm that. I've been on T-mobile in Boston since the Voicestream times and find them pretty decent from both a customer service and cost perspective as well as coverage.

I work in Boston and live North of Boston. Pretty good signals everywhere, even in areas where AT&T has major issues. Some of my neighbors are stuck with them and have to leave the house to make a phone call. Whereas for me LTE just lit up on Friday. Even at my house which I totally didn't expect.

Not much of a speed improvement from 4G to LTE though. 4G on the iphone 5 is already pretty good here.

Where do you work and live? My experiences were terrible, unfortunately. You are getting decent reception indoors? If I got anything, it was edge data, but usually no bars either way. Obviously didn't try every nook and cranny of Boston, but the areas I frequented, it was bad enough.

 

[7enderbender]

^ Come to Brookline and Fenway area. It's terrible.



Back on topic, where is everyone seeing LTE? Nothing here yet.

Not sure if LTE is up in Brookline and Fenway. Haven't been in a few weeks. But I worked there for several years and never had any issues except for inside some of the medical facilities with lots of concrete.

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Where do you work and live? My experiences were terrible, unfortunately. You are getting decent reception indoors? If I got anything, it was edge data, but usually no bars either way. Obviously didn't try every nook and cranny of Boston, but the areas I frequented, it was bad enough.

Live in the Marblehead area. Work in Downtown Boston, Charlestown, Longwood area. Always had good coverage since I was on Voicestream/T-mobile (2000 to current).

The only times ran into issues ever was while traveling to VT and NH and even that has gotten a lot better. Upstate New York also used to have large areas without any coverage whatsoever. Haven't been in a while.

LTE has now been pretty solid over the last few days on my T-mobile iPhone 5 within downtown Boston, Charlestown and along the North Shore. No coverage yet on the T (still coming through the AT&T 4G shared system I believe so that may not change). Commuter Rail going North is still spotty in some areas.

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Where do you work and live? My experiences were terrible, unfortunately. You are getting decent reception indoors? If I got anything, it was edge data, but usually no bars either way. Obviously didn't try every nook and cranny of Boston, but the areas I frequented, it was bad enough.

Just curious: what phone are you using?

 

[lordofthereef]

Just curious: what phone are you using?

I mentioned it here and there throughout the thread. I have an iPhone 5 (TMO bands) and I also bought a Lumia 521 (specifically TMO branded as well). The latter is only incapable of LTE, but I never saw LTE on my iPhone 5 either. Both basically mirrored one another. I get 1 bar or no reception inside my home. I do get reception almost everywhere else, but data is ridiculously spotty; I was seeing Edge WAYYYYYY too often (almost always indoors and frequently outdoors too). Just wasn't worth the headache.

Based on what you are saying, I am going to assume you simply aren;t as demanding of your data as I am. I don't really know how else to explain it.

 

[2298754]

Both basically mirrored one another. I get 1 bar or no reception inside my home. I do get reception almost everywhere else, but data is ridiculously spotty; I was seeing Edge WAYYYYYY too often (almost always indoors and frequently outdoors too). Just wasn't worth the headache.

Based on what you are saying, I am going to assume you simply aren;t as demanding of your data as I am. I don't really know how else to explain it.

Yeah, I agree with this. I originally thought that my non-AWS iPhone5 was the problem, but even after switching, it's the same. Still get EDGE in some places, where I shouldn't.

If you really rely on your data and need it work at all times, AT&T and VZW are your only good choices in Massachusetts.

 

[2298754]

Looks like me and OP were right.

AT&T and VZW trash the competition
http://www.rootmetrics.com/compare-carriers/united-states/boston/boston-ma-july-2013/

 

[osofast240sx]

Looks like me and OP were right.

AT&T and VZW trash the competition
http://www.rootmetrics.com/compare-carriers/united-states/boston/boston-ma-july-2013/

According to Root metrics I have no LTE but yet I'm getting 5 bars 29mbs down and 10mbs up. Nice try auto guy

 

[7enderbender]

I mentioned it here and there throughout the thread. I have an iPhone 5 (TMO bands) and I also bought a Lumia 521 (specifically TMO branded as well). The latter is only incapable of LTE, but I never saw LTE on my iPhone 5 either. Both basically mirrored one another. I get 1 bar or no reception inside my home. I do get reception almost everywhere else, but data is ridiculously spotty; I was seeing Edge WAYYYYYY too often (almost always indoors and frequently outdoors too). Just wasn't worth the headache.

Based on what you are saying, I am going to assume you simply aren;t as demanding of your data as I am. I don't really know how else to explain it.

I only saw your response now. Do you still have that problem? LTE has been pretty consistent over the last few days for me now. And I almost never see Edge anywhere in and around Boston. Did you check your APN settings? I find this weird.

I've been having all sorts of issues and complaints about my iphone related to push mail and I still don't feel the love compared to my old Blackberry's mail handling. But network coverage has never been an issue. And I am picky about these things and use quite a bit of data every month.

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Yeah, I agree with this. I originally thought that my non-AWS iPhone5 was the problem, but even after switching, it's the same. Still get EDGE in some places, where I shouldn't.

If you really rely on your data and need it work at all times, AT&T and VZW are your only good choices in Massachusetts.

Like I said before, I don't have any problems on T-mobile where I live and work here (North Shore, Boston, Longwood area). Can't speak to Verizon (never used them because they never supported international GSM networks in the past). AT&T is very bad on the North Shore. I have a few neighbors who get AT&T phones through work and can't use them at home.

 

[2298754]

According to Root metrics I have no LTE but yet I'm getting 5 bars 29mbs down and 10mbs up. Nice try auto guy

Where?

Only place I've seen LTE is in Cambridge by Harvard and Inman Square. That's it.

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Like I said before, I don't have any problems on T-mobile where I live and work here (North Shore, Boston, Longwood area). Can't speak to Verizon (never used them because they never supported international GSM networks in the past). AT&T is very bad on the North Shore. I have a few neighbors who get AT&T phones through work and can't use them at home.

Where are you seeing LTE? still noting near Fenway, Brookline, parts of Back Bay, etc. I've got some in Cambridge. that's about it.

I still am seeing EDGE where I shouldn't be. In fact, I feel like the network has gotten worse with the PCS refarm. It wasn't nearly as unusable before.

 

[lordofthereef]

I only saw your response now. Do you still have that problem? LTE has been pretty consistent over the last few days for me now. And I almost never see Edge anywhere in and around Boston. Did you check your APN settings? I find this weird.

I've been having all sorts of issues and complaints about my iphone related to push mail and I still don't feel the love compared to my old Blackberry's mail handling. But network coverage has never been an issue. And I am picky about these things and use quite a bit of data every month.

I don't know. I chucked the service because I didn't feel it was worth paying for. Just got a $40 bill in the mail for the time I used it. So, not terrible. The refunded the sim cards for me, which was nice.

I may try it again if more people say it is worth it. Based on my crappy experience, I am not sold.

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According to Root metrics I have no LTE but yet I'm getting 5 bars 29mbs down and 10mbs up. Nice try auto guy

I am not trying to argue here, but your numbers couldn't matter less to me, and I can probably safely say auto either. There should be no dead signal, no edge, no ISSUES inside a city the size of Boston (within reason, of course).

Five years ago, when I was in rural Iowa for Vet School, I dropped TMO because of their coverage. Understandable, the city size was 30,000, the closest cities were in the hundreds to to low thousands. Des Moines, the biggest city, was just shy of an hour away. But again, this is Boston. I don't want to give anything up. TMO talked it up like we are paying (slightly) more for nothing. IME, that simply isn't the case.

By the way, I have no reason to stick with any specific carrier, so I have no reason to pick a favorite. I am simply reporting my own person experiences. I was underwhelmed.

 

[fedecape]

I've used T-Mobile a few times, always $3/day plan to test the speeds. I always thought that the edge problem was because of my non-aws iPhone.
You guys are saying that even with frequency-compatible phones you get "spotty"/****** service?

How is that possible? Their coverage map has the whole country painted

 

[osofast240sx]

I've used T-Mobile a few times, always $3/day plan to test the speeds. I always thought that the edge problem was because of my non-aws iPhone.
You guys are saying that even with frequency-compatible phones you get "spotty"/****** service?

How is that possible? Their coverage map has the whole country painted

Which map? You will get voice service anywhere in the US. You will get 4G in most cities and surrounding suburbia. T-Mobile lacks high speed data in rual areas. In those rual areas T-Mobile has roaming agreements with ATT, to roam on ATT 3G network.

 

[Fuchal]

^ Come to Brookline and Fenway area. It's terrible.



Back on topic, where is everyone seeing LTE? Nothing here yet.

Just about everywhere I go in and around Boston, Cambridge, Somerville has LTE - even further out like Waltham, Natick, Watertown, Burlington, Needham. Don't remember if I saw it or not the last time I was in Fenway... I'm not there very often unfortunately.

 

[lordofthereef]

I've used T-Mobile a few times, always $3/day plan to test the speeds. I always thought that the edge problem was because of my non-aws iPhone.
You guys are saying that even with frequency-compatible phones you get "spotty"/****** service?

How is that possible? Their coverage map has the whole country painted

I certainly was. I bought, specifically, a TMO branded phone alongside the properly compatible iPhone 5 (Lumia 512) and was still getting this problem. VERY frequently when indoors it would drop me to edge or no signal. If I can't use it indoors, there is no point, as I don't spend the majority of my time outside.

And yes, they do have all of boston painted with high speed. Which is all the more reason I was so shocked with the ACTUAL coverage I was getting.

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Just about everywhere I go in and around Boston, Cambridge, Somerville has LTE - even further out like Waltham, Natick, Watertown, Burlington, Needham. Don't remember if I saw it or not the last time I was in Fenway... I'm not there very often unfortunately.

Did they just turn LTE on? My wife works in Burlington, and I didn't see LTE ever. Granted, my test period ended about two weeks ago. I also know that porter, which is where I posted some of my pics from, was non existent at the time. I was getting edge as soon as I walked inside ANYWHERE. Grocery shopping at shaws? Hope you don't need a phone at all. I had no signal.

 

[Fuchal]

Did they just turn LTE on? My wife works in Burlington, and I didn't see LTE ever. Granted, my test period ended about two weeks ago. I also know that porter, which is where I posted some of my pics from, was non existent at the time. I was getting edge as soon as I walked inside ANYWHERE. Grocery shopping at shaws? Hope you don't need a phone at all. I had no signal.

I dont remember when exactly they turned it on, but I think it was last month. For us at least LTE is extremely saturated within rt 128.

 

[osofast240sx]

I dont remember when exactly they turned it on, but I think it was last month. For us at least LTE is extremely saturated within rt 128.

Nice! I figured as much

 

[lordofthereef]

Couple questions, for anyone that knows.

1. Is the TMO $30 5gb/unlim text/100min plan available from a TMO store?

2. (assuming the answer to the above is "yes") Does it work with LTE?

I'd like to get this sim as a "test" sim, and find it a better deal than dropping a minimum of $50 per month. Also, I could just drop the sim into our iPad mini and still get some use out of it that way.

AFAIK TMO won't do this for a micro sim, but I have read of people just cutting their sims down, so that would be my plan. I have also found sims on eBay that supposedly work, but I'd rather just walk in to a brick and mortar and walk out with an activated and working sim. My last experience getting stuff mailed was sort of a pain.

 

[keitarou]

Couple questions, for anyone that knows.

1. Is the TMO $30 5gb/unlim text/100min plan available from a TMO store?

2. (assuming the answer to the above is "yes") Does it work with LTE?

I'd like to get this sim as a "test" sim, and find it a better deal than dropping a minimum of $50 per month. Also, I could just drop the sim into our iPad mini and still get some use out of it that way.

AFAIK TMO won't do this for a micro sim, but I have read of people just cutting their sims down, so that would be my plan. I have also found sims on eBay that supposedly work, but I'd rather just walk in to a brick and mortar and walk out with an activated and working sim. My last experience getting stuff mailed was sort of a pain.

1. No. But it's at walmart I believe.
2. Yes.

You can cut the sim but they will tell you to buy a sim since cutter don't cut it right. I had issues when I cut mine.

 

[deeddawg]

ninja'd.

Walmart sells a SIM + $30 value card for $40.

Simpler just to buy a prepaid T-Mobile micro SIM online: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/...ro-SIM-Card-Activation-Kit-No-Annual-Contract

Then just activate the plan online.

 

[lordofthereef]

1. No. But it's at walmart I believe.
2. Yes.

You can cut the sim but they will tell you to buy a sim since cutter don't cut it right. I had issues when I cut mine.

ninja'd.

Walmart sells a SIM + $30 value card for $40.

Simpler just to buy a prepaid T-Mobile micro SIM online: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/...ro-SIM-Card-Activation-Kit-No-Annual-Contract

Then just activate the plan online.

Hmmm... the walmarts here don't seem to have that sim/plan. They are all the $50 plan, as far as I can tell. Was also reading that these were pulled from shelves.

 

[2298754]

Trying TMobile again?

I STILL don't have LTE or HSPA near me. Still a black hole. Keep hopping down to EDGE.