Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Who is switching to T-Mobile for the new iPhone
- Thread starter MacR5
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Verizon (VZW and FIOS) is pretty overrated. They did a great job with marketing their service and making people believe how great their coverage is and how bad AT&T's is. I tried telling a fellow FIOS customer how overrated FIOS was (while neither of us could load YouTube or TwitchTV due to throttling) and he almost bit off my head defending it.
I've had Verizon FIOS since the day they came out with it and don't believe it is over rated at all. However, Verizon wireless in the Philly area is a whole other thing.
I haven't been to every place you have been but boston, my, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix and a lot of places in between I've been. Out deep in the boonies of Nevada and az true got some 3G, no lte. Major cities I mentioned well depends, everything from 20 to 70. Manhattan was not an issue, some places in Brooklyn and Staten Island surprisingly slow. Las Vegas and San Diego surprisingly fast. Phoenix in the middle. My friend with tmobile beat me in one location on speedtest. His 50 beat my 40, however he constantly complains about connectivity issues; dropped calls, immesages emails. And this is in NY. So your mileage as always will vary based on the person telling the "story".
Switching to TMO
After being on AT&T for years, I will be switching to TMO for the iPhone 6. I don't use that much cellular data, but I like not having to worry about using too much and getting charged for over plan amounts from AT&T. I can live with 3G speeds for amounts over plan at no cost. Even more important to us is to be able to have free international data. AT&T plans aren't cheap.
After being on AT&T for years, I will be switching to TMO for the iPhone 6. I don't use that much cellular data, but I like not having to worry about using too much and getting charged for over plan amounts from AT&T. I can live with 3G speeds for amounts over plan at no cost. Even more important to us is to be able to have free international data. AT&T plans aren't cheap.
Just received an email that my "Test Drive" 5S is ready to be picked up at UPS, so after this weekend I should have a pretty good idea if T-Mobile will work for us.
Just ordered the SIM cards. I can port my number once I get the iphone 6. Won't be charged until the day I activate my service and port my number. Pretty painless
I live in San Francisco Bay Area, CA. Few weeks ago, after trying T-Mobile's 7-day Test Drive, I migrated from AT&T (Mobile Share plan).
Cost
Earlier this year, I used my company's 15% T-Mobile discount to sign up brother-in-law staying in the US for one year. Since T-Mobile no longer offers corporate discount for new subscribers but is grandfathering existing accounts, I merged my family account with his to get 15% discount and 2.5GB per line promotion that ends in January 2, 2016. Even better, T-Mobile threw in $100 credit per new line, ETF reimbursement, and even let me keep the phones (iPhone 5 and 5s).
So I have 4 lines on 1GB plan (extended to 2.5GB for next 15 months), one of which has $15/month unlimited international calling feature, all for $100 before taxes and fees.
Coverage
I am not going to lie. AT&T has better coverage in northern California, especially indoor. It probably has more to do with AT&T's 850 MHz spectrum, as T-Mobile uses predominantly 2100MHz LTE spectrum in this area. Having said that, I get good coverage where I need it.
iPhone 5s is running iOS 8 beta 5, and WiFi Calling works pretty well to compensate for weaker indoor coverage.
Data
LTE performance is better than AT&T, averaging 20 Mbps/10 Mbps in most area, except in high rises or deep inside the building. It does take longer for LTE to kick in, however, which probably also has to do with 2100MHz LTE spectrum.
That said, not worrying about overage fee is a nice perk.
Voice Quality
HD Voice (AMR-WB) calls between other T-Mobile line is startlingly amazing (similar to FaceTime Audio). AT&T network sounds like a tin can in comparison. I can't wait for VoLTE on future iPhones.
International
Because my brother-in-law makes frequent international calls, he has $15/month international talk plan. And although we only travel outside US once or twice a year, free data and messaging roaming in other countries is pretty great. WiFi calling would also help in this regard.
iPad
I have two iPads, one of which has LTE. T-Mobile includes 200MB for free each month, but for next 3 months, I get 1.2GB as a perk.
Cost
Earlier this year, I used my company's 15% T-Mobile discount to sign up brother-in-law staying in the US for one year. Since T-Mobile no longer offers corporate discount for new subscribers but is grandfathering existing accounts, I merged my family account with his to get 15% discount and 2.5GB per line promotion that ends in January 2, 2016. Even better, T-Mobile threw in $100 credit per new line, ETF reimbursement, and even let me keep the phones (iPhone 5 and 5s).
So I have 4 lines on 1GB plan (extended to 2.5GB for next 15 months), one of which has $15/month unlimited international calling feature, all for $100 before taxes and fees.
Coverage
I am not going to lie. AT&T has better coverage in northern California, especially indoor. It probably has more to do with AT&T's 850 MHz spectrum, as T-Mobile uses predominantly 2100MHz LTE spectrum in this area. Having said that, I get good coverage where I need it.
iPhone 5s is running iOS 8 beta 5, and WiFi Calling works pretty well to compensate for weaker indoor coverage.
Data
LTE performance is better than AT&T, averaging 20 Mbps/10 Mbps in most area, except in high rises or deep inside the building. It does take longer for LTE to kick in, however, which probably also has to do with 2100MHz LTE spectrum.
That said, not worrying about overage fee is a nice perk.
Voice Quality
HD Voice (AMR-WB) calls between other T-Mobile line is startlingly amazing (similar to FaceTime Audio). AT&T network sounds like a tin can in comparison. I can't wait for VoLTE on future iPhones.
International
Because my brother-in-law makes frequent international calls, he has $15/month international talk plan. And although we only travel outside US once or twice a year, free data and messaging roaming in other countries is pretty great. WiFi calling would also help in this regard.
iPad
I have two iPads, one of which has LTE. T-Mobile includes 200MB for free each month, but for next 3 months, I get 1.2GB as a perk.
Call tmobile for your iPad, they will match your voice line for data so if a voice line has unlimited data your iPad will get 5gn data, if your voice line has 3gb data your iPad will get 3gn data for free!!
Really? I have the free 200mb plan. How would one go about getting this when I migrate my mobile?
I strongly considered it. In the end, I just went with AT&T because I know they will work pretty much wherever I go.
If I have to move for work, my phone service is the last thing I want to worry about.
If I have to move for work, my phone service is the last thing I want to worry about.
If you can, check how you use your data. As I mentioned, T-Mobile now excludes music streaming services like Spotify, Pandora, and iTunes Radio from their data caps. After T-Mobile whitelisted the music streaming sites, the data usage counted against my high-speed cap went down by more than half. Now, I'm down to 1-1.5 GB per month, where before I used 3-4 GB per month.
Also, keep in mind that unlike with AT&T and Verizon, the 2.5 GB data allotment is not a hard cap. Even if you exceed the 2.5 GB data cap and get throttled, music sites will still stream at high speed.
I'm sure someone can. But I recommend test drive. See for yourself. Just enough time before the iphone release.
I don't live in the states but I am going to switch to Wind Mobile when I buy my 6 unlocked.
Who is switching to T-Mobile for the new iPhone
It's really not bad. You will have some difficulties in large building though. That's just the nature of T-Mobile. Otherwise, the Twin Cities are as good as T-Mobile gets to be honest. You won't find it better anywhere else.
That said, I have AT&T. I don't like the poor building penetration that T-Mobile suffers.
It's really not bad. You will have some difficulties in large building though. That's just the nature of T-Mobile. Otherwise, the Twin Cities are as good as T-Mobile gets to be honest. You won't find it better anywhere else.
That said, I have AT&T. I don't like the poor building penetration that T-Mobile suffers.
I got the free data for a year as well, and they matched it to my line =D so free 5gb data!
I am planning to purchase the iPhone 6 unlocked, so I can easily switch to T-Mobile if I want. But AT&T has done me right for the past 2+ years. Plus, I do a lot of road trips, and use my iPhone as GPS, so until T-Mobile improves their network in more places, I have no intention on dropping AT&T; especially since my monthly bill is $60/month with my FAN discount.
I was wondering the same thing as OP and this helped a ton! Answered all of my questions in a single post. Thanks!
I don't know why these threads turn into fights.
T-Mobile generally has good coverage in urban and suburban areas, but poor reach and EDGE data in sparsely populated zones. T-Mobile's frequency spectrum also means that signal penetration into buildings isn't that good. I think that this reality is not in dispute by either proponents or detractors of T-Mobile.
What will change the game is rollout of 700 MHz spectrum. That will eventually eliminate many of the current disadvantages. In the meantime, I think that all customers of wireless carriers in the U.S. have benefited to some degree from T-Mobile's strategy. Wireless prices all around are far more reasonable today than they were 2 years ago.
T-Mobile generally has good coverage in urban and suburban areas, but poor reach and EDGE data in sparsely populated zones. T-Mobile's frequency spectrum also means that signal penetration into buildings isn't that good. I think that this reality is not in dispute by either proponents or detractors of T-Mobile.
What will change the game is rollout of 700 MHz spectrum. That will eventually eliminate many of the current disadvantages. In the meantime, I think that all customers of wireless carriers in the U.S. have benefited to some degree from T-Mobile's strategy. Wireless prices all around are far more reasonable today than they were 2 years ago.
You're right, and T-Mobile is promising at least 2x20 MHz of LTE in all major markets and a massive expansion of LTE to all areas of T-Mobile coverage.
Also, the haters of T-Mobile (mainly AutoUnion) like to says hateful things about a company that's changing the wireless industry for good because these people think that "T-Mobile has islands of 3G/4G and the worst quality network in the country" can change the mind of 50+ million T-Mobile customers who actually like their T-Mobile service.
Once T-Mobile mass-activates Wideband 2x15 and 2x20 LTE with 700 MHz spectrum, watch the AT&T and Verizon customers flock to T-Mobile.
Basically, it's the same thing on any tech site -- some self-appointed experts throw a tantrum when they find that other people :gasp: might have different priorities and experiences. Your characterization of T-Mobile is fair and squares with my experience.
Even though I'm quite happy with T-Mobile because it offers great service for my use pattern and priorities, I'm not going to recommend it to anyone who wants/needs the broadest network coverage possible, and is willing to pay more to get it.
It wasn't until T-Mobile expanded their prepaid and contract-free options that I even considered getting a smartphone. I simply refused to get tied down by a confusing contract plan and locked device. I bought an unlocked 5s on launch day, and gave T-Mobile the first chance. If the service turned out to be as bad as some claimed, I always had the option to take my business elsewhere since I had no contract.
However, it turned out that the service was very good in my area (and in all the other metro areas where I have traveled over the past year), and the local service greatly improved over the past year. About 98% of the time, the network coverage or data speed are just fine. And for me, it's not worth paying more than double just to get broader network coverage for that 2% of the time that I might be inside a large concrete building, or driving through a rural area.
We'll see how the 700 MHz rollout impacts T-Mobile's rural coverage and/or building penetration, and the extent to which older devices support those bands (from what I've gathered, my 5s will not support T-Mobile's 700 MHz coverage).
The last two years have been a boon to mobile consumers, with clearer and more transparent pricing, and a long-needed separation of the device and service costs. No one can plausibly deny that T-Mobile has been the driving force behind these broad changes.