Thoughts on T-Mobile?
 

Yes, I did a search but didn't find much. Specifically interested in people who have or had experience with T-Mobile. I've been a long time Verizon customer, but recently had a bad experience with them and I'm considering switching to T-Mobile.

Pros of switching:

No contract; 5 GB data with unlimited text/talk for $50 a month

Cons:

I've read that coverage can be real spotty with T-Mobile; have to buy the phone outright (which isn't a huge con for me but could be for other people)

After 2GB the internet goes slow af.
I use IG, FB, YouTube and go on this site all the time, so it does get a little annoying.

Had it for a very long time and ended up leaving due to moving to a different location for work and having like only 3 bars of Edge service.

But if you can confirm you will have good reception at your home and job with T-Mobile I would say do it. Great prices and super fast data speeds.

Service depends on the phone. My galaxy S4 has a shit radio, my Moto X? Full bars damn near everywhere. Two lines, unlimited everything including data is like $160 a month with tax included.

You have to buy the phone or finance it for 0% interest, which is better than any other carrier out there. Refarmed band 2 is turning edge into LTE and is almost completely rolled out.

Unless you live and drive in BFE you shouldn't have a problem. I love tmobile, saves me money and unlimited data, what's not to like? (assuming you don't live in the sticks)

I live in a decent sized college town so don't think I'll have an issue. I do live on the edge of town so that is my only concern but considering I can use WiFi at the house not sure if it would really be an issue. I'm still under contract with Verizon, so I know I would get hit with the ETF but supposedly T-Mobile will pay up to $350 of your ETF. I think my ETF would be right around $350 if I left today. I know that you have to pay the ETF out of pocket, then provide the paperwork to T-Mobile. They then send you a pre-loaded debit card worth the ETF amount. So kind of a hassle but not a big deal if you can afford paying the ETF out of pocket upfront.

If T-Mobile has LTE in the areas you plan to be in, there is no better provider out there.

That said, they don't have as large a coverage area as the other providers so if you have to travel through rural areas, it may not be your best option.

I've used it in the New York, Chicago, Austin, and SF metro areas without issue.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I had T-Mobile for over 8 years then switched to AT&T when the iPhone 4S came out. While I loved the coverage of AT&T, I switched back to T-Mobile because I got tired of AT&T's bullshit customer service and their unwillingness to offer an unlimited data plan. I work and live near a major metropolitan area so coverage is just as good as when I had AT&T. I would say the only exception to that is I notice I have horrible reception once I enter a building or office with multiple stories with less windows.

tmobile cares more about customers than there service,
they off so much for there customers, but at the end of the day depending on where you live, its just down right terrible service

couple co-workers have Tmobile and they dont even get service in our building
(i work for verizon, and have AT&T)



you can always try there service with there Test Drive service
get an iphone on there network for a week, if you like it, sign on up!

http://explore.t-mobile.com/test-drive-free-trial

Also the phones you purchase from T-Mobile all come factory unlocked so that's another bonus for future resale value.

I work for AT&T, and what I noticed from being here 4+ years. Verizon and AT&T are like the luxury you pay more for the same things plus a few kinks. Then there's sprint and t-mobile. They do the same things, offer like products and services but still isn't in the luxury line.

"Luxury line?" EL OH EL

This is hilarious because Omnipoint/Voicestream/Tmobile used to be considered the "luxury" brand before Ma Bell started re-coalescing like the T-1000. The only reason why some people might consider them "luxury" is because of marketing. Unless by "luxury," you mean being overcharged for services, being migrated onto more expensive plans after merges when told that you wouldn't, TERRIBLE customer service, price fixing, and treated like garbage. Did I mention TERRIBLE customer service? I'm not sure if I did because the big two have been known for having some of the worst customer service and longest wait times for decades going back to the analog days. I know because I was always on hold!:bellyroll:

It's cell service; not some exclusive club.

OP: Tmobile is fine as long as you're not in the boonies and service will only improve when LTE is fully deployed on 700mhz and their EDGE network is refarmed to LTE for more rural areas. They also have roaming agreements with AT&T due to the failed merger to fill in some gaps. It really comes down to how important those phone subsidies are and customer service.

If a test drive is too much for you, you can always buy a $30 prepaid burner to test reception.

Oh yes.. All hail the oligopoly.. Such a luxury! NOT! Maybe tomorrow someone can convince me on the luxurious benefits of cable monopolies!

Especially since I can't opt out of VZW sending selling me out against my will.

I just switch to VZW because they had coverage at 3 remote race tracks I go to and I absolutely need service. To me, that's not a "luxury", that's a necessity the others didn't fill. But they screwed my order, put services on my bill I didn't ask for (Cramming, very illegal), took 2 days to port a number for the moms and the all 3 of the new phones we got have already had to be replaced due to defects, one was DOA!

There's no such thing as luxury when you have it because "it's the only that worked". That's not luxury, that's "unfortunate".

<-----Begrudging VZW customer who wishes T-Mobile had the same coverage, would switch back tomorrow.


Edit: Nothing personal Chen. Big companies upset the rice_classic

T-Mobile also now has data rollover which works similar to how att/cingular minute rollover did. any unused data now gets allocated to the next month for 4G/LTE. Overall i like the service, unlimited data when traveling is great too (Ex. canada/uk/etc.)

IMO T-Mobile > AT&T

But i would highly recommend doing the test drive plan and seeing how the coverage is in your area and how reception goes on your day to day basis. that would be the best way to see if t-mo fits and works for you.

i've been using t-mo for 7 years now, customer service has been top notch, coverage is good, lte in major cities, no reception when i'm in the mountains (where honestly i don't want reception). they're expanding their network so its only going to get better and they offer free data and calling in foreign countries (great for me when i'm in canada) and are offering some cool things to shake up the industry and force att and verizon to follow or fall behind.

with VZW you're paying for the network, but download speeds aren't as good as T-mo or ATT, with ATT you're paying for ... well their marketing department and their attempted purchase of direct TV, they have terrible customer service and are not well managed. sprint probably has the worst coverage on the west coast and some shoddy customer service.

AT&T's Facebook page is hilarious. Almost every post they make consists of thousands of comments from either current or previous customers complaining about every aspect of the company.

Not speaking of which is better. I'm saying as they both offer the same services. One just charges more for the same thing. It's like the tsx to accord

At&t just started to offer roll over data.

Yeah but it only applies to their mobile share plans :thumbdown:

You can see what coverage areas are like reported by people near you.

RootMetrics Coverage Map

and it only rolls over the previous month vs the previous 12 months like t-mo.

so lets say you have 3gb. you use 1 this month, and have 2 left over, you have 5 for next month. well lets day you only use 2 gb next month. you'd think you have 3 to roll over but in fact you have only 1 gb to roll over. why you ask, because you have to use your currents months allotment first, before dipping into what was rolled over.

Thanks everyone. Overall, the impressions seem very positive!

Really depends, my gf is on TM and she doesn't get good reception in a lot of places. Download speed is so so. I am on AT&T with my family and gets good reception and exceptional download speed.

I am in CA, Bay Area.

pricing and customer service is great. huge potential for coverage growth in the future, t-mobile is killing it.

would I trust their current service outside of LA county? not sure about that...

Unlimited data (in truth, 5GB before they throttle the piss out of it,) 100 minutes (I use google voice, so always on data for calls anyway) $30/mo (prepay.) No contract, of course, and only available for first-time customers (you have to dig to find the deal too.)

When it works, it's great - I've been on a few trips out into the far boonies and service drops - just takes planning ahead.

When I travel where it's just not going to work and I need it, I just pick up a prepay whatever the local carrier might be - and that works internationally, not just US. This requires an unlocked phone, but that's easy enough to do. You can do this on a more traditional plan with T-Mobile too.

Plus, if you know you've a month where you need gobs of data, up your plan; bump it down when you're done. No contract means you can keep changing things like this, no trouble.

C

I've had T-Mobile since middle school, it seems odd typing that...

Only time I've truly had problems with T-Mobile service tends to be when I'm in the middle of nowhere.

So.

Don't go to Ohio.

Like dem00n said, no problem until I get to the middle of no where (mostly when I head up north to the cabin). I had AT&T and was paying too much, just recently switched over and I pay $100 for 4 lines with unlimited everything (= $25/person).

BTW, you can finance the phone through T-Mobile. I believe there's no interest. My wife and I financed our phones for a month and a half and paid it off afterwards.

I like Tmobiles unlimited plan but force to switch to att because tmobile coverage for me was really bad imagine switching back and forth from LTE, E and H even if i was on their "LTE" coverage area and i dont even use my mobile data at my house because i have wifi and the worst part is i dont have a signal, not even 1 bar on the freeway..
"Nationwide coverage" yeah right..

Verizon offers no contract and cheaper fee as well.

T-Mobile for life. Fast LTE. Much cheaper than competition. No brainer.

another thing that i forgot to mention with t-mobile is whenever you are connected to wifi, most of their phones have wifi calling which will enable you to make you calls over wifi even if you have 0 bars of signal

I switched from t mobile since they wre over charging us for every little thing, I was on a no contract plan. I told them I was terminating my service and they had the balls to charge a $300 contract fee. Yet my bill said no contract....? It was hilarious how they were trying to scoop money off me. I wrote some angry emails, threatened to go up the chain no matter how far I went, then all charges were mysteriously dropped :iono: