Some people say its just like using AT&T but I looked at the coverage map for android users and it looks pretty bad, is this map misleading or is that really how it is?
At&t doesn't have the best coverage. When you own an at&t contract your phone will share cell towers from other cariers when yours is nowhere to be found. This act is called roaming. It is a transparent process that takes place without any human intervention.
Most large cellphone carriers have exchange agreements where they share their towers for free with one another. Under circumstances where roaming is not free, a small charge is billed to your account, or often that charge is waved and payed for by at&t.
Tldr, other carriers roam for free. Yours doesn't (apparently).
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
I'm doing well on AT&T, but i live in Chicago, a big AT&T city soo yeah.
But there are a few forum members on straight talk, and they all seem to like it.
I'm using Straight Talk. I'm glad I switched. Same coverage for only $45.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
ECEXCURSION said:
At&t doesn't have the best coverage. When you own an at&t contract your phone will share cell towers from other cariers when yours is nowhere to be found. This act is called roaming. It is a transparent process that takes place without any human intervention.
Most large cellphone carriers have exchange agreements where they share their towers for free with one another. Under circumstances where roaming is not free, a small charge is billed to your account, or often that charge is waved and payed for by at&t.
Tldr, other carriers roam for free. Yours doesn't (apparently).
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think he was asking if Straightalk has the same coverage as at&t, not the definition of roaming.
Sent from my HTC One XL using Tapatalk 2
romy134 said:
Some people say its just like using AT&T but I looked at the coverage map for android users and it looks pretty bad, is this map misleading or is that really how it is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the International HOX on Straight Talk. I always have full service (knock on wood) in Indianapolis.
i have straight talk with ATT sim card and I live in Evansville, In...great service but I know Straight Talk uses both ATT and T-Mobile towers just depends on the sim card you order
I'm using Straight Talk in Upstate NY, so far I haven't had any coverage issues. I've used it in Florida, NYC, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington; all with no coverage issues and for data my phone usually shows the H or 4G(Depending on which icon set I use) on the HOX.
I'm using my One X on StraightTalk in Southern California (Orange County, Inland Empire & Los Angeles) and it works GREAT. Using the AT&T SIM card. I usually get download speeds around 5 mbps.
Can't beat that for $45/month! :highfive:
I live in Puerto Rico and visit my father in orlando every few months and the coverage is exactly the same as when i had att. download speeds 5-8mbps and i pay less than half of what i used to pay with att.
Straight Talk
kobe4rings said:
I live in Puerto Rico and visit my father in orlando every few months and the coverage is exactly the same as when i had att. download speeds 5-8mbps and i pay less than half of what i used to pay with att.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was a long time AT&T user and switched to Straight Talk and have kept the same signal strength in Kentucky wherever I go. The only difference I even noticed was when paying my bill.
Yeah, I have a NET10 BYOD sim and its basically the same as straight talk (50 a month but 45 if you setup bill pay online). My service appears to be exactly the same as when I had AT&T post paid.
The only difference is you will get HSPA+ speeds and not LTE.
codyrt said:
I'm using Straight Talk in Upstate NY, so far I haven't had any coverage issues. I've used it in Florida, NYC, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington; all with no coverage issues and for data my phone usually shows the H or 4G(Depending on which icon set I use) on the HOX.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So glad to hear this. Waiting for my contract to run out before I switch and I want something with good coverage. I think the only disappointing thing is lack of LTE.
Related
I love this phone, but t-mobile sucks. I can't take the ****ty service anymore. I've had more dropped calls in the past 2 weeks than I've had with Att, sprint, and Verizon over the past 10yrs.
I originally thought I'd be able to use att towers, but we all know that isn't yet possible.
Not sure what carrier and phone to go with now. hmmmm....
What is Tmo's coverage map look like in your area? If it was bad to begin with, then you should be expecting this coming in.
If not, then you may just have a bad device.
not sure about dropped calls, but T-mobile signal coverage does suck
You meant to say Tmobile sucks in you location because it doesn't suck in mine (Baltimore) but you know who's service does suck in my area. ATT and Sprint. My wife's iPhone gets multiple dropped calls though out the week and there data speeds suck. Sprints WiMax is laughable and always gets static on the line. Tmobile however has insane 4g speeds where I live and I average 8mbs DL and 3mbs UL in and around Baltimore. Not to mention I haven't had a dropped call since I can remember. I don't even remember the last time I went without service. In the end there is no point for me to pay more and get less. A post like yours is all subjective depending on where you live and in the end, this thread is idiotic. Nobody wants to hear you high about carrier service in a forum dedicated to a device.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
eagercrow said:
I love this phone, but t-mobile sucks. I can't take the ****ty service anymore. I've had more dropped calls in the past 2 weeks than I've had with Att, sprint, and Verizon over the past 10yrs.
I originally thought I'd be able to use att towers, but we all know that isn't yet possible.
Not sure what carrier and phone to go with now. hmmmm....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try here.
mikett26 said:
What is Tmo's coverage map look like in your area? If it was bad to begin with, then you should be expecting this coming in.
If not, then you may just have a bad device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It shows as covering everywhere. I wouldn't have gotten the phone if the coverage maps were accurate. I get 3g att coverage on my company phone when I have 0 signal with tmobile.
Driving my kids to school 8 miles away I have NO service for 80% of the drive, never had issues with any other carrier. I can pretty much count on ONLY getting service if I'm at or near a city center.
In my area I have great t-mobile coverage and I had att before which was very bad.
So go for the network which works best for you. No point in cribbing here since I guess no can help you. All it does is a flame war.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
I'm just frustrated cause I like the phone so much. Don't need to get your panties in a bunch.
I get great service in my area (Indianapolis) with T-Mobile 4g damn near all day hardly ever drops to 3g and 4 bars everywhere I go..NO DROPPED calls ever I've been with T-Mobile since 2005
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App
After being with att, Verizon,and sprint, T-Mobile is by far the coverage for me on my area of Dallas TX, I sit at 1 bar with Verizon in the house if I'm lucky, sprint is always no more than 2 and att is the 2nd best for me.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
I'm having a fair amount of problems with lost signal, and all I did was upgrade from my Nexus 1. Still live in Chicago, still drive the same routes, but before where it was not an issue it is now. Which forces me to conclude it's either SW that still needs improvement, or hardware a la Apple's infamous antenna problems.
eagercrow said:
I love this phone, but t-mobile sucks. I can't take the ****ty service anymore. I've had more dropped calls in the past 2 weeks than I've had with Att, sprint, and Verizon over the past 10yrs.
I originally thought I'd be able to use att towers, but we all know that isn't yet possible.
Not sure what carrier and phone to go with now. hmmmm....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sprint=over priced/behind the curve (4g?!?!?)
At&t = big bill/****ty network and customer serivce (in my area... i was a customer for 4 years)
verizon= jacked up plans/high prices no customer loyalty or service..... (good service tho in my area)
T-mo= great customer service/decent service (my area) and i got a free g2x from them so suck it
/thread go get a trac phone
stop making useless threads how your gonna get better phones/service NO ONE CARES rant about it on your myspace page
KTHXBYE
I love your threads today...Stop making me laugh. It hurts when I laugh.
I have to say though that I think the I'm leaving posts have their place. If I'm researching a potential phone, I'm interested in disgruntled customers and their rants. They helped me decide on this phone for instance.
While there are a few(I'm leaving posts) for the G2X, there are not that many. And when someone is leaving for a bs, unenlightened, not ever gonna be satisfied reason, it's usually pretty apparent. But go to Androidforums and see all the complaints about the Indulge. There are legions of users who are unhappy. If one person is detered then the people who've posted have helped.
Thank Zeus for the forums. An educated consumer is a powerful one. You have to have a lot of opinions to make an informed decision. Even the redonkalous ones LOL.
I drive between NJ and PA around 70 miles to work everyday. Never dropped a call even while on drive all the way. Tmobile coverage is very good. It sure hops between 2g and 4g, but that is due to the software. AT&T is not at all good in my area.
eagercrow said:
It shows as covering everywhere. I wouldn't have gotten the phone if the coverage maps were accurate. I get 3g att coverage on my company phone when I have 0 signal with tmobile.
Driving my kids to school 8 miles away I have NO service for 80% of the drive, never had issues with any other carrier. I can pretty much count on ONLY getting service if I'm at or near a city center.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
8 miles to school!!! damn. Must not be in the city
Tmobile works well in the cities but not so much in-between. I travel and it sucks sometimes. Airports are the worst. ALL AIRPORTS SHOULD HAVE GREAT COVERAGE ON ALL CARRIERS... but they don't. With AT&T and Tmobile I'm often left with little to no cell signal. Verizon has the best coverage and is the most reliable. AT&T is second with Tmobile last.
90% of the time I am within the city and get great 4G data speeds and a reliable network.
I am always amused by how people are so easily affected my the media machine. BMW is the ultimate driving machine, Verizon is the best, Mercedes never break, blah blah blah...
I have Tmo in SoCal...I've had ATT, Sprint and Verizon. I would not trade Tmo's customer service for any or all of the other 3's claims. Sprint and ATT's data speeds are laughable here. Verizon is good but not worth 3x the price. ATT I think spends all their time trying to make their automated phones menus more torturous. The last time I needed to call ATT, I spent 2 hours calling number after number and never got my issue resolved. I cancelled all my ATT services at that point...took nearly all day to do it but boy do I feel good about it now.
jrwingate6 said:
You meant to say Tmobile sucks in you location because it doesn't suck in mine (Baltimore) but you know who's service does suck in my area. ATT and Sprint. My wife's iPhone gets multiple dropped calls though out the week and there data speeds suck. Sprints WiMax is laughable and always gets static on the line. Tmobile however has insane 4g speeds where I live and I average 8mbs DL and 3mbs UL in and around Baltimore. Not to mention I haven't had a dropped call since I can remember. I don't even remember the last time I went without service. In the end there is no point for me to pay more and get less. A post like yours is all subjective depending on where you live and in the end, this thread is idiotic. Nobody wants to hear you high about carrier service in a forum dedicated to a device.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same in baltimore with good service.
eagercrow said:
I love this phone, but t-mobile sucks. I can't take the ****ty service anymore. I've had more dropped calls in the past 2 weeks than I've had with Att, sprint, and Verizon over the past 10yrs.
I originally thought I'd be able to use att towers, but we all know that isn't yet possible.
Not sure what carrier and phone to go with now. hmmmm....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you feel better now?
I live in Kansas City, location of the Sprint World Headquarters, and can't recieve a Sprint signal in my house.
Do you have a point?
Try complaining to AT&T for not carrying the G2X...problem solved.
Tmobile is great in my location and wifi calling will not go against minutes pretty soon. You simply cannot beat that at all .
Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk
I'm currently on Verizon, 4 lines together with my family.
I'm hitting some bad times financially so my parents are paying for it, I'm trying to save some money for them though, so I was considering switching to TMobile or Sprint.
I need some real time advice on their services and data coverage.
3G and "4G" speeds, what the signal is like, etc.
I know about their phones so I'm worrying about that later.
I've heard bad things about both carriers' speeds and signals but I'm sure that depends on where you live, hence I need real discussion from different people.
I live in central NC if that helps.
I'm not too keen on AT&T but if anyone has anything to add about them, go ahead, I'll consider it.
I would change to Sprint, the best coverage prices and the network is decent.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
If you do go with sprint if u have an AOL email that's an additional 10%, off ur Bill
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App
You almost literally have to get someone with the service to come to your house to test. Verizon is a total dead zone at my house, but is decent a couple miles away.
Sprint has a 30 day money back guarantee so you might try them first.
bleach168 said:
You almost literally have to get someone with the service to come to your house to test. Verizon is a total dead zone at my house, but is decent a couple miles away.
Sprint has a 30 day money back guarantee so you might try them first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I go about just randomly trying them?
I feel your pain but with my job traveling Verizon is really the only choice for me.
I Am Marino said:
How do I go about just randomly trying them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are any of your friends on T-Mobile or Sprint?
im on t-mobile its cheap and i get good signal at my house but if i go a few miles out of this area i lose coverage when i leave the town and i dont have any 3g/4g coverage in my area t-mobile is spotty about 3g/4g i dont get any 3g coverage unless i travel 30 minutes west of here to get any 3g signal depending on where u live i would check coverage maps if ur area has 3g/4g go ahead with t-mobile
Whoa man!
Periods. Use them.
I know what you mean..but it comes down to $40 for me per month for my family on Verizon...I personally was on ATT for 18 months..really bad service in all ways you can think of..now they are buying tmobile..be prepared for you r bills to go up as well with this merger...when/if it happens..Sprint has only 1 carrier and that is ClearWire with its 4g backbone support..so far their testing 4g speeds have been really badnot to mention here in California my wife ALWAYS made sure our bill with Sprint was where it was supposed to be..meaning we got bills for $600..then down to $0 due to their irresponsibility (2009) ..not much of a price between tmo/sprint when compared to Verizon..personally..its not worth nickel n diming as I did for my family for 18 months and we hated it..and didnt pay off at all..good luck with your choice..try to consider MetroPCS or BoostMobile (cheap pre pay)
(if you choose not to stay)
ST
If I had to choose between staying with Verizon and switching to AT&T ... for the price, I would definitely choose Verizon.
I would consider Sprint, but not T-Mobile since I've had more than one bad experience with them and also because they are being absorbed my AT&T.
I have a friend who has Sprint and my girlfriend has T Mobile
but I feel like I need more testing though.
jiggy79 said:
I would change to Sprint, the best coverage prices and the network is decent.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
been with sprint since 1998. Good coverage, good service and competitive pricing.
While they had the old iPhone method that was fixed there is another way to do it.
Thought this requires you to have the 3g data plan, and you will have to know some one that works at an att store or kioske fairly well.
Att doesn't give the option to have unlimited data on 3g anymore, but (and this is the key) they. Still have the unlimited data plan available for 4g.
You will have to find a cool b&m worker or kioske worker to upgrade your plan to the 4g unlimited from your tiered 3g data plan. I did this on my wife's and brother in laws phone not to long ago.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App
Hmm makes perfect sense. I talked my buddy at the mall and he said once his manager isn't around,he will look into it. Appreciate the advice.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
According to the thread in the atrix forum, the iphone trick still works unless they fixed it in the last couple of days. Also saw someone mention this method there too but you have to catch the right employee.
Att is canceling 2g service in the N East area to make more room for 3g on that spectrum. If you're in the south, Midwest or west coast you can still use the 2g iPhail loohole.
newter55 said:
According to the thread in the atrix forum, the iphone trick still works unless they fixed it in the last couple of days. Also saw someone mention this method there too but you have to catch the right employee.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The iPhone trick still works, doesn't matter if there is 2g in the area
sent from my big bad infuse 4g
Either way this method prevents you from having to buy a phone.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App
Tx Redneck said:
Att is canceling 2g service in the N East area to make more room for 3g on that spectrum. If you're in the south, Midwest or west coast you can still use the 2g iPhail loohole.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wish at&t had more love for MI... Verizon will have lte coverage in more areas by year end than at&t's 3/4g.
Though by the time it is said and done with att will have better coverage.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App
newter55 said:
Wish at&t had more love for MI... Verizon will have lte coverage in more areas by year end than at&t's 3/4g.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to travel 30 minutes to get 3g. I get crap 2g where I live. Sometimes.
30cents for EDGE the day I use.
I'm currently trying to decide which carrier to go with for the Galaxy S4. I'm leaning towards Verizon, but I'm also considering AT&T because their non-shared family plan is cheaper if you go with less minutes. But I'm worried that their service might still suck, because we were with them until a few years ago and there were a lot of dropped calls, delayed text messages, etc. They also get rated poorly in Consumer Reports and other surveys. So I'm wondering if it's worth giving it a shot and hoping their service has improved, or if I should just go with Verizon.
There are three areas specifically that my family is at the most: Princeton, NJ and Brooklyn, NY and Flushing, NY. I'd love to hear from anyone with recent experience with AT&T in or around those three areas. Any experiences from people in the general tri-state area and New York City would also be great.
..
xavierfox42 said:
I live in Brooklyn and am running a SGS3 I9300 on AT&T's GoPhone service. Since it's the international version it doesn't have 4G LTE, but the 3G network is decent enough. I usually get around 2000Kb/s download when I run the Speedtest.net app.
I really don't like using AT&T though, but it's the only carrier that will work with the I9300's wireless bands, so I'm basically forced to use them or only get 2G. My next phone will be bought in the US and thus I'll be able to switch to T-Mobile or Simple Mobile or another reasonably-priced carrier. I would drop AT&T in a heartbeat if I could. I think they're easily the most evil of all the telecom companies (except maybe Comcast).
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have any problems with dropped calls or other issues like that?
No, the service is fine. No real problems to speak of. As expected for a major carrier in an urban area.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
I've been with verizon since 2000 and never really had an choice to change since they always had the best service in my area. I've never liked at&t and the rep for tmobile has been its known for prepaid and shotty service. Thing is now, I see more and more people moving over to tmobile and are loving it. Its cheaper per month than verizon and service in my area in NJ is pretty much the same as verizons. Plus there are some features like the wifi calling, the hspa+ coverage, lte. that make it pretty attractive. But the kicker on whats making me consider the change is the phone selection. Verizon seems to always be lagging behind and I'm tired of having to wait for new phones to hit verizon and for updates to be released. Has anyone else thought about a move?
topaz330 said:
I've been with verizon since 2000 and never really had an choice to change since they always had the best service in my area. I've never liked at&t and the rep for tmobile has been its known for prepaid and shotty service. Thing is now, I see more and more people moving over to tmobile and are loving it. Its cheaper per month than verizon and service in my area in NJ is pretty much the same as verizons. Plus there are some features like the wifi calling, the hspa+ coverage, lte. that make it pretty attractive. But the kicker on whats making me consider the change is the phone selection. Verizon seems to always be lagging behind and I'm tired of having to wait for new phones to hit verizon and for updates to be released. Has anyone else thought about a move?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm probably going to switch to their pre-paid service when my contract is up. I want a Nexus.... Verizon doesn't seem to be getting another any time soon.
I would definitely go with Tmobile for better phone selection & price, but the service in my area is below average. Hopefully LTE rolls out to my area then I'll jump ships.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
I have to jump ship Verizon breaking my bank bad got to pay a fortune to keep service . I gotta switch back to my iPhone I know -_- and go to T-Mobile prepaid because they have the 1900 MHz support in my area
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
If you go to a T-Mobile store they might be able to help you pay for your ETF fee, at least that's what they did for me. I would have to pay Verizon 150, but the rep just credited my T-Mobile account 100$ when I switched. He told me that this is something every store has a budget for. It's definitely worth a shot just asking the rep. It's saved me quite a bit of money so far (even if coverage isn't perfect)
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
I had T-Mobile and really liked 'em. They were NOT cheaper, I'm able to get on VZW's Old Fart Plan and it was just $5/mo more than the T-Mo plan I had.
CS is about equal with both except for T-Mo's prepaid which gets you people who speak no intelligible English, with postpaid you get good CS.
Coverage, very close to zero with T-Mo, everywhere I went. Only spotty coverage in the largest cities, VZW has 3g or better everywhere I travelled.
A phone that can't make a call until you find a Starbucks with free WiFi isn't useful to me.
Have your car break down on California 371 in the middle of the Cahuilla Indian Reservation? You're 50 miles from ANY T-Mo signal and you've got 2 - 3 bars with Verizon.
I really liked T-Mo but it wasn't usable for me.
for those that had coverage issues how long ago did you have tmobile? I heard coverage recently got better and that they are aggressively expanding to more towers across the country.
I don't like Verizon's pricing, phone selection, and the hassle required to unlock their phones for international use.
That being said, I switched from t mobile to Verizon in 07 for one reason: coverage. I use to live in Philadelphia in an 5 floor apartment with a T-Mobile store like three blocks away. No coverage in my apartment unless I kept the phone by the window.
Now I live and work in north nj and Verizon is the only reliable wireless carrier (by word of mouth). Not sure how much has changed in six years but I would leave Verizon if anyone had coverage close to the theirs
topaz330 said:
for those that had coverage issues how long ago did you have tmobile? I heard coverage recently got better and that they are aggressively expanding to more towers across the country.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried 2 weeks ago, just to test their service and see how it was since I haven't been with them for 1 year and a half and its still sucky. They do have 4G (HSPA+) in my area now but I get 1 bar of it and when it dont get a strong signal it'll go to Edge. I hear a nearby area "might" get LTE in late June so that means my area "might" get it late 2013. I'm just waiting to see what happens...my contract is up in November for Verizon
My buddy has tmo and hates the service. He doesn't get service with his phone and winds up using his Verizon work phone 90 percent of the time to make calls.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
I had Verizon before I switched to T-Mobile. T-Mobile is cheaper, has just as good of support and a good selection of phones. However, Verizon does have better service so if you travel frequently expect some dead zones.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
I used to have T-mo and I loved it! The reception in my area was incredible. I moved to verizon and it's still in the same category in satisfaction. T-mo is a lot cheaper than verizon, so I would give it a try. You're not going to regret it. Sim cards are the best.
I recently jumped from Verizon to T-Mobile and pretty much all comments thus far are justified.
topaz330 said:
for those that had coverage issues how long ago did you have tmobile? I heard coverage recently got better and that they are aggressively expanding to more towers across the country.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They've added -some- sites in recent times, but the "re-farm" you seem to have heard about is primarily a massive equipment refresh for about 85% of the existing WCDMA sites. Unlike Sprint's Network Vision or AT&T's "add an LTE panel to an 8 year old WCDMA site" rollout, T-Mobile is doing a -complete- equipment refresh on said sites using either Nokia Siemens Networks Flexi Base Station solutions or Ericsson's Antenna Integrated Radio setups. For the sites that get the new equipment, coverage could see a 10-15% improvement in coverage and in-building penetration due to each of the NSN/Ericsson setups having the radio at tower-top.
T-Mobile will do you well if you are a city-rat. The lack of rural expansion pre-AT&T failed merger was due to the cost of infrastructure and backhaul when the only spectrum you have is high-frequency (PCS/AWS). Even in areas of excellent coverage, there's still a few limitations: Deep inside buildings, attenuation -will- eat the signal. Terrain is another big one that affects all carriers... if you happen to be in a place where terrain blocks your line of sight, you're not gonna get a good signal. Now, the equipment refresh is to facilitate LTE, as both setups are capable of LTE-A out of the box. T-Mobile had to sit on their hands for 18mo and not do any proactive system/coverage upgrades due to the AT&T merger debacle, but it was a good thing as now that they have the money and spectrum from both the merger fallout and MetroPCS plus new equipment, they're good to go. So, depending on where you live, work, and play, T-Mobile could potentially be great...
but...
bbqsfire said:
My buddy has tmo and hates the service. He doesn't get service with his phone and winds up using his Verizon work phone 90 percent of the time to make calls.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MiG8GT said:
I had Verizon before I switched to T-Mobile. T-Mobile is cheaper, has just as good of support and a good selection of phones. However, Verizon does have better service so if you travel frequently expect some dead zones.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, when all you have is high-frequency spectrum to use and a network that hasn't seen significant expansion since 2009, this is going to happen. As with all carriers, one man's perfect signal might have a crap signal from another carrier in the exact same spot. Happened to me: with Verizon, could pull 30mbit LTE from bed, but at work I could kill an entire charge with light use because the phone had crap signal on all 3 services (1x EVDO and LTE(whose average speedtest at the desk was 2-3mbit down)). Meanwhile, terrain eats T-Mobile's WCDMA signal at my house(edge only), but I pull 3x the speeds on T-Mobile because of a near perfect signal than I could with Verizon at work.
If you have a friend with T-Mobile, treat'em to lunch and ask them to take a ride around town with ya to see how the service is where you go. Another option is to borrow someone's unused, unlocked T-Mobile phone and grab a sim, sign up for the $30 100min/unlim data&text online and carry that around with you for a bit.
For someone like me who -rarely- leaves metro areas when I travel, T-Mobile is great. For you, it could be different, just take the "ZOMG SPOTTY COVERAGE TMO SUCKS" with a grain of salt, and understand that no carrier is perfect everywhere, even if those comments for that individual are justified.
Forgot to add: T-Mobile won't see any WCDMA expansion for the foreseeable future since their current focus is on the equipment refresh on existing sites. The next round of expansion will come after the 600MHz auction next year.
Shoot me an IM/PM if you have any more questions.
Opposite for me, since Tmo coverage is awful for even making calls in a lot of areas where I live. I agree that they are easier to deal with, but lack of coverage in a lot of areas in Kentucky and Ohio nix them for me.
rushless said:
Opposite for me, since Tmo coverage is awful for even making calls in a lot of areas where I live. I agree that they are easier to deal with, but lack of coverage in a lot of areas in Kentucky and Ohio nix them for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, I have Vzw, for two reasons, one they have good coverage nearly everywhere in the us and two data speeds are good. important if you need t use Google Navigator.
topaz330 said:
for those that had coverage issues how long ago did you have tmobile? I heard coverage recently got better and that they are aggressively expanding to more towers across the country.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a T-Mobile S3 and Verizon Z10 for work, Verizon Bionic and TB for personal.
I get better coverage and internet speed on my Verizon devices than my T-Mobile.
I'm in Chester County, PA.
coverage
You could always do a bit of research for your expected area to see what the coverage is like across the various carriers.
www dot opensignal dot com
As if the captchas and relogins aren't enough, I can't friggin post links either.
I've started to take a hard look at T-Mobile and seriously thinking of switching when my contract end on Verizon. I live in southern NH and work in MA. There are T-Mobile 4G towers close to my house and work, but my commute would be mostly 2G.
Comparably, Verizon is mostly 4G in the area, a strong 4G signal at work, but at home I rarely get a 4G signal and half the time the phone will drop because of poor signal strength. There are 3G spots and some bare areas on my commute.
My step-son has T-Mobile and he get a strong 4G signal at our house. He also says he mostly has phone service in the area(drop spots) and data is mostly 2G. When you get closer to the highways or bigger tows / cities there is better service.
Verizon
T-Mobile is awesome, if you live in a coverage area, work in a coverage area, and/or go to school in a coverage area. Also, if you DO NOT EVER plan on traveling, or, at least, taking your phone with you when you go.... Their coverage is horrible compared to Verizon, but their prices are nicer, the packages are more appealing, and prepaid is way better. Really, it's just all up to you, and what you want.
I never had any problems while traveling with t mobile service I have gone from one end of the country to another with mine when I had them before and I'm looking to switch back only switched because I wanted to give Verizon a try not liking them way to pricey and crappy phone selection
Sent from my SCH-I535