I have been using my nexus 5 on ATT since the Nexus 5 debuted. I just switched over to Tmobile for the $80 unlimited plan. I feel like I made a mistake. Since the switch, service has been less than stellar, I get maybe 3 bars of LTE in most places and even on the main interstate its still a bit dodgy.
the main gripe is that I now cant even go a day on a single charge with my nexus 5, when I was on ATT I could go almost 2 days with my GPS, wifi, Data all enabled and all apps greenified.
and Yes I did check the coverage map and every area I am in has full LTE coverage per their map. frommy Home, my route form home to work and even my work. all LTE yet i still only get a few bars and constant switching back and forth between 3G, HSPA and LTE. Many times my phone wont make it back to LTE from HSPA, I have to use airplane mode to toggle it back. when I was on ATT i had none of these problems.
I was wondering if anyone else in here has made the switch from AT&T to TMobile and how was their experience with service and battery life?
This is totally subjective. Completely depends on where you live and work and what the tmo signals are like vs att
sent from my hammerhead
I switched to T-Mobile back in the Beginning of April with a Galaxy S4 international. The 3G coverage sucked., and that model could not do LTE. Before May I ended up buying a Nexus. The default Google Kitkat ROM had kinda sucky battery from what I remember, but I only had it for a day. I switched to Cyanogenmod and have much better battery life. Depending on what I do on the phone, I can end up with 30-80% battery left. There is a bunch of variables to my usage such just checking emails to playing games and listening to music on the phone and playing Pandora or Stitcher in the car.. And I use a Live wallpaper.
LTE coverage is fair but not great, but I am saving over $25 a month.
ldubs said:
This is totally subjective. Completely depends on where you live and work and what the tmo signals are like vs att
sent from my hammerhead
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where I live, the AT&T and Tmobile LTE coverage maps are virtually identical and I notice no difference in LTE signal strength just going by the bars in the phone screen.
even at home, i always only got 1 bar ot LTE with AT&T and its the same with Tmobile.. only 1 bar of LTE.
my battery drain stinks with Tmobile service on my nexus 5. i put in my wifes ATT SIM and tried it out for a day and battery life was much better with no other changes. so I know its the tmobile service thats doing it.
Anyone else having an issues with downloading updates for apps over network/cellular connection?
When I do it, it is painfully slow and in a side by side comparison with my Note 10 plus it gets smoked (5G vs 4G). The Note 10+ will have already downloaded the app, installed it and opened it while the A71 5G is still at 10% downloading.
The only way I can get the download speeds to increase is to turn on the WiFi and it definitely speeds up but still not as fast as the 4G on the Note 10+.
I also tried switch my network band from 5G to 4G but still having the same issue.
Am I missing something? Is the joke on me?
**edit**
On the line with T-Mobile support and they have me testing my download/upload speed with Internet Speed Test via Google. So far my results have been pretty consistent:
0.52 Mbps download
0.52 Mbps upload
quick update:
On the phone with Tmo tech support this morning. They're telling me that ALL A71 5G phones are experiencing this. That the ball was dropped on it. They are expecting the firmware update to fix the issue. The rub is if I want to return this phone today is my last day (14 days) or I can wait to see if the firmware update works. Double sucks because I traded in my Note 8 for this because the Tmo promo. T-Mobile tech support is well aware of this issue.
Currently basebands ending in TSV are getting the firmware update. I have TEL and they did not know when that was being pushed out.
If you are wanting to run the same speed test that I was instructed to run, on your A71 5G, go here and follow the instructions:
https://support.google.com/websearc...t&visit_id=637324165013460751-1430605442&rd=1
If it is like mine, you will get vastly different results compared to Speedtest by Ookla: www.speedtest.net
Side note: While talking to Tmo tech support they're also having issues with the Note 4 losing LTE abilities, just in case you know anyone using them still.
rosedog said:
quick update:
On the phone with Tmo tech support this morning. They're telling me that ALL A71 5G phones are experiencing this. That the ball was dropped on it. They are expecting the firmware update to fix the issue. The rub is if I want to return this phone today is my last day (14 days) or I can wait to see if the firmware update works. Double sucks because I traded in my Note 8 for this because the Tmo promo. T-Mobile tech support is well aware of this issue.
Currently basebands ending in TSV are getting the firmware update. I have TEL and they did not know when that was being pushed out.
If you are wanting to run the same speed test that I was instructed to run, on your A71 5G, go here and follow the instructions:
If it is like mine, you will get vastly different results compared to Speedtest by Ookla:
Side note: While talking to Tmo tech support they're also having issues with the Note 4 losing LTE abilities, just in case you know anyone using them still.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Rosedog,
thanks for sharing this info. I just received my tmo A71 5G yesterday and while it shows full five bar reception and 5G connections, the data does not work at all for me. Disabling the 5G connection and the phone connects to 4G just fine. Re-enabling 5G and mobile data no longer works again.
I have contacted Tmo customer service and they also had a tech try a bunch of things, update my SIM card, check the tower my phone is pinging, I even factory defaulted my phone to no avail. They have escalated this to one of their "engineers" and I should get a call back on Monday.
Unfortunately, this being a fairly new phone, not much information that I could find but there was a support thread on TMO, I can't share the URL because I don't have any posts on XDA. lol =x
but the thread is titled: Samsung A71 5G Network Issues
rosedog said:
quick update:
On the phone with Tmo tech support this morning. They're telling me that ALL A71 5G phones are experiencing this. That the ball was dropped on it. They are expecting the firmware update to fix the issue. The rub is if I want to return this phone today is my last day (14 days) or I can wait to see if the firmware update works. Double sucks because I traded in my Note 8 for this because the Tmo promo. T-Mobile tech support is well aware of this issue.
Currently basebands ending in TSV are getting the firmware update. I have TEL and they did not know when that was being pushed out.
If you are wanting to run the same speed test that I was instructed to run, on your A71 5G, go here and follow the instructions:
https://support.google.com/websearc...t&visit_id=637324165013460751-1430605442&rd=1
If it is like mine, you will get vastly different results compared to Speedtest by Ookla: www.speedtest.net
Side note: While talking to Tmo tech support they're also having issues with the Note 4 losing LTE abilities, just in case you know anyone using them still.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the TEL firmware on T-Mobile and I've been getting far better speeds than you on my A71 5G. Right now the tower I'm on is a bit congested, but I ran the speedtest you linked and it showed 5.76 Mbps download / 11.5 Mbps upload. (phone shows a 5G connection)
About a week ago, I was in Washington Square Park in NYC (also on 5G) and was stunned to get 674 Mbps down: https://imgur.com/54xDrOT
jumpah said:
Hi Rosedog,
thanks for sharing this info. I just received my tmo A71 5G yesterday and while it shows full five bar reception and 5G connections, the data does not work at all for me. Disabling the 5G connection and the phone connects to 4G just fine. Re-enabling 5G and mobile data no longer works again.
I have contacted Tmo customer service and they also had a tech try a bunch of things, update my SIM card, check the tower my phone is pinging, I even factory defaulted my phone to no avail. They have escalated this to one of their "engineers" and I should get a call back on Monday.
Unfortunately, this being a fairly new phone, not much information that I could find but there was a support thread on TMO, I can't share the URL because I don't have any posts on XDA. lol =x
but the thread is titled: Samsung A71 5G Network Issues
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello Jumpah,
It sucks simply put. As I said earlier this morning T-Mobile is well aware of this. The rep told me that they cannot believe how the ball was dropped on this phone. They have been getting alot of complaints about it and I went through the same hoops except for the factory reset. We're stuck with a paper weight at the moment. It pisses me off because this was my intro to 5G before I made the jump to the Samsung Note 20 Ultra. I wanted to see the badass speeds when this opened up.
andrewNY said:
I have the TEL firmware on T-Mobile and I've been getting far better speeds than you on my A71 5G. Right now the tower I'm on is a bit congested, but I ran the speedtest you linked and it showed 5.76 Mbps download / 11.5 Mbps upload. (phone shows a 5G connection)
About a week ago, I was in Washington Square Park in NYC (also on 5G) and was stunned to get 674 Mbps down: https://imgur.com/54xDrOT
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah your download speed on your current test is slower than my Note 10+ but definitely faster than my A71 5G. I would love to get first speed though.
**edit**
@andrewNY after looking at your picture, that speed test looks like it was run using Ookla . I don't even bother looking at their speeds any longer. If I run their test I get 46.88 Mbps download right now. That is a difference of 9,015%, yours is 11,701%
Im On The latest ATG9 updated baseband so i assume i wont have this issue, my speed down seems fine my up seems a little low though but as long as my down is that fast im cool with it.
P.S.=Mine Was TEL when i got it.
SideNote =my update for ATG9 came in last night at midnight.
Mine has consistently gotten 25Mbps-30Mbps on "5G".
But I assumed TMo was pulling the same smoke and mirrors they usually do and park the 5G symbol on the display even when it isn't technically 5G.
They did the same during the transition from 3G to 4G and then from 4G to LTE.
I'll have to check it against my wife's Note 10.
On Wifi I show speeds off the scale on speedtest.net in excess of 100Mbps.
As this was one of the first 5G phones, and despite all the hype, TMo will still be rolling out 5G infrastructure for at least another 12mo, I wasn't expecting much except in major cities like NYC, LA, ATL, DAL, etc.
---------- Post added at 01:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:31 PM ----------
Just verified using my wife's Note 10 that we both are getting identical speeds on multiple tests.
My A71 5G shows a "5G" connection on the display.
Her Note 10 shows 4G LTE on the display.
TMo's coverage map claims I should have 5G coverage here.
Here in SC speeds have been up to par. 2nd 5g phone. Am getting better speeds on my a71 then my v60..
rosedog said:
@andrewNY after looking at your picture, that speed test looks like it was run using Ookla . I don't even bother looking at their speeds any longer. If I run their test I get 46.88 Mbps download right now. That is a difference of 9,015%, yours is 11,701%
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Ookla speed test I posted was run at a different time and location to the Google speed test I quoted, so it can't really be compared there. I actually ran another Ookla test at the same time and got roughly the exact same speeds as what Google was showing me though.
BTW: I got a OTA firmware update today to the latest firmware; maybe check your device and see if T-Mobile made the update available to you, and if it helps.
Mine is T-Mobile-labeled on the box, while my service is with Sprint.
My wife has the same device.
I don't have a strong 5G signal at home, and it usually comes in
between 5Mb/s and 20Mb/s when testing with Ookla.
It fluctuates quite a lot.
The 5G indicator reliably comes and goes, with signal strength indicator
acting accordingly. Simple LTE-only signal is always high, with 5G
coming in at a lower strength while at home.
At my workplace, it's a different show entirely.
I've gotten as fast as 273 Mb/s on a strong 5G signal,
which is over 5-times the rate I pay for on a cable modem at home.
My home and workplace are less than seven miles apart.
4G LTE signals can get me as much as 25 Mb/s at home,
but it, too, fluctuates a lot. Voice calls are a colossal improvement, however,
with audio quality reported as excellent on both ends.
5G is definitely for real, while the implementation is far from being
fully deployed yet. We'll need to give it time before the newer 5G
is deployed across the current infrastructure.
andrewNY said:
The Ookla speed test I posted was run at a different time and location to the Google speed test I quoted, so it can't really be compared there. I actually ran another Ookla test at the same time and got roughly the exact same speeds as what Google was showing me though.
BTW: I got a OTA firmware update today to the latest firmware; maybe check your device and see if T-Mobile made the update available to you, and if it helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Saw your reply when you made it, just haven't had time to respond. I got the firmware update but that was not the fix, although I did get it fixed.
Last Friday being my last day to turn it in, I went to the store to turn it in. I explained everything to the associate (store manager) and while he was pulling up my account I started playing with the demo A71 (same base band) and it was getting fantastic speeds, mine was still getting 0.5 Mbps. The manager thought that it might be the sim card so he tried his in my phone and the speeds were drastically better. He got me a new sim and inserted it and the speeds were like his moments earlier. Getting the sim card exposed the real problem. It in fact was not the sim card but the service the associate had put my phone onto. Now my Note 10+ did not work
When I got the phone I had asked if there was a way I could have two phones ring at the same time when one phone number is called. I explained that I did not want to be sim swapping all the time from my daily driver (Note 10+) to my play/trial 5G phone (A71 5G). They told me digits could do that and it was only $10 a month. Sounded great to me... Technically it worked, both phones would ring, I could go to websites and it seemed to be as I was told. Unfortunately when the associate sold me the digits line he did not look at what type of account I have. I have an old account that has been grandfathered in (from 2010) and its a TAX EXCLUDED (TE) account vs. the newer kind of TAX INCLUDED (TI). Digits for a TE account gets you data and phone for $10 but NOT high speed data! That is only available for TI accounts and that cost $20/$25 a month. The only way I could get this to work was to do it the old fashion way of adding an additional line but that is $30 a month. So through ineptitude I was sold a plan that was not intended to do the things I was told it could do. We had to call into customer service (611) to see if they could do anything to help fix the issue at hand, like get me the high speed digits line. The system would not allow but what they did do was get me a new line that mimics my main line (all the bells and whistles) for $15 a month for my troubles. I took it and it works. I do not digits any longer but I did enjoy the fact that both devices could ring at the same time.
As for running the speed test, Ookla still gives me higher speeds on paper but only by 10 Mbps now.
What a stupid ordeal that took way too much time to figure out.
rosedog said:
Saw your reply when you made it, just haven't had time to respond. I got the firmware update but that was not the fix, although I did get it fixed.
Last Friday being my last day to turn it in, I went to the store to turn it in. I explained everything to the associate (store manager) and while he was pulling up my account I started playing with the demo A71 (same base band) and it was getting fantastic speeds, mine was still getting 0.5 Mbps. The manager thought that it might be the sim card so he tried his in my phone and the speeds were drastically better. He got me a new sim and inserted it and the speeds were like his moments earlier. Getting the sim card exposed the real problem. It in fact was not the sim card but the service the associate had put my phone onto. Now my Note 10+ did not work
When I got the phone I had asked if there was a way I could have two phones ring at the same time when one phone number is called. I explained that I did not want to be sim swapping all the time from my daily driver (Note 10+) to my play/trial 5G phone (A71 5G). They told me digits could do that and it was only $10 a month. Sounded great to me... Technically it worked, both phones would ring, I could go to websites and it seemed to be as I was told. Unfortunately when the associate sold me the digits line he did not look at what type of account I have. I have an old account that has been grandfathered in (from 2010) and its a TAX EXCLUDED (TE) account vs. the newer kind of TAX INCLUDED (TI). Digits for a TE account gets you data and phone for $10 but NOT high speed data! That is only available for TI accounts and that cost $20/$25 a month. The only way I could get this to work was to do it the old fashion way of adding an additional line but that is $30 a month. So through ineptitude I was sold a plan that was not intended to do the things I was told it could do. We had to call into customer service (611) to see if they could do anything to help fix the issue at hand, like get me the high speed digits line. The system would not allow but what they did do was get me a new line that mimics my main line (all the bells and whistles) for $15 a month for my troubles. I took it and it works. I do not digits any longer but I did enjoy the fact that both devices could ring at the same time.
As for running the speed test, Ookla still gives me higher speeds on paper but only by 10 Mbps now.
What a stupid ordeal that took way too much time to figure out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that's pretty crazy, but I'm glad you figured it out, and also that there isn't a critical issue with the A71 5G and speeds!
andrewNY said:
Wow, that's pretty crazy, but I'm glad you figured it out, and also that there isn't a critical issue with the A71 5G and speeds!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would say I spent 8+ hours trying to get this fixed between tech support and in store support. Nobody thought to look at the account type before hand.
So I had this issue on At&t, couldn't for the life of me figure out why my cell speeds were so bad. At&t variant defaults apn to ATT ENHANCED.
I decided to use the same Apn for my LG V40 apn: NXTGENPHONE
The speeds are night and day, and 5G still works on NXTGENPHONE
On 5g default apn 47mbps on NXTGEN 255mbps
I tested switching between apns for 4 hours (I was at the beach)
At home default 4mbps and NXTGEN 20mbps.
If your on AT&T try the NXTGENPHONE apn
I can confirm speedtest.net reached download speeds in excess of 175Mbps in Atlanta, GA on 5G with 4-bar signal. That was both indoors, and outside, repeated in multiple locations.
As before, even though TMo's coverage map claims my home is a 5G area, I only get LTE speeds of about 25Mbps there.
SkedAddled said:
Mine is T-Mobile-labeled on the box, while my service is with Sprint.
My wife has the same device.
I don't have a strong 5G signal at home, and it usually comes in
between 5Mb/s and 20Mb/s when testing with Ookla.
It fluctuates quite a lot.
The 5G indicator reliably comes and goes, with signal strength indicator
acting accordingly. Simple LTE-only signal is always high, with 5G
coming in at a lower strength while at home.
At my workplace, it's a different show entirely.
I've gotten as fast as 273 Mb/s on a strong 5G signal,
which is over 5-times the rate I pay for on a cable modem at home.
My home and workplace are less than seven miles apart.
4G LTE signals can get me as much as 25 Mb/s at home,
but it, too, fluctuates a lot. Voice calls are a colossal improvement, however,
with audio quality reported as excellent on both ends.
5G is definitely for real, while the implementation is far from being
fully deployed yet. We'll need to give it time before the newer 5G
is deployed across the current infrastructure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just adding my experience so far- I've been to several places around my home where i get 5 bars of "5G". Running any speed test on 5G is usually 20 mbits/sec slower than if I configure the network to 4G. It's so consistent that I don't bother to turn on the 5G network, as it will underperform.
steven.rn said:
Just adding my experience so far- I've been to several places around my home where i get 5 bars of "5G". Running any speed test on 5G is usually 20 mbits/sec slower than if I configure the network to 4G. It's so consistent that I don't bother to turn on the 5G network, as it will underperform.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I consistently get variable 5G results: At home, not so good. At work: VERY good.
I haven't tried setting to 4G-only yet, as VOLTE seems to be what enables 5G on my device.
Keep in mind also, that signal-strength bars are not neccessarily an indication of 4G or 5G signals.
My experience has shown that indicated signal-strength only applies to voice as on Sprint,
while 4G and 5G data throughput is typically lower-performance.
SkedAddled said:
I consistently get variable 5G results: At home, not so good. At work: VERY good.
I haven't tried setting to 4G-only yet, as VOLTE seems to be what enables 5G on my device.
Keep in mind also, that signal-strength bars are not neccessarily an indication of 4G or 5G signals.
My experience has shown that indicated signal-strength only applies to voice as on Sprint,
while 4G and 5G data throughput is typically lower-performance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Much appreciated comment, bud, that would explain some things.
Still, it seems odd that when I enable 5G, even if the phone is actually getting 4g, it's still slower. Dunno if that's because the phone is still looking for 5g while it's downloading a test in 4G or what.... either way, I didn't really expect 5G to amount to much in Northeast ohio yet.
Cheers!
StevenRN
steven.rn said:
Much appreciated comment, bud, that would explain some things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I've found that signal-strength indicator doesn't necessarily represent data-throughout rate,
or what one might expect if it shows a 'full' signal. I've seen tests fluctuate considerably
during the test itself when stationary.
I just did an Ookla speed test from home on 5G.
It wavered from around 6 or 7Mb/s to over 52Mb/s during the short time it took,
rising and falling repeatedly. When I'm at work, the throughput just continues to climb
during the test time until it tops out at whatever it can get: no fluctuation;
it just keeps increasing. It's topped-out at various maximums, but it ALWAYS just climbs to a max.
I had some sound-quality issues on 4G, in not being able to make out clear voice before,
while this new device is excellent, on both ends of a call.
steven.rn said:
Still, it seems odd that when I enable 5G, even if the phone is actually getting 4g, it's still slower. Dunno if that's because the phone is still looking for 5g while it's downloading a test in 4G or what.... either way, I didn't really expect 5G to amount to much in Northeast ohio yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably some bandwidth is being used, like you suspect, leeching some of it
away from your results.
My old HTC EVO 4G LTE went into a major battery drain when reliable data signals
weren't available, and I discovered that Airplane Mode would put a halt to that, lending
some credence to your suspicions. My takeaway has been that if the device is looking for a radio signal
it cannot find, it ramps-up the process, leading to processor use and battery drain, as well as
potential bandwidth usage due to signal-seeking.
As for deployment of 5G, you'd be surprised:
I live much closer to the population center of Grand Rapids, MI, than I do to my workplace
of a semi-rural community of Byron Center. The "Built-up-ness" of the immediate area
around my home has increased tremendously within the 8 or so years I've lived where I am,
while Byron Center remains much the same. Yet Byron Center has received the infrastructure
updates that my more population-centric home base has not, going back to 4G LTE.
There's just no figuring out when/why/how any given provider will roll out updates
to infrastructure, but it shows that some happen within very surprising places.
I have just got off phone with sprint. They refreshed my phone and I am getting better download speeds. They also said there upgrading my tower to 5G should be done in 5 to 7 days. Really don't know what the refreshing does.