[Q] T-Mobile vs Verizon for N6? - Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey everyone, I am looking for some opinions here. I live in Atlanta, GA and have just switched to Verizon from T-Mobile. Originally, I purchased iPhone 6+ and am now using the Nexus 6. I still am debating which I will use day to day, but, I have had nothing but issues with Verizon.
Without too much detail... rep that helped us migrate 3 business lines screwed up. As a result we had a lot of calls with care and managers and ended up getting 30gb of shared web for price of 10gb as well as close to $400 worth of credits atop of $450 in 2 cycles for switching. Great deal overall and helps a ton to cover device costs!
I had no issues with T-Mobile but my business partner is going to Dallas more where he had spotty coverage. On Verizon, he was great there but here... we have issues. From voice quality being much worse than Tmobile (even on VOLTE) to slower data speeds to 3G where we have LTE on T-Mobile. Now, with Nexus 6 I at least will get HSPA while on call with T-Mobile, compared to 0 data on verizon. There are places I get nearly 80mbps on Verizon, but it is cancelled out by overall mediocre performance.
I completely understand that Verizon has amazing coverage and better in-building penetration. However, Tmobile has made huge strides to become a very good data network in many metro areas. While calculating costs, after all credits, we would come out pretty even going back and won't save too much money.
So, given all that, is it worth staying on Verizon? Am I simply seeing greener grass on the other side? I am also worried that with Verizon it will be ages before nexus 6 will get VOLTE and Voice + Data.
Now, I am researching a lot about spectrum and what each carrier is deploying and for some reason T-Mobile just seems to be better when it comes to LTE tech, newly acquired spectrum and overall voice + data.

I was a Verizon customer for 11 years and switched to T-Mobile about 1 and half years ago. Couldn't be happier. Wished there was an easy answer gl with your decision

jbdan said:
I was a Verizon customer for 11 years and switched to T-Mobile about 1 and half years ago. Couldn't be happier. Wished there was an easy answer gl with your decision
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Yea, indeed. From one angle I am thinking that the extra coverage is worth it, specially considering how so many others pay way more than what my plan costs. From another, I am seeing such inconsistent service and decreased voice quality makes it hard to want to stay on Verizon. I do like seeing 75mpbs sometimes though .
I rarely had service issues on T-Mobile everywhere I went around the city, now, it is a daily routine on Verizon.

air2k57 said:
Thanks! Yea, indeed. From one angle I am thinking that the extra coverage is worth it, specially considering how so many others pay way more than what my plan costs. From another, I am seeing such inconsistent service and decreased voice quality makes it hard to want to stay on Verizon. I do like seeing 75mpbs sometimes though .
I rarely had service issues on T-Mobile everywhere I went around the city, now, it is a daily routine on Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you've somewhat made your decision then
75mbps or 25mbps it doesn't matter to me but to some it might (I get 50mbps down and 25 up). Love HD voice it's crystal. What I love most though? That I am no longer with the big red corp and am with the most innovative and exciting carrier of the last 2 years

jbdan said:
Sounds like you've somewhat made your decision then
75mbps or 25mbps it doesn't matter to me but to some it might (I get 50mbps down and 25 up). Love HD voice it's crystal. What I love most though? That I am no longer with the big red corp and am with the most innovative and exciting carrier of the last 2 years
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha i hear ya. To me, anything over 5mbps is good as on mobile it all loads instant and videos buffer fast. So im not crazy in thinking that tmobile has an overall more advanced network?

air2k57 said:
Haha i hear ya. To me, anything over 5mbps is good as on mobile it all loads instant and videos buffer fast. So im not crazy in thinking that tmobile has an overall more advanced network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good question I really don't know. I don't think you're crazy for thinking that. Tmo has turned the carrier world upside down and I believe all subscribers of all carriers can thank tmo for their lower prices and higher GB data plans.
I had to drop vzw because we moved 1 1/2 yrs ago to suburb of Atlanta and it's a vzw dead spot. No prob with tmo though. Blessing in disguise

jbdan said:
Good question I really don't know. I don't think you're crazy for thinking that. Tmo has turned the carrier world upside down and I believe all subscribers of all carriers can thank tmo for their lower prices and higher GB data plans.
I had to drop vzw because we moved 1 1/2 yrs ago to suburb of Atlanta and it's a vzw dead spot. No prob with tmo though. Blessing in disguise
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you pretty much live by me sounds like. Interesting, that just means that it may not just be me then. At first I thought it was either my phone or the sim, verizon replaced both though. It seems like service always bounced between 2 and 4 bars of LTE at my house which creates random results. At times I could be getting 2mbps down while another verizon phone is getting 50, and vice versa. Speed isn't eveytbing, but there is no consistency and added with bad voice quality even on volte... A week ago I drove out towards Lawrenceville to help a friend look for a car and I kept dropping to 3G or having data so bad that even mobile sites would not load. My gf has T-Mobile and I grabbed her phone to test, she was literally getting 40 Mbps to my 1!

air2k57 said:
So you pretty much live by me sounds like. Interesting, that just means that it may not just be me then. At first I thought it was either my phone or the sim, verizon replaced both though. It seems like service always bounced between 2 and 4 bars of LTE at my house which creates random results. At times I could be getting 2mbps down while another verizon phone is getting 50, and vice versa. Speed isn't eveytbing, but there is no consistency and added with bad voice quality even on volte... A week ago I drove out towards Lawrenceville to help a friend look for a car and I kept dropping to 3G or having data so bad that even mobile sites would not load. My gf has T-Mobile and I grabbed her phone to test, she was literally getting 40 Mbps to my 1!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha! I live in mableton/Smyrna area. I have great coverage on tmo where ever I go in and around Atlanta. Especially now with the moto N6 its radios rock. 3g on vzw is like edge on tmo. They're both painful. I rarely if ever have seen edge in and around Atlanta on tmo (only one spot I know of) but often saw 3g on vzw. Tmos hspa/umts is super fast

jbdan said:
Haha! I live in mableton/Smyrna area. I have great coverage on tmo where ever I go in and around Atlanta. Especially now with the moto N6 its radios rock. 3g on vzw is like edge on tmo. They're both painful. I rarely if ever have seen edge in and around Atlanta on tmo (only one spot I know of) but often saw 3g on vzw. Tmos hspa/umts is super fast
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is voice on n6? I popped Tmobile sim in it and it wasn't very good when I tried. I've read that volte and hd voice won't come to n6 on Tmobile till early 2015? Yea, I always told people about how good hspa on Tmobile was lol. It killed LTE on most carriers originally. Other than having a little higher ping.

air2k57 said:
How is voice on n6? I popped Tmobile sim in it and it wasn't very good when I tried. I've read that volte and hd voice won't come to n6 on Tmobile till early 2015? Yea, I always told people about how good hspa on Tmobile was lol. It killed LTE on most carriers originally. Other than having a little higher ping.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already has HD voice spoke with it today. Volte will be a while yeah. I think voice quality is great, HD and non-hd

If anyone else has any input, greatly appreciated. I downloaded root metrics app and looking at places I go T-Mobile seems to have much stronger data than verizon. Although, voice coverage seems a tab better on verizon.

if you live out in the country, or spend lots of time out there, then tmobile is not for you. i love tmobile, and they have wonderful data speed where i live(70mbps download/30mbps upload. southern brooklyn), but out in the country, they arent so good. in cities, they are wonderful.

simms22 said:
if you live out in the country, or spend lots of time out there, then tmobile is not for you. i love tmobile, and they have wonderful data speed where i live(70mbps download/30mbps upload. southern brooklyn), but out in the country, they arent so good. in cities, they are wonderful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your input!

Related

Black Friday for Newbies

I am thinking of venturing out this year. I know very little about Black Friday, so could someone just please give me the cliffs?
- Is EVERYTHING on sale? Like, If I go to J Crew can I expect good sales? Things like wrapping paper at Target, etc.?
- What time is best?
- Is it worth it?
Thanks!
I'm considering going out for the first time as well. Might finally dump T-Mobile and move over to VZW. Sams Club's $1 SGS3 promotion is very tempting.
TeeJay3800 said:
I'm considering going out for the first time as well. Might finally dump T-Mobile and move over to VZW. Sams Club's $1 SGS3 promotion is very tempting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aren't we already have a thread which had which has more interaction than this one?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1979120
Sent from the MUST have app!
TeeJay3800 said:
I'm considering going out for the first time as well. Might finally dump T-Mobile and move over to VZW. Sams Club's $1 SGS3 promotion is very tempting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll pay for that decision later when your bill hits every month.
I live in a house with both T-Mobile AND VZW.
If T-Mobile has service in your area (and since you have them, I'll assume they do)
T-Mobile is the better deal. By a mile.
Hickory, Dickory, Dox...Snowflake approves of my HOX....
You couldn't get me in that mess for anything. If anything I would go out just to watch the idiots in a frenzy.
Now there are a few deals out there. I am tempted by this one!!!! It is online though.
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-ST2321L-...165953&creativeASIN=B007Y0EQE0?tag=gmgamzn-20
Babydoll25 said:
You'll pay for that decision later when your bill hits every month.
I live in a house with both T-Mobile AND VZW.
If T-Mobile has service in your area (and since you have them, I'll assume they do)
T-Mobile is the better deal. By a mile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile is less expensive, but FAR from a better deal. I live in one of the largest metro areas in the U.S., yet I have very poor cell signal everywhere I go. My "4G" data speeds are awful compared to my friends on VZW and as soon as you leave the city, all I get are 3 kbit/s GPRS, whereas VZW has 3G data throughout almost the entire state. My bill might be a little higher with VZW, but at least I'll be able to use my phone in my house and have 3G/4G data speeds almost everywhere I go. I've been with T-Mobile for over 7 years, but I can't stand them any longer. I have poor signal everywhere I go and my data speeds are terrible. /rant
TeeJay3800 said:
T-Mobile is less expensive, but FAR from a better deal. I live in one of the largest metro areas in the U.S., yet I have very poor cell signal everywhere I go. My "4G" data speeds are awful compared to my friends on VZW and as soon as you leave the city, all I get are 3 kbit/s GPRS, whereas VZW has 3G data throughout almost the entire state. My bill might be a little higher with VZW, but at least I'll be able to use my phone in my house and have 3G/4G data speeds almost everywhere I go. I've been with T-Mobile for over 7 years, but I can't stand them any longer. I have poor signal everywhere I go and my data speeds are terrible. /rant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try tracfone.
Sent from my Nexus 7
veeman said:
Try tracfone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes! MVNOs FTMFW!

T-Mobile Wideband LTE Thread

Post screenshots. As of now I don't think Wideband in Columbus, Ohio is live. My speeds are the same as before. What speeds should we be getting?
Anyone know the screen mode # for the flex to see the information?
I see this hidden menu option but not sure where to find if I'm on 15mhz.
*3845#*959# And don't want to mess my phone up. Lol
http://www.lg-phones.org/lg-g-flex-hidden-service-menu.html
Sent from my LG-D959 using Tapatalk
Hmmmmm i tried them numbers for Sprint and it didn't work but in your menu do you see lte engineering? I know for Sprint what i do is ##debug# takes me to a menu where i can see lte engineering and in there it would show which band your connected to.
yellowman82 said:
Hmmmmm i tried them numbers for Sprint and it didn't work but in your menu do you see lte engineering? I know for Sprint what i do is ##debug# takes me to a menu where i can see lte engineering and in there it would show which band your connected to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I looked and don't see that. Maybe I'll post all the options later. It's like 3 screen shots.
3845#*959# This is the hidden menu for T-Mobile. In the OP I had a * in front and was wondering why it didn't work. lol
For AT&T: Go to dialer and enter 3845#*950#
For Sprint: Go to dialer and enter 3845#*995#
39.51 down, 11.86 up, on VOLTE inside my house, outside of Chicago..
wase4711 said:
39.51 down, 11.86 up, on VOLTE inside my house, outside of Chicago..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice but do VOLTE has anything to do with your network speed? Thought VOLTE was voice over lte so you can talk on the phone while browsing the web using lte?
yellowman82 said:
Nice but do VOLTE has anything to do with your network speed? Thought VOLTE was voice over lte so you can talk on the phone while browsing the web using lte?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if it does anything for speed, since I am usually on wifi, and dont pay alot of attention to OTA data speed..
If I recall, when I did some tests awhile ago, I never got more than 14-20 megs down, and 6-7 megs up while in my house.
I thought those speeds were acceptable.
T-Mobile has a fantastic network in my area, and I was very happy with their phone/data speeds and quality, even before these updates..
wase4711 said:
Not sure if it does anything for speed, since I am usually on wifi, and dont pay alot of attention to OTA data speed..
If I recall, when I did some tests awhile ago, I never got more than 14-20 megs down, and 6-7 megs up while in my house.
I thought those speeds were acceptable.
T-Mobile has a fantastic network in my area, and I was very happy with their phone/data speeds and quality, even before these updates..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea i just did a google search and basically VOLTE really doesn't improve network speeds either T-Mobile updated something through that update or probably the tower around you got a small upgrade. I'm on sprint and i can't complain much as to they are really improving their network and trying to get everywhere covered here's some speeds of mine on sprint.
wow, where are you located?
before I came to Tmobile in February, I was a Sprint user for many years, and, I never had many problems with their network, although the data speeds were horrible.
when they announced the "new" network last year, I was excited that Chicago was one of the first cities to be upgraded; however, once the "upgrade" started, the network was horrific for me; we couldnt make phone calls from our house, data/calls would drop everywhere, and even with an AirRave, their service went from OK to unusable for me. Fortunately, Tmobile announced their program to pay your cancellation fees and such at that time, so we switched to TMO, and have had fantastic service from Day one.
I hated to leave Sprint after all those years, and especially when there was this promise of their great "new" network, so I am amazed to see you have such fantastic speeds and good call quality with them now.
wase4711 said:
wow, where are you located?
before I came to Tmobile in February, I was a Sprint user for many years, and, I never had many problems with their network, although the data speeds were horrible.
when they announced the "new" network last year, I was excited that Chicago was one of the first cities to be upgraded; however, once the "upgrade" started, the network was horrific for me; we couldnt make phone calls from our house, data/calls would drop everywhere, and even with an AirRave, their service went from OK to unusable for me. Fortunately, Tmobile announced their program to pay your cancellation fees and such at that time, so we switched to TMO, and have had fantastic service from Day one.
I hated to leave Sprint after all those years, and especially when there was this promise of their great "new" network, so I am amazed to see you have such fantastic speeds and good call quality with them now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm located in Miami and before having a sprint spark phone i had the note 2 which was really struggling on the band 25 network, i too was considering leaving them for T-Mobile but when the flex came out i went to the store to check it out and ran some speed test while i was there and i was amazed by sprint spark new bands so i decided to stay but I'm pretty sure Chicago should be good now or atleast picking up, sprint choose the best route in upgrading their network so it's really going to pay off when they are complete.
Stay on topic please both of you. Hehe j/k.
I left Sprint after 14 years for T-Mobile a little over a year ago. It's kind of funny how Sprint and T-Mobile switched roles at least in some places. T-Mobile use to suck but now Sprint does. I'm really surprised how quick T-Mobile improved the network. I thought Softbank would turn Sprint around quickly but that didn't happen. Now if the Sprint/Tmobile merger happens I don't see that being a good thing. If it does happen I'll probably go to AT&T.
I get around 20mbps with T-Mobile and that's more then enough for me. I'm running a lot of speed test waiting for the Wideband LTE to be active though. Lol
Man those Spark speeds from Sprint are insane! Honestly if Sprint could roll those numbers out for majority of consumers, I'd all be for the merger, lol!
JesseMT4G said:
Man those Spark speeds from Sprint are insane! Honestly if Sprint could roll those numbers out for majority of consumers, I'd all be for the merger, lol!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was more shocked when i ran the app and got these results when i'm usually averaging between 25~40mbps. I would like the merger to happen because it will actually give them a chance to compete against the big 2 major carrier especially with their prices.
I cant imagine that with the hundreds of millions they have both spent recently to upgrade their networks, their networks beings incompatible with each other, that there will ever be a merger between these 2..would the "merged" company be GSM or CDMA? Would they have spent 100's of millions to upgrade their incompatible networks, if a merger was in the works?
Doesn't make any sense, but who knows..
Sprint is taking years upgrading it's network even with Sotfbanks $. T-Mobile upgraded the network in a year. I really don't see prices going down if the merger happens. If anything they would go up. I'm just shocked Hesse still has a job. I do want to see Sprint turn things around though.
sweets55 said:
Sprint is taking years upgrading it's network even with Sotfbanks $. T-Mobile upgraded the network in a year. I really don't see prices going down if the merger happens. If anything they would go up. I'm just shocked Hesse still has a job. I do want to see Sprint turn things around though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you see that's where you don't know the difference the reason they're taking longer is the direction they went by also changing the whole equipment base etc at each site which are going to pay off in the long run tmobile isn't doing that they just upgrading their speed and such that's why they are finishing way quicker which is going to hurt them later on in the future when they really realize that it would have to replace almost all the equipment in that base site which will lead to problems like customer calling and complaining about the issue they are having with their service and such basically its going to be a deja vu all over again.
Here's what I'm seeing in Birmingham, Alabama. War Eagle !
Sent from my LG-D959 using Tapatalk
yellowman82 said:
Well you see that's where you don't know the difference the reason they're taking longer is the direction they went by also changing the whole equipment base etc at each site which are going to pay off in the long run tmobile isn't doing that they just upgrading their speed and such that's why they are finishing way quicker which is going to hurt them later on in the future when they really realize that it would have to replace almost all the equipment in that base site which will lead to problems like customer calling and complaining about the issue they are having with their service and such basically its going to be a deja vu all over again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude take off your Sprint blinders. lol I was with Sprint for 14 years and had so many phones I've lost track. lol My point is I know what's going on in the wireless industry. Sprint is taking years to upgrade the network because they keep making bad decisions. Clearwire was a bust. WiMAX was a bust. LightSquared deal was a bust too – granted, that one wasn't really Sprint’s fault. Oh and the big Nextel mistake. Sprints history shows an inability to pick a winner. The only customers calling to complain are Sprints. I feel bad for Sprint customers when Hesse says "just wait for the network of your dreams". lmao They have been waiting for years. Sprint should be giving them a credit since some can't even watch a youtube video. I was one a year ago and Sprint said all 4 of my phones were defective. lol They offered me a one time $5 credit. I laughed then hung up the phone and went to T-Mobile. Then Sprint comes out with Framily. lol I think that's so stupid. I don't want to have recruit strangers and then worry about them paying the bill on time so my bill doesn't change.
T-Mobile has expanded Wideband LTE into 16 total markets, giving all T-Mobile LTE devices a speed boost with capable peak network download speeds up to nearly 150 Mbps. In January T-Mobile bought a swath of unused spectrum from Verizon Wireless for $3.3 billion that will help expand its coverage to more regions outside of the metropolitan areas.
I really hope the merger doesn't happen because T-Mobile is hot and Sprint will just cool them off. lol Hopefully T-Mobile can get another 3 billion for the failed deal like what happened with AT&T. No one can predict the future as far as you saying T-Mobile will go through what Sprint is going through now. Good thing is I'm not in a contract. Hopefully Sprint can turn things around and fix the bad image they have now. No one can deny, 2013 was T-Mobile’s year.
Report: T-Mobile best, Sprint worst carrier in KC
http://m.bizjournals.com/kansascity...e-best-sprint-worst-carrier-in-kc.html?r=full
Seems like I read somewhere that as of Jan 1st 2014 T-Mobile opened up 75,000 new towers in North America, supporting 4g LTE. I had Verizon for years then went to AT&T for about 6 months and now on T-Mobile. Verizon did have the best coverage of 4g lte , at&t was OK but I always had to fight them about BS on my bill and overages. I had a GS4 on AT&T during the 4.2 to 4.3 update, I was rooted with unlocked boot loader I couldn't take the OTA but that didn't stop them from sending the 592mb update 17 times one month and 22 times another month. Forcing me to have overages. I had to call and fight my way out of them both times. And if I didn't know as much as I do about android and our systems I couldn't have convinced the customer service MANAGER that that was what it was. Then after having issues with the network cust. Service told me they couldn't support or help me with my issue until I took the update. They said "Our tech support is trained to handle issues with 4.3" so I asked "what happened to the crew that was trained on 4.2, did you fire all of them?",
Long story short I left and got ETF paid by T-Mobile and got unlimited data again. I average 40-45 mBs download speeds and have had the best customer service experience with tmo.
And I love being able to use thus much data :
thats ALOT of Porno viewing, bro..:cyclops:
Agree with everything you said; Verizon is great if you travel for a living, but I dont do that anymore, so I only care what works in Chicago land; ATT was fine after they updated their network here a couple of years ago, but, their cust svc/tech support was lame at best, and after a brief try with Sprint, and their "Alleged" great new network, we decided our last hope was T-Mobile, and we love everything about them, for us, in Chicago land..
Great Customer service when we need them, great low pricing, great service in our area, and all issues are taken care of immediately, without a question or argument...We couldnt be happier with our cellular choices right now, and hope it stays this way for a long time..
We are moving to the Dallas area in a year or 2, so I hope their coverage is as good down there as it is up here..
I even bricked my first rooted g flex and took it to the T-Mobile store and for $5 shipping charge they sent me a brand new one not refurbished but new. The first one was only 3 weeks old.
The CEO and Head of Marketing are determined to make T-Mobile a monopoly and out to show other carriers it can be done better, faster, cheaper, and unlimited. Any company, mobile carrier or not, that does not take cues or adapt this mentality of business and customer care is run by morons.

Thinking about moving over from Verizon for the Note 4...

I just wanted to put a feeler out there. Hopefully those who may have switched from Verizon might chime in and give me some helpful advice.
I've been with Verizon since the GS3 came out and I've had it with that company. They have excellent service, and I have signal just about anywhere I go, but there are a lot of things about them that bother me, and I'm ready to jump ship. This all started when I had a Note 4 in hand at the VZW store the other day, and after speaking to the ASSociate there, I'm ready to leave. I'm on the EDGE plan (kinda like JUMP), and was an early adopter to that, so I had the 50% pay off to get a new phone after 11 mo. First thing I don't like is the cost. With a 21% discount, I was paying $121/mo for the Note 3 with 5GB data, 450min, and 1000 text messages (I never used up the minutes or texts). I didn't think that was too outrageous since I was paying off that N3 every month, and I was OK with it because I'm a complete nerd and like to have a new phone every year. However, they now want you to pay off 75% of the phone over 18 months. What is that bs? If I'm paying 75% of an $800 phone, I might as well just sell it on eBay. Another issue is the bootloader, of course. Verizon locks down their phones hardcore. Even rooting them is a chore on VZW, and I'm tired of it. I'm not even a huge "power-user". I just like to have my Titanium Backup and freedom of controlling my system apps. T-Mobile obviously doesn't have any of these issues, but everyone I talk to says the service isn't that great, especially in rural areas. I take a lot of trips to remote locations, and fear that I will not have signal at any of them. For a person who always has their phone on them and is an extension of themselves, this could be a deal-breaker.
Any advice? I'm seriously considering it, and TMo is sending me an iPhone 5s to test this week, but I'm still afraid of the commitment.
I just traded in my Verizon Note 3 and switched to tmobile. I am loving it so far. I actually get better reception that Verizon here in my part of Pittsburgh. I recently upgraded to the unlimited 4g plan and decided I am going to ditch Comcast too. I will get a Chromecast and/or MHL cable to hook my note up to my tv and occasionally for youtube ans netflix, wifi Hotspot when I am using the computer.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app
i made the switch from verizon to t-mobile on friday. i'm giving up verizon's unlimited data plan because they won't let me upgrade unless i pay full price or give up the unlimited. i chose to go with t-mobile's $80 unlimited everything plan w/ 5gb of hotspot. my situation is a little different than yours, though. i was already a t-mobile customer (back when they were voicestream until 2010), so i already know what i'm getting myself into in terms of quality (plus, my parents, brother, and sister-in-law are on t-mobile). i live in chicago also, so that makes a difference. i've never had an issue with t-mobile's service. the only reason i had originally switched the first time is because when the smartphone race began, t-mobile had some of the worst selections.
again, i live in chicago, so your results might vary, but i did a ookla speedtest on my brother's note 4 (on t-mobile) and my galaxy s4 (on verizon) and his numbers beat my numbers consistently (which genuinely surprised me).
Do the T-mobile test drive first available here http://explore.t-mobile.com/test-drive-free-trial?cmpid=WTR_PB_N62kxn2C&002=2202007&004=13691619257&005=47088372328&006=45480286217&007=Search&008=&025=c&026=&gclid=Cj0KEQjwt7KiBRD9lOePpe_BhrgBEiQAHaS_116jcCU3lPFxN-073akQkOmUEMwL_jAlA8fhsqPxLb4aAuDY8P8HAQ. They will send you a phone to try out for a week. I wanted to switch, but found out that they actually have no service at my home and half of the areas on my way to work, even though on their website it says there is full 2g service in all these places. Their coverage map is extremely misleading. Just read all the customer dissatisfaction with coverage via this link. http://support.t-mobile.com/community/coverage/content?filterID=contentstatus%5Bpublished%5D~objecttype~objecttype%5Bthread%5D
Cicatrize said:
I just wanted to put a feeler out there. Hopefully those who may have switched from Verizon might chime in and give me some helpful advice.
I've been with Verizon since the GS3 came out and I've had it with that company. They have excellent service, and I have signal just about anywhere I go, but there are a lot of things about them that bother me, and I'm ready to jump ship. This all started when I had a Note 4 in hand at the VZW store the other day, and after speaking to the ASSociate there, I'm ready to leave. I'm on the EDGE plan (kinda like JUMP), and was an early adopter to that, so I had the 50% pay off to get a new phone after 11 mo. First thing I don't like is the cost. With a 21% discount, I was paying $121/mo for the Note 3 with 5GB data, 450min, and 1000 text messages (I never used up the minutes or texts). I didn't think that was too outrageous since I was paying off that N3 every month, and I was OK with it because I'm a complete nerd and like to have a new phone every year. However, they now want you to pay off 75% of the phone over 18 months. What is that bs? If I'm paying 75% of an $800 phone, I might as well just sell it on eBay. Another issue is the bootloader, of course. Verizon locks down their phones hardcore. Even rooting them is a chore on VZW, and I'm tired of it. I'm not even a huge "power-user". I just like to have my Titanium Backup and freedom of controlling my system apps. T-Mobile obviously doesn't have any of these issues, but everyone I talk to says the service isn't that great, especially in rural areas. I take a lot of trips to remote locations, and fear that I will not have signal at any of them. For a person who always has their phone on them and is an extension of themselves, this could be a deal-breaker.
Any advice? I'm seriously considering it, and TMo is sending me an iPhone 5s to test this week, but I'm still afraid of the commitment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made the switch yesterday . Screw Verizon I had the note 3 and was out of contract . So I just switched over got the note 4 and so far so good . I stay in Caldwell Idaho .
NWNJ said:
Do the T-mobile test drive first available here http://explore.t-mobile.com/test-drive-free-trial?cmpid=WTR_PB_N62kxn2C&002=2202007&004=13691619257&005=47088372328&006=45480286217&007=Search&008=&025=c&026=&gclid=Cj0KEQjwt7KiBRD9lOePpe_BhrgBEiQAHaS_116jcCU3lPFxN-073akQkOmUEMwL_jAlA8fhsqPxLb4aAuDY8P8HAQ. They will send you a phone to try out for a week. I wanted to switch, but found out that they actually have no service at my home and half of the areas on my way to work, even though on their website it says there is full 2g service in all these places. Their coverage map is extremely misleading. Just read all the customer dissatisfaction with coverage via this link. http://support.t-mobile.com/community/coverage/content?filterID=contentstatus%5Bpublished%5D~objecttype~objecttype%5Bthread%5D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think my anger with Verizon caused me to leave that part out of my long post, lol. I did that, and they're sending me an iPhone 5s to test, which will be here on Tuesday. I'm excited to try it out, but the consensus around my office with T-Mobile customers is that it's not very good service. Time will tell, I guess.
How is T-Mobile's customer service? I was a T-Mo customer about 10 years ago and it was excellent back then.
JUST DO IT. VERIZON SUCKS. COMPLETELY OVER RATES THEM SELVES.
I've had better coverage data speeds and call quality in the last week with my note 4 then the last 8 years with Verizon. Not to mention Tmobiles not a bunch of ****ing blood suckers.
I switched from att to tmobile two weeks. I'm in northern new jersey and I'm not looking back. I originally got the note 3 but decided I wanted to make sure I had the latest phone so I got the note 4 before the return period was up. I ported over two lines and a tablet. I'm saving about $50 per month on tmobile. The service has been great so far. The speeds have been excellent and coverage at my job and house is five bars. The fact that their phones have unlocked bootloaders is of course a plus. I'd say if coverage is good then make the switch.
Taking Notes on my Note 4
Well these are interesting responses.
As far as my work goes, nothing seems to penetrate that building except AT&T, which would be nice, but they have the same issues that Verizon has. It's interesting, because I thought TMo piggy backed off of AT&T towers for roaming...
Depends on the service in your area. I live in NYC so I've notice hardly any difference in service and faster speeds with T-mobile. However if you travel a lot I would say Verizon is better because that map does not lie, you really do have service everywhere with them.
idelgado782 said:
I switched from att to tmobile two weeks. I'm in northern new jersey and I'm not looking back. I originally got the note 3 but decided I wanted to make sure I had the latest phone so I got the note 4 before the return period was up. I ported over two lines and a tablet. I'm saving about $50 per month on tmobile. The service has been great so far. The speeds have been excellent and coverage at my job and house is five bars. The fact that their phones have unlocked bootloaders is of course a plus. I'd say if coverage is good then make the switch.
Taking Notes on my Note 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto. I switched from Verizon this past Thursday and not looking back. I love the freedom with bootloaders. I was with TMob 8 years ago and the service to be honest was horrible. But now TMob has greatly improved. I haven't dropped calls and data speeds are fast.
Cicatrize said:
Well these are interesting responses.
As far as my work goes, nothing seems to penetrate that building except AT&T, which would be nice, but they have the same issues that Verizon has. It's interesting, because I thought TMo piggy backed off of AT&T towers for roaming...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as penetrating buildings goes, earlier this year tmobile just bought the rights to new frequencies that have a lower wave length and will penetrate buildings considerably... they haven't made the activation on this frequency everywhere yet, but the Note 4 is one of the first phones(if not the first?) to have the ability to receive this frequency built in, so as soon as it goes live in your given area, you'll get the benefits! This is a hardware thing too, so it's not like they can just update other phones n they'll have it too, only new phones built to receive it
p()()pypants said:
As far as penetrating buildings goes, earlier this year tmobile just bought the rights to new frequencies that have a lower wave length and will penetrate buildings considerably... they haven't made the activation on this frequency everywhere yet, but the Note 4 is one of the first phones(if not the first?) to have the ability to receive this frequency built in, so as soon as it goes live in your given area, you'll get the benefits! This is a hardware thing too, so it's not like they can just update other phones n they'll have it too, only new phones built to receive it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's interesting. I didn't know that. Did they give an eta when they expect to turn on those frequencies?
Taking Notes
p()()pypants said:
As far as penetrating buildings goes, earlier this year tmobile just bought the rights to new frequencies that have a lower wave length and will penetrate buildings considerably... they haven't made the activation on this frequency everywhere yet, but the Note 4 is one of the first phones(if not the first?) to have the ability to receive this frequency built in, so as soon as it goes live in your given area, you'll get the benefits! This is a hardware thing too, so it's not like they can just update other phones n they'll have it too, only new phones built to receive it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you referring to the 700MHz spectrum they're rolling out? Link here: https://sites.google.com/site/cellularbinder/t-mobile-700a-spectrum
If that's the case, I'm in Southwest Michigan, and it looks like they need to clear up some stuff before that happens in my area (if I'm reading that correctly)?
EDIT: Also, is not the 700MHz for LTE band 12 only? I would love to have LTE inside of work, but less necessary than just a regular GSM phone signal.
Verizon sucks...PERIOD
the ONLY reason to even consider them is if you need coverage in the most obscure areas of the US; if not, kick those scumbags to the curb..
If you have decent coverage in your area, then no one can beat T-mobile for coverage, price, customer service, and everything else.
Do the test drive, go to all the areas you are concerned about, and if you get coverage, then switch
wase4711 said:
Verizon sucks...PERIOD
the ONLY reason to even consider them is if you need coverage in the most obscure areas of the US; if not, kick those scumbags to the curb..
If you have decent coverage in your area, then no one can beat T-mobile for coverage, price, customer service, and everything else.
Do the test drive, go to all the areas you are concerned about, and if you get coverage, then switch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My fiancee and I are both geocachers and use an app to post our finds immediately, so we do actually need coverage in obscure areas. We often have trouble even with Verizon, but that trouble is 1-2 bars of 3G. I'm hoping that doesn't translate into zero signal with T-Mobile. You are right, though. The plan is to do the test drive and see how it goes. With an unlocked bootloader and an eventual SIM unlock, I could always switch to AT&T if it ends up not working out very well. I have none of those freedoms with Verizon.
yeah, as much as I dislike "the deathstar", I hate verizon more, so given the choice of 2 evils, ATT would be your way out..
but, here again, go nuts on the 7 day tmobile test drive and see how good/bad they are in your area..
I use AT&T go phone prepaid with my tmo gn4. $60mo unl talk and text and 3gb LTE. I can add additional lte at $10 per gb. Just have to pay full price for my devices. I LOVE my set up. I travel, so tmo isn't an option for me. Hope you find a set up. Also, vz just released their prepaid plan mostly the same at $65mo with LTE service, and they're getting the gn4 developer edition with bootloader unlocked. Again, just have to pay full price.
Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
I have both so I know. I'd go with TM any day. Don't think about it. Just do it. Depending on your usage, if you don't talk much, the $30 pre paid plan is unbeatable. 5gb of data.
Well I've had this iPhone for an hour now. Hate the phone, but one thing I've seen already is the LTE speed is DOUBLE what I get from Verizon. It gets around 40mbps down and 10mbps up in my house, which is ridiculous. I can't even get that on Verizon outside with full bars.
Sent from my SM-N900V using XDA Free mobile app

[Q] I need some feedback from T Mobile users please

I am pretty much fed up with Verizon locking everything down and shipping phones later than everyone else. I am ready to make the move to T Mobile. I have a lot of people saying I am making a mistake in terms of coverage and that it is not even close. What has been your experience with T Mobile? Whats it like when travelling? The Note 4 is a great device and I really need it to be unlocked so I am looking for some feedback. I am in the San Francisco bay area and will be moving to Bend Oregon next June. Any real world feedback from people that have made the same move would be appreciated before I make the switch.
Thank you!
Jerry
I can't personally speak to your benefit since I don't live in your area, but in Southwest Michigan, Verizon is the king of carriers. I've had VZW for a few years and I made the switch to T-Mo last Thursday. Before you switch, take the test drive: http://explore.t-mobile.com/test-drive-free-trial
They send you an iPhone 5s that you can use for a week on their network for free. It's easy and pretty painless, with the exception that you have to use that phone.
As far as comparing to Verizon, it IS close, but Verizon IS better when it comes to pure coverage. It was a rarity for me to have no signal with Verizon, and it is so with T-Mo too, but the 3G on VZW was still usable, whereas with TMo, I can't get stuff done when I'm without good signal sometimes. It's a trade-off, though. TMo is MUCH cheaper, much less restricted, and the LTE is a hell of a lot faster (VZW I got about 8mbps down in my house, TMo gives me 40mbps). Verizon has much better coverage and low-band area, but that's really the only pro I have for them. Take the test drive and decide.
Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it. After having the Note 4 for a week there is no way I could use an iphone but thanks for the suggestion. I think I might take the chance since I have 14 days to get out if I need to. Thats the only thing holding me back because you guys already have roms and this device is too good to not have it fully unlocked. Thanks again I might soon be #teamtmobile
Try and get your hands on a used Tmo device to test out the network a bit. There are no contracts for the service, only if you buy a phone from them. Even then, that's only until the phone is paid off. If you bring your own phone, you can test as much as needed, and cancel if it doesn't work out for you.
You're probably going to have perfectly fine coverage in San Francisco, but Bend Oregon is the real question. Even if you could do the test drive alongside your Note 4, unless you are going to visit Bend within the trial time, you won't learn much.
Thanks guys. I just talked to my sister in Bend and she says that she has friends on T mobile and that if it was bad they would have changed carriers so Ill take that as a maybe. The map shows the 2nd best signal for my house in Bend so I might be ok. Im really leaning towards switching and have had the plan picked and devices in my cart but I want to make sure my return with Verizon is good to go tomorrow before I switch for good. Thanks for the feedback guys!
drum747 said:
I am pretty much fed up with Verizon locking everything down and shipping phones later than everyone else. I am ready to make the move to T Mobile. I have a lot of people saying I am making a mistake in terms of coverage and that it is not even close. What has been your experience with T Mobile? Whats it like when travelling? The Note 4 is a great device and I really need it to be unlocked so I am looking for some feedback. I am in the San Francisco bay area and will be moving to Bend Oregon next June. Any real world feedback from people that have made the same move would be appreciated before I make the switch.
Thank you!
Jerry
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would depend on the coverage in your area. I believe T-Mobile Customer Care can answer the question pretty accurately. Last time I checked they also had an interactive web map to show you the signal strengths in specific zip codes. I live in the Boston Area. I've had my best speedtest top out at 62mbps with an average of 30-50mpbs. It's unreal. Their customer care is bar none. I've been with them over about 10 years and I have only great things to say about them. Check your coverage and then make the switch. I've traveled to surrounding states and have had great coverage as well. You always find one town out of a few hundred where you don't get a signal. Kind of rare, IMO. Hope this helps.
Bayarea
Att to Tmobile. The signal outside is much stronger on Tmobile but inside buildings is a bar or 2 less. I think customer service is better than att as well. Overall, I'm pleased with the unlimited data( not the fake unlimited like att) and unlocked bootloader.
I'm on t-mobile in San Francisco.. Came over from Sprint and have no regrets. Used 25+gb this month already.
Tried in New York, more precisely near Time Square. Fast is the only word.
I live in rural Texas. As long as you don't leave the city you will have LTE/HSPA+. As soon as you leave the main city you will be knocked down to 2G/EDGE. Fine for texing or making calls, just no data.
I made the jump from Verizon about 12 days ago. So far so good. I have excellent coverage everywhere in the city(Indianapolis, IN) and the burbs. The only problem I have is coverage at my place of employment. I had 3g with Verizon a few bars in certain areas, but T-Mobile its zilch. This is only during lunch. I guess I need to find something better to do on my lunch than to play with my phone for an hour or so lol. Other than that i noticed my speeds are faster than Verizon. I love the freedom of the unlocked bootloader and unlimited data, that only is worth the jump for me.

Former Sprint customers

I'm thinking about jumping from sprint been with them 10 years. But the service is just getting worst and worst. My question is to the folks that have jump ship how happy are you with the service is it a noticeable difference.
???????
Bad ass note 4
???? That doesn't answer anything. Did u switch from sprint is your data and voice alot better. If not no need to reply
You realize you never stated where you from state town so someone in your area can answer you. Right. We like to help but are not mind readers. Sprint sucks plain and simple. You need to ask people in your area what service is like.
BAD ASS NOTE 4
Didnt put where i lived because i was generally speaking no matter the area. But if it helps i am in northern virginia
Well I live in NY and have great service. Have a friend who lives in Vermont and has horrible service.
BAD ASS NOTE 4
I had been with Sprint for 11 years in South Florida. After being tired of dealing with slow data and not having LTE in many areas I did some research. Used Sensorly and OpenSignal. You can use the app or website and see who has stronger service or LTE coverage in your area. FOr me it was T-Mobile and the speeds I've been getting are 30 times better on average. It was a huge difference after switching. I suggest looking at coverage in your area using the sites I mentioned and find what's best for you.
i just switched back to tmobile from sprint and the difference is night and day. bay area, ca my data on sprint is around 7mbps and tmobile is around 70mbps. the voice quality on sprint was so bad and my calls were dropping almost every call. one of the other reasons i switched was the fact the note 4 on sprint can no longer do simultaneous voice and data currently (at least in my area).
FrankthaTank said:
I had been with Sprint for 11 years in South Florida. After being tired of dealing with slow data and not having LTE in many areas I did some research. Used Sensorly and OpenSignal. You can use the app or website and see who has stronger service or LTE coverage in your area. FOr me it was T-Mobile and the speeds I've been getting are 30 times better on average. It was a huge difference after switching. I suggest looking at coverage in your area using the sites I mentioned and find what's best for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does tmo have simultaneous voice and data?
smooth703 said:
I'm thinking about jumping from sprint been with them 10 years. But the service is just getting worst and worst. My question is to the folks that have jump ship how happy are you with the service is it a noticeable difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just jumped ship yesterday. You will NOT regret leaving sprint. Unless you like watching 5 min YouTube video in 15 minutes... lol
tt281gt said:
I just jumped ship yesterday. You will NOT regret leaving sprint. Unless you like watching 5 min YouTube video in 15 minutes... lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol mine just buffers currently
smooth703 said:
Lol mine just buffers currently
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly! ! You will not regret it. Go to a Tmobile store. Download speed test app. Run on your phone and a Tmobile phone and tell me the difference lol
smooth703 said:
Does tmo have simultaneous voice and data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes! The note 4 supports voice over lte meaning i talk and browse the web with great speeds. But tmobile is gsm so in general yes you have that ability, i switched from sprint three years ago...before they even had lte,tmobile was still 100x better than sprint...i live in west palm beach and we just got wideband lte...and its faster than my comcast speeds.
i left sprint in october. im in los angeles... do not regret going to tmo.
The wifi calling helps with service in the house. Calling in the basement without issues.
In my general area I get good 4G lte service. Though I don't use the data much outside of the house, 1GB plan is fine for me.
For my wife the free unlimited music streaming was a big draw. She tops 3GB per month with that but is on a 1GB plan with no worries.
Sprint was slow to roll out 4G (for the second time) in my area and still hadn't two years into my ltevo contract.
Overall tmobile has better 4G coverage. I pay more money per month though. I had a discount with sprint and the phones were subsidized so it was like $120 per month. tmobile is $140 per month for two phones (iphone6 and note4). If I'm going to pay more why not consider verizon?
Occasionally I go to some more remote areas and I'm waiting to see what the coverage is like there.
Because with sprint I had none. But people with verizon had service.
I was recently in one of those area (outside of gettysburg PA) and while I had bars there was no data service. I couldn't use navigation. I was bummed. But most people didn't have service either. This is why I have a backup gps unit.
I made the jump today sheesh you guys weren't lying speed is killing sprint
its not even just the speed; you will not drop calls any more, and if you want/need it, T Mobile will give you an Asus AC router for wifi calls in your house, for free!
Sprint sucks; I had them twice for a total of 11 years, and after the wimax debacle, I was hoping the "Spark" network would be their saving grace, but it wasnt.
10 months on t mobile, zero issues, great customer service, and never a dropped call..
wase4711 said:
its not even just the speed; you will not drop calls any more, and if you want/need it, T Mobile will give you an Asus AC router for wifi calls in your house, for free!
Sprint sucks; I had them twice for a total of 11 years, and after the wimax debacle, I was hoping the "Spark" network would be their saving grace, but it wasnt.
10 months on t mobile, zero issues, great customer service, and never a dropped call..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh you had to go back for punishment lol.
BAD ASS NOTE 4
I'm a slow learner...and, I wanted an HTC one Maxx, that only Sprint had at the time..
smooth703 said:
Does tmo have simultaneous voice and data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes they do. I talk and download regularly with no drop in download speed.

Categories

Resources