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Though I think the Fascinate looks better and has a camera flash, the Vibrant seems to look better on paper: More on-board memory, HSDPA offers "potentially" fasters data speeds, Tmo can do voice and data at the same time while Verizon can't, no Bing or VZ apps on the Vibrant, and I can buy the phone out of contract at a reduced rate.
The only thing that makes me hesitate (besides the less-appealing design), is Tmo's coverage vs. Verizon. I'm primarily in L.A. / I.E. and do some occasional traveling, and have no experience with Tmo service. Should I be concerned or just make the jump?
i can't speak for 3G coverage on Tmo vs Verizon but can on voice call svc
Tmo seems to have partnered with every small carrier around the country - every year i make about 5-6 visits to clients or suppliers around the country with two other folks from partner companies - one is on AT&T and one on Verizon - and every time we're in a rural area, their svc drops out before my Tmo's does
Last Dec we were heading south out of derby, VT ((on the canadian border) and about 35 miles south you're heading into foothills - my bud with verizon lost his svc, and had to use my phone for about 20 minutes (my tmo was showing 1 bar signal) - he finished his call and about 5 minutes were were i the hills with no signal
when we started coming out of the foothills (they were really mountains but we were gaining elevation with numerous small rock outcroppings around us), anyway, when we started coming out, my Tmo was first to have svc again
they always notice my Tmo's svc is better than their's
and there's no roaming chgs with Tmo here in US or at least i've never had any
have had similiar experiences traveling thru rural S. Carolina, Georgia, Tenn, W VA, Kentucky and western TX and thru New Mexico
nice info above.. but yes.. T-Mobile is GSM/W-CDMA/UMTS/HSPA+ so u can talk-n-surf over 3G (21HSPA+).. also, our speeds dominates all US carriers (even Sprints 4G/WiMax).. T-Mobile will upgrade its HSPA+ data again in 2011 from 21mbps to 42mbps.. i live in Seattle and we have 21HSPA+, but real world results will be between 5-10mbps (also depending on your device limitation).. also, T-Mobile gives u more bang for your buck.. but yes, they do have a smaller foorprint (mainly in more rural areas).. no problem for me since i stay in cities, and not in the boonies.
Even tho Verizon ADDED flash, it gimped its I.M. to 2GB (also no FFC--only Sprint has FFC).. T-Mobile even packed the Vibrant with a few goodies like the movie Avatar.
The Los Angeles and Inland Empire area have good 3G coverage from what I hear. HSPA+ is growing too. 3G coverage when traveling won't be like Verizon so I would check to see if 3G coverage overall is good enough for you.
sec1has said:
Though I think the Fascinate looks better and has a camera flash, the Vibrant seems to look better on paper: More on-board memory, HSDPA offers "potentially" fasters data speeds, Tmo can do voice and data at the same time while Verizon can't, no Bing or VZ apps on the Vibrant, and I can buy the phone out of contract at a reduced rate.
The only thing that makes me hesitate (besides the less-appealing design), is Tmo's coverage vs. Verizon. I'm primarily in L.A. / I.E. and do some occasional traveling, and have no experience with Tmo service. Should I be concerned or just make the jump?
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I live down in the high desert, and travel all the time between here and L.A. and San Diego, and have excellent coverage all over the I.E./L.A./San Diego area. So I don't think you have much to fear with transferring over to tmo
Looks like I'll be switching carriers.
sec1has said:
Looks like I'll be switching carriers.
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Cool Enjoy Calling People and Going Online at the same time with a faster 3G
sec1has said:
Looks like I'll be switching carriers.
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Click to collapse
Before you do, find out from people using T-Mobile in the areas that you frequent how their reception is. I love T-Mobile. Their CS rocks and prices are very good, but I couldn't get reception at my desk in my office in Manhattan and had to switch. It's great that it works 35 miles from the Canadian border, but if it doesn't work where you need it, it doesn't work.
Drachen said:
Before you do, find out from people using T-Mobile in the areas that you frequent how their reception is. I love T-Mobile. Their CS rocks and prices are very good, but I couldn't get reception at my desk in my office in Manhattan and had to switch. It's great that it works 35 miles from the Canadian border, but if it doesn't work where you need it, it doesn't work.
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When was that and with what phone? T-Mobile is extremely good in Los Angeles, I don't think you know how good they are out there. There will be weak zones for any carrier but T-Mobile is great in Los Angeles. It's their core market. Also there are some sites planned later this year to go online. Not to mention when I took at look at compass.t-mobile.com, not only was NYC lit up with over 40 new towers (includes microcells), so was the Los Angeles area.. 20 new sites in one zip code earlier this year. So, things are always subject to change.
Drachen said:
Before you do, find out from people using T-Mobile in the areas that you frequent how their reception is. I love T-Mobile. Their CS rocks and prices are very good, but I couldn't get reception at my desk in my office in Manhattan and had to switch. It's great that it works 35 miles from the Canadian border, but if it doesn't work where you need it, it doesn't work.
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can't say anything about manhatten, but worked fine in queens when i visited the inlaws last thanksgiving
I live in the same areas you metioned L.A./I.E. and i have tmo the service is great in L.A. I had verizon and went to school in west la and the service was patchy but with tmo it was at minimum 2 bars all over same area with 3g. the only problem i find with tmo is going to events with a lot of people/cells phones, the phone has service/3g but i couldn't text, make a call, or use the internet. i have problems with this at dodger games and i had problems during the summer at coachella but i love tmo and will definitely be getting the vibrant!!
pinkgabe said:
I live in the same areas you metioned L.A./I.E. and i have tmo the service is great in L.A. I had verizon and went to school in west la and the service was patchy but with tmo it was at minimum 2 bars all over same area with 3g. the only problem i find with tmo is going to events with a lot of people/cells phones, the phone has service/3g but i couldn't text, make a call, or use the internet. i have problems with this at dodger games and i had problems during the summer at coachella but i love tmo and will definitely be getting the vibrant!!
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The Pre-HSPA+ network was pretty limited in terms of how many calls and data it could handle but HSPA+ should alleviate that until the site runs out of spectrum (slots for calls/data).
heygrl said:
Not to mention when I took at look at compass.t-mobile.com, not only was NYC lit up with over 40 new towers (includes microcells), so was the Los Angeles area.. 20 new sites in one zip code earlier this year. So, things are always subject to change.
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Not about to get into an argument about it, just going by my own experience. I used several HTC phones, a MDA, Touch Duo and Diamond. I found the reception great where I live near the Empire State Building, but really crappy in my office in Flatiron and under Grand Central. Even A/B tested with borrowed iPhone SIMs to make sure it was a carrier issue and not a phone issue. I switched to AT&T in Nov of 2008 and haven't had a problem since using a Fuze, Omnia 2 and Nexus One. (Meanwhile T-Mobile went from having only crap phones to a great lineup and AT&T went to becoming a one-trick iPony)
My point wasn't that T-Mobile sucks. I rather like the company, but the service didn't work for me in the places I tend to be a lot. My point was that you should try to actually confirm the reception yourself in the places you frequent rather than just going by others' experiences.
pinkgabe said:
I live in the same areas you metioned L.A./I.E. and i have tmo the service is great in L.A. I had verizon and went to school in west la and the service was patchy but with tmo it was at minimum 2 bars all over same area with 3g. the only problem i find with tmo is going to events with a lot of people/cells phones, the phone has service/3g but i couldn't text, make a call, or use the internet. i have problems with this at dodger games and i had problems during the summer at coachella but i love tmo and will definitely be getting the vibrant!!
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Click to collapse
Drachen said:
Not about to get into an argument about it, just going by my own experience. I used several HTC phones, a MDA, Touch Duo and Diamond. I found the reception great where I live near the Empire State Building, but really crappy in my office in Flatiron and under Grand Central. Even A/B tested with borrowed iPhone SIMs to make sure it was a carrier issue and not a phone issue. I switched to AT&T in Nov of 2008 and haven't had a problem since using a Fuze, Omnia 2 and Nexus One. (Meanwhile T-Mobile went from having only crap phones to a great lineup and AT&T went to becoming a one-trick iPony)
My point wasn't that T-Mobile sucks. I rather like the company, but the service didn't work for me in the places I tend to be a lot. My point was that you should try to actually confirm the reception yourself in the places you frequent rather than just going by others' experiences.
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November 2008 is far too long ago. HTC/Apple (especially Samsung) phones also really don't offer good reception regardless of sim swapping. A phone with crap reception will be even crappier on PCS and less crappy on CLR (850). I already stated that I've seen over 40 pink "T"'s on compass.t-mobile.com in NYC earlier this year which ultimately means coverage has improved since 2008. ATM there are over 7 new sites showing and that's within the last 90 days.
That doesn't mean the coverage isn't weak, but the phone matters greatly and the ones you listed are all average or below average. I can go out to a warehouse and have my Samsung phone lose coverage, but not my Motorola? If I only had Samsung phones I'd probably think there was no coverage in that warehouse when there actually is coverage, my Samsung just didn't pick up the signal.
I will say this about T-Mobiles service, about 6 months ago the best signal I could get in my house was edge, now mind you the only carriers getting signal at all in my house were Verizon and T-Mobile. AT&T and Sprint could not get a signal whatsoever even at a window.
Well I woke up one morning and saw a full 5 bars of 3G and thought I was dreaming. Well low and behold now I have that all the time just about anywhere I go. For the record I only live about 10-15 minutes from Boston, so it's not like I'm in the middle of nowhere lol.
Just waiting patiently for my HSPA+ now, which the Boston market is confirmed as getting it soon.
heygrl said:
November 2008 is far too long ago. HTC/Apple (especially Samsung) phones also really don't offer good reception regardless of sim swapping. A phone with crap reception will be even crappier on PCS and less crappy on CLR (850). I already stated that I've seen over 40 pink "T"'s on compass.t-mobile.com in NYC earlier this year which ultimately means coverage has improved since 2008. ATM there are over 7 new sites showing and that's within the last 90 days.
That doesn't mean the coverage isn't weak, but the phone matters greatly and the ones you listed are all average or below average. I can go out to a warehouse and have my Samsung phone lose coverage, but not my Motorola? If I only had Samsung phones I'd probably think there was no coverage in that warehouse when there actually is coverage, my Samsung just didn't pick up the signal.
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I think you're basically illustrating my point. All the reasons I switched are irrelevant to anyone that is not me in Nov of 2008. They were highly relevant to me in Nov of 2008, considering that I couldn't get service in a place I spend 1/3 of my life on weekdays. It didn't matter how good the reception would be once they finished the AWS rollout, how good it was in LA or 35 miles from the Canadian border or the fact that the phones I like have sub-par reception. The decision had to be made based on my own experience not someone else saying that it was good.
Drachen said:
I think you're basically illustrating my point. All the reasons I switched are irrelevant to anyone that is not me in Nov of 2008. They were highly relevant to me in Nov of 2008, considering that I couldn't get service in a place I spend 1/3 of my life on weekdays. It didn't matter how good the reception would be once they finished the AWS rollout, how good it was in LA or 35 miles from the Canadian border or the fact that the phones I like have sub-par reception. The decision had to be made based on my own experience not someone else saying that it was good.
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So why would you post here? Seriously though...
heygrl said:
So why would you post here? Seriously though...
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Because this is a phone forum and not a (no offense) network fanboy forum. The phone I want and the phone you want are basically the same and there's more activity here. A root update was posted in the Vibrant dev forum that answered a question on the Captivate forum. Our phone drops 3 days after yours and there's going to be a lot of experimentation going on and the results will benefit both of us.
That and I thought I had something to add to the conversation and couldn't keep my trap shut. Personal failing.
heygrl said:
So why would you post here? Seriously though...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Drachen said:
Because this is a phone forum and not a (no offense) network fanboy forum. The phone I want and the phone you want are basically the same and there's more activity here. A root update was posted in the Vibrant dev forum that answered a question on the Captivate forum. Our phone drops 3 days after yours and there's going to be a lot of experimentation going on and the results will benefit both of us.
That and I thought I had something to add to the conversation and couldn't keep my trap shut. Personal failing.
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I doesn't really matter whose on what carrier. Each person is going to have different needs and different carriers will support those different needs. I think we can all agree this will be a kick ass phone and blows the iphone out of the water.
I thought engadget did a piece on data rates of carriers & ATT came out on top. Was this incorrect?
I do not know why but i get extremely poor signal with my new vibrant and T-mobile at my house. Outside the house and inside it is averaging - 110 db. My work is 1.5 miles away and I get 4-5 bars and excellent signal and 3G. T-mobile store is 1 mile away and i get excellent service there... Even 4G is offered in my area.
I called tech support, first they told me i had an old sim card, so today I changed the sim, but that did not help. I called them again, all they did is take me off the system and add me back on, did a test call, i received the call and that was it. Am I stuck with poor service or it is the the vibrant that is too sensitive.
I am looking at the signal strength at work now, and again, I work 1.5 miles away from my house, literary straight down the road.. I am getting -65 to -75 db with full 5 bars. When I hold it with my left hand supposedly blocking the antenna, I get a drop of -5 db, but it still stray very strong..
So I guess, it is not a phone issue. It is definitely Tmobile and their crappy signal!
azsamsancho said:
I do not know why but i get extremely poor signal with my new vibrant and T-mobile at my house. Outside the house and inside it is averaging - 110 db. My work is 1.5 miles away and I get 4-5 bars and excellent signal and 3G. T-mobile store is 1 mile away and i get excellent service there... Even 4G is offered in my area.
I called tech support, first they told me i had an old sim card, so today I changed the sim, but that did not help. I called them again, all they did is take me off the system and add me back on, did a test call, i received the call and that was it. Am I stuck with poor service or it is the the vibrant that is too sensitive.
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Click to collapse
azsamsancho said:
I am looking at the signal strength at work now, and again, I work 1.5 miles away from my house, literary straight down the road.. I am getting -65 to -75 db with full 5 bars. When I hold it with my left hand supposedly blocking the antenna, I get a drop of -5 db, but it still stray very strong..
So I guess, it is not a phone issue. It is definitely Tmobile and their crappy signal!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you want XDA crew come and hug you?
Which baseband are you running? JFD, JI2 or JI6?
azsamsancho said:
I am looking at the signal strength at work now, and again, I work 1.5 miles away from my house, literary straight down the road.. I am getting -65 to -75 db with full 5 bars. When I hold it with my left hand supposedly blocking the antenna, I get a drop of -5 db, but it still stray very strong..
So I guess, it is not a phone issue. It is definitely Tmobile and their crappy signal!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what rom are you running? What you're describing seems to be similar to what happened with the original vibrant radio.
Group hug aside
The above comments are excellent. Check what radio you are running. Then, check your tower locations
I am on an Island and there are places that every carrier has problems covering here. Not sure why it is that way but, that is the way it is. T mobile is pretty good on a whole compared to ATT and the others.
lqaddict said:
Which baseband are you running? JFD, JI2 or JI6?
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I was running stock at first, and then I upgraded to JI6 as it supposedly improves the signal.. i seem to have had some improvement but still extremely poor service at or around my house. last night as a test, I called my work and left a voicemail. When I got to work, I saw a missed call, but no voicemail!
The scary part is reliability, not being able to rely on important calls/voicemails to my phone. I tried to use google voice at least the voicemails to be covered, but I found out that google voice is not reliable either, a couple of times already it tells 'Cannot leave a voicemail servers are busy" something like that.. It is insane, and I have 4G in my area!
Have you tried another phone?
lqaddict said:
Have you tried another phone?
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I have not because I do not have another T-mobile phone. I used to be with AT&T for years and I never ever had a an issue with reception.
azsamsancho said:
I have not because I do not have another T-mobile phone. I used to be with AT&T for years and I never ever had a an issue with reception.
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it could be that your place is under a sub-optimal coverage for TMO.
Without a second phone to try there is little you can do to confirm or deny it.
azsamsancho said:
I have not because I do not have another T-mobile phone. I used to be with AT&T for years and I never ever had a an issue with reception.
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lol isn't obvious to you yet that AT&T network has wider coverage than T-Mobile? T-Mobile is still building out their 3G network, they still don't have the type of coverage AT&T have. I suggest you unlock you Vibrant and go back to AT&T if your not on a contract. Otherwise you will just have hope T-Mobile cares about coverage than SPEED.
I love T-Mobile but their coverage have me on the edge at times.
ram130 said:
lol isn't obvious to you yet that AT&T network has wider coverage than T-Mobile? T-Mobile is still building out their 3G network, they still don't have the type of coverage AT&T have. I suggest you unlock you Vibrant and go back to AT&T if your not on a contract. Otherwise you will just have hope T-Mobile cares about coverage than SPEED.
I love T-Mobile but their coverage have me on the edge at times.
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I unlocked the phone, but I can't go back to AT&T right, I will have to cancel the 2-year Tmobile contract and return the phone as well..
azsamsancho said:
I unlocked the phone, but I can't go back to AT&T right, I will have to cancel the 2-year Tmobile contract and return the phone as well..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I guess you have some bad luck. Looks like your stuck until T-Mobile does something, which can take upto two years either way...I wish you luck.
Have tried switching to EDGE?
I had the same signal quality problems and switched to att as a result. Problems resolved and I still have my beloved Vibrant.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
ram130 said:
lol isn't obvious to you yet that AT&T network has wider coverage than T-Mobile? T-Mobile is still building out their 3G network, they still don't have the type of coverage AT&T have. I suggest you unlock you Vibrant and go back to AT&T if your not on a contract. Otherwise you will just have hope T-Mobile cares about coverage than SPEED.
I love T-Mobile but their coverage have me on the edge at times.
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Click to collapse
I'm sorry, but that's the stupidest generalization i've seen here in a long time.
While T-Mobile is building out coverage, there are many areas that they serve and ATT doesn't (cheyenne, wyoming), and where TMO brought 3g first (peoria, IL; manhattan, ks).
If you don't like their coverage, then switch. But don't make silly generalizations based upon talking points from 5 years ago. Coverage is ALWAYS subjective.
I usually sit around -105dBm and I'm in Sacramento where supposedly HSPA+ was just rolled out (I know I can't get HSPA+, but I thought it was supposed to improve the network here )
So I feel your pain...
reuthermonkey said:
I'm sorry, but that's the stupidest generalization i've seen here in a long time.
While T-Mobile is building out coverage, there are many areas that they serve and ATT doesn't (cheyenne, wyoming), and where TMO brought 3g first (peoria, IL; manhattan, ks).
If you don't like their coverage, then switch. But don't make silly generalizations based upon talking points from 5 years ago. Coverage is ALWAYS subjective.
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Hey it's the facts..t-mobile network is still "spotty"...stop making them seem like god, they cover 96% while AT&T has 97%,,We don't even want to mention Verizon..but hey, nothing is perfect, it's just what's best in your area.
ram130 said:
Have tried switching to EDGE?
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Yes, I did experiment with EDGE (GSM only) setting. It seems to be a bit better -100 dB (compared to the -110 dB I get on 3G).
I know Tmobile has less than perfect coverage, but I think it is extremely unfortunate that a mile from my house networks are blazing fast. My 3G is super fast and internet pages load very, very quickly. I do not live in a mountain area either..
I guess I will have to live with it. Use hands free to talk when I am at home so antenna is not blocked.. and use google voice for voicemail so important calls are not lost. if gogole voice fails, at least ppl won't be able to leave voicemail, and thus forcing them to call me back..
azsamsancho said:
Yes, I did experiment with EDGE (GSM only) setting. It seems to be a bit better -100 dB (compared to the -110 dB I get on 3G).
I know Tmobile has less than perfect coverage, but I think it is extremely unfortunate that a mile from my house networks are blazing fast. My 3G is super fast and internet pages load very, very quickly. I do not live in a mountain area either..
I guess I will have to live with it. Use hands free to talk when I am at home so antenna is not blocked.. and use google voice for voicemail so important calls are not lost. if gogole voice fails, at least ppl won't be able to leave voicemail, and thus forcing them to call me back..
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Funny, I use Google Voice for all my voicemails and never got the error you had..oh well..i wish you luck
You may try returning it for a G2. TMo is supposed to release Wifi calling for it soon. It's probably coming to the Vibrant too, but I doubt before 2.2 is released.
Kubernetes said:
You may try returning it for a G2. TMo is supposed to release Wifi calling for it soon. It's probably coming to the Vibrant too, but I doubt before 2.2 is released.
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I am still within my 14-days (until tomorrow), but the problem is I did not buy directly from Tmobile. I bought from online retailer so I cannot just go and swap phones I think. I think if I can back out of the contract and keep the phone and go to AT&T might be a good option (not sure how good the 2 GB data limit is)..
So I got the Nexus S yesterday and LOVE everything about it.
I'm unable to get any acceptable reception inside my apartment (on the lowest level of a three story complex thats surrounded by other apartments).
I live in Hermosa Beach, CA and TMO says I have good coverage here... and they're right... because once i walk outside I'm blazing... like literally once I'm outside my door... what gives??? How can I go from 3G 4 bars lit up in green to that stupid EDGE with one bar... lucky to be green... or no reception at all.
Will I be stuck with not being able to use my phone inside my apartment? I called TMO and they are sending someone out here to check the reception I guess... but I'm stuck using WiFi inside my apartment without being able to use the phone.
Anyone else experience similar issues like that? My sprint phone never did this.
look into getting a signal repeater or something
T-Mobile definitely has issues penetrating buildings, in my opinion. Both my home and one of the two work-sites I frequent are almost dead-zones on T-Mo.
I purchased one of those zBoost cell repeaters for my home, which greatly improves reception, but you need to be able to run a cable to an outside antenna for best results.
Here's an Amazon link for a starting point to different models: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=mobile&field-keywords=zboost+tmobile&x=0&y=0
That said, it's ridiculous to have to pay $250 to get your cell signal. I only did it because the one I got does both AT&T and T-Mo frequencies (not T-Mo 3G, though) and my AT&T phones can get signal inside the house, but just barely.
I too have issues in buildings not necessarily my house but businesses
This is a T-Mobile issue. Not a nexus issue. Also is not a new issue.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
cpcrazyfly said:
This is a T-Mobile issue. Not a nexus issue. Also is not a new issue.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
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Technically correct, but if the Nexus S is your first T-Mobile phone, you might not know this. It would be easy to think the NS has a poor antenna. It's a valid question to ask, in my opinion.
redhatyellow said:
So I got the Nexus S yesterday and LOVE everything about it.
I'm unable to get any acceptable reception inside my apartment (on the lowest level of a three story complex thats surrounded by other apartments).
I live in Hermosa Beach, CA and TMO says I have good coverage here... and they're right... because once i walk outside I'm blazing... like literally once I'm outside my door... what gives??? How can I go from 3G 4 bars lit up in green to that stupid EDGE with one bar... lucky to be green... or no reception at all.
Will I be stuck with not being able to use my phone inside my apartment? I called TMO and they are sending someone out here to check the reception I guess... but I'm stuck using WiFi inside my apartment without being able to use the phone.
Anyone else experience similar issues like that? My sprint phone never did this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is just a fundamental issue with the frequencies t-mobile uses for their 3g network, 1700 and 2100mHz. Those have poor building penetration vs for example lower bands like the 850mHz on ATT which penetrates buildings much stronger. It requires them to build towers closer together but that isn't always possible, its hard enough to get towers up as it is.
This is one reason I've tried to stay on ATT 3g as their 3g band performs much better in these situations, when its available.
distortedloop said:
T-Mobile definitely has issues penetrating buildings, in my opinion. Both my home and one of the two work-sites I frequent are almost dead-zones on T-Mo.
I purchased one of those zBoost cell repeaters for my home, which greatly improves reception, but you need to be able to run a cable to an outside antenna for best results.
Here's an Amazon link for a starting point to different models:
That said, it's ridiculous to have to pay $250 to get your cell signal. I only did it because the one I got does both AT&T and T-Mo frequencies (not T-Mo 3G, though) and my AT&T phones can get signal inside the house, but just barely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you think TMO will provide this for me? Have people got TMO to do this before?
And yeah, I know this isn't a NS issue... I LOVE THE NS -- MY FAV PHONE OF ALL TIME!!, but i am new to TMO and love them as well EXCEPT for inside my house !!
Has anyone ever got TMO to provide better reception inside their home?? You would think they would provide people with like wireless routers for their homes!
I had the G1, Nexus One, G2, and MT4G before the Nexus S and have to say that the Nexus S gets hands down the best reception in my apartment.
The G1 was worthless, the N1, G2, and MT4G were pretty much on par but only got reception in certain parts of the apartment which means I couldn't move very much when on the phone (unless when on wifi calling of course).
The Nexus S has reception everywhere in my apartment with superior call quality throughout. Very impressed with it so far. T-mobile still sucks inside buildings but you're better off with the Nexus S than other T-mobile devices.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
find another place lol
why you are living deep down under. afraid of nuke or something ?
Also, I live in Los Angeles and we've been having lots of rain here... will that affect reception at all?
And what about femtocell technology? Does TMO use it??
redhatyellow said:
Also, I live in Los Angeles and we've been having lots of rain here... will that affect reception at all?
And what about femtocell technology? Does TMO use it??
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Im about an hour away from you and the rain is horrible but i havent had any issues...
and I dont think they do
LOL! I cannot stop laughing reading this comment
ll_l_x_l_ll said:
find another place lol
why you are living deep down under. afraid of nuke or something ?
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Click to collapse
Rain seems to be affecting my T mobile service, I'm in the valley and areas I normally get 3g on have been edge or no service since the rain storms began.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Hopefully someone will port the tmobile wifi app to the nexus s. I may return mine and wait for it because I don't want to keep switching phones at home because one has the ability for wifi calling and the other doesnt.
Also I have tried sip calling to no avail on both nexuses.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Rain is known to sometimes cause interference with reception; I notice this as well in NYC. I have noticed that the Nexus S is pretty good at keeping the signal alive, certainly better than my N1 or Vibrant.
To improve your reception, set the phone to airplane mode and then turn it off a few seconds later to get the closest towers. Also call 611 and ask them to reset your phone on the network from their end. Surprisingly, this sometimes does help. As someone said previously, the higher the band (2100 mhz for Tmo 3G), the worse penetration is unfortunately. I think Tmo stopped selling their repeaters earlier this year or last year (hotspot @ home).
I tweeted on Sunday my dissatisfaction with T-Mobile service. I was 75' outside one of their own stores in an area marked as 3G on their maps, couldn't get data at all inside another store, couldn't get better than EDGE outside in the parking lot.
Their reply was to try a new SIM. The SIM I have is from my N1 original, it's not even a year old. Anyone think it's worth the effort swapping? Do SIMS actually "wear out" that fast?
I suspect that's one of those "we don't really have an answer or fix, but give the customer something to try so we look proactive" kind of answers. LOL
have you tried setting up SIP + GVoice over Wifi?
This doesn't resolve the tmobile issue, but at least you can make and receive calls on wifi without eating up your minutes...
It's not ideal, but it works.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=877879
My friend had this problem with his ATT phones. He contacted them, *****ed, and they set up one of those repeaters in his apartment. He's the only one that could log into it and set up a filter to use only phones he registers. Maybe you can talk to Tmobile about this, though I'm not sure if they're eager to give everyone these things (or if Tmobile even gives them).
I'm less then a week on getting paid and have enough money saved up to finally get the Nexus S. I'm also getting my employee plan since I work for Radio Shack. The only thing is stopping me is T-Mobile. Are they really dependable. In by which I mean that will I get good signal, dropped calls, and etc. I would like to hear some feedback on T-Mobile? I am on Sprint, I'm currently satisfied with the service I get.
Thanks.
Hey, its not att. Thats a plus haha.
Really depends on your area. I rarely get drop calls with T-Mobile. Maybe once a month. Signal is eh, phases in and out every now depending on your location (but then again that's with every carrier). YMMV. Even though T-Mobile isn't perfect, I'm personally satisfied with the affordable plans. That sort of balances out any discrepancies .
Check coverage here
t-mobile.com/coverage/pcc.aspx
Alopez_45 said:
I'm less then a week on getting paid and have enough money saved up to finally get the Nexus S. I'm also getting my employee plan since I work for Radio Shack. The only thing is stopping me is T-Mobile. Are they really dependable. In by which I mean that will I get good signal, dropped calls, and etc. I would like to hear some feedback on T-Mobile? I am on Sprint, I'm currently satisfied with the service I get.
Thanks.
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Click to collapse
Go to T-Mobile's website and look at their coverage checker. Then go to your friends who live around where you live and have T-Mobile, and ask them. You can't really get an answer about YOUR expected call quality from someone on an internet forum who might not even live in your state.
As far as feedback on T-Mobile, surely you've heard that they win mobile provider customer service awards every year? Top-rated customer satisfaction, etc... it's all over the news all the time.
The only people who aren't happy with T-Mobile, are those who don't have actual coverage where they live/work. And those are just logistical issues for which you'll have to do real-world checking (as I mentioned in the first paragraph) to find out.
Whatever you do, don't get a brand new phone before at LEAST using the T-Mobile website's coverage checker to verify that you should have good voice & data service at the locations important to you.
I live in an area without very good service (terrible actually) and I'm still very happy with tmo best customer service period.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I live in an area where I don't get Edge or 3g. The network coverage is spotty compared to ATT and Celular South. If there were a roaming agreement with ATT it would be awesome. If I go south I can count on not having service unless in a populated area. The further north I go (depending on area...) it gets better.
The plans and customer service are awesome. Don't have a complaint at all about them. No need to add extra stuff for MMS messages. I can tether all I want for no extra charge... Just wished we had 3g.
I'm in NYC. The biggest issue I noticed with Tmobile is if you're ever deep inside a building (like in an office building, a department store, or especially a mall) the signal can become weak, or even nonexistent. It just doesn't seem like their signal strength can penetrate building walls well. Other than that, the service is quite stable and reliable.
That's just my experience.
onthecouchagain said:
I'm in NYC. The biggest issue I noticed with Tmobile is if you're ever deep inside a building (like in an office building, a department store, or especially a mall) the signal can become weak, or even nonexistent. It just doesn't seem like their signal strength can penetrate building walls well. Other than that, the service is quite stable and reliable.
That's just my experience.
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Click to collapse
same here in MA
I came to T-Mobile from sprint. There are both goods and bad. Sprint had a better coverage area in my city but tmobile has speeds that just blow my mind away. You'll love the speeds. The coverage is a little more spotty but honestly its not bad. This is in Phoenix, I am very excited with tmobile, their great here. I only had 1 call drop and that was only cause I was going through a tunnel.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
It all depends on the area your in.. I had the Dell Venue Pro on Tmobile and I was always having really bad service, It seems like I have slightly better service with the Nexus S.
peeturr said:
Really depends on your area. I rarely get drop calls with T-Mobile. Maybe once a month. Signal is eh, phases in and out every now depending on your location (but then again that's with every carrier). YMMV. Even though T-Mobile isn't perfect, I'm personally satisfied with the affordable plans. That sort of balances out any discrepancies .
Check coverage here
t-mobile.com/coverage/pcc.aspx
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Agreed. I get excellent coverage here in Cleveland.My buddy in Chicago swears by Sprint. Lots swear by Verizon which for me gets worse signal than my T-mobile. AT&T usually has the most bad rep but so popular because of the beloved iPhone. I'd try and find a friend in Chicago with T-mobile and ask them how their service is. Indoors, downtown, suburbs, etc.
onthecouchagain said:
I'm in NYC. The biggest issue I noticed with Tmobile is if you're ever deep inside a building (like in an office building, a department store, or especially a mall) the signal can become weak, or even nonexistent. It just doesn't seem like their signal strength can penetrate building walls well. Other than that, the service is quite stable and reliable.
That's just my experience.
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Click to collapse
good observation, and that's because tmobile actually cant penetrate structures well because their 3g network frequency is very high in the spectrum, 1700/2100 has very poor building penetration, where lower has much better penetration, such as 900 or 850. that's why i always felt i get more with the tier 1 networks, given you are in fact in an 850 area.
I just switched to Tmobile to get the NS from Verizon...
I dont know much about voice cause I dont really call THAT often, but data is faster on Tmobile
RogerPodacter said:
good observation, and that's because tmobile actually cant penetrate structures well because their 3g network frequency is very high in the spectrum, 1700/2100 has very poor building penetration, where lower has much better penetration, such as 900 or 850. that's why i always felt i get more with the tier 1 networks, given you are in fact in an 850 area.
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Click to collapse
Interesting. Good to know.
I work and go to school full time so 90% of the time I'm inside of a building. I'm finding that even seated in front of a huge window I have no data signal it just says "emergency calls only" and the wifi is so terribly weak I can't even connect to the campus wifi. Anything I can do to improve this before I consider other options?
Sent from my Nexus S
Bronk93 said:
I work and go to school full time so 90% of the time I'm inside of a building. I'm finding that even seated in front of a huge window I have no data signal it just says "emergency calls only" and the wifi is so terribly weak I can't even connect to the campus wifi. Anything I can do to improve this before I consider other options?
Sent from my Nexus S
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T-Mobile will NEVER be good at building penetration with their current network; it's the high frequencies they use and the lack of close-together towers.
WiFi seems to be hit or miss for people. I have zero issues with WiFi on my phone, but lots of people complain the NS is weak. You might consider a swap if you're still in the remorse period. Other than that, unless you get closer to the WiFi, there's nothing you can (currently) do to the phone that will boost the reception, but software updates might address that (new modem software, etc).
that is the nature of AWS 1700+2100 (t-mobile) signal
some areas are really good, some areas are horrible
i myself i'm victim of that, no much you can do about it, other than to report weak signal areas, so that they can put up more towers to cover the black spots (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAG39jKi0lI)
as for WiFi signal... i don't seem to have that trouble
i can connect to WiFi G and N just fine, fast and strong 3 bars, or 4 bars, but never max
Bronk93 said:
I'm finding that even seated in front of a huge window I have no data signal... and the wifi is so terribly weak I can't even connect to the campus wifi. Anything I can do to improve this before I consider other options?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find that I am having the same problem.
The understand network signal issue that "AllGamer" and "distortedloop" mention. But I am came to the Nexus S from a G2. I wanted a purely Google phone and paid for the Nexus S. In the same buildings (Work & School), My G2 would report a stronger WIFI signal.
Any reason for this noted discrepancy? I'm not complaining, just trying to understand and find out if there is a solution.
I think I'm still in my 14 day period, so I may swap it out. But it feels like I've been setting up phone preferences and reinstalling programs for months. I've been through several G2s because of that darn hinge and now another Nexus-S.
Please somebody--- say there's a fix.
I get 2 bars of wifi only 10 feet from my home router even. Im out of my grace period but I have the 10$ a month best buy insurance, could that be used? Sadly I'm looking at the g2 and hd7, some form of reliable data is a must for me.
Sent from my Nexus S
I live in a terrible service area. With my Sprint phone I had to actually go outside to be able to make and receive calls and I live in the Northwest. Its f***ing wet here. On Tmobile I get great service...on my couch only. Its better than having to go outside, and I don't mind it that much to be honest. I just leave my phone on my couch while I'm at home and all is well. As for WiFi, I've never had any issues though I've read about all the people complaining. My wife and I both have great WiFi reception or at the very worst, reception on par with every other phone I've owned. She goes to class inside a concrete building from the 70s and gets fine WiFi and no one on any carrier gets any real cell reception in those buildings.
I don't have experience with any other carrier, so I have no basis for comparison, but I've never found T-Mobile to be particularly bad inside buildings in general. Some are just really bad. I suspect it has a lot to do with the design and materials of the building. I've never had an experience of having such bad coverage by a window, though. Maybe you're only in range of one tower, and the window you're standing at is just on the opposite side of the building from that tower? I dunno.
Thanks for all the feedback fellas. I'm going to see if the best buy insurance will cover a phone swap.
Sent from my Nexus S
It most likely won't. Your best bet would be an exchange if you're within the 30 days or selling the nexus and buying a different phone off contract.
Sent from my SubCyan CM7 Google Nexus S!
zorak950 said:
I don't have experience with any other carrier, so I have no basis for comparison, but I've never found T-Mobile to be particularly bad inside buildings in general. Some are just really bad. I suspect it has a lot to do with the design and materials of the building. I've never had an experience of having such bad coverage by a window, though. Maybe you're only in range of one tower, and the window you're standing at is just on the opposite side of the building from that tower? I dunno.
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Click to collapse
T-Mobile's overall service is definitely location-dependent.
I live in the suburbs of Los Angeles. My house is single story, wood frame & 1/2" stucco construction built in the 50s. It's in the "hills", but in direct line of sight of two different towers. One's maybe 3/4 miles, the other just over a mile.
Until a couple of months ago, I could not get any signal in my house, on either voice or data. They did something in the fall and I started getting voice and EDGE, and occasionally I'll get a single bar of 3G in some rooms of the house.
AT&T and Verizon, 5 bars inside my house, but in fairness to T-Mobile, in the early days of the iPhone, I remember having lots of dead spots inside the house with the iPhone.
distortedloop said:
T-Mobile's overall service is definitely location-dependent.
I live in the suburbs of Los Angeles. My house is single story, wood frame & 1/2" stucco construction built in the 50s. It's in the "hills", but in direct line of sight of two different towers. One's maybe 3/4 miles, the other just over a mile.
Until a couple of months ago, I could not get any signal in my house, on either voice or data. They did something in the fall and I started getting voice and EDGE, and occasionally I'll get a single bar of 3G in some rooms of the house.
AT&T and Verizon, 5 bars inside my house, but in fairness to T-Mobile, in the early days of the iPhone, I remember having lots of dead spots inside the house with the iPhone.
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Click to collapse
Crazy. I never had a smartphone when I lived in Rochester (MN), so I know nothing about 3G there, but I never had problems with voice calls unless I was in the subway or I buried myself in the core of one of Mayo Clinic's monstrous stone buildings. In Saint Cloud the only place I can recall getting no signal was in the middle of the cinder block labyrinth known as our student union building. In Portland, I get reception pretty much everywhere, though 3G coverage just doesn't exist still in sizable patches outside the city's core.
But yeah, I imagine it's like that with pretty much any carrier; some places, coverage just blows.
I've decided that I am willing to give up my nexus to get service through another carrier with better service in my area. Does anyone have experience with at&t? Does their band allow for better reception in buildings?
Sent from my Nexus S
Yes if you live in an 850mHz area for ATT then building penetration is spectacular. But It's not totally common.
Also I read an ATT version of the nexus s is confirmed now. So that's an option.
I concur with RogerPodacter on AT&T. Their 1900 mhz signal isn't much better at building penetration than T-Mobiles 1700/2100 AWS, but 850 should be. I don't think a lot of areas are actually 850 yet.
If coverage and building penetration are your main concerns, I really feel Verizon is the way to go. Everywhere I hang out that I don't get a signal on either my T-Mo or my AT&T phone, the folks with Verizon are getting good strong coverage. I live and work in the suburbs and surrounding areas of Los Angeles; since cell service is very much dependent on the area you live in with all the companies, your experience may be much different.
Along those lines, I was at Lake Mohave (Bullhead, AZ area) recently, and neither my AT&T i9000, iPhone 4, or T-Mobile Nexus One could get a signal at all for voice or data, but the guys with old original model iPhones were pulling in a signal. Go figure.
My Own Fustration
Hmm...my problem is that 50% of the time when I am on the subway and the signal drops off, when I arrive at the next station, it remains off. There seems to be some kind of glitch (either in the actual OS or else something caused by something I have running in the background) whereby the phone antenna just turns "off", so to speak, and the only way to fix it is to restart the phone.
TokyoGuy said:
Hmm...my problem is that 50% of the time when I am on the subway and the signal drops off, when I arrive at the next station, it remains off. There seems to be some kind of glitch (either in the actual OS or else something caused by something I have running in the background) whereby the phone antenna just turns "off", so to speak, and the only way to fix it is to restart the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or you can try turning airplane mode off and on, see if that helps
How would I know which AT&T signal is available in my area?
Sent from my Nexus S
Bronk93 said:
How would I know which AT&T signal is available in my area?
Sent from my Nexus S
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I'm not sure how accurate this is, since it's 2 years old, but it's a good start: http://www.cellularmaps.com/att_850_1900.shtml
distortedloop said:
I'm not sure how accurate this is, since it's 2 years old, but it's a good start: http://www.cellularmaps.com/att_850_1900.shtml
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wow! i'm actually surprised there are less 850 coverage than 1900 areas (according to that map)
on a related note.
wish more Cell phone carriers had this feature
http://www2.windmobile.ca/en/pages/storesandcoverage.aspx
using google map, to check live coverage, and you can report weak spots, so they can build a new tower to cover the weak spots