Will TMO ever expand its 3G coverage? - HD2 General

I have searched the web and see that TMOUS has been upgrading its 3g network with HSDPA but is there any word that they will increase the size / range of its high speed data network?
I live in Georgia and just happen to be in an ATT dead zone so I switched to TMO but only have edge in 30680 Winder, GA

3G coverage
Call customer support. The support folks I always talk to about service/coverage have always been dead on when it comes to coverage issues. I've been told with point blank honesty what kind of time table I could expect with coverage in my area. When I first moved to Nipomo, I had a dead spot on the main freeway. It was about a two mile stretch. Once I explained where it was and what I was experiencing, support told me it would take 60-90 days for them to get a fix from the engineering department. Sure enough, that dead spot is no longer there. The signal is crappy, but I can make and receive calls there. I don't have 3G in my town. I asked about that and they said it will not happen within the next year. No hedging or not sures. Just "it's not going to happen within the next year." and I'm cool with that. I like the honesty and customer service.
Where I work, it's a complete void. The "coverage" map states "two bars", but it actually non existent. I was told 90-120 days for the fix to be done. So, we'll see. Still got 30 days or so before I hit the window.

amurch said:
I have searched the web and see that TMOUS has been upgrading its 3g network with HSDPA but is there any word that they will increase the size / range of its high speed data network?
I live in Georgia and just happen to be in an ATT dead zone so I switched to TMO but only have edge in 30680 Winder, GA
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I looked up your zip code on the t-mobile coverage tool. Your right past the 3g coverage! Normally i would say don't expect miracles but your close enough where i think they might eventually. Worse case, depending on the phone you have, try using its wifi at home or something. (Yeah, i know. not the same)

Related

AT&T 3G on G1 in Brooklyn NYC?

Apparently I was down in Brooklyn the other day to visit someone, attempting to make a call I found out my normal "EDGE" icon turns to "3G", so I ran a mobile speed test and turns out I was getting 800~Kb/s. So is it possible that AT&T can actually have different frequency in some areas? I didn't have a video camera to film this atm. But if anyone want to verify it who lives near the area.. 8th Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11220
Anyway just some interesting find =) for those who can't survive without 3G speed on AT&T network for the G1, maybe you can live there
Yep Data Roaming was def on, I paid for that service! and it's not a bug, after I left that area speed returned to EDGE and I started to get like...200Kb/s to 100Kb/s again =\
Are you sure roaming was off?
hmmm.... very interesting
http://coverage.t-mobile.com/default.aspx?MapType=Data
...tmobile has 3g coverage there...
scobiie said:
Apparently I was down in Brooklyn the other day to visit someone, attempting to make a call I found out my normal "EDGE" icon turns to "3G", so I ran a mobile speed test and turns out I was getting 800~Kb/s. So is it possible that AT&T can actually have different frequency in some areas? I didn't have a video camera to film this atm. But if anyone want to verify it who lives near the area.. 8th Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11220
Anyway just some interesting find =) for those who can't survive without 3G speed on AT&T network for the G1, maybe you can live there
Yep Data Roaming was def on, I paid for that service! and it's not a bug, after I left that area speed returned to EDGE and I started to get like...200Kb/s to 100Kb/s again =\
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This has been documented before in San Francisco too. I'm guessing it's due to some roaming setup that incidentally resulted in 3G nodes also being activated for att users. It's probably not something att or tmo would advertise, as att doesn't officially have 1700AWS handsets and tmo really has no reason to push its users to att. That's just my uneducated guess.

T-Mobile US service. Is it worth it coming from 9 years of Verizon?

I have the TP2 on Verizon, and I would like the HD2. My biggest concern is dropping and poor cell reception. I'm in Orange County, CA, but I do travel around the U.S. occassionally. Please be honest and let me know how people who are on T-Mobile U.S. service what you think. Do you drop calls a lot? Poor connections? Dead zones?
I've had Verizon for 9 years, so I've been spoiled with great cell service. I RARELY get dropped calls and dead zone (I'm being honest). So I'm wondering what people think about T-Mobile.
you won't be disappointed
I haven't dropped a call in chicago though i wish data was like philly lol
whiteblazer01 said:
I have the TP2 on Verizon, and I would like the HD2. My biggest concern is dropping and poor cell reception. I'm in Orange County, CA, but I do travel around the U.S. occassionally. Please be honest and let me know how people who are on T-Mobile U.S. service what you think. Do you drop calls a lot? Poor connections? Dead zones?
I've had Verizon for 9 years, so I've been spoiled with great cell service. I RARELY get dropped calls and dead zone (I'm being honest). So I'm wondering what people think about T-Mobile.
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I've never had a dropped call... but the 3g signal sucks. It doesn't get 3g signals in buildings or houses. I really regret leaving at&t, which had great 3g signals. Also, looking at the t-mobile signal map, it looks like there's a lot of places in the US that don't get t-mobile.
I would suggest, if you can afford it, get the Telstra 9193 HD2 imported from australia and use At&t. You'll get much better service, at least 3g service.
3g & signal are great for me better than my friend with an iphone at&t i had tmobile since it was voicestream & the service has always been good but i say it all depends on your area givie it a try if you are not satisfy you could always go back as soon as you dont pass the 30days
Not for the HD2. Reception on this phone blows chunks. It makes a low signal a no signal. It switches over to EDGE at the drop of a hat. Anyone that switched to T-Mobile for the HD2 can't make a good evaluation based on that device, it truly blows. T-Mobile has an good soon-to-be HSPA+ Network in Orange County but I would avoid the HD2 at all costs.
Service
I live in Idaho. I have Att, it is ok, but don't get 3g. But I'm ok with edge. I have tried Tmobile,It was great in the town 14 miles from my home. But lost signal all the time. I would say from what other people say, is it's ok in big cities, but not rural. I would pay the extra, & get telstra, on Att. Actually, I did similar thing, just put my sim in from 10.00 data plan. I don't use much data so I'm not going to pay higher plan,, My bud in Pa has telstra,on att, loves it, no tmobile probs.
Former AT&T user for about 10 years - really depends on the area. I just got a T-Mobile HD2 and while the phone is phenominal compared to the current AT&T offerings (build quality, screen, etc.) the network in St Louis is VERY spotty. As others have said the 3g is very weak - as soon as you move say into a parking garage (3g worked with AT&T) it will immediately switch to Edge. Also there seems to be a ton of dead spots even in urban areas. The 3G speeds here at most get in to the 800 range where AT&T was well over 1200 BUT the latentcy and browsing speeds on AT&T seem slower. iPhones in this area suck up tons of bandwidth.
Traveling from say St Louis across to Atlanta on major interstates - AT&T is pretty much on Edge EXCEPT in really major cities like Nashville but other than that its Edge all the way to Atlanta. Used a AT&T Tilt and 8525 for this run. DON'T believe the coverage maps - as soon as I left St Louis it was Edge through Kentucky unless I passed a very populated city and the speeds were mediocre at best.
Until a radio ROM update is released that hopefully fixes the reception problem the phone will have issues. Call quality is just "ok" with some popping, hissing etc.
I think you'll be ok if you use it in MAJOR urban areas but if you go off route or go to some of the smaller cities/towns coverage will be pretty poor.
I only paid about 75 dollars for the phone with a two year commitment so I can't really complain - the only really bad decision on Tmobile part was to spec the phone differently than the European HD2 - finding cases, screen protectors that fit the phone at the moment is pretty difficult.
Nope you are better off with the htc incredible and stay on verzion
stim141 said:
Former AT&T user for about 10 years - really depends on the area. I just got a T-Mobile HD2 and while the phone is phenominal compared to the current AT&T offerings (build quality, screen, etc.) the network in St Louis is VERY spotty. As others have said the 3g is very weak - as soon as you move say into a parking garage (3g worked with AT&T) it will immediately switch to Edge. Also there seems to be a ton of dead spots even in urban areas. The 3G speeds here at most get in to the 800 range where AT&T was well over 1200 BUT the latentcy and browsing speeds on AT&T seem slower. iPhones in this area suck up tons of bandwidth.
Traveling from say St Louis across to Atlanta on major interstates - AT&T is pretty much on Edge EXCEPT in really major cities like Nashville but other than that its Edge all the way to Atlanta. Used a AT&T Tilt and 8525 for this run. DON'T believe the coverage maps - as soon as I left St Louis it was Edge through Kentucky unless I passed a very populated city and the speeds were mediocre at best.
Until a radio ROM update is released that hopefully fixes the reception problem the phone will have issues. Call quality is just "ok" with some popping, hissing etc.
I think you'll be ok if you use it in MAJOR urban areas but if you go off route or go to some of the smaller cities/towns coverage will be pretty poor.
I only paid about 75 dollars for the phone with a two year commitment so I can't really complain - the only really bad decision on Tmobile part was to spec the phone differently than the European HD2 - finding cases, screen protectors that fit the phone at the moment is pretty difficult.
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I don't see exactly what you're getting at. It's the HD2, not the network.. the signal might be weak but the HD2 totally drops the signal. Swap out your HD2 for a Motorola CLIQ or CLIQ XT and you'll see what I'm talking about. I'm not saying it won't ever switch over to EDGE again because the network still has some EDGE-only towers sprinkled in (said to be rectified in 2010+Fiber to the sites) but it will greatly reduce the occurrence.
8 years with verizon, 5 lines in south florida
Switched one line specificly for HD2 to tmobile. SUx 3g signal
Most of the tiem ti shows 3g or H but the connection is weak, i get mostly 300-500 range, once ina while it may spike to 800.
Cant even compare to Verizon, i had Droid.
Thinking to go wimax for Sprint. Same phone but better data output.
I've been with them all - Verizon, Tmobile, AT&T - even dating back to 'Cellular One'. I also used to travel far more in the US than I do now and I've never been disappointed with what is now AT&T's network or service area. Tmobile had been spotty for me.
If you're looking into an HD2, I'd recommend buying a T9193 and going with AT&T. It'll cost you more for the hardware but you won't be forced into a $30+/month data plan for two years because you can go with their 'MEdia Net' unlimited plan for $20/month instead, saving $10 per month over the data plan that iPhone users are forced into. IOW, the $240 it'll save you over two years will help reduce your private purchase of the phone to about $500 or less, if you shop hard and wait for a deal.
it would really depend on your own location i've had verizon< noproblems though many years ago. then moved over to nextel< its nextel:x then moved over to at&t (found this site) at&t I would always have drop spots, not random alsways a consistant few locations other than that it was fine. I recently switched to t-mo for the hd2 on no contract as i plan on moving over to sprint once the evo comes out. so far the best service has come from verizon though at the time I only had a flip phone. I would go back but haven't liked any of the phones and that was the only reason i left. I would stick with verizon and try out the incredible. I haven't encountered any issues being in the OC myself with t-mo service but its only been about a month and I haven't traveled out of OC.
picassoianctions said:
8 years with verizon, 5 lines in south florida
Switched one line specificly for HD2 to tmobile. SUx 3g signal
Most of the tiem ti shows 3g or H but the connection is weak, i get mostly 300-500 range, once ina while it may spike to 800.
Cant even compare to Verizon, i had Droid.
Thinking to go wimax for Sprint. Same phone but better data output.
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LOL.. I really hope you do pick up a WiMAX phone. If you think you're disappointed now just wait. Also the connection has nothing to do with it, if you're getting slow speeds that's because the backend of the network is still on one T1. When HSPA+ is enabled it will blow WiMAX out of the water.
BillTheCat said:
I've been with them all - Verizon, Tmobile, AT&T - even dating back to 'Cellular One'. I also used to travel far more in the US than I do now and I've never been disappointed with what is now AT&T's network or service area. Tmobile had been spotty for me.
If you're looking into an HD2, I'd recommend buying a T9193 and going with AT&T. It'll cost you more for the hardware but you won't be forced into a $30+/month data plan for two years because you can go with their 'MEdia Net' unlimited plan for $20/month instead, saving $10 per month over the data plan that iPhone users are forced into. IOW, the $240 it'll save you over two years will help reduce your private purchase of the phone to about $500 or less, if you shop hard and wait for a deal.
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When did you have T-Mobile?
whiteblazer01 said:
I have the TP2 on Verizon, and I would like the HD2. My biggest concern is dropping and poor cell reception. I'm in Orange County, CA, but I do travel around the U.S. occassionally. Please be honest and let me know how people who are on T-Mobile U.S. service what you think. Do you drop calls a lot? Poor connections? Dead zones?
I've had Verizon for 9 years, so I've been spoiled with great cell service. I RARELY get dropped calls and dead zone (I'm being honest). So I'm wondering what people think about T-Mobile.
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I have T-Mobile as my personal phone (Proud owner of The HD2) and have AT&T phone as my business phone (company gave it to me to use it)... So, here is the comparison:
Where I live the reception is very strong for both T-Mobile and AT&T - when you check their maps... T-Mobile has not failed me in last 5 years. I recall only one outage I have experienced and that was due to bad weather where I simply was not able to make phone calls to certain people. So my rating for T-Mobile is and stays 5 stars hands down...
Now AT&T - it appears to have faster 3G - like it is a big deal since I do not use it at all - but anyway, having faster 3G that's where everything stops. Call Reception is terrible, dropped calls all over the place, you get into the building you loose reception easily, etc. Therefore, can easily rate AT&T with lousy 2 stars - which they get only based on faster 3G.
Bottom line T-Mobile is definitely better in service where I live which is Chicagoland Northern burbs - but comparing it to Verizon? Well, I never had Verizon as I am not fan of CDMA networks - more like GSM person (habbit I brought from Europe I guess lol)... I heard Verizon is good with coverage; not that great in Basements - but having HD2 in mind - I do not think you will regret it...
PS test it out and see how it works - you can get that done and see for your area if it's working or not... good luck!

HSDPA+ rolled/being rolled out to central florida, what to look for

Hopefully this isn't off topic.
What to look for if you still don't have it in your area:
Have had some issues the last few weeks with tmobile and noticed "funny" things like certain areas not having 3g but full edge when I knew they were capable of it. Most of the time this happened around 2am or later. Anyway I now can say without a doubt that HSDPA+ is in central Florida or in the process of being rolled out. Other odd issues I noticed was
Consistent min speed of 2.3mbit when before it was 500kbit min. Highest I got so far in my apartment which is a 3-4 bar area was 5.5mbit. Highest before was 1.5 and in a very strong 4 bar area close by 1.8 max. Upload still leaves *ALOT* to be desired with .23 to -.4 mbps upload. They seem to be using similiar technology to the burst seen on cable modems, ie road runner will give you 20mbit for their "turbo" with "bursts" up to 30mbit. This could also just be how hsdpa works anyway to make sure there aren't alot of re-requests for data due to a bad signal but it definately starts off around 300-500kbit and bursts up after 1-4 seconds to the faster speed.
Either way perfect timing tmobile.
I hope that's true. I've been having alot of 3g outtages lately.
JCopernicus said:
I hope that's true. I've been having alot of 3g outtages lately.
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I'm almost certain it is. I just called last night to complain about it because I was staying at my parents house sitting and it happened up there too, as well as by my girlfriend's house about 10 minutes down the road from my apartment.
I'm really bothered though by the upload speeds.. but i guess its whatever. It's either my area, or tmobile in general.. I've had a couple of swaps with the same issue so its not the phone.
As a side note.. does nexus support 21mbit hsdpa+?
no the nexus one only supports up to 7.2mbps
Orangeandblue302 said:
no the nexus one only supports up to 7.2mbps
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ouch I was really hoping that wasn't the case. any that go beyond to 21mbps?
I wish AT&T upgraded the towers here. I can't tell you how many times I go into a classroom at UCF and there's no reception.
mariolopezjr said:
I wish AT&T upgraded the towers here. I can't tell you how many times I go into a classroom at UCF and there's no reception.
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I'm pretty sure schools do that on purpose so you can pay attention in class.
The same thing happens at my university up here in Illinois, once you step outside the building, full bars again.
rolled out in Houston Texas
Hey - starting last week, I noticed flaky things with T-mobile in Houston area similar to what OP stated. But over the weekend, I realized they were rolling out hsdpa+ and then the next day - full blown hspa. I'm so happy.
Before today, the ul speeds were .5 - .6. Today, I'm getting between 1.5 and 1.8 ul speeds!
TurboTsi said:
I'm pretty sure schools do that on purpose so you can pay attention in class.
The same thing happens at my university up here in Illinois, once you step outside the building, full bars again.
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More than anything its the wireless spectrum they use and the fact that you're in a large buildling. Depending on the frequency your provider uses you'll have better luck than some indoors.. generally its all the same. Of course the number of towers is important too. But for example LTE on 700mhz will give verizon LTE speeds 8-10 miles from the tower, 2500mhz on wimax will give sprint 2-3 miles from the tower. Higher frequency means more bandwidth available however.
I'm in engineering at UCF and pretty good reception in HEC and engineering 1 as long as you're not in the inner part of the building and those hallways and labs you're good. Brick walls = signal drop with anything but the lower frequencies and a well covered area. It's pretty strong coverage over here though on this side of campus.
They do have paint and stuff that have metal in it I think because its illegal to have a device that emits a radio signal to jam cellphones, however blocking it with shielding isn't. I'm pretty certain its expensive though. This was years ago that I saw that link on it... don't know if it still exists.
How big of a swath is it being rolled out to do you think? I am in Deltona and nothing has changed as of yet. I assume your talking about the Orlando metro area...
I am using the FRF50 radio by the way.
yeah you will get a increase in speeds due to the extra bandwith, but don't expect to get past the 7.2 mark, hell don't even expect to hit the 7.2 mark due to all the other factors.
not many devices out there to take full advantage of the added speed. new blackberry bold does........not sure what else, even the *cough* iphone 4 doesn't
saint327 said:
How big of a swath is it being rolled out to do you think? I am in Deltona and nothing has changed as of yet. I assume your talking about the Orlando metro area...
I am using the FRF50 radio by the way.
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I was up in deland when I noticed the problems 2 nights ago with the 2g and not going to 3g in an area that I knew had 3g. This was actually during the day. I just tested it again within the last day before leaving and it was working again. Give it a week or two and I'm sure you'll see it. It seems the whole area is being upgraded including you. I'm on the older radio... update-1 radio.
Also please report problems to tmobile as you see them. I'm going to report my ****ty upload speeds. Looking online it seems other areas have better upload than I do. I mean 200kbps max 400 and choppy is just terrible.
y2whisper said:
yeah you will get a increase in speeds due to the extra bandwith, but don't expect to get past the 7.2 mark, hell don't even expect to hit the 7.2 mark due to all the other factors.
not many devices out there to take full advantage of the added speed. new blackberry bold does........not sure what else, even the *cough* iphone 4 doesn't
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ATT is only going to 7.1 HSDPA... at least offically announced as of a month ago.. I guess that could change.. They're doing LTE after that.
Re 3g in O-Town.
I have had full 3g bars when I visit my younger brother around Alfaya and UCF.
As far as off-topicness goes I do think XDA is large enough to need carrier forums..
But yes, 3G/2G switching where it previously wasn't, weak 3G, no 3G, 3G not working, are all signs that 3G is being worked on for HSPA+ which includes going from T1's to fiber backhaul
My sig shows what I get with my slow G1. This is in a high traffic area, where before it was .10Mbps during the same time, yes.. that slow and congested.
Also if you're not getting HSUPA you need to make sure your Nexus One has it enabled. Stock roms do have HSUPA enabled, some custom ones don't.
blisk said:
I was up in deland when I noticed the problems 2 nights ago with the 2g and not going to 3g in an area that I knew had 3g. This was actually during the day. I just tested it again within the last day before leaving and it was working again. Give it a week or two and I'm sure you'll see it. It seems the whole area is being upgraded including you. I'm on the older radio... update-1 radio.
Also please report problems to tmobile as you see them. I'm going to report my ****ty upload speeds. Looking online it seems other areas have better upload than I do. I mean 200kbps max 400 and choppy is just terrible.
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Cool. I was discouraged back in January when they supposedly flipped the switch to HSDPA. As it turned out the backhaul wasn't here to support it. The max down I can remember is right at 1Mbps. Most of the time its around 900Kbps. Uploads usually come in around 350Kbps, with 500 being the highest I've seen. I live in Deltona, but work in Lake Mary and the speeds have been similar in both locations.
I hope that with this rollout everything will be in place.
HSDPA was already active on the network. The most they did was enable HSUPA.
blisk said:
More than anything its the wireless spectrum they use and the fact that you're in a large buildling. Depending on the frequency your provider uses you'll have better luck than some indoors.. generally its all the same. Of course the number of towers is important too. But for example LTE on 700mhz will give verizon LTE speeds 8-10 miles from the tower, 2500mhz on wimax will give sprint 2-3 miles from the tower. Higher frequency means more bandwidth available however.
I'm in engineering at UCF and pretty good reception in HEC and engineering 1 as long as you're not in the inner part of the building and those hallways and labs you're good. Brick walls = signal drop with anything but the lower frequencies and a well covered area. It's pretty strong coverage over here though on this side of campus.
They do have paint and stuff that have metal in it I think because its illegal to have a device that emits a radio signal to jam cellphones, however blocking it with shielding isn't. I'm pretty certain its expensive though. This was years ago that I saw that link on it... don't know if it still exists.
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You can be right about that, but I think it's mostly older buildings to blame and not the fact that they did it on purpose to block cell phone usage. Classroom Building 1 has horrible reception and around it too. At my job (in Millican Hall) the reception is horrible at my coworkers office (but it could be because the office is near a lot of beams). So structure is sometimes the cause.
I also get almost no reception in my cousin's house. She lives a little bit past Pegasus Pointe.
prscott1 said:
Hey - starting last week, I noticed flaky things with T-mobile in Houston area similar to what OP stated. But over the weekend, I realized they were rolling out hsdpa+
Before today, the ul speeds were .5 - .6. Today, I'm getting between 1.5 and 1.8 ul speeds!
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I think you mean HSPA. HSDPA wouldn't help your Uplink.
saint327 said:
Cool. I was discouraged back in January when they supposedly flipped the switch to HSDPA. As it turned out the backhaul wasn't here to support it. The max down I can remember is right at 1Mbps. Most of the time its around 900Kbps. Uploads usually come in around 350Kbps, with 500 being the highest I've seen. I live in Deltona, but work in Lake Mary and the speeds have been similar in both locations.
I hope that with this rollout everything will be in place.
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I use to get approximately the same speed at my apartment.. with a place I work on campus getting 1.8mbps down and .3-.5 mbps up and that was the best speed I've gotten around here. Its alot better now.. i'm sure they're still tweaking it.. I hope they are with the upload speeds.. its choppy and inconsitant.. sometimes just stops. Download did that a couple times too but that's probably related to the terrible upload (downloading needs upload to request the next bits of data to be sent.. it sends "acks" to acknowledge that the packet of data was sent properly). It's just really bad sometimes around UCF where it refuses to send a text, make a phone call, or go online as it just has that stuck up arrow thing. Really annoying.
I called tmobile to complain about the upload speeds and I guess they didn't want to fill a report out. Also HSDPA+ is only in Philly and there is no way I could get it in this area they claim.. gave me a hard time about things. So I asked what the max speeds I should be getting and I said well I'm getting much faster than that.. why is that? I think its cause I called twice recently and they already filled out one for each occasion. I had to really be forceful about them filling one out for me.. with the original person one not filling it out and then transferring me to pda support and then he didn't want to either. Both said they couldn't select nexus one as a phone when reporting a service issue and the second guy just decided to bull**** me off the phone the whole time after finally admitting that. I said bull cause I just had two filled out previously... they just kept discounting what I was saying.

Long-time Verizon user considering Vibrant over Fascinate

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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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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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...
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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?

sprint down again?

i live and work in Delphi Indiana, about 30 mind north east of Purdue and i have noticed today that i do not have any data and i am roaming in my city. normally i have excellant 3g speeds and good voice.
I havent called anyone due to not wanting to talk to "bob" over in india, inuit has been having issues today as well so i just gt off the phone with "amy", from india as well, so i have my crappy tech support quota in the the day.
i figured there is some kind of outage, i skimmed the first 2 pages of topics and i didnt see anything so here we are.
potna said:
i live and work in Delphi Indiana, about 30 mind north east of Purdue and i have noticed today that i do not have any data and i am roaming in my city. normally i have excellant 3g speeds and good voice.
I havent called anyone due to not wanting to talk to "bob" over in india, inuit has been having issues today as well so i just gt off the phone with "amy", from india as well, so i have my crappy tech support quota in the the day.
i figured there is some kind of outage, i skimmed the first 2 pages of topics and i didnt see anything so here we are.
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I was having 3g drop out for me before. Not total data coverage, but 3g. However, it seems to be back now. I'm in SW Ohio.
the only way to find out if there is an outage is to call sprint and ask
I am just out side of dallas texas and a few poeple are having issues around here as well.
I called sprint twice, they said its not their fault and here is the list of excuses in the order in which they gave them to me:
1 my phone is the problem, or something i did to it
2 interference from my building (despite no change when i step outside)
3 other carriers interference
4 user error
the tech person had me open my browser and try to load a page and of course it didnt load, then she had me turn on wifi and try the same page and of course it worked and she tried to say "its fixed now" "is there anything else i can do for you?" i laughed and said my wlan is not the issue i am calling about! what a joke!!
but they assured me nothing is wrong with their network and that i need to take my phone to a sprint store to have it checked out
interesting details:
1 other people with sprint in my area are having issues too, but most people dont care enough to call
2 when i drive away from my small town i start to get signal, i stop roaming, i can make and receive calls, i have good 3g.
3 when i drive back into my small city i start roaming and i loose all data
4 i always have had excellent voice and data in my small town
i believe there is a problem with the tower in my area but they want me to to drive 30 mins to have someone look at my phone. i can drive 5 mins out of my town hop on the next tower and my phone is fine.the badd thing is as soon as i get on a working tower its fine, so when i drive to the sprint store they are going to realize my phone is fine.
apparently the issue is limited to the tower in my area and apparently no one else has bothered to complain about it so i get to just deal with with.
i post in this thread to maybe help someone in the future and personal log sheet.
Actually I get about 3 to 4 bars in my house normally and lately i was having issues of getting no 3g or data and loosing all bars but still registering and not giving me the x of no signal. My phone has also been switching to roaming all lot (roaming btw gives me like 1x speeds never 3g speeds even though it says i have it on my mikG rom)
So I think the issue is in a few small towns and that they are fiddling with something.
Probbaly updating the tower .
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
i don't want to keep this thread alive but i thought i should say that i called sprint back today and i told the tech if they expected me to leave my work to go have some one look at my phone i will instead travel to a store to cancel my service. i hate being a hard a$$ but i dont have time for other peoples problems when i pay them to deliver.
anyways, this tech was cool, nice, and helpful. he sent something to my phone and it fixed it!! i asked him what he did and he didnt seem to really know precisely what he was doing either. im guessing he was just following a flow chart but he did share some inside info about towers with me.
bottom line is my service is working so i will stop crying now!!
today has been nothing but terrible. im from florida

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