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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!
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?
I am in love with this Nexus-S, my fav Android phone by far, and in the past I have owned; MyTouch 3G...Nexus-One...EVO 4G...
I really like the compact size and lightweight feel to it, but still feels like a solid device to me, and it is super thin for a powerful smart phone, plus of course the S AMOLED screen is drool worthy. And battery life is way better than the EVO. And to top it off, being a Google developer phone, comes with no carrier bloatware, or manufacturer UI's, and is a "pure" Android phone with the latest OS.
But...T-Mobile is a deal breaker for me, compared to Sprint for connection. In Chicago it is pretty good, just sucks once inside houses or buildings. I own a Millwork supply business for custom home builders, and I am in and out of new homes a lot, and it seems to drop signal once I go inside a new construction building. Same with my own home, I have my Office in Basement, and it is like 90% loss of signal down there. I can never make or receive calls down there, but texting is good. Where as my EVO on Sprint, worked pretty good in the Basement, not perfect, but much better than the Nexus-S, and going to job sites, my EVO never dropped calls. And Navigation on the Nexus-S, I have had a few slight issues, just having hard time locating me, that has only happened three times so far, had to restart phone each time. But my EVO the 6 months I owned it, I can remember maybe once it not locating me. Again I blame this on T-Mobile not the Nexus.
But T-Mobile monthly is approx $30 cheaper per month which is nice. But then what good is saving thirty bucks, if I drop signal indoors, and somewhat spotty navigation service. Not sure what to do...I bought the Nexus-S on launch day Dec 17th, at Best Buy Mobile, paid cash full retail for the phone, not sure what my return options are ?
Is your nexus on 3g mode? Have you tried to put it in edge to see if it helps?
JasjarMan said:
Is your nexus on 3g mode? Have you tried to put it in edge to see if it helps?
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Tried that this morning, more for battery saving. But then went to make a call, and it screwed up. It was calling my client, but no ringing tone, and I clicked end call, and it just hung there, so I had to restart and tried again in 3G and it worked fine.
I was driving near O'Hare airport at the time, and that area is know to kill cell signals.
ya T-mo has horrible building penetration but other than that, i love em, great customer service, great speeds, and they are always improving
slowz3r said:
ya T-mo has horrible building penetration but other than that, i love em, great customer service, great speeds, and they are always improving
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That is my only beef with this phone. "horrible building penetration", too bad that can't be upgraded by T-Mobile. Other than that I LOVE this phone.
Zorachus said:
That is my only beef with this phone. "horrible building penetration", too bad that can't be upgraded by T-Mobile. Other than that I LOVE this phone.
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the building penetration has nothing to do with the phone its the frequency that T-mo uses the higher the frequency the worse the building penetration.
Kinda sucks but T-mo is coming out with one of those Cellphone base station signal thingies (forgot what they are really called) so that may help you out
I'm with the OP; best damned phone I've owned in terms of appearance, feel, performance right out of the box...but T-Mo just doesn't deliver in some areas I need it to. When it delivers, it's the best out there, but too many places that indoors it kills the service. When I've got full 3G service it's at least 25% faster than AT&T, and 3-5 times faster than Sprint.
One office building I work out of is T shaped. If you're on the left side of the T, great signal, but go anywhere on the right side of the T and you're in a total dead zone. AT&T's not much better in that building, but in most places of town (Los Angeles SF, SG, SC Valley areas), it's better than T-Mo. Verizon works well there.
To the OP, if you're willing to shell out the dough, about $300, you can buy a cellular signal booster, I did when I got a Nexus One, it allowed me to actually get a T-Mo signal inside my house; I'd recommend one for your basement office if you can run the antenna coax line to outdoors. Voice and EDGE only, though, there's only one brand that claims to do T-Mo AWS/3G right now, and their device is $450.
EDIT: I think this is the model I got for the extender: http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Exte...W5WI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294073803&sr=8-1
Zorachus said:
I am in love with this Nexus-S, my fav Android phone by far, and in the past I have owned; MyTouch 3G...Nexus-One...EVO 4G...
I really like the compact size and lightweight feel to it, but still feels like a solid device to me, and it is super thin for a powerful smart phone, plus of course the S AMOLED screen is drool worthy. And battery life is way better than the EVO. And to top it off, being a Google developer phone, comes with no carrier bloatware, or manufacturer UI's, and is a "pure" Android phone with the latest OS.
But...T-Mobile is a deal breaker for me, compared to Sprint for connection. In Chicago it is pretty good, just sucks once inside houses or buildings. I own a Millwork supply business for custom home builders, and I am in and out of new homes a lot, and it seems to drop signal once I go inside a new construction building. Same with my own home, I have my Office in Basement, and it is like 90% loss of signal down there. I can never make or receive calls down there, but texting is good. Where as my EVO on Sprint, worked pretty good in the Basement, not perfect, but much better than the Nexus-S, and going to job sites, my EVO never dropped calls. And Navigation on the Nexus-S, I have had a few slight issues, just having hard time locating me, that has only happened three times so far, had to restart phone each time. But my EVO the 6 months I owned it, I can remember maybe once it not locating me. Again I blame this on T-Mobile not the Nexus.
But T-Mobile monthly is approx $30 cheaper per month which is nice. But then what good is saving thirty bucks, if I drop signal indoors, and somewhat spotty navigation service. Not sure what to do...I bought the Nexus-S on launch day Dec 17th, at Best Buy Mobile, paid cash full retail for the phone, not sure what my return options are ?
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Do what I'm doing. Month to month in at&t no data... buy a clear 4g wimax ispot...hack it to work on any device. Only $25 a month works great. I couldn't stand edge but know how crappy tmobile is
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
distortedloop said:
EDIT: I think this is the model I got for the extender: http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Exte...W5WI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294073803&sr=8-1
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Thanks for the link, reading the user reviews, makes this sound like exactly what I need for my home Office. But still won't help when out at job sites, and losing signal inside.
So now I need to decide, keep the Nexus-S which I LOVE, but have iffy service inside, or just go back to the EVO with near perfect indoor service ?
I am with the OP on this one too.
Best Android phone on the market but T-mobile's coverage inside buildings is sub par.
I understand that the 1700/2100mhz spectrum has harder time penetrating buildings but it should not be THAT bad...
I come from Europe where most of the networks only use 2100Mhz and i don't recall seeing such a penetration issue.
It has to be T-Mobile's lack of towers which results in such poor indoor coverage.
at&t is also 90% 1900Mhz in the SF Bay Area and they have no problem with indoor reception, at least not as bad as T-Mobile.
That's my only main issue with the phone.
I ordered a signal booster from JDteck.com (which are the only ones who are providing a 1700/2100Mhz boosters). I'll report back how it works.
clubtech said:
AT&T is also 90% 1900Mhz in the SF Bay Area and they have no problem with indoor reception, at least not as bad as T-Mobile.
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As of 2009, AT&T moved most of their 3G spec to the 850mhz band, so indoor reception should be EVEN better, or at least battery life should have improved a bit. I remember this was a big issue back in the iPhone days. I'm pretty sure they're entirely on 850mhz.
slowz3r said:
Kinda sucks but T-mo is coming out with one of those Cellphone base station signal thingies (forgot what they are really called) so that may help you out
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Whatever happened to that TMo [email protected] thing a few years ago? I remember they did a pilot program and then expanded. It was pretty popular. Too bad they stopped that.
Looks like this is now an error page: http://www.t-mobile.com/promotions/hotspotathomelearnmore.aspx
clubtech said:
It has to be T-Mobile's lack of towers which results in such poor indoor coverage.
at&t is also 90% 1900Mhz in the SF Bay Area and they have no problem with indoor reception, at least not as bad as T-Mobile.
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Agreed on T-Mo needs more towers, if they weren't so far spread apart, we'd get better penetration in more areas.
Not sure about the AT&T in San Francisco part, though. I've listened to Leo LaPorte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose and all that ilk ***** and moan about AT&T poor signal/reception on the iPhone in San Francisco for a couple of years until AT&T started rolling out the 850mhz on the 3G side. New York City the same thing - poor AT&T penetration on the 1900mhz side in and amongst all the tall buildings.
clubtech said:
That's my only main issue with the phone.
I ordered a signal booster from JDteck.com (which are the only ones who are providing a 1700/2100Mhz boosters). I'll report back how it works.
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I'll be very interested in your report back on that. This is the one I referenced, but not by name, in my earlier post. It didn't seem worth the $200 extra premium to get the AWS service repeated, since in my home I have WiFi anyways, but when I bought the unit I do have, this JDteck one wasn't available.
allen099 said:
As of 2009, AT&T moved most of their 3G spec to the 850mhz band, so indoor reception should be EVEN better, or at least battery life should have improved a bit. I remember this was a big issue back in the iPhone days. I'm pretty sure they're entirely on 850mhz.
Whatever happened to that TMo [email protected] thing a few years ago? I remember they did a pilot program and then expanded. It was pretty popular. Too bad they stopped that.
Looks like this is now an error page: http://www.t-mobile.com/promotions/hotspotathomelearnmore.aspx
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Not sure what happened to that I used to have it as well.
but really i say wait till after CES, rumor is T-Mo will announce their router
I'm with T-mobile for their tremendous pricing plan advantage over Att (I'm also in SoCal and T-mobile has tremendous coverage here)
T-mobile: $10 - $20 per month for 5gb of data
Att: $25 per month for 2gb of data
ap3604 said:
I'm with T-mobile for their tremendous pricing plan advantage over Att (I'm also in SoCal and T-mobile has tremendous coverage here)
T-mobile: $10 - $20 per month for 5gb of data
Att: $25 per month for 2gb of data
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even more savings with em+ 60 bucks 500 minutes, texting and web
ap3604 said:
I'm with T-mobile for their tremendous pricing plan advantage over Att (I'm also in SoCal and T-mobile has tremendous coverage here)
T-mobile: $10 - $20 per month for 5gb of data
Att: $25 per month for 2gb of data
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What part of SoCal are you in? I'm in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Clarita Valley most of my time. In the North part of both valleys T-Mo data is EDGE only in large areas, and even voice has a hard time getting into buildings. It's really a bummer when I have to spend time up in Santa Clarita.
My house is actually in a little dead/poor coverage area spot even on T-Mo's maps...it's right on the edge of three different towers that don't quite fully overlap their coverage circles. I can get a signal outdoors, but inside not very good without my cellular extender.
I've still got my grandfathered iPhone SIM for one of my Androids (i9000), $30 for true "unlimited" data, no caps or throttles on that one. Someone told me they're using the unlimted data for non-smartphones on their Galaxy S with AT&T because AT&T can't recognize the IMEI and that it's a smartphone. I think that data is $10/month.
PS. SimplyMobile sounds intriguing. Read some good reports of it in another thread. Uses T-Mo's voice and data service, everything unlimited (voice, text, data (3g)) for $60/mo.
clubtech said:
I am with the OP on this one too.
Best Android phone on the market but T-mobile's coverage inside buildings is sub par.
I understand that the 1700/2100mhz spectrum has harder time penetrating buildings but it should not be THAT bad...
I come from Europe where most of the networks only use 2100Mhz and i don't recall seeing such a penetration issue.
It has to be T-Mobile's lack of towers which results in such poor indoor coverage.
at&t is also 90% 1900Mhz in the SF Bay Area and they have no problem with indoor reception, at least not as bad as T-Mobile.
That's my only main issue with the phone.
I ordered a signal booster from JDteck.com (which are the only ones who are providing a 1700/2100Mhz boosters). I'll report back how it works.
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you have to realize that tmobile's 3g network is still very young, so all the gaps are not filled in which is required for higher frequency networks. since towers need to be spaced closer together for bands such as 1900mhz and higher, i'm sure tmobile only laid out the bare minimum during their initial 3g roll out just to get SOMETHING out there. over time they may fill in the gaps.
and we all know how stellar the coverage is in UK even using the 2100mha band. however its the same story, less physical geography to cover, in addition to better government regulations over there "forcing" one technology standard and set of common frequencies. that makes it much better for ubiquious coverage in general.
distortedloop said:
What part of SoCal are you in? I'm in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Clarita Valley most of my time. In the North part of both valleys T-Mo data is EDGE only in large areas, and even voice has a hard time getting into buildings. It's really a bummer when I have to spend time up in Santa Clarita.
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Sorry to hear about your lack of coverage distortedloop
I'm in Orange County area and get great coverage around 3 mbps download on my Nexus One.
distortedloop said:
I've still got my grandfathered iPhone SIM for one of my Androids (i9000), $30 for true "unlimited" data, no caps or throttles on that one. Someone told me they're using the unlimted data for non-smartphones on their Galaxy S with AT&T because AT&T can't recognize the IMEI and that it's a smartphone. I think that data is $10/month.
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Yeah I looked into that too (since the Vibrant has Att's 1900 3g band built in and Att won't recognize the IMEI) but I believe the $10 data is only available on a family plan and only if they have the unlimited messaging already on their plan, an extra $20 per month.
So say you do this family plan trick the savings are kind of washed out compared to T-mobile:
$70 per month for 700 minutes
$25 per month for 2gb of data for iPhone
$20 per month for unlimited messaging
$10 per month for "dumbphone" data
___________________________________
$125 per month. Yuck!
I'd rather just stick with T-mobile even more plus contract free:
$30 per month 500 min
$10 per month for data
distortedloop said:
PS. SimplyMobile sounds intriguing. Read some good reports of it in another thread. Uses T-Mo's voice and data service, everything unlimited (voice, text, data (3g)) for $60/mo.
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I was wondering about simple mobile and how it worked with the NS..anyone have it?
alnova1 said:
I was wondering about simple mobile and how it worked with the NS..anyone have it?
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The guy who started this thread has it.
I've seen some posts where they're saying that "unlimited data" on Simple Mobile actually means 1GB cap. I'd check that out before switching.
I am just wondering what the fine people here at xda think about sprint. I am thinking about switching from tmobile and would like to know stuff like how good is the coverage, is 4g at all fast? What about Customer Service? Any info would greatly be appreciated
I'm in the LA area. The coverage is really not bad at all, and outside of urban LA in the rural/desert parts of SoCal it can be surprisingly good.
4g is faster than 3g, but the coverage is very very spotty and in-building penetration is lousy. I'd say it's on the cusp between usable and unusable, frankly.
Customer service is a lot better than it used to be.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App
I'm in southeast Missouri, but I work on the inland waterways: Arkansas, Ohio, Mississippi Rivers. All I can say is on the river I've got service in three times the places I did with ATT.
When I do get wimax, its building penetration is indeed terrible. Customer support is the absolute best.
Sent from my MikShift.
Yeah, cust svc is really good so far. I've only been with Sprint for a little more than a month and called them three times, but they've been great. I'm in the Chicagoland area (on the border of Chicago) and service has been great. I definately agree with 4G being hard to get indoors but I don't need it enough to even want to use it. Plus I have wifi everywhere at my usual locations. My texts usually go through right away and I don't get calls not going through, unlike I did with T-Mobile.
The only problem I have is how damn slow the 3g is around here.
EVO Shift and XDA app
I live in the Washington DC area and I have great coverage for 3g. I usually can get a 4g signal outside but, like others, I have noticed that 4g doesn't penetrate buildings well. I like customer service for the most part.
Yeah im in the charlotte area so i have 4g and its pretty quick but the 3g speeds in this area arent that great. There are a ton of people with sprint in this area bc its cheaper than verizon and att blows, not sure if an area can be over saturated with so many people pulling from sprints data service but i wouldnt be surprised.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App
It's nice to hear that customer service is good because all I have been reading is that sprint has terrible customer service. As far as 4g, My tmobile G2 hardly gets 4g inside my house but that is why I use wifi. How is call quality in buildings?
Sprint's customer service has improved dramatically in the last year. They went from last to 1st or 2nd.
We just found out someone stole our phone information and started making calls out of the country. Sprint has been really good so far in handling this. I have to call them again tomorrow regarding our bill. I will report back to see how easy they take the charges off.
sorry to hear that buddy. Hope everything works out well
I have had sprint for a year and a half and so far no complaints.
Service is reliable virtually everywhere i have been (there are a few spotty areas but you find that with any carrier)
Customer service has been great, luckily i have only had to call once or twice and it's never been because of something major.
my only complaint is their 3G has not been the fastest thing in the world. it's functional and reliable, just not crazy fast.
On a good day at work i can hit between 800kb/s and 1mb/s and it's fairly consistent, when i go to Boston or even near by cities it's about the same and this is across 4 devices (blackberry tour, palm pre, HTC Evo, Evo Shift) on my CR-48 netbook with a verizon data card i average 2mb/s and on good days i get almost 3mb/s
on the flip side, data is reliable, i've never had an issue connecting to the data network.
At the end of the day, i'm a happy customer phone calls work, texts work, data works and i haven't had any issues with service, billing, etc.
I'm in the Seattle area. 3G coverage is great, 4G is spotty as others have said, but fast where you can get it.
I sometimes drop to 1 bar of 3G in my house, but it never drops. I average about 500kbps up and down at home. I've gotten pretty consistently 800k-1Mbps down, 500-700k up around my area.
Although Sprint's 4G map says I should have "in building" 4G coverage both at work and at home I get nothing in my house or my office. Step outside and I get a bar or two and maybe 3Mbps down, 500k up. In better coverage areas I've gotten 8Mbps down, and over 1Mbps up. What I'm getting at is 4G seems to be a lot more spotty than their coverage map indicates, but I understand it will likely expand and it doesn't bother me too much.
I made the switch from T-Mo to Sprint and there is no way I'm going back. Sprint's customer service is the best that I've ever experienced and totally pwns T-Mo's. The 3G speeds are average but consistent. The 4G speeds are fairly fast if you're in the right area; it won't work worth a dam in most buildings however.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA Premium App
What's weird is I had Clear internet service for a week or so to try it out and I got great signal and pretty solid 6-8Mbps download speeds -- no hiccups whatsoever. I ended up opting for Fios because... well come on, do I have to explain. Anyway, I was under the impression that Clearwire and Sprint shared Wimax towers. Look at their coverage maps and they're almost identical. Maybe the Wimax radios in the phones are somehow less sensitive than the Clear modems?
goletaal said:
What's weird is I had Clear internet service for a week or so to try it out and I got great signal and pretty solid 6-8Mbps download speeds -- no hiccups whatsoever. I ended up opting for Fios because... well come on, do I have to explain. Anyway, I was under the impression that Clearwire and Sprint shared Wimax towers. Look at their coverage maps and they're almost identical. Maybe the Wimax radios in the phones are somehow less sensitive than the Clear modems?
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You can adjust your wimax to be more "sensitive"
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App
JKILO said:
You can adjust your wimax to be more "sensitive"
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I'm not sure sensitive is the word...the adjustment will make it accept and cling to a weaker signal than it would otherwise, but it doesn't actually increase the radio's sensitivity in such a way as to make the signal (relatively) stronger.
If you ever used to mess around with police scanners or ham radio or the like, think of it as opening up the squelch a little bit (i.e., turning the squelch knob counterclockwise)...it will make the radio stop scanning and try to receive weaker transmissions, but it doesn't necessarily prevent them from sounding all staticky and useless. Same principle here, if I'm not mistaken.
JKILO said:
You can adjust your wimax to be more "sensitive"
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Yeah, I've got it set at -110. It helped noticeably, but it's still not that great. The tower is less than a mile away from my house too.
I live in West Michigan, and the service here is actually not that good lately. Sprint says some towers are down in my area, and they have been issuing partial refunds for service interruptions. I guess that's the best case scenario if your going to have bad service...
My 4g connection is amazing!! Except when it disconnects ..My 3g connection is shady at times very very slow I can't even view streaming videos or music like pandora. I'm in tx
goletaal said:
Yeah, I've got it set at -110. It helped noticeably, but it's still not that great. The tower is less than a mile away from my house too.
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Just a quick question, how do you adjust the sensitivity? I'm currently running CM7 nightly 31 and can't seem to find the option for it.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App
I'm currently trying to decide which carrier to go with for the GS4, does anyone have experience with AT&T? I know they have a bad reputation for unreliability, has that improved at all? How is their coverage in the NJ/NY area?
NY/NJ are you referring to downstate NY, upstate wise its pretty good and frankly I was already leaving Verizon before today's announcement about the no early upgrades at 20 months crap and no using a MiFi or tablet line for an upgrade both of which are things I enjoyed so FU Verizon and hello AT&T.
RaptorMD said:
NY/NJ are you referring to downstate NY, upstate wise its pretty good and frankly I was already leaving Verizon before today's announcement about the no early upgrades at 20 months crap and no using a MiFi or tablet line for an upgrade both of which are things I enjoyed so FU Verizon and hello AT&T.
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I'm referring specifically to central NJ and Brooklyn, NY (one of my family members commutes there).
snapple232 said:
I'm currently trying to decide which carrier to go with for the GS4, does anyone have experience with AT&T? I know they have a bad reputation for unreliability, has that improved at all? How is their coverage in the NJ/NY area?
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I work for at&t.
It's an excellent service for people up north and I've never heard of a complaint from the region. Also, checking our private coverage viewer you seem to be fine around those locations.
Just know that for individual lines, at&t can be expensive.
Your entry level plans are as follows.
85$ for 1 gig of data and unlimited talk and text.
90$ for 3 gigs of data, 450 minutes to landlines, unlimited to other cellphones and unlimited text.
You can save been 4 to 12 dollars a month depending on where you work. Discounts can be added through paystubs or work emails.
After tax expect it to come to around 100 dollars a month.
snapple232 said:
I'm currently trying to decide which carrier to go with for the GS4, does anyone have experience with AT&T? I know they have a bad reputation for unreliability, has that improved at all? How is their coverage in the NJ/NY area?
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I've had every major carrier. I rate AT&T to be nearly as good as Verizon, personally, and faster data. I've used it in Washington D.C., los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis, and various other large cities and I've never had any complaints.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747
Verizon is much better in Chicago. Been with at&t since 2004 and have the same dead zones and during 9-5 hours downtown, the network is unusable. Verizon crushes at&t in reception and speed in Chicago. Fact.
And I'm an at&t customer. Lol
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
I know in South Jersey, AT&T is much better than Verizon. In fact, my girlfriend finally went on my plan because she was tired of not having very good coverage in Glendora, NJ.
cfn87 said:
Verizon is much better in Chicago. Been with at&t since 2004 and have the same dead zones and during 9-5 hours downtown, the network is unusable. Verizon crushes at&t in reception and speed in Chicago. Fact.
And I'm an at&t customer. Lol
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
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Maybe, but it really depends on where you spend most of your time. When I was in Chicago I never lost a good signal for an entire weekend and my data speeds killed my friend on Verizon. Maybe we just didn't go to the AT&T dead zones.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747
I travel all over - rural and cities - the only place that I have ever strugged with AT&T in the past year has been San Francisco.
I came from 13 years of Sprint to AT&T for the first time today. All I can say is, nothing can be worse than Sprint. At least with AT&T, I get reception INDOORS. Good grief Sprint's indoor reception is just balls.
snapple232 said:
I'm referring specifically to central NJ and Brooklyn, NY (one of my family members commutes there).
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Should be good especially in Brooklyn.
There are several android apps that compares cell phone coverage for any given area.
If you are using an android smart phone now you could download one and see what the coverage looks like according to the various cellmap / cell coverage apps
[Also ask your relatives in the areas that they live in to do the same!]
I used one app called: Cell Maps Mobile Coverage (I think) and it was quite accurate for my area and the different service providers. I was lucky to hit the right provider without it, but I can say that what the app provided in results matched what I had seen!
My opinion:
#1. Coverage is the key more than anything.
Check the area where you are going to use the phone. Don't use the provider maps of coverage -they are pretty useless. Get an app like I mentioned and drive arround. Ask folks who are in the area what phone service they have there. We on XDA are all over the world and that won't help you (much).
#2. AT&T coverage in lower NYC, SI and Jersey-opposite the city for me has been fine.
Service is also important, (but not as important) I am in California and have used AT&T for years now. But I visit family and friends in Staten Island and the NYC area and my AT&T coverage has been very good. Including in Jersey area across the river. Every now and then I can hit a weak spot, but no serious complaints.
#3. Service is also important (but not as important as coverage)
I like the personal service of AT&T, especially their call-in phone support operators (their stores are not so hot. . .) I had VZ for years and Verizon was not really good at listening or caring for my problems or questions. AT&T is really good at that.
However, AT&T is also pretty expensive. They say they are not, but it just doesn't seem to work out that way! (Verizon is close!) Some folks who could do AT&T for good phone coverage use Straight Talk for their good price. Although they seem to have zero personal suppport service --at least for most people I have talked with. (my opinion only).
#4. Bottom line: If you can't talk, you might as well not have the phone, so number one priority is to get an app and to test the coverage in the target area.
Then go with the company that gives you the best coverage. (price and service come after coverage!)
Good Luck!