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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!
I don't know how many here use podcast app that download mp3 files such as google listen, but for me this has recently been very slow unless using wifi. No mater wich app, kernel, modem, rom... I can only get 10kB/s. I'm not over the 5 gig limit either and everything else is plenty fast as it should be.
It appears that tmo is slowing all mp3 files down except the amazon mp3 app. Has anyone else been having issues with this?
I've found one other thread on the tmo forums about the issue.
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My data connection was pretty crappy last week. Back to normal this week.
This has been going on for almost two months for me
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I haven't been able to dl car talk via npr podcast apps on 3g as of late, this would explain why
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Amazon MP3 is slow on AT&T or T-Mobile for me.
This is impossible unless they are targeting particular hosts, but I think that might be illegal.
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It's definitely not impossible. As to the legality of it, that may be more of a gray area. They can make many seemingly reasonable claims to justify it, including improving the efficiency of their network.
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Well I really hope this is not true because this will heavily sway my current somewhat positive view of them.
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SeanFloyd said:
Yeah, **** tmobile. Never realized how ****ty the network was till my gf got a Samsung Epic on Sprint. ****s all over tmobile.
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Sprint is garbage around these parts and they have traffic shaping as well - all carriers do. 4G a horrible experience because of the constant disconnects/loss of signal.
heygrl said:
Sprint is garbage around these parts and they have traffic shaping as well - all carriers do. 4G a horrible experience because of the constant disconnects/loss of signal.
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Can't comment on the 4g sentiment but her 3g on Sprint seems at least twice as fast as T-Mobile's 3g. I am living in the Phoenix area so there should be ample coverage.
SeanFloyd said:
Can't comment on the 4g sentiment but her 3g on Sprint seems at least twice as fast as T-Mobile's 3g. I am living in the Phoenix area so there should be ample coverage.
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You're kidding right? You must be in an area with a ton of T-Mobile customers because the last time I was out there Sprint 3G was complete garbage and I was getting 2-5Mbps easy with T-Mobile's 3G. Not to mention, Sprint's data card was switching back between 1X and EV-DO on Sprint and downloading any type of file at 27KB/sec. It was really pathetic and still is. There are rampant complaints about Sprint 3G in Phoenix right on this forum.. look in the Evo section.
This is definitely real. Just google it, people are complaining lots of places. It's odd because I can download other audio formats of the exact same file (or any other type of file I've tried) at normal speed. Speedtest confirms a solid 5.5mbps connection. I hit tmo up on twitter about it but haven't heard a response. Haven't tried calling them but others confirm they have.
I not sure it's illegal as of now. They control their networks until some form of net neutrality is passed.
yea ive noticed the same thing
I've noticed the same thing, google listen downloads over 3g are slow, wifi fast. When listening to shows on rapid transit, invariably the TCP connection will either break or I will hit the 'end' in the middle of the down load, and I'm left with like half a friggin download to listen to.
Slowing it down is easy to do. There are traffic shapers, the most popular ones are Sandvine and the Cisco Service Control Engine, that can pick out traffic and traffic signatures and rate limit them in hardware.
The legality is questionable if they don't disclose what they are doing up front.
I've been meaning to setup a vpn with home and the phone to avoid this slow down, but haven't found the time.
I actually spoke to a tmobile rep about this cuz I had experienced this problem for about a month. they went through the usual steps..... Turn off phone, take out sim card and battery, and ofcourse clear my browsers cache, that was a load of crap. Anyways the rep told me that I had an outdated sim card in my phone, I got a new one and still my downloads of twit podcasts and other MP3 files are slow as hell.
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Same issue with a Nexus S. Called tmobile, claimed they have never heard of the problem, but their engineers will look at it when they get a chance since it is a low priority issue. So lame. However, not everyone is having this problem, it almost seems to be affecting people in certain area's I for one am in Orlando.
It's not a problem, you've just wasted your time by calling in.. it's intentional to manage network traffic. Even Slacker streams are shaped.
heygrl said:
Sprint is garbage around these parts and they have traffic shaping as well - all carriers do. 4G a horrible experience because of the constant disconnects/loss of signal.
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Sprint has a bigger network 3G network than T-Mobile - Voice too. T-Mobile depends on Roaming for voice, and they aren't building out their data network - just upgrading them to HSPA+ (Software upgrade, not hard or expensive).
Traveling around with an AT&T or Sprint phone is a different experience than T-Mobile. Driving to Houston, my Vibrant was drops signal (Voice and Data) between major cities like nothing.
That never happened when I had an AT&T phone. I could basically be on 3G the whole way there... My phone would never become useless while traveling.
With T-Mobile if you travel to some cities you also run the risk of having nothing but GPRS for voice and no decent data connection. The risk of that with the larger carriers is much less. T-Mobile is decent in bigger cities, but outside of them (I'm talking, drive 3-5 miles out of some of them) they are terrible.
They're cheap because the service is cheap, compared to other carriers. AT&T and Verizon get by with charging more because their networks are huge by comparison, and while AT&T has had issues they have been consistently building their network out and adding capacity. T-Mobile and Sprint haven't (not that they need to, they aren't that large). AT&T just put up a new tower here, for example, so they're the only carrier around here with 3G/HSPA coverage.
T-Mobile gets voice coverage due to roaming contracts. Verizon and Sprint get little to no coverage here...
EDIT: GSM 3G is faster than CDMA 3G. There's really no argument about that. Of course, if T-Mobile doesn't have great towers/service where you live that can flip. But Coverage and Reliability > Speed, and that's why T-Mobile is still the smallest carrier despite having the best prices/plans. Their 3G network is too small, and unreliable especially if you travel and/or live outside of major cities.
ibous said:
It's definitely not impossible. As to the legality of it, that may be more of a gray area. They can make many seemingly reasonable claims to justify it, including improving the efficiency of their network.
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Horrible since with that excuse they cap everything,while still selling in BIG LETTERS The FASTEST 4G NETWORK.
N8ter said:
Sprint has a bigger network 3G network than T-Mobile - Voice too. T-Mobile depends on Roaming for voice, and they aren't building out their data network - just upgrading them to HSPA+ (Software upgrade, not hard or expensive).
Traveling around with an AT&T or Sprint phone is a different experience than T-Mobile. Driving to Houston, my Vibrant was drops signal (Voice and Data) between major cities like nothing.
That never happened when I had an AT&T phone. I could basically be on 3G the whole way there... My phone would never become useless while traveling.
With T-Mobile if you travel to some cities you also run the risk of having nothing but GPRS for voice and no decent data connection. The risk of that with the larger carriers is much less. T-Mobile is decent in bigger cities, but outside of them (I'm talking, drive 3-5 miles out of some of them) they are terrible.
They're cheap because the service is cheap, compared to other carriers. AT&T and Verizon get by with charging more because their networks are huge by comparison, and while AT&T has had issues they have been consistently building their network out and adding capacity. T-Mobile and Sprint haven't (not that they need to, they aren't that large). AT&T just put up a new tower here, for example, so they're the only carrier around here with 3G/HSPA coverage.
T-Mobile gets voice coverage due to roaming contracts. Verizon and Sprint get little to no coverage here...
EDIT: GSM 3G is faster than CDMA 3G. There's really no argument about that. Of course, if T-Mobile doesn't have great towers/service where you live that can flip. But Coverage and Reliability > Speed, and that's why T-Mobile is still the smallest carrier despite having the best prices/plans. Their 3G network is too small, and unreliable especially if you travel and/or live outside of major cities.
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Verizon has better cover than both from what i read.
But here in Puerto Rico T-mobile is good,and i have data pretty much any were i go,they are cheap because they are the smaller guys not the big ones,and have a much better customer service than AT&T which ranked last.
Some of the best phone plans here were made by a company call Movi Star,before Movi start everything cell phone related here in Puerto Rico was ultra expensive.
In fact by the late 90's here you were charge by the minutes,in plans of 400 minutes and so and they counted both ways in or out,text ultra expensive as well,like .30 cents a text or more.
Movi Star actually came with the first all call receive free plan,and it was a hit,they also boosted the first pre-pay phones with unlimited receive calls free as long as you had balance to make calls as well.
Not only that they also came with the first plan here in Puerto Rico,that included both calls incoming and outgoing unlimited for a fixed price,in that time it was $99 dollars i remember it,it was like 1998 i think.
By that time the PRTC,Cellular One were the tops dogs here,and a 1000 minute plan on any of the 2 could cost you almost what Movi Star charged,but you only have 1000 minutes that counted both ways,with Movi Star it was unlimited.
Now that company is call Open Mobile and they sell just pre-pay phones,they are not as attractive to customers because they don't have a huge selection of phones,and they sell the phone to you without financial,unlike T-mobile and AT&T which sell you the phone cheap or free to tie you in the contract.
In fact they have the cheapest plan of any company here in Puerto Rico and have good signal to,they charge you $55 for unlimited calls, unlimited data,unlimited text.unlimited US long distance calls,Unlimited roaming in US,and even 411 (information to ask for numbers) Unlimited.
All that for $55 dollars,the only down side is that they don't use sim cards,and that only some Sprint phones are compatible out side the ones they sell you,and android phones like the hero are expensive like $300.
So you see usually the best plans comes from the smaller guys,because when they are big like AT&T they charge people what ever they want,is the number 1 reason why AT&T and T-mobile merge should not be allowed,because once T-mobile is in and the rest of the contracts are up,the abuse will begin,and believe me they will rise they price once your contract is done.
T-mobile service is not cheap because is bad,is cheap because T-mobile is not as big as AT&T and Verizon so to bring customers in they have to offer better prices,just because AT&T over charge for their services doesn't mean that what T-mobile is doing most be because their signal is bad.
Why is it everywhere I read, so many people choose Sprint and T-Mobile if they are in happy with Verizon?
Why do so many people make comments like "Oh no, not AT&T " or "I hope that new phone doesn't go to AT&T " ?
What is so wrong about them that so many people don't like them? Is just just a handful of people that had a bad experience? Is it a valid dislike over the companies service? Is it because they want to be the only all powerful mega phone provider?
If some of you wouldn't mind sharing your thoughts.
Thanks.
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Why is it everywhere I read, so many people choose Sprint and T-Mobile if they are in happy with Verizon?
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In this case, I'd say lower cost might be a factor. In most areas, Verizon has very good or at least reasonable service.
Why do so many people make comments like "Oh no, not AT&T " or "I hope that new phone doesn't go to AT&T " ?
What is so wrong about them that so many people don't like them? Is just just a handful of people that had a bad experience? Is it a valid dislike over the companies service? Is it because they want to be the only all powerful mega phone provider?
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AT&T has had and still has problems with dropped calls in major metro areas. I've used them personally and haven't had a very good experience with their network in NYC.
Their raw coverage isn't too bad, but I wasn't able to rely on them to have calls connect all the time and for consistently fast data. T-Mobile has less raw coverage in the US but where it does work it is very consistent (for the record, in 99% of the places where I've needed signal, T-Mobile does work fine. YMMV).
Having said all that, if AT&T works well for you in your area, then that is great. Stick with them if you are happy. With cell phone carriers what works well is always going to vary from region to region.
See I understand all of your reasons but beyond that it just seems that more and more people are against AT&T for more extreme reasons.
I have been a customer of Sprint, Nextel (when it was just Nextel) , T-Mobile and now AT&T and I genuinely have no service complaints about any of them. I must be one of those people that understands that it is a cell phone and dropped calls and inconsistent service in different areas is going to happen with any carrier you choose. I just felt that more people were angry with more specific reasons but maybe I'm just looking for an answer that really isn't there.
Maybe people just like to moan about anything and currently AT&T is the choice of the month.
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Cthater said:
See I understand all of your reasons but beyond that it just seems that more and more people are against AT&T for more extreme reasons.
I have been a customer of Sprint, Nextel (when it was just Nextel) , T-Mobile and now AT&T and I genuinely have no service complaints about any of them. I must be one of those people that understands that it is a cell phone and dropped calls and inconsistent service in different areas is going to happen with any carrier you choose. I just felt that more people were angry with more specific reasons but maybe I'm just looking for an answer that really isn't there.
Maybe people just like to moan about anything and currently AT&T is the choice of the month.
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I'm in the same boat. I've been with AT&T for some time and have had few problems with them from a technical standpoint. My biggest issue is more of how they segment their service offerings (i.e. charge extra to tether your phone even though you pay for a limited data plan) and how slow they are to approve/release upgrades to their handsets; Froyo was out for 6+ months before the official AT&T release on the captivate.
Some people might be more accepting of dropped calls but on T-Mobile dropped calls are an absolute rarity for me, whereas they were a regular expectation on AT&T.
I can understand the hatred toward AT&T. You have to realize that service for some period was just VERY bad in major metro areas. At one point in time it really just wasn't possible to make calls reliably or use data with any decent speed in NYC. Why? influx of iPhone users. Lately it has improved a bit but isn't great still.
if AT&T had put more money into their network to prepare for the usage things could have been better. You don't hear about carriers like Verizon or Sprint having too many issues with dropped calls due to an overloaded network. That's because they actually have invested in enough capacity to handle it. You could say AT&T experienced a lot higher growth than these, which is true to an extent, but Verizon's network pushes a LOT of calls and data every day and generally doesn't miss a beat in my experience. T-Mobile is about on par too here in NYC (though I understand they're not as strong in other areas).
See I understand that, but wouldn't you think that something like this merger would be a good thing?
Yes I understand that T-Mobile is currently cheaper than AT&T and yes I understand that if the merger goes thru that all current T-Mobile may be subject to pay a higher rate than they are used to but in that you will be getting all the benefits of the current T-Mobile service greatness you have now and you will be adding all the extra areas of service that you currently do not have that AT&T does. Isn't that worth a little more every month?
I thought so when I left and went to AT&T. I sacrificed cheaper rates for better coverage at a price and it is a price that I am glad to pay for.
Another thing that used to bug me when I was on T-Mobile was every high end device I would purchase would only work on Edge on T-Mobile and 3G on AT&T. Very unfair for someone who is willing to pay $400-$500 for a smartphone only to get Edge service because of who my carrier was. I will admit I was very happy with the innovations that T-Mobile was coming up with but unsatisfied with the end results.
Sorry for the rant. LOL
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As long as TMO has 3G (which may even be HSPA+ "4G") coverage in your area, then data service is generally pretty solid in my experience. Yes, sometimes it drops to 2G/EDGE, especially when indoors, but this is not common in Manhattan generally speaking.
I don't see the AT&T/TMO merger as a good thing because quite honestly the reason AT&T has poor service in a number of metro areas (and like I said, it used to be extremely bad) really comes down to poor business practices/management. They were the only carrier offering an iPhone and this was a highly sought after device. Even if their service quality was just OK at best in some areas many people were still flocking to them for the iPhone. It's clear that they knew this and took advantage of it. Now don't get me wrong they have put a lot of money into their network, but they could have handled this a hell of a lot better.
I also would prefer to keep my TMO service with crystal clear calls and fast data as it is. I don't need to use AT&T towers as I rarely if ever go to places where TMO doesn't have service and I especially don't want AT&T users creating congestion problems on the TMO towers.
I have to agree. I do think tho that AT&T's data problems stems alot from being the only network having 3G capable of surfing and talking at the same time. That in itself could be the cause for HUGE data consumption by its users, especially those with iPhones. I still font see how adding more towers wouldn't help in coverage tho.
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AT&T's data problems stems alot from being the only network having 3G capable of surfing and talking at the same time
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T-Mobile's 3G network has always had this capability.
Basically, I just don't want my current T-Mobile service which is solid to be mixed with AT&T's service which isn't solid. In the simplest sense, when you mix something that's very good with something that's mediocre, you're going to get something in between. And that's what I don't want. I guess AT&T users stand to gain more than T-Mobile users, except for T-Mobile users that aren't in good coverage zones.
gsvnet said:
I guess AT&T users stand to gain more than T-Mobile users, except for T-Mobile users that aren't in good coverage zones.
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That is 100% true and I guess with me now being an AT&T customer, I reap all the benefits.
Wouldn't it be kinda nice to have just one network with great prices and all the towers and goodies? LOL
Sent from my Super Streak Monster Hybrid
I've have at&t for many years and still do now. I had T-Mobile for about the last 5 months. Seriously in my area AT&T can't be beat and only paying $50 with unlimited internet and unlimited txt msg and just 450min (way more then I need). One of the major problems is that in some states coverage for at&T is horrible and really I notice it also comes down to the phones/radio too. Like all compaies just depends on your area.
Cthater said:
See I understand all of your reasons but beyond that it just seems that more and more people are against AT&T for more extreme reasons.
I have been a customer of Sprint, Nextel (when it was just Nextel) , T-Mobile and now AT&T and I genuinely have no service complaints about any of them. I must be one of those people that understands that it is a cell phone and dropped calls and inconsistent service in different areas is going to happen with any carrier you choose. I just felt that more people were angry with more specific reasons but maybe I'm just looking for an answer that really isn't there.
Maybe people just like to moan about anything and currently AT&T is the choice of the month.
Sent from my Super Streak Monster Hybrid
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One or two dropped calls per month or even a week? Maybe. But AT&T has (in NYC metro area including, Jersey City, NJ where I live) three, four, five even six dropped calls A DAY. That in my book is utterly unacceptable especially when you are paying the "premium"prices AT&T charges for sub-par below bargain basement cell and customer service. If you have had good experiences with AT&T, I'm genuinely happy for you. Just know that you are in a very small minority of people that feel that way. As for Verizon (in my experience) their service isn't any better or more consistent than the service I currently receive from T-Mobile while paying significantly less. (I should know I also pay my fathers/stepmothers Verizon bill each month and for roughly equivalent service their bill is much higher). I have Sprint for mobile broadband and their 4G service has decent speed and it's unlimited for 60$ a month. Their 3G is nothing to write home about imo. (t-mobile is almost 3x (comparing Sprints 4g to T-Mobiles "3.5g". I have both the N1 and NS neither of which are capable of the 14.4+ HSPA+ speeds T-Mobile has)faster though at least in, my area) this has been my experience.....
Sent from my NS (no it's NOT SNS or GNS)
Technically, WiMAX is not classified as a 4G technology only LTE and HSDPA+ are. Anything available on the 700 LTE Band at the moment is also not true 4G but rather pre-4G or 4G Advanced (this is why Verizon keeps saying it has the most Advanced 4G network). HSDPA+ currently WAS running 14.4mbps it's NOW running and upgrading in most markets to 42.2mbps. The current LTE offering is @ 22.2mbps. Solid, however, I'd agree I really have a strong dislike for At&t having used to work for them, people don't look beyond the merger. Hope people understand that when it goes through their will only be ONE GSM carrier which will dictate which GSM handsets come here. At&t is notorious for locking down Android handsets as well. At&t is also notorious for getting what it wants regardless of laws and regulations. One article that seems to have slipped through the cracks http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56660.html
How much does it cost to force a merger through? about 10k to each congressman/woman
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000076&chamber=&party=&cycle=2010&state=&sort=A
Trv06kviper said:
Technically, WiMAX is not classified as a 4G technology only LTE and HSDPA+ are. Anything available on the 700 LTE Band at the moment is also not true 4G but rather pre-4G or 4G Advanced (this is why Verizon keeps saying it has the most Advanced 4G network). HSDPA+ currently WAS running 14.4mbps it's NOW running and upgrading in most markets to 42.2mbps. The current LTE offering is @ 22.2mbps. Solid, however, I'd agree I really have a strong dislike for At&t having used to work for them, people don't look beyond the merger. Hope people understand that when it goes through their will only be ONE GSM carrier which will dictate which GSM handsets come here. At&t is notorious for locking down Android handsets as well. At&t is also notorious for getting what it wants regardless of laws and regulations. One article that seems to have slipped through the cracks http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56660.html
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Right. But the N1 and the NS (my phones) are capped at 7.(something, too early) I didn't feel like repeating t mobiles recent (and current hspa + upgrade path).... Most people here should have read about this stuff) and technically, NONE of technologies used in the US are "true" 4G according to the ORIGINAL DEFINITION (they revised it after the carriers cried and whined)
(they revised it after the carriers cried and whined)
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They do a LOT of that lol
I honestly don't understand all the hate towards AT&T, BUT I live in NJ, which is a popular and congested area.. so AT&T probably has lots of data towers and such here
With my iPhone 4, I didn't really get that many dropped calls to be honest. The prices also are pretty good in my opinion.
Only problem is that sometimes the data speeds are uneven. I am also impressed with the LTE network Verizon has set up; freaking fast as hell.
I still prefer AT&T because of their prices though
As someone who worked for AT&T, got crapped on by AT&T, and was subsequently fired by AT&T for no reason, I'll be damned if I give their sub-par service one dime from my pocket.
JayXL14,
Try hanging out in NYC. Dropped calls galore on AT&T. has been for a few years now.
Never a problem with TMO.
I can't stand either AT&T and Verizon and firmly believe those two are involved in backroom price collusion. Disagree with me all you want, I believe it and you can't change my mind. That being said, I also believe Sprint and T-mobile are no angels either..... They all suck donkey @#$&s.
Sent from my NS (no it's NOT SNS or GNS)
I was just wondering what the opinions of T-mobile was for the members here. I have been on a Radioshack/AT&T employee plan since 2006 and even though I quit in 2008 I have continued to be on this plan. It was amazing (2000 minutes, unlimited text, and unlimited data for $25 a month), however I just received notice today from my old AT&T rep that I will finally be taken off it. I am currently looking at switching to one of the major US carriers and am looking at the plan prices. I want to stick with an Android phone, so I'll need data. Verizon's cheapest plan looks to be $89.99/month for what I want (450 minutes, unlimited text, 2GB of data), with AT&T and Sprint's around $10 cheaper. I rarely use minutes (average of 250 a month), but I text quite a bit so I would want unlimited text. I also don't use data much. My max in the past year has been 134MB, however I know if I have a faster phone I will probably use data more. I was looking at T-mobile's plans and noticed they are drastically cheaper. $49.99/month for 500 minutes, unlimited text, and 2GB of data. Is their service much worse than AT&T, even though they are both GSM? I'd hate to switch to them and end up hating my service.
So in short, does anybody who has had AT&T and T-mobile notice a major difference between the two? Would I be better with sticking with Verizon or AT&T or are they all about equal nowadays?
Thanks in advance!
I recommend you buy an unlocked phone (hello Nexus!) and get a sim card from Straight Talk. They are a MVNO that runs on the AT&T network. I believe plans are $45.
It always depends on your area. For years I used Cingular(now At&t) and I had pretty decent service. About 5 years ago, T-Mobile was carrying a phone I wanted, so I decided to switch. (This was before I knew about the glory of unlocking ;P). T-Mobile's network was so horrible I never (read:NEVER) got service within a 2 mile radius of my home, and about the same at work.
I couldn't make a phone call with out it dropping, so I was forced to switch back to At&t. The guy at T-Mobile pulled up a "coverage map" and it claimed I should have the best service right in the area I needed it. So it was a bunch of bull if you ask me.
My suggestion has always been to talk to people who you know in the area of where you will be using your phone. I know some people from around my area who get great reception with T-Mobile and get awful service with At&t. I honestly have no idea how it happens, but it does.
Another route would be to get the phone to test (perhaps one of their pre-paid, no contract options?) and use it for a few days. If you are unhappy, simply return it. If you are returning it because of bad coverage they HAVE to take it back and give you a full refund.
I still think the asking people around the area is the best option. Perhaps you could give a general location, and ask people on the forums who are located near by to give you some of their opinions on their coverage? Its probably the best way to be sure, if you ask me.
T-Mobile was great to me in the East Bay area of northern California, until last November, when they instituted traffic-shaping policies that meant every single JPEG image on the internet was horribly compressed into an ugly mess of artifacts and banded gradients.
I really miss T-Mobile's HSPA+ speed. AT&T just can't quite get as fast. But I'll take a 20-25% slower connection that isn't adulterated over a faster one that's been tampered with.
I've had ok experiences with T-Mobile. When I lived in Atlanta there were many areas where I simply didn't get a signal, but that's probably due to to the terrain. As suggested you should probably ask others in the area where you will be how their coverage is. In regards to plans, I'm on a contracted unlimited talk/text, 2GB data for $90. I'll be modifying that at the soonest opportunity... I guess at least the phone itself was cheaper at the time :/
Thanks for info!
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I've had T-Mobile for a few years now, and I can't wait to leave this company. I'm currently in the process of jumping ship. I've driven from California to Tennessee, Tennessee to Iowa, Iowa to Michigan, and back again. I've never seen such garbage coverage from a cellular company. I have a 4G compatible phone, but I've only ever seen 4G when I fly through Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Their 3G coverage area is also terrible.
So, Cons are as follows:
4G: What 4G?
3G: Doesn't exist
2G: Covers the entire country with data speeds barely faster than dial-up, unless you live more than 25 miles outside a big city, or in North Dakota in general.
Reception: It's a well known fact that T-Mobile cannot maintain or even guarantee any sort of standard level of service indoors.
Pros:
Pricing: They are cheap for a reason.
"Unlimited" Data Plans: They "throttle" them after a certain amount of time, and it's throttling to less than 2G speeds. In fact, you should try being throttled while trying to drive across the country using Google maps...
Customer Service: The only pleasant part of my time with T-Mobile.
cdchris12 said:
I've had T-Mobile for a few years now, and I can't wait to leave this company. I'm currently in the process of jumping ship. I've driven from California to Tennessee, Tennessee to Iowa, Iowa to Michigan, and back again. I've never seen such garbage coverage from a cellular company. I have a 4G compatible phone, but I've only ever seen 4G when I fly through Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Their 3G coverage area is also terrible.
So, Cons are as follows:
4G: What 4G?
3G: Doesn't exist
2G: Covers the entire country with data speeds barely faster than dial-up, unless you live more than 25 miles outside a big city, or in North Dakota in general.
Reception: It's a well known fact that T-Mobile cannot maintain or even guarantee any sort of standard level of service indoors.
Pros:
Pricing: They are cheap for a reason.
"Unlimited" Data Plans: They "throttle" them after a certain amount of time, and it's throttling to less than 2G speeds. In fact, you should try being throttled while trying to drive across the country using Google maps...
Customer Service: The only pleasant part of my time with T-Mobile.
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Those may have been YOUR experiences and I'm not discounting that BUT....
I have FIVE LINES with T-Mobile
NEVER HAVE I HAD an issue with signal or coverage indoors.
Full bars in my home, excellent signal (68dBm-72dBm).
Very good coverage in Jersey City, NJ where I live.
My husband whom travels all over the tri-state area (NY,NJ,CT) doesn't have any reception issues either.
Fast HSPA+ (yes, it's a 3.5G technology) speeds depending on the device used. (I have the Amaze,,Sensation and, a Nexus S on T-Mobile ATM)
Wasn't me!! I didn't do it!
I completely disagree with cdchris12 however I always lived in area with good T-Mobile coverage and their throttle speed is fast enough to view website and use Google Maps. I do find that depends on the phone, usually older ones can have problem keeping data and gps in door, unless you're next to a window. With newer big phones with good antenna is not so much a problem.
I'd say get an unlocked phone and go with T-Mobile prepaid $50/month plan which give you unlimited everything and throttle to 2G after 2GB of usage. Unless you need roaming which isn't available with prepaid. I have family and friends who use ATT 3G and T-Mobile 3G network is always faster to me. In fact, with a Galaxy SII with dual HSPA+ antenna I get speed excess of 20mbps. Straight Talk has the same plan for $45 I believe and they go through T-Mobile network.
T-Mobile also allows you to tether which ATT don't, although recently I heard they changed that for people with $70 plan.
You might also find this useful: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=21604722&postcount=2
To get T-Mobile 3G you need a phone that support 1700/2100Mhz band.
In the East Bay area T-Mobile's HSPA+ speeds are really quite fast. I often saw 8-9Mbps downstream on my Galaxy Nexus before I switched to AT&T.
Unfortunately a fast internet connection is useless if your carrier alters all images on the internet so everything looks like dogpoo.
I have no idea what you are talking about, you might be accessing website through some kind of proxy like Opera Mini/Turbo. I know you will reply that that isn't the case, but I really can't think why that would be the case, but it has to be through some kind of proxy. I also notice some roms are set to connect to SimpleMobile by default instead of T-Mobile, which also causes problems. With Opera Mobile using desktop user agent, it looks exactly like my PC, and I've tried 5 different Android phones with T-Mobile. I haven't heard of millions other T-Mobile users complaining about degrading pictures quality from browser.
eksasol said:
I have no idea what you are talking about, you might be accessing website through some kind of proxy like Opera Mini/Turbo. I know you will reply that that isn't the case, but I really can't think why that would be the case, but it has to be through some kind of proxy. I also notice some roms are set to connect to SimpleMobile by default instead of T-Mobile, which also causes problems. With Opera Mobile using desktop user agent, it looks exactly like my PC, and I've tried 5 different Android phones with T-Mobile. I haven't heard of millions other T-Mobile users complaining about degrading pictures quality from browser.
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It's a proxy, but the proxy is on T-Mobile's end, not mine. It's a transparent proxy and it works exactly like the Opera Mini proxy, but I can't choose to turn it off. Connecting through a VPN would obviously fix the problem, but there's no easy way to force Android to auto-connect to a VPN every time I open the browser.
Trust me, I was thorough. The user agent wasn't an issue. The APN was set correctly. I spent over ten hours on the phone with T-Mobile's technical support and I hard reset the phones on both lines multiple times, restored to unrooted stock multiple times, and nothing fixed the issue. When I bought my Galaxy Nexus, I tested it before unlocking the bootloader and rooting it, and had the same exact issue.
Just to be absolutely sure, I even tested the issue on an iOS device (iPhone 3GS) and a WP7 device (HD7) with the same results--heavily compressed JPEG images when viewing any unencrypted page.
It no longer matters since I left T-Mobile for AT&T, which uses no such proxy.
Edit: I should note that I'm not the only one with this problem. Every person I know in the SF Bay area who uses T-Mobile has this problem. It may be automatic traffic shaping algorithms used on a tower-by-tower basis (which would explain why some people don't have the problem), but yeah, it's all over the place here. I tested demo phones in every T-Mobile store I could easily reach in the area--three in SF, two in Oakland, one in Berkeley and one in El Cerrito, and they all exhibit the same problem.
For example:
Actual quality, downloaded over wifi (180kb)
Very low quality, downloaded over T-Mobile 3G (55kb)
Yea, the compression thing on TMo is a well known thing. It doesn't bother me personally.
To throw in my experience with AT&T/T-Mobile here, I review phones as a side project. I've noted several differences in the two networks. Most are well known things that others have commented on. T-Mobile EASILY has better customer service. They always have. They pride themselves in their outstanding customer care. As long as you aren't being retarded or yelling at them, they will do everything possible to make you a happy customer.
As far as coverage goes, check the maps. AT&T has a bigger network footprint. T-Mobile has better network speeds. I get better speeds on T-Mobile 3G than on AT&T LTE. Obviously this is very dependent on location, but that's how it is here.
If you have coverage from T-Mobile and don't mind the picture compression, I strongly suggest it. I lived without 3G from T-Mobile for 2 and a half years while I was in the Army on base in Georgia. EDGE speeds are respectable from them. Their customer service and my ridiculously old $50 unlimited everything plan kept me going.
T-Mobile does throttle users once you reach your limits. I've never been throttled personally, but I've maxed out a test SGS2 just to see what it's like. You are still able to browse the web. No videos or streaming music, though. Speed tests put the throttling at around 70-110 Kbps. This is within EDGE speeds. Their unthrottled EDGE speeds are between 160-320 Kbps here. By comparison, GPRS speed drops down to about 20-40 Kbps.
My preference is for good customer service. T-Mobile has always been there for me, even when things got tight for me. I see no reason to leave them now. Look at the news just within the last 6 months. AT&T couldn't care less about its customers. It doesn't change anything until it gets sued.
cajunflavoredbob said:
Yea, the compression thing on TMo is a well known thing. It doesn't bother me personally.
To throw in my experience with AT&T/T-Mobile here, I review phones as a side project. I've noted several differences in the two networks. Most are well known things that others have commented on. T-Mobile EASILY has better customer service. They always have. They pride themselves in their outstanding customer care. As long as you aren't being retarded or yelling at them, they will do everything possible to make you a happy customer.
As far as coverage goes, check the maps. AT&T has a bigger network footprint. T-Mobile has better network speeds. I get better speeds on T-Mobile 3G than on AT&T LTE. Obviously this is very dependent on location, but that's how it is here.
If you have coverage from T-Mobile and don't mind the picture compression, I strongly suggest it. I lived without 3G from T-Mobile for 2 and a half years while I was in the Army on base in Georgia. EDGE speeds are respectable from them. Their customer service and my ridiculously old $50 unlimited everything plan kept me going.
T-Mobile does throttle users once you reach your limits. I've never been throttled personally, but I've maxed out a test SGS2 just to see what it's like. You are still able to browse the web. No videos or streaming music, though. Speed tests put the throttling at around 70-110 Kbps. This is within EDGE speeds. Their unthrottled EDGE speeds are between 160-320 Kbps here. By comparison, GPRS speed drops down to about 20-40 Kbps.
My preference is for good customer service. T-Mobile has always been there for me, even when things got tight for me. I see no reason to leave them now. Look at the news just within the last 6 months. AT&T couldn't care less about its customers. It doesn't change anything until it gets sued.
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This^^^^ %110. That being said, I've only experienced image compression in NYC, in a few areas (mostly midtown Manhattan). I live in Jersey City, NJ and haven't experienced it here. Even with image compression, images don't look THAT BAD....at least IMO.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
Babydoll25 said:
This^^^^ %110. That being said, I've only experienced image compression in NYC, in a few areas (mostly midtown Manhattan). I live in Jersey City, NJ and haven't experienced it here. Even with image compression, images don't look THAT BAD....at least IMO.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
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For me, they looked so bad I was willing to pay $40 more a month to AT&T in order to make it go away permanently. The other line on my account is used by my partner, and she would frequently read manga raws on her phone. When the image compression started, the Japanese characters in the raw manga scans became totally illegible. She was, to put it mildly, rather upset. This is probably 90% of why she owns a smartphone and is willing to pay for it, so I'm sure you can see the issue here.
For me it was an aesthetic issue, but for her it was a functionality issue. In any case, we pay a little more a month, but we also get more--and I personally prefer AT&T's method of handling data. At least on AT&T if I want more than 3GB a month I can pay to get extra GBs. On T-Mobile, you'd get throttled regardless and EDGE in the East Bay is completely unusable.
I would have stayed with T-Mobile had I been able to figure out how to automatically log into a VPN every time I opened an app that pulled image assets from the web (the browser, the Android Market, etc). Unfortunately, the only solution I found also wakelocked the phone permanently, preventing it from sleeping and killing any semblance of good battery life.
synaesthetic said:
For me, they looked so bad I was willing to pay $40 more a month to AT&T in order to make it go away permanently. The other line on my account is used by my partner, and she would frequently read manga raws on her phone. When the image compression started, the Japanese characters in the raw manga scans became totally illegible. She was, to put it mildly, rather upset. This is probably 90% of why she owns a smartphone and is willing to pay for it, so I'm sure you can see the issue here.
For me it was an aesthetic issue, but for her it was a functionality issue. In any case, we pay a little more a month, but we also get more--and I personally prefer AT&T's method of handling data. At least on AT&T if I want more than 3GB a month I can pay to get extra GBs. On T-Mobile, you'd get throttled regardless and EDGE in the East Bay is completely unusable.
I would have stayed with T-Mobile had I been able to figure out how to automatically log into a VPN every time I opened an app that pulled image assets from the web (the browser, the Android Market, etc). Unfortunately, the only solution I found also wakelocked the phone permanently, preventing it from sleeping and killing any semblance of good battery life.
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I think that's the main problem with the way TMo handles it. It's not consistent. It seems to be worse based on location and usage. More compression in more populated areas or something. For me, I can tell that the images are compressed if I zoom in inside a webpage, but otherwise, it's business as usual.
Same with the data speeds. A lot of people say that it drops to regular GPRS speeds when they get throttled. I only tested it the one time with that review unit SGS2, but it wasn't that bad. 100Kbps is fine for web browsing. The problem seems to be that it's all very much a "your mileage may vary" situation.
AT&T is evil, but at least they are consistent.
They're all evil. We simply pick the lesser evil in any given location.
I'm kind of surprised that nobody's mentioned T-Mobile's Wifi Calling. It allows you to get service anywhere that has a Wifi network available, and you can do everything as normal (Call, text, internet) through your plan. I use it everyday, and I think it's great.
theholyfork said:
I'm kind of surprised that nobody's mentioned T-Mobile's Wifi Calling. It allows you to get service anywhere that has a Wifi network available, and you can do everything as normal (Call, text, internet) through your plan. I use it everyday, and I think it's great.
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It's nice to have, but kind of crappy that it still counts against you, even though you aren't using their towers...
I am planing to switch carriers from Sprint to At&T or Verizon. I have three lines, big data user (~14-17Gb). I currently have unlimited data with sprint, but their data coverage is limited for me. I preordered the N6SP and wanted a know the communities opinion between the two. I know that my data will be limited and will be mindful.
goofydragon1 said:
I am planing to switch carriers from Sprint to At&T or Verizon. I have three lines, big data user (~14-17Gb). I currently have unlimited data with sprint, but their data coverage is limited for me. I preordered the N6SP and wanted a know the communities opinion between the two. I know that my data will be limited and will be mindful.
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Go with cricket
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A
I guess it depends on the coverage each one provides in your area. If they're both reliable, AT&T plans seem a bit more $ friendly for multiple device users. Your call.
T-Mobile. Keep the unlimited data and get a better signal. I think they are still offering 14 day test drives so you and your family can check out out and see how it works in your area and areas you frequent. I moved from Verizon years ago and never looked back.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
SymbioticGenius said:
T-Mobile. Keep the unlimited data and get a better signal. I think they are still offering 14 day test drives so you and your family can check out out and see how it works in your area and areas you frequent. I moved from Verizon years ago and never looked back.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
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hard to believe that tmobile gets better signal...
Verizon has the best coverage, but is the most expensive. Also look into Google's Project Fi. It uses T-Mobile and Sprint networks as well as Wi-Fi calling and you only pay for the data you use ($10/GB).
Sent from my LG-V410 using Tapatalk
In my experience I'll rank them as follows:
Verizon (best building penetration)
T-Mobile (best combination of coverage and speed)
ATT (slightly better coverage, speed sucks)
..... Anything else prepaid/whatever
Sprint (nothing good to say) *silence*
Most recently in the top floor of my house a visitor had no signal with sprint at all whereas I was fine on T-Mobile.
In my father's office in Manhattan he has no signal from T-Mobile on the first 4 floors but fine anywhere above, but Verizon works in the basement.
In my mother's office (in the middle of a brick college building) she had no signal on T-Mobile only in her office, but as soon as she stepped out of her office anywhere else in the building she's fine. Verizon works fine in her office.
However in a recent hospital visit neither of my parents phones worked on Verizon but I was fine on T-Mobile.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
I've had all of them except for Sprint. Verizon will find a way to screw you over and charge you more for nothing. AT&T is just expensive for marginal amounts of data. T-Mobile isn't the best but I have 2 lines with unlimited everything and pay $100 a month so for me that's the best compromise between everything. I get up to 80mb/s DL where I live which is better than At&t or VZW surprisingly. On the other hand their coverage in the middle of nowhere is nonexistent whereas the other two usually have something. It just depends on what your need and how the coverage is where you live.
Pilz said:
I've had all of them except for Sprint. Verizon will find a way to screw you over and charge you more for nothing. AT&T is just expensive for marginal amounts of data. T-Mobile isn't the best but I have 2 lines with unlimited everything and pay $100 a month so for me that's the best compromise between everything. I get up to 80mb/s DL where I live which is better than At&t or VZW surprisingly. On the other hand their coverage in the middle of nowhere is nonexistent whereas the other two usually have something. It just depends on what your need and how the coverage is where you live.
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I agree.
T-Mobile is the best compromise.
Not saying they have the fastest network or signal everywhere, but their prices are pretty good and if you're in a pretty popular area - signal is actually pretty good too.
Check your coverage map?
A few years ago, I would NEVER have recommended At&t and I was about to switch to Verizon (as soon as my contract was up).....Then, in my area, At&t installed several new LTE towers and I have better reception than any of my Verizon friends. Even when camping in the middle of nowhere, I can get signal every now and again where they don't.
I also like the fact you can be on a call and use data at the same time...... Don't do it much, but sometimes it comes in handy. For example, my wife calls and asks "what time is the show tonight"? I can pull the phone away from my ear, pull up the website and find out and let her know. Verizon may have changed this in the past few years, but you couldn't do this with them last I knew? You would have had to say "I'll check and call/text you back".
But it basically comes down to checking your coverage map.... I manage a friends Verizon account that is very similar to my At&t account, and the prices are all about the same. At&t did recently have a "double your data for $0 extra" promotion that I got in on and I've seen Verizon run these from time to time as well.
So.....As I've said a few times, it just comes down to coverage.
I have Verizon now and had att at one point , they were both about the same price for me. att had better coverage at certain spots and same was true for Verizon. My verizon LTE service has been great in central NJ and i cant speak for att but a friend of mine has att and says the LTE is good. Now i can say i would stay away from sprint i have a few friends who have it and when we are all together they are always not able to use there phones cause there service is at one bar to nothing.
I think you cant go wrong with either ATT or Verizon they both have one of the best networks in the us in my experience. main thing to note is ATT isnt as locked down as verizon is. Verizon is not as easy to bring a unlocked phone into there network IE moto x pure, and nexus 6 (before they sold it) and the new 6P. they have gotten better but still a lot harder then it needs to be
just my 2 cents
I moved off AT&T to try Project Fi. Was perfectly happy with AT&T, but Fi was cheaper and seemed very interesting. Had a huge problem with their Hangouts calling feature - it kept my N6 from being able to make/receive calls. If I uninstalled Hangouts from all my devices/computers, including the N6, the phone would work fine. After 2 weeks of no Hangouts, I was about ready to put a nail into my head. So, I switched to Verizon.
Now, I have used Verizon on my work phone for years. The coverage they have helps ensure I can use the phone while on business travel. That's great for businesses, but honestly doesn't mean much for me when I'm at home and all the carriers give adequate service. Now that I think about the extra $ the Verizon plan costs me, the fact that I have to subscribe to visual voicemail for an extra $3 a month where I didn't have to before, and that it took an act of congress for them to issue me a SIM card for a "NON-VZW Device"... I'm kind of wondering why I just didn't go back to AT&T. Or even T-mobile. ... well, anyone but Sprint.
Yeah it was an act of congress to get my nano sim activated too , now they do offer a free version of the visual VM that im using now. I looked into project Fi but the cost wouldn't be much cheaper i use way too much data lol
If someone actually looked at the prices of the new plans you would see that ATT and Verizon are about the same and in some cases V$ is even cheaper...not by a lot....This is for a single phone..but I dont think its much different with multiples. Go with whoever has the best coverage..but even then its probably a wash at this point too.