T Mobile Test Drive

Nick · Jun 26, 2014

So, I've been wanting to switch mobile providers for a while. I've been with Verizon for over 10 years, but the company has no loyalty to it's customers, obviously. With increased nickle and dime fees (like line activations, removal of unlimited data, etc. etc.) and customer service gone down the window, I feel no loyalty to Verizon anymore. However, their network is, for me and my area, the best.

T-mobile was really attractive to me. I love the idea of getting your own phone and the no-contract thing. I would save about $30 a month or more. So they just announced this whole "Test Drive" thing where they send you an iPhone for free and you can take it on a spin for 7 days to see how service is in the areas where you live and work.

Well, I took it out of the box yesterday at home, turned the phone on, and ... no service, right in my house, where I get 4G with Verizon.

Oh well. Maybe in another few years T-mobile. I wasn't expecting service to be at Verizon levels but I wasn't expecting literally no service in my home right out of the box.

For skiing in particular, the stronger Verizon network is probably even more important when you are on a slope.

Anyone else use T-mobile?

bvibert · Jun 26, 2014

I've considered switching from Verizon a few times myself. Every time I've surveyed users of other networks in areas I frequent I've found vastly inferior service from the competitors. I'll be sticking with them based on service alone, unless they really start bending me over.

For example, in the building where I work I have a strong signal with 4G data. ATT has no service at all unless you go stand by a certain window. T-mobile has spotty service.

skijay · Jun 26, 2014

Contact Verizon if you've been a customer for several years and in a good standing for paying your bill on time and ask for the "Loyalty Customer" plan. I have 2GB, unlimited Talk / Text for $60 a month. I do have an unsubsidized iPhone.

Bostonian · Jun 26, 2014

Looks good... But where as I also have Vz, I am not going to give it up - especially being grandfathered in under unlimited data. To me their network and unlimited 4g data makes it a no brainer to stay with them.

bvibert · Jun 26, 2014

Bostonian said:
Looks good... But where as I also have Vz, I am not going to give it up - especially being grandfathered in under unlimited data. To me their network and unlimited 4g data makes it a no brainer to stay with them.

You're grandfathered in until you decide to sign a new contract.

Geoff · Jun 26, 2014

bvibert said:
You're grandfathered in until you decide to sign a new contract.

Which forces you to pay full price for a CDMA+LTE phone that works on their network to keep your existing contract.

I have an iPhone 4s and my 2 year contract is up this summer. I'd love to move to an iPhone 6 eventually and get LTE but I'm not going to ever have a phone with metered data service even though I typically mostly use WiFi for data. AT&T still isn't as good as Verizon in my travel pattern. T-Mobile is really sketchy. I'd love to be able to try T-Mobile for a week but I think I already know the answer from looking at their coverage map. Useless at Killington. Fringe at my Massholia place. Hopeless on the boat.

Edd · Jun 26, 2014

Ski country is the big issue. Most of us spend days at a time up there. My work phone is T-Mobile and I get LTE with it at my place but the coverage up north is scary. I'm upgrading to an iPhone 6 too but I'm with Sprint. If I want to take advantage of LTE, I'll probably have to go with Verizon, which is a bummer.

xlr8r · Jun 26, 2014

I switched to T mobile this winter and also have no coverage at home, but Verizon also had pretty terrible coverage at home as well. The trick is with T mobile I can set it to automatically make and receive calls through WiFi Calling when it is range of my home network, so the no coverage at home ends up not being a problem at all really.

T mobile does have bad coverage in ski country, but it ended up not being a big problem. A lot of the time in VT my phone would roam onto AT&T networks, but the roaming is free so who cares. But sometimes in NH I would not have any coverage.

The only negative with T mobile is the sometimes limited network, everything else is way better than the competition. Their coverage in the Boston area is great. The no overage charges is awesome as you know your bill will never fluctuate. And the free International data, texts and cheap calls was very useful on my Europe trip this April. T Mobile is the future of the mobile industry whether or get bought or not by Sprint.

bvibert · Jun 27, 2014

Isn't T-Mobile's 'unlimited' data throttled back considerably after you reach a cap?

drjeff · Jun 27, 2014

One of my Boston area friends, who uses T-Mobile as his carrier, described it this way.... As long as he's within a short walk of the T, he usually gets good service on their network

Beyond that, it's a crap shoot, especially if you start to get away from an urban area

ScottySkis · Jun 27, 2014

Nick by law all cell phones providers have to you a week or two i think were you can return it with out a problem.

I been with Veriz$$$ for 2 years my contract is up in July pretty sure I going to try Virgin it price in half of vz I sure i will have less service where i live about 4 miles from the high way.

dlague · Jun 27, 2014

Well my work phone is Verizon, family phones (kids) are with Sprint and my wife's work phone is T-mobile. I have to say there are times where her phone works the best while other times the kids phones work the best and then other times when my phones works the best. There are some ski areas where none of them work all that well. Sprint offers us the best deal especially with the kids - unlimited text and data with 1500 minutes peak talk and unlimited nonpeak talk family plan for $99 plus line fees.

i typed with my i thumbs using AlpineZone

Nick · Jun 27, 2014

Bostonian said:
Looks good... But where as I also have Vz, I am not going to give it up - especially being grandfathered in under unlimited data. To me their network and unlimited 4g data makes it a no brainer to stay with them.

I had an unlimited data plan but I actually sold it on eBay for like $400. People will pay a lot of money for them (Crazy, right?).

The thing that sucks about sticking with unlimited data is that you really do lose if you don't upgrade your phone every 2 years. The subsidy is baked into the monthly plan cost so if you don't take advantage of it, after 20 months, you are basically wasting $20 of value every month on your bill. Even if you just bought a new phone and immediately sold it on eBay for $700 and kept using your old one for another 2 years.

wa-loaf · Jun 27, 2014

Nick said:
I had an unlimited data plan but I actually sold it on eBay for like $400. People will pay a lot of money for them (Crazy, right?).

How the heck do you do that? I have a grandfathered ATT plan.

Nick · Jun 27, 2014

With Verizon its a process called assumption of liability, basically someone takes over your existing contract. It takes a few minutes on the phone to do it.

wa-loaf · Jun 27, 2014

I assume you lose your number doing this?

Geoff · Jun 27, 2014

Nick said:
The thing that sucks about sticking with unlimited data is that you really do lose if you don't upgrade your phone every 2 years. The subsidy is baked into the monthly plan cost so if you don't take advantage of it, after 20 months, you are basically wasting $20 of value every month on your bill.

Where does it say that in Verizon's fine print? I've never heard that one before.

Nick · Jun 27, 2014

wa-loaf said:
I assume you lose your number doing this?

Yes the number goes also. My wife ported hers to Google Voice first.

hiroto · Jun 28, 2014

I switched from AT&T last year and it is working out ok for me. For my daily life, it is better coverage at home and ok at work. I'm looking forward for iOS 8's wifi calling. Price is great that after $80 a month for me and my wife's iPhone, adding my son's iPhone (my old unlocked at&t iPhone 4) is only $10 a month with base 1G data.

It is not great in some skiing area. I got decent t-mobile 2G coverage in Wachusett, Bretton Woods, Gunstock. It is well covered along I89 up VT, but once I stepped off and headed to Sugarbush, it quickly switched to roaming in AT&T network. It is the area they call "Service Partner" in their coverage map. You still get decent free calling, but data will be capped to hard 10M limit (with base plan, up to 50M with unlimited plan) until you go back to t-mobile network.

http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-3299

It is pretty tough limit since it includes text, and we survived by disable all the apps for using cellular and limited ourselves to use data for only texting (no pictures!) when we are not on wifi.

When it comes to international roaming, you cannot beat t-mobile's unlimited data and text roaming. It is funny that it is better deal than roaming domestically. Yes it is throttled to lower speed but if you limit yourself to wifi for big things like video upload/downloading, it is practical for most smartphone usages (at least in Japan where 2G network no longer exist).

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