T-mobile Good, Bad, Other???

[lofsfire]

Ok I'm thinking of changing cell phone companies. I currently have At&t for the most part I have good coverage at home and most of the place I ride. I'm thinking of changing to T-mobile. I sure some of you have it, so how do you like it? Some areas I would like to know about at Cadillac, Gaylord the Western UP, and off the Interstates, and lastly for the few guys on here that live by Indianapolis, I head in that direction allot too. (I know, I do not want Sprint, with my friends that have had Sprint it all ways seems like once you were off the interstates you lost service.)

The main reason I'm thinking of changing is I can have 4 phones with unlimited 4g data and 1000min for what I'm paying for 1 smart phone and 3 basic phones now.

 

[snowman2]

by far the worst company I have ever had to deal with the story is way to long and painfull to tell but please be carefull service iffy at best and the are better conpanys imo

 

[ezra]

well I have been with t mobile for about 20 yrs think it was Ariel then voice streem when I started then 2 more sales till t mobile.
I have had others at same time but sprint was the worst.
In the up I get service 5x more than buds with other corps.
but with the worst part is got some new smart phones last yr and they did not work in my home. after arguing with them 5 call latter they made me sign a new 2 yr contract(after 20 yrs of service) in order to give me a home booster well now the pones and internet 4 g works in the home.
long story short if u hold out for a few mo I think the gov is working on approving the t mobile At&T merger

 

[dcsnomo]

Before dropping out of the corporate world I sold network testing data to T-Mobile. Before you switch you have to understand the technology a bit. T- Mobile operates on a platform called GSM(global standard for mobile), as does AT&T. All the other US carriers operate on CDMA (basically).

So what does that mean? OK, a GSM phone can only operate on a GSM network. In the past, T-Mobile was the only GSM carrier so T-Mobile worked only where they had coverage. There was no other GSM network to roam to. And that is a problem when you have a smaller network built on metro areas and interstate coverage. When AT&T converted to GSM in the mid/late 2000s they did not provide a roaming agreement to T-Mobile, but instead tried to buy the company, which was blocked by gov't. There is now a roaming agreement between them, but again, coverage will only be where there is either a T-Mobile or AT&T GSM network covered by the roaming agreement.

CDMA carriers are different. Sprint/Verizon/US Cellular/ Cellcom/etc., etc. can roam between each other, where there are agreements, but generally there is CDMA coverage nearly everywhere. So, CDMA coverage in rural areas is generally better than GSM because the company does not have to build out a network in a low usage/low revenue area, they just use another carrier's network. Here in Door County my Sprint phone uses both the Sprint and Cellcom network. T-Mobile has (until recently) had no place to roam to. In Door County AT&T coverage is poor, but T-Mobile is just non-exisiting.

The two technologies also have different characteristics. GSM is very high quality, but if it cannot find a good signal it just does not work. CDMA will attempt to connect on lower quality signals, which is why you get the "I can hear you but you can't hear me" problem. A GSM phone just won't make that connection.

I know I am getting way too verbose here, but the net is, if you live in a metro area, travel metro highways and metro airports you will like T-Mobile, it is a good network WHERE IT IS. But if you travel to the UP or other rural areas it is the least likely carrier to provide service.

Also, I know there are a couple of wireless guys on this board, so if they have differing info then I defer to them!

 

[snocrazy]

Nice explanation.

Before dropping out of the corporate world I sold network testing data to T-Mobile. Before you switch you have to understand the technology a bit. T- Mobile operates on a platform called GSM(global standard for mobile), as does AT&T. All the other US carriers operate on CDMA (basically).

So what does that mean? OK, a GSM phone can only operate on a GSM network. In the past, T-Mobile was the only GSM carrier so T-Mobile worked only where they had coverage. There was no other GSM network to roam to. And that is a problem when you have a smaller network built on metro areas and interstate coverage. When AT&T converted to GSM in the mid/late 2000s they did not provide a roaming agreement to T-Mobile, but instead tried to buy the company, which was blocked by gov't. There is now a roaming agreement between them, but again, coverage will only be where there is either a T-Mobile or AT&T GSM network covered by the roaming agreement.

CDMA carriers are different. Sprint/Verizon/US Cellular/ Cellcom/etc., etc. can roam between each other, where there are agreements, but generally there is CDMA coverage nearly everywhere. So, CDMA coverage in rural areas is generally better than GSM because the company does not have to build out a network in a low usage/low revenue area, they just use another carrier's network. Here in Door County my Sprint phone uses both the Sprint and Cellcom network. T-Mobile has (until recently) had no place to roam to. In Door County AT&T coverage is poor, but T-Mobile is just non-exisiting.

The two technologies also have different characteristics. GSM is very high quality, but if it cannot find a good signal it just does not work. CDMA will attempt to connect on lower quality signals, which is why you get the "I can hear you but you can't hear me" problem. A GSM phone just won't make that connection.

I know I am getting way too verbose here, but the net is, if you live in a metro area, travel metro highways and metro airports you will like T-Mobile, it is a good network WHERE IT IS. But if you travel to the UP or other rural areas it is the least likely carrier to provide service.

Also, I know there are a couple of wireless guys on this board, so if they have differing info then I defer to them!

 

[ezra]

I think T mobile has more than just AT&T I have been using them for yrs. untill till recently always had been in roaming at the cabin in N MN and at buds in western W and in the UP.and I dont think the tech has changed cuz I still have a old old phone at the cabin that I can toss a sim card in from my current phone to make calls the new phones just dont work at the cabin just the old bag phone. most of the time when up north in roaming it is some company I have never heard of on the screen in fact at the cabin it can be 2 diff corps in a 20 mi radius.
I am not waving pom poms for T mobile I have been in many pissing matches with them over the yrs but never as bad as with sprint

 

[jc104kx]

When my T mobile phone is connected to a different network , I can not retrieve voice mails. My service is horrible. Definately recommend something else. Verizon seems to always have coverage.

 

[frnash]

FWIW (Worth very little, actually.), AT&T (Once AT&T then Cingular, then AT&T again.): the technology they originally used was TDMA (Time division multiple access), not CDMA (Code division multiple access), but of course now they're GSM (Global System for Mobile), as noted previously. The 2G GSM system combined TDMA & Frequency hopping.

"4G" systems still largely involve a lot of smoke and mirrors, but ultimately it looks as though true 4G LTE Advanced technology will be based on OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) and MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output). More here.

 

[cummins]

If I could be with the T-Mobile chick in the white and pink dress; I wouldn't care about service or coverage!!!

 

[ezra]

Or just see her with no coverage

 

[whitedust]

Before dropping out of the corporate world I sold network testing data to T-Mobile. Before you switch you have to understand the technology a bit. T- Mobile operates on a platform called GSM(global standard for mobile), as does AT&T. All the other US carriers operate on CDMA (basically).

So what does that mean? OK, a GSM phone can only operate on a GSM network. In the past, T-Mobile was the only GSM carrier so T-Mobile worked only where they had coverage. There was no other GSM network to roam to. And that is a problem when you have a smaller network built on metro areas and interstate coverage. When AT&T converted to GSM in the mid/late 2000s they did not provide a roaming agreement to T-Mobile, but instead tried to buy the company, which was blocked by gov't. There is now a roaming agreement between them, but again, coverage will only be where there is either a T-Mobile or AT&T GSM network covered by the roaming agreement.

CDMA carriers are different. Sprint/Verizon/US Cellular/ Cellcom/etc., etc. can roam between each other, where there are agreements, but generally there is CDMA coverage nearly everywhere. So, CDMA coverage in rural areas is generally better than GSM because the company does not have to build out a network in a low usage/low revenue area, they just use another carrier's network. Here in Door County my Sprint phone uses both the Sprint and Cellcom network. T-Mobile has (until recently) had no place to roam to. In Door County AT&T coverage is poor, but T-Mobile is just non-exisiting.

The two technologies also have different characteristics. GSM is very high quality, but if it cannot find a good signal it just does not work. CDMA will attempt to connect on lower quality signals, which is why you get the "I can hear you but you can't hear me" problem. A GSM phone just won't make that connection.

I know I am getting way too verbose here, but the net is, if you live in a metro area, travel metro highways and metro airports you will like T-Mobile, it is a good network WHERE IT IS. But if you travel to the UP or other rural areas it is the least likely carrier to provide service.

Also, I know there are a couple of wireless guys on this board, so if they have differing info then I defer to them!

Interesting reminds me of Sony & Beta vs VHS video tape recording. Sony hung out to dry with Beta kept for themselves went no where while the rest of the world marched on with VHS until next tech DVDs came on market. Sounds like GSM will go no where in future. IMO

 

[98panther]

I have Tmobile - their price is hard to beat.
Especially if your willing the buy your phone or keep them and not trade up every 2 years.
Then the price really drops. I just buy the best T-M prepay phone available and swap in my SIM.
But I will never have the newest phone without paying full price.

It either works or it doesn't, I get only text mess at my cabin. Have to dance around in the road to make a call.
Verison works fine there DW has it for work so we use that there..

You can get your voicemail out of network, but you have to hit some extra buttons.
It's either # or * while your message is playing. Then your number etc.

 

[dcsnomo]

Interesting reminds me of Sony & Beta vs VHS video tape recording. Sony hung out to dry with Beta kept for themselves went no where while the rest of the world marched on with VHS until next tech DVDs came on market. Sounds like GSM will go no where in future. IMO

Interestingly enough, the global standard is GSM...Global Standard for Mobile. It was developed in Europe, T-Mobile is owned by Deutche Telecom from Germany. AT&T converted their TDMA network to GSM over the last 5 years. GSM is the preferred system, but these massive CDMA networks in the US are expensive to replace.

 

[samc]

or just see her with no coverage

x2 - wow

 

[whitedust]

Interestingly enough, the global standard is GSM...Global Standard for Mobile. It was developed in Europe, T-Mobile is owned by Deutche Telecom from Germany. AT&T converted their TDMA network to GSM over the last 5 years. GSM is the preferred system, but these massive CDMA networks in the US are expensive to replace.

I sold equipment all over the world & different countries all had different standards that I had to meet or no go for export. Much easier if made in USA to meet USA standards. Massive CDMA networks in the US sound like the standard here & the major network to be on & share. Good to know. Could change but would be ruff row to hoe now.IMO

 

[lofsfire]

Thank you for all replies. I broke a bone in my foot the other day and I haven't had time to check in on the post. As for now I think I'm holding off on T Mobile and any other phone, I guess I'm back to my original to thoughts Verizon or AT&T.

 

[cobalt_502]

Or just see her with no coverage

You can! Google is your friend

 

[anonomoose]

I am surpised that nobody has added that not all phones are created equally either. This can make or break in fringe areas.

I used to have a guy who took the drive up I-75 and across the U.P. with me nearly every single time...and he had some expensive phone that had dual systems (he could use it in Europe if he needed to) and my simple Nokia would keep signal with verizon nearly all the way across the U.P. and he was out of signal half the time with ATT....

Phones do make a difference and some work well with their systems and others will work with good tower coverage.

Over the years which is not a good way to measure this stuff because it has changed so much and company bought by company...I have found it is hard to beat Verizon for decent coverage with a GOOD phone.

 

[catalac]

Thank you for all replies. I broke a bone in my foot the other day and I haven't had time to check in on the post. As for now I think I'm holding off on T Mobile and any other phone, I guess I'm back to my original to thoughts Verizon or AT&T.

Too much Captain? lol

 

[lofsfire]

No, wish I had a story to go with it! Its my left foot second toe in from the little one, about half way to my ankle. I could not walk last Monday. Its a stress fracture that is small but was painful. Doc says I have to keep the walking boot (thankfully no cast) on until the 29th. I'm taking the family camping with a bunch of friends, on the Oct. 12th. He did say if I don't do any hiking and limit my walking I do not have to where the boot for the that weekend.