Hi all:
Random, but if there's a place to ask it, it's here.
Any have T-Mobile? Can you comment on how the 3G/4G/LTE coverage is in the metro JAX area?
I'm fully aware it blows in the boonies, but I'm working about (more or less) the urban core.
I love ATT, but their international plans blow ($30 for 300 MB of data).
W/ T-Mobile, you have free, unlimited international data in 122+ countries, free text in those countries, and calling from .20 cents per minute
Anyone have experience w/ this company in Jax?
I have T-mobile and I like it.
It's an affordable plan. No surprises billing.
I have good coverage EXCEPT when I'm at my house.
My signal is completely gone as soon as I pull into my driveway.
So, other than the immense frustration friends and family have when they can't connect with me when I'm at my home, I really like it.
The 'no surprise billing' is a huge perk to me. I've been with ATT for almost a decade, and I've never once had the same bill two months in a row!
The driveway thing sucks...
Do you ever travel with it? Not internationally even...I mean out of jAX. If so, how is it in other places?
I have T-Mobile 4G on the new Samsung Galaxy. I get great coverage and only a tiny amount of "dead" spots. But overall, I'm happy with them.
I travel domestically and it works fine in major cities. I don't have any more trouble than most while on the road, either. The occasional and expected in/out of coverage. Only consistent trouble I have is at my in-law's house in San Marco near Metro Diner. I have to walk to a different block to get a signal.
Gotcha, thanks
From what I understand it works better in the Thai countryside than the Bay Area USA.
As long as it's OK in JAX, I'll be happy.
Quote from: ben says on October 14, 2014, 03:48:20 PM
W/ T-Mobile, you have free, unlimited international data in 122+ countries, free text in those countries, and calling from .20 cents per minute
Woah I didnt know this was a thing! Thanks for the info ;D
As long as you're in town, you'll usually have good data coverage. Once you leave populated areas, there is no data coverage and I have trouble getting roaming data.
We recently switched from AT&T and I have noticed many more dropped calls with T-Mobile.
We have several lines on our business plan, so we save over $200 each month since switching. But it seems like you get what you pay for, with AT&T we never had an issue with dropped calls or data coverage.
My T-Mobile sucks at home in the house. Great everywhere else. I was in Bay Minette , AL this weekend with friends. I was the the only one who had a signal. They had ATT and Sprint.
Quote from: ProjectMaximus on October 14, 2014, 06:29:52 PM
Quote from: ben says on October 14, 2014, 03:48:20 PM
W/ T-Mobile, you have free, unlimited international data in 122+ countries, free text in those countries, and calling from .20 cents per minute
Woah I didnt know this was a thing! Thanks for the info ;D
Yeah, the value is immense.
No hoops to jump through, nothing. Just power up your phone whenever you land and bam, free text & free data (unlimited), plus .20 cents per minute calling, irregardless of country..and the best part: people can call you from the states and they're not charged for calling international.
Ideal...
Which is why I'm willing to ditch the near perfect (but too expensive ATT) for T-Mobile.
CAVEAT: you have to be part of the Simple Choice plan (I think that's the lingo...?) $80month. Which I find to be a good deal, considering.
I switched my business and it costs about half. I get good reception most places except home they gave me a repeater and now four bars there too. Fastest downloads by far.
Quote from: WarDamJagFan on October 14, 2014, 04:57:37 PM
I have T-Mobile 4G on the new Samsung Galaxy.
Same here...no complaints. Worked fine in South FL, Orlando, Tampa-St, Pete, DC, NYC, Chicago, NC, SC, GA, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles and PV, Mexico.
I have T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy. Love it. Never had a problem.
I have a love/hate relationship with T-Mobile.
T-Mobile has always (except from 2010-2011) had the best customer service of any telecom. They are friendly and genuinely want to resolve any issues for you. T-Mobile pricing has almost always been better than other telecoms. That said, their weak spot has always been domestic coverage.
In 2013 Deutsche Telekom spun off T-Mobile US into a different company and gave them a new, awesome CEO. They have been doing an amazing job modernizing their network. They should have their entire US network converted to LTE by mid next year. I left TM in 2011 to AT&T so I could get an iPhone. I jumped back to TM last year and have to say the coverage is noticeably better.
That said, I now back with AT&T as I need the ability to use my cell phone in my house and use data in rural towns for work and TM just couldn't make that happen. Good news is the new iPhone 6 allows for Wifi calling, which solves in-home coverage.
T-Mobile international coverage is nothing short of amazing. Wherever you land, your phone will work. I used to travel a lot in the mid 2000s and the look on my friends faces after landing anywhere (Eurpoe, South America, Australia) was simply priceless. T-Mobile (voice at the time) not only worked, but was better than US service. TM Customer Service also used to be open 24/7 (don't know if they still are) which is great since international time zones don't line up well with AT&T's ridiculous 9:00 EST closing time.
While T-Mobile network is now using some of the newest, most advanced technology, do not expect their coverage to be anywhere near as good as AT&T locally. The urban metro has good coverage, but highway data outside city limits is basically useless. They're trying, but they don't have the most valuable asset a cell phone provider should have and that is spectrum. The 700 and 800 mhz frequencies that allow for widespread highway coverage and good building penetration are almost exclusively owned by AT&T and Verizon. TM just purchased some 700 mhz spectrum, but unfortunately not in NEFL and no phones work with their newly acquired spectrum yet anyway. They intend to buy a good amount of 600 mhz spectrum from the gov't in the next auction. Unfortunately, that will not be until 2016. So...local indoor and regional highway coverage for the time being will still trail the others. Ultimately, as much as I love TM, I felt it necessary to go back to AT&T for the time being.
T-mobile now takes advantage of wifi for phone calls...
http://www.t-mobile.com/offer/wifi-calling-wifi-extenders.html?cmpid=ADV_PB_YPO1kM7G&002=2202007&004=14686017737&005=138228410&006=47433339257&007=Search&008=&025=c&026=&gclid=CJnyld_Qw8ECFSgLMgodN2kAAg (http://www.t-mobile.com/offer/wifi-calling-wifi-extenders.html?cmpid=ADV_PB_YPO1kM7G&002=2202007&004=14686017737&005=138228410&006=47433339257&007=Search&008=&025=c&026=&gclid=CJnyld_Qw8ECFSgLMgodN2kAAg)
Not sure what is new here. The phones have the option of using wi fi - if you were on a limited plan, the minutes still count. The issue I have had is that if at home on a call using wi fi and I need to leave, I loose the call by the time I back out and hit the street. I now just leave that particular feature off. I have unlimited so what is the difference? It just seems to be a plus for T-Mobile rather than the customer.
Speaking from experience I'm the only one of my buddies (At&t and Verizon) who can make a call within the Jags stadium due to the wifi. They can make calls within the concourses, but not the bowl.
Also the new wifi feature uses ANY router... no sign in needed. This frees up spectrum for T-mobile and therefore gives other customers better data speeds
I still can't make a phone call in my dead zone house...
If you have an iPhone, do this to enable wifi calls.
"Go to Settings --> Phone --> Wi-Fi Calls and be sure you have turned on wifi calling and updated your e911 address.
You can tell if wifi calling is active because on the top left of the screen next to the wifi logo it will have the words "Wi-Fi" "
I made one call, worked perfectly. Then the second call was not able to go through. The third call connected. Sound quality is good.
I'm not going to pretend it's ATT/Verizon quality, but I'm pleasantly surprised at the quality of TM so far. There are a few dead spots (my mom's house in San Marco!) - and I've experienced a drop call or two - but, overall, not bad!!
WiFi calling is a huge plus - especially when abroad!
Again, the whole thing that sold me was the free text/data (only 2G) in over 120 countries. How can you beat that?
I used to have a T-Mobile phone at my old job, their coverage was terrible, and even worse when you leave town.
We just made a big loop of driving to Norwalk Ohio, then Detroit, then to Richmond VA and then here back to Jacksonville. Sheclown has a Verizon I Phone 4 or 5? and I have my ancient 3G T-Mobile. We had and lost service pretty much at the same spots and those spots get fewer every time we make the trip (a couple of times a year). I have noticed a loss of sound quality lately with a few calls being very fuzzy but it could also be the fact that my phone has bounced off the ground more times than I can count.
Love my I-5 64 mg and T-Mobile..
Just returned from a 1900 mile drive around the west and I was pleased with the coverage..
Great service last spring in London, Paris and Amsterdam ..o yea even coverage in Iceland..
Quote from: funguy on October 25, 2014, 08:27:22 AM
Love my I-5 64 mg and T-Mobile..
Just returned from a 1900 mile drive around the west and I was pleased with the coverage..
Great service last spring in London, Paris and Amsterdam ..o yea even coverage in Iceland..
Sweet!