Database Users

T-Mobile US service. Is it worth it coming from 9 years of Verizon?

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!

Love the phone; T-Mobile not so much

I am in love with this Nexus-S, my fav Android phone by far, and in the past I have owned; MyTouch 3G...Nexus-One...EVO 4G...
I really like the compact size and lightweight feel to it, but still feels like a solid device to me, and it is super thin for a powerful smart phone, plus of course the S AMOLED screen is drool worthy. And battery life is way better than the EVO. And to top it off, being a Google developer phone, comes with no carrier bloatware, or manufacturer UI's, and is a "pure" Android phone with the latest OS.
But...T-Mobile is a deal breaker for me, compared to Sprint for connection. In Chicago it is pretty good, just sucks once inside houses or buildings. I own a Millwork supply business for custom home builders, and I am in and out of new homes a lot, and it seems to drop signal once I go inside a new construction building. Same with my own home, I have my Office in Basement, and it is like 90% loss of signal down there. I can never make or receive calls down there, but texting is good. Where as my EVO on Sprint, worked pretty good in the Basement, not perfect, but much better than the Nexus-S, and going to job sites, my EVO never dropped calls. And Navigation on the Nexus-S, I have had a few slight issues, just having hard time locating me, that has only happened three times so far, had to restart phone each time. But my EVO the 6 months I owned it, I can remember maybe once it not locating me. Again I blame this on T-Mobile not the Nexus.
But T-Mobile monthly is approx $30 cheaper per month which is nice. But then what good is saving thirty bucks, if I drop signal indoors, and somewhat spotty navigation service. Not sure what to do...I bought the Nexus-S on launch day Dec 17th, at Best Buy Mobile, paid cash full retail for the phone, not sure what my return options are ?

Is your nexus on 3g mode? Have you tried to put it in edge to see if it helps?

JasjarMan said:
Is your nexus on 3g mode? Have you tried to put it in edge to see if it helps?
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Tried that this morning, more for battery saving. But then went to make a call, and it screwed up. It was calling my client, but no ringing tone, and I clicked end call, and it just hung there, so I had to restart and tried again in 3G and it worked fine.
I was driving near O'Hare airport at the time, and that area is know to kill cell signals.

ya T-mo has horrible building penetration but other than that, i love em, great customer service, great speeds, and they are always improving

slowz3r said:
ya T-mo has horrible building penetration but other than that, i love em, great customer service, great speeds, and they are always improving
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That is my only beef with this phone. "horrible building penetration", too bad that can't be upgraded by T-Mobile. Other than that I LOVE this phone.

Zorachus said:
That is my only beef with this phone. "horrible building penetration", too bad that can't be upgraded by T-Mobile. Other than that I LOVE this phone.
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the building penetration has nothing to do with the phone its the frequency that T-mo uses the higher the frequency the worse the building penetration.
Kinda sucks but T-mo is coming out with one of those Cellphone base station signal thingies (forgot what they are really called) so that may help you out

I'm with the OP; best damned phone I've owned in terms of appearance, feel, performance right out of the box...but T-Mo just doesn't deliver in some areas I need it to. When it delivers, it's the best out there, but too many places that indoors it kills the service. When I've got full 3G service it's at least 25% faster than AT&T, and 3-5 times faster than Sprint.
One office building I work out of is T shaped. If you're on the left side of the T, great signal, but go anywhere on the right side of the T and you're in a total dead zone. AT&T's not much better in that building, but in most places of town (Los Angeles SF, SG, SC Valley areas), it's better than T-Mo. Verizon works well there.
To the OP, if you're willing to shell out the dough, about $300, you can buy a cellular signal booster, I did when I got a Nexus One, it allowed me to actually get a T-Mo signal inside my house; I'd recommend one for your basement office if you can run the antenna coax line to outdoors. Voice and EDGE only, though, there's only one brand that claims to do T-Mo AWS/3G right now, and their device is $450.
EDIT: I think this is the model I got for the extender: http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Exte...W5WI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294073803&sr=8-1

Zorachus said:
I am in love with this Nexus-S, my fav Android phone by far, and in the past I have owned; MyTouch 3G...Nexus-One...EVO 4G...
I really like the compact size and lightweight feel to it, but still feels like a solid device to me, and it is super thin for a powerful smart phone, plus of course the S AMOLED screen is drool worthy. And battery life is way better than the EVO. And to top it off, being a Google developer phone, comes with no carrier bloatware, or manufacturer UI's, and is a "pure" Android phone with the latest OS.
But...T-Mobile is a deal breaker for me, compared to Sprint for connection. In Chicago it is pretty good, just sucks once inside houses or buildings. I own a Millwork supply business for custom home builders, and I am in and out of new homes a lot, and it seems to drop signal once I go inside a new construction building. Same with my own home, I have my Office in Basement, and it is like 90% loss of signal down there. I can never make or receive calls down there, but texting is good. Where as my EVO on Sprint, worked pretty good in the Basement, not perfect, but much better than the Nexus-S, and going to job sites, my EVO never dropped calls. And Navigation on the Nexus-S, I have had a few slight issues, just having hard time locating me, that has only happened three times so far, had to restart phone each time. But my EVO the 6 months I owned it, I can remember maybe once it not locating me. Again I blame this on T-Mobile not the Nexus.
But T-Mobile monthly is approx $30 cheaper per month which is nice. But then what good is saving thirty bucks, if I drop signal indoors, and somewhat spotty navigation service. Not sure what to do...I bought the Nexus-S on launch day Dec 17th, at Best Buy Mobile, paid cash full retail for the phone, not sure what my return options are ?
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Do what I'm doing. Month to month in at&t no data... buy a clear 4g wimax ispot...hack it to work on any device. Only $25 a month works great. I couldn't stand edge but know how crappy tmobile is
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

distortedloop said:
EDIT: I think this is the model I got for the extender: http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Exte...W5WI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294073803&sr=8-1
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the link, reading the user reviews, makes this sound like exactly what I need for my home Office. But still won't help when out at job sites, and losing signal inside.
So now I need to decide, keep the Nexus-S which I LOVE, but have iffy service inside, or just go back to the EVO with near perfect indoor service ?

I am with the OP on this one too.
Best Android phone on the market but T-mobile's coverage inside buildings is sub par.
I understand that the 1700/2100mhz spectrum has harder time penetrating buildings but it should not be THAT bad...
I come from Europe where most of the networks only use 2100Mhz and i don't recall seeing such a penetration issue.
It has to be T-Mobile's lack of towers which results in such poor indoor coverage.
at&t is also 90% 1900Mhz in the SF Bay Area and they have no problem with indoor reception, at least not as bad as T-Mobile.
That's my only main issue with the phone.
I ordered a signal booster from JDteck.com (which are the only ones who are providing a 1700/2100Mhz boosters). I'll report back how it works.

clubtech said:
AT&T is also 90% 1900Mhz in the SF Bay Area and they have no problem with indoor reception, at least not as bad as T-Mobile.
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As of 2009, AT&T moved most of their 3G spec to the 850mhz band, so indoor reception should be EVEN better, or at least battery life should have improved a bit. I remember this was a big issue back in the iPhone days. I'm pretty sure they're entirely on 850mhz.
slowz3r said:
Kinda sucks but T-mo is coming out with one of those Cellphone base station signal thingies (forgot what they are really called) so that may help you out
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Whatever happened to that TMo [email protected] thing a few years ago? I remember they did a pilot program and then expanded. It was pretty popular. Too bad they stopped that.
Looks like this is now an error page: http://www.t-mobile.com/promotions/hotspotathomelearnmore.aspx

clubtech said:
It has to be T-Mobile's lack of towers which results in such poor indoor coverage.
at&t is also 90% 1900Mhz in the SF Bay Area and they have no problem with indoor reception, at least not as bad as T-Mobile.
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Agreed on T-Mo needs more towers, if they weren't so far spread apart, we'd get better penetration in more areas.
Not sure about the AT&T in San Francisco part, though. I've listened to Leo LaPorte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose and all that ilk ***** and moan about AT&T poor signal/reception on the iPhone in San Francisco for a couple of years until AT&T started rolling out the 850mhz on the 3G side. New York City the same thing - poor AT&T penetration on the 1900mhz side in and amongst all the tall buildings.
clubtech said:
That's my only main issue with the phone.
I ordered a signal booster from JDteck.com (which are the only ones who are providing a 1700/2100Mhz boosters). I'll report back how it works.
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I'll be very interested in your report back on that. This is the one I referenced, but not by name, in my earlier post. It didn't seem worth the $200 extra premium to get the AWS service repeated, since in my home I have WiFi anyways, but when I bought the unit I do have, this JDteck one wasn't available.

allen099 said:
As of 2009, AT&T moved most of their 3G spec to the 850mhz band, so indoor reception should be EVEN better, or at least battery life should have improved a bit. I remember this was a big issue back in the iPhone days. I'm pretty sure they're entirely on 850mhz.
Whatever happened to that TMo [email protected] thing a few years ago? I remember they did a pilot program and then expanded. It was pretty popular. Too bad they stopped that.
Looks like this is now an error page: http://www.t-mobile.com/promotions/hotspotathomelearnmore.aspx
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Not sure what happened to that I used to have it as well.
but really i say wait till after CES, rumor is T-Mo will announce their router

I'm with T-mobile for their tremendous pricing plan advantage over Att (I'm also in SoCal and T-mobile has tremendous coverage here)
T-mobile: $10 - $20 per month for 5gb of data
Att: $25 per month for 2gb of data

ap3604 said:
I'm with T-mobile for their tremendous pricing plan advantage over Att (I'm also in SoCal and T-mobile has tremendous coverage here)
T-mobile: $10 - $20 per month for 5gb of data
Att: $25 per month for 2gb of data
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even more savings with em+ 60 bucks 500 minutes, texting and web

ap3604 said:
I'm with T-mobile for their tremendous pricing plan advantage over Att (I'm also in SoCal and T-mobile has tremendous coverage here)
T-mobile: $10 - $20 per month for 5gb of data
Att: $25 per month for 2gb of data
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What part of SoCal are you in? I'm in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Clarita Valley most of my time. In the North part of both valleys T-Mo data is EDGE only in large areas, and even voice has a hard time getting into buildings. It's really a bummer when I have to spend time up in Santa Clarita.
My house is actually in a little dead/poor coverage area spot even on T-Mo's maps...it's right on the edge of three different towers that don't quite fully overlap their coverage circles. I can get a signal outdoors, but inside not very good without my cellular extender.
I've still got my grandfathered iPhone SIM for one of my Androids (i9000), $30 for true "unlimited" data, no caps or throttles on that one. Someone told me they're using the unlimted data for non-smartphones on their Galaxy S with AT&T because AT&T can't recognize the IMEI and that it's a smartphone. I think that data is $10/month.
PS. SimplyMobile sounds intriguing. Read some good reports of it in another thread. Uses T-Mo's voice and data service, everything unlimited (voice, text, data (3g)) for $60/mo.

clubtech said:
I am with the OP on this one too.
Best Android phone on the market but T-mobile's coverage inside buildings is sub par.
I understand that the 1700/2100mhz spectrum has harder time penetrating buildings but it should not be THAT bad...
I come from Europe where most of the networks only use 2100Mhz and i don't recall seeing such a penetration issue.
It has to be T-Mobile's lack of towers which results in such poor indoor coverage.
at&t is also 90% 1900Mhz in the SF Bay Area and they have no problem with indoor reception, at least not as bad as T-Mobile.
That's my only main issue with the phone.
I ordered a signal booster from JDteck.com (which are the only ones who are providing a 1700/2100Mhz boosters). I'll report back how it works.
Click to expand...
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you have to realize that tmobile's 3g network is still very young, so all the gaps are not filled in which is required for higher frequency networks. since towers need to be spaced closer together for bands such as 1900mhz and higher, i'm sure tmobile only laid out the bare minimum during their initial 3g roll out just to get SOMETHING out there. over time they may fill in the gaps.
and we all know how stellar the coverage is in UK even using the 2100mha band. however its the same story, less physical geography to cover, in addition to better government regulations over there "forcing" one technology standard and set of common frequencies. that makes it much better for ubiquious coverage in general.

distortedloop said:
What part of SoCal are you in? I'm in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Clarita Valley most of my time. In the North part of both valleys T-Mo data is EDGE only in large areas, and even voice has a hard time getting into buildings. It's really a bummer when I have to spend time up in Santa Clarita.
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Sorry to hear about your lack of coverage distortedloop
I'm in Orange County area and get great coverage around 3 mbps download on my Nexus One.
distortedloop said:
I've still got my grandfathered iPhone SIM for one of my Androids (i9000), $30 for true "unlimited" data, no caps or throttles on that one. Someone told me they're using the unlimted data for non-smartphones on their Galaxy S with AT&T because AT&T can't recognize the IMEI and that it's a smartphone. I think that data is $10/month.
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Yeah I looked into that too (since the Vibrant has Att's 1900 3g band built in and Att won't recognize the IMEI) but I believe the $10 data is only available on a family plan and only if they have the unlimited messaging already on their plan, an extra $20 per month.
So say you do this family plan trick the savings are kind of washed out compared to T-mobile:
$70 per month for 700 minutes
$25 per month for 2gb of data for iPhone
$20 per month for unlimited messaging
$10 per month for "dumbphone" data
___________________________________
$125 per month. Yuck!
I'd rather just stick with T-mobile even more plus contract free:
$30 per month 500 min
$10 per month for data

distortedloop said:
PS. SimplyMobile sounds intriguing. Read some good reports of it in another thread. Uses T-Mo's voice and data service, everything unlimited (voice, text, data (3g)) for $60/mo.
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I was wondering about simple mobile and how it worked with the NS..anyone have it?

alnova1 said:
I was wondering about simple mobile and how it worked with the NS..anyone have it?
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The guy who started this thread has it.
I've seen some posts where they're saying that "unlimited data" on Simple Mobile actually means 1GB cap. I'd check that out before switching.

How is AT&T's network (U.S.)?

I'm currently trying to decide which carrier to go with for the GS4, does anyone have experience with AT&T? I know they have a bad reputation for unreliability, has that improved at all? How is their coverage in the NJ/NY area?

NY/NJ are you referring to downstate NY, upstate wise its pretty good and frankly I was already leaving Verizon before today's announcement about the no early upgrades at 20 months crap and no using a MiFi or tablet line for an upgrade both of which are things I enjoyed so FU Verizon and hello AT&T.

RaptorMD said:
NY/NJ are you referring to downstate NY, upstate wise its pretty good and frankly I was already leaving Verizon before today's announcement about the no early upgrades at 20 months crap and no using a MiFi or tablet line for an upgrade both of which are things I enjoyed so FU Verizon and hello AT&T.
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I'm referring specifically to central NJ and Brooklyn, NY (one of my family members commutes there).

snapple232 said:
I'm currently trying to decide which carrier to go with for the GS4, does anyone have experience with AT&T? I know they have a bad reputation for unreliability, has that improved at all? How is their coverage in the NJ/NY area?
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I work for at&t.
It's an excellent service for people up north and I've never heard of a complaint from the region. Also, checking our private coverage viewer you seem to be fine around those locations.
Just know that for individual lines, at&t can be expensive.
Your entry level plans are as follows.
85$ for 1 gig of data and unlimited talk and text.
90$ for 3 gigs of data, 450 minutes to landlines, unlimited to other cellphones and unlimited text.
You can save been 4 to 12 dollars a month depending on where you work. Discounts can be added through paystubs or work emails.
After tax expect it to come to around 100 dollars a month.

snapple232 said:
I'm currently trying to decide which carrier to go with for the GS4, does anyone have experience with AT&T? I know they have a bad reputation for unreliability, has that improved at all? How is their coverage in the NJ/NY area?
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I've had every major carrier. I rate AT&T to be nearly as good as Verizon, personally, and faster data. I've used it in Washington D.C., los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis, and various other large cities and I've never had any complaints.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747

Verizon is much better in Chicago. Been with at&t since 2004 and have the same dead zones and during 9-5 hours downtown, the network is unusable. Verizon crushes at&t in reception and speed in Chicago. Fact.
And I'm an at&t customer. Lol
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

I know in South Jersey, AT&T is much better than Verizon. In fact, my girlfriend finally went on my plan because she was tired of not having very good coverage in Glendora, NJ.

cfn87 said:
Verizon is much better in Chicago. Been with at&t since 2004 and have the same dead zones and during 9-5 hours downtown, the network is unusable. Verizon crushes at&t in reception and speed in Chicago. Fact.
And I'm an at&t customer. Lol
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe, but it really depends on where you spend most of your time. When I was in Chicago I never lost a good signal for an entire weekend and my data speeds killed my friend on Verizon. Maybe we just didn't go to the AT&T dead zones.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747

I travel all over - rural and cities - the only place that I have ever strugged with AT&T in the past year has been San Francisco.

I came from 13 years of Sprint to AT&T for the first time today. All I can say is, nothing can be worse than Sprint. At least with AT&T, I get reception INDOORS. Good grief Sprint's indoor reception is just balls.

snapple232 said:
I'm referring specifically to central NJ and Brooklyn, NY (one of my family members commutes there).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should be good especially in Brooklyn.

There are several android apps that compares cell phone coverage for any given area.
If you are using an android smart phone now you could download one and see what the coverage looks like according to the various cellmap / cell coverage apps
[Also ask your relatives in the areas that they live in to do the same!]
I used one app called: Cell Maps Mobile Coverage (I think) and it was quite accurate for my area and the different service providers. I was lucky to hit the right provider without it, but I can say that what the app provided in results matched what I had seen!
My opinion:
#1. Coverage is the key more than anything.
Check the area where you are going to use the phone. Don't use the provider maps of coverage -they are pretty useless. Get an app like I mentioned and drive arround. Ask folks who are in the area what phone service they have there. We on XDA are all over the world and that won't help you (much).
#2. AT&T coverage in lower NYC, SI and Jersey-opposite the city for me has been fine.
Service is also important, (but not as important) I am in California and have used AT&T for years now. But I visit family and friends in Staten Island and the NYC area and my AT&T coverage has been very good. Including in Jersey area across the river. Every now and then I can hit a weak spot, but no serious complaints.
#3. Service is also important (but not as important as coverage)
I like the personal service of AT&T, especially their call-in phone support operators (their stores are not so hot. . .) I had VZ for years and Verizon was not really good at listening or caring for my problems or questions. AT&T is really good at that.
However, AT&T is also pretty expensive. They say they are not, but it just doesn't seem to work out that way! (Verizon is close!) Some folks who could do AT&T for good phone coverage use Straight Talk for their good price. Although they seem to have zero personal suppport service --at least for most people I have talked with. (my opinion only).
#4. Bottom line: If you can't talk, you might as well not have the phone, so number one priority is to get an app and to test the coverage in the target area.
Then go with the company that gives you the best coverage. (price and service come after coverage!)
Good Luck!

Initial impression with Moto X

So I got my VZW Dev Moto X Wednesday and wanted to give a little review so far. Like most of us I replaced an aging VZW Galaxy Nexus w/ extended OEM battery.
Initial impressions
- this thing is FAST!!!!!
- its physically smaller then the GNex and taking a little bit to get used to (typing is a little off while getting used to the new phone)
- signal is much better then the Gnex (duh!)
- battery is worlds better (ran from 8-5 yesterday on LTE at work with 7 hours of Google Music streaming, then home and on wifi. Ended up with 4hr 43min of screen on before it died)
- its official, I'm addicted to Active Notifications.
- I find myself wishing for the stock android browser for a few sites, seemed a little snappier then Chrome (could side load I'm sure)
Overall I am a happy camper. Now to see what the dev community comes up with!

Wow it sounds amazing, I hope it will come to europe!

VolcyDX said:
So I got my VZW Dev Moto X Wednesday and wanted to give a little review so far. Like most of us I replaced an aging VZW Galaxy Nexus w/ extended OEM battery.
Initial impressions
- this thing is FAST!!!!!
- its physically smaller then the GNex and taking a little bit to get used to (typing is a little off while getting used to the new phone)
- signal is much better then the Gnex (duh!)
- battery is worlds better (ran from 8-5 yesterday on LTE at work with 7 hours of Google Music streaming, then home and on wifi. Ended up with 4hr 43min of screen on before it died)
- its official, I'm addicted to Active Notifications.
- I find myself wishing for the stock android browser for a few sites, seemed a little snappier then Chrome (could side load I'm sure)
Overall I am a happy camper. Now to see what the dev community comes up with!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check the themes/apps section. There is a thread for the AOSP browser.

good phone:good:

I'm in almost the same boat as you coming from the Verizon Gnex.
I loved being able to play with different ROM's.
So I bought the Verizon Moto X DE.
This phone is lightyears ahead of the Gnex.
I'm not a heavy user but I've been getting great battery live.
6AM to 9PM with 1 1/2 or more of screen time with 70% battery left!
Much better reception, I'm even getting 4G in the building at work where the Gnex had trouble gettting 3G.

Have anyone compare this device or the regular Moto X to the Droid Maxx?

Switched from Verizon Galaxy Nexus to T-Mobile Moto X. Moto X is definitely light years ahead.

aysiu said:
Switched from Verizon Galaxy Nexus to T-Mobile Moto X. Moto X is definitely light years ahead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking about switching from Verizon to T-Mobile and I'm wondering how you like it. I live in San Diego and T-Mobile LTE is supposedly pretty good out here. Earlier in the year I experimented with the Nexus 4 and T-Mobile before they had LTE in my area. I had a couple of dead spots here and there, but it was OK. I'm thinking of trying them again since they have LTE now.
If you don't mind answering:
1) Do you happen to live in Southern California?
2) How's your coverage so far compared to Verizon? Does your area have LTE?

skinien said:
I'm thinking about switching from Verizon to T-Mobile and I'm wondering how you like it. I live in San Diego and T-Mobile LTE is supposedly pretty good out here. Earlier in the year I experimented with the Nexus 4 and T-Mobile before they had LTE in my area. I had a couple of dead spots here and there, but it was OK. I'm thinking of trying them again since they have LTE now.
If you don't mind answering:
1) Do you happen to live in Southern California?
2) How's your coverage so far compared to Verizon? Does your area have LTE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I live in LA and just switched from a RAZR m and previous to that a gnex on Verizon. I'm running a Puerto Rico model moto x without aws hspa and I think it still has better reception than Verizon. Verizon actually had some areas with no reception. Verizon does almost always give you 3g when t mobile for me might hit edge but I haven't seen a dead spot on t mobile yet. Have had it about two weeks...
In the bay area where I used to live Verizon was much better than t mobile but in LA at least its not really worth the money
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk 4

skinien said:
I'm thinking about switching from Verizon to T-Mobile and I'm wondering how you like it. I live in San Diego and T-Mobile LTE is supposedly pretty good out here. Earlier in the year I experimented with the Nexus 4 and T-Mobile before they had LTE in my area. I had a couple of dead spots here and there, but it was OK. I'm thinking of trying them again since they have LTE now.
If you don't mind answering:
1) Do you happen to live in Southern California?
2) How's your coverage so far compared to Verizon? Does your area have LTE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to live in Northern California, and now I'm in New England (have used T-Mobile and Verizon in both locations). Basically the theoretical coverage of Verizon is better, but I find the T-Mobile experience leaves me with a less frustrating experience.
T-Mobile, when it has coverage has good coverage. The coverage is solid. But when T-Mobile doesn't have coverage, it's got nothing--zero. This usually happens in rural areas or remote suburban areas.
The problem I had with Verizon on the Galaxy Nexus was the horrrible handoffs between CDMA and LTE. There were a lot of times (in urban areas, even) when my Galaxy Nexus would be on the cusp of 3G with two bars and 4G with one bar, and the phone couldn't make up its mind, so I ended up with essentially no usable data. If I switched to CDMA-only, things would work better for a while, but eventually my entire workable signal would just disappear. This was with the stock Android, rooted Android, old radios, new radios. I tried everything and could not get a good consistent signal. There were also weird situations in which I would appear to have a full signal and couldn't connect to anything. Other times, I would appear to have no signal, and web pages would still load.
TLDR version: Verizon was a headache.
I'm much happier with T-Mobile. When I have good coverage, it's good, and the signal bars never lie. Transitions between 3G and 4G are smooth. In fact, I rarely have 3G at all. Seems to just be 4G HSPA+, 4G LTE... or nothing.

skinien said:
I'm thinking about switching from Verizon to T-Mobile and I'm wondering how you like it. I live in San Diego and T-Mobile LTE is supposedly pretty good out here. Earlier in the year I experimented with the Nexus 4 and T-Mobile before they had LTE in my area. I had a couple of dead spots here and there, but it was OK. I'm thinking of trying them again since they have LTE now.
If you don't mind answering:
1) Do you happen to live in Southern California?
2) How's your coverage so far compared to Verizon? Does your area have LTE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in San Diego and TMO's 4G LTE is great from South to North County. My wife has Verizon and it has better coverage when we go out of town up the Sierras (Yosemite), but in every metropolitan area I have been to TMO has been blazing fast with 4G LTE data speeds actually faster than Verizon's. Here in Poway, I can consistently get 23MB down with 15MB up. Even in standard 4G non LTE, I see 15MB down and 3MB up. :good:
Scott-

SGBE said:
I am in San Diego and TMO's 4G LTE is great from South to North County. My wife has Verizon and it has better coverage when we go out of town up the Sierras (Yosemite), but in every metropolitan area I have been to TMO has been blazing fast with 4G LTE data speeds actually faster than Verizon's. Here in Poway, I can consistently get 23MB down with 15MB up. Even in standard 4G non LTE, I see 15MB down and 3MB up. :good:
Scott-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's awesome. I work in Poway and live in Mission Valley. Verizon has really been pissing me off with forcing people off of unlimited, increasing the upgrade to 24 months, and delaying updates. I love what T-Mobile is doing. I think I may have to see what the Nexus 5 has to offer and make a switch if it's good enough.

Hey, if you do not talk much, TMO offers a $30/month prepaid plan that offers unlimited data (first 5GB up to 4G LTE), unlimited text, and 100 voice minutes. Even if you go over the 100 minutes, the per minute price is pennies and would not equal a traditional voice plan for approx. 250+ additional minutes. I use this plan and Google voice and Skype since TMO allows WiFi calling too and it's all good, but most of the time I use less than 80 voice minutes per month regardless.
Scott-

SGBE said:
Hey, if you do not talk much, TMO offers a $30/month prepaid plan that offers unlimited data (first 5GB up to 4G LTE), unlimited text, and 100 voice minutes. Even if you go over the 100 minutes, the per minute price is pennies and would not equal a traditional voice plan for approx. 250+ additional minutes. I use this plan and Google voice and Skype since TMO allows WiFi calling too and it's all good, but most of the time I use less than 80 voice minutes per month regardless.
Scott-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. Thanks for the heads up...
Sent from my Moto X

ATT or Verizon?

I'm leaving Sprint, and was planning on moving to ATT, but now taking a look at Verizon. It appears that VZ has slightly better coverage in my rural area. I'm also moving up to the GN3 and have been reading that some features may not be available on VZ. I would really appreciate any opinions or recommendations that would make this decision easier.
Cost? Seems pretty close.
Phones? Does one carrier limit their instruments more than the other?
Coverage and reliability?
Anything else?
Thanks in advance.
I'm posting in General, because although there are question marks here, they're not exactly questions. Please move if you think so.

re: AT&T or VZW
kat3k said:
I'm leaving Sprint, and was planning on moving to ATT, but now taking a look at Verizon. It appears that VZ has slightly better coverage in my rural area. I'm also moving up to the GN3 and have been reading that some features may not be available on VZ. I would really appreciate any opinions or recommendations that would make this decision easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My 2 cents: It really depends on coverage. If you get a signal with VZW and not with AT&T, your problem is solved, and vice versa. If you live in a rural area and get a weak signal, there are boosters (I have used a Wilson Yagi antenna with 4G Sleek cradle and gone from 0 to 5 bars...but the cradle limits mobility. It comes in versions for VZW or AT&T but not both). VZW offers 6Gb data for $50 while AT&T gives you 5Gb. However, AT&T gives access to WIFI hotspots, and may give you more options if you travel overseas. As for the GN3 - I'm eagerly awaiting mine - on AT&T, after 15 years a Verizon customer. Both versions look like they will be more difficult to mod than other phones (which is why some people are buying a T-Mobile version and moving to AT&T). I had no issues with Verizon in the 15 years I was with them, and am only buying the AT&T GN3 to find out if coverage on their network is better here than VZW; if not I'll return it and probably cease using cellular coverage for internet access and go with Excede - I live in a rural area, too, and have to climb a hill to use voice. Radio Shack rep told me Wilson is coming out with a signal booster "in a couple months" that will not tie you to a cradle. I get my phone tomorrow, and am anxious to find out how the radio on the Note 3 compares to my Droid Razr. Good luck!

bienbien said:
My 2 cents: It really depends on coverage. If you get a signal with VZW and not with AT&T, your problem is solved, and vice versa. If you live in a rural area and get a weak signal, there are boosters (I have used a Wilson Yagi antenna with 4G Sleek cradle and gone from 0 to 5 bars...but the cradle limits mobility. It comes in versions for VZW or AT&T but not both). VZW offers 6Gb data for $50 while AT&T gives you 5Gb. However, AT&T gives access to WIFI hotspots, and may give you more options if you travel overseas. As for the GN3 - I'm eagerly awaiting mine - on AT&T, after 15 years a Verizon customer. Both versions look like they will be more difficult to mod than other phones (which is why some people are buying a T-Mobile version and moving to AT&T). I had no issues with Verizon in the 15 years I was with them, and am only buying the AT&T GN3 to find out if coverage on their network is better here than VZW; if not I'll return it and probably cease using cellular coverage for internet access and go with Excede - I live in a rural area, too, and have to climb a hill to use voice. Radio Shack rep told me Wilson is coming out with a signal booster "in a couple months" that will not tie you to a cradle. I get my phone tomorrow, and am anxious to find out how the radio on the Note 3 compares to my Droid Razr. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much for the helpful response. Both carriers are neck and neck reception-wise, with VZ probably slightly better. I have used Sprint's femtocell and was considering the counterpart for whichever carrier I go with, as it's been my understanding my signal is not adequate for a booster, but hooking up to DSL does work great. I have looked at a Wilson model booster before, and might give that another look after hearing from you. I don't know much about that option. In any case, I'm going with Costco for carrier and phone, and am going to try to hold off for Black Friday, just in case, but might not make it, especially if my N2 gets sold first. Thanks again.

amplification & mini cell tower
for voice, texting and 3g in a poor coverage area Verizon offers a free or low cost mini cell tower that runs off of an ethernet connect to the internet. when synched you have your own mini cell tower in the house
my situation was odd: i had very good cell and data. then verizon re-did their antenna system and my neighborhood got horrible reception and data. after about 6 weeks of my calling a few times per week and insisting on level 2 techies,
a supervisor approved selling me a refurbed mini tower for $100. or cancelling my contract. i took the tower and that ended my problems for voice, texing and slow internet at home. i have fast interent with good wifi converage all around my house and property.
months later they fixed the antenna problem. my service is not great--like it was 18 months ago, but good. i still use the mini tower and am very pleased. $100 well spent.
you way want to make inquiries before they sign you up. customer service supervisors at verison are generally pretty good.
4g or LTE if you have any signal at all, there is a 4 lte amplifier available for about $250. zBoost SOHO DataBlast 4G Data Booster Kit for Verizon LTE
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009UNGTCQ/ref=gno_cart_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
If you are in a rural area, sometimes there are choices, none of which are great i have no idea what is available with at&t to augment their signals.
i live in a suburb very close to downtown just outside the city limits of miami. when my home area was having problems, 2 miles away at my office, i was down loading generally at over 20mgs. today my office is the same. at home my down load sppeds vary from sometimes mid-teens to 3 to 5 mgs lower end. during the few problematic months, i could not stream video on my cell without wifi at home.

bob52r said:
for voice, texting and 3g in a poor coverage area Verizon offers a free or low cost mini cell tower that runs off of an ethernet connect to the internet. when synched you have your own mini cell tower in the house
my situation was odd: i had very good cell and data. then verizon re-did their antenna system and my neighborhood got horrible reception and data. after about 6 weeks of my calling a few times per week and insisting on level 2 techies,
a supervisor approved selling me a refurbed mini tower for $100. or cancelling my contract. i took the tower and that ended my problems for voice, texing and slow internet at home. i have fast interent with good wifi converage all around my house and property.
months later they fixed the antenna problem. my service is not great--like it was 18 months ago, but good. i still use the mini tower and am very pleased. $100 well spent.
you way want to make inquiries before they sign you up. customer service supervisors at verison are generally pretty good.
4g or LTE if you have any signal at all, there is a 4 lte amplifier available for about $250. zBoost SOHO DataBlast 4G Data Booster Kit for Verizon LTE
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009UNGTCQ/ref=gno_cart_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
If you are in a rural area, sometimes there are choices, none of which are great i have no idea what is available with at&t to augment their signals.
i live in a suburb very close to downtown just outside the city limits of miami. when my home area was having problems, 2 miles away at my office, i was down loading generally at over 20mgs. today my office is the same. at home my down load sppeds vary from sometimes mid-teens to 3 to 5 mgs lower end. during the few problematic months, i could not stream video on my cell without wifi at home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the Amazon link, but I don't have enough of a signal to use a booster. I'll have to go with the femtocell once I know my carrier. If not for that, I would have gone long ago to Straight Talk, but no reception aids for them that I know of (unless you piggyback on an ATT acct, but once the ATT acct is gone, so are you). The reception maps at Sensorly.com swayed my decision from ATT to VZ. It's just pretty hard to come out ahead, with any kind of savings, especially if you like to get new phones very often. I always think I love this phone so much, I will never want another, but then I do.

Please discuss in the upgrading stickies in General sections.
Thanks
FNM