4 ms·

Tell HN: Check out T-Mobile

5 points by percept 12y ago

I've been thinking about posting this, and the Verizon story reminded me. It's not exactly related to hacking or startups (though if you're a start-up founder or bootstrapper, you're probably looking to reduce your expenses), but this is a community I frequent and would like to share it with people here. If you're not a T-Mobile user, consider checking out their service. I switched (back) this summer, and they paid $190 for my iPhone 5 trade-in, and $150 for the remainder of my Verizon contract (the latter as a prepaid MasterCard, received quickly and easily used for their bills or anything else): http://www.t-mobile.com/offer/switch-carriers-no-early-termination-fee.html If you're unsure, they'll send you an iPhone 5s to try for 7 days (I didn't try this, so can't comment): http://explore.t-mobile.com/test-drive-free-trial I have no contract to fulfill with T-Mo. I did have to purchase a new device which includes a payment plan, but the way I look at it, I got to upgrade from iPhone 5 to 5s (and now the 6 is available), they bought my old phone and paid my fees, and I'm still paying ~$25/mo. less compared to Verizon. Not a bad deal. Service seems roughly equivalent in my metropolitan area (and when I had them the first go-round they were superior to VZW at my location). I hope this helps someone. Disclaimer: I'm not a shill, just an HN reader and occasional poster.

UnoriginalGuy 12y ago
As someone who has looked carefully at T-Mobile some things I have picked up: - Their stores suck, they will lie (per Reddit's T-Mobile sub, there are numerous threads about it, they flat out lie). - "Jump!" is a poorly conceived upgrade program that doesn't make financial sense. - Their selection of financed phones is limited compared to the big two (unlocked is $300+, some people want to pay $20-30/month, T-Mobile has a moderate selection). - Coverage varies. Coverage while out-of-town sucks. - I did the 7 day test drive, zero hassle. They shipped it, I used it, then I returned it to the store. Took 5 minutes to return, they didn't even TRY to sell me there and then. - The Test Drive order confirmation sends an invalid tracking link (http://http// http://http// at the start). When I contacted T-Mobile via Twitter they didn't understand the issue with that. - In order to do the termination fee thing you have to trade in (for some reason). - You'll have to endure people saying "un-carrier" unironically. - You'll have to endure their "I'm a hip 20 something" nonsense advert/staff/feel. - They don't offer employer discounts (unless military/government) anymore, so if you get one NOW you might lose money on the switchover (we break even). - Their international roaming is pretty incredible. Free "slow" data, inexpensive calls, and free texts(!). Even their "fast" pay for data is cheaper than AT&T's offering (all on the Simple Choice). - Their music streaming thing is cool, but no Google Music. My biggest problem with T-Mobile is I want to switch but their selection of phones blows right now. Fortunately the Sony Z3 just appeared to save the day(?), but would still like to see the Z3C.
1123581321 12y ago
Because I spend so much time on Wifi/iMessage, I migrated my old $80/mo AT&T 450 voice/200 texts/unlimited data to TMobile's $3/mo 10c per minute/text (the fee includes 30 minutes/texts.) I average about $5 per month for about the same effective benefits I had at $80 per month, and plan to use my 4S on it as long as possible since I like the form factor. They may lie in their stores, but I haven't had any trouble doing all my business online except for when I bought the TMobile SIM.
tehwebguy 12y ago
Do not get T-Mobile. Their coverage map, in Orlando at least, is a lie. Promised LTE coverage was constantly 4G, I even dropped to Edge and No Service on a daily basis where the map said coverage was "Good"

5 points by percept 12y ago

UnoriginalGuy 12y ago

As someone who has looked carefully at T-Mobile some things I have picked up: - Their stores suck, they will lie (per Reddit's T-Mobile sub, there are numerous threads about it, they flat out lie). - "Jump!" is a poorly conceived upgrade program that doesn't make financial sense. - Their selection of financed phones is limited compared to the big two (unlocked is $300+, some people want to pay $20-30/month, T-Mobile has a moderate selection). - Coverage varies. Coverage while out-of-town sucks. - I did the 7 day test drive, zero hassle. They shipped it, I used it, then I returned it to the store. Took 5 minutes to return, they didn't even TRY to sell me there and then. - The Test Drive order confirmation sends an invalid tracking link (http://http// http://http// at the start). When I contacted T-Mobile via Twitter they didn't understand the issue with that. - In order to do the termination fee thing you have to trade in (for some reason). - You'll have to endure people saying "un-carrier" unironically. - You'll have to endure their "I'm a hip 20 something" nonsense advert/staff/feel. - They don't offer employer discounts (unless military/government) anymore, so if you get one NOW you might lose money on the switchover (we break even). - Their international roaming is pretty incredible. Free "slow" data, inexpensive calls, and free texts(!). Even their "fast" pay for data is cheaper than AT&T's offering (all on the Simple Choice). - Their music streaming thing is cool, but no Google Music. My biggest problem with T-Mobile is I want to switch but their selection of phones blows right now. Fortunately the Sony Z3 just appeared to save the day(?), but would still like to see the Z3C.

1123581321 12y ago

Because I spend so much time on Wifi/iMessage, I migrated my old $80/mo AT&T 450 voice/200 texts/unlimited data to TMobile's $3/mo 10c per minute/text (the fee includes 30 minutes/texts.) I average about $5 per month for about the same effective benefits I had at $80 per month, and plan to use my 4S on it as long as possible since I like the form factor. They may lie in their stores, but I haven't had any trouble doing all my business online except for when I bought the TMobile SIM.

tehwebguy 12y ago

Do not get T-Mobile. Their coverage map, in Orlando at least, is a lie. Promised LTE coverage was constantly 4G, I even dropped to Edge and No Service on a daily basis where the map said coverage was "Good"