8 ms·

I have T-Mobile, and I have to say, I've been quite happy with it and I've been just waiting for the other shoe to drop. The only negative thing I hear about th

by x1798DE 12y ago

I have T-Mobile, and I have to say, I've been quite happy with it and I've been just waiting for the other shoe to drop. The only negative thing I hear about them is people don't like the coverage area - which doesn't bother me because when I switched to them they were the only company that offered wifi calling (meaning I can comfortably use my phone at work and at home, where I spend 99% of my time, for the first time in 6-8 years). Do I just have a rosy outlook, or is T-mobile's limited marketshare such a problem that they're somehow disciplined into being an actually good mobile carrier?

qeorge 12y ago
Same story here. Have had T-Mo for ~3 years, wouldn't ever switch to one of the other big carriers (I would move to Republic Wireless if I was going to change). My wife moved from Verizon -> T-Mobile last year after finally getting tired of the ridiculous prices from Verizon, and is also very happy. Coverage is fine. Sometimes on road trips to the beach here in North Carolina we will lose service for say 5-10 miles when we are really in the middle of nowhere (the sprawling metropolis of Elizabeth City, NC in particular gives me trouble). This is acceptable in return for nearly 50% savings and not having to do business with AT&T/Verizon.
dopamean 12y ago
I've been a T-Mobile customer since 2004 and I've been really happy with them the whole time. The customer service has always been what kept me there even when I (briefly) lived in poor coverage areas. My feeling is that if you live in a good coverage area and you don't do a ton of travel then theres no good reason not to use T-Mobile.
- matwood 12y ago
  My feeling is that if you live in a good coverage area and you don't do a ton of travel then theres no good reason not to use T-Mobile. Actually if you go to the EU often t-mobiles included data and texting come in handy.
  - dopamean 12y ago
    I completely forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder. I think they started that a year or two ago?
anonu 12y ago
I've been a VoiceStream, then T-Mobile customer for over 16 years. There's been ups and downs in the relationship over the years. The most notable "down" was the $800 international roaming charge they refused to remove from my bill a few years back. Even though I really wanted to leave them then, a thorough cost analysis of the competition showed they really were still cheaper... More recently, the Simple Choice plan they introduced last year which includes "free" international data roaming has ensured I stick with them for even longer. I travel quite a bit, so that + the wifi calling which works pretty much anywhere in the world has been a great thing.
- hnarn 12y ago
  Why would they remove the $800 international roaming charge?
  - praneshp 12y ago
    A lot of the time, such charges come up because the customer was unaware, not because they used it. I once made a call from whatsapp not realizing it wouldnt go through wifi, and ran up almost $150, but T-mobile was kind enough to remove it off the bill. Just customer-friendliness, more than anything else.
    - fixedd 12y ago
      The wife and I took a cruise a few years ago and I tried my damnedest to turn off anything even remotely resembling "yes, you can have a data connection". I wanted to leave my phone on in case something happened with the kids (and so I'd have a watch), I just didn't want it to DO anything other than allow incomming calls. Got home to a $200 phone bill because there was a checkbox somewhere I'd missed and cruise-ship mobile data is abhorrently expensive. It happens.
      - jacquesm 12y ago
        Android: Apps/Settings/mobile networks/mobile data/checkbox off
chimeracoder 12y ago
Depends on your definition of "actually good". I've been a T-Mobile customer since they first entered the US, and I've generally been happy, but I was incredibly upset when I saw that they started zero-rating "approved" music services[0] . I have unlimited data, but as a strong supporter of net neutrality, I take issue with that. [0]https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/07/net-neutrality-and-global-digital-divide https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/07/net-neutrality-and-glo...
jordanpg 12y ago
They really did refund my early termination fee with Verizon, and it only took about a month. I was expecting the worst (as is the norm in the world of rebates) and was pleasantly surprised. The slam dunk for me is the JUMP (Just Upgrade My Phone) program which allows you to upgrade phones much more frequently and easily. Doesn't save much money, but I am tickled knowing that I will get new phones much more frequently now.
reustle 12y ago
Regarding coverage, I'm feeling the pain. I've been a TMobile customer for over 2 years now and their service in NYC is great, but out in Pennsylvania (where I am almost weekly) is terrible to non existent. On top of coverage being bad, their plans are limited to around 10MB of data roaming per month. Yes, MB. That is only domestic though, if you're international you get unlimited data roaming. I guess that is what happens when you bad-talk other carriers then ask them about letting your customers roam on their networks.
- imaffett 12y ago
  which part of PA? I'm in south central and we get LTE, but I also go through parts with no coverage. It has been better then sprint though.
  - DINKDINK 12y ago
    http://opensignal.com/ http://opensignal.com/ is a great website showing coverage data
  - reustle 12y ago
    Generally around Schuylkill County and Lehigh Valley
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
ryanSrich 12y ago
T-mobile is the only carrier in the U.S. with good coverage and unlimited data + iPhone support, so for me it's really my only option. They've been really great so far; only charge what they say they are going to charge, no contract, and no overages. It's incredibly disheartening to know that these basic requirements are unheard of for other large carriers.
jschwartzi 12y ago
Wifi calling is especially amazing if you're in a foreign country and you need to take a conference call in your hotel room.
uptown 12y ago
I checked them out, but their coverage just doesn't exist where I need it. Ended up going with the Verizon Allset plan. Requires that I buy my device up-front, but I get 4G LTE with a gig of base data, the ability to add-on data as-needed, and the ability to tether with no contract, and no activation fees.

by x1798DE 12y ago

qeorge 12y ago

Same story here. Have had T-Mo for ~3 years, wouldn't ever switch to one of the other big carriers (I would move to Republic Wireless if I was going to change). My wife moved from Verizon -> T-Mobile last year after finally getting tired of the ridiculous prices from Verizon, and is also very happy. Coverage is fine. Sometimes on road trips to the beach here in North Carolina we will lose service for say 5-10 miles when we are really in the middle of nowhere (the sprawling metropolis of Elizabeth City, NC in particular gives me trouble). This is acceptable in return for nearly 50% savings and not having to do business with AT&T/Verizon.

dopamean 12y ago

I've been a T-Mobile customer since 2004 and I've been really happy with them the whole time. The customer service has always been what kept me there even when I (briefly) lived in poor coverage areas. My feeling is that if you live in a good coverage area and you don't do a ton of travel then theres no good reason not to use T-Mobile.

matwood 12y ago
My feeling is that if you live in a good coverage area and you don't do a ton of travel then theres no good reason not to use T-Mobile. Actually if you go to the EU often t-mobiles included data and texting come in handy.
- dopamean 12y ago
  I completely forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder. I think they started that a year or two ago?

anonu 12y ago

I've been a VoiceStream, then T-Mobile customer for over 16 years. There's been ups and downs in the relationship over the years. The most notable "down" was the $800 international roaming charge they refused to remove from my bill a few years back. Even though I really wanted to leave them then, a thorough cost analysis of the competition showed they really were still cheaper... More recently, the Simple Choice plan they introduced last year which includes "free" international data roaming has ensured I stick with them for even longer. I travel quite a bit, so that + the wifi calling which works pretty much anywhere in the world has been a great thing.

hnarn 12y ago
Why would they remove the $800 international roaming charge?
- praneshp 12y ago
  A lot of the time, such charges come up because the customer was unaware, not because they used it. I once made a call from whatsapp not realizing it wouldnt go through wifi, and ran up almost $150, but T-mobile was kind enough to remove it off the bill. Just customer-friendliness, more than anything else.
  - fixedd 12y ago
    The wife and I took a cruise a few years ago and I tried my damnedest to turn off anything even remotely resembling "yes, you can have a data connection". I wanted to leave my phone on in case something happened with the kids (and so I'd have a watch), I just didn't want it to DO anything other than allow incomming calls. Got home to a $200 phone bill because there was a checkbox somewhere I'd missed and cruise-ship mobile data is abhorrently expensive. It happens.
    - jacquesm 12y ago
      Android: Apps/Settings/mobile networks/mobile data/checkbox off

chimeracoder 12y ago

Depends on your definition of "actually good". I've been a T-Mobile customer since they first entered the US, and I've generally been happy, but I was incredibly upset when I saw that they started zero-rating "approved" music services[0] . I have unlimited data, but as a strong supporter of net neutrality, I take issue with that. [0]https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/07/net-neutrality-and-global-digital-divide https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/07/net-neutrality-and-glo...

jordanpg 12y ago

They really did refund my early termination fee with Verizon, and it only took about a month. I was expecting the worst (as is the norm in the world of rebates) and was pleasantly surprised. The slam dunk for me is the JUMP (Just Upgrade My Phone) program which allows you to upgrade phones much more frequently and easily. Doesn't save much money, but I am tickled knowing that I will get new phones much more frequently now.

reustle 12y ago

Regarding coverage, I'm feeling the pain. I've been a TMobile customer for over 2 years now and their service in NYC is great, but out in Pennsylvania (where I am almost weekly) is terrible to non existent. On top of coverage being bad, their plans are limited to around 10MB of data roaming per month. Yes, MB. That is only domestic though, if you're international you get unlimited data roaming. I guess that is what happens when you bad-talk other carriers then ask them about letting your customers roam on their networks.

imaffett 12y ago
which part of PA? I'm in south central and we get LTE, but I also go through parts with no coverage. It has been better then sprint though.
- DINKDINK 12y ago
  http://opensignal.com/ http://opensignal.com/ is a great website showing coverage data
- reustle 12y ago
  Generally around Schuylkill County and Lehigh Valley
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

ryanSrich 12y ago

T-mobile is the only carrier in the U.S. with good coverage and unlimited data + iPhone support, so for me it's really my only option. They've been really great so far; only charge what they say they are going to charge, no contract, and no overages. It's incredibly disheartening to know that these basic requirements are unheard of for other large carriers.

jschwartzi 12y ago

Wifi calling is especially amazing if you're in a foreign country and you need to take a conference call in your hotel room.

uptown 12y ago

I checked them out, but their coverage just doesn't exist where I need it. Ended up going with the Verizon Allset plan. Requires that I buy my device up-front, but I get 4G LTE with a gig of base data, the ability to add-on data as-needed, and the ability to tether with no contract, and no activation fees.