No good carrier choices!

**phil94028** · 02-09-2013, 01:50 PM

Maybe someone has some better ideas.

I gave TMO a try in their $30 unlimited data/100 min plan
Almost zero service at home though its great at the office.
Around town it's patchy (Palo Alto CA area) so really no good for me.

Next I was going to try straight talk on ATT.
Tried calling cust service a couple of times just to see how bad it was >30 min hold times and a hang up.
Normally this wouldn't bother me but it seems that very time you go over 100MB or so in a day you get throttled and have to call them.
This is not really going to fly either.

So I guess its ATT. Their pay monthly plan is 1GB of data. That seems a bit silly for a smartphone.

I'm stuck looking at ATT post paid without getting a subsidy phone out of them as I already have the N4!

Are there any other options worth considering?
Maybe stick with Verizon and send the phone back.

Sure wish Google would get an MVNO together!

**siczek.p** · 02-09-2013, 01:59 PM

So you didn't even try Straight Talk? my buddy is pretty damn demanding of his carrier and said the only watch out is getting throttled for using the phone as a hot spot.

$45 is a pretty cheap experiment for a month.

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**runtmms** · 02-09-2013, 04:27 PM

If you're in an area the T-Mobile service map shows good coverage it might be worth contacting them. With all the upgrades they're doing I know some people have reported patchy spots that were due to active network work - upon completion service greatly improved.

I had a complete dead spot I complained about (to Solavei.) I don't know if it's a coincidence, but it's fixed now.

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**gone down south** · 02-09-2013, 04:47 PM

I use Tmobile all over Silicon Valley without the slightest hiccup. It's what Google uses for all its empl

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**droidmyme** · 02-09-2013, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by runtmms

If you're in an area the T-Mobile service map shows good coverage it might be worth contacting them. With all the upgrades they're doing I know some people have reported patchy spots that were due to active network work - upon completion service greatly improved.

I had a complete dead spot I complained about (to Solavei.) I don't know if it's a coincidence, but it's fixed now.

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That's a really good idea.

Yes I agree with OP, if you have the N4, seems like T-Mobile is the obvious choice. (I mean 1GB on AT&T, that *is* ridiculous.) But what to do when T-Mobile coverage is spotty?

First I like runtmms's suggestion. Call T-Mobile up and see if a tower is being patched.

The other thing to consider, is that hearsay is Straight Talk is no longer issuing AT&T SIM cards - leaving you in the same spot kind of. IDK if that's true, I'm just chiming in.

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**phil94028** · 02-09-2013, 11:56 PM

I'm the OP.

Did try an ATT SIM. 4 Bars at home. It even works up in the hills where even Verizon doesn't.
6 Mb/s down 1 up.

As others have pointed out it's all about location! Plenty of google employees live close by so I doubt they use TMO exclusively.
The closest TMO site is maybe 0.75 miles on a utility pole. I think it's an ATT colocation as well so maybe it's the UHF vs L Band problem.

I really wish that ATT had better competition besides Verizon!

Nexus 4 a great device but I don't think the experiment to same money on a plan is going to work out!

**yfan** · 02-10-2013, 01:12 AM

Just what part of Palo Alto do you live in? I live in Sunnyvale, go all over Palo Alto, and never had a problem with T-mobile's signal.

**jimmiekain** · 02-10-2013, 01:22 AM

@phil94028

I feel you bro, I'm in a similar spot. As much as I love my N4 I cant find a good gsm carrier.

I have tried the following:

T-Mo: This is a no go for me because eventhough the website says I will have 4g all I get is edge at my house. This would be fine because I have wifi but it kept dropping calls so I had to drop them.

Straight Talk w/ att sim: This was a no go for me because they throttled me after using only 900mb of data. When I called they said I violated section 7 of the terms of service. I read section 7 and it says you cant tether. I called and explained it must be a mistake because I have never tethered. They refused to listen so I dropped them.

At&T: This is the sim i'm using currently but Its costing me over $80 a month and while the coverage is good I have still found dead spots and for some reason I am getting slower data speeds than i was with straight talk / att sim. I have tried every apn i can find and its just not worth it in my opinion.

I've decided to keep the N4 until the Galaxy S4 comes out and I guess I have to go back to Sprint or, join my families family plan on VZW.

I love the phone but the carriers just arent working out for me. I just hope there is still a lot of demand for it by the time the GS4 comes out.

**phil94028** · 02-10-2013, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by yfan

Just what part of Palo Alto do you live in? I live in Sunnyvale, go all over Palo Alto, and never had a problem with T-mobile's signal.

Portola Valley, so semi rural at least for the Bay area. I think TMO do not have the $ for a footprint or spectrum like ATT have. Probably why they can be cheaper!
I'm suspecting the cell site I hit may be 850MHz for ATT and 1700MHz plus for TMO so even if they are co-located it's easy to see who wins.
Last time I tried ATT 3G in this location it was terrible and I switched to Verizon, so not sure if the shifted bands or a new site.

Even down in Redwood City and Palo Alto it seems like there is a great signal near a cell site then one bar or less in the gaps. Especially indoors!

It really is all driven by location ... and customer service in the case of Straight Talk!

**llamainmypocket** · 02-11-2013, 01:07 AM

They all suck. Get a mifi device with a mugen super battery and use Skype, 50$ a month, No craptastic surprises, 5 gig data, then pray Google starts providing mobile internet like they're doing with fiber in Lincoln city.

**jimmiekain** · 02-11-2013, 03:10 PM

Originally Posted by llamainmypocket

They all suck. Get a mifi device with a mugen super battery and use Skype, 50$ a month, No craptastic surprises, 5 gig data, then pray Google starts providing mobile internet like they're doing with fiber in Lincoln city.

I considered that but I just don't wanna carry an extra product with me at all times. Which one do you have?

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**llamainmypocket** · 02-11-2013, 05:09 PM

I currently have the elevate but have the mifi 4510L with 5000 mah as well. :-)

**ErickMendez** · 02-11-2013, 05:10 PM

I Dont know about California but here , in Maryland I get 4g at 15mbs average

Pure Google 4.2.1 Nexus 4

**gone down south** · 02-11-2013, 05:24 PM

Well, to be fair, Portola Valley isn't "rural", it's "way up in the mountains" :-) Your carrier choices are pretty limited there, you have to take what you can get. Come down into civilization (east of 280) and you'll get great coverage from every carrier.

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