Cincinnati Area Coverage - What's your experience?

aaroninky

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Hello,

I'm currently with Verizon and am looking to switch to T-Mo for a lower monthly payment. How is the coverage in the area? I noticed they updated the maps on the website within the last week or two and when I went into a local T-Mo corporate store last night they said LTE was starting to get lit up in northern Cincy. Anyone out there share any experiences about the network?

Thanks,
Aaron
 

Gdraft#WN

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I was with Verizon and switched to save money ............ You get what you pay for.

I live inside 275 on the eastside of town. My HTC One S, is getting 2 bars at home :(

Not that Verizon was better, but I could get Wi/Fi calling with TMO :(

My phone has worked worse with every update (3 now I think)
The people at the local stores are no more than order takers, so rarely can fix an issue.
Now that my phone isn't their Premier phone (that lasted about a month) even getting support on the phone from TMO is worthless.

I know several people that have this phone in Cin Bell and do not have half of the issues I have.

I would NEVER recommend TMO to anyone in this area.

I cannot wait until my contract is up, I would rather go back to Big Red and spend an extra 40 a month and have a phone that works and gets service than not.

If you are still committed to TMO, and wondering about signal. I drive all over town for work and there are SEVERAL places inside 275 where you will not get any signal, let alone 4G or lte


But good luck
 

IAmSixNine

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Id suggest buying a GS2 off craigs list or a One S like the above poster has, then open up an account and use your 14 day test period to test your network coverage and speeds.
 

aaroninky

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I went ahead and bought a Nexus 4 today and will test the network with it, if it doesn't work out then I will just return the N4 and keep my Verizon service. The coverage maps are looking good and the price is right, so I hope everything pans out.
 

aaroninky

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Well, after trying out the network all weekend and over my usual places I go to I am making the switch to T Mobile today after work. Work was the last place I had to see if the signal was good and so far all day it's holding steady. In the NKY area and on the the places I went outside the 275 loop the Nexus 4 signal stayed strong and I'm getting great battery life. It'll be nice to drop Verizon and save some cash each month.
 

Jesito473

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Hi Aaron,

Glad to see your post on here, cause I myself am thinking about switching to T-mobile and I was curious about the signal strengths in the area. I live in Covington and I am still yet to find someone who has T-mobile, at least that I know of, to ask. Are you satisfied with the speeds you are getting as well? I read that T-mobile has added their HSPA+ 42MBp here in the Cincinnati area, so I am kind of curious as to how well it performs. Verizon's 4G lte is great, however, just like you said, the price is quite outrages, and getting speeds close to that or less would be fine with me, if it means saving money. On top of the fact that it will be a matter of time before their LTE reaches us.
 

aaroninky

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Hello, I find the signal great for the most part. 99% of the areas where I was getting an LTE signal on Big Red I am getting a quality HSPA+ signal on T-Mobile. I haven't had any major signal issues at all, and I heard from the T-Mobile store in Florence on Mall Rd that the LTE is being installed as we speak and it's just a matter of time before it gets flipped on. T-Mobile's Next Group Of LTE Launches Rumored For May And June | TmoNewsTmoNews According to this article it is stated for either May or June. Right now on HSPA+ I'm getting anywhere from 7-10 MB down and usually 1-2 MB up. In the Florence area on Verizon LTE I was barely higher on the downside, usually in the 10-12 MB range, so services are still working great on T-Mobile. I have no regrets about leaving Verizon behind, moving back to the GSM world of phones is great especially now with lots more companies willing to sell an unlocked phone. I'm extremely happy with the Nexus 4 and T-Mobile's service.
 

Jesito473

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Thanks for the update, I have been searching for quite sometime on these forums to see if anyone had experience in this area with the new "T-mobile" since most of the testimonies I have read, date back to 2010 and 2011. Although I have enjoyed having fast LTE speeds with Verizon, their constant toggle between 4G and 3G has been a problem, especially when I've been through 3 phones and they still say there is nothing wrong with their towers..
Funny you mention Florence, cause I work close to the Turfway Race track, where you'd assume you'd get a great signal, since it's covered with antennas, but that's not really the case, I would have to be in their parking lot to get at least a 70% lte signal, so it's good to know. Verizon's 4G LTE signal in the Florence area and here is good in a few spots of course, however, for speeds reaching 7-10 on HSPA+ on TMobile and 11-20 on Lte on Verizon, I can imagine T-Mobiles LTE will be kicking some serious behind, Verizon's and at a cheaper price!.

Thanks for the update, it's been extremely helpful. Once I do the switch I'll place an update here, now the hard part will be to choose a phone lol.
 

cobalt1911

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I live in the southern Dayton area (Centerville) and just switched to t-mo (galaxy s4). I've taken a couple trips down 75/275 to the Kenwood mall area. Had great 4g the entire way. No problems at all in the Dayton area up here. That being said, if you spend a lot of time out west of the city, study the coverage map and make sure your destinations are covered. I have some family over near Hillsboro and there is absolutely no coverage what so ever over there. That's not really a concern for me though.

On a related note... LTE showed up in parts of Dayton today.
 

Cincybearcatfan

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BUMP

I'm considering doing what the OP was considering. It's been 2 years since the post, has things improved for T-Mobile service in Cincinnati. I also live on the east side of town (Eastgate) and work in Anderson Township. Anyone with T-Mobile that can speak to what type of coverage/service is here?
 

Gdraft#WN

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I upgraded from my one S to a LG G3, while it was on Kit kat, signal was Great. Since lollipoop, not as good, but still ok isnide the loop.


If you are going with a new phone, you will be fine. When going to Columbus thete are severl areas where it drops to 2G, so no data, but calls go through.

Go out past Batavia, and it starts using ATT towers, no data at all, only calls.


So.... Inside the with a newer phone, works great. . If you travel by car a lot, as long as you stick the the interstates you are ok. . Go off the beaten path..... . Not so much.

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Almeuit

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I was with Verizon and switched to save money ............ You get what you pay for.

The "Get what you pay for" thing definitely matters from area to area. If I switched to VZW I would pay more and get less amount of data each month. My only gripe w/ T-Mobile was coverage in my house which was solved by a free booster from them... So now I pay $50 for unlimited talk,txt, and data. Can't really beat that. That also depends on area since some won't be that lucky but .. Just saying the "get what you pay for" thing doesn't always mean you get the best for paying more.
 

boogas8

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I'm considering doing what the OP was considering. It's been 2 years since the post, has things improved for T-Mobile service in Cincinnati. I also live on the east side of town (Eastgate) and work in Anderson Township. Anyone with T-Mobile that can speak to what type of coverage/service is here?
Why don't you take advantage of T-Mobiles Test Drive?

Sent from my Galaxy S6 Edge via the Uncarrier
 

bkeaver

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I took the plunge and am doing the test drive here in Dayton. I was with T-Mobile last year but since then went to Verizon. Only have had it one day and so far it seems to have had improvement, slight but yet improved just the same. Now I believe the 700mhz band is going to be rolled out here soon according to the map. Once that happens I would imagine it will be a great deal of improvement here. The thing I don't like about this test drive is that you can't take advantage of the WiFi calling which would be great and also I hate that it's a damn iPhone. But then I suppose it's only for 7days right :).
Anyways that's my initial impressions in case anyone in my area cares to know. I'll post something more later if it indeed improved over all. I'm supposed to head into Cincinnati and go into Newport as well on Friday.



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Laura Knotek

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Have you considered Cincinnati Bell? I believe they use the same bands as T-Mobile.

Sent from my rooted Nexus 7 (2013) using Tapatalk
 

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