Good-bye Nexus 5!

[iN8ter]

T-Mobile has notoriously spotty coverage and notoriously bad building penetration. Trivial amounts of research would have ruled them out as a choice for many people working in a hospital.

If you work in a hospital they are one of the worst carrier choices because you will be beyond several solid walls a lot of the time.

Wi-Fi calling is only attractive to me if implemented similar to UMA was on Blackberry smartphones - where they'd hand off to and from Wi-Fi/Cell Towers as you moved in and out of range of Wi-Fi. I had T-Mobile and even with the terrible coverage I got I kept Wi-Fi calling off because it was too much trouble to have to hang out and call people back when I had to leave one place or another since leaving the Wi-Fi hotspot range would drop the call.

Pick a carrier based on your budget and your needs. Sometimes it's worth paying more if you're getting better service - which you will on most any other national carrier if you travel between cities and across the country even occasionally.

Verizon's locked CDMA phones have never been an issue because their 3G Coverage is better than anyone else's and their LTE now covers 99% of their 3G coverage. Additionally, almost all "recent" Verizon devices are Global devices so they are usable if you travel out of the country and have to roam on a GSM network.

All these clich? phrases bashing the other carriers won't change the fact that if the OP had them, you'd have better coverage on his device in that building compared to T-Mobile.

You get what you pay for.

 

[B. Diddy]

I work at a hospital, and my coverage on T-Mobile is fine. It really depends on the facility. Some hospitals install signal boosters for various cell services, so it's worthwhile to ask your Facilities Manager before you make any decisions about a carrier.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Old Stoneface]

The only place he has an issue is at work. He says he has LTE as soon as he steps outside...

Okay. I give up. You win. WiFi calling is worthless and offers no value add to T-Mobile's product line. Anybody who goes with T-Mobile either knows, or should know, in advance, every possible place and scenario in which they might want to use their devices.

T-Mobile has notoriously spotty coverage and notoriously bad building penetration. Trivial amounts of research would have ruled them out as a choice for many people working in a hospital.

Eh. Not so much, IMO. I had terrible coverage at work work with Sprint. I had much better coverage with T-Mobile - even in a spot inside cinder block walls, a steel mesh cage, and two levels of steel roof. Never expected that. *shrug*

Btw: In that same spot I've had Verizon customers tell me "Your phone won't work in here." Had the same thing happen at a particular store I frequent, in an area with notoriously poor coverage by all the carriers--except, oddly enough, TMO.

Wi-Fi calling is only attractive to me if implemented similar to UMA was on Blackberry smartphones - where they'd hand off to and from Wi-Fi/Cell Towers as you moved in and out of range of Wi-Fi.

T-Mobile used to implement UMA on WiFi calling. But I believe I read where they do not, any more? Not clear on that.

Pick a carrier based on your budget and your needs. Sometimes it's worth paying more if you're getting better service - which you will on most any other national carrier if you travel between cities and across the country even occasionally.

Yeah, if you can justify up to nearly double the cost. I could not. It was either T-Mobile or, essentially, nobody.

Verizon's locked CDMA phones have never been an issue ...

In your opinion. In my opinion it is a problem. I find it unacceptable. Period. I've always hated it. I'm free of locked handsets, now, and don't plan ever to go back.

I work at a hospital, and my coverage on T-Mobile is fine. It really depends on the facility.

And a bunch of other variables.

 

[iN8ter]

Okay. I give up. You win. WiFi calling is worthless and offers no value add to T-Mobile's product line. Anybody who goes with T-Mobile either knows, or should know, in advance, every possible place and scenario in which they might want to use their devices.


Eh. Not so much, IMO. I had terrible coverage at work work with Sprint. I had much better coverage with T-Mobile - even in a spot inside cinder block walls, a steel mesh cage, and two levels of steel roof. Never expected that. *shrug*

Btw: In that same spot I've had Verizon customers tell me "Your phone won't work in here." Had the same thing happen at a particular store I frequent, in an area with notoriously poor coverage by all the carriers--except, oddly enough, TMO.


T-Mobile used to implement UMA on WiFi calling. But I believe I read where they do not, any more? Not clear on that.


Yeah, if you can justify up to nearly double the cost. I could not. It was either T-Mobile or, essentially, nobody.


In your opinion. In my opinion it is a problem. I find it unacceptable. Period. I've always hated it. I'm free of locked handsets, now, and don't plan ever to go back.


And a bunch of other variables.

UMA was a blackberry feature. T-Mobile never had that on Android. I did a full Contract term with them and was there when they rolled it out to Android back in 2010. I had two active lines on them with devices running different OS, so I can pretty much factor out phone issues when commenting on their coverage.

Secondly. Verizon isn't nearly twice the cost of T-Mobile. T-Mobile is like $30 cheaper and that isn't enough for me to deal with worse coverage and the poor signal penetration. To even approach half the cost of Verizon/AT&T, you have to neuter down non-data services to almost nothing to cut costs on T-Mobile.

Lastly, whether you find locked Verizon devices unforgivable or not is inconsequential. Fact is their devices are global and if you aren't on contract you can unlock them - like with any other carrier. A GSM phone is still listed in this country as it locks you out of two networks that are better than T-Mobile. How you spin that depends on your preference.

Sprint is *almost* as bad as T-Mobile so using them as a counterexample proves nothing. Their data speeds on 3G are terrible, but their coverage is demonstrably better.

Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T all have LTE in my hometown. With T-Mobile you're lucky if you get 3 bars of GPRS. I HATED traveling when I had T-Mobile because their coverage was so shoddy, and the kinds of buildings I'd train in meant I needed to have my phone in airplane mode otherwise it would die after 3-4 hours just sitting there due to signal problems.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[B. Diddy]

OK, folks, please remember that different people have different experiences with the various carriers. Your mileage may vary, right?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Old Stoneface]

UMA was a blackberry feature. T-Mobile never had that on Android.

From what I've read: They did. Search on "T-Mobile WiFi UMA Kineto" or the like.

Secondly. Verizon isn't nearly twice the cost of T-Mobile.

I administer my employer's wireless plan (which is on VZW, btw), so this is something about which I know just a little >< bit. For a "comparable" plan for my wife and I:

T-Mobile: $80/mo.
Sprint and VZW: $130/mo.
"at&t": $125/mo.

Furthermore: TMOs data is actually "unlimited" (albeit throttled--but good enough for email and the like), plus there's free international roaming, free tethering and no contract.

I'll stick with "nearly twice as much."

T-Mobile ... isn't enough for me to deal with worse coverage and the poor signal penetration.

That's for you. Why is it so many people on these web boards assume that what they want (or think they need) is what everybody wants or needs?

To even approach half the cost of Verizon/AT&T, you have to neuter down non-data services to almost nothing to cut costs on T-Mobile.

ITYM "data services," not "non-data services." They're all unlimited on voice and text, these days, are they not?

Individual TMO plan with unlimited data and 2.5GB of tethering is $70/mo. What would that cost on VZW?

Lastly, whether you find locked Verizon devices unforgivable or not is inconsequential.

To you. To me, it is not.

Sprint is *almost* as bad as T-Mobile so using them as a counterexample proves nothing. Their data speeds on 3G are terrible, but their coverage is demonstrably better.

Now you're telling me about carrier coverage in the area in which I live?

No, Sprint's coverage is not "demonstrably better." In fact: In a recent survey, TMO beat out Sprint in 4-out-of-5 regions of the country, in coverage, as reported by subscribers. They come in only 2nd to VZW in 4G LTE speed, where they have 4G LTE available.

Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T all have LTE in my hometown. With T-Mobile you're lucky if you ...

Obviously you had bad results with TMO. You should avoid assuming your experiences are the same as everybody else's. I've had better results, in my area, with T-Mobile than I did with Sprint, by far, and have even sometimes had better results than VZW subscribers.

 

[iN8ter]

Throttled data is not unlimited. It's just a clever way to call limited data unlimited. I've been Throttled before (one of my lines had a 200MB data plan) and the hone is almost worthless after that happens.

I'm not going to have a circular argument about the rest. I've used both corporate plans and not. Your prices are ludicrous. AT&T and Verizon with corporate discounts are barely over $100 while T-Mobile is still almost 80. The savings simply aren't what you're trying to peddle.

Corporate discounts only discount the rate plans anyways, not sms or data plans, so there really aren't much savings to be had there unless you have a full corporate contract plan and I know for a fact that Verizon is cheaper than you say cause the Company I worked for (in IT and we activated many phones on the Company plan) used both Verizon and AT&T and I've seen the bill for a corporate device.

My personal AT&T line with corporate discount was $104.xx. Two Verizon lines I have is $160.xx. That's with insurance and corporate discount, etc.

Maybe you're doing something wrong, cause I've never seen corporate devices with bills that high, unless they were traditional contract lines with unlimited everything and high data packages.

I still have T-Mobile bills with corporate discounts in my filing cabinet. The prices weren't even approaching half the cost of Verizon or AT&T. They were over 80 once you added the taxes and fees in. AT&T and Verizon are 20-30 more expensive, and worth it.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[Euan Tan]

Blame Tmobile not the nexus 5 it did nothing wrong!
Then again the G2 is a beast! 3000mAh battery 5.2 inch screen and Powerful camera but i think the nexus 5 has a faster one..

root. custom recovery. custom rom. and tada a LG G2 nexus

 

[Almeuit]

Not being an Android developer, myself, I'm not certain. But, being an experienced software developer, myself, all I can say is "It's just software." If they wanted to work with Google and OEMs to Find A Way, I'm confident they could do so. Some sort of "authenticated carrier plug-in" to the OS, I'm thinking.

I'd guess Google probably just wouldn't want to since they'd have to release updates for the Nexus 5
..then one specifically for the T-Mobile variant to ensure it works.

That's just my 2 cents on why they probably haven't done it. Has to be something like that because they add it anytime they can add any other bloat so they do care for their customers to have it.

Sent from my T-Mobile Note 3 using AC Forums.

 

[jerrykur]

I worked in a building like that. It was a research institute and had concrete walls with wire mesh embedded in the walls. Essentially it was a Faraday cage that prevented radio signals from penetrating. They setup cellular repeaters for AT&T and Verizon seemed to work OK without the repeaters. T-Mobile did not work very well, just like the OPs comment. I would suggest dumping T-Mobile and moving on to another carrier, adding a femtocell repeater (if you complain you can get one for free), or changing offices.

 

[Old Stoneface]

Throttled data is not unlimited. It's just a clever way to call limited data unlimited.

That is so clearly, so self-evidently incorrect it doesn't deserve a detailed rebuttal.

I've been Throttled before (one of my lines had a 200MB data plan) and the hone is almost worthless after that happens.

In your opinion. Personally: I've been on "throttled" data, albeit accidentally. Web was slow, but usable. Email, calendar, shared contacts, etc. were all just fine. And that's mainly why I need data. I don't stream anything. If they'd give me 2g data at no charge, I'd probably even consider it for the savings.

Not everybody uses their devices the same way, you know. For example: Of all my friends with data plans: None of them stream movies or music with their devices. From that I should assume nobody streams, should I?

I'm not going to have a circular argument about the rest. I've used both corporate plans and not. Your prices are ludicrous. AT&T and Verizon with corporate discounts are barely over $100 while T-Mobile is still almost 80. The savings simply aren't what you're trying to peddle.

Remember where I said I administer a corporate wireless plan on VZW? I like VZW. Why should I be making stuff up or trying to "peddle" anything? The prices I quoted are from the individual carriers' own sites. And if you're going to compare discounted plans, you have to compare discounted plans for all of them, not discounted for some and full price for others.

I still have T-Mobile bills with corporate discounts in my filing cabinet. The prices weren't even approaching half the cost of Verizon or AT&T. They were over 80 once you added the taxes and fees in. AT&T and Verizon are 20-30 more expensive, and worth it.

There you go again: Now comparing TMO after surcharges and taxes to others before taxes and surcharges.

From their own sites, just now:

Two smartphones on VZW, with 1GB of shared data (hard limit): $130/mo., before surcharges and taxes.
Two smartphones on TMO, with 500MB/ea. (soft limit): $80/mo., before surcharges and taxes

That's a $50/mo. difference. Bump VZW up to 4GB shared (hard limit) and TMO up to 2.5GB ea. (soft limit) and the difference grows to $60/mo. That's $600 and $720 per year difference. I don't know about you: But $600 or $720 a year is a lot of money, to me. I'm confident that, if I went to Sprint's and "at&t"s sites, again, I'd see similar results.

Now I think we've pretty much beat this one to death, and soon the mods will ask us to get a room. You may have the last word, if you wish.

 

[Old Stoneface]

I'd guess Google probably just wouldn't want to since they'd have to release updates for the Nexus 5
..then one specifically for the T-Mobile variant to ensure it works.

Pas necessaire. They develop a plug-in mechanism, requiring digitally signed plug-ins from approved, authenticated sources. TMO simply supplies the plug-in as an apk to their customers. Tres easy. For something like this: I cannot imagine the API having to change often. Certainly not w/in major releases of Android.

I think Like I said: I'm not an Android dev, so I don't know how practical that would be.

Jim

 

[iN8ter]

I have bills from all those carriers so I'm not going to argue about it. Yes those fees affect the balance so they should be added in, duh? The figure I gave for Verizon was post-fees.

Don't really care how you use your phone. Fact is there is a lot that is simply not decently doable on throttled data. Sending attachments in email is a royal pain. Uploading video or images is a pain. Doing any type of VoIP, have fun. Hope that WebEx meeting wasn't important.

I'm glad you and your world have fairly basic needs, but some others require more.

Throttling is a way to limit data consumption so yes the whole thing is laughable to me. The only major carrier with truly unlimited data is Sprint. T-Mobile throttles you to middle Edge speeds. If all you do is visit WAP pages, IM, and send short text emails thats fine. Gratz.

Lastly. The reason why they have to compete desperately is cause their coverage is ****. If T-Mobile has VZW or AT&T's coverage they'd be just as expensive and have a lot more customers.

Clearly they weren't using my money intelligently so I left. Instead of bashing AT&T, they should be trying harder to put more towers up. They almost talk as if they have the best network ever, when there are regional carriers with far better coverage here.

They are the payless of cell phone carriers. Yes those cheap shoes may be fine for you but they're still cheap and are liable to fail horribly when you most depend on them.

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[Almeuit]

Throttling is a way to limit data consumption so yes the whole thing is laughable to me. The only major carrier with truly unlimited data is Sprint. T-Mobile throttles you to middle Edge speeds. If all you do is visit WAP pages, IM, and send short text emails thats fine. Gratz.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

They do? When? T-Mobile has truly unlimited data plans now.. Have for awhile. I've hit up to 100 GB in the past and about 60 so far this month with no slow down on my unlimited..

Below is current usage and screenshot from yesterday outside of work .


Sent from my T-Mobile Note 3 using AC Forums.

 

[NexusNick123]

Re: Good-bye Nexus!!

What phone you like more Note 3 or N5

 

[Almeuit]

Re: Good-bye Nexus!!

What phone you like more Note 3 or N5

I've tried my buddies N5 for a few days before and it was awesome. I personally love the fact you have the latest and greatest updates but for me personally I chose the Note since I need wifi calling for my house (a feature T-Mobile bakes into the ROM).


Sent from my T-Mobile Note 3 using AC Forums.

 

[ki11ak3nn]

Re: Good-bye Nexus!!

What phone you like more Note 3 or N5

The Note was a beast of a phone. I loved it and I loved my Nexus 5. Everything was perfect except the battery and not having wifi calling. I was planning on getting a Mophie juice pack, but don't need one now that I have the G2!! I'm rooted just need to install a ROM.

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

 

[ki11ak3nn]

T-Mobile: $80/mo.
Sprint and VZW: $130/mo.
"at&t": $125/mo.

Yeah I'm saving a bunch on T-Mobile. My old plan on Verizon was 1 line unlimited data, a 2 gb, a 4 gb, and a basic phone. With unlimited messaging 700 minutes was $250. With my corporate discount it was down to $220. But sometimes I would go over my 4 GB of data. So usually it was around $230.

T-Mobile.... 2 lines unlimited data and 2 lines 500 mb. Plus unlimited voice and messaging $160.

I'd call that a big savings. So far not having any problems with T-Mobile.

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

 

[JohnnyBroccoli]

Going from AT&T to T-Mobile my wireless bill dropped from $95/month to $30/month. So ******* nice. Not to mention that my service is head and shoulders better than it was.

 

[ki11ak3nn]

Going from AT&T to T-Mobile my wireless bill dropped from $95/month to $30/month. So ******* nice. Not to mention that my service is head and shoulders better than it was.

Yup. And data speeds are so much more delicious!! VZ would get me on average maybe 10 Mb down. T-Mo has gotten me on average at least 30 Mb down. Yesterday around 8 at night I had 42 down. I'm downloading apps in about 3-4 secs. It's amazing!!

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