Just got N4, trying out T-Mobile

[MalachyNG]

Ello all. I am testing out a new Nexus 4 on T-Mobile for about a month. I'm using the N4 and T-Mobile for a month before dropping my Verizon for good. I am coming from a Galaxy Nexus and unlimited data. For this month I'm using the $30/m 100minutes plan from T-Mobile. I was hoping to be able to port my verizon phone number to google voice but unfortunately I have a number that google can't port yet. Also, I don't want to pay for grooveIP to use it on mobile networks until I figure out what the service for T-Mobile is. I'd ideally like to get a VOIP app like that running so I can use my google voice number for phone calls without using up my 100 minutes.

I am keeping my Verizon active for the month mainly so I can keep it and my unlimited data just in case the N4 doesn't work out - I figure I can return the nexus 4 for a refund and only be "out" the $30 for the T-Mobile plan. If I like T-Mobile I would completely switch from Verizon and save tons of money (paying $60 for me and my wife to use T-Mobile vs. $130 a month on Verizon).

If T-Mobile is absolutely awful I'll try prepaid AT&T SIM (gophone or simple talk, etc.) and see if that service is worthwhile. Again, if all else fails I'll only be losing out on less than $100.

Initial impressions are very good. HSPA+ in my apartment is actually faster than Verizon LTE (the Verizon tower must either be pretty congested all the time or I'm right on the edge of it's zone). The N4 is pretty nice. My Galaxy Nexus is still running well and the N4 is a wee bit faster in everything. Probably not enough to get me to upgrade to it had I been using a GSM Galaxy Nexus to begin with. I also have a Nexus 7 so I'm a big fan of stock android. I'm flying home to visit family near the end of my month long experiment and I know that T-Mobile is almost non-existent there (rural area). Verizon is the only real wireless provider there but it'll be good to test that area out even if it is with an AT&T MVNO SIM.

 

[Nofind]

I just did the same last month and I am pretty happy with the results. After a month I decided it was worth it and canceled my Verizon account. I've had a few spots where coverage is spotty but as far as my weekly routine is concerned I get better coverage than Verizon. Hopefully your result turn out well.

Plus no ridiculous wait for 4.3 on a nexus device.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[getbretweir]

I did the same thing and just got an S4 and switched back to Verizon. The N4 is awesome, and who doesn't want to save $900 a year, but ultimately I dropped and missed way too many calls so had to switch back.

I am keeping the N4 for personal use but 1 lost sale and there goes my savings. HSPA was slightly slower than LTE and I've learned that LTE is indeed faster but fueled by a ton of marketing as the difference in real time is miniscule, at least near me.

Good luck with it and hopefully you'll have better coverage cause the N4 is still the best phone out there, cracked back and all.

S4 via Android Central App

 

[jwyche007]

Please note op that T-Mobile prepaid does not support conditional call forwarding so you will not be able to receive calls via Groove IP. That being said I have been on the $30 plan since November and it has been absolutely great.

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[Mellimel22]

I did the same thing and just got an S4 and switched back to Verizon. The N4 is awesome, and who doesn't want to save $900 a year, but ultimately I dropped and missed way too many calls so had to switch back.

I am keeping the N4 for personal use but 1 lost sale and there goes my savings. HSPA was slightly slower than LTE and I've learned that LTE is indeed faster but fueled by a ton of marketing as the difference in real time is miniscule, at least near me.

Good luck with it and hopefully you'll have better coverage cause the N4 is still the best phone out there, cracked back and all.

S4 via Android Central App

If u are willing to root and put cm10.1 u can have native LTE on the n4.

Sent from my T-Mobile LG Escape using Tapatalk 2

 

[shobuddy]

I had Tmobile on my N4 for a month but had to switch because I didn't get reception in my work building. As OP noted, HSPA+ on Tmobile is blazing fast. I'm now on AT&T and the HSPA+ feels like 3G.

 

[Mellimel22]

Yeah not only is att hspa+ only 21mb it's bogged down being as att and vzw flip flop the largest carrier position. Tmobile has less users and hspa+ 21 and 42.

Sent from my T-Mobile LG Escape using Tapatalk 2

 

[shobuddy]

Yeah not only is att hspa+ only 21mb it's bogged down being as att and vzw flip flop the largest carrier position. Tmobile has less users and hspa+ 21 and 42.

Sent from my T-Mobile LG Escape using Tapatalk 2

You would think a lot of the AT&T users would be on 4G instead of HSPA+.

 

[yankeesusa]

Ello all. I am testing out a new Nexus 4 on T-Mobile for about a month. I'm using the N4 and T-Mobile for a month before dropping my Verizon for good. I am coming from a Galaxy Nexus and unlimited data. For this month I'm using the $30/m 100minutes plan from T-Mobile. I was hoping to be able to port my verizon phone number to google voice but unfortunately I have a number that google can't port yet. Also, I don't want to pay for grooveIP to use it on mobile networks until I figure out what the service for T-Mobile is. I'd ideally like to get a VOIP app like that running so I can use my google voice number for phone calls without using up my 100 minutes.

I am keeping my Verizon active for the month mainly so I can keep it and my unlimited data just in case the N4 doesn't work out - I figure I can return the nexus 4 for a refund and only be "out" the $30 for the T-Mobile plan. If I like T-Mobile I would completely switch from Verizon and save tons of money (paying $60 for me and my wife to use T-Mobile vs. $130 a month on Verizon).

If T-Mobile is absolutely awful I'll try prepaid AT&T SIM (gophone or simple talk, etc.) and see if that service is worthwhile. Again, if all else fails I'll only be losing out on less than $100.

Initial impressions are very good. HSPA+ in my apartment is actually faster than Verizon LTE (the Verizon tower must either be pretty congested all the time or I'm right on the edge of it's zone). The N4 is pretty nice. My Galaxy Nexus is still running well and the N4 is a wee bit faster in everything. Probably not enough to get me to upgrade to it had I been using a GSM Galaxy Nexus to begin with. I also have a Nexus 7 so I'm a big fan of stock android. I'm flying home to visit family near the end of my month long experiment and I know that T-Mobile is almost non-existent there (rural area). Verizon is the only real wireless provider there but it'll be good to test that area out even if it is with an AT&T MVNO SIM.

Keep us posted on how it goes. I recently tested tmobile in my area and I love it. Biggest thing was getting signal in building. A lot better than Sprint. And if course my speeds never went under 4mbps. I loved it. Only reason I can't switch is due to etf and I have 5 lines I have to worry about. I'm giving Sprint till December before finally switching.

Via Android Central App from a Galaxy Note 2

 

[jdbii]

Please note op that T-Mobile prepaid does not support conditional call forwarding so you will not be able to receive calls via Groove IP.

Please explain? I use GrooVe IP on a Tmo prepaid account and receive incoming calls. You just have your Google Voice Number in GV settings forward calls to your cell phone's stock number. The only difficulty is your cell phone rings twice simultaneously for incoming call (GrooVe IP and stock phone number). It is also a bit of a pain keeping track of where voice mails go, and some other quirks, but if you are willing to put up with it one can use 3rd Party VOIP apps like GrooVe IP.

 

[gone down south]

Please explain? I use GrooVe IP on a Tmo prepaid account and receive incoming calls. You just have your Google Voice Number in GV settings forward calls to your cell phone's stock number. The only difficulty is your cell phone rings twice simultaneously for incoming call (GrooVe IP and stock phone number). It is also a bit of a pain keeping track of where voice mails go, and some other quirks, but if you are willing to put up with it one can use 3rd Party VOIP apps like GrooVe IP.

I think he meant Google Voice voicemail.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[MalachyNG]

A few days in and I've got no real complaints about the N4 or T-mobile. Since I can't port my current number to google voice like I wanted I will port it to T-mobile instead. I will also probably try out one of the other plans with unlimited talk and texting. The $30 plan is really awesome. But even if I get the $60 unlimited plan for both phones I'd still be paying less than I am for verizon.

Please note op that T-Mobile prepaid does not support conditional call forwarding so you will not be able to receive calls via Groove IP. That being said I have been on the $30 plan since November and it has been absolutely great.

Sorry. I meant I wanted to try porting my current number to google voice and using that primarily - not trying to gt grooveIP/google voice to pick up from my T-Mobile number so I'm not using minutes. Unfortunately my number is not available to port to google voice. GrooveIP does work with my current google voice number over wifi so I can just call people using it at home. You can pay for it to place calls over t-mobile's data network

I had Tmobile on my N4 for a month but had to switch because I didn't get reception in my work building. As OP noted, HSPA+ on Tmobile is blazing fast. I'm now on AT&T and the HSPA+ feels like 3G.

I haven't seen anything above about 16mbps, but the fastest my Verizon LTE has ever gotten has been 30mbps or so. Since I live and work in a metro area T-mobile seems to work fine. Sadly the only real dead spot I get on T-Mobile that I don't get on Verizon is in the employee cafeteria at work. Both lose service when i'm in a certain elevator at work.

I think he meant Google Voice voicemail.

That is exactly the issue he is commenting on. But I am not switching only to google voice for everything. For now I'm okay letting t-mobile run the voice mail for my t-mobile number. I keep getting calls for the previous owner of that number.

 

[Mike Dupp]

I will also probably try out one of the other plans with unlimited talk and texting. The $30 plan is really awesome. But even if I get the $60 unlimited plan for both phones I'd still be paying less than I am for verizon.

Be careful with the $50 and $60 plans on prepaid, they only offer 500 MB and 2.5 GBs of data each as opposed to the 5 GB on the $30 plan. You are better off sticking to the $30 plan and paying the 10 cents/minute overage after the first 100 minutes. If you think you will use more than 5 GB of data on either phone or if you will go over 900 minutes combined for both phones on a regular basis, then go with $70 unlimited everything plan. Otherwise, the $30 plan is clearly the best value available.

 

[grayzweb]

I just did the same thing and left Verizon. I planned on just going prepaid, but I went ahead and got a post paid account with T-Mobile because you have roaming access to more towers. (Still can cancel as there is no contract).
I'm paying a little more than prepaid, but still saving $ compared to Verizon. I got the $60/month plan and I'm happy so far.

I still have 4 family lines with Verizon, but I'm slowly paying ETF's and porting #'s to T-Mobile. We have some dead spots around here, but its worth it to me.

Loving the N4

Posted via Android Central App

 

[fatimusprime]

I literally did the exact same thing yesterday. I decided to try this out since I had bricked my Verizon S4 a few days ago. Also, you can't beat the lower cost.

Overall I'm pleasantly supprised with what I have seen from T-Mobile so far. I do miss LTE and the additional coverage but I have been able to manage.

 

[MalachyNG]

About a week in and I'm loving my Nexus 4 and t mobile isn't bad where I live and work. In fact their HSPA+ is faster than my Verizon LTE. I think I might totally switch next month.

 

[MalachyNG]

And here is my Verizon galaxy nexus on LTE...

Sent from my Nexus 4 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[mech1164]

One thing instead of groove ip why don't you try talk tone. I've had better experience with them than groove ip.

As someone has mentioned just put in more money into the prepaid account. At 0.10 per minute it can still be cheaper depending on how long you talk.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[MalachyNG]

It's been a month since I got my Nexus 4 and started T-Mobile service. Today I activated a new Nexus 4 for my wife and we ported our verizon numbers to t-mobile.

I did not keep the $30/m 5gb/100m plan (well, I got a new SIM and kept the old one just in case). I went with the new simple choice plan for my wife and I because we realized we actually talk to each other for over 100 minutes a month and google voice can't port my number (there are a number of area codes they just can't port from for some reason). We went down to the T-Mobile store and set it all up. The clerk was actually excited to see my white nexus 4. He had never seen one before. When it came time to pay for the SIM kits I paid with google wallet on my phone. The clerk had never seen that before either. Unfortunately the 99SIM code expired. so we had to pay $10 for them.

During my month I felt that T-Mobile provided pretty good coverage for where I live and work. The HSPA+ speeds are faster in my apartment than verizon's LTE. Verizon has much quicker upload speeds. During my month I did a trip to Orlando from Miami and had few real dead spots. A lot of it was EDGE but google navigation seemed okay with it. I also did a trip home to rural NY. In bigger towns I at least got EDGE but most of that area only has verizon service. Funnily enough my dad's house, which is in the middle of butt**** nowhere has LTE - they upgraded a 3G tower they had built only 2 years ago to LTE this summer. The VZW speeds weren't event that great and his house is pretty close and the area is very rural (only 12mbps upload). I used about 3.5gb of data in that month.

For my new plans my wife got the unlimited talk & text and 2.5gb data. I got unlimited everything and 500mb tethering. We even got a 15% discount for my wife's school or work or something so even though we didn't go all in on the $30/100m/5gb plans like I wanted we are still saving something like $50 a month by switching from Verizon.

 

[mr_wendal]

I've found that T-Mobile is great when I'm in a good coverage area. Any time I need to travel, though, I pick up a prepaid AT&T/AT&T MVNO sim because I only get Edge outside of big cities. I had the same issue with minutes talking to my girlfriend, so we both installed Vonage. She's on AT&T 4G, and I'm using T-Mobile HSPA+. I noticed that when I call her over data (my Vonage->her cell), T-Mobile provides plenty of speed to allow clear calls. However, when she calls me (her Vonage->my Vonage), I usually don't hear a single thing. If I do, it's mostly static and breaking up. So either she's in lots of AT&T dead spots, or their 4G can't handle Vonage calls while T-Mobile's HSPA+ can.

T-Mobile went down completely in many areas a few weeks ago for an hour or two, and I was only able to send SMS messages. It was frustrating, but it was the only real problem I've had with them other than being in a town that only had Edge when I was recently traveling for a week.