Anyone try the free stuff?

[raino]

I can't think of any carrier that doesn't do this (present themselves as something they aren't)

But none of them calls themselves the 'Un'carrier

 

[Almeuit]

But none of them calls themselves the 'Un'carrier

They all call themselves the best.. Fastest, Reliable, etc. etc. I personally don't put as much stock in marketing terms as you I guess. Too many companies act like they're the godsend to all issues and products.. If I did buy into all that I'd be very confused.

 

[Aquila]

But none of them calls themselves the 'Un'carrier

You have no idea how much the nerds I regularly talk to and I make fun of T-Mo for some of their "un" stuff. Now that I mentioned it, you might have a guess - but your guess is low

 

[Bob61]

May have been an MLB thing wanting to change that so people can't stack them. Either way .. really hard to complain about free things .

My dog makes free gift everyday, you interested in that? About the same usefulness as the crap T-Mobile will be handing out going forward.

 

[Almeuit]

My dog makes free gift everyday, you interested in that? About the same usefulness as the crap T-Mobile will be handing out going forward.

I disagree. I like the VUDU movie rental. Been using that each week and sending it to my Chromecast .

If you think it is bad simply don't use it. Either way it is free and only takes a tap to get if you ever wanted it. Not everything a company offers will be useful for every individual.

 

[B. Diddy]

It's quite simple to avoid the "crap"--just don't install the app.

One of the freebies was 1 share of T-Mobile stock, which is currently at around $43. So they essentially gave me $43. Is your dog pooping out money, too?

 

[BerryBubbles]

It's quite simple to avoid the "crap"--just don't install the app.

One of the freebies was 1 share of T-Mobile stock, which is currently at around $43. So they essentially gave me $43. Is your dog pooping out money, too?

Agreed! I have never had any company offer me a free share of their stock. Seriously, I was shocked.

I took the stock & I'm very pleased!

 

[raino]

Apparently, the TMO server is getting slammed (again,) but hey...at least that's free. Uncarrier.

 

[Almeuit]

Apparently, the TMO server is getting slammed (again,) but hey...at least that's free. Uncarrier.

Yep. Hard to beat $0 bills. I like that ... now if only I can get my electric company to do that I would be so happy.

 

[Old Stoneface]

But none of them calls themselves the 'Un'carrier

Precisely.

When TMO first started their series of "uncarrier" initiatives they were doing things that were truly un-carrier-like. Things such as actually encouraging BYOD. Data without exorbitant charges for going over, etc. But lately...? Yeah: Not so much.

My dog makes free gift everyday, you interested in that? About the same usefulness as the crap T-Mobile will be handing out going forward.

Indeed. I don' t need free streaming from selected partners, free movies, pizza or stock in TMO. What I need is solid coverage and a selection of affordable devices with which to take advantage of it.

I disagree. I like the VUDU movie rental. Been using that each week and sending it to my Chromecast .

Wonderful. Happy for you. But getting a free VUDO movie rental once-a-week or whatever is not why I sign up with a mobile carrier. I sign up with a mobile carrier for... wait for it...

Mobile service!

That means that, ideally, I can go pretty much wherever I want to go and have service. But that isn't happening, for me, because TMO is concentrating more, lately, on flash-and-trash offers than on improving mobile service. My coverage is actually no better than it was when I first signed up about three years ago. Oh, it could be better--if I wanted to buy a TMO-branded phone that was all loaded-up with manufacturer and carrier... sorry, uncarrier cruft. Or a really expensive unlocked phone. But a decent, affordable, unlocked phone. Forget it: No extended LTE and no WiFi calling.

I guess I shouldn't complain. I can get free pizza, so that makes it all better.

 

[Almeuit]

Wonderful. Happy for you. But getting a free VUDO movie rental once-a-week or whatever is not why I sign up with a mobile carrier. I sign up with a mobile carrier for... wait for it...

Mobile service!

That means that, ideally, I can go pretty much wherever I want to go and have service. But that isn't happening, for me, because TMO is concentrating more, lately, on flash-and-trash offers than on improving mobile service. My coverage is actually no better than it was when I first signed up about three years ago. Oh, it could be better--if I wanted to buy a TMO-branded phone that was all loaded-up with manufacturer and carrier... sorry, uncarrier cruft. Or a really expensive unlocked phone. But a decent, affordable, unlocked phone. Forget it: No extended LTE and no WiFi calling.

I guess I shouldn't complain. I can get free pizza, so that makes it all better.

And I get that but where did I say to sign up for T-Mobile simply for the free perks? This thread is talking about the free stuff they give away and that is what I was talking about. Not once did I say "sign up anyway regardless of service" did I?

I am a huge advocate for getting service that works for you. You think I would be with T-Mobile if they weren't excellent in my area? Nope. For me they are tied with Verizon in my area so .. I stay for a cheap bill / unlimited data but I wouldn't stay if it were horrible. I did that once with Sprint for a few months and I left due to not being able to stream things at all. So .. If they don't work simply switch. Why keep giving them money if you hate them so much?

 

[mab4285]

And I get that but where did I say to sign up for T-Mobile simply for the free perks? This thread is talking about the free stuff they give away and that is what I was talking about. Not once did I say "sign up anyway regardless of service" did I?

I am a huge advocate for getting service that works for you. You think I would be with T-Mobile if they weren't excellent in my area? Nope. For me they are tied with Verizon in my area so .. I stay for a cheap bill / unlimited data but I wouldn't stay if it were horrible. I did that once with Sprint for a few months and I left due to not being able to stream things at all. So .. If they don't work simply switch. Why keep giving money if you hate them so much?

Slow Clap. Post of the day.

 

[dpham00]

Precisely.

When TMO first started their series of "uncarrier" initiatives they were doing things that were truly un-carrier-like. Things such as actually encouraging BYOD. Data without exorbitant charges for going over, etc. But lately...? Yeah: Not so much.


Indeed. I don' t need free streaming from selected partners, free movies, pizza or stock in TMO. What I need is solid coverage and a selection of affordable devices with which to take advantage of it.


Wonderful. Happy for you. But getting a free VUDO movie rental once-a-week or whatever is not why I sign up with a mobile carrier. I sign up with a mobile carrier for... wait for it...

Mobile service!

That means that, ideally, I can go pretty much wherever I want to go and have service. But that isn't happening, for me, because TMO is concentrating more, lately, on flash-and-trash offers than on improving mobile service. My coverage is actually no better than it was when I first signed up about three years ago. Oh, it could be better--if I wanted to buy a TMO-branded phone that was all loaded-up with manufacturer and carrier... sorry, uncarrier cruft. Or a really expensive unlocked phone. But a decent, affordable, unlocked phone. Forget it: No extended LTE and no WiFi calling.

I guess I shouldn't complain. I can get free pizza, so that makes it all better.

It's a marketing campaign. All carriers do it. And while it might not be groundbreaking, it is still a nice perk.

Realistically, you can only have so many groundbreaking events... After that, it's just keeping the name in the limelight...T-Mobile is a business after all.

Or you can have Verizon marketing... A corny video by Jamie Foxx. Personally, I would take a free pizza any day.

https://mobile.twitter.com/iamjamiefoxx/status/744679394052956160

 

[LeoRex]

That means that, ideally, I can go pretty much wherever I want to go and have service. But that isn't happening, for me, because TMO is concentrating more, lately, on flash-and-trash offers than on improving mobile service. My coverage is actually no better than it was when I first signed up about three years ago. Oh, it could be better--if I wanted to buy a TMO-branded phone that was all loaded-up with manufacturer and carrier... sorry, uncarrier cruft. Or a really expensive unlocked phone. But a decent, affordable, unlocked phone. Forget it: No extended LTE and no WiFi calling.

How do you know that? T-Mobile has been enhancing their network constantly over the past few years. But they don't (and can't) do it everywhere all at once. They've been rolling out band 12 support in a lot of the regions where they needed to increase blanket coverage... which only helps if you have a phone that supports band 12. If you don't, that's your problem, not T-Mobile's. In my area, I saw two distinct bumps in coverage... one last August when they brought B12 online in an area where I had a totally dead zone (where EVERY carrier had a dead zone for that matter). And another earlier this year where another weak area saw a big bump in coverage when they brought band 12 online on another group of towers.

When i first joined T-Mobile a few years ago, I had a one or two dead spots in the area and a couple of areas where I had a weak signal and dropped down to EDGE speeds. Today? I have full LTE coverage everywhere I go that isn't deep in the bowels of some isolated valley where nothing short of a satphone is going to work (and even that is a crap shoot). So my experience differs from yours by quite a bit.

As for the phones... VoLTE and WiFi Calling aside, there are plenty of affordable, unlocked phones that fully support their network (phone + LTE bands). And if you wanted VoLTE and WFC, the Nexus 5X fully supports those. There may be some other unlocked phones that support those two features as well, but that was the one I know does out of the box. You can't fault T-Mobile for service if you are using a phone that doesn't fully support their network.

 

[Old Stoneface]

And I get that but where did I say to sign up for T-Mobile simply for the free perks?
...
Why keep giving them money if you hate them so much?

I didn't say you did and I didn't say I did. What I wrote was that their recent "uncarrier" initiatives are a big yawn for me.

I can be annoyed with them, can I not?

How do you know that?

How do I know... what? That their network hasn't improved for me in the four years we've been with them? Uhm... because neither my wife nor I are experiencing any better coverage than we were four years ago?

They've been rolling out band 12 support in a lot of the regions where they needed to increase blanket coverage... which only helps if you have a phone that supports band 12. If you don't, that's your problem, not T-Mobile's.

It's a funny thing. Go to a TMO forum and bring up B12 and people will blame lack of B12, or, more accurately, VoLTE functionality on the device manufacturer. Go to a device manufacturer's forum and everybody blames it on TMO. (Qualification process too expensive and painstaking. TMO failure to provide fallback network coverage [2g/3g/HSPA].)

Personally: I blame 'em both.

As for the phones... VoLTE and WiFi Calling aside, there are plenty of affordable, unlocked phones that fully support their network (phone + LTE bands).

You just wrote that they new B12 deployment provided the greatest bump, then write "VoLTE aside..." You can't have B12 enabled without qualifying VoLTE on their network. That's why the Moto G and other devices had their B12 support disabled.

And if you wanted VoLTE and WFC, the Nexus 5X fully supports those.

That's the only one of which I know. I've been researching it for a couple weeks. The only one that's not riddled with manufacturer or carrier bloat, anyway.

You can't fault T-Mobile for service if you are using a phone that doesn't fully support their network.

I can if part of the reason they don't have better device support is the fact they've made it difficult, which is the impression the device manufacturers leave.

Being truly uncarrier-ish would've been bending over backward to help devices makers get their devices qualified for VoLTE so they could take advantage of TMO's "extended LTE network." Instead "free pizza!"

Btw: I'll have you know my wife and I have spent in the neighbourhood of $400 on hardware, plus various & sundry accessories, to do our part to be on TMO's network, over the last two years. Now perhaps, to you and the others, $400 is chump change. But, to us, $400 is real money.

 

[Ry]

Uncarrier is just marketing hype machine. It's working, look at their customer satisfaction ratings.

 

[Ry]

Being truly uncarrier-ish would've been bending over backward to help devices makers get their devices qualified for VoLTE so they could take advantage of TMO's "extended LTE network." Instead "free pizza!"

I'm curious what TMo is charging for VoLTE testing and certification. Instead of jumping through T-Mobile's hoops, OEMs are just disabling Band 12.

 

[Old Stoneface]

Uncarrier is just marketing hype machine. It's working, look at their customer satisfaction ratings.

True, but it also, originally, really was uncarrier-ish moves. Encouraging BYOD, when everbody else was discouraging it. Their roaming--incl. data. Their $10/mo. long-distance thing. Unlimited, throttled, but, unlimited data. Their prices.

But then they seemed to have run out of new ideas. At least new meaningful ideas.

That being said: I don't hate TMO. I'm just annoyed with them, is all.

I'm curious what TMo is charging for VoLTE testing and certification. Instead of jumping through T-Mobile's hoops, OEMs are just disabling Band 12.

No clue. And I don't even know whom to blame with any certainty. Like I said: TMO's comments imply it was manufacturers' choices, and do so in such a way as to imply "don't look at us--wasn't our choice." The device manufacturers imply it was due to TMO's onerous VoLTE certification process.

Even leaving B12 enabled, VoLTE-less, has two stories: TMO's side: "We didn't tell manufacturers they had to disable B12. They chose to. We merely recommended it." Manufacturers: "TMO told us to disable B12 if we weren't going to achieve their VoLTE certification."

Or, at least, those are the stories I've gleaned from what I've read. Problem is: Most of what's been said leaves one to assume a lot, because nobody wants to come right out and say "This is exactly who said what, and why."

Meanwhile the customers are left out in the cold.

Unless they want to buy new devices.

Again.

 

[Almeuit]

I didn't say you did and I didn't say I did. What I wrote was that their recent "uncarrier" initiatives are a big yawn for me.

I can be annoyed with them, can I not?

Oh never said you can't be annoyed -- I just fail to see the logic in paying a company that you seem to dislike each month. I personally wouldn't do it.. Unless it was my only option and I had no other choice.

 

[Ry]

No clue. And I don't even know whom to blame with any certainty. Like I said: TMO's comments imply it was manufacturers' choices, and do so in such a way as to imply "don't look at us--wasn't our choice." The device manufacturers imply it was due to TMO's onerous VoLTE certification process.

Even leaving B12 enabled, VoLTE-less, has two stories: TMO's side: "We didn't tell manufacturers they had to disable B12. They chose to. We merely recommended it." Manufacturers: "TMO told us to disable B12 if we weren't going to achieve their VoLTE certification."

Or, at least, those are the stories I've gleaned from what I've read. Problem is: Most of what's been said leaves one to assume a lot, because nobody wants to come right out and say "This is exactly who said what, and why."

Meanwhile the customers are left out in the cold.

Unless they want to buy new devices.

Again.

At it's core, it's a 911 issue. I just want to know why T-Mobile seems to make it so hard for OEMs to get certified for VoLTE on Band 12 when other carriers - LIKE VERIZON OF ALL PEOPLE, make it easy to enable VoLTE.