Just got N4, trying out T-Mobile

[CoMoNexus]

I've had TMO's $30 100 minute plan since February. My only complaints are about TMO's billing system and customer service. Its speeds and coverage are great in cities and suburbs.

 

[pontiac005]

I have enjoyed my $30 T-Mobile prepaid plan, but the one thing I hated about it was when a took a trip to Michigan the other week, it switched to roaming and I had zero data access everywhere I went except the city of Grand Rapids. Never really had an issue calling just no data.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 running Android 4.3

 

[pontiac005]

I have enjoyed my $30 T-Mobile prepaid plan, but the one thing I hated about it was when I took a trip to Michigan the other week, it switched to roaming and I had zero data access everywhere I went except the city of Grand Rapids. Never really had an issue calling just no data. That is when I wished I had Verizon.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 running Android 4.3

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 running Android 4.3

 

[Google_Superuser]

My biggest issue with T-Mobile is

1. Building penetration. I get edge inside my house and 5 feet out the door I get LTE. This is the case in most buildings
2. Call volume is crazy low when reception is bad. This has caused me a couple embarassing mixups because I couldn't hear the caller.
3. Most of the time it's on HSPA/HSPA+.......but those speeds are still pretty good so it's not a big deal.
4. When reception is bad (i.e. in my house) and you are texting long conversations there is often a huge delay and if you have too much back and forth its starts coming in and sending out of order (really annoying)

I have basically given up on the call and text part and I am just using Google Voice and Hangouts for that. 4G data connection is reliable enough outside, and most of the time if I am inside somewhere with bad reception I can use wifi.

The pro is data works pretty well when I do have reception. Basically every network level from Edge to LTE has better speeds than ATT at the same level.

The above was true both with my N4 and current S4 GPE. It is worth noting however that grooveip did require some tweaking of echo settings with the Nexus 4 to get it sounding right. Good to keep in mind for anyone considering that option.

 

[MalachyNG]

My biggest issue with T-Mobile is

1. Building penetration. I get edge inside my house and 5 feet out the door I get LTE. This is the case in most buildings
2. Call volume is crazy low when reception is bad. This has caused me a couple embarassing mixups because I couldn't hear the caller.
3. Most of the time it's on HSPA/HSPA+.......but those speeds are still pretty good so it's not a big deal.
4. When reception is bad (i.e. in my house) and you are texting long conversations there is often a huge delay and if you have too much back and forth its starts coming in and sending out of order (really annoying)

I have basically given up on the call and text part and I am just using Google Voice and Hangouts for that. 4G data connection is reliable enough outside, and most of the time if I am inside somewhere with bad reception I can use wifi.

The pro is data works pretty well when I do have reception. Basically every network level from Edge to LTE has better speeds than ATT at the same level.

That's why I tested it out for a month before committing. Since I live in a metro area everything is HSPA+ here. I don't drop to EDGE really ever. I get strong signal in my apartment and most everywhere at work. In fact I only have 1 extra dead spot at work where Verizon doesn't also have a dead spot. Both have a dead spot in one elevator bank in the back of the building. I did some traveling and EDGE was pretty hard to swallow but I was in a rural area where Verizon has a near monopoly - not much I could do about that.

I haven't had any dropped calls. I talk to my wife about 30min a day when driving home from work and the call quality pretty much the same as Verizon.

Data has been good. I have noticed a slight lag when it will go from "3G" to "H" which to me makes sense because it won't use HSPA until it needs the data and that saves battery. Speeds have been good.

I don't text. Like, ever. I had only 100 texts a month on Verizon so I got in the habit of texting via google voice. My wife and I have been using GTalk/hangouts exclusively since we both got android phones. I actually find it much more convenient than texting, especially when I was walking around with 2 phones last month. I could respond with my galaxy nexus, nexus 4, nexus 7 or on my computer through trillian, gmail or google+. Sure there are apps that will bridge the gaps so I can respond to a text via my tablet or computer but I've gotten along fine with Hangouts.

 

[CoMoNexus]

I have enjoyed my $30 T-Mobile prepaid plan, but the one thing I hated about it was when a took a trip to Michigan the other week, it switched to roaming and I had zero data access everywhere I went except the city of Grand Rapids. Never really had an issue calling just no data.

Thanks. I might vacation up there this fall, so I appreciate hearing about your experiences.