T-Mobile question

[alarsen77]

Hi all, we have verizon currently but are thinking about switching to t-mobile. I have heard that t-mobile has gotten a lot better in terms of coverage. I know it really depends on the area you live in as well. I also know there have been threads like this before and have searched them but the info all seems to be from the middle of last year so not sure if things have improved much since then so I wanted to see if I could get some current info from people.

How is the original Pixel on t-mobile? We live in a more populated area and looking at the coverage maps on t-mobile and open signal and root metrics the coverage by our house and the areas we travel most seems to be about the same as verizon if not better. Does the original Pixel support t-mobiles extended LTE I see some reports saying yes others saying no but they were also as of last year. Also has anyone using android messages on t-mobile been able to find the enhanced chat features toggle and turn it on? I have heard that android messages supports this now and it works a lot more like iMessage that way but verizon doesn't support it so wasn't sure if t-mobile does?

 

[amyf27]

Sorry I don't have a Pixel - BUT - I have Tmobile. I live in Northeast Ohio and coverage is great for the most part. There are some spotty areas along the turnpike on my way to work but overall it's great. I love their flexibility on payments you can make towards financed phones and accessories - can pay extra whenever you want on specific devices/accessories and pay off early without any issues. They have been great for me - have had them for about 2 years now.

 

[alarsen77]

Sorry I don't have a Pixel - BUT - I have Tmobile. I live in Northeast Ohio and coverage is great for the most part. There are some spotty areas along the turnpike on my way to work but overall it's great. I love their flexibility on payments you can make towards financed phones and accessories - can pay extra whenever you want on specific devices/accessories and pay off early without any issues. They have been great for me - have had them for about 2 years now.

That's alright the general service stuff is good to hear as well. I am in Northeast PA so not too far from you. So far what I am seeing on multiple coverage maps seems impressive.

 

[alarsen77]

Another concern is updates. Will my phone being a Verizon purchased phone still get updates on the T-Mobile network?

 

[Gdraft#WN]

The wife and I both have pixel XL's on t-mo, Cincinnati.

Came from Verizon. Never looked back. I changed several years ago so am on an older plan, but cut my bill in half.

Coverage in city's and 99% of expressways have excellent coverage. Both of our pixels come in significantly better than our LG's that we had before.

With t-mo you get HD calling, wifi calling and updates directly from Googley.

Unless you live in a van by the river, or a cabin in the woods. Make the switch, you will not be sorry

 

[alarsen77]

The wife and I both have pixel XL's on t-mo, Cincinnati.

Came from Verizon. Never looked back. I changed several years ago so am on an older plan, but cut my bill in half.

Coverage in city's and 99% of expressways have excellent coverage. Both of our pixels come in significantly better than our LG's that we had before.

With t-mo you get HD calling, wifi calling and updates directly from Googley.

Unless you live in a van by the river, or a cabin in the woods. Make the switch, you will not be sorry

That's good to hear. I am hearing a lot of the same that most people are super happy with the switch. There are the few that say they aren't and service is not good but that doesn't seem to be the norm. We definitely don't live in a van by the river but about once a year we do go to a cabin in the woods for a getaway but even Verizon has no service there and it's a getaway so we aren't too concerned about cell service anyway.

We are going to end up cutting our bill in half essentially too. So that is going to be a good thing.

We are going tonight when I get home from work to make the switch.

 

[muzzy996]

When T-Mobile is fast it’s FAST but for me I switched from them to Verizon last summer and I have no intention of going back. The lack of lower cellular frequency channel means indoor signal strength suffers compared to Verizon. T-Mobile purchased lower bands recently but support for that isn’t going to apply to older phones like the original Pixel/XL line. I can’t express how frustrating it is to be indoors in some areas where signal is zero on T-Mobile and the moment you step outside you’re golden. Not fun sitting in some airports waiting for flights and this happens.

 

[alarsen77]

When T-Mobile is fast it’s FAST but for me I switched from them to Verizon last summer and I have no intention of going back. The lack of lower cellular frequency channel means indoor signal strength suffers compared to Verizon. T-Mobile purchased lower bands recently but support for that isn’t going to apply to older phones like the original Pixel/XL line. I can’t express how frustrating it is to be indoors in some areas where signal is zero on T-Mobile and the moment you step outside you’re golden. Not fun sitting in some airports waiting for flights and this happens.

I understand that but if i'm not mistaken as long as there is a wifi signal you can use your phone normally to make calls and get messages on T-Mobile. I know Verizon has wifi calling just not messaging, but my friend who works at T-Mobile said as long as there is wifi you will have no issues.

 

[alarsen77]

When T-Mobile is fast it’s FAST but for me I switched from them to Verizon last summer and I have no intention of going back. The lack of lower cellular frequency channel means indoor signal strength suffers compared to Verizon. T-Mobile purchased lower bands recently but support for that isn’t going to apply to older phones like the original Pixel/XL line. I can’t express how frustrating it is to be indoors in some areas where signal is zero on T-Mobile and the moment you step outside you’re golden. Not fun sitting in some airports waiting for flights and this happens.

Also T-Mobile does currently have the 700mhz Band 12 that is supported by the current pixel. I will end up seeing what it is like in my area.

 

[muzzy996]

Also T-Mobile does currently have the 700mhz Band 12 that is supported by the current pixel. I will end up seeing what it is like in my area.

Good to hear. Wasn’t the case for me here in Hawaii early last summer. WiFi calling would work yes but that all depends on whether or not you have WiFi. Again just giving my perspective here - I commute from island to island here in Hawaii frequently and sit it airports here on a weekly basis with no access to WiFi without paying for it so at the time T-Mobile was a royal PITA for me with the pixel XL. Really frustrating when signal strength fluctuated as if cell towers were strapped to coconut trees swaying in the breeze.

Just curious - what benefit on T-Mobile are you looking to gain by switching?

 

[alarsen77]

Good to hear. Wasn’t the case for me here in Hawaii early last summer. WiFi calling would work yes but that all depends on whether or not you have WiFi. Again just giving my perspective here - I commute from island to island here in Hawaii frequently and sit it airports here on a weekly basis with no access to WiFi without paying for it so at the time T-Mobile was a royal PITA for me with the pixel XL. Really frustrating when signal strength fluctuated as if cell towers were strapped to coconut trees swaying in the breeze.

Just curious - what benefit on T-Mobile are you looking to gain by switching?

The biggest benefit for me is the monthly savings. My now Fiance and I just got engaged and we are trying to save as much money as we can for the wedding/honeymoon. So when I found out T-Mobile would pay off our devices and we get to keep them it was big plus. Also our monthly savings when we factor into account that T-Mobile is also going to pay our Netflix bill is going to save us about $90/month which adds up when saving for a wedding. I am also hoping that the signal works as well as Verizon in our area as the coverage map is full of 4g and my good friend who works at the T-mobile store and lives right by us says the service is great in our area now and he used to complain about not having signal. I am good enough friends with him that he wouldn't just tell me that to make a sale either.

Plus the other bonus is if for some reason the service isn't up to par we only have to stay with T-Mobile for 3 months in order to not get charged back for the device payments so then we could always go back to Verizon or another carrier. So really the biggest gain is getting our devices paid off over a year ahead of time.

 

[muzzy996]

Sounds like a great deal. Definitely worth a try since as you have stated there’s always a possibility of switching to another carrier down the road. Even with the activation fees to start with, with savings as you described you should be saving in just a month or two.

 

[alarsen77]

Sounds like a great deal. Definitely worth a try since as you have stated there’s always a possibility of switching to another carrier down the road. Even with the activation fees to start with, with savings as you described you should be saving in just a month or two.

Definitely. The activation fees aren't going to be bad at all. I'm excited to see how well it works in our area. I will keep you updated.

 

[alarsen77]

Well we switched last night and so far I have no issues or complaints. Works just as well at home and we were out on the area last night. I even traveled into an area this morning where I was sure I would have issues and service was great! We will see if it stays that way but so far I am so happy we switched.

 

[ecvogel]

When T-Mobile is fast it’s FAST but for me I switched from them to Verizon last summer and I have no intention of going back. The lack of lower cellular frequency channel means indoor signal strength suffers compared to Verizon. T-Mobile purchased lower bands recently but support for that isn’t going to apply to older phones like the original Pixel/XL line. I can’t express how frustrating it is to be indoors in some areas where signal is zero on T-Mobile and the moment you step outside you’re golden. Not fun sitting in some airports waiting for flights and this happens.

I thought that was added to the Nexus 6p. Channel 12 I think?

I have had no problems with Tmobile. I noticed text and mms text go out a lot faster with my pixel xl compared to the nexus 6p.
Also don't forget about wifi calling and they sell a Asus router if you want to take it up a notch. It is cheaper with contract. Full cost without. But still cheaper than going to buy the same model at best buy.

 

[muzzy996]

I thought that was added to the Nexus 6p. Channel 12 I think?

I have had no problems with Tmobile. I noticed text and mms text go out a lot faster with my pixel xl compared to the nexus 6p.
Also don't forget about wifi calling and they sell a Asus router if you want to take it up a notch. It is cheaper with contract. Full cost without. But still cheaper than going to buy the same model at best buy.

Asked and answered in post 10 of the thread. Rollout wasn't immediate by any means. Whether it works well now here in Hawaii i don't know.