Thinking about switching from VZW to T-Mo - But hesitant

[Garemlin]

First I will say I am not unhappy with VZW service. It is excellent. The issue is we have zero internet options where I live and going on three years it's getting old. So I was looking at switching to T-Mo unlimited and adding the $25 unlimited 4g hotspot upgrade.

Here is the problem. I live in Delaware. Out in the sticks. According to the T-Mo map we should be getting excellent coverage. But they gave me a sim card to try out the service and not getting stellar reception. In my house I'm getting one to two bars and barley 3mps down on speed test. Outside I get about 7 to 8mps. With VZW I'm getting around 50mps inside and over 100mps outside. Tried streaming some videos on YouTube on the T card and could barely stream at 480p without buffering. 1080p laughed at me. This will not do and would totally defeat the purpose of this switch. I was also going to bring my mom onto our plan to save her some money. She lives about 40 miles south of me. Inside her apartment, which is on the exterior of the building, I got barely 3mps. Could not easily load any web pages on my phone. Lots of lag.

So the guy at T-Mo suggested a signal booster and told me I could have it with the deposit waved. Has anyone tried one of these signal boosters offered by T-Mo?? And if so what were your results?? I hate to go through the effort of making this switch and be completely disappointed and frustrated.


Tap'd from my 7+

 

[pc747]

I'm definitely not saying stay Verizon but if you're needing a signal booster then you know off the bat you are going to get poor signal. So at this point you have to decide between vzw's constant gouging vs possible poor reliability.

Me personally I use my phone more now because I catch up on a lot of my shows at the gym on the treadmill during my evening workouts (morning workouts are the go all out workouts and evenings are the light cardio). So for me I want decent coverage that works. Coverage maps are one thing but on the ground is another.

I personally do not live in Delaware but some people have expressed frustration once they switched to a service that required a signal booster.

I'm curious to hear from other members on here who switched to TMO.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[Sajo]

I don't have any experience with T-Mo or their network extenders, but we did have to use a Verizon network extender for a year or so at the building where I work. It was OK. It did seem to give us better cell signal, I don't remember that model doing anything for data though. Calls seemed to be better, when it worked. From what I remember we had to reboot it often and make quite a few calls to tech support to keep it running correctly. Luckily VZW & AT&T added some new towers nearby and we stopped using the extender. That's a tough decision. I'm not sure I would jump into a new provider knowing I needed a network extender. That's just me though. I hope whatever you decide works out good for you.

 

[LoudRam]

We just switched from VZ to T-Mo because of their price too. I live in Southern NJ and signal strength is not an issue. I have more bars with T-Mo than VZ here at home. I don't get a signal in the middle of my local Wal-Mart but I do get one near the exits and garden center. That's a slight annoyance but I get a great signal everywhere else so I can't comment on signal boosters. I'm glad I switched. I now have unlimited data for the same price I was paying for VZ's small data plan.

 

[bkdodger]

It's a tough call but I guess you could try the extender with the sim they gave you for a bit before you decide... I would use a phone for a few days or week before I switch...

Pixel 2 XL

 

[lloydstrans]

I switched from AT$T a long time ago in search of a more reliable stable signal, VZW won. 99% of my calls work. No more running outside standing in the 4 foot circle that worked with the AT$T phones. But, honestly I couldn't even consider giving up the reception I get now for a spottier provider. My dos pesos. Oh, and the data speeds I get, golly gee willakers.

 

[LoudRam]

Check out this YouTube video. Guy had same problem in CA. Got a T-Mo extender and he's happy.

 

[Bluestar1983]

Before switching, make sure the areas you utilize the phone most (where you live and work, for eg.) have good TMobile reception. If that works out, you should be golden. Two things I like best about it is the cost and unlimited streaming on apps. like Pandora.

 

[pc747]

I just switched to T-Mobile last week.

 

[LoudRam]

I haven't regretted switching at all. I love T-Mo.

 

[prime]

I do wonder when the T-Mobile/Sprint merger goes through how will this work to improve the network as a whole, being one of GSM and the other is CDMA.

 

[JiveTurkee]

If you travel alot, stick w/Verizon.

If you stay in one area alot and the signal is strong go to T-Mobile.

All depends on your personal and work needs.

I don't travel much and my T-Mobile service is great where I work and live.

I travelled to a campground in the mountains for my son's scout troop last year. The phone reception was non existant for T-Mobile. One of the other parents had Verizon and they were able to make calls and text. (They had to go to a certain area of the campground but they were able to call and text). I had to wait until I reached the next town and then all my texts came flooding in.