T-mobile - does it still suck?

[Michael in California]

Considering switching to Ting cellular and they use the T-Mobile network. T-mobile used to suck for rural coverage. How is it now? The coverage maps indicates I should have good local coverage. Ting seems to be quite an inexpensive service compared to our two line ATT plan. Basically I'd half my bill and I don't have data in my current plan. (Yes, I'm a luddite.) Downside is that I have to buy phones outright. The payback is 18 months to break even if I buy a pair of S5 phones. Less time if I buy lesser phones.

For that matter, does anyone use Ting?

[border.bandito]

we have Tmobile and they are as close to awesome as any of these damn big monopoly companies can be. you just have to stay on top of any new promotions they come out with so you can continue to get a good deal consistently.
i've never heard of Ting, but i would recommend you go with Tmobile directly. plus they dont charge you upfront for your phone, so if you get a S5, you will paying small monthly installments for it, instead of upfront.

[Heiko]

T-Mobile started the current trend of aggressive discounts on cell phone plans so they have gotten a lot of attention. My wife and I were talking about jumping from Verizon to T-Mobile. I think the ultimately the carriers get you one way or the other, either by the contract and handset subsidy or by charging you the full tilt for the handset.

As far as coverage, I happened to read a Facebook post asking about T-Mobile's coverage and most replies were very negative. One major issue is that T-Mobile had to dial down the voice bandwidth in order to achieve 4G data speeds so people complain about bad voice quality and losing the signal entirely when indoors. I don't know all the technical details but this was the idiot's version I gleaned. I'm sure that coverage may vary from area to area and I also read that T-Mobile has been upgrading their infrastructure significantly. Some opinions are summed up by the statement that T-Mobile is the number four carrier for a reason.

I'm curious to read others' opinions too.

[watevers1]

sub'd

i am currently looking to switch from verizon to t-mobile as well and have these same questions.

[Michael in California]

I'll leave this thread for others, but I was mis-informed. Ting cellular uses Sprint. I guess I'll start a new thread on Sprint.

So, I'm and idiot, I guess...

[Joe]

Sprint is terrible. Probably the worst service. The data speed is embarrassing. T mobile is ridiculously awesome.

[MontClaire]

t mobile ain't no at freaking t but it works just fine. I made a switch and like it.

[sd_shooter]

Too bad.

T-mobile is the best deal, I pay $80/month for two lines including all fees & taxes. If my life/profession depended on it, I'd go with Verizon, but for casual use T-mobile is hard to beat.

[freonr22]

they do suck price wise but have been with verizon for 5 years and love it. its expensive, but my stuff works. happy with customer service... i wish i knew of a better alternative

[rman]

on your current phone, dowbload a service app and see how they compare in your area

ETA
i used "coverage map" for android.

Sent from my Nokia 5160 using Snake

[DaveInOroValley]

We are going to go with the T-Mobile this time as in our area (fairly rural) they get the best out of all others available in our area AT&T being the absolute worst both in coverage and customer service.

[livinlocal]

We are going to go with the T-Mobile this time as in our area (fairly rural) they get the best out of all others available in our area AT&T being the absolute worst both in coverage and customer service.

Strange cuz I used to live in a rural area, and only my friends with tmobile and AT&T got service...

[wc12]

The best way to find out is to borrow a phone from friends to see how many signal bars you have in your area. If you are going for T-Mobile and if you have an unlocked GSM phone, get a prepaid sim card (with 10minutes included) and try it out to see if you have good coverage in your area.

The coverage map they have at the stores are mostly for marketing purposes. They may show good coverage but there are different bandwidths to get good LTE. That "good" coverage may just be for voice and not data. Also, that coverage (if voice) may only be good for outdoor, and you may have bad coverage inside your house. A coverage map will not guarantee that you will have good coverage inside your house.

[kelvin232]

+1 for awesome

[SammieT]

T mobile sucks. I had them for 3 days of service. Told me I passed my 10 gig Internet limit and told me to pay or upgrade to unlimited. Stopped services right away and they tried to make me pay a lame high bill as well. Never going back to them. Went to verzion instead