Have always had verizon and never have really had any problems with them, other than cost. I've historically kind of looked down on the discount carriers like T Mobile assuming that you get what you pay for. However, T Mobile seems to have rolled out a pretty good military discount lately that has me thinking about switching my two lines from Verizon to T Mobile. Wanted to reach out here to see if anyone has first hand experience with T Mobile service, does it really come down to where you live?

I've had T-Mobile for 5 years in Houston. Has been good servicesuntil today. Apparently their network throughout Houston is currently down.

Otherwise its been fine and I'm glad I haven't paid extra for Verizon or ATT the past few years.

https://www.click2houston.com/news/t-mobile-customers-report-massive-outage-in-houston-area

T-Mobile put $8.8 billion dollars into their network last year. They are right there with Verizon when rated by 3rd party reviewers. I made the switch from AT&T to T-Mobile when they started the military discount last month. I've been very happy with T-Mobile. We pay $113/month (including all fees) for 5 lines and the premium Netflix.

The true difference between them and Verizon is with some of the rural areas. However, T-Mobile is making a big push to expand into rural America (you can see the difference in T-Mobile's network coverage from 2015 to present on their website).

yeah I was just looking at that, I'm a bit nervous because when I drop a pin on my house it says "Fair Signal: Cell reception outdoors and occasionally indoors" Don't really feel like going outside whenever I need to make a call.

It is a $25 activation fee and they will give you a different number before you port your other one over. Sign up (there is no contract), try it for a few days with their SIM card, then cancel if it doesn't work out. If it does work out, add your second line and port both numbers over. Worst case, you are out $80 or so.

I have been with T-Mobile for 15+ years after leaving Verizon.

Verizon had the WORST customer service I have ever experienced in my life.

T-Mobile was the polar opposite.

There have been times in very rural areas where T-Mo was lacking but they have greatly improved over the last 2 or 3 years.

If you or your folks are over 55 I highly recommend their 55+ plan. 2 lines unlimited everything for $60 includes taxes.

I've never had Verizon, but I did switch to T-Mobile a year ago after 19 years with AT&T (and the companies that preceded them).

In my area, the call quality is equal and the data speeds are 10x faster than what I would routinely get with AT&T.

I regret not changing sooner.

Jock 07 said:

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yeah I was just looking at that, I'm a bit nervous because when I drop a pin on my house it says "Fair Signal: Cell reception outdoors and occasionally indoors" Don't really feel like going outside whenever I need to make a call.

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Free 4g cell tower for your house if you have an internet connection it can plug into. All 3 houses on my plan have one. Just call them up and ask for it.

T-Mobile''s wi-fi calling works flawlessly.

I recently switched my personal phone to Tmobile. Work phone is on AT&T. I've lost count of how many times I've had to bail out my work phone by tethering it via wifi to my other phone to be able to email from within a building. I used to look down on Tmobile too. Not any more... they are the real deal. The free Gogo access is a nice perk too, if you travel a lot.

Jock 07 said:

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yeah I was just looking at that, I'm a bit nervous because when I drop a pin on my house it says "Fair Signal: Cell reception outdoors and occasionally indoors" Don't really feel like going outside whenever I need to make a call.

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WiFi calling man...

akaggie05 said:

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I recently switched my personal phone to Tmobile. Work phone is on AT&T. I've lost count of how many times I've had to bail out my work phone by tethering it via wifi to my other phone to be able to email from within a building. I used to look down on Tmobile too. Not any more... they are the real deal. The free Gogo access is a nice perk too, if you travel a lot.

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Free Gogo is nice and I was pleasantly surprised it's 1 hour per flight and not per day.

More benefit is if you travel out of the country. It's awesome as you land on foreign soil and the first text you receive is "welcome to transylvaniaville in the middle of bumf+++ continent. Your tmobile service will work just like it does at home!"

AggieDruggist89 said:

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akaggie05 said:

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I recently switched my personal phone to Tmobile. Work phone is on AT&T. I've lost count of how many times I've had to bail out my work phone by tethering it via wifi to my other phone to be able to email from within a building. I used to look down on Tmobile too. Not any more... they are the real deal. The free Gogo access is a nice perk too, if you travel a lot.

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Free Gogo is nice and I was pleasantly surprised it's 1 hour per flight and not per day.

More benefit is if you travel out of the country. It's awesome as you land on foreign soil and the first text you receive is "welcome to transylvaniaville in the middle of bumf+++ continent. Your tmobile service will work just like it does at home!"

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Only texts and data but calling is super cheap too. I actually used google hangouts over data to make my calls while in germany and spent less than $5 the whole 2 week trip.

The only place I've been where Verizon outperformed T Mobile was upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. If you normally travel any of those places I would stay with Verizon. Otherwise switch.

FatZilla said:

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Only texts and data but calling is super cheap too. I actually used google hangouts over data to make my calls while in germany and spent less than $5 the whole 2 week trip.

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And calls to US # is free, I think.

Negative. They have a fixed per-minute rate for all calls placed within a country, regardless of the number called. On the Oneplus plans, most countries seem to be 20c per minute. Smaller, less developed countries can creep up into the multiple dollars per minute category. Mexico and Canada are included for free, however.

akaggie05 said:

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Negative. They have a fixed per-minute rate for all calls placed within a country, regardless of the number called. On the Oneplus plans, most countries seem to be 20c per minute. Smaller, less developed countries can creep up into the multiple dollars per minute category. Mexico and Canada are included for free, however.

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I had no charges on our bill for the calls to each other (my family traveling with me) in Europe but the calls to local number did have $0.20 per min charge.

Or you can always Whatsapp it.

I did notice the highest quality streaming you get is only 480p

Jock 07 said:

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I did notice the highest quality streaming you get is only 480p

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That is if you're not on wifi to binge on and not use data. You can alway stream at1080p but then it will count towards data.

I have a 6GB plan that's no longer offered. So I don't know with unlimited if they cap it at 480p.

Having said that, 480p is fine on a phone screen.

Are you on a One (or One Plus) plan? I wonder if there is an exception for mobile to mobile that still has effect when roaming intl?

AggieDruggist89 said:

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Jock 07 said:

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I did notice the highest quality streaming you get is only 480p

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That is if you're not on wifi to binge on and not use data. You can alway stream at1080p but then it will count towards data.

I have a 6GB plan that's no longer offered. So I don't know with unlimited if they cap it at 480p.

Having said that, 480p is fine on a phone screen.

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No cap, no limit on quality for one plus. You can disable HD video per line in account settings if you want to limit it to 480p. You do have the "kickback" perk if a line uses under 2gb that cycle they give you $10 off your bill.

AggieDruggist89 said:

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The biggest mistake T-mobile made is when they retired the tmobile girl.

I curse the day?!!!

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Carly Foulkes.

We've been on t-mobile for several years now, it was a bit spotty back when we moved to it, but is fantastic now. Verizon was a garbage carrier with terrible coverage in the early 2000s. Mid-2000s they made a huge push to build out their network, and they did so on a gamble using LTE instead of HPSA+. It worked for them and they became essentially the standard carrier for businesses to use. T-mobile has been making that same kind of push the last few years and their network is catching up in a big way. Rural coverage isn't as good, but for cities and interstates it's really no different.

My daughter just returned from 6 months overseas with the T-Mobile one plan. It worked great in 10 different countries. There is a 20 cent per minute call expense, unless she called with wifi calling, then it was free. Of course, she could call with WhatsApp or FaceTime and it was data only and free. The downside is that she had a blow out an hour outside of Memphis two days ago, and the T-Mobile signal was there, but not great.

I work in a rural area and comparing coverage maps t mobile has maybe 20% of the coverage Verizon does in that area.

94chem said:

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AggieDruggist89 said:

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The biggest mistake T-mobile made is when they retired the tmobile girl.

I curse the day?!!!

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Carly Foulkes.

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Talmbout!

kb2001 said:

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We've been on t-mobile for several years now, it was a bit spotty back when we moved to it, but is fantastic now. Verizon was a garbage carrier with terrible coverage in the early 2000s. Mid-2000s they made a huge push to build out their network, and they did so on a gamble using LTE instead of HPSA+. It worked for them and they became essentially the standard carrier for businesses to use. T-mobile has been making that same kind of push the last few years and their network is catching up in a big way. Rural coverage isn't as good, but for cities and interstates it's really no different.

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They couldn't do HSPA+ as their existing network was CDMA. For GSM carriers (ATT/TMO), HSPA+ was a simple stop gap to get to LTE. So there was no gamble.

T-Mobile also a special. Free iPhone 8 with purchase of an iPhone 8 or iPhone X.

I'm really thinking about switching to T-Mobile from Verizon. I saw the iphone deal, anyone know of any other deals or advice how to make the switch?

I am thinking about making the switch too from Verizon to TMobile. The military and retired military deal is much cheaper than anything available from Verizon. But, I am continuing to research TMobile cell coverage versus Verizon and if my iphone 6 plus and iphone 6 purchased through Verizon will work ok on the TMobile network.

Jason Ag said:

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I'm really thinking about switching to T-Mobile from Verizon. I saw the iphone deal, anyone know of any other deals or advice how to make the switch?

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Just take your unlocked phones into a T-Mobile store and they will help you switch. When they port the numbers over, it cancels your old service immediately.

GAP76 said:

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I am thinking about making the switch too from Verizon to TMobile. The military and retired military deal is much cheaper than anything available from Verizon. But, I am continuing to research TMobile cell coverage versus Verizon and if my iphone 6 plus and iphone 6 purchased through Verizon will work ok on the TMobile network.

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Just follow Verizon's steps for unlocking your iPhones and they will work (if not already unlocked).

I believe all Verizon iPhones after 5 are sold unlocked, so you should be fine.

FatZilla said:

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AggieDruggist89 said:

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Jock 07 said:

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I did notice the highest quality streaming you get is only 480p

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That is if you're not on wifi to binge on and not use data. You can alway stream at1080p but then it will count towards data.

I have a 6GB plan that's no longer offered. So I don't know with unlimited if they cap it at 480p.

Having said that, 480p is fine on a phone screen.

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No cap, no limit on quality for one plus. You can disable HD video per line in account settings if you want to limit it to 480p. You do have the "kickback" perk if a line uses under 2gb that cycle they give you $10 off your bill.

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I believe the "Kickback" deal has ended on new lines. If you are on it now, you'll stay on it fine (at least for now), but they quietly ended it for new enrollments.

Comparing the coverage maps of the area I work in, T-Mobile is a joke. Wish it had the coverage Verizon does, because Verizon is expensive.