Thinking about Jumping ship (from Verizon to Tmobile)?? [Archive]

jungleland

10-06-2006, 04:45 PM

I am thinking about leaving Verizon. They are just too damn expensive and they
cripple every phone. We currently pay about 160 dollars per month (incl. taxes and fees) for two lines with 1400 minutes and one blackberry plan..THAT'S IT!

I can go to Tmobile and get TWO!!, that's right TWO unlimited blackberry plans and 700 shared minutes with the 5 favorites ( for calls to any network) deal for 100 bucks....

Someone tell me why I should not jump ship and save about 38% per month off of my current verizon setup and GET MORE..

Is Tmobile really still that bad that I need to be sticking with Verizon...I am in NYC, so I should not have to worry about coverage?

controlair

10-06-2006, 04:55 PM

yes T-Mobile is still bad. Please trust me. I manage 330 cellular lines under Cingular at work and I probably have spent 100 more times of time and effort than you did, considering to jump ship to T-Mobile. We even open 10 lines and compare everything side by side with Cingular lines.

The result it, T-Mobile sucks in reception, sound quality, coverage, data, how often calls got dropped or don't receive phone call when the signal bar shows full. I gaurantee it will be the beginnign of nightmare if you switch.

Well, speaking of GPRS there is almost no difference than Cingular, but they are very late in implemanting 3G netowrk.

Click on this link to see news:
(I am not allowed to post URL before I have made 10 posts, but go to cnet dot com, and seach news by this thread: T-Mobile outlines plans for 3G network

JSanders

10-06-2006, 05:33 PM

Hmm.. well, I am not in New Yark City, but I have TMo and have had since they entered the market down here (10 yrs plus) and don't have a problem with them. I get a call dropped here and there due to the hilly nature of our city, driving through cuts in the mountain, etc., but overall good service. I have a co-worker I travel with who has Verizon and we often compare signal strength, reception, etc., and there's really very little difference between us.

But then again, this is Alabama--not New York City. We could just have a more advanced network down here.

Dubdub

10-06-2006, 05:40 PM

Looking at coverages in general, both Cingular and Verizon have better coverage than T-Mo. That being said, T-Mo usually does fine in the major metropolitan areas, so my guess is it should be good in NYC. I know my Cingular BB works well in the city in most areas. You do get an occaisional lost signal due tot he tall buildings, but those are few and far between.

But you also need to look at where you live and where you travel. Make sure T-Mo is good there also. Low rates and sexy phones do you no good if you don't have service.

WIKID3

10-06-2006, 05:41 PM

I'm in the D.C. area and I can tell you that I dropped Cingular to get T- Mobile. The coverage is very similar, but my T-Mobile phone is a little better in my estimation. My wife and son have Verizon and it is good, very good...but I haven't run into situations where my phone hasn't worked. I travel periodically, in West Va. 2 weeks ago and it worked fine, in Roanoke last week and it worked fine. T-Mobile is not the same service it was 5 or 6 years ago...they have obviously improved. I too manage my company phones and we have contracts with Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint. Sprint is the only carrier we have issues with and therefore will be losing 70 phones in December. Take a test run for 14 days, don't port your number until you feel that T-Mobile will work for you. Good Luck.

ndub33

10-06-2006, 05:43 PM

Go to T-Mobile.com and do a coverage check for the areas you use your phone in most frequently-industry analyists have given this some very high praise for being an accuarte and honest assesment of T-mobile coverage.

drgoodtymes

10-06-2006, 05:44 PM

I know this doesn't help much, but out here in California and in my drive across half the country from California to Kansas, T-Mobile beat out Verizon hands down in over all coverage. Plus you can't beat the cost. IMHO T-Mobile is the way to go, and I sell both Carrier's out of my store.

kevinmg

10-06-2006, 05:51 PM

i just switched from Verizon to TMO - to me, TMO wins hands down. it actually has better reception at my home in WI and in Chicago, and everyone is telling me my calls are much clearer now than they were with VZW...oh, and i'm also saving $35/mn over VZW - so i agree, Verizon is just plain expensive - and in my experience, less reliable.

jungleland

10-06-2006, 05:54 PM

I'm in the D.C. area and I can tell you that I dropped Cingular to get T- Mobile. The coverage is very similar, but my T-Mobile phone is a little better in my estimation. My wife and son have Verizon and it is good, very good...but I haven't run into situations where my phone hasn't worked. I travel periodically, in West Va. 2 weeks ago and it worked fine, in Roanoke last week and it worked fine. T-Mobile is not the same service it was 5 or 6 years ago...they have obviously improved. I too manage my company phones and we have contracts with Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint. Sprint is the only carrier we have issues with and therefore will be losing 70 phones in December.
Take a test run for 14 days, don't port your number until you feel that T-Mobile will work for you. Good Luck.

the only problem is that if you put more than 30 minutes on the phone, then you have to pay for it...Or is there a way to clear the call timer on the BB? I know I can do it on my 7130e and 8703e, but, on the pearl, you can do that too, no?

WIKID3

10-06-2006, 06:04 PM

the only problem is that if you put more than 30 minutes on the phone, then you have to pay for it...Or is there a way to clear the call timer on the BB? I know I can do it on my 7130e and 8703e, but, on the pearl, you can do that too, no?
I don't think that is true with T-Mobile, I may be wrong I will let the experts advise. I think that is true for Rogers Wireless, and I know Nextel use to be like that but I don't think T-Mobile is. I'm sure that someone with more knowledge than me can answer that for you....stay tuned.

kasperapd

10-06-2006, 06:28 PM

I made the jump from Verizon to T-Mobile. I too was tired of paying $45 a month for unlimited data when I could get it for $20 a month at T-Mobile. Now I understand that EDGE is not nearly as fast as EVDO, but I just lightly surf the web, and primarily use it for email and other messaging services. I made the switch and was able to get my wife a BB with unlimited data, and its still cheaper than what I was paying on Verizon for one BB. I don't have to worry much about coverage since I'm in a large city, all carriers have pretty good coverage here. I'd say that if you have good coverage where you're going to need it, and the EDGE/EVDO speed difference doesn't matter to you, then make the switch. It may be worth paying the early term fees, or if you have had lots of problems like I had, we complained enough that they refunded us the early term fees.

jungleland

10-06-2006, 06:36 PM

I made the jump from Verizon to T-Mobile. I too was tired of paying $45 a month for unlimited data when I could get it for $20 a month at T-Mobile. Now I understand that EDGE is not nearly as fast as EVDO, but I just lightly surf the web, and primarily use it for email and other messaging services. I made the switch and was able to get my wife a BB with unlimited data, and its still cheaper than what I was paying on Verizon for one BB. I don't have to worry much about coverage since I'm in a large city, all carriers have pretty good coverage here. I'd say that if you have good coverage where you're going to need it, and the EDGE/EVDO speed difference doesn't matter to you, then make the switch. It may be worth paying the early term fees, or if you have had lots of problems like I had,
we complained enough that they refunded us the early term fees.

yes, but the problem now is that they are saying that if they even grant me the early termination for the major and still yet un fixed problems I have had with multiple blackberrys, that they will just excuse my early term fee, not my GF's..and we are on a family share plan...WTF? are they kidding?

kasperapd

10-06-2006, 06:39 PM

I had several lines on a family plan, only one was a BB, and they excused all of them.

lmlloyd

10-06-2006, 07:12 PM

the only problem is that if you put more than 30 minutes on the phone, then you have to pay for it...Or is there a way to clear the call timer on the BB? I know I can do it on my 7130e and 8703e, but, on the pearl, you can do that too, no?

I don't even understand what you are saying here. There is no special charge on T-Mobile for calls over 30 minutes, if that is what you are saying. I regularly will talk on my T-Mobile line for over an hour, and if I don't use up my anytime minutes, then there is no extra charge. In fact, between my 1000 anytime minutes, unlimited nights and weekends, I have yet to have a T-Mobile bill that was a penny over the base rate.

As far as the main topic goes, it is really going to depend on coverage in your area. I have been with T-Mobile since 2002, and I have yet to have a single dropped call. I have had a few calls that started getting garbled, and I had to hang-up and call back, but I have never seen a single mobile provider where that never ever happened. I have, however, never had it drop a call. That said, here in LA, the T-Mobile coverage is pretty solid just about everywhere except the areas where no one gets signal, like the subway or in some of the valleys between hills.

shaqinsactown

10-06-2006, 07:30 PM

If you live on the west coast you should pick Cingular, if you're on the east coast pick T-Mobile. If you care about getting the fastest data network then pick Cingular or Verizon. If you care strictly about costs then get T-Mobile, they are probably the cheapest blackberry solution around, but you may get spotty coverage. There is a valid reason why they are the first to jump on the UMA bandwagon... because they know their coverage is spotty.

WIKID3

10-06-2006, 07:37 PM

I don't even understand what you are saying here. There is no special charge on T-Mobile for calls over 30 minutes, if that is what you are saying. I regularly will talk on my T-Mobile line for over an hour, and if I don't use up my anytime minutes, then there is no extra charge. In fact, between my 1000 anytime minutes, unlimited nights and weekends, I have yet to have a T-Mobile bill that was a penny over the base rate.

As far as the main topic goes, it is really going to depend on coverage in your area. I have been with T-Mobile since 2002, and I have yet to have a single dropped call. I have had a few calls that started getting garbled, and I had to hang-up and call back, but I have never seen a single mobile provider where that never ever happened. I have, however, never had it drop a call. That said, here in LA, the T-Mobile coverage is pretty solid just about everywhere except the areas where no one gets signal, like the subway or in some of the valleys between hills.
Let me clarify: Back in the day, I know this to be true with Nextel.....you had 14 days to try service, BUT you couldn't exceed 30 minutes of air time or you would have to purchase the phone. I believed Nextel was the last carrier to drop this ridiculous program, but read recently that Rogers may still do this. That is what he meant by his statement of 30 minutes. Back on topic.....

jungleland

10-06-2006, 07:54 PM

Let me clarify: Back in the day, I know this to be true with Nextel.....you had 14 days to try service, BUT you couldn't exceed 30 minutes of air time or you would have to purchase the phone. I believed Nextel was the last carrier to drop this ridiculous program, but read recently that Rogers may still do this. That is what he meant by his statement of 30 minutes. Back on topic.....

correct...However, this 30 minute restriction is imposed by wirefly.com, not tmobile..I can get the pearl there for free..

WIKID3

10-06-2006, 10:00 PM

Okay, in that case take a look at T-Mobile's site and review the coverage map. You can even put your home address in to see what kind of reception you would have. If it looks good buy the phone from wirefly. I think you will be okay. Do you have any friends on T-Mobile? Maybe you could ask them how it works in your area.

aristobrat

10-06-2006, 11:09 PM

T-Mobile is not the same service it was 5 or 6 years ago...they have obviously improved.
Right. Some folks aren't aware that T-Mobile grew its network coverage by 56% last year just by signing roaming agreements with other carriers. It's still bringing up 1000+ new towers of its own every quarter.

IMO, there isn't a significant difference in coverage between any of the top carriers now, which is probably why they're running ads about the reliability of their networks now vs. "how large" they area.

This week T-Mobile ditched it's "Get More" slogan, so I'm wondering if they're planning on upping their prices??

jattila4

10-07-2006, 03:17 AM

I have T-Mobile and Love it. I live in a smallll town, with no T-Mobile in it. Closest one is 2 hours away. I get perfect reception, full bars almost everywhere in my town, and edge everywhere. I pay a great rate and get great customer service. I say go for T-Mo! Plus you save so much money.

flash24

10-07-2006, 05:00 AM

I switched from Verizon to Tmobile and payed a Hefty fine but it's all worth it.. here are my reasons.

1. T-mobile have great, cool phones (bb 8700g, pearl ahem)
2. T-mobile is cheaper than verizon and cingular. I'm only paying $59.99 for 1000 min, unlimited text and data.
3. T-mobile have unlimited text messaging package, don't know if other carriers have this package.
4. Although, I have to admit that Verizon have a fantastic signal.. Tmobile's signal in my area is not that bad I mean I hardly drop any calls or lost signal. For what I'm paying for this is well worth it.
5. T-mobile Catherine Zeta Jones (well they used to have her lol), Verizon this nerdy guy goin around askin "can you hear me now"
6. All my family have tmobile.

That's it! Hope you make the right decision :D

jungleland

10-07-2006, 08:47 AM

thanks for the reply guys...

I can get the pearl for free from wirefly..but the 8700g is 299...go figure. anyway, does tmobile have GPS enabled on either device?

I now see that the Pearl is GPS enabled...Might it be the 4.2 OS? When the 4.2 OS comes out for the 8700, that should do the trick no?

Stinsonddog

10-07-2006, 10:15 AM

jungleland

10-07-2006, 10:18 AM

These are all great reasons. If you don't travel alot on business this makes alot of sense. VZ and Cingular do have the broadest networks. TM is more limited in that it doesnt have the 850 gsm spectrum so you roam alot, but if you are staying put everyone should think about this.

I travel rarely on business..I have a home in Palm Beach, and I go there to relax...Other than that, I just take a few road trips through NJ, PA and NY...that's really it...Does that sound like it should be a problem?

Stinsonddog

10-07-2006, 10:23 AM

I travel rarely on business..I have a home in Palm Beach, and I go there to relax...Other than that, I just take a few road trips through NJ, PA and NY...that's really it...Does that sound like it should be a problem?

TM actually has pretty decent drill down coverage maps. Check them out on their site. What you need to know is that if any TM signal is present the phone will try to hold it even if a stronger roaming signal is there. If you have good coverage where you are then it sounds like a good move. I would look closely at the places where you are going to spend the most time.

takeshi

10-07-2006, 09:33 PM

Someone tell me why I should not jump ship and save about 38% per month off of my current verizon setup and GET MORE..

I'm not saying that you shouldn't but you should check out real world coverage during the trial period with TMO. The coverage maps really don't mean much as they cannot account for factors that will affect actual coverage. If they're sufficient, there's no reason not to switch.

trustworthy

10-07-2006, 10:02 PM

I have T-Mo is Washington DC and call quality and coverage are excellent. CS is excellent. Unless you go to rural areas you should be happy.

Roughtrader

10-07-2006, 10:31 PM

T moble is really really bad. Maybe try alltel they are working great for me but then again verizon was good to just kept messing my bill up

Alltel

change your plan anytime without taking a new contract. New customers and people upgrading get the same discounts on phones (they dont charge more when you upgrade) You get my circle that lets you talk for free to 10 number in the US any carrier. free alltel to alltel and free nights and weekends from 7pm Works good for me

But if you leave verizon you are going to miss the vzw navigater. Working GPS, and the Ringback tones. Damn i miss thoughs.

Thing about TM is that once there contracts run out with the major carries your service may be effected.

jungleland

10-07-2006, 10:46 PM

T moble is really really bad. Maybe try alltel they are working great for me but then again verizon was good to just kept messing my bill up

same thing here...Every month we get some billing problem from them....They hit me up for 33 bucks last month for GET IT NOW downloads from my blackberry...they did not believe me when I said I did not download anything...They said "well, the phone did not download it by itself, someone pressed the keys"...Now called a liar...I nicely told them that the blackberry does not have GET IT NOW"...They still told me to pay....Not for very long, I won in the end"....

secrecyguy

10-07-2006, 11:11 PM

I am happy with T-mobile because they have the best prices. The coverage is not that bad. I live in Southern California.

Verizon and Cingular is known to have the best coverage.

aristobrat

10-08-2006, 10:57 AM

Unless you go to rural areas you should be happy.
T-Mobile has decent coverage in most rural areas now after having made major roaming agreements with Cingular (including a lot of 850mhz coverage) and other carriers last year.

If you haven't seen their coverage map lately, here it is. The gray is coverage as of last year. The green is new coverage added this year.

http://www.blipnet.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/tmo2006.png

trustworthy

10-08-2006, 11:35 AM

I stand corrected. I had a VZW RAZR in addition to my T-Mo Pearl. I travel quite a bit and T-Mo has been fine in the following places, WDC, Atlanta, West Yellowstone, Montana, NYC and SF. The call quality on the Pearl is excellent - better than on the RAZR. I don't think this is due to the network. The RAZR, imo, is not a good device -- other than being small. Battery life is poor and the sound isn't all that great.

rambo47

10-08-2006, 03:44 PM

I have T-Mobile and work in NYC. Call quallity is excellent, signal strength excellent, and customer service has always treated me like a king. I've rarely needed them, but when adding or subtracting a feature from my plan they were fabulous. My wife has kept her Verizon service but I figure my signal strength is about 90% as strong as hers. Rarely do I ever get a dropped call, and certainly no more frequently than she does. There are some outlying areass of northern New Jersey like Long Valley where Verizon will get a weak but usable singal and T-Mobile gets nothing. But that really doesn't effect me.

aristobrat

10-08-2006, 04:41 PM

Rarely do I ever get a dropped call, and certainly no more frequently than she does.
So that would help to explain this. I about fell out of my chair when I saw this slide that was in the presentation they did last week when they announced their 3G plans. Wonder if they'll not pull a Cingular and be up front about who tested their network and what the critera was.

http://www.blipnet.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/droppedCalls.png

Roughtrader

10-08-2006, 08:42 PM

T Mobile is one of the worst no matter how much money they spent last year to use other company's towers. All that does is slow down there progress for buying thier own towers.

I think you should find a middle ground. VZW is one of the best, TM is one of the worst. Find a company in the middle. I'd hate to see anyone downgrade that much. It has been almost 6 years since I had TM and I'm sure they have made huge improvment since then but so have all the other companies. If I had more time I would look up some facts on how far behind the leading companies they are.

aristobrat

10-08-2006, 09:20 PM

All that does is slow down there progress for buying thier own towers.
Huh?

First column is the quarter, second column is the total number of their towers, and the third column is the number of new towers they brought on-air during that quarter. For the first half of '06, they've stood up 164 more towers than the first half of '05, ... even after announcing the roaming agreement.

T-Mobile's behind with their 3G deployment. Other than that, their customer service and network quality has been rated to be on par (or better than) Verizon for the last four years, ... beating Cingular and Sprint. On what else can you rate them to see how far behind they are?

If the OP is looking to save money from what VZW is charging him, T-Mobile's an excellent choice as jumping to Cingular or Sprint isn't going to save much money (if any). About the only thing that he'll be missing from VZW is EVDO.

Q2 06 34500 900
Q1 06 33600 739
Q4 05 32861 1021
Q3 05 31840 964
Q2 05 30876 1007
Q1 05 29869 468
Q4 04 29401 345
Q3 04 29056 253
Q2 04 28803 946
Q1 04 27857

lmlloyd

10-08-2006, 10:15 PM

T Mobile is one of the worst no matter how much money they spent last year to use other company's towers. All that does is slow down there progress for buying thier own towers.

You know, if you are going to make multiple posts claiming emphatically that T-Mobile is the worst, it might be nice if you give some reason you so dislike T-Mobile, especially in light of all the people in this thread signing T-Mobile's praises.

As it is, it sounds like you just have some personal beef with the company, or work for one of their competitors.

Roughtrader

10-09-2006, 12:10 AM

T-Mobile SUCKS (http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/72251-post7.html)

T-Mobile : How Do I Hate Thee, Let Me Count The Ways - TechIMO Forums (http://www.techimo.com/forum/t167272.html)

T-Mobile!i hate it! : Tips and tricks : Sony Ericsson @<hidden> Esato (http://www.esato.com/board/viewtopic.php?topic=56413)

T-Mobile Sucks For Other People Too, Not Just Me : Diggers Realm (http://www.diggersrealm.com/mt/archives/001726.html)

Yep, T-Mobile Sucks (http://blog.ianhamet.com/archive/2004/02/20040228a.html)

Techography - I absoultely Hate t-mobile (http://www.techography.com/article.php?story=20051013193149168&query=T-Mobile)

T-Mobile sucks. (http://www.testmy.net/forum/t-9369)

HowardForums: Your Mobile Phone Community & Resource - My story... And Why T-mobile SUCKS (http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=536399)

I am back and T-Mobile Sucks..... (http://journals.aol.com/wallstreetsmart/Senorita/entries/2005/10/16/i-am-back-and-t-mobile-sucks...../1063)

T-Mobile SUCKS (http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/72396-post11.html)

I'm getting tired but by now i'm sure you see where i'm going. I'm just trying to point the OP in the right direction. Away from TM. Its great that so many of you from these forums have had a good time with them but trust me there are not many of you across the board.

Anyways in the long run its not going to matter before to long they will probley be bought out by Verizon or Cingular

Verizon and Cingular will cost you the most and give you the most service

Alltel and Sprint will be alittle less per month or give you more time for your $ and still have ok service

Boost, Metro, T-moble, and Vergin are going to be dirt cheep and you are going to get crap for service

If you are looking for cheep then T-moble is the way togo just rember you get way you pay for.

lmlloyd

10-09-2006, 03:19 AM

And do you somehow imagine that T-Mobile is the only service provider anyone has ever complained about online?

Just doing a google search I found all of these:

Cingular Wireless Experiences - Don't get burned by Cingular! (http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/cingularsucks/)

I HATE CINGULAR WIRELESS AND HERE IS WHY THEY SUCK (http://www.drinkdeeplyanddream.com/hatecingular/)

foldedspace.org: Verizon Sucks (http://www.foldedspace.org/weblog/2005/06/verizon_sucks.html)

dcthornton.com » Screw Verizon! (http://www.dcthornton.com/index.php?p=1762)

Sprint PCS Sucks (http://www.loganet.net/~doumakes/sprint.html)

The Pain! The Agony! Sprint Sucks! | PlanetFeedback (http://www.planetfeedback.com/index.php?level2=blog_viewpost&topic_id=280133)

My3cents.com - ALLTEL COMMUNICATIONS Complaint - Screwed royally by ALLTEL, BILLING (http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=10408)

Have I made my point yet, or do I need to keep cutting and pasting more links from google?

The fact of the matter is that you can find links all over the web saying any product or service is crap. The Internet is the biggest whine-fest the world has ever seen.

However, when it comes down to it, T-Mobile consistently gets some of the highest customer satisfaction scores of any company in the business according to independent customer satisfaction surveys. So, If you are going to keep posting to the same thread to say that people should ignore all the users who have had good experience, and listen to you, and your hatred of T-Mobile, then you probably should do better than web links to people whining. Those can be found and used as an argument for why any fill in the blank sucks.

Tennvol

10-09-2006, 06:29 AM

FWIW I have a 8700G and a Verizon 8300 cell phone. Sitting side by side on my desk at work I have no 1x and "1" EV-DO bar on my 8300 and 2 bars of EDGE on my 8700G. At home Verizon and TMobile have identical coverage. I find that for around major metro areas the signals are almost identical and for being in the sticks Verizon works better.

Roughtrader

10-09-2006, 07:47 AM

From the OP's question we already know that the choice he is trying to make is between Tmoble and anyone other than verizon. I have just been saying negtive things about Tmoble because thats how I feel about it. I know none of the carriers are going to make everyone happy.

aristobrat

10-09-2006, 08:36 AM

Its great that so many of you from these forums have had a good time with them but trust me there are not many of you across the board.
You should probably read this before you fire off any more of your senseless "theories" like that (and "T-Mobile's roaming agreement will slow down their deployment of their own towers" and "T-Mobile is likely to bought out by Verizon or Cingular".)

http://download-dtag.t-online.de/deutsch/investor-relations/6-praesentationen/061006_AWS_Spectrum_update.pdf

It's cool not to like a carrier, but you way lessen the impact of your opinion when you start adding unfactual statements to it.

jungleland

10-09-2006, 08:41 AM

You should probably read this before you fire off any more of your senseless "theories" like that (and "T-Mobile's roaming agreement will slow down their deployment of their own towers" and "T-Mobile is likely to bought out by Verizon or Cingular".)

http://download-dtag.t-online.de/deutsch/investor-relations/6-praesentationen/061006_AWS_Spectrum_update.pdf

It's cool not to like a carrier, but you way lessen the impact of your opinion when you start adding unfactual statements to it.

Yeah, they seem like they have some pretty strong intentions on conquering the world...Or at least the Cellular world...