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Review by brightico 
member for 4.3 years, 2 visits, last login: 44 days ago
lodged 45 days ago
 Hickory,Catawba,NC
 $86 per month- (24 month contract)
 "Faster speed than my home DSL" "Spotty coverage in some areas. Don't like paying to tether." "Best bang for the buck"
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Speed at home is about 6Mbps for T-Mobile which is also the fastest speed available from any provider at my home. They even sent me a $500 Micro Cell Tower for free.
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Review by cb14
member for 62 days, 59 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 47 days ago
- Miami Beach,Miami-Dade,FL
- $49 per month
- "price, GSM carrier"
- "rural coverage, decreased quality of 2G voice services"
- "recommended"
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I have service with TMO US for over 6 years I have a legacy 1500 minute voice plan for 39.95 plus abot $ 9.80 in taxes and junk fees and an unlocked Nokia C3-01.
I cannot comment much on data, because I use data on the phone only via wi-fi.
TMO used to have an exceptional customer service, unfortunately it got significantly worse lately . Also the signal and connection quality decreased over the last 18 months. The problems are most pronounced with 2G services- there are rumors that TMO moved away a part of their 1900 Mh PCS spectrum.The formerly excellent coverage maps were replaced with optimistic, unreliable propaganda maps( like the other carriers). Some rough business practices popped up lately, like the lightning fast disconnecting of service once the account is past due.
Rural coverage is not great in many areas. I use a Verizon prepaid as a back up.Calls get forwarded to once I am out of coverage- a great feature.
Choice of phones is not great, but an advantage of a GSM carrier is the availability of vast selection of unlocked GSM phones on Amazon.
Having said all of that, I still consider T-Mobile USA the best choice out of the 'big four'
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 Review by DJRank1
member for 7.6 years, 189 visits, last login: 19 days ago
updated 66 days ago
- Pittsburg,Contra Costa,CA
- $250 per month
- (24 month contract)
 about 1 days- "Good prices, Good 4G network, Good call quality"
- "Minimal coverage sometimes in remote areas"
- "T-Mobile is really good depending on your location"
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We've had T-Mobile for the past 8 years and overall have not had any major problems with them. We have the family plan for 5 phones with unlimited talk and text. 1 phone has the 5 GB data plan with tethering, 3 with 2 GB data, and 1 phone with no data plan. It's good to know that T-Mobile is making a big effort to expand their coverage and with all their options for phones and plans it will get even better.
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 Review by jbgroup1
member for 12.9 years, 5129 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 83 days ago
- Dayton,Howard,MD
- $127 per month
- (24 month contract)
- about 3 days
- "Works well great call quality."
- "Not real 4G"
- "Geat speeds, great calling and an overall good experience"
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Got two phones with two different plans. My main phone which is a Galaxy S III has 500 anytime minutes and unlimited text and web (5GB at "4G" speeds). This plan also allows tethering. My other phone is a CM10 modded Galaxy S II and has the monthly US$30 unlimited text and 5GB data and 100 min. talk. This phone I use to tether my tablet for data while on the bus/train. Both plans have worked out so far and I have used the $30 plan for my data needs. It's good to have 10GB available per month. Overall I would say this is a great value.
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Review by sk1939
member for 2.4 years, 970 visits, last login: 1 days ago
updated 87 days ago
- Laurel,Prince Georges,MD
- $102 per month
- (24 month contract)
- "Cheap, decent 4G speeds, good coverage area."
- "Does not work in tunnels, some rural areas, metro/train stations."
- "Decent cost/benefit for Voice and Data"
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I first got T Mobile way back before Cingular merged with AT&T to form AT&T Wireless. At the time I was using AT&T prepaid, but somehow during the transition with Cingular (around 2005), I not only lost service, but lost my entire account as well. Still needing a cell phone I signed up with T-Mobile which included 300 minutes for what was a relatively reasonable $25 a month (never used all of them). A few years later, around 2007, I moved to a family plan that I have been happy with, and added data and text to a single line for a few dollars more a month. All in all, 3 lines with text ($5 for 500 messages) and 200MB ($15) on one line for $100 a month is doing pretty well I would say, and using unlocked phones exclusively has lead to the benefit of not being locked into a contract as well (once the initial two years were up).
Update 10/15/12: Coverage varies wildly depending on geographic location. I get 4G speeds in the DC and Bay Area, but once you get out towards Rochester, NY or the Philidelpia/Allentown area you are lucky if you get 3G speeds, for the most part it's 2G if you get a signal at all. However the signal issue is only a problem if your inside of a building.
Update 1/10/12: T Mobile updated my SIM card to a "4G" sim (I had the original EDGE SIM), but I still get a 2G signal in northern PA while AT&T has at least 3G. That being said, signal in the DC area is 4G HSPA and speedy on the Galaxy Nexus. I also get a signal in oddball places, for example I get a strong signal in Romeoville, Illinois, and along I-80 in Indiana and Ohio, but not up toward Corning, NY.
Monthly Charges: $84.97
Use Charges: $0.80
Other Charges: $4.87
Taxes and Fees: $11.30
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Review by djcrazy
member for 3.6 years, 387 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 96 days ago
- Minneapolis,Hennepin,MN
- $86 per month
- (24 month contract)
- "Very reliable, Unlimited 4G high speed data, unlimites talk, text. Great signal"
- "Phone selection a bit limited but improving"
- "Truly the best bang for the buck"
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Paid for my Samsung Galaxy S 3 outright so I get a reduced rate on service of about $15 a month. Services are the Value plan with unlimited talk, text and web for $49.99, $20 more for UNLIMITED 4G high speed data, and $7.99 for handset protection per moth plus taxes, fees, etc.
The call quality and clarity are second to none. I have not had any dropped calls on my end since I started the service in August of 2112. The 4G data is fast and reliable. ALL much better than Verizon ever was for me. I use it to stream music from the web both in my car and at work hooked up to a stereo and never have a problem with it.
Highly recommended!
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Review by badpatrick
member for 2.1 years, 13 visits, last login: 67 days ago
updated 98 days ago
- Mesa,Maricopa,AZ
- $50 per month
- about 30 days
- "Fast 4g. No Contracts. Easy Activation. Hotspot"
- "Updating drivers can break USB mode"
- "It works. You get what you pay for."
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Last month I purchased the T-Mobile Hotspot. It's 4G service. 5gb monthly cap for 50 dollars and no contract. When the package arrived I was happy to see they had put in a gift card for 15 dollars to apply towards a service.
They also offer:
300MB week pass $15
1.5GB month pass $25
3.5GB month pass $35
Average speeds are 5-8mb down and 2mb up and latency is in the 80's. Typical speed test. »speedtest.net/result/2345588410.png
The device is a hotspot that can handle up to 4 wireless connections at once. However, I use it connected in USB mode as my desktop does not have a wireless adapter. The service has been very reliable other than a driver update called "ZTE Communication - Network - T-Mobile Wireless Ethernet Adapter". This updated breaks the USB ability. It's a known issue on different forums. After a driver rollback it was working again.
The hotspot has an internal router page. You can visit "mobile.hotspot" on your web browser and access different settings such as passwords, DNS and more. They make it easy for you to track current data usage. It seems to update every 5 minutes. And they will also send the device a text when you are within 1gb of your cap.
When you go over your cap or reach the end of the month it threatens to charge you 20 cents a MB until you apply another pre-paid card to the account. I'm not sure how they implement this as they don't have a credit card number. Maybe they send a postal bill? If you are on a contract plan then they will lower your speed to "around edge like speeds". I've read 50-200kbps while throttled is to be expected but the plan will remain Unlimited.
Tech-Support received an average vote because I don't have enough information to vote either way.
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 Review by bobjohnson
member for 6.1 years, 1034 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 99 days ago
- Orlando,Orange,FL
- $75 per month
- (24 month contract)
- about 1 days
- "When it's good, it's great!"
- "When it's not, it's really bad"
- "Voice and text is always great. Data, Hit or miss."
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I have had a T-Mobile line for my business for about 5 years. Never had any problems with it when I was in the limited coverage area. Just recently bought the Nokia Lumia 710 and since I bought the phone with no sim card I had to call t-mobile to get the micro-sim. The representative I spoke with talked me into getting a data plan for it for $5 more a month since I had the old Value Unlimited Talk & Text for $69.99. Still unlimited talk and text and 5gigs of 4g with no overage (with hotspot plan) for $74.99. I already used Sprint for my data needs but I figured I could give this a try for $5 extra. The service is Top notch in all HSPA areas, even 3g is pretty solid. T-Mobile's coverage map is definitely the least accurate I have seen as far as what you get where. Outdoor coverage on the map shows better than edge and you will most likely be on edge. EDIT/UPDATE!!: I have figured out how to fix this issue. Dial ##data#, click settings, change to 3g only!!! Don't know if this works on anything other than windows phone but hope it helps someone don't like that my phones indicator skips 3g. It shows I have full 4g and I get 1meg down and maybe 256k up. Kind of deceptive if you ask me but I did get a system information app that shows what i'm actually on so I worked that out myself. All in all a good service for the money. I would recommend to the city dwellers that don't need fast service outside of the big cities. Very reliable for the basic services even off the highways.
Edit: To add speedtests.
Within 2 miles of one another.
Update: 12/29/12- Being throttled sucks!! That is all 
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 ·T-Mobile US
·Sprint Mobile Br..
| Re: No Coverage Outside Of Town. said by ArizonaSteve:You are correct, they don't have any service outside of major urban areas. I recently drove across Texas on I-10 and there was no coverage at all past El Paso until I reached San Antonio! AT&T and Verizon cover most smaller towns and along the freeways. Sprint even has service in a few areas but T-Mobile doesn't have any service at all in most rural areas.
BTW, you are paying way too much at $75/mo. If you stay with T-Mo you should buy one of their cheap phones at Walmart with the $30/mo unlimited data plan and put the SIM in you phone.
I have a business account with Sprint so I have coverage wherever Verizon has coverage with them but with T-mo I use it for my business and use about 3000 voice minutes every month so I couldn't use the $30 WalMart plan if I wanted to. Because of this I also don't think I could rely on prepaid from any company as I can't afford any downtime or bad customer service. Thanks for the advice though.
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·T-Mobile US
·Sprint Mobile Br..
1 edit | Re: There are lots of different speeds. said by ArizonaSteve:Regarding your speedtests within 2 miles of one another, there are lots of towers around that give different speeds. They only have a range of about 1/2 a mile and I have 6-7 all around me but they are just 2G & 3G with speeds of 120k-6Mb, the nearest 4G tower that has the highest speeds of 22-24Mb is 2 miles away near the T-Mobile store. To get the best speeds depends a lot on which way you are standing, how high you hold the phone up in the air, anything in the way, etc. For everyone to get fast speeds everywhere they would have to cover the earth with the newest, fastest towers spaced not more than 1 mile apart in every direction but of course that is impossible. If you use an app like OpenSignalMaps you can see where all the towers are around you and what speed and protocol you are using. Unfortunately it doesn't show the speed and type of all the towers though, just the one you connect to. Network Signal Info will also show the tower you connect to and the speed and protocol but it doesn't show all the other towers.
Lol, wut? In my speedtest comparison it's showing the difference between a HSPA 42 tower and a sketchy GPRS tower in a fairly decent sized city within a couple miles of each other. I do understand cellular technology and how it works. This was an unbiased review of an inconsistent network. If I lock my phone to 3g I get at least 3g pretty much everywhere. I have a stand next to my laptop mount in my truck and don't hold it but I shouldn't have to stand with my phone over my head to get decent service in Orlando Florida with any service anyways. FYI, There is no Network Signal Info or OpenSignalMaps for Windows Phone 7.
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·Sprint Mobile Br..
| Re: There are lots of different speeds. said by ArizonaSteve:I don't understand why you are still complaining or what the "Lol, wut?" comment is about since they still can't put towers everywhere on earth to satisfy everyone with good service no matter where they might be! A lot of the towers are still just 2G GSM with Edge and will take a long time to replace with updated service. Now that they are moving 3G from 1700Mhz to 1900Mhz it's getting better though. My old Samsung 4G Exhibit II that was never of any use since there aren't many 4G towers around has started working again now that a tower just a block from me has been converted to 1900Mhz!
BTW, too bad you got a Windows Phone 7 that doesn't have any apps but if you want to upgrade you can always buy a used Samsung Galaxy S-II on ebay and put your SIM in it.
I'm not complaining, I'm stating facts. Then you came in and crapped on my review.  T-Mobile refarming their 1900mhz spectrum has nothing to do with stock T-Mobile phones suddenly getting HSPA service. And lastly, since informing potential customers of a certain service is the intention of the DSLR review section I recommended it to people that don't go very far from where it works. I don't expect any company, especially a value carrier to have service everywhere but I do want people to be aware of how sketchy it can be.
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Review by tkdslr
member for 8.9 years, 1122 visits, last login: 1 days ago
updated 108 days ago
- Pompano Beach,Broward,FL
- $30 per month
- about 1 days
- "5GB data, unlimited text.. 100 minutes of airtime, extra airtime $0.10min"
- "Exhibit II 4g, 4G service likes to hang."
- "Best Purchase I've made in a decade.."
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It's been 10 months since purchasing my Samsung Exhibit II 4G ($200+sales tax from Walmart) and things are getting better.. Voice service always solid and clear..
4G data service seams to hangs up, (in upload mode), a couple of times a day. Jumping into airplane mode and back out again restores 4G service. Average usage 4 to 5GB of data a month.
Initially I had to call t-mobile to change phone settings in order to get data service working. (Check mark Packet data & Roaming under Settings->Wireless and Networks->Mobile networks"). That call lasted 15 minutes or so.
Took several months to figure out how to purchase additional airtime while still on the $30 Walmart plan. (T-mobile doesn't document this very well, neither do CS reps know about it.) Solution, just keep extra money in prepaid account, each minute you go over deducts $0.10min from the account.
Speeds up to 9Mb(D)/2Mbit(U) so far.. I've gotten higher speeds on my TM ZTE hotspot, but that has a better radio(21Mbps verses 14Mbps).
But, I just forced my II 4G (hidden menu setting) to use T-mobiles new HSPDA+ 1900Mhz WCDMA service.. wow.. instead of 2, maybe 3 bars.. I now get a full 4 bars.. Very nice..
I'll update this review with the outcome of that experiment..
Note: That particular experiment failed a couple of months ago..I.E. no data, but that was then, and this is now.. Yeah..
Rooted, removed or disabled a couple of t-mobile's apps & spyware.
One thing I've learned is to disable all updates. Very selectively do I allow any update. Allowed Andriod OS to update to 2.3.5.. but not 2.3.6(yet)..
It seams that app vendors have a propensity to ruin a once useful app with an update. So no more updates. if an app works, it going stay working, just like I found it.
Favorite FREE apps so far..
older "My tracks" v1.1.16 in widget mode, Very handy for Bicyclists.
"Titanium backup" v5.5.1
"Flashlight" v4.9.2 in widget mode..
"Compass" v1.2.1
"Anti sms spam" v1.42
RF hazard like all cell phones, I rarely put my Andriod phone in my pocket. Instead it goes in a nap stack pocket with at least a few inches of separation from my body.. (also better view of the sky for the GPS app "my tracks")..
At home, I use a Siemens Gigaset one bluetooth gateway to route all TM calls to my cordless phones(with talking caller id). Bluetooth connection seams to fail to sync up a couple of times a month. But, forcing a bluetooth unpairing then reconnect on TM phone fixes this.
That's all for now.. This is one of the best deals I've gotten in long time..
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Review by (hidden by request)
(review was emailed from domain zoho.com)
lodged 113 days ago
- New York,New York,NY
- $35 per month
- "Nothing is good about this company. The company is rotten to the core."
- "They will break promises; lie to get your business and refuse to issue a refund when the service fails to work."
- "Stay Away from T-Mobile. We have not had any service in NYC for close to 2 months."
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I have done business with many companies in my life, but never had as bad an experience as I have had with T-mobile. Back in November of 2011 my husband purchased a USB Broadband 'stick' for Wifi access from T-mobile. We used the plan that you pay as you go month-to-month. From the beginning, it was too slow. My husband would have to call them continuously to have them check into it. It was not the speed they advertised. (It was hardly better than the dial up we used to have). After endless calls, they would fix it and the speed would be better. But then it would get slow again after a short time online.
This went on for the entire year until Sandy hit New York in October of 2012. Our service became very erratic and spotty. Within a few days, in early November, we lost internet access completely. Then the real trouble started. Apparently, the storm knocked something out and they did not know how to fix it and their explanations became more and more bizarre. We got varying stories from them. It ranged from the problem being a flood, to it being a fire, to not knowing what the problem was, to it being a problem with our USB 'stick' (they said the stick was not registering on the network and we needed a new Sim card), to them having to repair an antenna, to having to build new antennas, and finally, that we had service but were just not using the system correctly, or that our operating system was not compatible (this was after a year of having service and using the system properly, and my husband is a computer specialist). They promised to reimburse
us for the 30 days we paid for and could not use. Then they issued an additional credit. They told us to go to the northern Bronx 20 miles away for a signal, but we could not get a signal there. When we told them this, they said to go to Connecticut!! Can you imagine that we were paying for wifi access in our home and they were telling us we needed to go our of state for a signal. We did go to the Bronx, but we decided Northern Connecticut (a three hour drive) is just too much for computer access. So our dead computer continued. As if this wasn't bad enough, each time we called, they set up a ticket for our problem, and we found out that these tickets were diappearing from the system, so each time we called, we had to explain all over again the long list of problems to a new representative. Since we could not use our own time, and certainly not the additional time they had "credited" to us, we finally asked for a refund.
Apparently, there is an even more insidious system when you are asking for your money back. We spoke to so many people it was mind-boggling. After switching us from person to person, each time it was switched, it became more garbled. When I got my landline back it was the same thing, so it was not my cell phone. The voices, once transferred, were garbled and unintelligible, and some were rude, seeming to take delight in our frustration and pleas for help. You would repeat your problem and account number over and over and they would invariably reverse the numbers or say they did not hear or understand you. Meanwhile, you could hear very little of what they were saying until you could hear absolutely nothing. At the end of it all, they would switch us one last time, which then disconnected completely and with no options but to call back and go thru the whole thing again. They knew most people would get frustrated and give up, which is what they were
counting on.
We had also complained about the stick a while ago so when this occurred, they told us we had to go to a T-Mobile store, which we did. They checked it out and said (of course) that it was fine. When they started to say that we had access when we did not, we invited a t-mobile technician to our home so that they could see for themselves that there was absolutely no access. They refused. My last call was yesterday. The same exact drill. No refunds are given. Then, OK, we will issue you a refund but you have to speak to a "refund specialist" - an idiot on the other end of the line that gets paid to give you as much grief as possible. And then to another "refund specialist" and then another. Each time you transfer, the connection is worse than the previous until neither you nor the person at the other end can hear a thing. And then you are disconnected. I am mad at myself for wasting so much time with them. I have now gone to the Attorney General for
my state and to the credit card companies. Do NOT look for a solution with this company. You should report them to as many agencies as possible until this consumer fraud is exposed and they are made to pay for all they are doing to customers. Ps. when we went to them a few weeks ago for a refund of the USB stick (since they off and on said it was the problem) they refused, saying that we purchased it in October 2011 and was out of warranty. That was a lie, and we verified with our credit card company that we made the charge on November 2011 (and received it three days later). We were still under warranty, but they refused to acknowledge it and said we charged it in October, 2011. They are not only incredibly deceitful, but also incredibly stupid, since the date of purchase can so easily be verified by the credit card company. I am sure there were other things too numerous to mention, but this is the gist of it. If you value your money and your
sanity, stay away from T-Mobile.
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| | Seriously? Are you really complaining because they can't fix the damaged towers fast enough to suit you when lots of areas are still demolished? Why not just be happy you still have a home and stop whining? | |
| | | | Re: Seriously? You should better read the entire post before coming up with such silly comment. | |
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tkdslr
join:2004-04-24
Pompano Beach, FL Reviews:
·T-Mobile US
 ·Speakeasy
1 edit | I have no first hand experience with the Stick modem.. But, I've used one t-mobile's ZTE hotspot(21Mbps--older tech) in a tethered configuration during a very long road trip(>3000 miles).
A couple observations.
One must get some separation distance between hotspot/modem stick and your laptop/pc. Laptop's/PC's can be very noisy(RF wise), especially in the bands T-mobile uses. The resulting interference can significantly impact performance.
Get some separation between your PC and RF modem, at least 4 or 5 ft.. 9 ft is better. Get a $10 USB extension cable and connect your stick USB cable to the USB extension cable, and it to the PC/Laptop.
Modern buildings have a lot of metal in them(outlets/appliances/framing/etc), relocate stick/hotspot higher up and/or closer to a window.
The more bars you get.. the better the performance..
Following some of these rules vastly improves performance, in major metro areas I would get up to 14/3Mbps in speed test results. | |
| | | | | tkdslr
join:2004-04-24
Pompano Beach, FL Reviews:
·T-Mobile US
·Speakeasy
3 edits | Re: I have no first hand experience with the Stick modem.. Yes there are limits imposed by the FCC.. But practical considerations means they can't test for these limits under all conditions.. And those conditions are going to vary from laptop to laptop, PC to PC, different CPU types, CPU clock frequency , memory types, battery state, power saver program, memory bus speed, rise and fall times on memory bus drivers, etc..
Heck the original author doesn't mention what type of PC's they have, it could even be something as simple as a missing chassis screw on a desktop PC.
P.S. I'm a expert in this arena..
Even the FCC part B radiation limits (300 uV/meter) can severely impact local cell receiver performance, since they are often listening for extremely weak radio signals.. -80 dBm, to -110 dBm. The cell tower they were using could be out of action, and they now depend on a less than optimal tower.
Even a shielded local transmission source(@ primary frequency) can easily swamp those distant signals. The only way to reduce interference is to add more shielding and/or more distance.
Thus my original suggestion still applies. (add more separation/distance, improve received signal strength). | |
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TMO is fine but change to their cheaper prepaid plans
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Upon further review...
File a complaint with FCC