
T-Mobile adds 1.3M customers in Q2, continues to grab wireless share - artsandsci
http://www.zdnet.com/article/t-mobile-adds-1-3-million-customers-in-q2-continues-to-grab-wireless-share/
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humbleMouse
When I run out of my 8gb of data on my t mobile plan, there is no way to buy
more data if I need it.

I tried on online with no success, and even went into the store to ask - they
said I could not buy more LTE data if I had used my 8gb for the month.

T mobile used to let me buy data by the GB for my phone when it ran out. It
was $10/GB.

Now when I try to select that option on their website the website crashes when
trying to process the request.

What kind of cell phone company in 2017 doesn't let customers purchase more
LTE data when their monthly data allotment runs out? A shitty one.

I like t mobile and the service is good most places I go, but fuck them for
not letting me buy data by the GB when I run out. I will be switching mobile
providers once my lazy ass finds the time to do the paperwork.

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kimolas
They have a new unlimited data plan which has replaced all of their other
plans. This model is now being adopted by the other carriers.

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humbleMouse
I just went and investigated their site to find this new plan.

I tried to select it and got this message:

>>We’re seeing a huge interest in our recent offers, which is impacting site
performance. Please try again later, or call Care on 611 from your T-Mobile
phone. Thank you!!

What a bunch of bullshit.

edit: Please reply and explain your downvotes. Do you think a huge company
like t mobile should have a shitty website that can't handle some load once
and a while?

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louithethrid
Its indeed bad craftsmanship- if i cant service a customer, i at least should
allow him to enlist his interest, by leaving behind his email. That way, once
i have the performance, i can callback.

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bimr
If T-mobile has a weakness, it is not signal strength. Coverage maps are a red
herring. If you look at AT&T coverage in SoCal, you would think that they have
it on lock. However in Downtown LA, AT&T is atrocious, and T-Mobile is
stellar. Even if signal is weak where you live, T-Mobile was the first to
unlock WiFi Calling for its phones. They even give you an awesome router for
your home. If somebody is telling you that T-Mobile coverage sucks, its
because they have no other complaints than this subjective opinion. Remember,
coverage = Your Mileage May Vary

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celim307
this is only true in cities, which I guess covers the majority of people, but
as someone who camps across the country, and often drives there, T-mobile is
terrible outside most metro areas, and I rely on my girlfriend's verizon to
keep us from getting lost and to link up with other campers.

And I'm not just talking about the deep boonies either. Even in state parks
that are less than an hour from densely populated cities, I often have no
bars.

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toomuchtodo
Most state/national parks have atrocious service because tower companies can't
get towers installed there. That's not a carrier's fault.

~~~
jonknee
The issue is Verizon and AT&T have coverage in these places. They’re just not
a good choice if you are frequently out of the city. Very cheap though, it’s a
good fit for a lot of people. (I recently switched from Verizon to T-Mobile on
my iPad and have an AT&T phone.)

~~~
toomuchtodo
Have any specific places coverage is lacking? I can get that to the right
capacity planning dept at TMO.

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jonknee
A few days ago I was driving back from Rainier in Washington State and had
full bars LTE on AT&T and no service at all on T-Mobile. It was on 410 right
outside of Enumclaw, WA. Had to be almost in town to get any signal from
T-Mobile.

AT&T and Verizon actually have some coverage inside the park around the
Sunrise area (I believe coming from the Crystal Mountain ski area) while
T-Mobile has none.

To be fair, the T-Mobile coverage map is extremely spotty in WA so it's not
like they're claiming they have a great network here, but it is very
noticeably worse than the two largest networks. From their map it looks like
they're weak in the whole Northwest. Sort of curious considering they are
based here, but I get that the topography is difficult.

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covercash
For a family plan with 3 people, we pay $270/mo for unlimited everything,
yearly phone upgrades, insurance (damage/loss/theft) and 7gb tethering per
line.

And sometimes we get free pizzas or movie tickets on T-Mobile Tuesdays.

And their customer service has been wonderful so far!

~~~
garethsprice
T-Mobile Tuesdays is a great case study for a customer loyalty app.

1) Unobtrusive and separate from all the other junkware (ie. not bundled into
the main app), 2) conditioning to check it regularly, 3) giveaways that are
(sometimes) things people actually want and that create conversation with
other people (free pizza!).

I think Verizon had some kind of points system that seemed confusing and
useless, I certainly was never able to redeem it for anything good and just
ignored it.

Service-wise T-Mobile works well for me in cities, but the reception is
noticeably flakier than my old Verizon phone. Outside the cities it's much
spottier (girlfriend's AT&T phone will have full signal, T-mobile no service).
However, I like supporting a player who isn't one of the big 2 oligopolists.
US telecoms is awful & overpriced and any competition is good competition.

~~~
BlackjackCF
I love having T-Mobile. I know their music unlimited streaming stuff breaks
net neutrality, but god damn is it super useful to listen to music without
having it eat into my data.

But yeah, sometimes I contemplate swapping back to AT&T or Verizon simply
because if I'm not in a big city, T-Mobile becomes super unreliable. This has
improved with time over the last 6 years that I've been with them (I mean they
used to be flaky even IN LA, and that has really changed), but I get reminded
often when I go on road trips or hikes.

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perfectstorm
I switched to T-Mobile but I had to switch back because of reception issues.
Their service is horrible if you live in a big apartment complex.

I hope they improve. Their unlimited data plan overseas is probably the
biggest perk in the industry.

~~~
compsciphd
they'll give you a 4g lte cellspot for free, yes, it will use your internet
connection (which might matter if it's metered), but you'll get perfect
connectivity.

~~~
DrScump
They'll provide signal-boosting hardware for free as well.

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kc10
I switched from At&t to t-mobile few months ago. I used to pay $130 for two
lines, now I pay $80 for 3 lines. The reception is not great, but with all the
perks like movie tickets, rentals the $80 monthly almost pays for itself.

AT&T's service quality is better than T-mobile, but hey T-mobile is _almost_
free.

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kemayo
Out of curiosity, which T-Mobile plan did you get? I thought their current big
"we only have one plan" thing worked out to around $140/month for three lines.

~~~
kc10
T-mobile one - they had a promotion for 3 lines for $100 with free iPhone
transfer in. Paid off my phones with the gift cards they sent.

I don't burn more than 2gb of data per device as I am mostly on wifi, so I get
$10 as kickback. So, it works out to $80/month.

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noncoml
I used to be with T-Mobile, their service in SF Bay Area was horrible, no
signal indoors, had to try 2-3 times to make a call, call quality was bad.

I thought, what's the point in paying a bit less money if I get something
that's unusable, so I switched to Verizon.

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conception
It got a lot better once they got more spectrum, especially indoors. Depending
on when you quit it may be significantly better. They also have wifi calling
which also helps indoors.

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magila
Specifically, T-Mobile has deployed their 700MHz blocks throughout the
country, which gives them much better indoor and rural coverage. You need to
make sure your handset supports LTE band 12 to take advantage of it. They also
have a significant amount of recently-purchased 600MHz spectrum (LTE band 71)
which they are in the process of lighting up.

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adamgray
I'm normally happy with T-Mobile in the cities, but after a cross-country road
trip I'm pretty disappointed with their service in the Great Plains and PNW.
My traveling companion consistently had service with LTE with AT&T while I was
on edge or 3G. On the East Coast and Midwest my T-Mobile service is stellar. I
probably won't switch anything because 99% of my time I'm in the Chicago city
limits, but it was a bit disappointing to have to drive without streaming
services or podcasts.

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jetpacktuxedo
I drove from Indiana to Seattle two years ago while on Tmobile. I really only
had issues in the mountains, in National Parks (yellowstone really, the
badlands were fine for the most part, and had full LTE at Mt. Rushmore), and
chunks of South Dakota.

Out of curiosity, does your phone support Band 12? Because they have been
really pushing that rollout which roughly triples their range and building
penetration, so I wonder if that could account for our different experiences.

~~~
adamgray
Not sure, it's an iPhone 6s. Sure a lot of the places were a little bit out
there (Eastern Washington, Badlands, Southern Utah, Yellowstone) but my friend
was nearly at full service the entire time (aside from mountains). We ended up
just installing Spotify on her iPad and logging in with my account :)

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gcb0
funny thing is that they don't even try hard.

they keep changing plans. their market just shout their brand and some price
they dont even offer anymore. and they always try to move me to a cheaper plan
even though I want to stay on the much more expensive one just because I dont
want to think about roaming when I travel.

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Analemma_
Yup. It speaks to just how terrible Verizon and AT&T are that T-Mobile has all
these fuckups and they're still far-and-away the best choice.

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craptocurrency
T-Mobile has worst service quality and hence why it's cheaper.

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scarface74
I have no idea why this is even an argument. T-mobiles coverage outside of
metropolitan areas is worse than Verizon and AT&T. I'm a big fan on T-mobile
but I rarely travel outside of metro areas except by plane. If I did have to
drive a lot in rural areas, I would definitely be on Verizon.

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copperred
This is part of the race to the bottom. Price matters. That's why I switched
to TMobile.

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craptocurrency
I'm T-Mobile subscriber, I can tell you that their service su.cks. Low signal
issue. Call disruptions etc. planning to switch back to att.

~~~
celim307
It's highly dependent on where in the country you are. Its not ubiquitous like
Verizon is.

Idk why people are downvoting you for having a different experience

