T-Mobile has become the “go to” wireless carrier for international travelers, thanks to their revolutionary Simple Choice International Plan, which offers automatic coverage in over 140 countries around the world, with data and texting at no extra charge, plus a cost of just 20 cents per minute for calls.
Last week T-Mobile became even better for travelers, as they introduced free Gogo Wi-Fi for customers.
Why I haven’t had T-Mobile up until now
There’s no good reason, unfortunately. For years I’ve had AT&T, and I’ve hated them. But I guess it’s that I hate cell phone companies so much that I didn’t even want to think how aggravating it would be to switch cell phone providers. So much like going to the dentist or getting a yearly check-up, I pushed off switching cell phone providers.
When traveling internationally I’d typically just not use any cell phone data, but instead would rely mostly on hotel Wi-Fi. As someone who spends nearly half their time out of the US, what a stupid system!
I was also considering switching to Google Fi, which Tiffany recently wrote about. However, as someone who isn’t especially tech savvy, that seemed a bit too complicated for me, and it doesn’t seem like it’s especially compatible with iPhones.
What finally caused me to switch
Last week when T-Mobile announced free Gogo Wi-Fi, I figured it was about time I switch. I also have a ton of international travel coming up, and it would be so nice to have continuous phone coverage around the world. I’ve almost never thought of even turning data on abroad with my AT&T phone.
For example, one minute of data in the UAE once cost me $500 with AT&T (I could retroactively sign-up for a plan to get that lowered, but I find it ridiculous that this is even a price they would consider charging, when T-Mobile offers it for free). It’s so beyond customer unfriendly.
I can save how much with T-Mobile?!
This past week I was in Florida visiting my mom, and we decided to go to the T-Mobile store to finally make the switch.
For reference, I’ve been paying $260 a month for two lines (my line, and my mom’s line). The last time I called about lowering the cost of the bill, the AT&T representative said “oh no, you don’t want to switch, you have one of our grandfathered plans with unlimited data, which you’ll never be able to get again.”
As someone who isn’t especially tech savvy, I believed her, and kept our current plan.
So I was shocked when T-Mobile told me that the total cost for two lines with 10GB of data each (which, based on looking at our usage over the past several years, is more than enough) would cost a total of $100 per month.
I could cut the cost of my cell phone bill by 60% while also getting free international data? Yes please!!
Then starts the process of switching
The first step was to unlock my phone and my mom’s phone. That required calling AT&T… from the T-Mobile store. For anyone making a similar switch, I’d recommend having your phone unlocked before you go to a competing store (with AT&T it can be done through this webpage).
The associate explained that I should call AT&T and ask for the phone to be unlocked.
“So do I tell them I’m leaving AT&T, or…?”
“No, you don’t have to.”
“Okay, but presumably they’ll ask, no? What’s a good answer?”
“Just tell them you’re traveling internationally and want to use your own SIM card.”
I spoke to the rudest imaginable AT&T associate who was so condescending (the account is technically in my mom’s name, but I’ve been paying the bill for us for over five years, and she talked down to me as if I was a little kid wasting her time, despite the fact that the account was verified and that my mom authorized me to talk to her).
I guess I should have expected it, but the process of unlocking a phone isn’t instant. You have to request it to be unlocked, and then get a follow-up email within 24 hours confirming you want it unlocked, and then have to wait a further period. How ridiculous.
She then tried to sell me on AT&T’s international plan, which was incredibly awkward, since I was in a T-Mobile store with T-Mobile ads playing over the speakers. I’m not sure if she caught onto what I was doing or not.
The unlocking process worked relatively seamlessly for my mom’s phone. She made the request, and later that afternoon the phone was unlocked, which was faster than expected (I still don’t get why it isn’t instant, but…).
In the case of my phone, it took five days to get my phone unlocked. Five days. The email confirming the switch never arrived, so I followed up three times, each time being told it should arrive within 24 hours. I finally got pushier yesterday (while still being nice), and requested they do it on the spot, since it had been much longer than they promised. Fortunately the representative was able to get it unlocked on the spot.
So I headed back to the T-Mobile store to get my SIM cards changed and my number transferred over, which was an easy process.
How bad is T-Mobile reception?
One of the downsides to T-Mobile is that apparently their coverage in the US isn’t as good as with other AT&T. I’m sure that’s the case, but I’d note that in Tampa & St. Petersburg (where I was over the weekend) the reception was as good as with AT&T.
Now I’m in Los Angeles, and since activating T-Mobile yesterday, I haven’t noticed any change in the quality of the reception.
I’ll report back if I notice any substantial difference, but so far it seems to be the best case scenario, since I haven’t noticed a difference.
Bottom line
I’m thrilled to have finally made the switch from AT&T to T-Mobile. I’m saving ~$150 per month on my cell phone plan, and I’m getting data while traveling abroad, which I’m so excited about. Furthermore, 20 cents per minute for international phone calls is very reasonable, so I won’t hesitate to use my phone when abroad. Essentially I’ll treat it the same abroad as I do in the US, which I never thought would be the case.
Seriously, I can’t emphasize enough how excited I am to have made the switch to T-Mobile, and perhaps even more so, to tell AT&T to shove it for overcharging me and providing me with horrible service for years. I think this text perfectly sums up my feelings about AT&T:
If you’ve made the switch to T-Mobile, what has your experience been like? Anything to be aware of?
I recently moved to Wichita, KS & thinking of switching from AT&T (which I've had for years in TX), to T-Mobile, primarily due to the phone payoff offer. Anyone out there live in Northeast Wichita KS & can give feedback about the T-mobile experience?
Been with T-Mobile for 10 years and they are not loyal to current customers. You can never get the same promotion as the new customers and they disregard you completely once they have locked you in…service drops in a lot of areas.
So I just switched our family from ATT (my wife worked for them for several years and we had been with them for 16 as our cell carrier) to Tmobile.
Couple of things to note. We have 3 lines and got in on a 3rd line free deal, so we pay 140 for max on 3 lines. I was paying 230 at ATT. When you add in the netflix savings its over 100 a month...
So I just switched our family from ATT (my wife worked for them for several years and we had been with them for 16 as our cell carrier) to Tmobile.
Couple of things to note. We have 3 lines and got in on a 3rd line free deal, so we pay 140 for max on 3 lines. I was paying 230 at ATT. When you add in the netflix savings its over 100 a month im saving.
We did run into some issues. We did everything online and should have gone into a store even though its a pain. We DEFINATELY should have unlocked and paid off our phones with att first. Our number port was locked due to a payment plan on one of the lines for att. We paid it off and had the phones unlocked and numbers ported by end of day.
We had to call and be on with tmobile customer care for several hours over the course of the first week to get everything straight. Apparently they are still not super smooth when it comes with dealing with esim, which is what all of our phones have.
Todays lesson learned is that att will charge you for the ENTIRE month of last use, they will not kick back any funds. So we are having to pay off our entire bill for march even though our service ended on March 6th.
When shopping carriers they have options that let you test out their network using esim on your phone. A week ago in testing I had Verizon, ATT and Tmobile all on my iphone and did extensive testing on signal strength and speed. Tmobile was so much better it took 48hrs of testing to pull the trigger on our switch.
I work in Austin and now get 600-700mbs down at work. At home I was getting like 6-18mbs down with ATT and now Im at 65+ with tmobile. We also experience a lot less call dropping or cutting out.
The only thing I noticed was that some apps open super slow or have to be closed and opened multiple times since I switched. A pain in the ass but not the end of the world.
ATT said they would never go up on my 15 year old grandfather plan. My friends were switching every 2 years to get free phones, while I stayed loyal and bought my iPhones at full price, from Apple. I had 3 phones on a 12 gb plan. We don’t use that much,
Well, ATT just increased the cost of my grandfathered plan by 10%. They are increasing the cost on all grandfathered plans. I am...
ATT said they would never go up on my 15 year old grandfather plan. My friends were switching every 2 years to get free phones, while I stayed loyal and bought my iPhones at full price, from Apple. I had 3 phones on a 12 gb plan. We don’t use that much,
Well, ATT just increased the cost of my grandfathered plan by 10%. They are increasing the cost on all grandfathered plans. I am going to TMobile, and paying $ 35 less for unlimited. Plus Netflix and other freebies. I just cancelled my overpriced ATT DSL and went with TMobile wireless Home Internet. I was paying $ 70 for 25 mbps with ATT. I’m now paying $ 30 for an average speed of 350 mbps, with my best reading of 670 mbps.
Just switched from ATT to T-Mobile as well because I was tired of the billing errors from ATT. ATT's customer service is one of the worst out there. Agents and managers drop the ball consistently and I have to reexplain the issue time and time again. I wasted dozen of hours on the phone. I even spoke to their head of customer experience whom I contacted via Linkedin. He was responsive and helpful but the...
Just switched from ATT to T-Mobile as well because I was tired of the billing errors from ATT. ATT's customer service is one of the worst out there. Agents and managers drop the ball consistently and I have to reexplain the issue time and time again. I wasted dozen of hours on the phone. I even spoke to their head of customer experience whom I contacted via Linkedin. He was responsive and helpful but the errors kept reoccurring after he intervened. With T-Mobile, it's usually a 5-10mn call and issues are resolved on the spot. I've not had to speak to a manager yet.
They promised me lower prices. I have higher than ever bills. And what they withdraw from my checking account is more than my bill. They are totally out of control. No one there seems to be able to explain or stop it. I'm leaving t mobile asap.
Just a heads up. If ever a phone or tech company doesn’t hold up to promise all you need to do is file a claim with the FCC. You’ll get a response in 48 hours tops.
Most righteous comment that I have read in quite some time. Thanks for the giggles.
It seems Apple iCloud can prevent the switch. Apple says my iCloud password is wrong and it will take DAYS before I can reset it.
I just recently switched from AT&T to Mobile. I was attracted by a promotion running at the time. I had been with AT&T for over 12 years (longer if you include Cingular). I was quoted an incredible price by the T-Mobile rep if I switched along with other benefits. As the deal seemed so incredible, I repeatedly asked the rep to itemize the terms which he did (with the caveat that it make take a...
I just recently switched from AT&T to Mobile. I was attracted by a promotion running at the time. I had been with AT&T for over 12 years (longer if you include Cingular). I was quoted an incredible price by the T-Mobile rep if I switched along with other benefits. As the deal seemed so incredible, I repeatedly asked the rep to itemize the terms which he did (with the caveat that it make take a couple billing cycles before the quoted price kicked in). I expressed my concerns about what would happen if his promises didn't come to fruition as I was relying on his word. The T-Mobile rep told me there was nothing to worry about as our conversations were being recorded and T-Mobile would have to honor the deal.
Upon calling T-Mobile at a later date to go over the switching process, I was told that I would be likely be paying $60 to $70 more than I was promised by the original rep even after the the bill cycles.
I am in the process of playing phone tag as T-Mobile is researching the situation. I hope and pray that T-Mobile does the right thing. The original T-Mobile rep was polite and helpful, but that really won't matter much if I was lied to.
I am currently unemployed due to Covid and an extra $60 a month is unfortunately a lot of money to me. At this point, it has cost me time and anxiety about my decision to switch.
I will update this post to relay the results. Until that point, I would caution you to adhere to the old adage, "If it's too good to be true, it probably is."
John T.
@Ben, curious how your TMobile experience is going, given the lack of international data value during Covid. Still recommended?
After reading good reviews about T-Mobil I decided to try to switch temporarily from AT&T. The salesmen in the store assured me that it would not a problem to switch back to AT&T all need to do is stop by.
I never had that many dropped calls in my life as in two weeks when I was using T-Mobil. The connection quality is absolutely horrible or none existent.
When salesmen learnt that I...
After reading good reviews about T-Mobil I decided to try to switch temporarily from AT&T. The salesmen in the store assured me that it would not a problem to switch back to AT&T all need to do is stop by.
I never had that many dropped calls in my life as in two weeks when I was using T-Mobil. The connection quality is absolutely horrible or none existent.
When salesmen learnt that I want to switch back to AT&T he just tried to get rid of me. He provided no help at all. Just suggested to got to AT&T store.
I would never recommend T-Mobil to a friend.
Ben,
Great Review. I also switched from AT&T to T-Mobile about 2 years ago. Things went great, until I had an issue. Then it turned from great to the most worthless service I can possibly imagine.
I travel for work 20+ times per year - during these times, the phone is an important piece of hardware to have working - for calls, directions, connectivity, etc...
Last night I landed at LGA (NYC) from Denver. Turn...
Ben,
Great Review. I also switched from AT&T to T-Mobile about 2 years ago. Things went great, until I had an issue. Then it turned from great to the most worthless service I can possibly imagine.
I travel for work 20+ times per year - during these times, the phone is an important piece of hardware to have working - for calls, directions, connectivity, etc...
Last night I landed at LGA (NYC) from Denver. Turn on my phone to a message of "Not registered on network".
Fast forward 24 hours and 10+ phone calls to T-Mobile (3 of which hung up on me); and I've been given the following responses from supervisors and agents:
"I've never seen this before, I don't know what to do" - Quote from a supervisor
"Your phone was stolen" - Got this explanation, twice.
"Your phone was a warranty exchange and Assurant has disabled the IMEI #" - Current theory, except that I called Assurant (because T-Mobile can't) and they assured my that my IMEI number is not blocked.
Current Status. Limbo. Issue has been "Escalated" - in the process of it all, an agent unintentionally wiped out my payment method and I had to fix that.
So, are there some good things with T-Mobile? You bet. Just hope that it doesn't go sideways because, well, they cannot seem to unblock an IMEI on their own network for their own paying customer.
BE AWARE*** On T-Mobile unlimited data plan, its only when you are on a T-Mobile tower. When you are on an At&T tower they will not allow it. So Im out in the middle of nowhere and I cannot use any data which really sucks. Im going to At&T its worth the extra money just to get real unlimited data. Thanks!!
Correction: We had 2 lines switched to T Mobile from AT&T(Total bill before switching $400.83 -7/31/2016).
We've switched to T Mobile from AT&T since we heard about good things going on to those who have switched to this carrier. So we did last July 31, 2016. The promo at that time " The Family Switching Cost Covered Up To $650.00/Line" is in their Ad.( We had 3 lines w/ AT&T bill total at only $400.83 for 3 lines.) (traded in also 1 Samsung Galaxy S5 & 1 Samsung Galaxy 5 active)....
We've switched to T Mobile from AT&T since we heard about good things going on to those who have switched to this carrier. So we did last July 31, 2016. The promo at that time " The Family Switching Cost Covered Up To $650.00/Line" is in their Ad.( We had 3 lines w/ AT&T bill total at only $400.83 for 3 lines.) (traded in also 1 Samsung Galaxy S5 & 1 Samsung Galaxy 5 active). We got so excited and happy with our switching decision until we received a collection notice from a collection agency for our unpaid bill from AT&T that T Mobile did not pay as promised in their promo(left unpaid until today 5/21/2018). We did call T Mobile several times only to be answered that they can not do anything about this even if we told them that this is a pure deception. Can someone please help us?
That is definitely the customer’s job to provide the screenshots of their prior carriers equipment installment plan associated with the individual line. UP TO $600 per line. Following up with the inputting of the ATT bill image into the switch2tmobile.com promotional tab. Then you would get a rebate card 30 days later. But it’s ATT. You have to pay off your devices first and get them unlocked if you want to actually port your number...
That is definitely the customer’s job to provide the screenshots of their prior carriers equipment installment plan associated with the individual line. UP TO $600 per line. Following up with the inputting of the ATT bill image into the switch2tmobile.com promotional tab. Then you would get a rebate card 30 days later. But it’s ATT. You have to pay off your devices first and get them unlocked if you want to actually port your number with the appropriate device on T-Mobiles network After 30-60 days, you would receive that nifty virtual prepaid card with $400.83 to do as you please with. T-Mobile can’t just give you money up front and eliminate your carrier’s rate plan, features, add ons, and actual equipment charges. Especially for a company that locks phones. A rebate promo takes much time. And the customer has to do their share of the work. This is simply retail. Wireless companies do not contact other wireless companies to personally pay potential customer’s bills upfront. We give you some neat options and opportunities.
Wow...
Thanks for this post. This information is very helpful.
I have the same AT&T plan as you had, and haven't switch for the same reasons as you.
I have had ATT mobile service continually for 30 years..
A change in work assignment means that 100% of my work will involve worldwide international travel. After reading this post and the subsequent responses, I think T-mobile might be a better fit for...
Wow...
Thanks for this post. This information is very helpful.
I have the same AT&T plan as you had, and haven't switch for the same reasons as you.
I have had ATT mobile service continually for 30 years..
A change in work assignment means that 100% of my work will involve worldwide international travel. After reading this post and the subsequent responses, I think T-mobile might be a better fit for me.
I currently pay about $200/month for my single line ATT with unlimited data.
I have a iPhone 6plus, which I purchased outright without carrier assistance or programs.
I can keep my current phone or seek an upgrade if offered.
Thanks again
TM
Lucky , I have that 60 and older plan now . Unlimited , two lines $60 a month . I don't know about international , just got a smart phone recently . T Mobile has improved in my area but is still occasionally weak .
AT&T was just plain rude and not interested . I finally took the hint . T-Mo answered the phone on the first ring . That was more than twelve years ago .
Yes T mobile is the best & cheapest by far internationally and ATT is the highest everywhere. However, T mobile did not work at my home in Dallas, my lakehouse, my sons house and dropped many many calls. It also did not work in PR after Maria while there was still service with Sprint & ATT. I tried T Mobile twice over a three year period with no improvement.
Currently I have Sprint (they...
Yes T mobile is the best & cheapest by far internationally and ATT is the highest everywhere. However, T mobile did not work at my home in Dallas, my lakehouse, my sons house and dropped many many calls. It also did not work in PR after Maria while there was still service with Sprint & ATT. I tried T Mobile twice over a three year period with no improvement.
Currently I have Sprint (they have a nice AA point offer). It is not as good as T Mobile internationally but better and cheaper than ATT.
My experience was that you could not conduct any serious conversation on T Mobile in the US and at least on one occasion a business person I was talking to believed I had hung up on them purposely.
No thank you on T Mobile.
I’m glad T-Mobile gets decent reception other places! I live outside Chicago and get TERRIBLE reception basically all of the time. I am really considering switching back to AT&T.
If your mom is 55 or older T Mobile should have told you about a plan that allows a person that is 55 + can get a plan for two people, unlimited data for $60 a month. That’s what my husband and I are on since September. It isn’t advertised
I just recently switched to AT&T from T-Mobile. Omg such a huge mistake! AT&Ts services is so spotty. Deadzones everywhere! So I went back to T-Mobile within the first month. I was under the impression that AT&T was neck and neck with Verizon. Yeah in their dreams. If rather go to Sprint than AT&T. Such a gimmicky company. T-Mobile for life! Best company under the Sun. Hands down.
I don't travel out of there USA. I do travel to a lot or rural areas, I do a lot of outdoors stuff, and it seems that if I'm in rural areas, even on interstates , I get either spotty coverage or roaming on AT&T. Roaming on AT&T has a crazy low 500mb data plan with throttled speeds. We spend out July in West Virginia, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Most of that was roaming...
I don't travel out of there USA. I do travel to a lot or rural areas, I do a lot of outdoors stuff, and it seems that if I'm in rural areas, even on interstates , I get either spotty coverage or roaming on AT&T. Roaming on AT&T has a crazy low 500mb data plan with throttled speeds. We spend out July in West Virginia, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Most of that was roaming AT&T. We used all our roaming data in a day, so we had no dat coverage the rest of the month.
Also I've found that T-mobile strongly exaggerates their coverage. They claimed coverage in area's like Harpers Ferry WV and Friendsville, MD. Good luck, Forget weak signal, you'll live 40 miles through their coverage and get nothing. I even had trouble getting coverage at the Statue of Liberty, how does that happen?
My point is, I've found TMobiles lives up to it's reputation,. Great coverage (Mostly) in cities, but they stretch out their towers in rural areas which leads to a lot of drops, and rely too much on their new band 12 low frequency to fill in the gaps,., but it doesn't work.
Unlike you, I cam to AT&T from Sprint, and never had an issue. I've been happy with their coverage and service from 2012-early 2017. I can't say the same for TMobile's coverage. Now, their map claims that by the end of 2017, all those AT&T roaming areas will be tmobile, but based on their Maps for the above mentioned Harpers Ferry, WV and Western MD, my confidence is not high. I hear they're getting those areas by buying up low low bandwidths, much of which from other smaller companies. The problem Is that the low bawdwitch may penetrate buildings hills and structures better, but the performance isn't as good as the higher frequencies,
So again, if you're staying in town and traveling to large cities, around the world. It's a not braining., If you do a lot of rural travel, even through interstate routes, I'd avoid them.
DO NOT SWITCH if you actually think they will pay for the costs and fees. They told us they would pay the $800 in fees for my family to switch. We were waiting so long we paid Verizon the $800 so it didn't ding our credit and we have now been fighting with TMobile for 5 MONTHS!!! Trying to get the $800 they swore they would pay. We call every other week and each time...
DO NOT SWITCH if you actually think they will pay for the costs and fees. They told us they would pay the $800 in fees for my family to switch. We were waiting so long we paid Verizon the $800 so it didn't ding our credit and we have now been fighting with TMobile for 5 MONTHS!!! Trying to get the $800 they swore they would pay. We call every other week and each time we are transfers around for hours telling the story over and over to countless "managers" I wish we had just stayed with Verizon
I switched to Tmobile from ATT a couple of weeks ago. The unlimited plan cost less that my ATT plan with only 3GB. Also received free calling to and from Mexico and Canada.
I unlocked and brought 2 phones with me. The signal in my home was better. However, I visited a friend about 100 miles away and there I had no Tmobile signal. This also happened with ATT, although, not very frequently. It...
I switched to Tmobile from ATT a couple of weeks ago. The unlimited plan cost less that my ATT plan with only 3GB. Also received free calling to and from Mexico and Canada.
I unlocked and brought 2 phones with me. The signal in my home was better. However, I visited a friend about 100 miles away and there I had no Tmobile signal. This also happened with ATT, although, not very frequently. It never really bothered me because with ATT I was able to switch to wifi and text and call at any time. This feature was unavailable with Tmobile because, according the tech support, ATT and Tmobile use similar networks but there are differences. One being that sometimes, more often than not, an unlocked phone will not able to use it's feature of wifi calling.
I am now deciding whether or not to switch back.
Swithched to T mobile from AT&T but the service is horrible want to switch back maybe better in other states but not in Texas.
Switching to T today from ATT- yayy
Paid 123 per month for 2 lines with ATT - they gave only 6GB of data.
Will pay 120 per month for 4 lines with military discount with T. It will come down to 110 because one of the line will use less than 2GB.
ATT sucked- overcharged.
Sprint's international plan is much better, especially if you travel to Latin America - if includes free calls.
We had tmobile worked great until Feb 1, 2017. Now we have no service. They tried to tell us we never had service a home. We told them to look at our billing. We used our phones tons previously. Turns out it is a ATT tower closest to us. They advised us to get another carrier and they would unlock our phones so we could port our numbers. My husband purchased a samsung galaxy 7...
We had tmobile worked great until Feb 1, 2017. Now we have no service. They tried to tell us we never had service a home. We told them to look at our billing. We used our phones tons previously. Turns out it is a ATT tower closest to us. They advised us to get another carrier and they would unlock our phones so we could port our numbers. My husband purchased a samsung galaxy 7 from att he has 4 bars 4g. My tmobile samsung galaxy 7 phone unlocked with att sim card gets maybe 2 bars or none at times. T mobile wants full price for phones and is charging us 380 for feb when we had no service at home. Beware the phones dont work well on att and you cannot get rid of the tmobile software that is keeping it from getting service. keeps kicking us off att tower and we have to manualy go to settings and click att tower. They broke the contract by taking away our service....we were roaming off att tower....but we were paying for unlimited roaming.
I switched from AT&T to T-mobile few months ago. I only did it because AT&T prices were too high for my pocket. But I can not believe people are satisfied with the Internet connection and reception of T-mobile. After years with AT&T I understand the difference. I have to use the Internet and call a lot for my job. The reception is often bad, and it is hard to call and reach anybody as fast...
I switched from AT&T to T-mobile few months ago. I only did it because AT&T prices were too high for my pocket. But I can not believe people are satisfied with the Internet connection and reception of T-mobile. After years with AT&T I understand the difference. I have to use the Internet and call a lot for my job. The reception is often bad, and it is hard to call and reach anybody as fast as I did with AT&T. Whenever you are somewhere in suburbs, the Internet is also horrible. I have seen with my own eyes people with AT&T and Verizon sitting with me in one room in Malibu, CA having no trouble calling and watching videos on Youtube, while I had to wait sometimes for minutes to load an email page and seconds to reach people while calling. I also have noticed that my battery dies much faster with T-mobile than when I was with AT&T. Simply very disappointed at this point...
We switched to T-Mobile from AT&T in October of 2015. The pricing, free calls and texts to Canada, and free international roaming data and texts were wonderful.
BUT, my husband and son were constantly dropping calls, and since they both spend most of their work hours on the phone this was totally unacceptable.
We tried for over a year- he upgraded to an iPhone 6S, we got the home hotspot router, but the calls kept...
We switched to T-Mobile from AT&T in October of 2015. The pricing, free calls and texts to Canada, and free international roaming data and texts were wonderful.
BUT, my husband and son were constantly dropping calls, and since they both spend most of their work hours on the phone this was totally unacceptable.
We tried for over a year- he upgraded to an iPhone 6S, we got the home hotspot router, but the calls kept on dropping every single day.
We switched back to AT&T at the end of December 2016, and have not had a single dropped call.
I think T-Mobile is great if you primarily use text and data, but if you need a dependable signal for voice calls it is sadly lacking. Maybe their signal is better in other parts of the USA, but in Las Vegas it just is not reliable.
After 10 years with ATT I had almost the exact same experience. They gave me a hard time trying to unlock my phone, rude agent after rude agent, and after screaming bloody murder and ONLY after screaming bloody murder they unlocked my phone. With ATT you have to be aggressive or they will bully you.
Now T-Mobile... there customer service has been great, everyone is friendly and eager to help, my reception sucks at...
After 10 years with ATT I had almost the exact same experience. They gave me a hard time trying to unlock my phone, rude agent after rude agent, and after screaming bloody murder and ONLY after screaming bloody murder they unlocked my phone. With ATT you have to be aggressive or they will bully you.
Now T-Mobile... there customer service has been great, everyone is friendly and eager to help, my reception sucks at home (Tower is visible from our house) and THEY called ME..(was very impressed) and offered the LTE hotspot that plug into my router to solve the problem. Sadly my home internet is not reliable either and I'm here now about to switch to Straight talk for I will never pay the screw you fees again. I'll lose the hotspot until the next jailbreak but a small price to pay I think.
So as much as T-Mobile has improved over the last few years, as nice as they are it breaks my heart to leave but for people in south florida that are dependent on a good signal for data they just aren't there yet.
Sadly, Tmobile has very limited reception in south central PA. We tried switching from ATT, but had to go back. The coverage map shows completely solid along the I81 corrider, yet even only a mile or two off the highway you often have no reception. I couldn't use my phone at home or work yet ATT and Verizon both had full bars at each location.
I switched about 5 months ago from a 6G data plan with ATT to a 6G unlimited simple choice plan with T-Mobile. I absolutely wanted the Binge On to stream audio and video at no charge or reduction of data left. Also the cost of these plans is $30 per month minimum better at T-Mobile. Plus I was always getting g overage charges at Att. While the plan features was perfect for me, the coverage...
I switched about 5 months ago from a 6G data plan with ATT to a 6G unlimited simple choice plan with T-Mobile. I absolutely wanted the Binge On to stream audio and video at no charge or reduction of data left. Also the cost of these plans is $30 per month minimum better at T-Mobile. Plus I was always getting g overage charges at Att. While the plan features was perfect for me, the coverage hear in the Phoenix/Mesa Arizona area is abysmal. I seldom get more than one bar of signal and 4G only lasts a few minutes and then service goes to nonexistant or less than 2g speeds. My calls regularly get dropped. Tmobile apps and their Web site are down 75% of the time. Their phone customer services is awful. Just get passed from person to person, each making false promises the issues will be solved when the next person calls back. Of course, no one ever calls me back. So while I wish I could either stay on TMobile's Simple Choice or the new One Plan, I can't get those features if the network isn't working hardly anywhere I go in this Phoenix metro area. The coverage charts are just completely inaccurate and always shows fair good or excellent 4glte everywhere. 3 of the areas I frequent most generally don't even get 2g or 3g and experience drops of data and calls.
When I have got someone on the phone for support they are almost always speaking with such heavy non-American accents that I can barely understand them. They apparently dont underatand me or the ussues either. They usually end the call by blaming my problems on the Galaxy Note 4 I use and tell me I need to buy o e of their other phones under contract.
My phone worked great on Att and I guess I'm going to have to switch back to att and their overage charges and lack of unlimited plans (only one they have is if you have direct TV too). I just can't deal with all the TMOBILE problems that prevent me from using the features they claim to provide.
Contact the CEO, John Legere, at his direct email [email protected]. Advise him of your experience and he'll follow up.
A protected TV channel 51 station uses the 700 MHz A block spectrum in Phoenix. On 1/27/2016 KPPX-TV filed to relocate to channel 31. The relocation was approved by the FCC on 6/28/2016. The relocation is expected to be complete by the end of the year. 700 MHz penetrates walls and covers longer distance than the other frequencies T-Mobile uses.
Im surprised nobody mentioned cricket wireless. They use AT&T's tower so signal is not a problem, from my experience atleast, and you will be paying lesser than what you are paying for tmobile. I switched from tmobile because their 4glte failed morethan enough for me to make the switch.
My current plan with cricket wireless is $35 monthly (autopay) with 2.5gb 4glte data, unlimited call, and unlimited text
Because of the free international data (and other things) I am just about to switch to Tmobile. I went in today and was told if I have a biz plan (I am self employed) that it costs the same as the normal plans, but you get free, unlimited roaming, which is on ATT towers. From my understanding, this means that in places without good reception for Tmobile, I will get free roaming to get the...
Because of the free international data (and other things) I am just about to switch to Tmobile. I went in today and was told if I have a biz plan (I am self employed) that it costs the same as the normal plans, but you get free, unlimited roaming, which is on ATT towers. From my understanding, this means that in places without good reception for Tmobile, I will get free roaming to get the ATT good reception. As this was my only concern really from switching from Verizon, I am happy with this. Not something I read about or saw any other place.
I am going from 2 phone and 1 tablet line sharing 4g at Verizon for $140 +tax to 2 phones with 6g each, rollover data, free international data, free texting in flights and 1 hr free gogo, plus free unlimited roaming for $110 + tax per month. After somehow using 90% of my data(shared 4g) in the first 15 days of the month (lots of hotels with bad wifi, not sure how else it was so high) and having to shut off cell data for half the month, I am happy about this.
Just wanted others to know that if you have a biz, you can get free, unlimited roaming.
Thanks Lucky- I am very happy about my switch!
In February of this year (2016) took an RV trip across the us -- from Los Angeles area to North Carolina and up to Ohio and back. I have (and love) T-Mobile. My brother has (and hates) Verizon. Here's how the trip was for us: I had 4G about 10% of the time. My brother had 4G about 90% of the time.
The best places for me were in cities, but outside any major city,...
In February of this year (2016) took an RV trip across the us -- from Los Angeles area to North Carolina and up to Ohio and back. I have (and love) T-Mobile. My brother has (and hates) Verizon. Here's how the trip was for us: I had 4G about 10% of the time. My brother had 4G about 90% of the time.
The best places for me were in cities, but outside any major city, my coverage was either non-existent or too poor to have internet. And T-mobile started to charge me for roaming. Really? For roaming because their network is so pathetic.
Like I said, I really like the company, T-mobile, but I was extremely disappointed in my experience travelling.
Just switched over from ATT to T-mobile on Father's day. 10 gb data at 4GLTE and wi-fi calling with all of the perks (unlimited in'tl data and text, etc.) per line (so 10 gb per line, etc.). Due to a promotion in my region (Cincinnati), I got two lines at a total rate of 70USD/month. With taxes, it comes out to 82USD or so a month. Can't think of any plan that I have had...
Just switched over from ATT to T-mobile on Father's day. 10 gb data at 4GLTE and wi-fi calling with all of the perks (unlimited in'tl data and text, etc.) per line (so 10 gb per line, etc.). Due to a promotion in my region (Cincinnati), I got two lines at a total rate of 70USD/month. With taxes, it comes out to 82USD or so a month. Can't think of any plan that I have had which was more lucrative. On top of that sim charges were waived too. Quite happy at the end of the day.
Just realized time better spent reading covered call writing guide then using proceeds to get me big ass phone with coverage throughout entire trailer park.
@Lucky
Glad you moved away from AT&T. I am still paying $175 for two lines after 28% discount and eagerly waiting for my contract to end.
AT&T got me when I upgraded to IP6, it send a discrete message about $25/month per line increase even though I signed for two year contract. My friend did mention about increase and something about different option but I didn't pay attention because never thought AT&T will bump up...
@Lucky
Glad you moved away from AT&T. I am still paying $175 for two lines after 28% discount and eagerly waiting for my contract to end.
AT&T got me when I upgraded to IP6, it send a discrete message about $25/month per line increase even though I signed for two year contract. My friend did mention about increase and something about different option but I didn't pay attention because never thought AT&T will bump up by $50/month just for getting new phone and got screwed.
I signed up for T-Mobile last year.
It was really great for international roaming, but the coverage is so limited in Washington State that I ended up switching to Verizon.
I would consider T-Mobile for a second account to use for travel outside the USA.
Now I use Verizon TravelPass, which while more expensive was fantastic for my trip to Greece last month.
Two premium New phones on existing T-mobile accounts as well as unlimited data on both would bump your bill back up to $250. Pay off the phones in two years gets you back to $190 and with T-mobiles unlimited streaming it is very unlikely that a typical consumer needs to spend the extra $45 per line for the unlimited. Ten GB is plenty this year and gets you back down to $100 per month. My...
Two premium New phones on existing T-mobile accounts as well as unlimited data on both would bump your bill back up to $250. Pay off the phones in two years gets you back to $190 and with T-mobiles unlimited streaming it is very unlikely that a typical consumer needs to spend the extra $45 per line for the unlimited. Ten GB is plenty this year and gets you back down to $100 per month. My concern is just how fast unlimited as well as tethered / hotspot data is skyrocketing. Not long ago your data was yours to use as needed, whether that was to update your phone, browse on your tablet, or stream on either. Now your tethered data is seperated from phone data. Unlimited is only available for the phone, and it's price has more then doubled from $20 to $45 in just a few years. I hate the thought, but I may need to do a full cost-benefit analysis when the Note 6 comes out.
@Josh R -
I last tried to use it late last year. Note I did NOT pre-load maps at all, so perhaps that helps? I didn't know pre-loading maps was a thing, so I'll have to look into that.
Hope this helps, and good luck.
You know over all, when you look at all four carriers, which would I say is the wisest choice? Tmobile.
Meditate on this...... With all of the Tmobile "uncarrier" moves over the past couple of years, why did the other three carriers have to follow suit IF, what they were offering their subscribers was a fair plan??
To me it, goes to show that Tmobile wanted a "win-win".
Our subscribers get better...
You know over all, when you look at all four carriers, which would I say is the wisest choice? Tmobile.
Meditate on this...... With all of the Tmobile "uncarrier" moves over the past couple of years, why did the other three carriers have to follow suit IF, what they were offering their subscribers was a fair plan??
To me it, goes to show that Tmobile wanted a "win-win".
Our subscribers get better service plans and decent coverage, and Tmobile gets more subscribers and more revenue. How can a company allow some ones mom to pay $260. when they have cheaper plans they can offer?
Crooked. Shame on you AT&T.
I LOVE TMO! I like to tell everyone that I get great coverage all over the world... Except at home ;)
I'm joking of course. On a serious note, I have noticed while on my travels in Asia that I need to turn off LTE data on my iPhone 6 in order to get a connection. My wife's 5S seems to be fine. Keep that in mind if you have connectivity trouble while abroad. Since...
I LOVE TMO! I like to tell everyone that I get great coverage all over the world... Except at home ;)
I'm joking of course. On a serious note, I have noticed while on my travels in Asia that I need to turn off LTE data on my iPhone 6 in order to get a connection. My wife's 5S seems to be fine. Keep that in mind if you have connectivity trouble while abroad. Since they keep you to 128kbps it doesn't make a difference. I have found the speed to be frustrating for web surfing, but perfectly fine for chatting, GPS use and FaceTime Audio calls! I've been able to call back home without wifi using FaceTime Audio with no problem and it's free! Keep in mind calls on wifi are only free to the US. Calling any non-US number will incur a cost whether on wifi or not.
Also, if you find that you are having connectivity/ signal strength issues at home/work, call TMO customer support and let them now. They might offer to send you a free signal booster device to make the signal stronger. Pretty sweet offer.
Enjoy!
As a UK expat who spends a few months a year in the US, you seem to be going through the same thing with your carriers that we went through 5 to 10 years ago with ours - poor service, insanely expensive, locked phones, spotty coverage, grotesque roaming charges. As the industry matures, it will get better. Not being condescending just factual - when I came to work In Dallas in 1997 I was amazed...
As a UK expat who spends a few months a year in the US, you seem to be going through the same thing with your carriers that we went through 5 to 10 years ago with ours - poor service, insanely expensive, locked phones, spotty coverage, grotesque roaming charges. As the industry matures, it will get better. Not being condescending just factual - when I came to work In Dallas in 1997 I was amazed my business colleagues still used pagers... I couldn't understand why you'd call to say you wanted to call....!!
Unless you are traveling in many countries, ALL of the American carriers are either overpriced and /or offer many elements of bad service. Even T-Mobile's prices are ridiculous compared to the prices offered by European companies. I paid 20 euros (about $23) for 3 months of cell and data service (10 mB) in Spain. The first month was totally FREE and then the cost was 3 centimes a minute. I, too, dumped AT&T and I...
Unless you are traveling in many countries, ALL of the American carriers are either overpriced and /or offer many elements of bad service. Even T-Mobile's prices are ridiculous compared to the prices offered by European companies. I paid 20 euros (about $23) for 3 months of cell and data service (10 mB) in Spain. The first month was totally FREE and then the cost was 3 centimes a minute. I, too, dumped AT&T and I hope everyone abandons them as they are the prototype for ugly, awful service. I had the same experience in unlocking my phone which is the key to cheap international calls and data. I use VOIP when possible and the European SIM when not; when I return to the US, I swap out that one for my Consumer Cellular SIM (they use AT&T's infrastructure but they have EXCELLENT service and prices).
Also - if you travel say for only a few days at a time, Internationally, the Verizon $10/day is pretty nice. That gives you unlimited text and TALK, and the data bytes come out of your Verizon plan allotment. Cellular data is still slow compared to WiFi. So if you talk a lot, and use data mostly with WiFi - Verizon is a good option.
Currently, two of us that share a data plan...
Also - if you travel say for only a few days at a time, Internationally, the Verizon $10/day is pretty nice. That gives you unlimited text and TALK, and the data bytes come out of your Verizon plan allotment. Cellular data is still slow compared to WiFi. So if you talk a lot, and use data mostly with WiFi - Verizon is a good option.
Currently, two of us that share a data plan only use 5% of our shared GB since we are almost always on WiFi. So that gives you data when you want it. I also find that may restaurants, bars, and other establishments offer WiFi - just ask for their password.
Isn't the free GoGo WiFi limited to one hour per flight? For you Ben, that may be too restrictive per flight.
Lucky,
Make sure you dial #766# and restart your phone before trying to use data abroad. This will "activate" the international data. I had some issues in Hong Kong, Mexico, and Dubai before checking with T-Mobile. They told me this was needed to "enable it on the back end".
P
Phone plans are so ridiculously priced in the States. Currently I pay USD 18 dollars a month for unlimited 4G LTE advanced plan in Taiwan with 60 minutes free and only 8 cents a minute calling afterwards. Even when traveling abroad, we can sign up for 10 USD a day unlimited 4G data roaming.
Welcome to the club! Had T-mobile for nearly two years and used it in dozens of countries (currently in Japan as I type). And slow is absolutely better than nothing.
I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile as soon as their new plan came out. We live in Mexico for half the year in the US the other half and often travel to Europe. I am thrilled with this plan and in very surprises take another's this long to figure it out. Just imagine a data plan including text where there are no boundaries and that is what you get with T-Mobile. On a recent cruise...
I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile as soon as their new plan came out. We live in Mexico for half the year in the US the other half and often travel to Europe. I am thrilled with this plan and in very surprises take another's this long to figure it out. Just imagine a data plan including text where there are no boundaries and that is what you get with T-Mobile. On a recent cruise in the Mediterranean we were always so close to shore I have always had a tower that I was connected wirelessly and avoided the crew ships high-speed Internet costs. It was simply amazing! I used my cell phone as my hotspot and tethered my iPad and PC so that I had Internet connection for almost the entire trip. As far as connection is concerned I have come to appreciate that I don't necessarily need five bars on my T-Mobile phone to be able to carry on a conversation with someone when using voice. Who knows perhaps AT&T was lying to us all the time and manipulating their software to show five bars when indeed maybe there were just two bars but the bottom line is you still have good reception. We never did take it vantage of the $.20 per minute phone calls in Europe as texting and emails worked just fine for us. But I can tell you living in Mexico and being able to use my phone as if I was in the United States is absolutely wonderful. Plus unlimited calling to and from Canada is also included in this plan.
Lucky just to point out the free data is always a tier lower in speeds typically edge but if you really want you can always buy international unlimited data pretty cheap in 1/3/7 day packages I've done it it's great.but I only do it when I think I need it sometimes I just deal typically T-Mobile sends you a text to reply to and that. You just buy the package it's awesome!
Be sure to confirm that the country you are in is part of the plan. You wind up in some oddball and not so oddball countries and it may not be such as: Vietnam, Morocco and Oman.
My husband and I switched to T-Mobile from AT&T about 2 years ago. Initially coverage in the US was not as good as AT&T so we used an AT&T router occasionally and paid $50 extra a few times per year. As you've noticed now, coverage has improved greatly in the last couple years so we don't use AT&T at all now. During this time we have spent a lot of time out of the US...
My husband and I switched to T-Mobile from AT&T about 2 years ago. Initially coverage in the US was not as good as AT&T so we used an AT&T router occasionally and paid $50 extra a few times per year. As you've noticed now, coverage has improved greatly in the last couple years so we don't use AT&T at all now. During this time we have spent a lot of time out of the US and have loved the convenience of being able to use our phones with roaming on without paying extra for data. We are often on 3G or better without paying more (they advertise that you can pay more for faster data but I tried it once and didn't notice a difference). I like being able to watch MLB games on my mobile devices free also. The GoGo perk will be great too! I think you will like not having to worry about a big phone bill when traveling abroad.
Switched to T-Mobile about a year ago. We recently took advantage of a new offer that was 4 lines, unlimited data, $150 a month. That's $37.50 per line for unlimited everything, which is almost absurd.
I will say, T-Mobile's weaknesses are indoors (at least, where I live, as they weren't able to access band 12 because some television networks in the area already use it) and outside of major cities. I find that to be...
Switched to T-Mobile about a year ago. We recently took advantage of a new offer that was 4 lines, unlimited data, $150 a month. That's $37.50 per line for unlimited everything, which is almost absurd.
I will say, T-Mobile's weaknesses are indoors (at least, where I live, as they weren't able to access band 12 because some television networks in the area already use it) and outside of major cities. I find that to be frustrating at times, but then I remember that I'm paying about 1/3 what I was paying to AT&T.
Also, the free international data is generally miserably slow, but it works well enough for Uber or Google Maps, for example.
I'm still with AT&T. While in Europe for work, I rely on free hotel WiFi which now allows for free phone calls and texting along with data which works adequately. Of course, a reasonable international data plan would be great. T-Mobile doesn't work well in my neighborhood at home so I'm stuck with them until coverage gets better.
For best experience possible on T-Mobile and future proofing yourself I highly suggest getting a band 12 phone which takes advantage of their newly extended range LTE which is low band spectrum. It is used for building penetration. Most of Samsung has it and for Apple 6S, 6S+ and the SE.
I had T-Mobile since the days of Voicestream for those that remember. Anyway, when we moved 9 years, there was no T-Mobile service in my neighborhood. Essentially, I switched my family's lines to AT&T. During the Christmas season, I ran into a local T-Mobile store manager who was telling how T-Mobile had made lots of improvements in the area and I may have service. Life happened and I forgot to follow up and check the...
I had T-Mobile since the days of Voicestream for those that remember. Anyway, when we moved 9 years, there was no T-Mobile service in my neighborhood. Essentially, I switched my family's lines to AT&T. During the Christmas season, I ran into a local T-Mobile store manager who was telling how T-Mobile had made lots of improvements in the area and I may have service. Life happened and I forgot to follow up and check the coverage map. Once I did, I went to a local T-Mobile store a few weeks later and made the switch. I've never been happier. My bill went from close to $400/month at AT&T to $160/month at T-Mobile for 6 lines 10GB promotion plan. I have more features than I did with AT&T including BingeOn, free GoGo Wifi when I travel and can use my phone internationally like I do in the U.S. Let's not forget T-Mobile Tuesday's. I'm so glad that I saw the store manager and made the switch to T-Mobile. By the way, I'm getting the same service I did with AT&T but with T-Mobile at a cheaper price and more features. Thanks to John Legere for coming to T-Mobile and making a huge change. I highly recommend T-Mobile without any reservation.
For the past year, I have traveled with both phones and paid about $150 per month total. That's $100 for AT&T with grandfathered unlimited international data and about $50 per month for T-Mobile (I share a $100 per month plan with my daughter).
AT&T is far, far superior to T-Mobile for me, in terms of speed and reliability. T-Mobile, on the other hand, works well for calling (20 cents per minute when dialing internationally...
For the past year, I have traveled with both phones and paid about $150 per month total. That's $100 for AT&T with grandfathered unlimited international data and about $50 per month for T-Mobile (I share a $100 per month plan with my daughter).
AT&T is far, far superior to T-Mobile for me, in terms of speed and reliability. T-Mobile, on the other hand, works well for calling (20 cents per minute when dialing internationally while traveling - that includ
es calls back ot the US), texts (free) and light email. For loading web pages or uploading photos, T-Mobile renders at probably 1/20th the time that it takes AT&T to render the same web page or upload a photo.
T-Mobile does allow tethering but it's useless abroad because of the throttled data speeds.
All these stories about T-Mobile being slow internationally has definitely not been the case with me. I've been a T-Mo customer for almost 15 years now from back when it was Voicestream. I've been through the good times and the bad. When T-Mobile first launched the international data coverage plans it was as they advertised, very slow. Starting about mid way last year every network I've connected to abroad has been 3G or even LTE....
All these stories about T-Mobile being slow internationally has definitely not been the case with me. I've been a T-Mo customer for almost 15 years now from back when it was Voicestream. I've been through the good times and the bad. When T-Mobile first launched the international data coverage plans it was as they advertised, very slow. Starting about mid way last year every network I've connected to abroad has been 3G or even LTE. From multiple EU countries to South Africa, the Mideast, SE Asia, HK, China, Japan, Brazil etc. All the essentials I've needed traveling work flawlessly from Google Maps to Youtube. A bonus is roaming with T-Mobile in China gets you past their firewall so all your Google services, Facebook and Instagram work just fine. A restriction on the service as that you couldn't be out of the country for more than a month or so while roaming on T-Mobile. I was informed by a rep earlier this year that the restriction has been lifted and you can roam indefinitely. I haven't tested this but it makes the service even better IMO.
@Tuggernuts. I've used their plan in Brussels and Stuttgart, and it works well. The only issue I had was I didn't put the phone into airplane mode during the flight, and it picked up a tower in Ireland, so that's when the clock started my 24 hour period.
These mobile people are all crooks. It takes a lot of work and a whole lot of time, but for our 4 iPhones and 30gb data, I pay $219/month with AT&T. Basically what you have to do is not do these silly phone upgrade things. You have to pay the full retail price of the phone and either break your contract or let it expire. We're all out of contract and when we get new...
These mobile people are all crooks. It takes a lot of work and a whole lot of time, but for our 4 iPhones and 30gb data, I pay $219/month with AT&T. Basically what you have to do is not do these silly phone upgrade things. You have to pay the full retail price of the phone and either break your contract or let it expire. We're all out of contract and when we get new phones it's no longer $200 up front...it's $500-$1000. The math on this only puts you ahead if you keep a phone a minimum of 2 years. I'm just happy to know exactly what I'm paying for.
Gene - Yes it does. We even leave our VOIP landline phone on call forwarding and set a curfew on the phone for no calls between late night and early morning as we specify.
Does your phone receive INcoming international calls automatically (at 20 cents per minute)? I am clueless about these things, but I would love to be able to travel and receive calls seamlessly as if I were at home.
I pay $85 per month, including extra data and monthly free calling to the UK. T-mobile have secret lower plan rates they throw at you if you even hint at leaving ;-)
T-mobile list all of the countries that offer free unlimited international calling. Keeping in mind this is for calls back to the US, and not other countries...where you'll pay the 0.20c per min or off wifi charge. Now you can also call...
I pay $85 per month, including extra data and monthly free calling to the UK. T-mobile have secret lower plan rates they throw at you if you even hint at leaving ;-)
T-mobile list all of the countries that offer free unlimited international calling. Keeping in mind this is for calls back to the US, and not other countries...where you'll pay the 0.20c per min or off wifi charge. Now you can also call T-mobile before departure and pay a $5 monthly fee for faster 4G coverage and free in-country calls overseas which you just cancel upon your return. Basically they have a lot more services for International coverage when traveling, you just have to speak with them. (forget about asking at the store ...they know very little).
I also find that since you switch to one of the premiere carriers in each country, service coverage is excellent, even in China where I had full access to google and all of my usual sites. This is also very helpful in Muslim countries where the hotels ban certain sites, but you'll still have access via your phone.
T-mobile coverage is excellent in LA, and other major cities. Not so good in smaller US towns.
Download the free Tmobile Tuesday App as well.
Enjoy
@Brian - must be doable on iOS, Android was a definite no unless using TMobile's version of the OS. And since my phone isn't sold by any carrier there isn't a tmobile version of my stock (or nearly stock) android...
Anyone have experience using Verizon with their $10/day plan?
Love T-mobile especially when travelling in Europe but once I cross the river to rural Pennsylvania - forgetaboutit - luckily thats only a couple of times a year.
Another nice thing about the T-Mobile plan is that if you end up needing faster speeds while you're overseas than the free/unlimited plan includes, you can easily and temporarily tack on a paid package for full 4G speeds at rates that are similar to the paid "mobile passport" plans that AT&T offers.
Andy- Just wanted to reply to your comment about WiFi calling not subject to the 20 cents/minute charge. Tmobile told me that they will charge it if I am traveling internationally and am using WiFi. Check with one to be sure.
I switched from Verizon to T-mobile few months back, and its the best decision I have made. I managed to snag 4 lines with unlimited Talk/Text and DATA for $150/month, and not had any issues with signal quality.
Not to sound like a T-Mobile salesperson, but they really are pretty great for the reasons others have said. If you can rope 6 people into a plan the rates are ridiculously cheap. 2 GB data each for $120 a month for 6 lines, or 10GB data each for $180 a month, plus probably around $25 taxes and fees. That's around $24 per line for the 2 GB data plan, or $34 per line for...
Not to sound like a T-Mobile salesperson, but they really are pretty great for the reasons others have said. If you can rope 6 people into a plan the rates are ridiculously cheap. 2 GB data each for $120 a month for 6 lines, or 10GB data each for $180 a month, plus probably around $25 taxes and fees. That's around $24 per line for the 2 GB data plan, or $34 per line for the 10 GB plan. They also have a ton of affinity discounts (colleges, associations, etc), which could knock off another 10-15%. Pretty great.
Wow that seems expensive from a UK point of view. I'm paying with Three £11 ($15) all in for 600 minutes a month (incoming are all free) and 2 GB, with usage in 20 countries, including the USA counting as if it were back in the USA.
I think its you get what you pay for. I am in Asia for 2 months then back in the USA for a month. I stay with AT&T for coverage and the passport package is straight forward. AT&T also warns you via text if your about to go over.
T-mobile in my opinion is to slow in Asia and Europe. When I am not using AT&T, I have a Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and...
I think its you get what you pay for. I am in Asia for 2 months then back in the USA for a month. I stay with AT&T for coverage and the passport package is straight forward. AT&T also warns you via text if your about to go over.
T-mobile in my opinion is to slow in Asia and Europe. When I am not using AT&T, I have a Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia sim card. I thought long about switching to T-Mobile but the 2g download overseas is no good for me.
i've been stubborn and thus have stuck with sprint for the past 13 years and i have to say, they've slowly but surely become much more reliable for international travel. i can generally get a 3G signal in any country and they'll send a text when i land clearly indicating the data, voice and text charges (which are generally pretty reasonable). works like a charm in SIN and HKG. domestically, signal coverage is fine but...
i've been stubborn and thus have stuck with sprint for the past 13 years and i have to say, they've slowly but surely become much more reliable for international travel. i can generally get a 3G signal in any country and they'll send a text when i land clearly indicating the data, voice and text charges (which are generally pretty reasonable). works like a charm in SIN and HKG. domestically, signal coverage is fine but i live in nyc so i'm not sure about the boonies. paying $105/month for 500 min of talk and unlimited data (of which i use a LOT).
If you are on T-mobile, you might want to write about the giveaway tuesday promos that tmobile is running on its app................................. (just saying)
We switched from AT&T to T-Mobile about a year ago, and have absolutely loved it. The coverage in LA was more or less the same before and after the switch. T-mobile data speeds seemed significantly better, but indoor signal strength can be a little worse, because of the bands they use (though they have rolled out new frequencies in some areas that solve this.) Signal in our old mid-city house wasn't great, but wifi calling...
We switched from AT&T to T-Mobile about a year ago, and have absolutely loved it. The coverage in LA was more or less the same before and after the switch. T-mobile data speeds seemed significantly better, but indoor signal strength can be a little worse, because of the bands they use (though they have rolled out new frequencies in some areas that solve this.) Signal in our old mid-city house wasn't great, but wifi calling made that a non-issue.
International trips used to cost me about $100/week between data, texts, and calls when I was on AT&T (adding international plans in advance.) Since the switch, that has dropped to near $0, because of free data, texts, and wifi calling.
Since you bought your phone from AT&T, there might be some international frequencies that you don't have an antenna for. Next time you get a new phone, get one from Apple that isn't tied to a carrier, and you will pick up a few more frequencies.
Another thing to note is that if you find yourself in an area where there is an AT&T signal, but no T-Mobile signal, your phone hop over to the AT&T signal and you will see the carrier switch in your iphone menubar. So I don't sweat the coverage differences either.
I went with Google Fi as an additional phone and am perfectly happy with that. Pausing service when I'm not abroad so just using it for $10/gb at 256kbps speeds (twice that of T-Mobile).
For some reason it seems to just be that one date that it's loaded in the schedule... from what I saw I assumed it was every day, seeing as how ORD finally made a gate at T5 A380 capable.
https://www.google.com/flights/#search;f=ORD;t=DXB,DWC;d=2016-07-19;r=2016-07-24;tt=o;sel=ORDDXB0EK236
@TravelinWilly--When was the last time you tried Maps in South Africa with T-Mo data? Did you download the maps in advance? I was planning on using my (android) phone there as GPS, but you've got me concerned now.
Regarding cell phone reception, as long as you're in a decent-sized town, you'll be fine. Where it can be an issue is when you're driving through the hinterlands between cities, especially off the interstates. You may still get enough reception to make a call, but for data, you're more than likely going to be relegated to Edge network speeds - in other words, pretty much unusable. But that's a trade-off I'm willing to make for...
Regarding cell phone reception, as long as you're in a decent-sized town, you'll be fine. Where it can be an issue is when you're driving through the hinterlands between cities, especially off the interstates. You may still get enough reception to make a call, but for data, you're more than likely going to be relegated to Edge network speeds - in other words, pretty much unusable. But that's a trade-off I'm willing to make for the cost savings and the unlimited international data.
Yes, download TMobile Tuesdays. Between my wife and I, we got 2 free Dominos Pizzas and 2 Wendy's Frostys, just for being a TMobile customer. And next Tuesday, we'll get them free as well. As they say in the promo "Other cell carriers want to screw you, we just want to take you out for dinner.":)
@Sice - not true. My Verizon bought iPhone works fine on wi-if calling. Not sure if there is a list of compatible devices with wi-if calling, but there might be.
I switched and couldn't be happier. Took advantage of their ETF offer. I upgraded two lines at a discount, promptly switched, and made my claim. It worked surprisingly well. One of their reps at a kiosk clued me in on how you can trade in any phone, where some others make you trade in your current phone. Data worked fine on our European cruise and my reception has just gotten better over the years. It...
I switched and couldn't be happier. Took advantage of their ETF offer. I upgraded two lines at a discount, promptly switched, and made my claim. It worked surprisingly well. One of their reps at a kiosk clued me in on how you can trade in any phone, where some others make you trade in your current phone. Data worked fine on our European cruise and my reception has just gotten better over the years. It used to be 2G at my house, but I now get a reliable LTE signal. You will lose signal in some rural areas, but I am fine with that. They do give you like 100MB domestic roaming data. I was on AT&T network until I used it up. The free streaming is accurate. I have streamed complete MLB games in HD. For baseball fans, they give you a free subscription to MLB.tv
2 of my lines on Verizon were dumb phones. Now I have 4 smart phones, 10GB each (which is essentially unlimited) for about 65% of what I was paying Verizon, with only 2 smart phones. Yeah, I'm glad I switched.
Of course 1 minute of data overseas is $500 if you're stupid about it. All you have to do is sign up for an international plan, which you can do one-time or recurring, so it fits you if you are just doing one trip or traveling all the time, and your costs are very reasonable. I travel overseas for about 2 weeks at a time and pay $120 for my AT&T data plan and have cell phone data the entire time without being tethered to wifi for the entire trip.
@andy, @sam, I talked with TMobile about switching from ATT, when I asked about using my already unlocked phone (MotoX Pure) for wifi calling I was told it is not possible unless the phone came from TMobile. TMobile coverage is sketchy where I live so the fact that no wifi calling meant a big fat NO for me to change. So just be aware that anyone switching like this will not be able to use wifi calling...
@Lucky I just saw it on Airliners.net, however if you go to Emirates.com you can see that starting the 19th of July, EK235/236 is operated by an A388.
One potentially smarter path as well, would have been to sell your existing unlocked phones (ebay, craigslist, etc.). Then go to an Apple store and get a fully unlocked/carrier neutral 6s phone. Then go to tmobile and pick a data plan. Apple now has yearly upgrades for "free" (as long as you keep paying the monthly device payment). As others have stated ATT phones sometimes have neutered LTE bands that a fresh Apple store phone...
One potentially smarter path as well, would have been to sell your existing unlocked phones (ebay, craigslist, etc.). Then go to an Apple store and get a fully unlocked/carrier neutral 6s phone. Then go to tmobile and pick a data plan. Apple now has yearly upgrades for "free" (as long as you keep paying the monthly device payment). As others have stated ATT phones sometimes have neutered LTE bands that a fresh Apple store phone will have available. Buying the phone from an Apple store also includes Apple Care, which can be handy.
If you are happy (for now) with your old iPhone, then wait until September when the iPhone 7 comes out and then get on the one-year upgrade cycle via a Apple Store phone. TMobile phones are locked, so I would NOT buy a Iphone from Tmobile (even though they also have a 1 year upgrade plan).
I love TMo. I have unlimited data for $80/month for one line. Last weekend I was able to stream TV in the car from St. Pete to Wilmington. Only time I've ever had connectivity issues is in very rural places like Ocracoke, and there I just use WiFi calling when not at the beach. Internationally, I even got intermittent 4G LTE in Zurich and Perth. Top marks, really.
Don't forget 1hr of free gogo per flight as a Tmo user.
Also be sure to eat 1 free pizza a week ;)
t-mobiletuesdays.com
I got TMobile for an overseas trip a couple years ago as a trail run. It was so slow that I was only able to text and email, internet was unusable. Additionally, I kept getting drop calls at home with TMobile, I ended up canceling the service and stayed with ATT.
I got T Mobile a year ago on your recommendation, and I'm happy.
Data speed in Europe was fine. Their T&Cs scare you with how slow it might be, but actual practice was very satisfactory -- at least for basic web surfing and email.
I had to turn off my phone and restart to connect in France. No need to purchase the "high speed" plan they try to spam you with.
Note the new iPhone 6s and 6s plus support "Band 12" on TMobile which greatly improves reception in those areas that have it. For us it means I now have reception in Costco where the 6 does not.
I'm thinking there might be a niche for a blogger that knows travel and technology.
Good for you, I love my T-Mobile international plan and would never go back to ATT. And by all means download the T-Mobile Tuesdays app and sign up, yesterday's rewards were awesome!
While off-topic, just wondering if you saw that Emirates is upgauging ORD to the A380? Hopefully award space is plentiful!
@ Nolan -- I hadn't. Where are you seeing this reported? Thanks!
Ben,
In reading over the comments, there are a lot of data points, some of them conflicting. Allow me to add mine. Note that I'm not saying anyone here is right or wrong, I'm just saying you'll see for yourself how good or not good T-Mobile is in various usage scenarios.
-US mobile reception: Great. Patchy in not-so-populated areas, but pretty decent overall. I think Verizon is best for US coverage, AT&T is second best,...
Ben,
In reading over the comments, there are a lot of data points, some of them conflicting. Allow me to add mine. Note that I'm not saying anyone here is right or wrong, I'm just saying you'll see for yourself how good or not good T-Mobile is in various usage scenarios.
-US mobile reception: Great. Patchy in not-so-populated areas, but pretty decent overall. I think Verizon is best for US coverage, AT&T is second best, but T-Mobile is fine for me.
-Calls outside the US: When I closed my AT&T account, the rep. told me that AT&T offered 20 cents/minute to call the USA, just like T-Mobile. She was wrong. I don't think she was lying, merely misinformed. One thing I like - make that LOVE - about T-Mobile is that when you are in a place where you risk racking up charges unintentionally, they WARN YOU VIA A TEXT MESSAGE AND YOU HAVE TO OPT IN IF YOU REALLY WANT TO DO SOMETHING STUPID. Examples include warning about data on Singapore and Emirates airlines, as well as phone calls while in Vietnam and Malawi, for example, which are not part of their calling plan. The messages are explicit: "Welcome to Vietnam. Out of plan coverage. $0.50 /text and $5.00/min talk. For info. call us for free: +1 505 998 XXXX" Furthermore, when you sign up for a data plan, you are cut off when you reach the limit - a real godsend when you want to avoid enormous data charges.
-US data: Very speedy, and at times I don't even notice I'm not on wi-fi.
-International data: Someone upthread posted that T-Mobile is fine for data outside the US. That has not been my experience, especially in South Africa, where attempting to use Google Maps for directions is completely futile. There have been other times where data has been faster, but it was never fast enough for maps.
Anyway, glad you made the switch. I suspect you'll be glad you did, too.
I switched to TMobile from years with ATT about 3 months ago when they released the North America (US/Can/Mex) no boundaries coverage. I absolutely love it, Voice, Text and Data is 100% 4G LTE seamless in Mexico and Canada for zero cents more, I used to overpay ATT for roaming usage in Mexico, NEVER AGAIN !
We switched back two years ago to T-Mobile from AT&T after having been with (previously) Verizon and prior to that T-Mobile. T-Mobile does have some areas of poor reception, as does any carrier, but overall in larger cities, no problems for us. We have an unlimited plan (including data), which is great because two of the three of us use a lot of data. The international data is slow (think 2G or maybe slow 3G)...
We switched back two years ago to T-Mobile from AT&T after having been with (previously) Verizon and prior to that T-Mobile. T-Mobile does have some areas of poor reception, as does any carrier, but overall in larger cities, no problems for us. We have an unlimited plan (including data), which is great because two of the three of us use a lot of data. The international data is slow (think 2G or maybe slow 3G) but usable. With AT&T, the data was slow and very expensive. Overall, we're very happy with the usability and the price of service, much more so that AT&T and even more so than Verizon.
We switched from AT&T to T-Mobile a couple of years ago and have never looked back. I often joke that I get better reception overseas than at home, and anybody considering T-Mobile should try to check in advance whether T-Mobile will meet their needs domestically.
As for foreign travel, T-Mobile has seriously improved our travel experience.
I made the switch to TMobile last year when I returned to the US (I had been living in the UAE) and I wanted a phone that required zero effort when traveling abroad. Overall, I'm happy with it. I pay $88 a month and have unlimited calls and data here in the US, and unlimited data abroad. Phone calls are expensive abroad but I rarely need to make a call. So that is fine. ONE...
I made the switch to TMobile last year when I returned to the US (I had been living in the UAE) and I wanted a phone that required zero effort when traveling abroad. Overall, I'm happy with it. I pay $88 a month and have unlimited calls and data here in the US, and unlimited data abroad. Phone calls are expensive abroad but I rarely need to make a call. So that is fine. ONE THING about TMobile in the US. Overall it does work pretty well in the US. However, when in semi-rural areas or outside of main cities telephone service can get real spotty REAL quick. I was in Santa Fe, New Mexico last summer with friends. My service there, and especially my service once I got right outside the city was horrible to non -existent. My friends on Verizon and AT&T had no such problems. I've had similar issues/ experiences in other places such as in Vail and Telluride Colorado and in Nantucket, mass. So, it's cheap, but there can be a trade off.
You were overpaying for your ATT service bigtime. I pay $130 per month for 2 lines and 20GB of data.
As for T-Mobile coverage, you will likely not have a problem as you tend to always be in major metro areas. If you travel outside of those, coverage is definitely YMMV.
I have a company phone so I just pay the $120 for the AT&T passport gold for 30 days when I have a long international trip and want data. Sometimes I will get the lower plan depending on my trip length. I will definitely be looking for follow up posts about service quality as you get a taste of TMobile international.
I switched to T-Mobile from Verizon. For my usage in cities and suburbs, it's all gravy, even pretty far into the boonies 40 minutes out of town. I love texting friends from other countries, especially if they know I am abroad and aren't aware of the leaps in international wireless service :)
I take Megabus between Austin and Dallas fairly frequently (especially if I can buy in advance and get a $1 fare!!!!!) I use...
I switched to T-Mobile from Verizon. For my usage in cities and suburbs, it's all gravy, even pretty far into the boonies 40 minutes out of town. I love texting friends from other countries, especially if they know I am abroad and aren't aware of the leaps in international wireless service :)
I take Megabus between Austin and Dallas fairly frequently (especially if I can buy in advance and get a $1 fare!!!!!) I use tethering data on those 4-hour bus rides because the Megabus on-board WiFi is pretty bad. I lose my T-Mobile signal for awhile in the wasteland between the two cities, at which point I read, write, or watch pre-loaded movies.
I asked a more tech-savvy friend about Google Fi after reading Tiffany's post, noticing I average about 4GB of data a month on T-Mobile and guessing it could be quite a savings. My friend reminded me, though, that the major providers, including T-Mobile, offer free streaming, meaning listening to Pandora or Spotify, watching Netflix or Youtube, etc. on your phone does not count against your data total. I can't confirm that, but if it is true, then my data usage is artificially low on my T-Mobile plan and I might not save much changing to Google Fi unless I significantly alter my streaming habits.
@Lucky-- If you're referring to having purchased your AT&T phone at full price (meaning you were just paying $260/month for service) then I stand corrected. However I was assuming that the phone was bundled with the plan as most carriers did 5 years ago when you got that plan.
@Rand-- you don't have to wait until July. T-Mobile will pay your ETF if you switch before your contract is up assuming you get a new phone from them and give them an old phone.
@ JoshR -- Nope! Have had this plan for probably about a decade, but I've been paying the bill for five years. Bought a new iPhone 18 months ago at full price, and my mom's has been out of contract for a long time.
@Mark You must work for ATT the plans are so complicated so obtuse even the reps dont know what they are doing. Fact is Carriers are unethical and deceptive. Ive been a VZW client for almost 20yrs but as with Ben enough is enough and I am not an Intl traveler. Ben regardless what Mark says you did the right thing. An old sage applies "Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it"
@cameron, its true, the cell situation in the US is insanely expensive. But you have to remember how big this country is. Vodafone has to make a network in the UK, which is as big as the state of Oregon. That said, we are still getting ripped off because the big carriers aren't putting nearly enough money into expanding our networks.
T-Mobile data speeds internationally are slow. I made the switch from AT&T to T-Mobile a year ago and it was the best decision I could have made.
You won't have any problem downloading emails, sending texts, using maps/GPS, and FaceTime is usually ok. But downloading email attachments, Instagram, etc are all painfully slow. It's counterintuitive that FaceTime should work reasonably well but Instagram is slow, but that's consistently been my experience.
Also be sure to...
T-Mobile data speeds internationally are slow. I made the switch from AT&T to T-Mobile a year ago and it was the best decision I could have made.
You won't have any problem downloading emails, sending texts, using maps/GPS, and FaceTime is usually ok. But downloading email attachments, Instagram, etc are all painfully slow. It's counterintuitive that FaceTime should work reasonably well but Instagram is slow, but that's consistently been my experience.
Also be sure to turn on "T-Mobile Wifi." It essentially turns your phone into a VoIP (Voice Over IP) device so even if you're overseas, when connected to wifi your phone works exactly as it would in the US (no long distance charges, etc).
Unlocking is fine, but it won't get one 4G-LTE abroad. For that, one needs (a) a local SIM and prepaid account, not TMobile; (b) a phone that can handle the LTE bands used in various countries. AT&T sells crippled versions of phones that don't support too many bands other than AT&T's own. The international version of the Samsung S7 or LG G5 or Google Nexus 5X, on the other hand, support 95% of the world's...
Unlocking is fine, but it won't get one 4G-LTE abroad. For that, one needs (a) a local SIM and prepaid account, not TMobile; (b) a phone that can handle the LTE bands used in various countries. AT&T sells crippled versions of phones that don't support too many bands other than AT&T's own. The international version of the Samsung S7 or LG G5 or Google Nexus 5X, on the other hand, support 95% of the world's LTE bands.
Plus, if you pay full price for one of those phones, you are no longer stuck with monthly plans from the big four, but can use much cheaper prepaid plans.
Hey,
If you got a business plan, you can add lines for like $30/month after the first 2. So you can add friends and family for very cheap.
$260 for TWO lines!!! Holy S**t. In the UK on Vodafone (of all networks) I pay £17 for Unlimited minutes/texts with 20GB of data and roaming is £3 or £5 per day (which for a long trip I guess is kinda expensive, but you use the same data as at home. And on new plans it's included). Even if i had the phone through then it would only cost £45-50.
tmobile seems to be just fine as long as you're on major highways, or in fairly populated urban/suburban areas. Once you get away from those places Verizon and AT&T are a necessity IMO.
I have had a similar experience with Verizon Im currently paying $80 for 1 phone and 2 gigs of data I am getting ready to move to Straight talk or maybe Tmobile after reading your column. While its true that Tmobiles coverage wasnt as good those days are pretty much over. My contract is up in July and that will be my decision point. Thanks for the kick in the rear Ben
Specific to your pre-switch AT&T rate plan - if you don't need unlimited calling, why did you keep that?
There have been, and continue to be, many rate plans, promotions and other offer for loads of data on AT&T for half the price of "retail". Right now 15GB shared data with rollover is $130 for two lines of service. Not exactly the same, but do you know how much data your mom uses? Does...
Specific to your pre-switch AT&T rate plan - if you don't need unlimited calling, why did you keep that?
There have been, and continue to be, many rate plans, promotions and other offer for loads of data on AT&T for half the price of "retail". Right now 15GB shared data with rollover is $130 for two lines of service. Not exactly the same, but do you know how much data your mom uses? Does she need 10GB? Between the two of you, how much data each month were you using?
I'm just saying - it's not as simple of comparing T-Mo's $100 offer with your $260 plan. There are many many options - you didn't really consider the other AT&T options, it seems.
@ Mark -- Totally agree, and like I said, I'm not very good with tech, so I'm not the person to compare these things side by side. 15GB shared data would have probably been more than enough, though I'm still paying 30% for less data without international roaming, right? Does AT&T offer anything for international roaming which even begins to compete with T-Mobile? That's the real reason I made the switch.
I know that you are not technically savvy, but the TMobile free data abroad is good for emails and maps. Everything else is EXTREMELY slow. Also, you will have issues with TMobile coverage in the USA, they are good actually in LA, but bad in other places. I personally use TMO because I save a good fortune, but you get what you pay for....
@ Ober Bober Grober -- Right, I realize it won't be high speed abroad, but I'm sure it's better than nothing, which is what I have right now.
I tried it, but in suburban LA I found that T-Mobile used way more battery than AT&T. Probably because the phone has to work that much harder to hold a signal. I'm lucky in that I have an unlimited international data plan that I may never give up with AT&T, since it's not available anymore. I used over 5GB of data during our last Europe trip, no charge, and mostly LTE or HSPA high speed data.
Welcome to the Club! It amazes me that you travel bloggers hadn't all switched to T-Mobile a long time ago. It's life changing to a traveler. For all the "travel tips" you guys offer, this is a HUGE one that was always given very little coverage.
Just be warned Maldives is not part of the free international data plan on Tmobile. Learned that the hard way :P
you can get the calls for free by using an app like google hangouts which uses data for phone calls instead of cell service
Congrats on the switch! You may want to point out that you saved 60% because your AT&T plan probably included the cost of the phones for ~$199 when you signed up, you're currently out of contract with AT&T and you didn't get new phones with T-Mobile. If you were on a new AT&T plan, were still under contract and/or purchased new phones with T-Mobile you would be paying a bit more but still saving a...
Congrats on the switch! You may want to point out that you saved 60% because your AT&T plan probably included the cost of the phones for ~$199 when you signed up, you're currently out of contract with AT&T and you didn't get new phones with T-Mobile. If you were on a new AT&T plan, were still under contract and/or purchased new phones with T-Mobile you would be paying a bit more but still saving a lot of money (just not quite 60%).
I switched to T-Mobile just over 2 years ago and couldn't be happier. I also found that for--whatever reason--when I was in China I had access to all Google services while using the local data networks even without a VPN which was pretty cool.
Enjoy the new service!
@ JoshR -- For what it's worth, I bought my phone at full price and didn't take advantage of any sort of financing option/monthly payment, so don't think that should be the case? I think I just had a really bad, outdated plan.
You possibly could have done this differently and gotten a new iPhone in the process (if you didn't have a 6s already). TM will pay termination fees and give you credits for turning in another carrier's phone. You then get a brand new phone from TM. Depending on your circumstances, it could come out free or nearly so.
@ Derek -- In my case my phone with AT&T was already out of contract. I would have taken a new phone for next to nothing (of course), though I believe given my situation there's not a way I could have played it to my advantage?
Make sure you have your phone's settings set to allow wifi calling, and make a call over wifi. Obviously this is a way to avoid even paying $0.20/min when you're on hotel wifi (tmo bills as if your phone were stateside) and it also is necessary to prime your phone to get the unlimited texting and 1-hr internet on gogo.
I switched because you did, and I am very happy. 4 lines, 10gb data per line, international coverage, all for$140! Only $20 more than 3gb shared on At&t
Coverage is similar
thanks!