If you are thinking of switching carriers, read this...

mari0
mari0 Oct 2, 2018 4:59 PM
  • Member Since: Aug 28, 2018

    I live in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area, and recently tried out T-Mobile. The coverage map looks awesome for my area, however, the signal is so weak data speeds are 3G not 4G. I dropped more calls in 7 days time than 10 years with Verizon. So, after 7 days I ported my number back to Verizon.

     

    This is where you need to be informed, T-Mobile WILL NOT refund you ANY money!!!!!! If you PORT your number back to another carrier, you are responsible for an entire month's bill. I paid $150 for 7 days of service. (I was trying to save a few bucks, meh.) My Verizon bill is $170 a month for 2 lines with DVD quality streaming....T-Mobile was HD + hotspot for $150.

     

    Verizon was very helpful with this transition back to them though, they did offer me $200 bill credit to make up the money it cost me for trying T-Mobile.

     

    Words of advice -- if you want to try to save a few bucks by switching to T-Mobile, if your device is compatibile, try a prepaid service that uses TMobile first to give you an idea of service quality in your area. It'll save you $200. ($150/month + $50 "SIM" fee).

    • 3078 Views
    • 5 Replies
    • Latest reply on Oct 3, 2018 5:28 AM by mari0

      All replies

      • mari0

        Re: If you are thinking of switching carriers, read this...

        mari0 Oct 2, 2018 5:26 PM (in response to mari0)
        • Member Since: Aug 28, 2018

        Oh...and "Netflix on us" ended up being "Nextflix on me" cause I ended up having to pay extra for that too.

        1 of 1 people found this helpful
        • drnewcomb2

          Re: If you are thinking of switching carriers, read this...

          drnewcomb2 Oct 2, 2018 5:28 PM (in response to mari0)
          • Member Since: Mar 9, 2014

          That's interesting. According to RootMetrics coverage map around Wilkes-Barre, T-Mobile's service should be 'bout the same as AT&T's, except around Chase, where T-Mobile's service is pretty bad. It seems that Verizon's CDMA has an advantage on dropped calls. I wonder how it will work when they shut off CDMA at the end of '19? It's good advice to always try out a new carrier with a low-cost prepaid for a month before switching.

           

          Apparently you brought your Verizon phones over to T-Mobile. What phones did you use?

            • mari0

              Re: If you are thinking of switching carriers, read this...

              mari0 Oct 2, 2018 6:41 PM (in response to drnewcomb2)
              • Member Since: Aug 28, 2018

              Yeah I did all that research and I agree coverage maps look great for T-Mobile, but the quality of service was subpar. I only considered switching due to the coverage map looking good in my area. I performed random speed tests, most of which were in the 1-3MBPS range. Many of the times I would try to load a web page and be waiting forever. Even getting time outs.

               

              Both lines were using Google Pixel devices. Both have great results on Verizon, but horrid results on T-Mobile.

                • drnewcomb2

                  Re: If you are thinking of switching carriers, read this...

                  drnewcomb2 Oct 2, 2018 7:52 PM (in response to mari0)
                  • Member Since: Mar 9, 2014

                  Well, the Pixels should be about as carrier-agnostic as you can get, so I can't fault the phones. If you were using a carrier-specific Samsung or LG device, I might have questioned the phone. For future reference, I don't think any of the major carriers prorate partial months when you port out. So, you probably should have toughed it out until the end of the month before porting back to Verizon.

                    • mari0

                      Re: If you are thinking of switching carriers, read this...

                      mari0 Oct 3, 2018 5:28 AM (in response to drnewcomb2)
                      • Member Since: Aug 28, 2018

                      T-Mobile said the exact thing, I should of waited to port until the end of the month. But not all major carriers do this, Verizon refunded my original account after I ported out. I only paid for 18 days of service. I already paid T-Mobile $50 for 2 SIM cards....I really should have owed them $35 for my service if a daily rate is $5. I wouldn't have complained at all or make a big deal of it if they at least did SOMETHING to adjust my bill. Even if it was knock $50 off or something.

                       

                      I just feel misled by T-Mobile's coverage map. I loved the price and the idea of awesome service for less money, with perks like free Netflix and T-Mobile Tuesdays. However, the service ended up not being awesome...the calls dropping began to really irritate me which prompted a stop @ the Verizon store to switch back. After my personal experiences with T-Mobile, I cannot recommend it to anyone in my area.