"Upgrading" to T-mobile; question about hotspots

[angelbones]

The reason I put upgrade in quotes is because right now I'm using Project Fi. For home purposes it works great and I consistently have bills inclusive of tax less than $30 for talk, text, data. Further, I get a refund if I use less than my data. One reason it is low, is that my phone is made to seek out wifi so I don't use much data (right now). I have a Nexus 6p which I can bring to any network and can be used as a hotspot. But I need to make changes when we go full time this summer so doing research now because on the road, our data use will skyrocket. We don't plan on getting satellite TV, so will be relying on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc. for those entertainment needs. Thus the need for a good flow of data.

I know Verizon is king for coverage, but for certain phones, including mine, T-mobile has made great strides in expanding their 4G coverage. Had issues with coverage in the past when I had T-mobile but at least as I understand it, their new network they've installed, particularly over the past year is a vast improvement. So for those that have those compatible phones with the new network, how's it working? Also, should I get a hotspot device for the coach, even though my phone has one built in? If so, any you can recommend for T-mobile? For those that either use their phone or a device, any issues with being throttled down?

[momdoc]

We just canceled our T-Mobile service because of the lack of coverage while travelng though Florida (mostly state and National parks). Coverage was spotty at best in many areas.


momdoc

[mrt_1111]

All networks have lots of problems, i dont recommend any because it depends on where your at as to how well it works. I live in Colorado Springs and I get drop calls all the time with t-mobile. Read the fine print with hot spot data. In AZ, I get no data connection most of the time. Good luck and let us know how it works.

[SoonToBeFT]

Wife had a nightmare with T-Mobile access (the dedicated provider for her Bell service on the travel add on package this time compared to Verizon no problem in the past!!). Bell ended up refunding two months of charges - we were far from in a remote area it was I75 corridor Sarasota, Tampa, Venice, Fort Myers etc and it was useless for us there.

Heard same in Montana, so all depends on where you intend to travel, or at least have a back up such as verizon/at&t, for those areas still not adequately covered.

Wife says they've made great strides in their coverage map when looking at it, but hands on experience in reality, from many we've spoken to that have used it have for the most part if "travelling" versus staying close to large population areas been dissatisfied with it. Read of a lot doing away with it.

All depends on where you intend to be, and likewise reports from those on where they have been travelling as to good or bad experiences.

[Hit_the_Rhod]

Originally Posted by SoonToBeFT

Wife had a nightmare with T-Mobile access (the dedicated provider for her Bell service on the travel add on package this time compared to Verizon no problem in the past!!). Bell ended up refunding two months of charges - we were far from in a remote area it was I75 corridor Sarasota, Tampa, Venice, Fort Myers etc and it was useless for us there.

Heard same in Montana, so all depends on where you intend to travel, or at least have a back up such as verizon/at&t, for those areas still not adequately covered.

Wife says they've made great strides in their coverage map when looking at it, but hands on experience in reality, from many we've spoken to that have used it have for the most part if "travelling" versus staying close to large population areas been dissatisfied with it. Read of a lot doing away with it.

All depends on where you intend to be, and likewise reports from those on where they have been travelling as to good or bad experiences.

We fired T-mobile a while ago because we couldn't come to an agreement on what "Coverage" means.

T-mobile states that you have coverage when you are located in a certain colored area on their map.

I contend that I have coverage when I can send and receive phone calls. I know, I know, I'm just being unreasonable . . . .

[fisher99]

Originally Posted by angelbones

[snip]
I know Verizon is king for coverage, but for certain phones, including mine, T-mobile has made great strides in expanding their 4G coverage. Had issues with coverage in the past when I had T-mobile but at least as I understand it, their new network they've installed, particularly over the past year is a vast improvement. So for those that have those compatible phones with the new network, how's it working? Also, should I get a hotspot device for the coach, even though my phone has one built in? If so, any you can recommend for T-mobile? For those that either use their phone or a device, any issues with being throttled down?

My wife and I are on Republic Wireless, which operates similar to Google FI in that it depends heavily on using WiFi whenever it is available. Their phones used to be exclusively on the Sprint network but they now use T-Mobile for their new "3.0" plans. My wife has a Moto-X on the RW Sprint plans and I now have a Nexus 6P on the RW T-Mobile plan. We haven't traveled extensively since I got the 6P but I will say that in the 300 mile radius of our home that we have traveled my wife's Sprint phone always has equal or better coverage than my T-Mobile phone, and we have found several instances where she has full bars of Sprint and I have zero bars of T-Mobile. I know that they advertise that they cover 99% of Verizon customers but I used to be a Verizon customer and in my experience T-Mobile doesn't even match Sprint's coverage area let alone Verizon's. But as was mentioned elsewhere in this thread, it all depends upon where you travel. You may find perfect T-Mobile coverage where you go.

As for a dedicated hotspot vs using your Nexus 6P as the hotspot, my limited experience is that both will work but I would lean towards a dedicated hotspot mainly because the hotspot would stay with my RV. Often when we travel, I may go out hiking while my wife may choose to stay at the RV and she will want WiFi coverage while I am gone. Yes, we could turn her phone into a hotspot too, but I think the dedicated hotspot would simplify things. Just my opinion, of course. Both options are viable.

[wa8yxm]

Just now for me T-mobile is a mixed bag.. here where I"m stuck the Wi-Fi actually works rather well and was recently upgraded.. With the latest updates to my Samsung S-5 things are workable via park Wi-Fi.. About 10 feet before I hit the end of the driveway leaving the park T-Mobile coverage kicks in.. I'm not kidding, Good 4Glte most of the area I here in S.E. Ga.. One spot it fails is in the Hospital (I have a doctor in the Professional "Building" (Wing) of the hospital) but the Hospital has good Wi-Fi.

In the past when I was Mobile and hopefully again in the near future (Slight delay due to mechanic's wife going to said hospital...maternity ward) I will be back to my normal pattern of either 4G or Park Wifi but never both. Thus it works good.

Do you need an additional hot-spot?
Well, that's a good question.. I do not use an additional hot spot
But it depends on your usage.. IF I need to print I can USB the printer or Print to PDF and then connect to the "House" Wi-Fi and print.

But it would be "less work" to have an always on hot spot.

[LookAtUSNow]

We both have ATT IPhones (unlimited data) no hot spot activated and TMobile IPads with hot spot, recently ipgraded to unlimited wifi. We are relatively happy with both devices, coverage and usage.
I went this route for redundancy. I don't think it matters where you go there will always be connectivity issues with one carrier or another; It may be related to terrain, weather, type of device, towers usage, bandwidth, how you hold your device, distance from a tower, how high you are holding your right leg off the ground, etc.
I have yet to see one perfect fit for ever situation and doubt I ever will, especially as long as in the end it's all about quarterly profits. Granted I do think they deserve and should make a profit but I do wonder sometimes when does it turn to greed.
I've tried all the major carriers over the years and had problems with all of them.
I have come to the realization that there is no perfect fit and as long as I can communicate on one or the other device most of the time, I settle for that.
I have also struggled with keeping a permanent wifi device in the rig, but that is another added cost anyway you look at it.
I've opted for the redundancy plan for now, until there is a new and better technology that works and cost less.
You can get a friend or two with different carriers, place the devices next to each other and drive around, bars will change on each device no matter who's area you are in. Good luck and enjoy the road.

[bokobird]

Originally Posted by LookAtUSNow

We both have ATT IPhones (unlimited data) no hot spot activated and TMobile IPads with hot spot, recently ipgraded to unlimited wifi. We are relatively happy with both devices, coverage and usage.
I went this route for redundancy. I don't think it matters where you go there will always be connectivity issues with one carrier or another; It may be related to terrain, weather, type of device, towers usage, bandwidth, how you hold your device, distance from a tower, how high you are holding your right leg off the ground, etc.
I have yet to see one perfect fit for ever situation and doubt I ever will, especially as long as in the end it's all about quarterly profits. Granted I do think they deserve and should make a profit but I do wonder sometimes when does it turn to greed.
I've tried all the major carriers over the years and had problems with all of them.
I have come to the realization that there is no perfect fit and as long as I can communicate on one or the other device most of the time, I settle for that.
I have also struggled with keeping a permanent wifi device in the rig, but that is another added cost anyway you look at it.
I've opted for the redundancy plan for now, until there is a new and better technology that works and cost less.
You can get a friend or two with different carriers, place the devices next to each other and drive around, bars will change on each device no matter who's area you are in. Good luck and enjoy the road.

I agree about having multiple carriers and bars change all the time. I have three (T-Mobile on my phone, Verizon Wireless hotspot and AT&T work phone). I generally see good coverage on T-Mobile but of course there are areas it is worthless. But the same is true for the AT&T phone and every once in a while I'll see issues with Verizon. Overall however, I think the Verizon hotspot has the most consistent connection but the T-Mobile one will go very fast when the signal is strong.

[vsheetz]

I changed to T-Mobile last year. From AT&T. Also have a hotspot device for backup on Verizon pay as you go plan. So far, pretty good coverage with T-Mobile. California and Arizona experiences primarily so far. Heading for socal to New Jersey and back in a couple months. Will see how it works out.

[angelbones]

Some additional thoughts and questions in light of the responses. First, some additional information. My wife and I are considering that she keep Verizon on one phone and I get T-mobile/ATT/Sprint on the other. The other would be used primarily for streaming and Verizon for those out of the way places. Our problem with this strategy is cost. Let's just $60 for Verizon and $70 for T-mobile. Not ruling it out but trying to keep costs down.

So also wanted to ask since no one really brought it up, what about Sprint? Although it my understanding they now have the cheapest unlimited at $60/month, I'm just not sure it is any better than T-mobile and it appears they may have other restrictions.

Now about ATT, that one seemed good, but if I understand correctly, the only way to get the unlimited is if you have DirectTV Now. Our goal, if possible, is to avoid satellite costs, and any associated "contracts." Maybe I misunderstand how that is working, so if anyone has information about getting unlimited details with ATT, feel free to give details so I understand better.

One final bit of info. We will primarily be East of Colorado and mostly the eastern seaboard and Northeast for most of our travels of Summer 2017-Spring 2018. (With a probably stop at the Beet harvest in October in between) After that, we'll surely be heading west. Having had T-mobile in the past, I had good coverage. I then think they increased too fast in the mid-late 2000s, meaning more dropped calls, but it appears they have spent the last few years catching up (and if you believe the internet even surpassing Verizon on updating their NEW 4G coverage (actually I'm aware that they are HSPA+ which is theoretically faster but in practical terms not so much)). I should note that I had Verizon and was not disappointed in coverage, although they're not perfect either and did get dropped calls, they're the least flexible, and highest price. Sprint, ironically I had the best coverage but that was back in 2001-2003, which is light years away from today, and anecdotally, friends that have them now say either that they NEVER have problems or ALWAYS have problems. This is why I'm really wondering about the state of T-mobile TODAY because cell phone service is constantly changing among all carriers and I hope that we can get a consensus when I (or DW and I) make the change in May or so.

P.S. Does a product like WeBoost help with any of the carriers? It looks promising but is a big investment if not much help.

[LookAtUSNow]

The last time I looked at sprint, they had the smallest area of coverage and was concentrated to major cities. It's been a few years since I looked at them.
I think you have valid questions and they are the same questions I believe we are all searching for. My short answer is there is not going to be a 100% solution 100% of the time and when you will need or want the service most it will fail and leave a bad taste for years to come.
I've read good things about boosters and bad, I have not invested in one as of yet.
Technology as you know changes daily and what works great today is tomorrow's garbage, it's a moving target.
Maybe you need to rethink your wants and needs. I believe a family plan with say TMobile would get you on an inexpensive family plan for phones and then look at them or another carrier for you hotspot device that stays attached to rig. Point being, don't focused on one solution, lots of options. Get phones that are hotspot capable so you can upgrade your plan without buying a new device in the event the chosen configuration is not suitable. Either way, I'd build a spreadsheet to compare options and packages, explore them all but don't take to long to decide or it will all change.

[smiller]

I have found a dual-carrier solution is best, using T-Mobile and Verizon because they each have their own unique advantages (and done right it doesn't have to cost any more than using a single carrier.)

T-Mobile's advantages are numerous: Free video and audio streaming, usually faster data rates (in urban/suburban areas), free roaming in Canada/Mexico, data rollover for up to a full year, etc. Their sometimes critical disadvantage is weaker and less predictable coverage in rural areas. Verizon's advantages, well advantage (singular) because there's really only one, is probably the best overall coverage of any carrier. I've noticed that the difference is becoming less and less over the years but there still are times when visiting rural areas that Verizon is the only game in town. I've found that T-Mo works well 90% of the time but if you need 'always' coverage then you'll need Verizon for that last 10%.

So what I do is use a T-Mobile hotspot on their $35/month Simple Choice Mobile Internet plan (6 GB/month with unused data rollover for up to a year) and a 5 GB $35/month plan from Boom.us, a Verizon MVNO that has the unique feature of providing coverage in Verizon extended roaming areas (even native Verizon prepaid customers don't get that), plus Boom also allows tethering. With this combination I get the best of both worlds (free streaming and other goodies from from T-Mobile, and I can tehther to the Verizon phone if the need should arise) and 11 GB for $70/month (and with free video streaming we find that 11 GB goes a long way.) Plus redundancy over dual carriers is always a good idea for those who must have coverage at all times. If you need more than 11 GB you can increase the limits of the T-Mobile plan in increments, up to unlimited.

(Note: I think T-Mobile is no longer offering the Simple Choice plan to new customers, but Millenicom (now a T-Mobile MVNO) has duplicated the offerings so you can buy the same service/same plans from them.)