T Mobile Coverage?

[LK23]

I am considering getting a T Mobile plan so I can use their unlimited streaming for TV shows. My only reservation is their coverage area. Can someone who has T Mobile vouch for their coverage? I am especially interested in areas like Buckhorn Lake RV resort in Kerrville, Texas. Also, Newport Oregon Marina RV park.

I understand that the coverage is variable across the nation. That said, I would appreciate any comments on T Mobile coverage and data speeds.

Thanks,

Rex

[Vacay Wheels]

Originally Posted by LK23

I am considering getting a T Mobile plan so I can use their unlimited streaming for TV shows. My only reservation is their coverage area. Can someone who has T Mobile vouch for their coverage? I am especially interested in areas like Buckhorn Lake RV resort in Kerrville, Texas. Also, Newport Oregon Marina RV park.

I understand that the coverage is variable across the nation. That said, I would appreciate any comments on T Mobile coverage and data speeds.

Thanks,

Rex

I do carry one T-mo phone. Coverage is pretty poor, in the west anyway, outside of major population areas. Wherever there are lots of people around, it tends to be fine. The plans are great, though! Data speeds were never a problem, as long as there is coverage.

I haven't been to Newport yet, but in Cannon Beach and Tillamook its the same thing as I mentioned above. As soon as you're out of major centers, coverage fades out. I seem to recall losing coverage on the 101 as soon as we got out of town.

Canada is another story. They must have amazing roaming agreements, because we had a hard time finding gaps in their coverage up there.

[vsheetz]

I have used a variety of carriers over several years for work and personal. Coverage best is Verizon, followed pretty close by AT&T. Then comes TMobile, with good coverage in populus areas and fair coverage elsewhere. Dead last is Sprint. IMHO.

I currently using MetroPCS over TMobile for phone/text and hotspot for computers, with a Verizon MiFi device as backup if/when needed.

[bigjim8499]

T-Mobile works fine at Buckhorn as with most places I have been in Tx.
jim E

[wb7auk]

Works fine in Newport Oregon

[LK23]

Does anyone have experience with the unlimited streaming media. Is the signal strong enough to provide uninterrupted viewing?

[smiller]

Originally Posted by LK23

Does anyone have experience with the unlimited streaming media. Is the signal strong enough to provide uninterrupted viewing?

In most metro and suburban areas it works quite well. In rural areas the answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no. In our travels we have found that we are rarely denied streaming and if it happens... gasp... we don't have TV for a night , or we use a recording or DVD.

[Mark-]

Coverage map

[ghaynes754]

Rex if you are an Apple iPhone/iPad user buy/download the Coverage! app from the folks at Technomadia. You can see coverage for each carrier and select Roam/2g/3g/4g/LTE. The coverage map Mark linked looks good on a national level but combines all of the items I just listed. But if you zoom in on an area that looks like it has coverage it turns out that it may be roaming or 2G text/voice/non-LTE only. That isn't going to help you.

Good example click on the map in Nebraska. That is one big void for LTE/4G coverage. But lots of hashed red for text/voice/non LTE.

[Jim Caudill]

We have 4 T-Mobile lines and have used them from Ohio to Los Angeles and from Ohio to Nova Scotia and back. The bottom line is check the coverage map for where you intend to use their service. I was pleasantly surprised to find we had good coverage for almost all of our interstate trip to Los Angeles and back (maybe a couple hours without service each way).

Our trip to Nova Scotia was very disappointing. Even though the coverage maps said we would have T-Mobile coverage or an alternative roaming provider that would be free, we found ourselves without coverage more than with coverage. As soon as we got outside the major population centers in Maine, it was catch as catch-can. Free wireless internet is plentiful in Canada and we wound up using our phones over the internet to communicate. It seemed like every gas station, truck stop, and restaurant had free wireless. Some cities also had widespread free wireless as well.

All this being said, we like T-Mobile and don't anticipate going back to Verizon (or any other major carrier). T-Mobile works fine for us well over 90% of the time, and I don't complain when we don't have coverage. I like T-Mobile's business model and their plans.

[Mark-]

Originally Posted by ghaynes754

The coverage map Mark linked looks good on a national level but combines all of the items I just listed.

Correct. You must zoom into the area and then you see the coverage type.

[smiller]

Coverage in Canada and other countries may depend on what kind of phone you have and as a result how many overlapping LTE bands are supported. Carrier-branded phones often support only the frequencies used in the US, and roaming data coverage depends on how many match up with LTE bands used by a foreign carrier. If you will be traveling internationally a lot it is a good idea to purchase an 'all band' phone to maximize the number of LTE bands supported.

FWIW we used our T-Mobile phone to roam on Telus in western Canada (at no extra charge) to and from Alaska, and service was excellent, especially considering how rural much of that trip is. Once in Alaska T-Mobile roams on CGI, the largest Alaskan carrier, and service was great there as well.

[LK23]

As a follow-up on T-Mobile coverage, I added T-Mobile to my iPad while in California. Now we are in Kerrville, TX. To my dismay, T-Mobile is unusable in this area.

As we traveled, we had good T-Mobile Wifi in the following areas:
- Indio, CA
- Tucson, AZ
- Willcox, AZ
- Van Horn, TX
- Fort Stockton, TX

It was poor or non-existent T-Mobile Wifi in the following areas:
- Goodyear, AZ
- Las Cruces, NM
- Junction, TX
- Kerrville, TX

[smiller]

Originally Posted by LK23

As a follow-up on T-Mobile coverage, I added T-Mobile to my iPad while in California. Now we are in Kerrville, TX. To my dismay, T-Mobile is unusable in this area.

As we traveled, we had good T-Mobile Wifi in the following areas:
- Indio, CA
- Tucson, AZ
- Willcox, AZ
- Van Horn, TX
- Fort Stockton, TX

It was poor or non-existent T-Mobile Wifi in the following areas:
- Goodyear, AZ
- Las Cruces, NM
- Junction, TX
- Kerrville, TX

Does your iPad model support LTE Band 12? I ask because band 12 may be required for good data coverage in many newer T-Mobile coverage areas (you actually need bands 2, 4, and 12 but 2 and 4 are common and usually supported.)