Sprint Vs T-mobile Reception/service opinions. (New Braunfels, Boerne: house, buy, live)

[Fraptree]

Wife and I live near IH-10 and New Braunfels. SE side.

We've had sprint for years. Internet and phone was lousy and spotty. A few years ago the service improved. Now about year or so ago the Phone service quality dropped again. Internet works ok for the most part, but the phone keeps dropping. Frustrating to have a mobile phone take around 10 secs just to connect and start dialing only to realize it a bad connection and drops a few seconds into a call. All time you can hear the other person saying "hell---- hello-- o-- can -- he-- e... he--- o." CLICK!! No signal!! There have been times I've called the other person half a dozen times just to get a quick 2-3 minute conversation.

Unlimited data was the only reason we kept the plan so long. Wife called T-mobile to find out they now have an unlimited plan.

Opinions? Should we change. Any experience with both carriers or on our side of town.

Thanks.

[datacity]

You don't say what phone you are using, but if you have an inkling to try an iPhone, I believe T-Mobile has a 10-day test drive available so you try it out and come to your own conclusion. T-Mobile usually has good service where they have coverage, which is most urban areas. However, they do have the smallest overall national footprint of all the carriers, so depending on how and where you need service, it may or may not be the best choice for you.

Also, I would assume that since you have been with Sprint for years and are holding on to an unlimited data plan, you are also a contract subscriber who receives a subsidy every two years to upgrade your phone. If you are regularly making use of this subsidy and do like to upgrade phones every two years, you might see a price increase moving to T-Mobile as all their plans do not include a subsidy; you pay off the full price of the phone over two years or buy it outright. This type of no contract plan is also now available on Sprint and the other carriers under various names.

[Bo]

T-Mobile has some attractive offers right now, but I already know that their coverage doesn't extend to my house in North Central SA. Not being able to use the phone at home is a deal-killer for me, and it sounds like it is for the OP, too.

Try their prepaid service with an inexpensive phone and see if the coverage meets their needs, OP.

[RJMorris82]

I had T-Mobile a few years back and the service if I was outside of my home was fantastic, however if I was even inside my house it was garbage. I switched to sprint and personally have had no complaints. There are 2 50 foot dead zones near my house, but I know where they are and deal with it. I know AT&T and Verizon both have dead zones nearby as well, which makes me think it might have something to do with the area around where I live.

[StanStelle]

I am switching from AT&T to T-Mobile when I upgrade to the iPhone 6 pretty soon. The main reason is its wi-fi calling feature that routes your voice calls through your home wi-fi. Supposedly it takes care of the problem where you have weak service or dropped calls inside the house and instead uses your stronger wi-fi signal. I've had dropped calls inside the house with AT&T for years. I used to have Sprint about four years ago and I also got dropped calls inside the home. I spoke to a T-Mobile recently and they said they also give you a wi-fi router, that can co-exist along with your home's router, to handle phone calls and not get bogged down say if someone is streaming an HD movie. I work from home and keep a landline just to make phone calls since my cell was unreliable. I hope this wi-fi calling works as promised. Has anyone used it on previous phones that already supported it?

[StanStelle]

Originally Posted by StanStelle

I am switching from AT&T to T-Mobile when I upgrade to the iPhone 6 pretty soon. The main reason is its wi-fi calling feature that routes your voice calls through your home wi-fi. Supposedly it takes care of the problem where you have weak service or dropped calls inside the house and instead uses your stronger wi-fi signal. I've had dropped calls inside the house with AT&T for years. I used to have Sprint about four years ago and I also got dropped calls inside the home. I spoke to a T-Mobile recently and they said they also give you a wi-fi router, that can co-exist along with your home's router, to handle phone calls and not get bogged down say if someone is streaming an HD movie. I work from home and keep a landline just to make phone calls since my cell was unreliable. I hope this wi-fi calling works as promised. Has anyone used it on previous phones that already supported it?

I forgot to include this link to T-Mobile's wi-fi calling: Wifi Calling & Wifi Extenders for Better Service at Home | T-Mobile

[mrstxcop]

I have Sprint and recently upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 ... The day I upgraded, later that night, I got a software update that included Wi Fi calling on the phone ...

We have horrible reception in the house and even had Sprint send us an Air Rave unit to try to help with the dropped calls...

I will say that the Wi Fi calling has been working great... My mom says that I sound really clear and nobody else has complained about how I sound, other than my husband, who somehow knows when I am calling thru Wi Fi because he says my voice sometimes sounds distant... Other than my hubs, everyone else says the call quality is great and my dropped calls have been fewer...

Remember, if you are on a call thru Wi Fi and you leave the house while still on the call, the call will drop when it stops detecting the Wi Fi signal and tries connecting to a tower... I keep forgetting about that...

[datacity]

Originally Posted by mrstxcop

Remember, if you are on a call thru Wi Fi and you leave the house while still on the call, the call will drop when it stops detecting the Wi Fi signal and tries connecting to a tower... I keep forgetting about that...

With certain phone models, the T-Mobile version of Wi-Fi calling is supposed to hand off to the cell network without the call dropping... At least that is the idea. I believe the new iPhone models allow this as do some Android models.

[davis449]

I have personal experience as recent as this time last year with Sprint (HTC EVO 4G LTE) sucking royally in terms of data and phone calling anywhere in and around Boerne. I administrated company phones from all four majors for a year a half (until July of this year) and the reports from my, then, users concerning T-Mobile on iPhone 5s models in the Boerne area were abysmal (about the same a Sprint was for me out there)

[Hedgehog_Mom]

I have T Mobile and it works fine at home but my husband has really poor coverage at work (when he works the night shift, he climbs up to the roof if he needs to make a call). I complained about it to T Mobile and they sent a signal booster to use at our house. Of course that didn't do anything for my husband's issues at work, so when I complained again, T Mobile lowered our monthly bill by about $20.