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Old 08-06-2012, 04:34 PM
 
19 posts, read 79,838 times
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I'm about to ditch Verizon and go for an unlocked GSM Galaxy Nexus, because, while it works well in most places, I'm getting lousy coverage on VZW at home and at work (the two most important areas where I need service), and I know that both T-mo and AT&T work in these places.

Just wondering between AT&T and T-mo, which one has the best coverage and/or data speeds in and around Austin? I'm leaning towards AT&T, because I have a few relatives that live out of town in the sticks whom I have to visit occasionally, and I know T-mo doesn't work well in those areas. On the other hand, if T-mo is better all around in Austin than AT&T, it might be an acceptable trade-off.

I could also (I think) just get a pre-paid SIM card and pop it in the Gnex when I go out of town. Since I'm using Google Voice, the phone number wouldn't be an issue
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Old 08-06-2012, 06:19 PM
 
Location: Volcano
12,969 posts, read 28,451,115 times
Reputation: 10760
I've used T-Mobile for years, and I find their service to be excellent and their customer service to be superb. I like the fact that when I'm traveling outside the country I can pop in prepaid SIM cards. I don't know if you can do that within the US (never thought to try, never had need), but where they don't have towers they have roaming arrangements with AT&T.

One of the things I've noticed that I especially appreciate, is that at events with big crowds, like ACL Fest and anywhere in the neighborhood of Longhorn Stadium on home game days, I'm usually able to get a signal even when all the folks with iPhones are asking each other "Can you get a connection? I can't get a connection!"
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Old 08-06-2012, 07:54 PM
 
2,238 posts, read 9,019,279 times
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AT&T sucks in Austin. My data works maybe 50% of the time. There's many places and times around downtown, 78704, etc. when I have no service. None. It'll show bars but no data and no calls. If I didn't have a company phone, I'd switch to Verizon in a heartbeat. My wife has it and it outperforms AT&T (both iPhone 4S's) to such a degree, it's not even a fair comparison.
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Old 08-06-2012, 11:42 PM
 
176 posts, read 350,743 times
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Is ATT really this bad? I thought that ATT was best around here since it's the original native area, with Verizon a close second. T-Mobile is good right in the city, but once you get even slightly out of the urban-suburban zone, you've little hope of getting a signal, unless it's on 290 or I35.
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Old 08-07-2012, 11:03 AM
 
625 posts, read 1,134,416 times
Reputation: 250
Quote:
Originally Posted by WorknMan View Post
I'm about to ditch Verizon and go for an unlocked GSM Galaxy Nexus, because, while it works well in most places, I'm getting lousy coverage on VZW at home and at work (the two most important areas where I need service), and I know that both T-mo and AT&T work in these places.

Just wondering between AT&T and T-mo, which one has the best coverage and/or data speeds in and around Austin? I'm leaning towards AT&T, because I have a few relatives that live out of town in the sticks whom I have to visit occasionally, and I know T-mo doesn't work well in those areas. On the other hand, if T-mo is better all around in Austin than AT&T, it might be an acceptable trade-off.

I could also (I think) just get a pre-paid SIM card and pop it in the Gnex when I go out of town. Since I'm using Google Voice, the phone number wouldn't be an issue
Anecdotally, they both seem to perform (suck) about the same here in Austin!

Was curious myself about using a prepaid SIM on a unlocked GSM smartphone. Heard of Straight Talk? $45 unlim talk, text, AND data:

Welcome | Straight Talk

Straight Talk: It could let you dump AT&T or T-Mobile — Mobile Technology News

It sounds like they purchase services from both Tmobile and ATT. With no contract, you could at least demo for cheap, and let us know how it works too!

big Nexus thread: [INFO][GSM] Own Your Cell Service ..with Prepaid and the Galaxy Nexus [UPDATED 5/24] - xda-developers

Save Money By Switching Your Smartphone to a Prepaid Service Provider
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Old 08-07-2012, 02:21 PM
 
19 posts, read 79,838 times
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Yeah, I know about Straight Talk, and from what I've read, their 'unlimited' data is 2gb a month and/or 100mb a day. The 2gb a month probably would be enough, but the 100mb per day definitely would be a PITA.

On the other hand, T-Mo has a package with 100 minutes of voice (which is usually about 70 more than I need), unlimited text and 5gb of data, for $30 a month. Either that, or I can leech off my parents' family plan on AT&T.
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Old 08-07-2012, 02:36 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,269 posts, read 35,650,196 times
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I have AT&T and have not typically had significant issues except in a few select locations - one being the intersection of HWY 290 and MoPac. OTOH, I get excellent coverage in my office, home, and out on lake Travis. I have no idea, though, how it compares to other phone coverage. I will say that I have a Blackberry and my wife has an IPhone, and she has many more issues with signal strength than I do, so I suppose it is somewhat phone dependent.
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Old 08-07-2012, 03:45 PM
 
625 posts, read 1,134,416 times
Reputation: 250
Quote:
Originally Posted by WorknMan View Post
Yeah, I know about Straight Talk, and from what I've read, their 'unlimited' data is 2gb a month and/or 100mb a day. The 2gb a month probably would be enough, but the 100mb per day definitely would be a PITA.

On the other hand, T-Mo has a package with 100 minutes of voice (which is usually about 70 more than I need), unlimited text and 5gb of data, for $30 a month. Either that, or I can leech off my parents' family plan on AT&T.
So you're looking at the prepaid plans, and swapping the sim?

Monthly 4G Prepaid Plans | Compare Prepaid Data Plans | T-Mobile

With my iPhone I rarely exceed 1.5gb/month in data, so I guess that would be 50mb/day. 100mb/day seems like a lot of streaming. With no free tmobile to tmobile, or mobile to mobile, 100 min cap would be the pita for me.

Last edited by mayfair44; 08-07-2012 at 04:58 PM..
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Old 08-08-2012, 05:58 AM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX
14 posts, read 24,278 times
Reputation: 13
cellular service depends on the company and who owns the towers in the area you use it in.

in the case of Austin, Tmobile owns the towers here. That's why the service is so good for the most part. I have had 0 problems with it myself, but i'm sure there is that 1 unlucky person who lives and or works in a deadzone. it happens.

I find tmobile to have good customer service too. and they have nice plans that are not through the roof.
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Old 08-08-2012, 09:32 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
732 posts, read 2,126,761 times
Reputation: 477
I have had both TMo and ATT. In and around Austin they are both for the most part good, both with their areas with a lighter signal. I prefer the added value and lower cost of TMo to ATT.
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