Forum Discussion
Anyone fed-up with horrible coverage from TMobile
This is a Description of our Complaint with T-Mobile and the BBB:
For the past almost 3 years we have had all of our family cell phone lines with T-Mobile. We switched over from Verizon about 3 years ago because we responded to a promotion offered by T-Mobile whereby offered much better coverage at much better prices. Turns out that their marketing in advertising campaign was misleading and inaccurate at best. From day one, the coverage and reception was below any basic level of acceptance causing phone calls in messages to drop or fail at a rate off three failed for one success. After a few months, I complained with T-Mobile, they profusely apologized and told us to be patient because they were in the process of rolling out their new 5G Network and also merging their Network with sprints, and they said that the coverage and service issues will greatly improve in a matter of weeks or a couple of months at the most. When this didn't happen, I called to request a transfer of service and they insisted that it was just a matter of time for their coverage and service to noticeably improve and they offer a nominal remporary discount to keep us from switching over. As expected, the coverage and service not only did not improve but got worse. After another 12 months have gone by and everyone in our household having being fed up with dropped calls failed messages in lack of connectivity, we have decided to switch over to another carrier. When I call T-Mobile to inquire about the process, they told me that we're free to switch over but they're going to charge us retractively rebates and fees that they have waived because we're not meeting the term of our contract. And my question to them what kind of compensation do we get for the 3 years of failing to provide the most basic service that we have been faithfully paying in full for almost 3 years. We'll know that these are tactics that these types of companies use to hold people hostage regardless of whether they are the ones at fault in causing you to leave. This should be unacceptable!
Just as a note … T-Mobile’s own disclaimer states that they do NOT guarantee service (or any data rates of any kind) .. anywhere.
That dog doesn’t hunt.
T-Mobile (as well as other carriers) service varies from location to location. In general, IMHO, T-Mobile has concentrated its efforts on urban → suburban areas, and will deals with rural 'in some areas' priority based on their own project requirements (i.e. is it a county seat ? does it have a large tourist industry ? does it have decent infrastructure already - fiber + modern gear + towers + spectrum).
Near me .. ~15 miles west, Fillmore, CA has literally 1 tower for +16,000 people. Even with 'full bars' and RSRP of -85dBm, service on 5G UC (100MHz of n41) is rarely to hit 100Mbps.
Prior to 5G UC, 5G n71 was lucky to hit 10Mbps, and under LTE only … 3Mbps or less. This was < 1month ago. T-Mobile has been claiming 'modernization' for years. Some other rural places will hit ~1Gbps. Ventura, CA has a lot of legacy Sprint customers/towers. I suspect 'some' sites may be converted. Out in Gaviota, there is still a GPRS only site.
Only ways that T-Mobile will help is:
- Squeaky wheel gets the grease. Get MANY locals to file tickets to T-Mobile (need to be unique numbers)
- File complaint with your PUC or other state agencies
- File complaint(s) with BBB
Of course, if, in the area, enough people just abandon T-Mobile - they'll assume there's no problem (if its rural). If its urban, and MANY customers leave .. they'll do something.
I’m facing similar problems. Getting tired of it.
I’m paying for unlimited data, but I can barely use it when I’m not on WiFi. What’s the point?
As others have said, this started with T-Mobile. My Sprint service was reliable and consistent.
I'm downloading GlassWire to keep track of when I can & can't use my data, and if it falls below an acceptable threshold I'm going to start demanding refunds for my monthly bill. I recommend others do the same to put pressure on them to fix their crap.
bblack4jc wrote:
I was a previously happy Sprint customer with no problems. I was not only forced to move over to T-mobile but I also had to put out $1300 for an iPhone 13 Pro just to be compatible with their 5G network. At first it wasn't too bad, sometimes a little slower. But within the last week or two, I am down to 1 bar, a warning will pop up that I am not connected to the internet (my home internet is switched off on my phone), it takes forever to load an internet page if it loads at all and messages take a long time to load. What is going on? This is so frustrating!
BYW I live in the North East USA.
I have the same problem, switched to iPhone 12 and currently sitting in an Ultra 5G area with 1-2 bars of LTE no matter where I go in my house. How is this possible? I'd be happy with even 4 bars of LTE at this point. What a rip off.
All mobile networks have dead zones, and I understand that, HOWEVER, it is outright fraudulent to publish maps claiming coverage exists where it does not. If anyone ever starts a class action lawsuit against T-Mobile/Sprint, I would sign up the first day because I am tired of paying for empty promises.
Greatride wrote:
This is a Description of our Complaint with T-Mobile and the BBB:
For the past almost 3 years we have had all of our family cell phone lines with T-Mobile. We switched over from Verizon about 3 years ago because we responded to a promotion offered by T-Mobile whereby offered much better coverage at much better prices. Turns out that their marketing in advertising campaign was misleading and inaccurate at best. From day one, the coverage and reception was below any basic level of acceptance causing phone calls in messages to drop or fail at a rate off three failed for one success. After a few months, I complained with T-Mobile, they profusely apologized and told us to be patient because they were in the process of rolling out their new 5G Network and also merging their Network with sprints, and they said that the coverage and service issues will greatly improve in a matter of weeks or a couple of months at the most. When this didn't happen, I called to request a transfer of service and they insisted that it was just a matter of time for their coverage and service to noticeably improve and they offer a nominal remporary discount to keep us from switching over. As expected, the coverage and service not only did not improve but got worse. After another 12 months have gone by and everyone in our household having being fed up with dropped calls failed messages in lack of connectivity, we have decided to switch over to another carrier. When I call T-Mobile to inquire about the process, they told me that we're free to switch over but they're going to charge us retractively rebates and fees that they have waived because we're not meeting the term of our contract. And my question to them what kind of compensation do we get for the 3 years of failing to provide the most basic service that we have been faithfully paying in full for almost 3 years. We'll know that these are tactics that these types of companies use to hold people hostage regardless of whether they are the ones at fault in causing you to leave. This should be unacceptable!That's a bummer. Your new carrier should offer to pay any fees for transfer so I would get that confirmed before switching over. Unfortunately, there are as many Verizon and AT&T folks complaining about coverage as TMO. I personally would never sign on with a carrier with any promise that coverage will improve in the future. If it doesn't work as well as I need on day one, I would cancel within the full refund period (14 days for TMO).
lschremser wrote:
bblack4jc wrote:
I was a previously happy Sprint customer with no problems.
Me too . . . and after being forced to upgrade phones, not one of the 4 new iPhones works properly. Dropped calls, calls 'failed', texts won’t send to Android, pictures won’t send via text, receiving calls where I can’t hear the caller but they can hear me . . . and yet I get to pay for full service AND the expensive iPhones.
I miss Sprint . . . maybe if they had Sprint lead the merger, things wouldn't be so messed up. And if it is really the 5G upgrade that is causing the problem . . . maybe they should have done at least a little regional QA for a period of time before they upgraded the entire network.
Like you, we are just not happy with Tmobile.
~this issue also happened over with Sprint..as it randomly does with all carriers.
~Sprint also did their network upgrades this way..depending on which company was doing the tower upgrades at times things were even worse..Alcatel was one of them that were pretty rough when doing said tower upgrades for Sprint.
Yeah, absolutely horrible spotty service for LTE/4g and 5g here in central NJ, Robbinsville/Upper Freehold/East Winder area. So many meetings disconnected, important messages not received, etc. It's laughable that when signing on here to post I was asked to enter the 6 digit code that they were going to text me, I CAN'T RECEIVE TEXTS ON YOUR NETWORK WHERE I AM LOCATED!!!! I'm surprised they even have the to have stores in this area. I switched from StraightTalk which used verizon towers, going to switch back soon.
bblack4jc wrote:
I was a previously happy Sprint customer with no problems.
Me too . . . and after being forced to upgrade phones, not one of the 4 new iPhones works properly. Dropped calls, calls 'failed', texts won't send to Android, pictures won't send via text, receiving calls where I can't hear the caller but they can hear me . . . and yet I get to pay for full service AND the expensive iPhones.
I miss Sprint . . . maybe if they had Sprint lead the merger, things wouldn't be so messed up. And if it is really the 5G upgrade that is causing the problem . . . maybe they should have done at least a little regional QA for a period of time before they upgraded the entire network.
Like you, we are just not happy with Tmobile.
I decided to stop complaining about T-Mobile's coverage when I could use my phone in Chadron, NE*. That happened, via roaming agreements, many years ago.
*Selected as being very out-of-the-way.
What I've learned, is that even Verizon customers are having trouble now with the 5G system updates. They are having the same issues.
So, for now, might as well stay with T-Mobile and have better prices and customer service.
If or when Verizon has less issues, then I will consider switching.
