Forum Discussion
Constant Issues with Cellular Signal
Over the last few years, I've noticed a problem with the cellular signal in my area getting more erratic. Over the last 3-6 months, it's become substantially worse and my cellular connection is almost unusable at times. This usually happens in the area I live in but it has happened occasionally in other areas.
My phone can have full bars of cellular service yet I intermittently cannot send or receive texts and/or phone calls. (I don't make or receive a lot of phone calls, so I don't notice it as much, but it definitely happens.) Lately, it's happened more often than not. I originally thought this was just affecting me so I tried software updates, restarts, etc. Recently I found out that this has been affecting my whole household, which is all on T-Mobile. We all have different phones (Samsung S9, Samsung S8, and a Google Pixel 3a).
The only thing I've found that helps somewhat when I notice that a text won't send is to put my phone into airplane mode and then take it out. I'd say it gives me a 50% chance of sending the text. I'll sometimes put it in and out of airplane mode 2-3 times to get a text to send.
I'm not sure what can be done about this. I suspect that perhaps the cellular network in my area is overloaded or something else is going on with the network. Any advice/information would be great!
if switching into airplane mode then back fixes it for a short time it usually points at a tower being the culprit..like either the tower you usually connect to is having issues or over burdened with people or its down and forcing you to connect to a further out tower which is now over capacity with people...the airplane mode trick forces your phone to re search out a tower..is this while connected to 4G or 5G?
so it isnt 5G needing upgraded or in process of being upgraded..well..i guess it could be if they have the tower down.
you might opt to contact TMO through either Facebook or Twitter and see if they can shed any light on what is happening..the call in agents are tier 1 support where FB/Twitter lands you with tier 2 support..hopefully they’ll have an answer.
have you been with TMO this whole time or did you merge over from Sprint?
go into your wifi calling settings and change it to wifi preferred. one issue that i have noticed over the years since wifi calling (WFC) was first brought out was if your regular phones signal...the voice side..happens to be bad or barely there even having wifi calling tends to hiccup..i have gotten around this by switching into airplane mode then turning my wifi and wifi calling back on..but i have also noticed this does not work for all phones..some must have a mobile data connection in some way in order for WFC to work as well..usually only noticed it with Samsung devices..
My Samsung S8 does not work on the 5G network. It's 4G.
I've been with T-Mobile for around 10 years. Moved to the area I'm in 4 years ago. I occasionally ran into this issue in the past but nothing like this. I put something up on my HOA FB page and apparently this is an issue with everyone who has T-Mobile/Sprint in the area. I'm just late to the party. Most of them are switching to Verizon or are trying the 4G LTE CellSpot option (most have reported poor results with the CellSpot).
phone dependent..if they have wifi calling capabilities then you could always use that while around the home..but this would only be a band-aid fix until whatever is going on with the towers is figured out. if its been a few years of this for your neighbors then that might be a sign that another carrier is needed that can cover the area.
I've been using wifi calling but it hasn't always had great results. Calls will still get stuck going out/coming in. Plus, it seems like my phone will only send texts over wifi to some people and not others. I'm not sure what the issue is, but it seems like my phone gets hung up on whether to use wifi or cellular when handling calls/texts. I get my internet through Xfinity so my speeds are good. Also, my modem and wifi router are both new and configured properly (as far as I can tell).
Also, thank you for the information you’ve provided!
Yeah, I've noticed that hiccup issue (I have a Samsung S8). I also never thought to check for a wi-fi preferred option. I found it and set it to wi-fi preferred. I'll have to see if that works. ¡Gracias!
Everyone on my plan has been having the same exact issue. We've only been with T-Mobile for about 2 months and are already considering switching to another company. My only problem is that we don't have home WiFi so I can't do the WiFi calling thing.
