T-Mobile One Unlimited 55+

[explanade]

Some models have Band 12, which TMobile recently started supporting.

May be worth waiting a couple of weeks when Apple introduces new iPhones.

The older models drop in price and these days you may want at least iPhone 6s and 6s Plus to support the latest IOS features.

 

[Scuba]

Which network were your phones bought for? I think their problem is that their phones were specifically Verizon iPhone 6s which are not very compatible with the US T-mobile network.

Yes, they are Verizon iPhone 6's.

 

[Scuba]

Something is fishy. DH bought his iPhone 6 shortly after they came out, and it was on T-mobile immediately. Ah-hah:

If you have Verizon iPhone6s, those are not compatible with T-mobile - or only marginally so in the US and won't pick up the higher speed data bands. I suspect that is your actual problem. Verizon uses CDMA in the US and T-Mobile GSM, and switching the SIM is not sufficient. There are actually two different iPhone6s produced for the different carriers in the US.

So when the salesman said you needed new devices to have "an acceptable experience" he perhaps didn't give you the detail that your Verizon iPhones were built for an incompatible network.

Verizon, Sprint, US cellular use CDMA in the US
AT&T, T-Mobile use GSM/Edge in the US

The Verizon iPhone does support some GSM bands, sufficient to use it with a European carriers SIM in Europe, but not enugh to use it with the US GSM carriers.

Thank you for this explanation. Now it makes sense as our phones are from Verizon.

 

[audreyh1]

When I decided to join my husband's T-mobile account I got a new phone because I knew the old Verizon iPhone 5 I had would not work well with the US T-mobile network even though it had worked great in Europe using a T-mobile SIM and SIMs from other European carriers.

Besides, wifi calling was not supported in the iPhone 5.

I waited for the iPhone SE.

 

[fosterscik]

An unlocked Verizon IPhone 6 will work flawlessly on the T-mobile network:

2. A1549 (CDMA): This is considered as the world phone version. It supports all the same spectrum frequencies as the A1549 (GSM) and also includes CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (with 800, 1700/2100, 1900 and 2100 MHz bands). Besides, it works on UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz), GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) and 4G LTE bands include bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29. The model is compatible with Verizon and Cricket in the US. However, if you buy an unlocked Verizon phone, you will be able to use it on any other GSM networks like T-Mobile and AT&T as well.

https://www.techwalls.com/differences-between-iphone-6-6-plus-models/

 

[audreyh1]

Ours are the standard IPhone 6, not the 6S. They were bought at an Apple store configured for Verizon

I know when my husband bought his iPhone6 over two years ago that there were two different hardware versions and that you couldn't buy a generic phone and expect it to work with any US carrier. You had to choose the phone for a specific carrier.

Looks like Apple started selling a "universal" unlocked iPhone6 in Oct 2015 where you could go to any US carrier and get a SIM, but if you bought your iPhone6 from the carrier you may have still have gotten a phone specific to that carrier's network, and locked to a certain extent.

 

[audreyh1]

An unlocked Verizon IPhone 6 will work flawlessly on the T-mobile network:

https://www.techwalls.com/differences-between-iphone-6-6-plus-models/

Since that article came out on June 4 2016 and mentions a "new generation" of the iPhone 6 and 6s (which were originally released in Sept 2014) it's confusing as to whether they are talking about later hardware changes.

 

[Pilot2013]

Has anyone switched from Ting to T-Mobile? We switched to Ting for a month, but are really struggling with the service (dropping a lot of calls). We had AT&T before. I would like to switch to the 55+ Tmobile, but wonder if coverage would be better or not.

 

[fosterscik]

At the time this phone was released it was generally sold as a locked phone (to Verizon or ATT etc) and it was difficult to switch carriers. Verizon Iphone 6 (CDMA and GSM dual support) always had the ability to work on all US networks BUT you had to work at it to get Verizon to unlock the phone before it could be used elsewhere. You could generally get your phone unlocked if you told them you were travelling internationally and needed to use a foreign network. Verizon no longer locks its phones (not sure, but suspect that is now industry-wide practice) so it's a lot less hassle.

The GSM version of the same phone (used by ATT, T-mobile etc.) did not support CDMA and would not work on the Verizon network even if unlocked.

DW and I have 3.5 yr-old Verizon IPhone 6 phones. Still going strong and they work flawlessly on the T-mobile network.

 

[Scuba]

Perhaps our 3 year old "unlocked" Verizon iPhone 6's would work, but I'm not willing to chance it when the T-Mobile person is saying they will not work well with their system. It's not like the T-Mobile guy thinks he'll get a benefit as we told him in this case, we're just staying with Verizon. He said that would be our best bet if we aren't willing to upgrade our phones at this point.

Also we looked at T-Mobile's coverage map. We love the Virgin Islands, and unfortunately at this time T-Mobile has very little coverage in the USVI's or the BVI's. We are likely to do another extended visit there soon, and at least Verizon has the coverage.

I'm still thankful for this thread ... while we didn't go with the T-Mobile plan, we are saving over $50/month now on our Verizon plan vs what we were paying before.

 

[kimcdougc]

Has anyone switched from Ting to T-Mobile? We switched to Ting for a month, but are really struggling with the service (dropping a lot of calls). We had AT&T before. I would like to switch to the 55+ Tmobile, but wonder if coverage would be better or not.

T-mobile coverage has worked everywhere we have traveled. We have been across country 4 times and phone worked everywhere except a state park
next to a cow pasture in Oregon.

We have been with t-mobile since 2002 and they have excellent customer service etc.

 

[wolf]

I think the salesman may have meant you had to upgrade your iPhone 6 so HE could have an acceptable experience.

Based on a tip from this forum I switched our iPhone 6's to Ting a few months ago, which uses the T-mobile network. My bill went from about $100 to $40, and is based on actual usage. My main complaint is the lack of coverage in my area. I might look into switching to somebody else since the SIM cards cost less than the first month's savings.

++1. Agree. I switched my iphone 5s, and wife's galaxy 4? with no problems.

CSR, just trying to upgrade you to a new phone.

 

[ERD50]

Has anyone switched from Ting to T-Mobile? We switched to Ting for a month, but are really struggling with the service (dropping a lot of calls). We had AT&T before. I would like to switch to the 55+ Tmobile, but wonder if coverage would be better or not.

T-mobile coverage has worked everywhere we have traveled. We have been across country 4 times and phone worked everywhere except a state park
next to a cow pasture in Oregon.

We have been with t-mobile since 2002 and they have excellent customer service etc.

If your phone is GSM tech, then Ting uses T-Mobile's network.

If your phone is CDMA tech, then Ting uses Sprint's network.

So if you have issues with GSM phones on Ting, I'd expect you to have similar issues with T-Mobile. I think that T-mobile buys time from AT&T networks, plus their own, so AT&T coverage may be different, probably better for most? Or did you have a CDMA phone on Ting? Then it's apples-oranges. But it is dependent on your specific location.

-ERD50

 

[Pilot2013]

If your phone is GSM tech, then Ting uses T-Mobile's network.

If your phone is CDMA tech, then Ting uses Sprint's network.

So if you have issues with GSM phones on Ting, I'd expect you to have similar issues with T-Mobile. I think that T-mobile buys time from AT&T networks, plus their own, so AT&T coverage may be different, probably better for most? Or did you have a CDMA phone on Ting? Then it's apples-oranges. But it is dependent on your specific location.

-ERD50

I spoke with a "Tech" unofficially (one of my employees husbands who works for TMobile) and the story I got from him is that Ting is "3rd in line" for the network that is used for it's coverage, and therefore can have more problems than others. Do not know how true that statement is.

We made the switch last night, so far we have not had issues, even in the middle of my plant where I was dropping calls before. Keeping my fingers crossed. I like the one known payment feature, plus not monitoring texts and data.

 

[explanade]

OK now T-Mobile is running a promotion where if you subscribe to two T-Mobile One plans, you get free Netflix, that you can use on any device.

It starts 9/12.

Wonder if they would include it in this 55+ plans.

 

[audreyh1]

OK now T-Mobile is running a promotion where if you subscribe to two T-Mobile One plans, you get free Netflix, that you can use on any device.

It starts 9/12.

Wonder if they would include it in this 55+ plans.

According to the new thread on this - no.

 

[Chuckanut]

I may sign up for this plan soon. Any Gotchas that I should know about before I sign up.

Also, the guy at the T-Mobile store told me that the antennas in the phones sold by T-Mobile worked better with the new TM system than ordinary unlocked phones sold by a non TM source. Sounds funny to me.

 

[Nightcap]

I may sign up for this plan soon. Any Gotchas that I should know about before I sign up.

Also, the guy at the T-Mobile store told me that the antennas in the phones sold by T-Mobile worked better with the new TM system than ordinary unlocked phones sold by a non TM source. Sounds funny to me.

The Unindicted Co-Conspirator and I have the 55+ plan from Big Magenta. No gotchas of which I'm aware. Some upsells may not apply. Transcription of voice messages, for example. My iPhone already does that automagically. I don't see any point to most if not all of the upsells - I don't insure my phone, for example (insurance is for catastrophic loss. If a broken or stolen phone is a catastrophic loss, I should get a cheaper phone!)

As far as the antennae, it may have been explained poorly. If T-Mobile sells it, you know it works on the T-Mobile network. A Verizon phone won't work, even an unlocked one. Nowadays, most current-model unlocked phones can support all the major communications standards, but the nice thing about standards is that you have so many to choose from.

 

[flintnational]

I may sign up for this plan soon. Any Gotchas that I should know about before I sign up.

Also, the guy at the T-Mobile store told me that the antennas in the phones sold by T-Mobile worked better with the new TM system than ordinary unlocked phones sold by a non TM source. Sounds funny to me.

I have been investigating the plan also. No gotchas that I am aware of. Regarding the antenna, T Mobile uses some newer bands, 700 mhz (band 12 I think). Just make sure the phone you want to use covers all of the T Mobile bands otherwise you will not get the full network coverage. T Mobile stores charge a $25 sim card fee per phone for set up. I spoke to Costco this past weekend and they wave this charge.

 

[explanade]

Auto payment required.

You can turn on One Plus for one or both numbers.

 

[braumeister]

I may sign up for this plan soon. Any Gotchas that I should know about before I sign up.

Also, the guy at the T-Mobile store told me that the antennas in the phones sold by T-Mobile worked better with the new TM system than ordinary unlocked phones sold by a non TM source. Sounds funny to me.

Ask him which bands he's talking about.
You should be able to look at your phone's manufacturer website to see which bands it covers.

For example, my iPhone 7 has:
FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
TD-LTE (Bands 38, 39, 40, 41)
TD-SCDMA 1900 (F), 2000 (A)
CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900, 2100 MHz)
UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

 

[explanade]

If you're buying a new phone to use on T-Mobile, you may want to get a phone with Band 71.

Only a few phones may support it so you may have to wait until later this year.

https://newsroom.t-mobile.com/news-and-blogs/tmobile-600mhz.htm

So get a cheaper phone now and look to upgrade later this year or next year.

T-Mobile is a good value but it should be noted that AT&T and Verizon seem to be the first to deploy 5G.

 

[Chuckanut]

Auto payment required.

You can turn on One Plus for one or both numbers.

Autopatyment as in a credit card?

 

[explanade]

I think so.

I don't know if they have options for ACH from your checking account.

 

[DektolMan]

Switched from Verizon to T Mobile and it was easy. Went to local mall and was told they don't advertise this plan in the store as itndoesn't make much money for them so you have to ask.

Only thing I had to do is unfreeze my credit at Transunion. No loss calls and coverage seems good. Will be taking a trip in a few months and if I have problems I'll report back.

One thing I do like is there is no contract that I'm locked into, just month to month so I can leave at any time.