Roaming with T-mobile.

[roomaku]

How does the roaming work with t-mobile? I know it covers voice , but does it cover text as well? Im assuming it roams on at&t right? So if I were to go somewhere were t-mobile doesn't have coverage would it just switch to at&t towers for voice and text? I know it's not data roaming but was just curious how it worked and it may make choosing t-mobile easier for me, because if it roams it's more reliable then Virgin. Thanks for the info!

[Frontierjustice]

1.How does the roaming work with t-mobile? I know it covers voice , but does it cover text as well?
2. I'm assuming it roams on at&t right? So if I were to go somewhere were t-mobile doesn't have coverage would it just switch to at&t towers for voice and text?
3. I know it's not data roaming but was just curious how it worked and it may make choosing t-mobile easier for me, because if it roams it's more reliable then Virgin. Thanks for the info!

1. I can't speak to that.
2. The GSM association lists about ten roaming partners for T-Mobile. AT&T Mobility yes --- but also such heavyweights as Michigan Wireless ("Bug-Tussel Wireless") and the Arctic Slope Telephone Cooperative.
3. Dunno.
Regards, FJ

[roomaku]

1. I can't speak to that.
2. The GSM association lists about ten roaming partners for T-Mobile. AT&T Mobility yes --- but also such heavyweights as Michigan Wireless ("Bug-Tussel Wireless") and the Arctic Slope Telephone Cooperative.
3. Dunno.
Regards, FJ

Thanks as long as voice and text are covered id be fine....

[RJM1737]

In my experience, I can get voice and text on AT&T, but no data or MMS.

-Richard

[rfranzq]

While prepaid T-Mobile might roam on AT&T in some places. That is pretty rare in my understanding. Unless you have a way of verifying that it works where you need it, I would not assume it works anywhere you need it.

[RJM1737]

While prepaid T-Mobile might roam on AT&T in some places. That is pretty rare in my understanding. Unless you have a way of verifying that it works where you need it, I would not assume it works anywhere you need it.

Okay, I wasn't aware of that.

Maybe it's a regional thing, or maybe it has to do with the plan. I'm on the T-Mo monthly-unlimited plan, if that makes any difference.

-Richard

[Mr. D.]

Voice roaming on TMo prepaid is not rare, but does vary geographically. The prepaid coverage map is quite accurate for my area of the country, FYI.

[marksatterfield]

I'm interested in hearing more about the roaming coverage too.

According to chat sessions, I either (a) have roaming as good as Post Paid roaming, or (2) don't have any roaming at all.

According to phone calls, I either (1) have roaming as good as Post Paid roaming, or (b) don't have any roaming at all.

According to in person at T-Mobile conversations, I have roaming as good as Post Paid roaming.

In a real life example, a guy that had Tmo Prepaid did not have coverage, while I did have coverage on a Post Paid ATT account. This was in Flamingo, Florida, deep in the Everglades.

Anyone else have empirical data on this?

[RJM1737]

I'm interested in hearing more about the roaming coverage too.

According to chat sessions, I either (a) have roaming as good as Post Paid roaming, or (2) don't have any roaming at all.

According to phone calls, I either (1) have roaming as good as Post Paid roaming, or (b) don't have any roaming at all.

According to in person at T-Mobile conversations, I have roaming as good as Post Paid roaming.

In a real life example, a guy that had Tmo Prepaid did not have coverage, while I did have coverage on a Post Paid ATT account. This was in Flamingo, Florida, deep in the Everglades.

Anyone else have empirical data on this?

I no longer have T-Mobile service because they don't have a tower here, and AT&T's signal is very weak. However, I can say that living in rural New York, in the least-populated county south of the Adirondacks, I always had basic voice and text (but never had mail or other data services) using T-Mo prepaid, anywhere that AT&T had a signal.

This includes the village I live in now (population ~ 500), and the hamlet where my parents live (population ~ 250), both of which have very weak AT&T signals that I could catch occasionally, more often in the winter when there's no sap in the trees. I'm also a pilot, and I don't recall ever not being able to use voice or text anywhere I could pick up an AT&T signal. The only times I couldn't get any signal at all were in places where no one could get a signal on either T-Mo or AT&T.

I should mention that when I had T-Mo prepaid, I had their BlackBerry plan, but none of the data services worked on AT&T towers. This is something to consider if uninterrupted data connectivity is important to you. The phone was smart enough to queue outgoing MMS and email messages until it caught a T-Mo signal, so this limitation obviously is by design.

I have no idea whether postpaid T-Mo accounts get data connectivity on AT&T towers. I was told by the salesman who sold me the phone that postpaid T-Mo accounts do get data roaming on AT&T, but prepaid T-Mo accounts only get voice and text roaming. That turned out to be exactly my experience. The salesman, by the way, is a younger man who's a sort of adopted nephew of mine; so I completely trust his advice.

-Richard

[billm261]

Roaming on T-Mobile (both post and prepaid ) is terrible.


It based on specific locations. You could be in an area with no coverage but yet beaming with AT&T and your phones useless other than a 911 call.

[Mr. D.]

Roaming on T-Mobile is great or terrible, depending on your location. My wife has a postpaid T-Mobile plan and I'm on prepaid. I have yet to encounter an area in our travels in which she had a signal and I didn't. It just depends on where you're located.

Roaming on T-Mobile (both post and prepaid ) is terrible.

It based on specific locations. You could be in an area with no coverage but yet beaming with AT&T and your phones useless other than a 911 call.