[Username00089]

What's up guys.

Going through the forums lately, especially in the 9700 sub-forum, I've noticed
many people in Southern California with T-Mobile. From L.A. to the OC, to
the Inland Empire. I've considered T-Mobile in the past but decided against
it because of the lousy reception I would get where I work (Santa Ana).

But since I have Wi-Fi at work now, and at home, UMA would be a great
option. But my question to you So Cal peeps with T-Mobile is, is the service
really good enough for when I don't have Wi-Fi available? Especially 3G.
Because if I was to ever switch it would of course be for the 9700...

And on a side note, unlimited UMA calling is ten bucks a month right?

Feedback would be very well appreciated.

[bmwmpower]

Hey old buddy. T-Mobile has been pretty good for me wherever I go in SoCal. My AT&T friends with Blackberrys often get the same, worse, or better signal than me depending on where we are. I'll sometimes be the shining star having full bars while my AT&T friends have none where we're together in the same place. Sometimes it happens the other way around. Generally though I have no issues getting signal. I have had issues in the past with my Bold 9000 but I think the phone is messed up because my 9700 is already getting noticably better reception in my office right now where my Bold 9000 would constantly drop. 3G is down for Tmo right now too! I think T-Mobile service and plans are far superior than anything out there. I pay my bill each and every month and it is the same price every month. Every other carrier has screwed me for hundreds of dollars in mistakes, overages, etc etc. I've changed nothing about the way I've used my phones. By far Sprint is the worst

[bmwmpower]

And by the way, UMA calls are free if you're connected to WIFI. You just use whatever minutes you have on your plan. For me it's the myfavs (grandfathered) If you have a plan with lesser minutes, then yes you can get the $10/mo unlimited UMA plan which basically lets you set aside your other minutes for calls outside of hotspots (home, etc.) and make unlimited calls from home via UMA/WIFI. It's hard to explain but I think you get the idea.

[Username00089]

So let's say I had a plan for $40 for like 1,000 minutes or something like that, I
have bad reception where I am and I connect to Wi-Fi, my minutes are being
counted against the thousand minutes right?

But if I pay unlmited UMA for $10 a month, and make calls through Wi-Fi, it's not at
all being counted against my one-thousand minutes, correct?

Just want to be sure.

[berryite]

Feedback would be very well appreciated.

Service in West Los Angeles is excellent. Far superior to AT&T. Not sure about Orange County but West LA is outstanding on T-Mobile.

[berryite]

So let's say I had a plan for $40 for like 1,000 minutes or something like that, I
have bad reception where I am and I connect to Wi-Fi, my minutes are being
counted against the thousand minutes right?

But if I pay unlmited UMA for $10 a month, and make calls through Wi-Fi, it's not at
all being counted against my one-thousand minutes, correct?

I believe the $10 UMA plan is being or has been retired.

And as far as $40 for 1000 minutes, that wouldn't be the way to go. T-Mobile's new EM+ plan is $49.99 for unlimited minutes.

UMA minutes are counted the same way cell minutes are counted. They are deducted from your minute plan whether limited or unlimited.

[david9962000]

Now with the new unlimited talk plan for $49.99, UMA is only good to get better reception & simultaneous voice and data. I have unlimited talk+SMS+data for $80.

And T-Mobile works great for me too.

[ellegee]

I think they're getting rid of the unlimited hotspot calling add-on. I'm having a huge dilemma about switching to an EM+ plan where I would save a lot per month but lose my unlimited UMA calling. I wish I could keep it!
As far as coverage goes, it is pretty good in OC. Every where I go I have at least 3 bars (with the exception of my old office near Red Hill Ave so I guess coverage in SA isn't so great!). All in all, I have been very happy with Tmobile.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Username00089]

Thanks guys. I went ahead and got a 9700 today and signed up for the $80 unlimted plan. I got my UMA which is great. I get 30 days to try out the service. The phone is pretty sweet too.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Californium89]

Inland empire here service is far better then att and verizon and we have 3g lol I love it

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[roundersfan]

how quick and reliable is data (EDGE) in socal?

[Username00089]

Workin so far and so good for me. I called this morning and ported my number. But
right now my phones are working as dual lines until the port completes in a few
hours.

[berryite]

how quick and reliable is data (EDGE) in socal?

As I previously noted, T-Mobile's service in LA is excellent. Certainly as good if not considerably better than AT&T.

[raiderette619]

I'm in San Diego and I live in the east county area which is a pretty rural area. I have ahd no problems. I hardly ever use my wifi! I've been w/Tmo for about 3 yrs now. I'm on a flex pay plan and love it so I don't have to deal w/any extra charges.

[Username00089]

Well everything today is so far so good. I have a half hour drive between L.A. and OC to get to work and I noticed full bars on 3G from pretty much the whole route.

The real test is going to be on weekends when I go out to places in Downtown L.A.
and things like that. Hoping it proves well.

[berryite]

Well everything today is so far so good. I have a half hour drive between L.A. and OC to get to work and I noticed full bars on 3G from pretty much the whole route.

The real test is going to be on weekends when I go out to places in Downtown L.A.
and things like that. Hoping it proves well.

I used to have AT&T and travelled quite a bit between downtown, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. They stunk. T-Mobile has been considerably better in those areas.

[MusicLaw]

I'm considering switching to T-Mo (from ATT). ATT's voice service has been horrible!! Far too many repeatedly dropped call failures (drop, redial, dropped again, etc.) at fixed locations in purportedly solidly covered 3G areas.

My Bold 9000 is great and fully loaded w/ many e-mail accts, and used heavily multitasking w/ 3G (i.e. e-mails, browsing, BB IM, Google Maps and Live Traffic, while on calls, etc.).

I have an unlimited plan so I'm not concerned with minutes used for calls. I also run my Bold w/ WiFi enabled whenever I'm at my Office or at home, both of which have secure networks, as the data feeds are faster via WiFi than 3G.

What issues might I find if I bring my Bold 9000 to T-Mo?

Will I still have fully supported multi-tasking (calls and voice) on T-Mo's 3G?

To get rid of the ATT media (and ATT other apps ATT video ATT Mall, etc.) from the device what OS would be best to use on T-Mo as T-Mo never sold the Bold 9000?

[berryite]

I'm considering switching to T-Mo (from ATT). ATT's voice service has been horrible!! Far too many repeatedly dropped call failures (drop, redial, dropped again, etc.) at fixed locations in purportedly solidly covered 3G areas.

My Bold 9000 is great and fully loaded w/ many e-mail accts, and used heavily multitasking w/ 3G (i.e. e-mails, browsing, BB IM, Google Maps and Live Traffic, while on calls, etc.).

I have an unlimited plan so I'm not concerned with minutes used for calls. I also run my Bold w/ WiFi enabled whenever I'm at my Office or at home, both of which have secure networks, as the data feeds are faster via WiFi than 3G.

What issues might I find if I bring my Bold 9000 to T-Mo?

Will I still have fully supported multi-tasking (calls and voice) on T-Mo's 3G?

To get rid of the ATT media (and ATT other apps ATT video ATT Mall, etc.) from the device what OS would be best to use on T-Mo as T-Mo never sold the Bold 9000?

I formerly had AT&T (several years ago) in LA. I too hated their service.

Switched to T-Mobile and have never looked back.

Coming over and keeping your Bold may carry some challenges. You'll be able to use the Bold on Edge, but keep in mind that AT&T and T-Mobile now have different 3G bandwidths. You might want to look into that a little more.

You should be able to get better rates and a new 9700 with some of the savings you achieve by making the switch.

[prozart]

I'm with T-Mobile, but I've been thinking about switching from my 8900 to the 9000. Can anyone with one comment on how well it works with T-Mobile as far as the 3g and UMA calling and everything? I'll probably just stick with my 8900, but I've been wanting to check out the 9000.

[Username00089]

I'm with T-Mobile, but I've been thinking about switching from my 8900 to the 9000. Can anyone with one comment on how well it works with T-Mobile as far as the 3g and UMA calling and everything? I'll probably just stick with my 8900, but I've been wanting to check out the 9000.

The 9000 doesn't have the radio that is compatible with TMO's 3G bands. So
no 3G, only EDGE. Nor is the 9000 UMA enabled so you'll only get Wifi for data,
not calls.

If you're thinking of switching from the 8900 to the 9000 because you want a
bigger phone, then you'll be losing those things. If you don't mind having a
phone the same size as your 8900, then the 9700 is just right for what you're looking for.

[prozart]

I do think the 9700 would be perfect, unfortunately it'd cost me a few hundred bucks to upgrade, whereas switching to the 9000 would be pretty cheap if I sold my 8900. I'll have to keep thinking about it I suppose. I'll probably just end up sticking with my 8900 though as it's a pretty solid device. Thanks for your feedback though!

[berryite]

I do think the 9700 would be perfect, unfortunately it'd cost me a few hundred bucks to upgrade, whereas switching to the 9000 would be pretty cheap if I sold my 8900. I'll have to keep thinking about it I suppose. I'll probably just end up sticking with my 8900 though as it's a pretty solid device. Thanks for your feedback though!

I'm suspicious about the new Torch browser. I'm guessing RIM will lock this into device upgrades. I love my 8900 and am pretty much decided that I can live without a trackpad and 3G for a few months and will jump over the 9700 to the next device which I'm guessing will have the new browser.

[californiablackberry]

It has to be amazing there, because most celebrities live/work around there and a lot of them have Sidekicks/Blackberries on T-Mobile.

[berryite]

It has to be amazing there, because most celebrities live/work around there and a lot of them have Sidekicks/Blackberries on T-Mobile.

I don't know about it being annoying but every celebrity I see does have a BlackBerry and does seem to use T-Mobile.

[xberzerkx]

TMO is usually on 3G most of the time? Or does it bounce around 3G and EDGE ?

Im on VZ with a BB Tour 9630, I am always on 3G.
My contract with VZ has been up for a few months now, and I am thinking about making the switch to TMO and the Bold 9700.

Has anyone switched to TMO from VZ ?
Can anyone compare the coverage and reliability?
Any regrets ?