T-Mobile Borderless Cell Plan - is this too good to be true?

[coachellacanuck]

I posted this in Technology Corner but maybe this would have been a better forum for my question.

I am intrigued by this latest announcement from T-Mobile. I spend 6 months in Canada; 6 months in California. I have to forgo use of my Rogers Canada cellphone while in the USA and have been resorting to a "burner" phone for talk and text.

Anyone looked at this plan in detail? I just got back from talking to a T-Mobile rep and it sounds too good to be true. No contract; unlimited talk, text and data; no roaming charges on calls to Canada from the US and none on calls to the US from Canada.

US$50 per month, which is less than I pay now to Rogers. Coverage map seems to be excellent in Palm Springs, Alberta, and the corridor between the two locations.

What is wrong with this picture?

[Falcon35]

I have been with Wind Mobile on there $35.00 plan in Canada since last November. When we go south I add on there unlimited US Roaming for $15.00. I bought an unlocked phone so I could switch back to one of the big ones in case it didn't work well for me. So far I have been happy the coverage in our area and in USA they are also with AT&T T-Mobile. I do like the fact that I keep the same number when in the US and I pay in Canadian $s.

[coachellacanuck]

This is good to know. I would of course be buying a new phone so it would hopefully be the latest generation when it comes to coverage issues. The ideal situation of course would be to have the Rogers phone unlocked and switch out SIM cards but my investigation so far says this won't work.

I want something I can rely upon while driving from Detroit to Palm Springs and from Palm Springs to the Montana/Alberta border. And I especially want to be able to use the GPS if necessary on those trips.

But again, if it doesn't work out for me, I can always cancel. There is no contract.

[Hank_MI]

ksbowman wrote:
Watch out for T-Mobile's coverage. We had them for many years and liked them until about 2 years ago. Then reception really started going down hill. After several calls to customer service it was finally revealed they had lost several towers and couldn't tell us when if ever they would get those towers back. We changed to Verizon and have had excellent coverage with them. Another couple we know just had the same experience with them and they changed also. Just do your research carefully before jumping in.

We've had T-Mobile for a long time as well. Also noticed problems with coverage a few years ago. Turned out the problem was with the upgrades they've made for 4G LTE. My phone, not all that old, just didn't like the upgrades. I wasn't happy that I had to buy a new phone but it made a world of difference. Haven't upgraded the wife's phone yet but I now have coverage where hers has none.

[almcc]

Not sure about the plan you are talking about but we tried T-mobile through Roam mobility (bought a Roam Mobility SIM for my Samsung smart phone)last winter in the US and found the coverage absolutely terrible.

We transited the US from Detroit to southern California and returned, we were out of coverage more than in in most of the travel. We had a bit of a family emergency, fortunately we also carry a TracFone and it worked where T-mobile didn't.

T-mobile was a waste of money, this winter it will be Verizon or AT&T.

[coachellacanuck]

Oh, and while I on the Windsor waterfront Rogers considers me in the States because my phone is picked up by the AT&T towers in Detroit, and I am constantly calling them to have those charges reversed. I could avoid this, too, I suppose.

[coachellacanuck]

Mountaineer42 wrote:
Again from the fine print:
" Not for extended international use; you must reside in the U.S. and primary usage must occur on our U.S. network. Device must register on our U.S. network before international use. Service may be terminated or restricted for excessive roaming or misuse." 😞

Also:
" U.S. roaming and on-network data allotments differ; 1 GB full-speed plan includes 10 MB roaming; 3 GB and Unlimited 4G LTE on your smartphone full-speed plans include 50 MB roaming; 5 GB full-speed plan includes 100 MB roaming."

Again, I am indebted to this forum for its sharp eyes. I am going to check this out before I sign up, too. Most of my use of this phone will be in the U.S., either during my winter in California or during my day trips shopping in Detroit in the spring. But I definitely do want to check this out.

I am most concerned about talk and text restrictions, less so the data, since I use very little data on my phone in Canada.

It is also occurred to me that I would not want to ask my Canada-based family and friends to call me on this phone while I am in Canada, as they would be calling long distance. So I am first going to see how much it would cost me to keep my Rogers service, at the lowest possible levels of talk, text and data.

Even if I can keep a combined T-Mobile and Rogers cellphone cost to no more than I am paying Rogers now, I would be happy. While in the US for 6 months my Rogers phone is useless to me except for WiFi data usage at home or in restaurants and such.

[Mountaineer42]

Again from the fine print:
" Not for extended international use; you must reside in the U.S. and primary usage must occur on our U.S. network. Device must register on our U.S. network before international use. Service may be terminated or restricted for excessive roaming or misuse." 😞

Also:
" U.S. roaming and on-network data allotments differ; 1 GB full-speed plan includes 10 MB roaming; 3 GB and Unlimited 4G LTE on your smartphone full-speed plans include 50 MB roaming; 5 GB full-speed plan includes 100 MB roaming."

[ksbowman]

Watch out for T-Mobile's coverage. We had them for many years and liked them until about 2 years ago. Then reception really started going down hill. After several calls to customer service it was finally revealed they had lost several towers and couldn't tell us when if ever they would get those towers back. We changed to Verizon and have had excellent coverage with them. Another couple we know just had the same experience with them and they changed also. Just do your research carefully before jumping in.

[coachellacanuck]

I am in Windsor Ontario for the summer, across from Detroit Michigan. I went to Detroit today and spoke with a T Mobile rep at a mall kiosk. I then came home and called customer service on their toll free line to confirm the details I had been given. There is no Canadian dealer. I will return to Detroit to sign up although I have a California address, and US bank account. Apparently I could also sign up online and have the phone sent to my US address, either in California or to the USPS box I maintain in Detroit.

Here is the link to their website: http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans/individual.html

The toll free number and chat option appear in the lower right hand of the page.

[Ruralgas]

Hello coachellacanuck:
Where have you been making contact with? Is it totally through a US dealer?
I don't seem to be able to find a Canadian dealer.
If you could provide your contact that would be great.
Thanks.

[Luke_Porter]

I'm on the old $40 unlimited plan---works for me!

[coachellacanuck]

Naio wrote:
I've been a tmobile customer for a zillion years and happy with them. Their customer service is very good, and they are honest about what they are offering. They won't try to trick you into anything.

Thanks for posting this. I had a good experience with their reps on the phone and at the kiosk in the mall so I was hopeful it would be a good relationship. This makes me feel even better about it.

[Naio]

I've been a tmobile customer for a zillion years and happy with them. Their customer service is very good, and they are honest about what they are offering. They won't try to trick you into anything.

If you like to do a lot of boondocking, their coverage is not great in California once you get into mountains and away from towns and freeways. Verizon has better coverage but an appalling reputation for customer service.

I print out coverage maps to take with me, so when I don't have cell service I know where to go to get it.

[coachellacanuck]

Finally, I got some straight answers from someone at T-mobile. I guess the plan is so new that not everyone understands all the details.

OK yes as pointed out by lawrosa, the data is unlimited, but the speed is not. At US$50 per month, the plan includes 1GB of 4G/LTE and if you exceed that, the speed goes down to 2G. But as I say, the data plan is of less concern because I rarely use more than 1GB on my Rogers smartphone. And for another $10 per month I can get 3BG of 4G LTE. This just blows Canadian data rates outta the water.

While I am in the US, any unused 4G/LTE capacity rolls over to the next month and accumulates for use within 12 months. I can use that stashed data while in Canada but it will not continue to accumulate while I am in Canada.

When they say "Unlimited talk, text and data while on our network" that means their extended network including service providers in Canada and the US with whom they are partnered. So calls between my number and US numbers and Canadian numbers are not "roaming" no matter where I am in Canada or the USA. Or Mexico, for that matter, but I doubt I will find myself in Mexico in this lifetime.

The customer service rep did say it was a limited time offering, but once signed up to this plan it would not change. Mind you, if for any reason I don't like what I am getting for my money I can cancel because there is no contract.

If I want to suspend the T-Mobile service while I am in Canada, I can do so for up to 90 days and pay only $10 per month.

Wish me luck, folks! I'm going in!