T Mobil

[mobilcastle]

Anyone using T Mobile for cell service and using your phone as a hotspot? How well does it work? Thanks for any info.

 

[rxbristol]

I think most that are on the road, including myself, use Verizon because it has the best and most reliable service across the U.S. If your stationary, then another service may work just as well or better.

 

[danemayer]

Carriers have coverage maps that you can check, but you need to drill way down to the street level to see what kind of coverage they have for voice and for data. Also, if they use partners for data coverage in some areas, assume you'll get 2nd rate service from the partner.

 

[Gaffer]

Verizon would work much better.

 

[jbeletti]

3G/4G Coverage maps for US carriers - http://3gstore.com/coverage/

 

[Crumgater]

If you have a good T-Mobile signal, the HotSpot works AWESOME!

Another thing T-Mobile has going for it, is WiFi calling... so if you are in a place with bad signal, but with WiFi, you can hop on the internet and make calls just like you were on their 4G service.

That said... I had to give up my T-Mobile phone and go with Verizon due to lack of signal where I had a big project going (NE PA).

T-Mobile does seem to keep building, so service should just keep improving... I really liked my T-Mobile service... it was a sad day when I let it go.

 

[beasleyrl]

Another thing T-Mobile has going for it, is WiFi calling... so if you are in a place with bad signal, but with WiFi, you can hop on the internet and make calls just like you were on their 4G service.

If you have T-Mobile, you'll need the wifi calling.

But also note, that same function is now available on the newer phones from Verizon and AT&T. My new 6s has it in Settings/Phone. It works great too!

 

[SNOKING]

I got a T-Mobile Hotspot today and will be turning off our Verizon MiFi. The deal is that Verizon coverage at our sunbird park sucks here in Lake Stevens, Washington. Guy a few sites down the road showed me the speed he gets on T-Mobile and it was fast(15-20mb down).

Also streaming movies from Netfix, Amazon and others does not count against you data plan.

We still can hotspot with the Verizon smart Phones.

Hopefully T-Mobile will also work well at our snowbird park in Arizona also.

Now that we are full timers data connections will be important.

Chris

 

[SNOKING]

I now have my Roku 3 hooked up to the living room and WiFi'd to the the T-Mobile hotspot, then I found the Roku 2 in the shed while cleaning things up, so I installed it on the bedroom TV.

I do seem to be eating data like mad as a full timer! Kind-a on a hunt to fine the big offenders. Reading the paper online might take a lot of data?

Chris

 

[danemayer]

I now have my Roku 3 hooked up to the living room and WiFi'd to the the T-Mobile hotspot, then I found the Roku 2 in the shed while cleaning things up, so I installed it on the bedroom TV.

I do seem to be eating data like mad as a full timer! Kind-a on a hunt to fine the big offenders. Reading the paper online might take a lot of data?

Chris

You need to check with T-Mobile about whether the Roku usage is supported as part of Binge On. This is from an artic le about 6 months ago:

It turns out that Binge On works just fine while tethering - but only if you are streaming to a laptop, desktop, tablet, or handset.
Smart TVs, set-top boxes, and gaming systems are NOT supported.

You may have to stream to your phone or tablet and use an app to "cast" it to your Roku.

 

[alexb2000]

Be sure to turn off automatic updates on your laptops, phones, etc either that or remember to turn the hotspot off at night. That has been the data killer on T-Mobile hotspots in our experience. Otherwise we love our hotspot and use it everyday.

 

[SNOKING]

You need to check with T-Mobile about whether the Roku usage is supported as part of Binge On. This is from an artic le about 6 months ago:


You may have to stream to your phone or tablet and use an app to "cast" it to your Roku.

Well maybe that explains things a bit.

I have a tablet with mini HDMI port and I cable. I will have to see what happens if I get the video stream thru it. It would be interesting to know how they can tell the difference between devices WiFi'd to the hotspot.

This is the confusing part, it states that I have used 2.14GB high-speed data in three days and 2.92GM total on-network data. Difference should be the Binge on data. Chris

Does Binge On apply to video streamed while tethering?

When Binge On is enabled, streaming video from participating Binge On providers never touches your high-speed data allotment if you're tethering from a smartphone, tablet, or mobile internet device to a laptop, desktop, tablet, or handset. Other devices aren't currently supported by the Binge On program.

 

[danemayer]

I'd assume that Binge On free data is only for data consumed by the apps that your device directly uses. Hardware devices connected to your wifi probably don't get free data, even if doing something similar. The fine print also talks about video definition set by those apps which in turn drives the data consumption. Your Roku device doesn't have limited video definition and will use more data.

 

[SNOKING]

And I thought getting mail and paying bills was going to be an issue full timing, now I find that managing wireless data is a big issue! Chris