I have t-mobile and the service is HORRIBLE. Drops calls more then any other cell phone I have had. I called and complained about the service and they said maybe it's the phone and they sent me a new one. It still sucks. I am wondering, can I take the sim card out and put it in my work nextel to see if it works or are these on different "networks" and not able to be used between services. I just want to rule out the phone as the problem and prove its their service so I can get out of the contract.

 

i don't think what you are trying to accomplish will work being it's so unscientific.

why not just call t-mobile and complain that their service is horrible and you want to cancel?

 

I am not trying to be scientific. I am merely trying to test whether the service is equally horrible with a different model phone. Calling them and complaining results in them wanting to swap the phone. My friend has t-mobile also and he called and complained over and over and they just kept swapping over and over. He actually went through 15 phones (same model) before they offered to cancel the contract.

 

I believe you that your service is pretty horrible where you live and I understand your frustration. Does this happen only at one place or all over your city?

About the scientific comment, I only meant you can't mix and match sim-cards and accounts thru various phones and service providers to ascertain the problem, it just don't work that way. You said "can I take the sim card out and put it in my work nextel to see if it works or are these on different "networks" and not able to be used between services" and I probably should have said, yes you can do this but it wouldn't really lead you to anything conclusive.

You might want to consider switching to a different phone model, it's entirely possible that the same "Motorola" model regardless how many you go thru will never work well at your location. Hope this helps.

 

The only reason why I really considered trying switching with the nextel phone is only because I would have to buy a new phone because t-mobile will only switch with the same model. After several swaps, they will maybe offer a different model. I know it is this area that is bad. I have dropped calls allllll over this area and have trouble getting any signal at all in many areas as well. I was in Manhattan the other day for work and the phone worked fine, so I know it is this area, but the reps will not confirm it and will only say it is probably the phone because they are showing my area as a "good signal area". Avoid T-mobile like the plague. Thanks for the suggestions though ken

 

Where are you located?

What handset are you using?

 

Fairfield County, Connecticut. I have the Motorolla C650. T-mobile insists that I am in a "good" coverage area.

 

I'm from Fairfield County. Service is terrible everywhere from all providers in my experience. Drives me nuts when I go back home.

Where exactly in Fairfield are you?

 

1.) Sounds like the main problem is your phone. Try a Nokia or Samsung phone if they let you swap out.

2.) If they insist its a good coverage area, then ask them to look at your call log to spot all the 1 minute calls. That should be enough proof for dropped calls.

3.) If they cannot provide consistant service, you have every right to cancel serice without penatly (ETF)

4.) Ask around town and see what everybody else uses. I know Cingular's 850mhz and Verizon's service works pretty well where there are hills and such.

 

My mom has Cingular and lives in Fairfield county. I don't think I've ever had a conversation with her over 2 minutes without the call being dropped.

 

I live in Norwalk. There are parts of Fairfield county that have zero service, such as Easton and Redding. Thats the middle of the woods. In the cities though like Norwalk and Stamford I have dropped calls all the time or no signal at all. I am on my second C650 now. My friend has T-Mobile also and went through a couple dozen phones, they offered finally to switch models and he got a RAZR. He said it's a little better but still has problems.

 

Yeah my mom works in Norwalk. Gets spotty coverage. Once she gets up towards Ridgefield, forget about it. Good luck.

 

I work with a guy that has Cingular and he seems to have very good coverage around here. I used to have Verizon and they had good coverage but shady business practice so I left them. I had a sprint work phone that was pretty good and I also had a Nextel that had just direct connect service and that also was pretty good. T-Mobile seems to be the worst BY FAR.

 

what exaclty are shady business practices?

 

Thanks to my old company, I accrued a bill of about $500. I was paying it off at about $150 a month AFTER talking to their rep and they ok'd it. While on a job one day, a woman calls me from their collections department and said that if I did not give her a credit card number to pay in full, they will shut my phone off that night. I told her I want to talk to her supervisor, and she said "why, she's just gonna tell you the same thing." She started saying things that were implying that I was some kind of lowlife that doesn't pay my bills. Keep in mind I had verizon for 5 plus years without missing any payments. She finally said her Supervisor would be calling me back. She never did. The phone was not shutoff however. I got a couple more similar calls, and finally decided that I would cancel my service because of this type of treatment. I was past my two year contract date and was able to cancel without being charged a $175 termination fee. However, when I got my final bill, I was charged the $175 anyway. I called up and talked to a woman who did a little research (not sure why she had to, all the dates were there in the computer) and she agreed and took the fee off. I asked if I should pay the bill I had minus the $175 or wait for a new bill. She said that I should wait and a new bill would be sent in the mail in about 5 days, the next billing cycle. I asked again that everything is straightened out now and she said yes, so I was happy. 3 days later, I got a bill from a collection agency. I called Verizon and they WOULD NOT talk to me because I was sent to collections. They refused to talk to me and said I have to deal with the agency now. WTF!!!! So my credit was fucked up because of their shady business practice. I tried escalating to higher offices and every person I talked to said I had to deal with the collection agency. So, I will never deal with Verizon again.