Jump to content

Official Tmobile-Sprint merger discussion thread


Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, Dkoellerwx said:

I have seen B2+B66+B71 CA, but so far no NR combos that include B71 or B41.

I actually haven't seen any 5G in the last two days, not sure what's going on.

I have been told the tower serving  my house is iffy because it is be worked on.  No completion date.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Dkoellerwx said:

CA = Carrier aggregation.
Not sure what you mean by the second half of your question.

Just trying to understand what that does.  What benefit?  Saw it popular on a different blog.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Jeff68005 said:

Just trying to understand what that does.  What benefit?  Saw it popular on a different blog.

Haven't had to explain what CA is in a while. 

Carrier aggregation bonds two (or more) LTE channels together so they effectively act as one for downloading data. That's what I indicated when I wrote B2+B66+B71. All three channels bonded together. I don't think CA with B71 is that special, it doesn't act any different than any other LTE band. It is usable farther from the cell site (in good conditions) so that's a benefit to B71, but that doesn't help CA as the other bands need to be within range as we. 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So my parents are legacy Sprint customers and both have 2020 iPhone SE's.  They just received the new SIM cards that T-Mobile is pushing legacy Sprint customers to get.  I helped them do the SIM swap and I noticed something very surprising.  Before we did the swap, I was curious if VoLTE was on or off, so I went to:

-Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data and saw the VoLTE toggle, which was off.

Then, after the SIM swap, the VoLTE toggle was gone!  How could that be?  I though T-Mobile is planning on carrying calls on VoLTE only? 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Member21 said:

So my parents are legacy Sprint customers and both have 2020 iPhone SE's.  They just received the new SIM cards that T-Mobile is pushing legacy Sprint customers to get.  I helped them do the SIM swap and I noticed something very surprising.  Before we did the swap, I was curious if VoLTE was on or off, so I went to:

-Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data and saw the VoLTE toggle, which was off.

Then, after the SIM swap, the VoLTE toggle was gone!  How could that be?  I though T-Mobile is planning on carrying calls on VoLTE only? 

If Tmo plan on VoLTE only, there is no need for a toggle. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, PedroDaGr8 said:

If Tmo plan on VoLTE only, there is no need for a toggle. 

Got it, thanks (was thinking the toggle might still be there now in order to be able to select it as "on" and avoid using something older for calls like GSM (if that still exists)).  Glad that it is nice and clean by being on with no way to turn it off. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was told by a tech that I called in and talked with (because a trouble ticket was created, and I received a text msg saying "call <this number> in regards to ticket #_______ at your convenience"...)

that my account actually says that Tmobile is NOT recommended because network conditions in my home area aren't the greatest. He told me that he was going to 1)issue a request up to some higher techs/engineers about the power levels of b71 in my area, 2)issue a new ticket about coverage in this area, and 3)switch me back to Tmobile SIM on just my phone, then placed an order for the Tmobile Pebble.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very interesting.  Back when WiFi calling was failry new for everday Joe, I was getting some WiFi calls from businesses.  Call quality was very iffy..  When it did become available, Sprit was promoting it as a way to reduce loads on their network which was getting overloaded.

I tried it.  It was very flakey to the point I turned it off and never looked back.  I recently switched Sprint to T-Mobile after getting the "you need to swap SIMS" letter.  I did the swap to get better pricing.  I never even looked at that.  On Sprint, I turned off VoLTE since it was linked as a new improved WiiFi calling  and never looked back.  That decision was based on poor WiFi call history in my case.  Lots of the members here were all hot to trot to track availability like a new band width.

When I changed , I never even thought about it.  I have always had less than good quality due to my house is in a small valley as far as the towers around here.  For most things, I set up good WiFi in house and that helped a lot for non-voice needs.  My Sprint plan at the time had data caps.  I eventually changed to a Unlimited plan..

In fact, until your post, I still never gave it a thought.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/24/2021 at 11:17 AM, though said:

US Cellular is a roaming partner for T-Mobile like Sprint? how are the speeds on it when roaming? hard cap or are they good?

I wonder if you can force roam like you mention on Pixel devices? This would be great for me. I am on a Sprint sim and lately instead of roaming on US Cellular (very adequate speeds) it's been roaming on AT&T (horrible speeds)!!!

Yes, T-Mobile does roam with USCC as well, though it's not quite as comprehensive as Sprint - it won't let me force-roam in some parts of northern Iowa, but I've been able to in Wisconsin and some parts of south-central Iowa. Haven't been to Nebraska to test there. Speeds are good - on my Samsung Galaxy A71 5G it'll even roam on USCC 5G (though the indicator still shows 4G LTE.) Looking at the speed tests I did, they were (in Mbps) 63.4/2.12, 12.6/2.38, 72.5/17.1, and 69.0/22.7. Ping times are pretty high (averaging around 100ms) but otherwise it's been pretty good when it's allowed.

T-Mobile also has Viaero as a roaming partner in Nebraska. There was one report on Reddit of that roaming not working with a TNX SIM, though it's possible that there's a phone/settings issue there too. When I went to Colorado a couple months ago I never encountered a Viaero signal so didn't test it.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey guys.

I have a Galaxy S8 Active and placed an online order for a Galaxy A52 5G

I will be going abroad soon and need Open World. From what Ive read, this plan breaks if you use a Tmobile SIM,

The order says its coming with a Tmobile SIM. Can I just ignore it and pop in my current SIM card?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, jamesinclair said:

I will be going abroad soon and need Open World. From what Ive read, this plan breaks if you use a Tmobile SIM,

The order says its coming with a Tmobile SIM. Can I just ignore it and pop in my current SIM card?

Did you order place the order through a Sprint portal or was it all through T-Mobile? The last upgrade I did a little over a month ago I did through Sprint (S21 Ultra). The order said it was coming with a T-Mobile SIM, but it was actually in a separate envelope and there was a Sprint SIM in the phone. When I made my trip to Iceland at the start of this month, that Sprint SIM still working for global roaming.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Dkoellerwx said:

Did you order place the order through a Sprint portal or was it all through T-Mobile? The last upgrade I did a little over a month ago I did through Sprint (S21 Ultra). The order said it was coming with a T-Mobile SIM, but it was actually in a separate envelope and there was a Sprint SIM in the phone. When I made my trip to Iceland at the start of this month, that Sprint SIM still working for global roaming.

I ordered through the Sprint website and am still get my ED1500 "contract" subsidy credit

It says a phone and sim card are coming, so we will see what happens tomorrow. I assume if theres a Sprint sim inside the phone, when I pop it open it will clearly be branded as such? That would be the best option for sure.

And if not, can I just use my Galaxy S8 Active sim? My flight is this upcoming weekend so I wont have too much time to get things sorted.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, jamesinclair said:

It says a phone and sim card are coming, so we will see what happens tomorrow. I assume if theres a Sprint sim inside the phone, when I pop it open it will clearly be branded as such? That would be the best option for sure.

And if not, can I just use my Galaxy S8 Active sim? My flight is this upcoming weekend so I wont have too much time to get things sorted.

If the T-Mobile SIM is in a different package, the SIM inside the phone will be a "Sprint" one and you shouldn't need to do anything except activate it.

If the SIM From the S8 is the proper type, you might be able to use it. But there's a pretty good chance they've change which size SIM is used since that phone came out.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My T-Mobile plan switched to the MAXXX today on this billing cycle from the 1+ plan. Will I need new sim cards to achieve stand alone NR? I have a ton of routers out there with old sims in them I will be upgrading with RM510 radios for 5G. So I wonder if this is necessary and if so where can I get the new ones for free? The store wants 35 dollars and that is pretty silly. Thanks for any advice :D 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, belusnecropolis said:

My T-Mobile plan switched to the MAXXX today on this billing cycle from the 1+ plan. Will I need new sim cards to achieve stand alone NR? I have a ton of routers out there with old sims in them I will be upgrading with RM510 radios for 5G. So I wonder if this is necessary and if so where can I get the new ones for free? The store wants 35 dollars and that is pretty silly. Thanks for any advice :D 

You need the R15 from T-Mobile for SA 5G.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, jamesinclair said:

I ordered through the Sprint website and am still get my ED1500 "contract" subsidy credit

It says a phone and sim card are coming, so we will see what happens tomorrow. I assume if theres a Sprint sim inside the phone, when I pop it open it will clearly be branded as such? That would be the best option for sure.

And if not, can I just use my Galaxy S8 Active sim? My flight is this upcoming weekend so I wont have too much time to get things sorted.

 

 

Just so you know. Once you TNX on the Everything Data 1500 plan, your video will be capped to 480p. With the sprint sim there is no video cap.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, Dkoellerwx said:

All AT&T along I-80 in Nebraska now instead of USCC or Viaero. No idea why when it would make sense to go with one of the actual roaming partners. 

It's not just I80, it's the entire state from what I have noticed. And it seems to be capped at 256/256kb. VERY slow. Wish USCC was prioritized like it used to be!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • large.unreadcontent.png.6ef00db54e758d06

  • gallery_1_23_9202.png

  • Posts

    • Totally agree.  In my county and surrounding counties, TM did not place n-41 on every site.  When I look at the sites in question, I probably would have not placed it there either.  I can find just a few with n-71 only and in most of those cases if you live there and know the probable usage of the residents, you would not do a full upgrade on those sites.  One site in particular is set up to force feed n-71 through a long tunnel on the Turnpike.  No stopping allowed in the tunnel. No stores, movie theaters, bathrooms, so n41 would be a waste.    n25 is not really needed either, so it is not there.  The tunnel is going through & under a mountain with more black bears than people.  TM was smart.  Get good coverage in the tunnel but do not waste many many thousands of dollars with extra unused spectrum. I also see sites with only n71 & n25.  Again this makes sense to me.  Depending on what county we are talking about, they moved much of their b25 from LTE to nr.  Some counties have more n25 than a neighboring county, but luckily, it is plenty everywhere.   When you are in a very rural area, n41 can run up the bills and then be barely used.  I am NOT finding sites that should have had n41 but TM failed to provide it.  They may have to come back later in a few years and upgrade the site to n41.  However, we just may eventually see the last little piece on Band 25 leave LTE and move to n25. I am not sure if the satellite to phone service is using band 25 G block as LTE or nr. We also can possibly have at least some AWS move from LTE to nr at some point.  Yes, everybody wants n41. it is not justified in some cases.  When I travel, I desire some decent service along the entire route but it does not have to be 1 or 2 gig download.   If I can get 50/5 on a speedtest with data that will flow and not stutter, I am very happy. Yes, they will swap out the USC gear.  TM needs to match their existing network. The USCC equipment did the job for years, but it is time to retire it.
    • Lots of time if you can get close to the pole, you will see a sticky label on the box that is low enough to read. Most of the time it warns of RF exposure but also it may have a toll free number to call if there is an issue. Sometimes there is a power company meter with the name of the user. I would be surprised if there was nothing there to help identify it.  Thinking further, if this is multi-Tenant oDAS, then maybe you might only see some name like Crown Castle or maybe even a department in the city government.   An app on your phone may show the carrier(s)
    • I found a multi-carrier oDAS node at the corner of Bushwick Ave & Cedar St. You can see an upgraded Verizon macro deployment behind the node, and T-Mobile has a fully upgraded site only a block away. So, the only thing that makes sense is that this is an AT&T node with LTE+mmWave (or maybe C-Band).
    • I tried going into a Boost Mobile store and they wouldn't sell me a rainbow SIM card, said that it would be dead as soon as I put it in the Moto Edge 2023... which I know is bs... 
    • They didn't do all 2.5 with the Sprint merger, so I'm not sure why they would do that for USCC in areas arguably more rural. But I'm 100% sure they'll swap out the gear. - Trip
  • Recently Browsing

×
×
  • Create New...