While T-Mobile might not have the best service in terms of reception, they damn well have the best customer service and support that I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with.

@the bends: True that. I've called T-Mobile several times for various reasons, and always hung up with a smile on my face.

If T-Mobile didn't have such spotty coverage in my area, I'd go back to them in a heartbeat. I got so much more for my money when I was with them in terms of plans/features, and their customer service really was first-rate. Above & beyond was the norm in my experience.

Funny. When I called them in January to cancel my T-Mobile service because my contract was up and I was switching to iPhone, the CSR first tried to sell me on the Google phone.

After I didn't bite, she explained to me that I could use an iPhone on T-Mobile's network (which, of course, wouldn't provide 3G speeds, GPS, etc.). I'd just have to buy an iPhone and get it unlocked. I told her no thanks -- but what if someone who didn't know what they were talking about would have called? "OMG, I caaaaaaan use the iPhone?!?! Thanks!"

I also at one point called and spoke with a different CSR who told me his current cell was an unlocked iPhone on the T-Mobile network.

it makes sense for them to support it. otherwise people will switch back to at&t if things stay broken. Although i wonder if t-mobile actively supports the iphone whether at&t can sue somehow and for some reason.

Tmob is great. Try to get unlimited minutes from ATT or Verizon for 50$ minus corporate discount?

@the bends: I suppose that is your experience. Mine was quite different.

During my 7 month stint with TMobile, I called their customer service and support no less than 15 times. Those level 1 techs and supervisors are idiots. If they had any customer service sense about them, my issue would have been resolved at their level.

If you go the extra mile and contact their executive customer service, they will be helpful. I don't feel it should have come to that.

@bravo369: you cant sue for supporting something you dont have to. ATT/Apple may have a case if t-mobile started advertising that the iPhone is available on the t-mobile network, but just allowing it to work isnt a big deal legally.

I would rather have 700 minutes that work anywhere I go than have an unlimited amount that I can't use in 60% of the places I frequent. Just saying, price isn't always a deciding factor.

This is the problem with cell phones in this country. Because everyone always buys phones with a contract to get the cheap phone a lot of time people forget that they are mainly buying a service. The company will make a lot more off of you in two years after you buy the free phone than it would have made on the phone it self. Thats why they do it.

At the end of the day though this should really not surprise many. Someone was paying for a service that was working before and a change on the service provider's end caused for a glitch. They corrected their problem and made amends for their mistake. I guess the fact that this is even newsworthy is just the state of society.

this is part of the reason I have stayed with TMobile. Not only are the willing to support a phone that they do not sell, but they are open to assisting you in unlocking your t-mobile phone (even when you are still under contract)

I agree they coverage may not be the greates, but luckily for me, in Chicago, they have excellent coverage. Unlimited minutes for $50 can not be beat.

(and adambadam, I agree with you that this should be a big deal, but like you said it is the current state of our cellular communications in this contry)

Problem with the story: T-Mobile does support the iPhone. It just doesn't do it in the USA -- it supports it in Germany (where T-Mobile started). AT&T is the exclusive carrier in the USA, T-Mobile in Germany, Orange in France, O2 in the UK...

Story should, with all these iPhone 1st gen's comming out of contract, AT&T and Apple need to provide unlocking codes.

Part of this is probably because crediting most of these users one month of service is still a lot cheaper than subsidizing a phone by $200+ to give the customer a phone that they do carry, and definitely a lot cheaper than losing the customer.

@STrRedWolf: You apparently haven't heard of jail breaking the phone.

And technically, T-Mo does NOT support the iphone in the US. Yes, they do over seas, because as you mentioned they are the exclusive carrier there. However, T-Mo US is showing that, thought they don't officially support the iPhone here in the US, they will do what they can for those users who have it.

Consumerist: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! I work at trapcall.com which has a 3rd party voicemail system for our free users and sends SMS messages to notify you of a voicemail! We received MANY support tickets from T-mobile Free users who had canceled and were angry that "WE" were still sending them SMS messages, they all complained that they were BLANK messages -- This story confirms we are not the culprit!!! Thanks for vindicating us!

@Randa the Panda:
jailbreaking is changing the software so that non-app store software can run on it.

Unlocking is breaking the exclusive-carrier lock so that you can use a different SIM card.

@chris_d: Technically, jailbreaking is opening the filesystem up for write access. The root filesystem is not writable by default; the media partition (where music, App Store apps, preferences, etc.) is.

@bravo369: ATT could not sue and win a case. T-Mobile can't sell new iPhones, but they aren't doing anything illegal by supporting them on their network. You can use any phone you want on both T-Mobile and ATT's networks, you just put a SIM card in.

The problems would be if the phone is locked to only accept a certain companies SIM card, but there was an exception to the DMCA that made hacking the phone to get past this legal, and possible early termination fees that the original buyer of the phone might have with the other carrier.

I bet the blank texts can be decoded and will probably say something about the impending end of the world that December

@Benjamin Clayton: Where do you frequent? The swamp?

@STrRedWolf: RTFT

@Benjamin Clayton: I'm in the same boat. AT&T is the only carrier that has acceptable (read: able to place a call and not have it drop in a minute) coverage where I live, where I go to school, and where I work. The plan costs more, but I can actually use it.

@ultimatecardsfan: The iphone 3g can use the built in GPS on Tmobile over a data plan. Pretty much everything works on tmobile except 3G data (EDGE data still works) and visual voicemail.

Ive been with T Mobile for years now. Ill never switch unless they turn into another Verizon. Every time I had a problem with them, they always give me the proper escalation and Ive even talked to upper level managers on certain issues who always listen. Ive had a few road bumps, but the problem has always been resolved and ive walked away happy. I have only but positive words to say about them.

My father lives in small town about half an hour from a large metro area (KC metro to be specific). When he had our family on AT&T (Cingular at the time) we would get spotty reception. Even at our own home. There was no excuse for this. I had a spare trac-phone that got a better signal than my Cingular phone. After getting a run around from their terrible customer service he switched to t-mobile. He has been happy ever since.

I moved and then got my line on my fiancee's phone plane with T-mobile. There was a few problems but they got ironed out at the kiosk. I just wish tmob would roll out the 3G network where I live. If they would of had that available, hands down I would of got a G1. Now I guess I have to wait for the G2.

I used to work for TMobile. They are all about doing whats right for the customer..within reason of course. I no longer work for the company, but I still have my service through them - they have the best customer service and rate plans to fit my needs!

I have T-mobile right now. Overall, I like T-mobile, their prices are right, and I have had good service any time I needed it. There is a good chance I will be moving from T-mobile though, as half of the city where I live now doesn't have reliable T-mobile service, and who knows how many years it will be before they have 3G service here. Frankly, those are things I care about the most. I'll probably move to Sprint, as even though they don't have as good of customer service as T-Mobile, they have 3G coverage here that covers the entire city, and unlike Verizon and AT&T, their prices are reasonable. Frankly, being a daily reader of the Consumerist, if I have a CS issue with them, I will know how to get it resolved to my satisfaction.

I've only had one real gripe about T-Mobile as long as I've had to deal with them - when they transfer you, their line degrades. Today, I needed to get someone in the prepaid department for a client. Static, static, static. When they transferred me somewhere else, it got even worse to the point that we had to hang up. It's been going on for almost a year - every time you get transferred, the line craps out.

I wonder how long it's going to take for them to fix it.

Sounds like a glitch in their upcoming Visual Voicemail system to me. Good for them to have fixed it.

@the bends: Funny thing is T-mobile is the only service that works in my house. I have a theory that living so close to a major airport interferes with the signal, but I can't get a bar out of Verizon (I can't hear them now). Their prices are the best and I can have my shiny G1 (and my husband's Starbuck's partner discount).

Customer service has been wonderful for years.

I have a grandfathered plan on the G1. They didn't make me change it. Full internet, 400 text msgs and 400 shared minutes for 2 phones for under $100/mo.

@zaq2g: Why doesn't 3G work? I get 3G on T-mobile? Is it geographic for you?

@Randa the Panda: Oh, I know about jail breaking to unlock. That's not the point. My point is that T-Mo Germany's licensed to carry the iPhone, so there is support, and T-Mo can get up to speed in the US once Apple officially unlocks the phone.

@oneswellfoop: My school has no Tmobile service except in a few small, ever changing, places. I have at&t and I get service almost everywhere.

@chiieddy: AT&T's 3G and T-Mobile's 3G run on different frequencies. The iPhone was built to use AT&T's frequency.

@STrRedWolf: T-Mobile Germany and T-Mobile USA are the same in name and parent company only. They're completely separate companies - no more related in daily operations that Virgin Atlantic and the Virgin Megastore in essence.

Or GE and the Sheinhardt Wig Corporation :)

Wow, the IPhone just keeps on getting better!

RT
www.privacy-web.net.tc

i just wish they would hurry up and announce future google phones so i can figure out if i want to get a g1, use a unlocked iphone or get one of the new google phones.

Why is this such a surprise to people? Yeah, the mobile carriers may seem evil at times, but it would not make good business sense here. #1 item on the agenda of the mobile carriers is user retention to maintain a healthy revenue stream? Why would T-Mobile want to make their users get a new phone? These days many phones are a liability because they are subsidized by the company. If the user breaks the contract then the carrier might be stuck with the bill and without the revenue. Allowing a user to use a phone that they paid for completely removes this liability and guarantees (at least makes it more likely) that the customer will keep sending money to the carrier for service.

@Benjamin Clayton: AT&T service is terrible at my house, but T-Mobile gives full signal bars. To each their own...

@the bends: T-Mobile's customer service has been for 80% of my 2.5yrs with them marked as "beyond the competition and then some" some of their staff are fanatical about helping.

That's why, despite the fact that their phones aren't the bleeding edge they should be (Save G1) I remain with them. Coverage for me has been better than Verizon.

@Benjamin Clayton:
It all depends where you live and travel. For some people, Tmobile's coverage is fine, for others, not so much. But if you primarily stay within their strong reception areas, why pay more for another provider?

I've had good luck with T-Mobile. I had an unlocked AT&T BlackBerry 8310 that would NOT receive service books on either AT&T or T-Mobile. AT&T blew me off, despite that SIM being on the $68k/mo corp cell account and yet T-Mobile spent hours trying to troubleshoot the problem with RIM and their "Unsupported Devices Support Team" to eventually find out that the problem was with the 8310. I sent it back to where I bought it from (overstock.com, ugh) and bought an 8900 instead and have been happy since. I was very pleased with Tmo's service.

The reception, however, hasn't been the greatest. Ah well, I'll deal. :)

@Benjamin Clayton: I'm in a major metro area and T-Mobile is great there, but once I drive 4 hours to visit family, nothing. I can't have that.

@Lucky_Strike-001: Well, in contrast, I have AT&T now and get reception everywhere except underground (Verizon owns the networks there). And I get great reception in the southern part of the state where I frequently travel. If I had T-Mobile, I wouldn't get reception there at all. Their coverage map definitely confirmed this. So it's not about the carrier being good or bad, it's simply what towers they have in the area.

My wife and I have been with T-Mobile since 2001. We have been extremely happy with their service and support. The pricing is perfect. There have been a few times when we have gone over our minutes and a quick call to their support and an upgrade in minutes a few minutes later and we do not get any overage charges. I've had many providers for cell phones through my various jobs and none of them can begin to compare with the level of service that T-Mobile has. We will stay with T-Mobile as long as cell phones are in use. :)

@Spammy Jones:

Lulz your name is Spammy, and you posted a link to a website

@pecan 3.14159265: They're supposed to open up the underground soon, I hope.

As a data point, I sold two (jailbroken and unlocked) iPhones on eBay recently and both of the buyers intended to use them on T-Mo.

I have had T-Mobile since 1998 or the Powertel days ( Powertel to Voicestream to T-Mobile) and can echo alot of others sentiments that they have great customer service even when things get messed up a little.

Even years ago I called to get a free new phone (which extended a contract of course.) They said they would send phone model #1234 but when it arrived it was a phone model #5678. When I called to get an RMA to send model #5678 back they asked me why I had thought I was getting model #1234 and all I had to say was "That is what the customer phone sales/service rep had told me." That alone was enough to issue an RMA- no fighting about it.

My spouse (2nd) and I recently got a deal via CostCo celluar vendor to transfer her account to TMobile to my account under both the Costco vendor promotion and my loyalty plan- free phone plus the loyalty plan plus the loyalty transfer credit. Win for Tmobile.