Anyone else getting stuck up in the Sprint -> TMobile transition?

[pete6032]

I am a Sprint customer getting moved to TMobile. Apparently TMobile is shutting down Sprint's network in 2022, and you need a phone that supports Band 71 and VoLTE to get the full TMobile experience. TMobile is offering me a $200 credit toward a new phone, though I do not want a new phone and simply want to use my existing Android device, but that doesn't support 71 or VoLTE. Anyone else get caught up in the transition and needs to buy a new phone? What are you getting?

 

[rh71]

You simply can't use your existing phone so time to move on. TMobile is great with new phone deals. I traded in both my parents' old LG phones for new Galaxy A32 5G phones. Didn't even have to pay anything up front, just stay with them for 24 months or so. Only cost was like $30 in taxes.

Prior to that, I got a deal on my A71 5G also through their website. Trade-in any working phone and got a huge credit. Think I only paid $150.

 

[lxskllr]

My sprint phone is paid for by work, so I'm gonna wait and see. I haven't heard anything about transferring my phone over. I don't follow this stuff closely, so my phone is maybe fine? Dunno. I'm due for a new phone, so whatever happens is ok.

 

[Captante]

About 8 months ago Google Fi (which was a Sprint MVNO) made some great offers on new phones behind this change.

I grabbed a fully compatible unlocked Galaxy s20 for a final cost of approx $100 after all discounts and rebates. (also snagged a Motorola G-Power 2020v as a spare and they PAID ME $49 to "buy" it!)

Hard to go wrong!

 

[BurnItDwn]

My wife had a LG phone she liked, but, it wasnt compatible with T Mobile's network.
I got her a pixel 5a 5g. While i would have prefered to pay $0 or $150 or whatever, the Pixel seemed like the best bang for the buck option even without $200 off.

 

[Captante]

My wife had a LG phone she liked, but, it wasnt compatible with T Mobile's network.
I got her a pixel 5a 5g. While i would have prefered to pay $0 or $150 or whatever, the Pixel seemed like the best bang for the buck option even without $200 off.

Only Pixel deal at the time was for the 4a and compared to the s20 it felt really cheapo in-hand. (also a lot slower performing and only slightly better on updates these days too)

 

[BurnItDwn]

Only Pixel deal at the time was for the 4a and compared to the s20 it felt really cheapo in-hand. (also a lot slower performing and only slightly better on updates these days too)

We didnt get a deal, just paid full price. Didnt want to go to store or deal with shopping. New Pixel was path of least effort

 

[RLGL]

Why not get a different network?

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

I picked up a Moto G Stylus off of EvilZon for $200 or so that covers all those bands. But I'm on TracFone and paying about $8/mo with no contract or commitment.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I just bought a new phone in August for the camera to take on vacation...Motorola One Ace 5G for like $265...awesome camera and has the radios . When it showed up, it had a Sprint sim in it, but I had to swap that for a TMobile sim to activate it. I think my plan is roughly the same. There always seems to be those kinds of deals around if you aren't stuck on Samsung or Apple.

I bought the phone on TMobile.com because the local store charges a $35 store fee if they sell me a phone. (They warned me and sent me online... awesome folks).

 

[lxskllr]

I just bought a new phone in August for the camera to take on vacation...Motorola One Ace 5G for like $265...awesome camera and has the radios . When it showed up, it had a Sprint sim in it, but I had to swap that for a TMobile sim to activate it. I think my plan is roughly the same. There always seems to be those kinds of deals around if you aren't stuck on Samsung or Apple.

I bought the phone on TMobile.com because the local store charges a $35 store fee if they sell me a phone. (They warned me and sent me online... awesome folks).

You pretty happy with the phone overall? It /may/ come to me needing a new phone, and Motorola is one I've been considering. I got my cheapy Moto E for home internet, and I've been impressed with it. I especially like that it doesn't come with a bunch of crap preinstalled like Samsung does. I like Samsung's quality, but holy shit do they put a bunch of trash on their phones. They keep trying to be apple#2, and nobody's interested in their special little apps, or "experience". You'd think they'd have caught on by now, and quit trying to shovel their junk onto users.

 

[Scarpozzi]

You pretty happy with the phone overall? It /may/ come to me needing a new phone, and Motorola is one I've been considering. I got my cheapy Moto E for home internet, and I've been impressed with it. I especially like that it doesn't come with a bunch of crap preinstalled like Samsung does. I like Samsung's quality, but holy shit do they put a bunch of trash on their phones. They keep trying to be apple#2, and nobody's interested in their special little apps, or "experience". You'd think they'd have caught on by now, and quit trying to shovel their junk onto users.

It doesn't have the typical 3 Android buttons. You use gestures and it took me a few days to get used to swiping the side of the screen to go "back" in web browsers. That causes a problem in my web version on outlook where I delete stuff by accident often with that gesture. The phone size is a little bigger than the Moto X4 I came from. TMobile's network is bad sometimes....it flips between 5G and 4G and 5G is almost always faster....even though it's not a band issue. LTE is fast enough to support web browsing...they just have oversold the 4G side and it acts all 2G half the time here. I sometimes put it in airplane mode and let it reestablish connection or I use settings to disable 5G and lock it on 4G to keep it from flip flopping where coverage is bad.

 

[lxskllr]

It doesn't have the typical 3 Android buttons. You use gestures and it took me a few days to get used to swiping the side of the screen to go "back" in web browsers. That causes a problem in my web version on outlook where I delete stuff by accident often with that gesture.

You can probably set it to "legacy mode" with the 3 buttons. I did that with the Moto E. It came with gesture mode as default, but there's a setting somewhere you can make it be normal. I'm not a fan of gestures in general, and I just didn't feel like learning new stuff. Maybe it's amazing once you get used to it, but I wasn't digging it the half day I used it that way.

 

[MrSquished]

I was all against gestures and then tried it when it came out, took a few days but it's way faster than the three button nav IMO

Watch out for pixel phone promos if you have to switch phones on T-Mobile. All the articles I've read is google is putting a ton of marketing money into the Pixel 6's, and that will include lots of trade in money. Of course chances are that will be quite lopsided to iPhones, as the point is to get apple users to switch over. but keep an eye out and see.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

My Stylus updated itself to A 11 and does not have the three buttons.

One thing I like is that the added memory card seems to have blended in with the main memory and gave me a bunch of room.

 

[Brainonska511]

About 8 months ago Google Fi (which was a Sprint MVNO) made some great offers on new phones behind this change.

I grabbed a fully compatible unlocked Galaxy s20 for a final cost of approx $100 after all discounts and rebates. (also snagged a Motorola G-Power 2020v as a spare and they PAID ME $49 to "buy" it!)

Hard to go wrong!

Afaik, Fi has always been primarily a T-Mobile MVNO. If you didn't have a carrier switching phone, it would default to T-Mobile's network.

 

[Captante]

Afaik, Fi has always been primarily a T-Mobile MVNO. If you didn't have a carrier switching phone, it would default to T-Mobile's network.

Or Sprint. I used a non-switching Sprint Galaxy s7 for quite awhile with Fi. The s20 and the g7 btw are both "built for Fi" and do switch.

Now of course Sprint is gone/absorbed ... Fi uses mostly T-Mobile and some US Cellular where available ...in Central Maine for example.

 

[pete6032]

Went into TMobile today and they said my existing phone would work just fine. I think the sales person was wrong because I'm reading online that the phone needs to support VoLTE, which mine does not. Furthermore it doesn't support band 71 so it wouldn't get the same experience. I also learned that it's $200 in bill credits over 24 months and it only applies to three phones, not to any phone. They're not trying very hard to keep my account.

 

[Captante]

Went into TMobile today and they said my existing phone would work just fine. I think the sales person was wrong because I'm reading online that the phone needs to support VoLTE, which mine does not. Furthermore it doesn't support band 71 so it wouldn't get the same experience. I also learned that it's $200 in bill credits over 24 months and it only applies to three phones, not to any phone. They're not trying very hard to keep my account.

Explained: AT&T and T-Mobile VoLTE phone cutoffs


Essentially if your current device supports 4G-LTE -OR- VoLTE you should be good to go. (what's being shut off is 3G)

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

What is your monthly consumption?


The $8-9/mo I pay gives me several times more than I'll ever use and it rolls over month to month in case I sometimes use more than normal. You can keep your phone if it's compatible and choose SIMs for either AT&T or T-M.


I can send a link for a sign up bonus, but they won't let me post it here on the boards since it's an affiliate thing.