Cant this be right from Tmobile Customer service about coverage?

[kalia09]

I have been with T-mobile for years. I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 and and Samsung Prime Core. I find that I can't hear well on my S5 and calls drop or I don't get a signal periodically from inside my house. Within the last year, I bought the core as a business phone and it seems to not have any problem with calls inside the house. I called T-mobile Customer Service and they explained that the S5 did not have the technology (I think something to do the LTE) to get good reception through walls, etc but the Core did and also, the S6 and S7 did have this type of technology for the reception. Right now as I type at my desk, the S5 has 2 bars (sometimes none) and the Core has 4 bars. Can this be true? I never have been happy with the S5 but it was for personal use and my husband has a Iphone S with AT&T through his work and I can use it with great coverage everywhere. My Tmobile plan is just so cheap, that I hate to leave it.

Just hoping someone can verify that Tmobile told me the truth. Thanks

 

[horsecharles]

Hi, let me guess - the S5 is not an original Tmo model, but was instead brought over from another carrier, or independent retail purchase?

 

[horsecharles]

If you could go into Settings / About Phone(scroll to the bottom) / Model Number -

that info will help the helpers...

 

[mikedt]

You can check it yourself with http://willmyphonework.net/
It may only show partial compatibility with T-Mobile LTE. We've had a few posts about that recently, with phones that weren't supplied by them having reception difficulties. They don't have all the 4G LTE bands that T-Mobile requires. I can remember one being an international version Samsung.

 

[kalia09]

Hi, let me guess - the S5 is not an original Tmo model, but was instead brought over from another carrier, or independent retail purchase?

I bought it off Ebay over a year ago from a very reliable seller so that is what I know. I think the phone is fine otherwise but are you implying they are saying this since they don't have any tie or whatever to my phone and just want me to purchase from them?

 

[kalia09]

If you could go into Settings / About Phone(scroll to the bottom) / Model Number -

that info will help the helpers...

It is a SM-G900T.

 

[kalia09]

You can check it yourself with http://willmyphonework.net/
It may only show partial compatibility with T-Mobile LTE. We've had a few posts about that recently, with phones that weren't supplied by them having reception difficulties. They don't have all the 4G LTE bands that T-Mobile requires. I can remember one being an international version Samsung.

I went there ad the results: It may work and is compatiable with some network carrier frequencies.

 

[kalia09]

This is what I have now, awhile back when I called T-mobile about the problem, they asked me to choose WCDMA and not the LTE. I hope this gives more information to get advice.

 

[horsecharles]

Hi.
Firstly, let's give more weight to any advice from mikedt, & anyone who owns an S5... when it differs from mine.
You'll get more knowledge and experience.

So at least your model has some Tmo bands- but not the most important one : Band 12. So, your signal inside buildings will suffer, as well as your overall speeds.
Band 12 is a relatively new addition, & the S5 was likely the last major Tmo phone without it.
I have never heard of any trick to enable it on that phone, maybe someone else knows... Follow their advice if so, but don't wait around for it... I doubt it.

Bottom line - you need to upgrade, sorry to say.

 

[horsecharles]

It also occurs to me - notwithstanding the 2 bars... if your performance is otherwise OK, stick with it.

Also, in real world terms, if you get a newer phone(which will have Band 12), your Tmo top speeds & signal strength in-city will likely beat out all other carriers.

Where you might lose out to your hubbie's AT&T, is in coverage BETWEEN cities... something to consider if say, you drive all over, especially to sparsely populated areas.

 

[kalia09]

It also occurs to me - notwithstanding the 2 bars... if your performance is otherwise OK, stick with it.

Also, in real world terms, if you get a newer phone(which will have Band 12), your Tmo top speeds & signal strength in-city will likely beat out all other carriers.

Where you might lose out to your hubbie's AT&T, is in coverage BETWEEN cities... something to consider if say, you drive all over, especially to sparsely populated areas.

Thank you horsecharles. I think you are probably correct.

 

[Fox Mulder]

My MetroPCS S5 G-900T1 is the same phone except for the carrier branding and on the same network. I haven't had much of an issue with coverage even without band 12 but I'm primarily in the NYC area where the network is very good. I'm sure having band 12 would help in some areas but it's not a dealbreaker for me. Of course this will vary depending on where you are and how/where you use the phone.
All of the current T-Mo/Metro phones have band 12 as do many unlocked non-branded ones.