Differences between Metro & T-mobile

[Heavy Reign]

So I recently switched to T-mobile a couple months ago and everything is great but I noticed that Metro rolled out new plans and added a gig of data to each one of their plans. Me and my brother pay $80 a month for our bill ($40 each) and that's not including taxes and fees. 2 lines with Metro would be $70 and that includes and taxes and fees.

So I was wondering are there any real differences between the two since they operate on the same network? I understand that t-mobile has extra features like free international texting and unlimited music streaming, but in terms of service is there a difference? I'd appreciate any input as I'd like to save some money.

Oh and I live in southern california if that helps. Thanks!

 

[MrLaserman]

I have both a tmobile phone and a metropcs phone and I don't notice any difference in service when using them.

 

[puyow18]

According to their coverage maps of southern California they look pretty identical, which makes sense seeing as they merged the technologies. I've been on Metro here in north Florida for a few years now and I'm satisfied with my carrier. I don't get the best reception in some areas that people with Verizon/At&t/etc get, and sometimes it seems my data crawls despite a good LTE signal, but those times are few and far between for me at least; I'm not a heavy data user anyway and my actual talk time on the phone is probably low as well.

I've thought about going to Tmobile every once in a while; it used to be for their better selection of phones. Then Metro went GSM and allowed unlocked devices. Then it was their wifi calling and data rollover; but when I think about it, while those are cool things to have, those aren't "necessities" for me and do not justify the $10+ hike on my bill (yes, I'm cheap).

Long story short: ask around to people in your area to see how the Metro coverage actually is "in the real world". Hopefully some people here can help you with that as well. Good luck

 

[LG Fanatic]

I haven't used T-mobile personally but, my brother does and I think they're pretty similar in service and reception strength. On Metro's old CDMA network I would just barely get reception at my house and no reception in the basement. Out and about around my area(Central New Jersey) the reception was okay to pretty good. On the Metro's GSM(T-mobile nationwide) network, the difference is night and day. I get near perfect reception in the house, good consistent reception in the basement and excellent reception around my area.

Long story short, there is likely little difference in reception and call quality between the two.

 

[Ninjew]

When it comes down to it you will receive the exact same service as you would T-mobile because they run off the same towers. Now the service plans are going to be different of course and one other thing is the roaming.

T-mobile has roaming partnerships with ATT and other providers to provide service when outside their coverage.. The same cannot be said about Metro-PCS... So if you take a Metro Phone and a T-mobile phone to a roaming area, The Tmobile will work while the metro phone might not work.

 

[Heavy Reign]

When it comes down to it you will receive the exact same service as you would T-mobile because they run off the same towers. Now the service plans are going to be different of course and one other thing is the roaming.

T-mobile has roaming partnerships with ATT and other providers to provide service when outside their coverage.. The same cannot be said about Metro-PCS... So if you take a Metro Phone and a T-mobile phone to a roaming area, The Tmobile will work while the metro phone might not work.

So basically in certain areas I wouldn't be getting coverage with Metro because they only get service from t-mobile towers and nothing else?

 

[kate]

T-mobile has roaming partnerships with ATT and other providers to provide service when outside their coverage.. The same cannot be said about Metro-PCS...

According to the MetroPCS Coverage Map it looks like they do offer voice and text roaming, but no data roaming.

 

[Ninjew]

According to the MetroPCS Coverage Map it looks like they do offer voice and text roaming, but no data roaming.

Yeah, voice and text but data roaming is another thing. I should have been more specific

 

[stuntiNIN0]

Honestly, the way i see it is like this, You're on the same exact network with the same exact signals, wether on MetroPCS or Tmobile. The only thing that changes is the plans and billing, while MPCS and Tmo offer some similar plans, they have some different ones and that just affects your billing and how much you pay monthly for your services. Depending on your situation, some are better off being a Tmo subscriber, and some are better off as MPCS subscribers, its all a matter of billing as it changed monthly payments, but in the end you're STILL getting the same service, on the same network.

I laugh when people ask me, What phone carrier do you have? and i answer MetroPCS, then they make a face and proceed to tell me they have Tmobile and how they have a better service provider because they have Tmobile. I laugh in their face and depending on their level of understanding i will either explain to them how i have a better plan than they have and pay less per month than they do, or i will simply congratulate them give them a pat on the back and walk away.
Little do they know about facts but lots do they know about being brand sheep.