T Mobile coverage on a thru hike

[not_possible]

Anyone know if it'll be decent? I'm using T Mobile through a Simple Mobile SIM card on my old HTC Touch Pro 2 now. I was thinking about getting a newer, lighter, and less bulky phone and switching to AT&T with Straight Talk, so if that's the better option I can do that...AT&T just doesn't work at my house. Just wondering if anyone had any experience with T Mobile along the trail in the smaller towns. I know I had signal in Pigeon Forge last year, but nothing just a couple miles out at the cabin we were in. So if it's spotty, but ok in most trail towns that'd be good enough to keep in touch with calls, txts, or facebook updates. It's just down to these little details now, aside from the major hammock vs tent option. Hopefully that gets solved with a trip next weekend if the hammock shows up by then.

[Creek Dancer]

Not sure about T Mobile, but I found that AT&T did not work well at all on the southern half of the AT. I now have Verizon and I have much better service. At one point, AT&T didn't work at all in Damascus. Not sure if that is still the case.

I have heard that Verizon works best on the southern half, and AT&T works better on the northern half.

[Prime Time]

Ya, I have Verizon and it has the best coverage in New England as well.

[Creek Dancer]

Good to know!

[fredmugs]

Verizon kicks ass most places on the trail. AT&T maybe a distant 2nd.

[rusty bumper]

On my end-to-end AT hike in 2011 and 2012, Verizon came through for me almost every day.

[Teacher & Snacktime]

I have T Mobile too and have been wondering the same thing. Oh well. I'd call and commisserate with you not_possible, but it probably wouldn't go through.

[not_possible]

I have T Mobile too and have been wondering the same thing. Oh well. I'd call and commisserate with you not_possible, but it probably wouldn't go through.

Hah, I definately wouldn't get the call now. I bought a Samsung Captivate Glide and an AT&T SIM from Straight Talk and at first I thought I was good, have 1-2 bars in the house. Then I tried to make a call and "Not Registered on Network" popped up. Fine just about everywhere else so far though. If I could have a no-contract smartphone with Verizon for even $50-60 a month that'd be my choice, but that's not happening. I got a contract with Verizon back in 03 with their first LG camera phone, I had unlimited talk, txt, and pic msgs when I walked out and a few months later got a $500ish bill. I had sent/recieved like 5000 txts a month back when I was young and my unlimited txts were suddenly gone with no warning. I had a few friends say they got a txt from Verizon mentioning to update their plan or something about txt/pics, details are fuzzy these days but I never got that txt. I had to pay it and it left a bad taste in my mouth, but I kept Verizon til 08 and finally got tired of paying around $160 or so a month. Granted that was phone and a broadband card at the time. Anyways, I'm sure AT&T will be better than T mobile and hopefully it's good enough or I can at least find WI FI in towns with no coverage. At least my T mobile is paid for this month so I'll just wait until next month to officially switch.

[10%]

I found that I didn't have much coverage at all with my T-Mobile phone in GA, TN & NC. My solution was just to buy an inexpensive pre-paid Verizon phone, which I just use on the trail and which does give me a signal much more of the time. It's also nice that if I were to lose or damage it, I wouldn't be out a lot of bucks.

[eghama]

Are we talking about cell service when on the actual trail, or when in towns off the trail? Can anyone tell me about the AT&T coverage while off the trail and in towns, especially in GA, TN and NC?

[CarlZ993]

Hah, I definately wouldn't get the call now. I bought a Samsung Captivate Glide and an AT&T SIM from Straight Talk and at first I thought I was good, have 1-2 bars in the house. Then I tried to make a call and "Not Registered on Network" popped up. Fine just about everywhere else so far though. If I could have a no-contract smartphone with Verizon for even $50-60 a month that'd be my choice, but that's not happening. I got a contract with Verizon back in 03 with their first LG camera phone, I had unlimited talk, txt, and pic msgs when I walked out and a few months later got a $500ish bill. I had sent/recieved like 5000 txts a month back when I was young and my unlimited txts were suddenly gone with no warning. I had a few friends say they got a txt from Verizon mentioning to update their plan or something about txt/pics, details are fuzzy these days but I never got that txt. I had to pay it and it left a bad taste in my mouth, but I kept Verizon til 08 and finally got tired of paying around $160 or so a month. Granted that was phone and a broadband card at the time. Anyways, I'm sure AT&T will be better than T mobile and hopefully it's good enough or I can at least find WI FI in towns with no coverage. At least my T mobile is paid for this month so I'll just wait until next month to officially switch.

I have a Straight Talk phone that uses Verizon. Different phones with them use different carriers (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, etc). You just gotta pick the correct one. Sometimes the people working the department don't realize it. I lucked out and had a worker who knew his stuff and he steered me to the Verizon phone.

[not_possible]

I have a Straight Talk phone that uses Verizon. Different phones with them use different carriers (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, etc). You just gotta pick the correct one. Sometimes the people working the department don't realize it. I lucked out and had a worker who knew his stuff and he steered me to the Verizon phone.

Verizon is CDMA though, AT&T and T mobile are GSM and the only options for the BYOP SIM card deal with Straight Talk. I've read rumors AT&T may not be an option much longer, right now only T mobile SIM's are listed on Straight Talk's website...I got mine through Wal-Mart. I'm picky with phones and like slide out qwerty keyboards, that's why I got an unlocked Samsung Captivate Glide and had my old HTC Touch Pro 2 for so long. I didn't look before going this route since I did awhile back and it was just a headache, weren't too many Verizon Android options through Straight Talk and I think I read it varies by area and some CDMA phones use Sprint instead of Verizon. What phone do you have that uses Verizon?

[not_possible]

Are we talking about cell service when on the actual trail, or when in towns off the trail? Can anyone tell me about the AT&T coverage while off the trail and in towns, especially in GA, TN and NC?

Either really, I'm hoping AT&T will be good enough to at least call or txt family once a week whether on trail or in town...or find WI-FI in towns where I may have no coverage to update them via Facebook. I'm optimistic that AT&T will work for that in the GA/NC/TN area, but I'm expecting it will be pretty spotty...like it is in about a 500m bubble around my house. I'll know for sure in a couple months though and I'll try to remember to update this thread in case someone has the same question later.

[EJC]

Others have answered this pretty well, but t-mobile has horrible reception on the trail. I had t-mobile for all my sections and got 1 bar... maybe that if you moved a 1/2 inch the wrong way would lose reception. It wasn't a problem until I was trying to coordinate a ride back to my car and couldn't get any reception my entire last day (10 miles or so) through SNP. Reception is poor with T-mobile in PA, MD, NJ, NY, and VA on the trail.

[wcgornto]

In 2009, Verizon didn't work in Damascus either. it was basically either Sprint or land line. I recall that one resident had a phone on his porch and offered free domestic calling for hikers passing through.

I used a Tracfone on my thru hike. It worked pretty well all along the way, as it was not tied to a particular network, but seemed to have pretty good overall coverage.

Not sure about T Mobile, but I found that AT&T did not work well at all on the southern half of the AT. I now have Verizon and I have much better service. At one point, AT&T didn't work at all in Damascus. Not sure if that is still the case.

I have heard that Verizon works best on the southern half, and AT&T works better on the northern half.

[slims]

I thru hiked with a T-Mobile smart phone last year. It wasn't terrible overall, just inconsistent. Some places I had good data service and no cell service. Others it was the opposite. Others it was full bars and fast data. I guess that is to be expected given the nature of the trail. Verizon is much more consistent, that's for sure.