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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > iPhone, iPad & iPod > iPhone 4 and T-Mobile USA

iPhone 4 and T-Mobile USA
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reRESERVEDMD
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Join Date: Mar 2010
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Jul 12, 2010, 12:23 AM
 
Hi,

From what I've heard, I understand that if you decide to use your iPhone with T-Mobile, you're only capable of using their EDGE network as opposed to 3G because of the phone's band restriction.

Now, I'm wondering... since iPhone 4 is a pentaband phone or whatever they say, will I be able to use T-Mobile's service at their full speed? [meaning 3G capable]

T-Mobile is a bit cheaper and I've never had problems with it unlike AT&T which I hate with a passion!

Thanks!
MacBook Pro 15" Intel Core i7 2.66Ghz/4GB/GeForce 330GT M 512MB/Corsair 128GB SSD
Mac Pro coming soon
iPhone 4 32GB Black
     
Cold Warrior
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Jul 12, 2010, 09:41 AM
 
Tmo still uses a non-standard frequency for US 3G, so you are still stuck on EDGE.
     
Atheist
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Jul 12, 2010, 10:37 AM
 
There's no baseband (carrier) unlock for the iPhone 4 (yet).
     
mduell
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Jul 12, 2010, 12:38 PM
 
iPhone 4 is only quad band on 3G, the 5th band is EDGE only:
# UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
# GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)


Tmo uses UMTS band IV (1700Mhz) and 2100Mhz.
     
reRESERVEDMD  (op)
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Jul 13, 2010, 10:34 PM
 
I see. Thanks a lot guys. Seems like I will have to live with AT&T that pisses me off a lot. I know T-Mobile is a network that's worse than AT&T but I can't stand their customer service!
MacBook Pro 15" Intel Core i7 2.66Ghz/4GB/GeForce 330GT M 512MB/Corsair 128GB SSD
Mac Pro coming soon
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redcapzero
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Jul 19, 2010, 02:22 AM
 
Your beef with AT&T is understood, valid. However I must disagree with your opinion as to T-Mobile being "worse" than AT&T. At the moment I'm a Tmo user with absolutley no gripes. I live and work in the Bay Area, so perhaps it's a geographical thing (regarding your network issues).

I'm hoping that T-mobile is granted the next i-Phone contract; whould be ever so sweet (and cheaper)!
     
ghporter
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Jul 19, 2010, 07:32 AM
 
AT&T did their very first cell experiments in Chicago, and not only proved the concept but got a lot of customers there. Then they learned something difficult; big cities are hard to cover with radio systems because of the big buildings. Hmmmm, it's not like their development partner, Motorola, couldn't have told them that...

In any case it does appear that most of AT&T's coverage complaints come from large cities with tall buildings, while flatter cities have less problems. The fix for this sort of problem is to have tons of extra cell sites on (and even inside) those tall buildings, which is both expensive and complex. It works, it just takes a long time to get set up.

I hope that there is no new exclusive contract for iPhone carriers in the U.S. I'd like to see how competition drives network development and feature offerings. That should be interesting.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
SSharon
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Jul 19, 2010, 09:17 AM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
... Hmmmm, it's not like their development partner, Motorola, couldn't have told them that...

... I'd like to see how competition drives network development and feature offerings. That should be interesting.
Motorola is based outside of Chicago after all!

Sadly I don't think we'll see any competition. We just took a step backwards in my opinion when we went from unlimited to tiered data plans and I think that will be the trend.
AT&T iPhone 5S and 6; 13" MBP; MDD G4.
     
   
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