May Make The Switch

[ITGeek]

Hi All!

Was looking for an iThings mobile device web forum and this one looked the best, so here I am

Currently using phones and tablets running "the other OS," but, have become disillusioned with them (primarily due to their execrable "security") and am considering Making The Switch. (iPhone 7s will have to become more affordable, first, though. We're on T-Mobile and I want Band 12 support.)

So, I'll be looking around. Maybe posting the odd question here-and-there.

And, yes: The nick is reflective of what I do. Been a senior systems, network and telcom admin for over 25 years, a software designer before that, a hardware designer before that and a radio guy before that. (Yes: That also means I'm older'n dirt .)

 

[J. A.]

Welcome to iPhone Forums!
Just ask away. We're happy to help with any questions you may have.

 

[scifan57]

Welcome to iPhone Forums! We're here to help with any problems or questions you may have.

 

[zstairlessone]

Welcome, and I think the 6S is still faster than the opposition so you might want to price that or the 6S Plus if you want to switch now

 

[ITGeek]

Welcome, ...

Thanks!

...and I think the 6S is still faster than the opposition so you might want to price that or the 6S Plus if you want to switch now

Performance is not the problem. It doesn't have Band 12 support. (I checked the specs.) We're on T-Mobile. No Band 12 support means no voice or data on TMO's Extended Range LTE network. That means no TMO at all, for example, in better than half of Michigan. We still have phones, via roaming, but, of data: Nothing until we can connect via WiFi. (We're supposed to get limited data while roaming. It's never worked for us.)

Believe me: If I could make the switch today, I'd be darn tempted to pull the trigger. I'm pretty unhappy with The Other Guys right about now.

 

[scifan57]

Thanks!


Performance is not the problem. It doesn't have Band 12 support. (I checked the specs.) We're on T-Mobile. No Band 12 support means no voice or data on TMO's Extended Range LTE network. That means no TMO at all, for example, in better than half of Michigan. We still have phones, via roaming, but, of data: Nothing until we can connect via WiFi. (We're supposed to get limited data while roaming. It's never worked for us.)

Believe me: If I could make the switch today, I'd be darn tempted to pull the trigger. I'm pretty unhappy with The Other Guys right about now.

According to Apple, the iPhone 7 does have band 12 support, but not with T -Mobile.
View countries with supported LTE networks

 

[zstairlessone]

Thanks ITGeek!! I had no idea

 

[ITGeek]

According to Apple, the iPhone 7 does have band 12 support, but not with T -Mobile.

I read that it does, but, the iPhone 6 does not. So I went and looked. These say it does:

T-Mobile - Extended Range LTE - COMPATIBLE PHONES
Spectrum Gateway - Devices compatible with Extended Range LTE

Here's the interesting thing: According to both those pages: The iPhone 6 supports it, too! I got my information from Apple iPhone 6 - Full phone specifications (GSM Arena). I'm now thinking maybe those are the specs for the original iPhone 6 that came out in 2014, and Apple updated it in 2015? I'll have to verify that. I may be able to entertain the possibility of a switch sooner than I thought, after all.

They both support WiFi calling, too, which is a major benefit--particularly if one has access to Comcast's WiFi network, which we do.

Thanks for making me look that up again!

 

[scifan57]

I read that it does, but, the iPhone 6 does not. So I went and looked. These say it does:

T-Mobile - Extended Range LTE - COMPATIBLE PHONES
Spectrum Gateway - Devices compatible with Extended Range LTE

Here's the interesting thing: According to both those pages: The iPhone 6 supports it, too! I got my information from Apple iPhone 6 - Full phone specifications (GSM Arena). I'm now thinking maybe those are the specs for the original iPhone 6 that came out in 2014, and Apple updated it in 2015? I'll have to verify that. I may be able to entertain the possibility of a switch sooner than I thought, after all.

They both support WiFi calling, too, which is a major benefit--particularly if one has access to Comcast's WiFi network, which we do.

Thanks for making me look that up again!

You're welcome.

 

[ITGeek]

*sigh* This idea may be stillborn

Picked up a 9.7" iPad at Costco, yesterday. Figured it'd be a good way to familiarize myself with iOS and see if there were any show-stoppers. (Costco has a 90-day no questions asked return policy.) It sure is nice, but, it didn't take long to run into the first speed bump: The tablet won't connect to my Linux box. After about an hour-and-a-half of research it turns out this is a recurring problem with Apple mobile devices: The Linux developers fix the support and Apple turns right around and breaks it again.

 

[ITGeek]

Update

Went to bed Sunday night thinking "I'm not so sure..." Woke up Monday morning thinking "Really need to give it a fair shake." Told wife "If we're gonna find out, we're gonna have to commit." Bought another iPad so we weren't swapping the one back-and-forth. After the two of us spent Monday night using them, I'm now thinking I kinda sorta maybe can get used to this

 

[zstairlessone]

Wait until you are sitting next to each other in recliners and FaceTiming each other. It will happen [emoji106][emoji23]

 

[ITGeek]

Wait until you are sitting next to each other in recliners and FaceTiming each other. It will happen [emoji106][emoji23]

We actually FaceTimed each other from across the room, just because we could

Oh yeah... then she FaceTimed me while I was in the computer room and she wanted to show me something the cats were doing somewhere else in the house...

I'm getting a bad feeling about this...