Why We Switched from AT&T to T-Mobile

3 days ago, I pulled the trigger and drove straight from Berkeley Bowl to a T-Mobile store. An hour later, I walked out the door with a brand new black Galaxy Note 4 and a new iPhone 5s (space grey).

After 14 years with AT&T Cingular, we switched carriers.

It was another round of "server not found" messages in email and "ah snap" frowny faces that tipped me over the edge - but we've had a lot of problems. The fiasco of the dreaded White Galaxy Note 4 left us with two aged smart phones on a 10 GB Mobile Share plan with an average monthly bill of $155.

• My husband couldn't receive or place calls on his Galaxy S II
• He was pissed off every time AT&T pushed another mandatory Android update
• International roaming was prohibitively expensive, leaving him crippled in Taipei for 2 weeks
• The black Galaxy Note 4 was on indeterminate back order
• The bill would jump $25/month/phone unless we picked the Next plan upgrade option, which is not cost effective
• The reception on the iPhone 4s rarely hit 4 bars in the East Bay - with no reception in many areas east of the hills.
• The iPhone 4s was limited to 3G
• I wanted a better camera

At this point, we were paying for a service that was not being delivered.

When AT&T "permacookies" hit the news, my husband joked about the "unethical monitoring shit-house" -  and asked when the contract was up.

But because we depend on the mobiles for business, switching felt risky. We need good coverage and a stable, strong signal.

Although Verizon is the drug of choices for law enforcement agencies, the plans looked to be even more expensive than AT&T, and I wanted the option to unlock on a GSM network while traveling. (NOTE: Verizon also uses permacookies.)

T-Mobile caught my interest a few months ago when Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son's attempted a corporate takeover. T-Mobile fought off the bid while investing heavily in innovative "wi-fi calling"; the Speed Test results in the Bay Area are pretty impressive.

The Clincher: No Contract

What convinced my husband to give T-Mobile a try is: there is no risk. The contract is month-to-month, so if we don't like the service, we can unlock the phones and go back to AT&T.

The phones are 0% financed on a 2 year term. We can upgrade when half the balance is paid, and the balance will be applied to the new phone.  Total cost is $54.12/month.

The monthly service charge is $132. That's $23 dollars less than what we were paying on AT&T.

Each phone has 3GB of data. T-Mobile does not charge overage. The data is capped, but you can choose to purchase additional if you need/want to.

Having recently dropped a phone in the toilet (don't ask), I took the optional $10/month for lost/stolen/damage coverage. Replacements are $125 with unlimited warranties.

HAPPY CAMPERS! ALL PROBLEMS RESOLVED!
We have great coverage, brand new phones - and the envy of all the guys at work still waiting for their back-ordered black Samsungs ;-)

Bonus: The trade-in value was calculated on the spot. The sales rep provided a postage paid label and packing materials that are good for 30 days. The refurbed iPhone 4s that I paid $99 for 3 years ago is fetching a whopping $38 for trade-in.

How to Transfer Existing Phone Numbers
To avoid a delay in service or double payments, be prepared to provide:

• Your AT&T account number
• IMEI numbers of your existing phones
• $10 a piece for SIM activation

Officially, it takes up to 24 hours to transfer the lines, but ours was complete in 2 hours.

Transferring your phone number to another carrier closes the AT&T account - no need to call.