Poor T-Mobile Signal

[Clockwork_Mechanic]

I recently purchased a Lumia 950 XL Dual Sim for the T-Mobile network. Before that, I had the Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL. It was pretty great for a budget phone, but the most surprising thing was the quality of the T-Mobile network! I had 4 bars with LTE almost everywhere! It was even better than Verizon in some parts.

Unfortunately, however, when I got my 950, I had to get a new sim card. The 950 has the same bands as the Alcatel, and way more. The signal on the 950 isn't nearly as good as it was on my old phone though. I usually have 1 bar, sometimes it'll move to 3. I have to be in the middle of town to get full coverage with LTE, and even then the LTE usually drops to 4G. I had LTE at home with my old phone, but the 950 usually gets 2G, maybe 4G. It doesn't make sense.

Could I possibly have gotten a bad sim card? Or is this a problem with unlocked phones on T-Mobile?

 

[StanP50]

I have the same issue, with the same phones. Out of curiosity, why did you have to get a new sim, I'm using the same as I had in my Alcatel XL.

 

[Clockwork_Mechanic]

The Alcatel had a MicroSIM, I believe. I needed a NanoSIM for the 950 XL.

 

[decimus plancus]

My experience is the opposite. Much,much better reception for me (from my L640). I get better building penetration. My cell phone is usable as a cell phone in my office again. This is on T-Mobile.

 

[TheBadGuy_88]

My 950xl has given me EXCELLENT service on T-Mobile... There are too many factors to give you a reason that applies to you just know I feel your pain... I had that issue with my unlocked 920.. Terrible, absolutely terrible

 

[Clockwork_Mechanic]

Could you check with your XL and see if Band 12 works after all other bands are disabled?

 

[MadCityDad]

I'm just wondering if wifi calling and visial voice mail works for you?

 

[Clockwork_Mechanic]

No, Wi-Fi calling doesn't even show as an option. T-Mobile people said phones have to be proprietary to T-Mobile. I can't even get my Voicemail setup. I think there's a problem with the phone not completely registering on T-Mobile's network or something.

 

[decimus plancus]

I don't have wifi calling on Tmobile but visual voice mail works well. You maybe on to something about it not completely registering. Where did you get your sim card? Would it be worth trying to get a new one? There might be some missing configuration options. Just a guess.

 

[Clockwork_Mechanic]

I got it from the T-Mobile store. I'm gonna try to get a new one, but that's the only thing I can really do now. If that doesn't work, I'm gonna try to return it.

 

[gbobman]

Shot in the dark: Have you tried switching which SIM slot your card is in? It may make a difference.

 

[PGrey]

I was more like "TheBadGuy_88", I had crazy-fast service on T-Mobile, when I was briefly on their service (terrible rural coverage forced me back to AT&T).

I had everything provisioned, including VVM, but WiFi calling is a lost-cause, at least for now (and probably long term too, see other threads).

I'd at least reboot the phone, and consider backing up and doing a hard-reset if that doesn't do it, I bet you have some latent cached issues that are blocking full connectivity. You could also call T-Mobile, and try to get them to re-provision your phone remotely, this could also serve the same purpose.

I've sort of given up though, my 950XL is mostly shelved, since I get about 50-60mbps on a 6P (vs about 12 on my 950XL, same location and SIM), and dramatically better battery life, the whole works.
I wish Win Phone would turn around, fix some of the connectivity issues introduced with the AU, but every build seemed to be going the opposite direction, literally...
The apps are cool on the 6P, but the UI doesn't exactly rock my world, and the integration with all my MS/Live is a struggle, but the speeds and battery, plus reliable WiFi and Bluetooth, make it worth it, unfortunately. I have close to zero issues with the 6P, and all of the above, whereas my 950XL was a constant, ongoing struggle, day-to-day...

 

[Bigfireq]

I think the Alcatel just showed more bars. I tried it with it, and then with my 950XL and then with a Samsung S7. The Samsung and the 950XL both showed the same number of bars, and had the same hiccups and problems.

A week with the Samsung made me realize that if I ever decide to leave Windows phone, it won't be for Android. I had phantom taps, bizarre software problems, bad UI for a ton of the highly rated apps, and a constantly hot running phone. If I go, I'm guessing it'll have to be for iOS. Blargh.