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T-Mobile roaming coverage in Lakeside


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You will connect through TelCel, so coverage is very good. You will get 4g in some areas, but many areas lakeside still just have 3g, so speed will depend on your location. T-Mobile is great, but if you are here permanently they will eventually cut you off as it is not within their terms to live permanently outside of the States. I'm not sure what the exact policy is, but I know they have cut people off. So if you are here for a few months you will be fine, but if you are here long term you'll probably need to switch to TelCel at some point.

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To be clear.... in the US one must have/pay for tethering in order to  use one’s phone as a hotspot. That is an extra $20/mo (special right now for $10!) for 10GB of 4G LTE. Yes, one can get 3G tethering without paying extra but if you have ever tried to even ‘surf’ at 3G you know websites can take forever to load; email and music OK. 

I would assume.... but that has gotten me into trouble more than once..... that the same would be true when taking one’s T-Mobile phone into Mexico and hooking up with Telcel. IF one wants to tether their phone as a hotspot one must have that $20/$10 option on their account to begin with. 

BTW, while one’s phone is in tether mode, one can use the phone for talk/text, but not data. 

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Just to give you an idea about the internet speeds available from your local Telcel cellphone tower in upper Ajijic:

Using Telcel and looking at a tower a couple of blocks away and using an iPhone where I can choose 3G or 4G (it doesn't say 4G light)

with 3G, I got a download speed of   2.57 Mb/sec and an upload of  1.02 Mb/sec,     (ping 54)

with 4G, I got a download speed of 14.13 Mb/sec and an upload of 15.52Mb/sec,    ( ping 36)

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weve had tmobile for 5 years and are here fulltime.  It seems to be working better than it use to as we heard Tmobile is moving more into Mexico.  They know we live in mexico and have not cut us off yet or even mentioned it.  We are thinking of switching to Telcel though just because weve heard its great reception.

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Actually your T-Mobile account is using Telcel in Mexico. T-Mobile has no presence as such but rather a marketing agreement with Telcel. Telcel users in Mexico are switched to T-Mobile if/when they go NOB.  I am surprised that they are allowing you to still use that account with them.

Not that it has anything to do with this, but T-Mobile is close to merging with Sprint NOB. T-Mobile will be the surviving company (assuming the US gov. allows the merger).

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On 10/6/2017 at 3:53 PM, RickS said:

To be clear.... in the US one must have/pay for tethering in order to  use one’s phone as a hotspot. That is an extra $20/mo (special right now for $10!) for 10GB of 4G LTE. Yes, one can get 3G tethering without paying extra but if you have ever tried to even ‘surf’ at 3G you know websites can take forever to load; email and music OK. 

I would assume.... but that has gotten me into trouble more than once..... that the same would be true when taking one’s T-Mobile phone into Mexico and hooking up with Telcel. IF one wants to tether their phone as a hotspot one must have that $20/$10 option on their account to begin with. 

BTW, while one’s phone is in tether mode, one can use the phone for talk/text, but not data. 

Yes, I pay extra for the international plan that provides tethering. Thanks.

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Well, weve had tmobile 6 years now....everytime we come down we have to call tmobile and connect to telcel satallite.  It then goes off again periodically.  Many times we try to make a call it says no service available, then we try again and it works.  We cannot sent photos anymore, use to be able to....we do like tmobile but think we will switch to telcel since we are here fulltime now.

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On 10/7/2017 at 7:27 PM, sputnik said:

weve had tmobile for 5 years and are here fulltime.  It seems to be working better than it use to as we heard Tmobile is moving more into Mexico.  They know we live in mexico and have not cut us off yet or even mentioned it.  We are thinking of switching to Telcel though just because weve heard its great reception.

My Telcel plan is International Unlimited.  Actually it is limited to USA/Canada/Mexico but it costs only $199 Pesos per month!

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Or possibly a realization that providing the necessary bandwidth to those who must be constantly streaming video on their phones is not helpful in keeping down costs for the "average" customer. We avoid all-inclusive resorts for a similar reason: there are simply way too many people making sure they get "their money's worth". Many of our lakeside friends used to come down to the beach on those Thanksgiving trips. Most if not all have quit that, citing exactly that reason. Next time you're in an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant take a look at the size of the average patron and notice how many trips they make, LOL. Then just be glad you're not stuck in the middle seat between 2 of them on a plane......or maybe you have been!

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  • 2 years later...
On 10/13/2017 at 5:32 PM, El Saltos said:

My Telcel plan is International Unlimited.  Actually it is limited to USA/Canada/Mexico but it costs only $199 Pesos per month!

Can we sign up for TelCel in Ajijic PRIOR to heading there? Mom has short term memory loss and am looking at a TMobile Timex watch for her that has gps tracking etc. Sales agent tells me it will work in Mexico without any changes as they have service in all of North America BUT i am sceptical. All I have read indicates a sim change is necessary for good service one in Ajijic. Ugh. The watches do not work with SIM cards so how does Tmobile guarentee it will work unless they have a contract with TelCel.....and if they do and those of you down there are saying it still requires some technical support...am I getting snowed? Parents are older. Have owned in Ajijic for years. Always used TelCel flip phones while there. I want to purchase earlier so I can go over Android app details with her hubby and make sure both mom and he are very confortable with watch and app. Help!! Trying to figure this out has been like hiking through quick sand!!

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Read everything here and appears TMobile woukd be good option BUT maybe not. Here is issue....parents heading down in Dec. They have owned in Ajijic for years. Mom has short term memory loss. Have been looking at multiple gps tracker watches with little tech support defining coverage once in Ajijic. Put 2 +2 together....thought purchasing the TMobile Timex watch with tracker etc would be the answer BUT not one sakes person or tech can confirm it will work once they arrive, without an issue....sim switch etc. And from what I've learned so far sim card change oits i these type trackers is not easy. Contacted a friend in US who lives here but has family in Guadalajara. He tells me ATT all over Mexico now and his whole family on US contract. They have never had any issue with cell service while traveling throughout Mexico and they do not need any SIM changes to do so. I did find an ATT stire near Ajijiic which allows for support if something were to happen while they were down.....can anyone help here? Am looking to confirn a service with a watch that offers GPS tracking with perimeter boundary alarms, SOS call ability, and pinpoint tracking app that can be accessed both in USA and Ajijjic. The Iwatch is interesting but may be overwhelming for Mom. Just looking fir something simple and small.

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  • 4 months later...
On 10/14/2017 at 6:35 AM, oasiscloud said:

T-Mobile just announced that starting next month they are eliminating the free unlimited data roaming in Mexico and Canada in that it will be limited to 5gb a month. 

https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/13/16462636/t-mobile-free-unlimited-lte-canada-mexico-perk-removal

I just got here in Mrch 2020, and after 5GB of high-speed roaming they cut me down to 256k data speed.  Can't upgrade from that, must wait until the next billing cycle May 1st to resume high-speed data.  I bought a wireless modem hot-spot at a Telcel store for supposedly high-speed data and I'm still only getting between 128k-256k throughput.  Waste of money.

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