T-Mobile Cellular Dropped Call List by State
Connecticut
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additional details.
Fairfield County, Brookfield: T-Mobile calls drop on the "Super-7"
US-7 freeway extension/Brookfield Bypass, between the southern junction
with US-202 (where the freeway used to end) and the "new" northern
terminus at the northern junction and multiplex with US-202. All
Voice/data calls (as of 2023 these two are essentially the same) stop (and
often drop) between the (abortive; it was supposed to go further to New
Milford, and even up to Mass and Canada) northern terminus of the US-7
freeway and the next exit to the south (US-202/Federal Road). And even
there, T-Mobile's coverage is so poor that heading further south towards
the next exit (also Federal Road, and the last exit before JCT I-84) calls
attenuate so they are inaudbile and no data will pass between those two
exits as well. Basically, and typically, T-Mobile has very poor coverage
from the start of the US-7 freeway in Brookfield to more or less I-84 in
Danburt. Most recently observed: 10/24/2023.
Fairfield County, Brookfield: TMO calls drop at the JCT of US-7 and
Still River Road (just west of Lover's Leap State Park). Coverage is also
very poor even when stationary at the Sunoco gas station on the southeast
corner. In fact, 2G coverage is slightly better there than 4G/LTE, and it
seems that calls drop to 2G in order to place/receive calls at times
there. Most recently observed: 04/12/2023.
Fairfield County, Danbury: T-Mobile calls drop along I-84 at the JCT
with US-7/South (the southern section of the freeway to Norwalk was
ConnDOT has shamelessly never built, resulting in an ever-widening US-7
through populated towns rather than a modern freeway up in the hills
bypassing all the localities). Most recently observed: 12/05/2015
Fairfield County, New Canaan: TMO drops occur on the Meritt
Parkway/CT-15 just North (compass east) of the New Canaan rest area, and
before the JCT with CT-123. Most recently observed: 10/15/2014.
Fairfield County, New Canaan: T-Mobile drops calls on Old Kings
Highway, which breaks off of CT-106/New Canaan Rd. heading east towards
the New Canaan/Wilton Line, about 1/2 a mile west of the New
Canaan/Wilton town line. Likely part of the generally poor T-Mobile
coverage in eastern New Canaan (north of the Merritt and east of CT-123)
as well as the poor coverage specifically along CT-106 and north, the
drops and poor coverage in areas north of the Merritt make T-Mobile
generally useless for anyone who lives/drives there. Most recently
occurred: 07/07/2018.
Fairfield County, Newtown: T-Mobile drops calls along I-84, near the
overpass for Old Hawleytown Rd, just west of exit 9/JCT CT-25. Both voice
calls and data sessions will generally drop in the area delimited by the
CT-34 "interchange (which was supposed to be for the CT-25 freeway,
another shamlessly unbilt CT highway, forcing motorists to travel on an
unsafe and sub-standard two-lane road because the State of Connecitcut
doesn't have the wherewithall to get road projects finished!)
and Mile Marker 8. Most recently observed: 03/30/2019
Fairfield County, Ridgefield: T-Mobile voice calls drop on US-7 at the
JCT/intersection with De Haviland Road near the Ridgefield/Redding line.
Most recently observed: 07/16/2015.
Fairfield County, Ridgefield: T-Mobile drops calls along CT(/NY)-35 /
South Salem Rd just east of the NY State line at the JCT with South Salem
Rd. Most recently observed: 06/01/2018.
Fairfield County, Stratford: T-Mobile calls drop on the Merritt
Parkway (Wilbur Cross Parkway) at Mile Milker 39.8, about a mile north of
Wheeler's Farms Road and about 1.5 miles north of the Sikorsky Bridge.
Both data and voice calls drop around the old "Hubbel" landscaping and
topiary on the north side of the parkway, and south of the rest area.
Most recently observed: 05/25/2015
Hartford County, Enfield: T-Mobile calls drop along I-91 near exit
47/JCT CT-190 (another one of Connecticuit's unbuilt freeways). Heading
southbound, TMO calls begin to attennuate at JCT-220, and drop completely
just south of CT-190. Northbound, calls sometimes hold a bit more often,
but when the drop, drops occur just north of CT-220. Most recently
observed: 10/02/2016.
Hartford County, Hartford: T-Mobile calls drop along I-91 just north
of the JCT with I-84, around 50% of the time. Calls tend to drop more in
the southbound direction, and TMO customers transiting I-91S to I-84W
will often experience a drop by the Sisson Ave. exit on I-84. Most
recently observed: 10/02/2016.
Hartford County, Milldale (Southington): T-Mobile data and voice
calls drop slightly west of the JCT of I-84 and I-691, most often when
heading in the westbound direction. Calls initiated along I-84 east of
the I-84/CT-372 JCT generally drop upon ascending the hill on I-84W
towards Chesire/Waterbury. Most recently observed: 02/28/2015.
Litchfield County, Bantam: T-Mobile offers effectively no coverage
between Litchfield and New Milford along US-202. Midway between the two,
in Bantam, there is no coverage even in the town center, which is about 2
miles northeast of a relatively new cell tower, which apparently T-Mobile
doesn't want to pay to utilize. There's also no roaming on AT&T Wireless
in the area, and as a result, T-Mobile customers experience effectively no
coverage for about 25 miles along US-202 between Litchfield and the
northern areas of New Milford. Most recently observed: 04/26/2016
Litchfield County, Canaan: T-Mobile calls drop along CT-63 from
Goshen, traveling northwest towards Canaan. While coverage in Goshen is
acceptable, it begins to deteriorate heading uphill along CT-63 towards
Canaan (and US-7), and at the JCT of CT-43 has little to no coverage at
all. Coverage doesn't resume until nearly the end of CT-63, south of the
junction with US-7. Most recently observed: 08/22/2023.
Litchfield County, Cornwall: T-Mobile drops calls along CT-4 into
CT-43, past the JCT with CT-128, norteastwards along Cornwall Hollow
Rd/CT-43 the JCT with CT-63/Hollenbeck Road. There is barely any coverage
along the entire stretch of road, with both voice calls and data sessions
(the same thing with the 2023 switch to 4G/LTE) dropping multiple times
along the route, and T-Mobile's coverage being typically useless
in the generally rural area. Most recently observed: 08/23/2023.
Litchfield County, Kent: T-Mobile call drops occur just west of JCT of
US-7 and CT-341, between the Kent School (where coverage is OK) to just
before entering the state of New York. (The reverse is ture for calls
transiting between NY to CT.) Most recent instance occurred on 08/22/2023.
Litchfield County, Kent: T-Mobile drops calls and suffer audio
drop-outs along CT-341/Segar Mountain Road just east of US-7 in downtown
Kent, heading east up CT-341's sttep hill. These drops along CT-341 became
evident post 3G shutdown in 2022, and seem to be part of an overall
pattern of voice traffic being "de-prioritized" inasmuch that when voice
is forced over LTE, there needs to be a good data connection, or the voice
path just drops for a few seconds, or entirely, depending on how long the
lack of data service lasts. Pre-LTE, that is, with just (non-LTE)
circuit-switched 4G and earlier protocols (3G and what remains in 2023 of
2g, T-Mobile calls didn't drop as much heading east/"up" the CT-341 hill
until coverage was lost at the apex; now, there are audio drop-outs and
drops all the way up. There is also pretty much no useful coverage all the
way to Warren (CT-45) and then onwards to US-202, so about a 10 or so mile
area of effectively no coverage and useless T-Mobile service, typical of
the exurban and rural service. Most recent instance occurred on
07/11/2023.
Litchfield County, New Milford/Canaan areas: Spotty to poor coverage
on T-Mobile along US-7 north of New Milford/JCT US-202. Some patches of
coverage are available heading north on US-7 between New Milford and
Canaan, CT (at JCT US-44), but generally no reliable coverage and calls
will frequently drop. This section is typical of the problems with TMO in
that they lack the same breadth of coverage which Verizon has in exurban
areas, and even when allowed to roam on AT&T Wireless, reliability will be
tennuous due to AT&T's generally inferior exburban coverage than that of
Verizon Wireless. Last observed: 10/19/2014.
Litchfield County, New Milford: Very poor to no T-Mobile coverage at
the US-7 Citgo station along the eastern side of US-7 just south of JCT
US-202. The relatively ephemeral and transient quality of T-Mobile's
coverage in New Milford is typical of much of TMO's service in the area
off major highways or outside of the immediate vicinity of large cities,
and is evidenced by how poorly TMO covers relatively heavily travelled
roads such as US in areas which are not too topographically challenging.
Last observed: 09/25/2015.
Litchfield County, Northfield: T-Mobile calls drop along
CT-254/Northfield Road (which runs from CT-8 in Thomaston northwestwards
up to CT-118 just east of Litchfield) at the JCT with Knife Shop Road.
Most recent instance occurred on 07/05/2019.
Litchfield County, Sharon: T-Mobile calls drop and experience poor
coverage along CT-4/Cornwall Bridge Road, between US-7 (Cornwall) and
CT-41 (Sharon) in a number of locations, one being at the intersection
with Dunbar Road. There is little TMO coverage between the CT-41 and US-7
segment endpoints, and calls initiated at each end drop repeatedly
traveling from one "side" of the CT-4 segment to the other. Last observed:
08/23/2023
Litchfield County, Sharon: TMO drops occur along CT-343, from the
NY/CT border, up the hill past Sharon Valley Rd and Sharon Hospital, to
the JCT with CT-41 (where CT-343 ends). Audio mutes out for most of the
segment, and data pings stop as well. This poor coverage also continues
further east on the same road, now CT-4 (east of JCT CT-41) / Cornwall
Bridge Road, to US-7, and even further east as CT-4/Furnace Brook Road
into Cornwall. Most recent instance occurred on 08/23/2023.
Litchfield County, Litchfield/Warren: T-Mobile calls drop on CT-341
approximately 1/2 of a mile west of US-202 (which is where CT-341 starts
its westward path towards Warren and Kent), passing. Coverage does not
resume until the "stinking farm" near the JCT of CT-341 and CT-45. Even in
2023, after the 4G/LTE migration, there is still no coverage for 4
or 5 milesalong CT-341! It's been over 35 years since cellular
service started - why can't this road be properly covered??? Most
recent instance occurred on 07/11/2023.
Middlesex County, Durham: T-Mobile calls deteriorate in quality
heading north on CT-79 from Madison past the CT-80 rotary. By the time
drivers reach the JCT with CT-148, no calls via T-Mobile as possible, and
even though AT&T Wireless has some coverage in the area, T-Mobile
customers (neither pre-pay nor post-pay) can roam on AT&T in the area.
Effectively, between CT-80 and CT-68, there is no coverage on T-Mobile
along CT-79/CT-17. Last observed: 03/01/2015.
Middlesex County, Haddam: T-Mobile calls drop at or in the vicinity
of the JCT of CT-9 and Beaver Meadow Rd (exit 8). Last observed: 01/15/2015.
Middlesex County, Higganum: T-Mobile calls drop along CT-9 in the
vicinity of Exit 9 / JCT CT-81. Essentially, T-Mobile coverage along CT-9
drops every few miles (if not sooner!) between Middletown and
Saybrook/I-95. (See the other entries above and below this one in
Middlesex County, CT.), so the drop here is no surprise. Last observed:
03/15/2017.
Middlesex County, Middletown: T-Mobile drops occur along CT-9, just
south of exit 11/CT-155/Randolph Road, in either direction, generally
around the apex of the tall hill south of the exit. This used to be a
common drop area for all the carriers, but at least in terms of Verizon
the problem was fixed long ago, yet TMobile typically still drops there
despite it being a heavily travelled road from central CT to the
shoreline. Last observed 03/15/2017.
Hartford County, Southington/Milldale: T-Mobile calls drop along I-84
just south of the JCT with I-691, generally 50% of the time. Last
observed 01/12/2016.
New Haven County, Hamden: TMO calls drop on the Merritt Parkway/CT-15
at the JCT with CT-10. Calls attenuate and obtain a distorted voice
quality typical of GSM drops a few moments prior to the drop. Last
occurred: 04/20/2016.
New Haven County, Meriden: TMO calls frop on the Merritt
Parkway (Wilbur Cross)/CT-15 at the JCT with I-691, where CT-15
transitions from the Berlin Turnpike to the Wilbur Cross (Merritt)
Parkway under the I-691/I-91 interchange. Last occurred: 04/30/2014.
New Haven County, Meriden: T-Mobile calls drop along I-91 in the
general vicinity of the southbound rest area, south of JCT CT-68.
Additionally, even in the parking lot of the southbound I-91 Meriden rest
area there is little to no T-Mobile coverage and data service is so
spotty as to be utterly useless. Last observed: 09/16/2015.
New Haven County, North Haven: T-Mobile calls drop on the Merritt
Pkwy approximately 2 miles south (west in actual direction) on the North
Haven Tunnels, 1/2 mile south of the JCT with CT-63/67. Last occurred:
01/12/2015.
New London County, Stonnington: TMO calls (voice and data) drop along
I-95, US-1 and other roads between I-95 and US-1 in the vicinity of the
CT/RI border. Along I-95 northbound, T-Mobile calls drop approximately 1/2
mile past the state line into Rhode Island, and southbound along I-95 near
the Stonnington Rest Area in CT. Also see the Rhode Island section,
below, for drops in the Westerly, RI area, (likely) associated with this
drop. Most recently observed: 08/19/2014.
Tolland County, West Willington (also Windham County, West Ashford):
T-Mobile calls drop (both voice and data) along CT-74, from JCT I-84 in
West Willington (Tolland County), heading east by southeast along CT-74
to it's terminus/JCT with US-44 in West Ashford (Windham County). TMO's
coverage is generally good up along I-84, but coverage degrades rapdily
and varies with the undulating hills which CT-74 traverses (at the top of
a given hill where it can "see" towers for I-84 there is good coverage,
while in the valleys there is poor coverage and calls drop). Thus,
motorists can expect decent T-Mobile coverage up near I-84 in West
Willington, but by the time they reach the end of CT-74 in West Ashford,
it's unlikely that any call can be maintained, or for that matter that
they have much of any T-Mobile service. (As usual, Verizon is fine, and
one can drive from Hartford on I-84 to CT-74 to US-44 to CT/RI-101 to
US-6 to Providence on Verizon and not have a single drop! Why is this
circuitous route significant? Well, for over 50 years the State of
Connecticut has needed to replace a dangerous and out-of-date US-6
routing from Hartford to Providence, and as of yet has failed to do so,
so drivers, having no good way to get to Providence from Hartford, have
been using less safe local routes for years. Apparently, it's easier to
let people die and have traffic going through small northeast CT towns
than building a road which everyone agrees is needed, but that's another
story...). Most recently observed: 11/04/2016.
Windham County, Ashford/Warrenville to Pomfret: T-Mobile calls drop
(both voice and data service) along US-44, due to pretty much no coverage
along US-44 from JCT CT-89 in Warrenville (near the 24-hour Cumberland
Farms) all the way east to the JCT with Paine Rd, just east of the
Natchaug State Forest's eastern periphery. There is essentially no
coverage along this entire stretch of US-44, which, due to Connecticut's
inability to build I-384 to Providence (eg, replace US-6), is a heavily
travelled road due to a lack of alternatives. Verizon and AT&T customers
will experience good service and drop-free coverage along the entire
stretch from Warrenville to Pomfret, so why can't T-Mobile manage this?
And of course TMO customers can't roam on AT&T Wireless in the area it
seems, so hopefully a T-Mobile customer driving along US-44 in the area
will make sure to not break down or have an accident or they may be
waiting a long while for help! Most Recently observed: 11/04/2016.
Windham County, Brooklyn: TMobile drops occur while travelling on US-6
at the apex of a hill located approximately two miles east of the JCT of
US-6 and CT-97. Most recent instance occurred on 10/01/2014.
Windham County, Pomfret: T-Mobile calls drop along US-44 heading east
near the JCT with CT-97, and more precisely at the JCT with Prarie Rd.
Likely part of the poor coverage/no coverage area from Pomfret to Ashford
(see above). Most recent instance occurred on 07/16/2017.
Windham County, West Ashford to Warrenville: T-Mobile has spotty to
very little coverage and frequent call drops along US-44 from JCT CT-74
in West Ashford (near the 24-hour Mobile Station) to the JCT with CT-89
in Warrenville. T-Mobile calls drop and data service is useless along
this stretch of US-44. Most recently observed: 11/04/2016.
Delaware
New Castle County, Delmarva Peninsula, both DE and MD side: Poor
coverage and drops using T-Mobile on many of the local roads between the
N/S line which divides DE and MD. E.G., while traveling from US-301 on the
MD side eastward to DE, there is generally poor coverage on t-Mobile's
Eastern Shore network, and it's uncertain whether or not roaming is
permitted there to AT&T Wireless. DE-1 south of the canal experiences
periods of signal fade-out near the Delaware Rest Area (along US-13) and
south of Dover towards Ocean City (DE-1 to Rehoboth, and then south to
Ocean City) numerous drops and fade-outs occur. This section of the
Eastern Shore is not topographically challenging so it would seem that the
problem is a poorly built-out network (or non-existent one). As indicated
in other areas of the list, Verizon coverage is generally flawless there,
so it clearly is an area which can be well-covered, it just isn't
by TMO. Last observed: 09/07/2014.
New Castle County, Neward: T-Mobile calls drop along West Chestnut
Hill Road, between DE-896 and Otis Chapel Road (more specifically, drops
often occur along West Chestnut between Tall Pines and White Birch
drives, but these are very local and hard to find roads). Chestnut Hill
Road (along with DE-4 to the north, closer to UDEL) are both heavily used
roads to avoid the MD/DE tolls along I-95, and the area is relatively
flat and not topographically challenging for cellular coverage/RF
propogation, so why T-Mobile drops in the area is lost on us (every other
carrier is fine). Last observed: 11/20/2016.
New Castle County, Wilmington: T-Mobile calls drop along I-495 near
the JCT with DE-3 in Edgmoor. The area is mainly flat along the coastal
plain, and not very topographically challenging. No other carrier
experiences problems in the area. Last observed: 08/23/2016.
Maryland
DC area T-Mobile data note: As of late June, 2016, we've noticed
that on more or less all "nearly 4G" High Speed Packet Access (HSPA)
phones, such as the LG C-800 "My Touch" and similar non-LTE models, what
used to indicate as "4G" data service is now showing up as only "2G". We
suspect that this is due to T-Mobile's likely frequency shortage in the DC
area (and many other areas as well), as it converts the 1700/2100 MHz
bands to LTE ("true" 4G) only. HSPA (and it's variants, HSDPA and HSUPA;
generally referred to as "HSPA" although there are speed and other
differences) is an earlier nearly-4G technology which offers download
speeds close to true 4G but somewhat slower upload speeds; latency
is also a bit slower with HSPA than true 4G.
Originally, around 2008 or 2009, T-Mobile ran HSPA on the 1700/2100 MHz
bands which it owns/operates on, and later shared the spectrum with LTE
("true" 4G) when LTE was rolled out a few years later in 2014/2015. It
appears from TMO's announcements that it is moving HSPA service off
of 1700/2100 (which the older phones are designed to use for HSPA),
and moving all HSPA service to the "AWS" 1900MHz spectrum, which while
many older phones are able to use for voice calls, eg, talking,
they are not able to use it for HSPA data access, causing many
phones which used to show "4G" to now show only "2G". It is unclear if
this frequency re-alignment (or "refarming" as it appears to be called)
will eventually be effective in all TMO markets or just those without
sufficient LTE 1700/2100 bandwidth to also accommodate the slightly older
HSPA data service.
Thus, for those customers who purchased a T-Mobile phone (or
compatible/unlocked GSM model) from maybe 2012 or earlier, in markets
where TMO has moved HSPA to "AWS"/1900 Mhz frequencies, unless your phone
is able to handle data on 1900 MHz, it is likely that service will be
reverted to 2G only speeds. This seems to be the case throughout the
entire DC, Virginia, Maryland (including Baltimore) markets, and possibly
into the Philadelphia market as well. Rather than keep a little bit of
1700/2100 MHz spectrum available for HSPA phones which can not use data on
1900 MHz, T-Mobile just effectively blocked all customers with phones more
than a few years old from using 4G data!
See the Cellular
Carrier Comparison page for more details.
Anne Arundel County, Edgewater (Annapolis): While T-Mobile has
acceptable voice coverage along MD-2, data is solidly 2G, and very slow.
Similar problems exist north of Annapolis along US-50, all the way to
Sandy Point (State Beach/Park) at the western landing of the Bay Bridge.
Essentially, most of the Annapolis area is 2G only. Last observed: 05/25/2016
Baltimore County, Baltimore, Baltimore (train) Tunnel: North of
Baltimore Amtrak/MARC trains go through a tunnel; calls regularly drop
there. (Note: in 2010, AT&T Wireless and Verizon were tried there as
well, and both dropped. In 2014, TMO was tried there as per this line
item, but VZW and ATT were not tried. It is unknown at this point if VZW
and ATT have implemented coverage in the Baltimore rail tunnel, but
clearly TMO as of this writing has not). Last observed: 08/29/2014.
Baltimore County, Avalon/Relay/Ellicott City: T-Mobile calls drop and
suffer from very poor coverge along River Rd. on the south side and Geln
Artney Rd. on the north side of the Patapsco River in the Patapsco Valley
State Park. Essentially, there is little to no coverage from Relay (where
the Thomas Viaduct of the B&O Railroad heads south to DC and the old main
line to Point of Rocks - one of the oldest rail lines still in service in
America, splits off along the Patapsco River to Ellicott City, up to I-70,
and then westward) to the western edge of the park heading towards
Ellicott City along a spearate section of River Road which follows the
Patapsco River westwards. Interestingly, the park lies directly under
I-95, and within a mile of I-195 and I-895, all of which have acdeptable
coverage with all major carriers. Why the park itself is not covered (the
lower elevation perhaps?) is unclear, but no carrier has acceptable level
of coverage in the park, and coverage only gets better heading west along
River road at the JCT with Thistle Rd. (which connects River Rd with
MD-144/Frederick Rd. at a higher elevation). Last observed: 05/18/2017.
Baltimore County, Hereford: T-Mobile calls drop along I-83 in the
vicinity of Mile Marker 25. There is practically no coverage for aobut a
mile in either direction (north or south), which is typical of T-Mobile
and how even on heavily traveled roads they are unable to maintain a
continuous connection or offer through coverage as evidenced by this dead
spot. Last observed: 09/01/2015.
Baltimore County, Towson: T-Mobile has poor data service and data
sessions often drop along I-695/Baltimore Beltway between MD-45/York Road
and MD-145/Dulaney Valley Rd. Last observed: 06/06/2017.
Baltimore County, Towson: Perhaps related to the above, T-Mobile
calls drop along the Baltimore Beltway/I-695 at the JCT with N. Charles
St/MD-139. Last observed: 08/16/2017.
Cecil County, Conowingo Dam: T-Mobile calls drop within 1 mile
Northbound or Southbound along US-1 (which crosses over the dam); NB
calls drop near the JCT with US-222, and southbound calls drop near the
JCT MD-161. Although a semi-rural area, US-1 is the only free crossing of
the Susquehanna River in the area (both I-95 and US-40 are tolled in the
northbound direction), and as a result of having to pay off for the
ICC/MD-200 project (which would not have been tolled and would have had a
more useful alignment if it were built in the 1980's/90's as a free road
but for the usual (and costly) "build absolutely nothing" local
opposition), an increasing number of drivers use the dam as a more
cost-effective alternative. Thus, TMO should consider improving its
coverage in the area along US-1 north of Port Deposit/Havre de Grace to
facilitate the increasing number of drivers fed up with MDDOTs ever
increasing tolls. Last observed: 04/12/2016.
Cecil County, Rising Sun: T-Mobile calls drop along US-1 at the MD/PA
border, and heading northward after entering PA, there is poor TMO
coverage for about a mile or so into Pennsylvania, resulting in generally
poor T-Mobile coverage proximate to the MD/PA border. Last observed:
05/25/2018.
Frederick County, Catoctin State Park: T-Mobile drops calls along MD-77 just west of Thurmont, MD, and has poor to non-existant coverage heading west along MD-77 between Thurmont and Smithburg. Not too surprising for TMO, but if someone driving along MD-77 has T-Mobile as their provider (and no backup phone with AT&T or Verizon), getting help in the event of car difficulties may be a problem! Pretty poor, but typical for TMO, where outside of many urban areas, T-Mobile has little to no coverage, leaving a duopoly between AT&T and Verizon. Last observed: 05/29/2024.
Frederick County, Myersville: I-70 Rest area - Poor coverage for both
voice and data calls; voice calls drop regularly when walking around the
grounds of the rest area and inside the guest area building. There is no
roaming on ATT Wireless, although it is unlikely that even with ATTWS
roaming in the area that it would make service any better, as ATT
Wireless' service there is very poor as well. (Only Verizon has
acceptable levels of coverage there.). Data is similarly poor and
unreliable, and suffers from many dead spots and areas where the minimal
2G coverage is insufficient for any data applications of any kind. Last
observed: 05/05/2015.
Frederick County, Urbana: Driving west along MD-355/Frederick Rd.,
from the sprawling new community which was almost built overnight in 2021
on the hill between Montgomery and Frederick Counties along I-270 and the
parallel MD-355, calls drop just west of the Monocacy River Bridge (the
green truss bridge on MD-355). Last observed: 08/18/2023.
Harford County, Aberdeen: T-Mobile calls (voice and data) drop on
I-95, more in the northbound than southbound direction, just north of the
JCT with MD-22, passing Cal Ripken Stadium (Orioles Minor League team
stadium). Last observed: 08/16/2017.
Harford County, Havre de Grace: TMobile calls drop when driving on
MD-155, north of JCY I-95, prior to the JCT of MD-161/Dalington Rd.
TMobile calls initiaited on I-95 or on MD-155 which proceed north towards
Have de Grace will usually begin to attenuate near MD-462/Paradise Rd, and
by the time MD-161 is reached calls drop entirely. Although a smaller
road, it is frequently traveled by motorists who wish to avoid the
outrageous MDOT tolls on the I-95 and US-40 Susquehanna River crossings
(US-1 at the Conowingo Dam is free; see the above Conowingo Dam listing
as to why the tolls are so high at Havre on both I-95 and US-40). Most
recent instance occurred on 05/16/2016.
Montgomery County, Bethesda: T-Mobile calls drop at the JCT of Mass
Ave/MD-396 and Goldsboro Rd/MD-614. Most recent instance occurred on
05/20/2017.
Montgomery County, Bethesda: No T-Mobile coverage in the Bethesda
Harris Teeter parking garage, nor in most of the store. Most recent
instance occurred on 01/20/2024.
Montgomery County, Gaithersburg: T-Mobile calls drop between Fields
Rd. off of I-370/San Eig Highway and Copley Place at the Crown Park
Development. Copley doesn't intersect with Fields (it stops just south of
it), but when driving on Fields, on the way to the Harris Teeter
supermarket, calls will drop near Copley. Coverage on T-Mobile is also
very poor in the area in general, with barely any coverage in many of the
shops and restaurants at Crown Park. Most recent instance occurred on
07/27/2017.
Montgomery County, North Bethesda: At the Grosvenor DC Metro station
(which is open air but slightly below ground level), T-Mobile has only 2G
data coverage, and data connections have a hard time being established.
Voice calls are distorted in many areas, and it's unclear why in a
generally open air environment coverage is so poor. Needless to say,
Verizon, Sprint, and ATTWS have no problems at the station or anywhere in
the general area. Last observed: 03/02/2016
Montgomery County, Potomac/Glen Echo: T-Mobile drops calls (voice and
data) along the Washington Beltway/I-495, generally between River Road
(MD-190)/Cabin John Parkway (basically a connector to the Clara Barton
Parkway) and the (unfinished and badly needed) Clara Barton Parkway.
Drops tend to occur more coming from the Virginia side of the Potomac,
hence calls initiated in Tysons, for example, will almost always drop no
later than the MD-190/River Road exit, while calls initiated in Montgomery
County (MD), along Democracy Blvd for example, will sometimes drop going
over the American Legion Bridge over the Potomac. The bridge is the only
main Interstate crossing north of DC for many, many miles, and the
shameless lack of additional (and free) facilities by the usual group of
build-absolutely-nothing-near-anyone anti-motorist advocates have managed
to kill off any other crossing (even though highway facilities exist close
to the Potomac on both the MD and VA sides of the river), so, other than
late nights, there is always a lot of traffic over the bridge. Yet,
despite this being a key transport corridor in the region, T-Mobile yet
again is apparently unable to cover it, while most of its competitors can.
Moreover, the drop occurs even late at night when there is little traffic,
making this given TMO drop even more confounding as it's obviously not
related to congestion - it seems they just haven't built out their network
too well and as a result they drop on what is likely the most or second
most congested river crossing in the region. Update: Could TMO actually
have fixed a drop?? After some regular driving along the Beltway
from VA over the American Legion Bridge to River Road/MD-190, calls
actually held, so perhaps this has been fixed as of Feb 2016 (maybe TMO
looks at this list? :) ). If subsequent tests in March 2016 also manfiest
no drops, this will actually be moved to the corrected section (below),
giving the sole corrected item which is currently there some much needed
company! Update May 2016: Nope, not fixed; dropped twice the first week of
May. It was too much to expect them to fix this... Last observed: 12/08/2016
Montgomery County, Potomac: T-Mobile voice and data (4G/LTE) calls drop along River Road/MD-190 at the intersection with River Edge Road, about 5 miles west of Potomac and 3 miles east of where MD-190 ends at MD-112. Last observed: 06/11/2024.
Prince George's County, Bowie: T-Mobile calls and data connections
drop along US-50/Defense Highway/(unsigned I-595) just east of the JCT with
US-301. Coverage is a bit weak in the area with all carriers (Verizon,
ATT Wireless, and Sprint), and while AT&T and Sprint do suffer drops
along US-50 in the area from time to time (and Verizon does not; it is
the only carrier which regularly holds the connection), T-Mobile is by
far the worst there and drops both voice and data calls regularly and
predictably. Last observed: 05/24/2016
Washington County, Big Pool/Indian Springs: T-Mobile drops calls
along I-70 in the vicinity of Exit/Mile Marker 12/JCT MD-56 Big Pool Rd.
Traveling either direction along I-70, calls begin to deteriorate at or
just east of Exit 12, and withing 2000 ft. or so will mute out and
eventually disconnect. T-Mobile data sessions drop at the same location
as well. Last observed: 06/10/2016
Washington County, Clear Spring/Hagerstown: T-Mobile calls drop along
MD-68/Clear Spring Rd., along the short hill between US-40 to the north
and I-70 to the south. Calls initiated, for example, along US-40, will
drop after heading south on MD-608 for the 1/2 mile (or less?) drive down
to I-70. Another silly drop in an area poorly covered by TMO! Last
observed: 05/18/2017.
Washington County, Hagerstown: T-Mobile drops calls along MD-632,
between Downsville and Oak Ridge Roads. The calls drop about half-way
between the two roads, and, interestingly, the drops generally take place
right under what appears to be a cell tower on the west side of MD-632.
Last observed: 06/14/2019.
Washington County, Halfway/Hagerstown: T-Mobile data calls drop along
I-70 between the US-11 overpass (there is no transition betweenI-70 and
US-11; motorists need to use I-81 north to Halfway Rd east to US-11, or
I-81 south to a direct JCT with US-11 as the next exit immediately south
of the I-70 JCT) and the JCT with I-81. It appears that this is
approximately where the demarcation lies between where TMO still provides
HSPA (4G-ish) service on 1700/2100 MHz in Hagerstown and the DC/MD/Eastern
PA/South Jersey market to the east where 4G is offered via LTE
only on 1700/2100 MHz, which may explain the data drop. Last
observed: 05/18/2017.
Washington County, Hagerstown/(State Line, Pennsylvania): T-Mobile
calls drop within one mile of the MD/PA line along I-81. Northnbound,
T-Mobile calls initiated in Hagerstown will drop around the PA Rest Area,
and southbound, calls initiated north of the last exit in PA/JCT US-11
near the Sheetz gas station on US-11/Molly Pitcher Highway (a mile north
of the rest area on the other side) will drop passing the Hagerstown
Regional Airport on the MD side of the line. Last observed: 05/18/2017.
Washington County, Sideling Hill: T-Mobile calls drop heading west
along I-68 at the Sideling Hill Rest area/cut. The range of mountains
which Sideling Hill is part a cut-off point for many carriers: Sprint,
AT&T Wireless, and T-Mobile all drop at or just west of Sideling Hill or
along the descent heading west of I-68 after the Sideling Hill cut (where
I-68 goes through; intertestingly, the "old" I-68, US-40/National Pike,
appears to have taken a more southerly route in this area and has a
hairpin turn to the south of the current I-68 Sideling Cut). Note that
Verizon isn't listed here as they do not cover this area; instead, US
Cellular/01794 does and provides roaming for Verizon (and Sprint?) CDMA
customers; US Cell does not seem to drop at Sideling Hill and is the only
carrier which seems able to maintain the connection along I-68 through the
apex and cut. As to T-Mobile, west of Sideling Hill that's pretty much it
-- there's NO coverage west of Sideling until Cumberland, MD, so TMO
allows for roaming on AT&T wireless, but will NOT hand off to AT&T; this
means any T-Mobile calls started east of Sideling Hill will drop at or
just west of the Sideling cut within a few miles west of the apex, and
T-Mobile customers will be required to re-dial their call roaming on the
ATTWS network (which will also suffer drops west of Sideling; T-Mobile
customers traveling on I-68 west of Sideling should refer to the AT&T Wireless Dropped Call List for
details on how their roaming service will be affected between Sideling and
Cumberland, where TMobile has no coverage). Last observed: 06/10/2016
Massachusetts
Berkshire County, Great Barrington: T-Mobile calls drop along MA-41 at
the JCT/intersection with Long Pond Road, just north of the JCT with US-7.
Sprint and Verizon Wireless also drop in the same spot, but AT&T Wireless
does not drop, and provides through-coverage along MA-41 all the
way to US-20 (near the Hancock Shaker Village) and then along US-20 into
Pittsfield. If AT&T Wireless can cover MA-41 so well, why can't T-Mobile?
Most recently observed: 09/07/2019.
Berkshire County, Lee/Lenox Town Line: T-Mobile drops calls along
US-20 at Mile Marker 16.5 at the "western" line between Lee
and Lenox (there is also a drop at the southern line between Lee and
Lenox along US-7, see below). T-Mobile has typically poor non-urban
coverage in Western Mass, and Berkshire County, even only a few miles
away from the Masspike, is no exception. It is likely that there are few
major roads which can be driven in Western Mass which T-Mobile will not
suffer many drops with, while other carriers (such as VZW and ATT) suffer
little (ATTWS) to no (VZW) drops on most major roads in the area. Last
observed: 10/05/2017.
Berkshire County, Lee/Lenox Town Line: T-Mobile calls drop along US-7
at the "southern" town line between Lee and Lenox along US-7,
just south of where it merges with US-20 on it's way north to Pittsfield.
Last observed: 10/05/2017.
Berkshire County, New Marlboro/Monterey/Great Barrington: T-Mobile
wireless voice/data drops as part of a large gap in coverage along MA-57
from the eastern New Marlboro town line all the way through southern
Monterey (MA-23 goes through Monterey, while MA-57 runs roughly parallel
to the south) onwards the western end of MA-57 at the junction with MA-23
a few miles east of the MA-23(END)/US-7 Junction in Great Barrington.
Motorists familiar with the area will know that heading westwards, this is
approximately the area from where MA-57 is a potholed, horrid road (even
after repaving) with a 25 MPH zone, all the way past the JCT with MA-183,
and onwards to the end of MA-57 at MA-23. Effectively, there is no
coverage for about 15 miles on somewhat heavily traveled state route, as
well as poor to non-existent coverage along most of MA-57 from the western
end of the MA-57 freeway all the way to Great Barrington. (To be fair, no
other carrier - neither AT&T Wireless, Sprint, nor Verizon - covers the
specific 15 miles area from New Marlboro to Great Barrington either, but
T-Mobile's coverage along MA-57 after the MA-57 freeway ends at MA-187 is
so poor and no roaming is allowed on AT&T in the area that, as with
T-Mobile in Western Mass or most other semi-rural areas of the US, it's
hard to delineate where their typical "poor coverage" ends and the "drop" or
"no coverage" areas begin!) This extensive lack of coverage along a major
route may be problematic for customers of OnStar and other similar
built-in auto emergency services as if they were to break down along this
strech of road or suffer an emergency they may be surprised to find they
have no coverage at all! Last observed: 10/12/2015
Berkshire County, New Marlborough / Sheffield: T-Mobile drops calls
and coverage is very poor along Norfolk Road (a continuation in Mass of
CT-272) between the CT/MA state line and MA-57 (which is part of an even
greater area of poor/no coverage in southwestern Mass, see the drops along
MA-57/MA-23, above). Basically, there is poor to no coverage east of US-7
in Sheffield for a large swath between the CT/MA border north to MA-23 in
Montery, all the way east to MA-8. The entire area of SW Mass has such
poor coverage on ALL carriers (AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile) that it's
shocking (if not potentially fraudulent) that they show coverage there on
their maps! Anyone traveling north of US-44 on CT-272 up to MA-57 and
MA-23 should expect to have no useful coverage on ANY carrier for most of
the trip after entering into Mass. Last observed: 08/23/2023.
Berkshire County, Otis: T-Mobile calls drop in any direction outside
of Otis, that is, traveling north or south on MA-8, or east or west on
MA-23 (MA-23 and MA-8 meet in Otis), calls drop, and coverage doesn't
resume until MA-9 to the north; Winstead, CT to the south (at JCT US-44),
I-91 to the east, and US-7 in Great Barrington to the west. Typically poor
New England coverage for T-Mobile, as they are essentially useless in
Western Mass other than on the Masspike/I-90. Unlike newly acquired Sprint, T-Mobile's coverage does
extend a bit west on MA-23 from Otis, but only for 3 or so miles, when it
quickly fades out. Verizon is somewhat
better along MA-8 north and south, but suffers from drops and coverage
gaps along MA-23, but only AT&T
Wireless has drop-free coverage along MA-23 and MA-8 to the above
endpoints. Most recently observed: 09/07/2020.
Berkshire County, West Becket: T-Mobile calls drop along the
Masspike/I-90 at Mile Marker 23.6 near West Becket. As with the
Blandford drop to the east, coverage appears to be generally good on both
"sides" of the drop, and it is unlcear (other than TMOs generally sloppy
non-urban coverage and lack of attention to coverage "details" like
drops) why calls drop in the area. Last observed: 09/28/2016.
Berkshire County, Williamstown: T-Mobile calls drop along US-7,
just south of the Williamstown Line, at Mile Marker 44.9. Calls
initiated in Lanesborough (near where US-7 passes a lake to the west) for
example, will continue northwards along US-7 until
MM43.5, at which point they will drop, and there is little to no coverage
on TMobile from that point north to Williams College. (T-Mobile typically
has very poor coverage in the area in general - along MA-2/Mohawk Trail
there is barely any coverage from the North Adams hairpin turn west along
MA-2 to Williamstown!). Last observed: 08/30/2018.
Franklin County, Greenfield: T-Mobile drops calls along I-91, at Mile
Marker 48, just south of exit 28A/B (JCT MA-10). If a call is
re-established after this drop, about 3 miles up the road, it drops again
at the second Greenfield drop (below), and then a third time in VT before
coverage is lost completely. (Well, this IS T-Mobile, no one seriously
expects them to actual -cover- these areas, right? :) ). Last observed
05/18/2018.
Franklin County, Greenfield: T-Mobile calls drop on I-91, just south
of the Vermont/Mass line, near the I-91 NB/SB parking areas. Calls
attennuate a good deal north of the JCT with MA-10 heading north, and drop
completely by the time the state line is reached. Last observed:
08/22/2015
Hampden County, Blandford: T-Mobile calls drop along the
Masspike/I-90 at Mile Marker 33.2, near Blandford (and just east of the
Blanford Service Area). There is generally good coverage on both "sides"
of the drop, but for whatever reason, TMO calls just suddently drop in
the area of MM 33.2. Last observed: 09/28/2016.
Hampden County, Holyoke: T-Mobile drops calls along I-91 in Holyoke,
at Exit 16/Hadley/US-202, traveling in both directions (north and
southbound). Last observed: 10/02/2016.
Norfolk County, Boston: No T-Mobile service in the (underground)
Artery/I-93 tunnel or the myriad of approaches and ramps, including the
underground transitions to the Tobin Bridge and Ted Williams Tunnel. (In
fairness, Verizon has spotty coverage, and AT&T Wireless and Sprint have
barely anything.) Last observed: 09/07/2014.
Norfolk County, Wellesley (Hills): T-Mobile calls drop on MA-9 just
west of MA-128/I-95 at mile marker 124.9. This is a problem area for most
carriers; AT&T Wireless (and
before it Cell One/Boston) suffers(ed) drops there as well. This is one
of the few drops which TMO has along MA-9; heading west from this drop
calls hold well past Natick to at least the JCT with US-20, so it seems
odd that the area with the most traffic/closest to MA-128 would be where
the (apparently) only drop occurs. Last observed: 07/04/2015.
Worcester County, Sturbridge: T-Mobile calls drop on US-20 at the JCT
with MA-49 (near the "new" Stop & Shop built in the mid 1990's or so),
approx 1.5 miles east of the JCT I-84. (No other carrier seems to drop
there, although most others have problems further up along MA-49 heading
up to MA-9; these need to be tested for a separate listing but for some
reason coverage along MA-49 can be quite poor.) Last observed: 07/04/2015
New Hampshire
Insufficient testing to determine drops.
New Jersey
Burlington County, Bordentown: T-Mobile calls (voice and data) drop on
I-295, at Exit 57/JCT US-130. Possibly related to the Hedding T-Mobile
drop (below), although if calls are redialed immediately after the Hedding
/ Mile Marker 55 drop, they will again drop two miles to the
north, at Mile Marker/Exit 57 just north of the interchange. (A similar
drop is also evident at times along US-130 passing under I-295 in the same
location.) Last observed: 01/18/2020.
Burlington County, Burlington Township: T-Mobile drops calls along
I-295 at Exit 47 / JCT CTY-541 Mt. Holly Road. Calls drop in both
directions (northbound or southbound) along I-295 within one mile of
CTY-541 overpass. Last observed: 01/06/2019.
Burlington County, Florence Township: T-Mobile calls drop on I-295
just east of Florence, and just south of Exit 52 / Florence-Columbus Rd.
CTY-656. TMO has generally poor coverage along I-295 in central
Burlington County, and these drops iterated here are typical of the poor
coverage in the area. Last observed: 01/04/2017.
Burlington County, Hedding (Mansfield Township): T-Mobile data calls
disconnect, and to a lesser extent voice calls drop, along I-295 at or
about Mile Marker 55, as I-295 crosses over (but has no interchange with)
Old York Road/CTY-660. This is just slightly south of the Northbound only
exit/Southbound only entrance to/from Rising Sun Road, which for years
prior to the much belated completion of the final segment of I-295
(between US-130, the next exit to the north, and I-195, ie, the segment
crossing over Crosswicks Creek, which no doubt some environmental lawyer
made a bundle on delaying and delaying completion since it endagered some
rare species of mosquito or some other unwanted pest) was the primary way
to continue north on (or not, actually) I-295 to the New Jersey Turnpike
via Rising Sun Road to Old York Road to US-206 to the NJTP. Fortunately,
I-295 was completed in the 1990s (as was NJ-29, the westward extension of
I-195 through Trenton to I-95 at Scudder's Falls, which the Delware River
Bridge Authority, in transparent desparation, wants to "repair" and, of
course, to pay for these "repairs", add huge tolls to!), and most
carriers quickly managed to cover the now closed "gap", but even in 2016
T-Mobile appears to lag behind and has problems there. Data drops more
regularly than voice, but both atennuate there and suffer fequent (but
not universal) drops. Last observed: 03/07/2016.
Burlington County, Mt. Holly: T-Mobile calls drop along I-295 at the
JCT with NJ-38 (which is also at Mile Marker 38). Just another typical
T-Mobile drop along a major Interstate which every other carrier seems to
have no problem covering. Last observed: 01/18/2020.
Camden County, Bellmawr: T-Mobile calls drop on I-295 just south of
Exit 26 (the JCT with I-76/NJ-42.Atlantic City Expressway, which is being
rebuilt into a more modern interchange as of late 2015). Calls drop
generally south of the exit 26 interchange, but north of Exit 25/JCT
NJ-47/Delsea Dr. Last observed: 01/06/2019
Camden County, Bellmawr: T-Mobile calls drop on I-295 at Mile Marker
23.4, perhaps related to the above drop at Exit 25. Last observed:
01/06/2019.
Camden County, Bellmawr: T-Mobile calls drop on I-295 at Exit 21.
T-Mobile's coverage is basically useless along I-295 from the JCT with
US-130 all the way to JCT I-76 (and even north of there TMO drops every
few miles), and every few miles within this 40 mile stretch of I-295
T-Mobile drops. Last observed: 01/06/2019.
Gloucester County, Logan Township: T-Mobile calls drop mid-span on
the Commodore Barry Bridge (US-322), on the "NJ side" when heading east
from Pennsylvania, and on the "Pennsylvania side" when heading west from
NJ. (Technically speaking, the drop is always on the New Jersey side of
the river, as the midspan of the bridge is on the New Jersey side.)
Verizon and Sprint have no problem holding this call (Verizon can hold a
call from Richmond to Boston on this route), yet T-Mobile can't
apparently manage to do so. Additionally, there is weak/poor TMO data
coverage on the NJ side at US-322's JCT with US-130. Last observed:
05/25/2018.
Hunterdon County, Flemington: TMO calls drop on US-202 at the JCT with
River Rd, approximately 3 miles west of the Flemington Circle. Last
observed: 11/30/2014
Hunterdon County, Three Bridges: T-Mobile calls drop on US-202 at the
JCT with Railroad Ave, approaching the Raritan River (just north of the
overpass over the RR tracks; both sets of tracks are freight-only, if used
at all, but hopefully one day rail service will be restored to Flemington
and passenger service would be likely be affected by this drop as well).
Last observed: 12/31/2014
Mercer County, Blawenburg: T-Mobile drops calls in the general
vicinity of the JCT of CTY-518/Georgetown-Franklin Turnpike and
CTY-601/Great Road. Driving west from US-206 on CTY-518, calls attennuate
prior to the JCT with CTY-601, and continuing west, calls drop before
entering Hopewell (near the West Trenton railroad line). Heading south
along CTY-601, calls attennuate approaching the JCT with CTY-518, and
drop just north of the JCT with Cherry Valley Rd. In general, T-Mobile's
coverage to the northwest of downtown Princeton is lacking, and is
reflected in the poor coverage in Blawenburg and the above roads. Last
observed: 05/16/2016.
Mercer County, Pennington: T-Mobile drops calls on NJ-31 at the
southern junction with CTY-612/Marshall Corner-Woodsville Rd. (CTY-612
meets NJ-31 further north as well; the TMO drop described here is at the
southern point where CTY-612 intersects with NJ-31, just north
on JCT CTY-654/Pennington-Hopewell Rd., where the (non-gas) Quick
Check and Delta Gas station is located). Last observed: 06/05/2017.
Mercer County, Pennington: T-Mobile calls drop on NJ-31 at or near
Mile Marker 11, approximately 2 miles north of Pennington, as NJ-31
passes under the West Trenton rail line's "quary siding" which crosses
over NJ-31 in the general area where the drop occurs. Last observed:
03/02/2017.
Mercer County, Princeton: T-Mobile voice calls drop on US-1 at the
intersection with Farber Rd, just north of Forrestal Village. (For
comparison, Verizon no longer has coverage drops there, even though
traditionally it had been the demarcation between the NY-Metro/00022
system and the Philadelphia/00008 system. If Verizon could fix it's more
systemic problems there (which date back to when the handoff spanned
different carriers, NYNEX and Bell Atlantic Mobile, respectively),
T-Mobile should be able to fix theirs as well, especially on the busiest
road (US-1) in the area for local traffic.) Last observed: 12/18/2016
Mercer County, Princeton: T-Mobile drops calls along I-295 northbound,
in the general area of Exit 67A/B JCT US-1. Calls initiated heading
northwards on I-295 will drop at or just north of the transition from
I-295N to US-1N, just south of the Quaker Bridge Mall, or even sooner,
eg, while on the transition ramp from I-295N to US-1N. Last observed:
09/21/2018.
Mercer County, Princeton: T-Mobile drops calls along US-206 at the
JCT with Cherry Valley Road. While driving southwards along US-206, calls
initiated in relatively good coverage areas (such as just to the north at
the Shope Rite supermarket) will attenuate and drop crossing Cherry
Valley Road on US-206 or heading westwards on Cherry Valley towards Great
Rd. More generally, coverage is quite poor to non-existent along Cherry
Valley and western/northwestern sections around Princeton away from US-1
and US-206/NJ-29. Last observed: 07/24/2017
Mercer County, Princeton: T-Mobile calls drop along Cherry Valley Rd.
at the JCT with Great Rd. Calls also drop northwards along Great Rd
between Cherry Valley and Pennington Rd. Generally, T-Mobile has
weak/poor coverage in an are delimited by US-1 to the east andNJ-31 (and
likely NJ-29 along the river) to the west in the Princeton area. Last
observed: 06/05/2017.
Mercer County, Trenton: T-Mobile calls drop along I-295, traveling
over the Scudders Falls Bridge (between NJ and PA; currently free, but the
Del. River Bridge Commission wants to tear it down so they can put up a
new bridge with a high toll, even though the I-95 connection to the NJTP
will take a lot of the traffic away. Cealry, it's just to get the toll
money...). Last observed: 10/27/2014.
Middlesex County, Cranbury Township: T-Mobile calls drop on US-130 at
the JCT with Old Trenton Road (CTY-685; further west CTY-535),
approximately 3 miles north of the JCT with NJ-133/Hightstown Bypass.
Verizon, Sprint and AT&T don't drop here (although Verizon used to as it
is near the handoff between the Philly/B/00008 and NYC/B/00022 systems,
but they managed to "fix" the issue many years ago; for some reason TMO
still has problems in the area and don't seem able to fix it). Last
observed: 02/06/2016.
Middlesex County, Cranbury Township: T-Mobile calls drop along US-130
at the JCT with Broadway Rd., just south of the JCT with NJ-32. Part of a
series of drops along US-130 between I-195 and US-1. Last observed:
01/04/2017.
Middlesex County, Perth Amboy: T-Mobile calls drop along NJ-440 near
the western embankment of the Outerbridge Crossing (a ridiculously narrow
bridge which was supposed to be twinned decades ago and is rather unsafe
with all the trucks taking up two lanes, but well, when you have a
insulated monopoly on transport which charges whatever it wants for tolls
why both add any capacity when there are no alternatives anyhow? Typical
toll authority mentality of the PANYNJ...). Driving eastwards
("northwards" in terms of NJ/NJ-440's orientation), calls deteriorate and
rapidly drop approaching the western landing of the bridge. Drops occur
maybe 50% of the time in the eastbound direction. Last observed: 01/04/2017.
Morris County, Chester: T-Mobile drops calls along US-206 north of
Chester, NJ at the JCT of US-206 and Four Bridges/Hillside Road. All
other carriers, traveling north or southbound along US-206, experience no
drops there. Last observed: 04/20/2016.
Morris County, Newfoundland: T-Mobile calls drop along NJ-23 between
JCT CTY-513/Union Valley Rd. and JCT Echo Lake Road (heading up to
Ringwood, another area of poor TMO coverage near the lakes) at/near Mile
Marker 31. Last observed: 09/05/2017.
Morris County, Parsippany: TMobile calls drop on NJ-23 approximately 4
miles north of I-80, or two miles north of the A&P Supermarket when
driving northbound. Southbound, calls begin to fade near the A&P (on the
other side of NJ-23) and will generally drop by the time the JCT with I-80
is reached. Last observed: 08/15/2014
Somerset County, Basking Ridge: T-Mobile calls drop along I-287 at
Mile Marker 27.8, about a mile south of the North Maple Avenue Exit in
Basking Ridge. There is generally acceptable TMO service in the area, so
it seems to just be another poorly implemented hand-off issue or
something similar. Last observed: 05/31/2021
Sussex County, Franklin: T-Mobile drops calls along NJ-94 near MM30
at the JCT with CTY-631/N. Chruch Rd. (which runs between NJ-23 to the
east and NJ-94 to the west, along an old (NY, Susquehanna & Western?)
railroad line). Calls on T-Mobile in the generally area are typically
spotty, and a number of drop-outs occur in this area of Sussex County;
the full drop along NJ-94 at MM30 is one of a few along NJ-94 between
the JCT of NJ-94 and NJ-23 in Hamburg and the JCT with NJ-94 and NJ-15 in
Lafayette Township. Last observed: 09/04/2017.
Sussex County, Sparta/(Morris County, Jefferson Township): T-Mobile
calls drop on NJ-15 along the the newer (1974-completed) Sparta bypass
segment, and the second northbound JCT with NJ-181. NJ-181, the
"old" NJ-15 which runs through Sparta, paralleling NJ-15
slightly to the west, from Jefferson Township north to Sparta, has a few
"southern" connections with NJ-181, and the T-Mobile drop occurs
at the second northbound JCT, eg, Blue Heron Rd. (NJ-181 initially breaks
away from NJ-15 in Lake Hopatcong, and the drop occurs at the next
connection northwards from there to NJ-15, which Blue Heron Rd.) Last
observed: 09/08/2017.
Warren County, Knowlton Township: T-Mobile calls drop along I-80 in
Knolwton Township, at Mile Marker 8.4. While there are no exits for
nearly 4 miles in either direction, on the eastbound side there is a
rest/NJ Welcome area close to the drop (on the uphill side), and the
nearest overpass (but not JCT/interchange/exit) is for Cook Rd. Last
observed: 09/08/2017.
Warren County, Hope Township, Mt. Hermin: T-Mobile calls drop along
I-80, around Mile Marker 7.5 (associated the the above Knowlton drop?),
crossing over the overpass (but not interchange/JCT) with "Shades of Death
Rd" (yes, that's what it's apparently called - Google Maps seems to
confirm it!). Last observed: 02/17/2018.
New York
New York City 5-Borough/Counties:
Really? T-Mobile really thinks it covers 99% of New York
City? Well, we must always find ourselves in the unlucky 1% which T-Mobile
does not cover, but it often seems like a lot more than just 1
percent! A recent example: See the Williamsburg, Brookyln section below.
On June 12th, 2016, there was no coverage at all
-outside- of a popular restaurant (Mogadar) on Wythe Ave between North 7th
and North 8th street, and the poor coverage continues to both ends of the
block. (Exactly a year later, on June 12th, 2017, the issue still had not
been remedied, and even outside the Whole Foods on Bedford, T-Mobile's
coverage - especially for data, is quite lacking.) Williamsburg is a very
popular section of western Brooklyn, and deserves better coverage than
what T-Mobile appears to offer there, so we wonder if this area (and the
generally poor coverage and drops in the general area noted below)
alone doesn't put them over the 1% which they don't cover??
Bronx County: TMO drops occur at the JCT of the Henry Hudson (Saw Mill
River) Parkway/NY-9A and the Mosholu Parkway/Deegan Connector. Drops occur
in both directions, north and south on NY-9A, in all cases within half of a
mile of the JCT with the Mosholu Parkway. Most recent instance occurred on
12/24/2014.
Bronx County: T-Mobile calls drop approximately 50% of the time at
the Weschester County/Bronx County line on I-87/Major Deegan Expressway,
in both directions. Initially observed: 06/26/2016.
Bronx County: T-Mobile drops calls on I-87/Major Deegan southbound
500ft south of the on-ramp from the Mosholu Parkway. The entire
upper segment (north of I-95/Alexander Hamilton Bridge) is plauged by
audio drop-outs and data session disconnections, typical of
AT&T/Verizon's coverage 15 years ago (when they were Metro One and Bell
Atlantic Mobile, respectively), and even Sprint has significantly better
coverage along I-87/Deegan Expressway than TMO does. Typical for
T-Mobile, the main Interstate heading north of New York City as of early
2017 still has drops and call-quality issues when everyone else seems to
have been able to address such problems on their respective networks.
Initially observed 05/20/2015, most recent instance occurred on 02/20/2017.
Kings County (Brookyln) - Williamsburg: T-Mobile drops calls (voice
and data) and experiences connection difficulties in the Williamsburg,
Brooklyn area, generally west of Bedford Street (the main north/south
street), from North 10th to South 2nd. All other carriers (ATT, Sprint,
Verizon) suffer similar issues to a greater or lesser extent, and it's
suspected that the problem stems from interference with signals from tall
buildings immediately across the East River in Manhattan (similar to some
issues in Battery Park City (Manhattan) along the Hudson River Promenade,
where signals from Jersey City/Hoboken appear to compete with signals from
the Manhattan-side, affecting voice and data performance). Essentially,
when one is west of Bedford Street, data calls take a long time to set up
and have slow throughput, text messages are slow to arrive, and voice
calls are slow to set up outgoing and often miss incoming. It doesn't
appear to be a signal stregnth issue (phones show ample signal stregnth),
but more that a given phone or mobile device can't lock on a
signal/channel reliably. A year later, in June 2017, TMO has apparently
not been able to remedy its coverage deficiencies in northern Williamsburg
(north of the Williamsburg Bridge), and tests along Bedford, at the Whole
Foods, and further east towards I-278/Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, indicate
voice and data drops on Roebling (N/S) and 10th (E/W). Most recent
instance occurred on 06/14/2017.
Kings County (Brooklyn): T-Mobile drops calls along the Belt Parkway
in the general vicinity of the Mill Basin Drawbridge, more often in the
eastbound direction. Most recent instance occurred on 11/18/2015.
New York County (Manhattan): T-Mobile's data service drops
connections on the Harlem River Drive (FDR continuation north of the
Triboro Bridge interchange) near the old Polo Grounds/155th street. Heading
south from the George Washington Bridge, a data connection (such as SSH,
Telnet, FTP, or streaming audio/video) will drop heading southwards
between 155th and 135th streets, and will need to be re-established. Most
recent instance occurred on: 01/03/2015.
New York County (Manhattan): TMO drops occur while passing through the
East River tubes which are utilized by Amtrak and the LIRR to access Penn
Station. Effectively, other than near Penn Station, there is no coverage
in the tubes. (Verizon covers them just fine by way of comnparison.) Most
recent instance occurred on 11/21/2014.
New York County (Manhattan): TMO calls drop due to no coverage in the
new (2023) Grand Central / 63rd St lower level Long Island Railroad tunnel
from Woodside/Sunnyside Yard to Grand Central (the project should have
been connected to the lower level of Grand Central, but typical of the
MTA, which has an nearly endless source of revenue via stealing money via
tolls from captive motorists with no options but to pay them, they spent
billions and billions of dollars building a brand new station beneath the
existing Grand Central which takes an extra 5 to 10 minutes to get to).
After leaving the station, and heading north to 63rd and then turning east
towards Long Island, there is no T-Mobile coverage at all, and coverage
doesn't resume until exiting the tunnel at Sunnyside Yard, a few miles
west of the Woodside LIRR stop. Most recent instance observed on 08/10/2023.
New York County (Manhattan): T-Mobile calls drop (due to no coverage)
in the Midtown Tunnel/I-495. Calls drop when entering the tunnel on
either the Mahattan (eastbound) or Queens (westbound) side, and no
coverage is available until emerging from the other side. (Verizon has no
problem covering the tunnel, so as usual one wonders why TMO can't manage
this on one of the most heavily traveled Interstates in the country.)
Most recent instace observed on 03/20/2016.
New York County (Manhattan): TMO drops occur on E57th St. between 1st.
Ave and 2nd Ave near the outbound upper roadway ramp to the Queensboro
Bridge. Most recent instance occurred on 02/15/2017.
New York County (Manhattan): T-Mobile disconnects/drops calls
traveling north along 6th Avenue just south of 57th Street, more often
data than voice, but both have experienced drops. On a number of
occassions, data sessions (and to a lesser exten voice calls) which were
initiated south of 14th and 6th and which continue up 6th will drop just
south of 57th St. Most recent instance observed on 5/3/2016.
New York County (Manhattan): T-Mobile data sessions drop along the
Henry Hudson Parkway (West Side Highway)/NY-9A at 164th St. Data calls
will suddenly drop and need to be re-established. Most recent instance
occurred on 04/11/2015.
New York County (Manhattan): T-Mobile calls drop (voice and data) in
the area of the George Washington Bridge bus terminal, the local
Washington Heights access ramps to the GWB, Fort Washington Avenue, and
178th Street in Manhattan. T-Mobile voice calls can degrade when moving
in the area, for example, driving southwards on Ft. Washington Ave. from
190th towards 178th/GWB Bus Terminal and the GWB access ramp westbound
(to get on the bridge), TMO calls will generally drop at the bus
termina; both voice calls and data sessions will drop, even during
non-rush hour periods and during overnight hours when circuit congestion
shouldn't be a prorlbem. T-Mobile calls will also (less regularly) drop
on I-95 approaching the GWB "under the apartments" (a series of public
housing(?) apartment buildings built over the I-95 right of way/GWB
approach when the lower level to the GWB was built and the tunnels under
the Bronx (which are still there, but unused) were bypassed in favor of
the wider open-cut in use today). Most recent instance (along Ft.
Washington Ave( occurred on 06/06/2016.
New York County (Manhattan): TMO calls (voice) and data sessions drop
along NY-9A/West Side Highway at approximately 62nd st, more often in the
nortbound direction than southbound. Most recent instance occurred on
11/14/2015.
New York County (Manhattan): T-Mobile drops calls while traveling
through the Battery Park Underpass; calls will drop shortly after
entering from either direction and motorists have no coverage until they
exit at the other end. Most recent instance occurred on 12/14/2018.
New York County (Manhattan): T-Mobile data is nearly useless along the
Hudson River in and around Battery Park City. Either as a result of
conflicts with coverage in New Jersey or for some other reason(s), there
are sections of the Battery Park City Promenade where there appears to be
good T-Mobile (eg, at least 75% or more of a given phone's signal stregnth
indicator), yet the data service is inoperative and will simply not pass
any data in/out of a given phone. The Rector St. extension to Promenade
is one such area, as is the boat/yacht marina near the Wintergarden (just
west of the World Trade Center area). While other carriers have some
degree of problems in the same general area (Verizon Wireless data is
slower in some areas of the Promenade as compared to just a block or two
east), T-Mobile's data failures are by far the worst of all the major
carriers (VZW, AT&T Wireless, Sprint and TMO), and they render a given
phone practically useless for and data applications in many sections of
the Battery Park City Promenade. Last observed: 08/02/2015
New York County (Manhattan): T-Mobile drops calls midspan on the
Upper Level of the Queensboro Bridge (more often outbound than inbound).
At times, the drop can begin to atennuate at midspan and will not fully
drop until crossing under the 7IRT tracks along the upper level access
ramps. Last observed: 04/20/2016, this may have been remedied in 2022 or
so; needs more testining.
Queens County, Forest Hills/Rego Park: T-Mobile calls drop (voice and
data) on the Long Island Railroad just west of the Forest Hills station
near "Whitepot Junction", where the old, unused Rockaway Branch connected
to the main line. (The Rockaway Branch was abandoned in the early 1960's
and even though it is still in place and can provide a one-seat ride to
JFK to Penn Station (and Flatbush Terminal), as well as a much faster
subway connection to the Rockaways, the typical parochial politics of NYC
and the various transit agencies prevent an existing and thus
relatively inexpensive facility to be utilized, making NYC one of the few
major cities without direct airport access. And of course the locals
along the tracks to like their "expanded" backyards have suddenly become
fervent bicyclists and will do whatever it takes to ensure that a bike
path is built there, or a walking path, or a "nature preserve", ie,
anything but a train line again due, of course, to their deep, heartfelt
convictions for cycling and walking and exercise, and in not way related
to their pecuniary gain of using the LIRR right of way as an extended
backyard...Why should the benefit of hundreds of thousands of riders
impinge upon their quiet enjoyment of property they have
errr..."annexed"?). This section of the LIRR is along the main line to
Penn Station, yet typically TMO seems to have done nothing to remedy this
drop. Perhaps by the time common sense prevails in NYC politics and
transport policy TMO will get their act together and fix this
drop...this should be around the same time that the 2nd Ave line is
connected to the Transit Museum station (as was planned in the early
1930's) and the 7IRT is extended to NJ and/or along 34th Street... In
other words, in all likelihood, by the time anyone reading this is long
dead...! Last observed: 01/28/2016.
Queens County, Jamaica: T-Mobile calls often (but not always) drop
along the Van Wyck Expressway/I-678 near Exit 4/Liberty Ave, just south
of where the LIRR Main, Montauk, and Flatbush lines all pass over the
expressway on their way westward to their respective terminals. Last
observed: 02/02/2016
Queens County, Long Island City: T-Mobile calls drop on heading
eastbound coming out of the Midtown Tunnel (I-495) at the TBTA Toll Plaza
prior to the I-495/LIE Long Island City viaduct. While there appears to be
coverage in the Midtown tunnel itself, calls drop upon exiting the tunnel
on the Queens side. Last observed: 10/08/2015
Richmond County (Staten Island): Calls in progress on T-Mobile from
either the Staten Island Side or Brooklyn side of the Verrazano Bridge
(I-278) drop at or about in midspan, on both the upper and lower decks.
Note calls on Verizon don't drop in the same location, and can properly
transit the bridge. Another example of a very heavily travelled urban road
which one would think T-Mobile would be embarassed by its inability to
properly cover. Last observed: 11/18/2015
Richmond County (Staten Island): T-Mobile drops calls along NY-440,
more often heading north, just north of the JCT of NY-440 with the
Richmond Parkway (eg, the road which WAS to be NY-440 and was partially
built with an interchange over I-278, but, typical of so many road
projects in New York, was abandoned and never built, and now is sorely
needed). The drop occurs at the crest of NY-440 as northbound motorists
head downhill under the Rossville Ave overpass (where the NYPD sometimes
hide to give out tickets to people doing 60 on a highway designed for 70,
but that's NYC's idiotic 50 MPH highway limit for you...), just south of
Exit 4/Aurthur Kill and Huguenot Ave. Last observed: 10/10/2017.
New York State Counties other than New York City:
Columbia County, Austerlitz: Heading south on NY-22 from the
Masspike/NYS Thruway/I-90, coverage quickly fades a few miles north of
Austerlitz, and by the time East Hills Rd. is reached, all T-Mobile calls
drop. Additionally, due to AT&T
Wireless' poor coverage in the area, even though T-Mobile will allow
roaming on AT&T Wireless in the general area, drivers and residents won't
have much better luck roaming on AT&T, until south of JCT NY-203 where
AT&T's coverage improves somewhat. Last observed: 09/28/2016.
Columbia County, Boston Corners (Hamlet)/Ancram (Town): There is
basically little to no T-Mobile coverage on NY-22 north of the
Dutchess/Columbia County line (or in the general area of eastern Dutchess
and Columbia counties). In most cases, heading northwards, after Millbrook
or at times Millerton, T-Mobile coverage is so poor or nonexistent that
T-Mobile customers are graciously "allowed" to roam on AT&T Wireless.
(Note that data use is highly limited on AT&T Wireless, in some cases 10
Megabytes or some ridiculously small allowance, if that.) In any event,
any T-Mobile calls which do hold up to the Dutchess/Columbia County line
will drop while crossing into Columbia County near Boston Corners, and
there is no T-Mobile coverage until NY-22 hits the I-90/Masspike many
miles to the north (and TMO's coverage isn't too great there as well).
Yet another example of how TMO is pretty much an "urban" carrier which
doesn't pay much attention to service outside of urban areas or corridors
and apparently hopes its customer don't mind the drops while T-Mobile
hands off to AT&T Wireless (when it "allows" such handoffs). Last
observed: 07/20/2015
Columbia County, Gallatin: T-Mobile calls drop along CTY-7 at the JCT
with Tinker Hill Rd. at the Gallatin Town Hall. T-Mobile's coverage is
typically poor in the general area, from CTY-3/NY-22 in Boston Corners,
west to Ancram, Gallatin, and Silvernails, and only resumes (partially)
near the Taconic State Parkway, where it often roams on AT&T Wireless.
Most recent instance occurred: 10/08/2016.
Dutchess County, Arlington/Freedom Plains: T-Mobile drops calls (as
well as data connections) along NY-55 near the JCT with CTY-49/Titusville
Rd. The area is equidistant from the Taconic State Parkway and the
Poughkeepsie City limits, and one would expect better coverage along
N-55, which connects both areas. Needless to say, Verizon, AT&T, and even
Sprint have no problem covering the area without any drops or areas of
little/no coverage. Most recent instance occurred: 12/01/2016.
Dutchess County, Amenia: T-Mobile calls drop along NY-343 at the
JCT with CTY-2/Leedsville Road. While driving east (towards Connecticut),
or west (towards Amenia), calls will not hand off along CT-343 despite
generally good coverage in the area. Most recent instance occurred:
06/28/2019.
Dutchess County, Beekman: No T-Mobile service along NY-55 in
Beekman, NY, near the JCT of Beekman Rd./CTY-9. Although there is good
AT&T Wireless (GSM) coverage there, T-Mobile customers, both pre-pay and
post-pay, are not allowed to roam on AT&T's network anywhere along NY-55,
and thus for the 15 to 20 mile stretch of NY-55 between NY-22 to the east
the Poughkeepsie to the west, there is effectively no coverage other than
"Emergency Service Only" (for 911 calls via AT&T Wireless). This is
another example of a relatively well-travelled road in a suburban/exurban
market (only about 70 miles north of New York City) where T-Mobile is
effectively useless, and how they need to make significant improvements
to their network (and allow roaming on AT&T in areas where they don't
want to) so that they can be useful anywhere outside of urban areas and
major road corridors. Last observed: 04/01/2015
Dutchess County, Billings/Lagrangeville: T-Mobile calls drop on the
Taconic State Parkway just south of the the TSP/NY-55 interchange, also
just south of the old gas station/rest area in the median. Last observed:
06/27/2016
Dutchess County, Dover Plains: T-Mobile calls drop on NY-22
northbound at JCT CTY-105 near the Tenmile River Metro North station.
North of Tenmile, T-Mobile has no coverage, and T-Mobile customers can
benefit from AT&T Wireless' generally superior coverage for a bit further
north along NY-22. Heading southwards, AT&T Wireless' coverage seems to
drop around Tenmile while roaming on ATTWS with a TMO phone. Last
observed: 08/22/2016
Dutchess County, East Fishkill/Shenandoah: TMO drops occur
approximately 1 mile south of the JCT of the Taconic State Parkway
(NY-987G) and Miller Hill Road (east)/Shenandoah Rd (west), or approx. 3
to 4 miles south of the I-84/Taconic interchange. Most if not all of the
other carriers, including the now defunct
Nextel, used to have problems there, and AT&T Wireless and Sprint
currently have noticeable problems in that area of the Parkway which
experiences relatively heavy traffic with both weekday commuting and
weekend tourism. Verizon's coverage problems -- mainly handoff issues
between the Mid-Hudson 00404/00486 Systems (now often labled as part of
Albany 00078) and the NY Metro 00022 system -- seem to have been generally
corrected as of late 2012, although once in a while (a bit too often to go
unmentioned) Verizon phones will drop there as well. However, of all the
"major" carriers, T-Mobile appears to experience drops there more regulary
than others, despite Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, et. al. apparently being able
to remedy the drops and coverage issues there with varyingly greater
degrees of success. Last observed: 01/22/2017
Dutchess County, Holmes: T-Mobile voice and data calls drop along
NY-292, at the JCT with CTY-30, south of Waley Lake (near the Metro North
Beacon Line crossing). Calls initiated south of the area (such as long
I-84) which transition to County Road 30 will drop in the general area of
where it meets NY-292. Last observed: 09/25/2015.
Dutchess County, LaGrange (Hamlet of Billings): TMO drops occur on
NY-55 east of the Taconic State Parkway just east of the JCT with NY-82.
Last observed: 11/03/2014.
Dutchess County, LaGrange: Drops occur on the Taconic State Parkway
just south of the (southernmost) JCT with NY-82. For many years until
2007, Verizon and other carriers dropped there as well. Subsequent to
2007, Verizon remedied the problem, and Verizon calls no longer drop
there. Why is it that TMO can't offer the same level of service? Last
observed: 12/30/2014
Dutchess County, Lagrange (Hamlet of Lagrangeville): T-Mobile data
service drops and has poor coverage in the SE corner of the Village of
Lagrange in Lagrangeville (generally east of the Taconic Parkway
delimited by NY-82 and CTY-21/E Noxon Rd). TMO has at best 2G coverage
where the A&P (soon Shop Rite) used to be (we recommend Sonny's Italian
Restaurant and Pizzaria across the way, btw :) ), and in fact, outside of
Sonny's, T-Mobile's voice coverage is very poor and data effectively
won't work. Sonny's is about 300 ft from the Taconic Parkway along NY-82,
and outdoors, in the parking lot, TMO is pretty much useless;
it's amazing that 300 feet away along the Taconic calls don't completely
drop again AT the junction of NY-82 (as well as the drop listed in the
above entry just south of the Taconic/NY-82 JCT), but somehow they manage
to barely hold there. In any case, another generally poor coverage area
on TMO while ATTWS, Verizon, and Sprint have relatively few problems (or
none in the case of Verizon) there. Last observed: 02/05/2016
Dutchess County, Millbrook: TMobile call drops occur while driving on
CTY-23 between the JCT of CTY-24 and NY-343. The drop occurs closer to the
JCT of CTY-23, but the entire legnth of NY-343 is subject to frequent
drops between NY-22 and Millbrook (JCT NY-82, ex-US-44). Verizon and AT&T
also experience drops on NY-343, but in much more limited areas; Sprint
(surprise) has barely any coverage, if any, at all. Last observed:
11/03/2014
Dutchess County, Pawling: T-Mobile calls drop due to poor/no overage
for over two miles on NY-55's eastern segment east of NY-22, which heads
to CT and becomes CT-55. Coverage drops out _completely_ on NY-55
approximately 1 mile east of the JCT NY-22/NY-55, in the general area of
the JCT of NY-55/CTY-22 (that's Dutches County-22, it's not a typo, CTY-22
is just east of NY-22 there!) and there is no coverage for over five miles
until entering the CT system where NY-55, now CT-55, meets and ends at JCT
US-7 in Gaylordsville, CT. Unlike Verizon, which will hold at times with an external antenna (generally on cloudy days when signal propogation is better), T-mobile calls will not hold even with the same external equipment. And, unlike Verizon and ATT Wireless, which nonwithstanding the drop just east of the NY/CT border, have passable coverage along NY-55 west of Old NY-22 in NY and along CT-55 in CT, T-Mobile,which typically has such poor coverage outside of urban areas and (some) large highway corridors, has nothing - ZERO coverage at the state line, and hence calls drop and there's really no chance of a handoff until TMO improves it's coverage in the area. Even after the Sprint (which had no coverage there, either) merger, it seems like coverage hasn't substantially improved, and its unlikely that a lot of these exurban and rural areas will be getting from TMO the more saturated and deep coverage afforded by AT&T and Verizon. Most recent drop occurred: 04/10/2024.
Dutchess County, Unionvale/Billings: T-Mobile calls drop along NY-82,
just north of the JCT with NY-55, and has poor service for the stretch of
NY-82 between the JCT with NY-55 and the JCT with US-44/NY-343 in
Millbrook. All carriers (including Verizon) seem to have problems with
this section of NY-82, but TMO is by far the worst, with barely any
coverage along most of this stretch. This seems to be keeping with their
coverage (or lack thereof) plan of "No T-Mobile Coverage north of NY-55"
(at least in eastern Dutchess), as generally anywhere one travels north
of NY-55, TMO coverage becomes spotty and so "lossy" and "droppy" that
it's basicaly unusable in a mobile environment. Most recent drop
occurred: 07/16/2016.
Dutchess County, Verbank/Sprout Lake: T-Mobile call drops occur on
NY-82 and Tomkins Rd heading northward, with little or no coverage on
NY-82 north of CTY-9 for the next 4 or 5 miles until Millbrook. AT&T has
acceptable service in the same area, but T-Mobile customers are apparently
not authorized to roam on AT&T in that area, and thus have no coverage
north of LaGrange until they approach Millbrook on NY-82. Last observed:
12/06/20919.
Dutchess County, Wappingers Falls/Wappinger Lake: T-Mobile calls drop
along NY-9D, just south of the JCT with E. Main St, and poor/no coverage
continues heading northwards on NY-9D into downtown Wappingers, and
further north along NY-9D until the JCT with US-9 (where Staples is
located on the SW corner). Effectively, T-Mobile has no coverage to the
west of Wappinger Lake along NY-9D, including in the town of Wappingers,
and south along NY-9D and CTY-91 for about 1 mile. The entire area is
relatively built up, is only a mile or so west of heavily travelled US-9,
and just south of the Poughkeepsie Galleria, where T-Mobile/one of TMO's
reseller has (had?) a store (or at least a kiosk). Not the best customer
retention technique if 5 minutes after leaving the mall a new T-Mobile
customer tries to place a call or use data along NY-9D in Wappingers and
finds they have little to no useable coverage!. First observed: 12/28/2016.
Nassau County, Bayville: T-Mobile drops occur along the legnth of the
(small) beach area in Bayville, and suffers poor to no coverage in the
parking lot, as well as the dining/amusement area directly south/across
of the beach. T-Mobile has such generally poor coverage in the area that
it is nearly impossible to place/receive or maintain a call from the
Bayville beach area eastwards along Shore Road all the way into Oyster
Bay. Last observed: 05/11/2017.
Nassau County, Bayville: T-Mobile drops occur at the JCT of Bayville
Rd. and Bayville Ave, which is about halfway (eastwards) from the Bayville
beachfront area and the Mill Neck Creek Bridge. This is still the
case in 2023 with 2G service having litle to no coverage (even though the
TMO 2G shutdown isn't until Spring of 2024), and 4G (only) or 4/5G phones
voice & data (pretty much the same thing with LTE) connections stop, and
in most cases, due to the length and extent of the drop, voice calls will
abandon and drop, while data sessions may hold. Most recent instance
occurred on 10/30/2023.
Nassau County, Cold Spring Harbor: T-Mobile calls drop 1/4 of a mile
west of the JCT with the Cold Spring Harbor Labs access road/traffic
light. Heading eastwards "down the hill" towards Cold Spring Harbor and
JCT NY-108 (Harbor Rd.), T-Mobile calls drop just west of the Cold Spring
Labs and suffer poor coverage in the general area of NY-25A and NY-108.
Verizon has no voice problems in the area (data is not as good), which
indicates that a well-planned pattern of coverage can handle even
topographically challenging areas, something TMO has not seemed to be able
to master in this area (as well as many other areas along NY-25A). Last
observed: 12/16/2016.
Nassau County, Cold Spring Harbor: The entire stretch of NY-25A,
between Flora Street (near the Cold Spring Library) on the west end of
town, and Lawrence Hill Rd on the eastern end of town, suffers drops and
coverage gaps, which includes the "downtown" area where shops line both
sides of NY-25A. Data service is nonexistent (it says "4G" but generally
the coverage is poor that T-Mobile's data service is useless downtown), it
seems, and either TMO is not letting their customers roam on AT&T Wireless
there or the coverage is poorly implemented that phones can't decide which
carrier to use; in any case, expect very poor to no coverage while
traveling through Cold Spring Harbor on TMO. Further drops and spotty lack
of coverage were observed in April 2016 near the Goosehill Elementary
School to the north of Northern Blvd/NY-25A congruent with the
aforementioned "downtown"/Cold Spring Harbor Village/shops area. Last
observed: 12/16/2016.
Nassau County, Lake Success: Practically no T-Mobile service in the
PathMark (now Shoprite) supermarket shopping parking lot, as well as at
the JCT of Marcus Ave and New Hyde Park Road, about 1/2 a mile east of LIJ
Medical Center. This is a heavily travelled area just east of the
Queens/Nassau line and the lack of decent TMobile coverage in the area is
another example of TMO's glaring gaps in coverage and service. Last
observed: 09/24/2016
Nassau County, Great Neck: T-Mobile calls drop on the Long Island
Railroad's Port Washington Branch between the Great Neck and Little Neck
stations, just on the Nassau County side of the line. (Great Neck is in
Nassau County, while Little Neck is in Queens County.) Another example of
a highly used corridor which experiences drops with T-Mobile while
others (such as Verizon) somehow manage to ensure that calls remain
connected and that it's technically possible to have drop-free coverage
on the same route. Last observed: 09/01/2016.
Nassau County, Muttontown/Jericho: T-Mobile drops calls along
NY-106/Jericho-Oyster Bay Rd., just south of the JCT with NY-25A/Northern
Blvd. Active T-Mobile calls which are initiated in the Jericho/Hicksville
Area (such as at the Whole Foods) will drop traveling north along NY-106
aproximately 2 miles south of the JCT with NY-25A, while heading south,
calls whivh are active along NY-106 in Oyster Bay (for example, near the
Hess station) will start to attenuate south of NY-25A and completely drop
after two miles south of NY-25A. Last observed: 05/11/2017.
Nassau County, Plainview: TMO calls drop on the Northern State
Parkway just east of the South Oyster Bay Rd. interchange. Last observed:
01/05/2015.
Nassau County, Roslyn: Barely any useful T-Mobile service (voice or
data) in the harbor/old Rosyln Village section (ie, the part bypassed by
the NY-25A Roslyn Viaduct). It was recently impossible to make or receive
calls from many areas of the village along "old" NY-25A, and data never
came in south of the NY-25A viaduct. This lack of coverage in what is
generally a well-travelled and generally popular destination with rows of
restaurants and shops -in the middle of a heavily populated area- is
typical of the coverage issues which T-Mobile has (which are rarely found
with other carrier and clearly not problems in Rosyln and similar areas
with Verizon Wireless and AT&T Wireless). Last observed: 02/22/2021.
Nassau County, Roslyn: Similar to above, south of the town center,
from the Gerry Park duck pond's lower (more northern) lake to southern end
of the upper lake, delineated by the triangle of roads of Old Northern
Blvd. (E/W) to the north, Main St/Roslyn Road (NW/SE) to the west, and
East Broadway (NE/SW) to the east. Coverage for both voice and especially
data is barely evident in the area, and T-Mobile is more or less useless
in the area. Last observed: 07/25/2016
Orange County, Slate Hill: T-Mobile calls drop along I-84 at Mile
Marker 12, in the town of Slate Hill. T-Mobile has a series of drops and
spots of poor coverage between MM12 and MM8 or so, resulting in frequent
drops and poor/distorted audio in the area. Last observed: 01/02/2019.
Orange County, Wallkill: T-Mobile calls drop along I-84 in the
Village of Wallkill, approximately at Mile Marker 27.2, near I-84's
crossing of the Wallkill River. Last observed: 01/02/2019.
Putnam County, Town of Southeast, Brewster: T-Mobile calls drop at
the I-84 transition to I-684; calls initiated in Connecticut along I-84
(such as in Danbury) will drop as they transition from I-84W to I-684S.
Last observed: 05/26/2019.
Putnam County, Peekskill Hollow: Drops occur on the Taconic State
Parkway nearly halfway between Bryant Pond Rd and the next exit
northbound, Peekskill Hollow Rd. (Occurs in both the northbound and
southbound directions at different locations; northbound while descending
into Peeksill Hollow, and southbound after emerging from Peekskill Hollow
prior to the Bryant Pond Road overpass). Last observed: 05/20/2019.
Putnam County, Peekskill Hollow: T-Mobile calls drop along Peekskill
Hollow Road in numerous locations, and in general, T-Mobile's coverage
suffers from long stretches of no service at all. Calls initiated on/near
the Taconic State Parkway and which then transition/exit to Peekskill
Hollow Rd. northbound will drop multiple times and experience extensive no
coverage areas between the Taconic and NY-301. Thus, a call initiated on
the Taconic where there is coverage at the northbound/donwhill section
of Peekskill Hollow (where there is stone masonry alongside the slow
lane), won't get very far no matter where the callers travels:
continuing north on the Taconic the call will drop withn 1 to 2 miles,
exiting on Peekskill Hollow road and heading south the call will drop
almost immediately, and existing on Peekskill Hollow Rd. and heading
north (towards NY-301) the call will drop within 2 miles. Last observed:
04/14/2019.
Putnam County, Philipstown/Cold Spring: T-Mobile calls drop (voice
and data) along NY-301, approximately 3 miles west of the JCT with US-9.
(Sprint drops/has no coverage as well; Verizon/AT&T maintain calls along
NH-301.) Last observed: 09/26/2017.
Rensselear County, Haynersville/Brunswick Town: T-Mobile calls drop
along NY-7/Hoosick Rd, near the JCT with Mickelhill Road. Heading east
along NY-7 from the JCT with Mickelhill Rd, T-Mobile has no coverage until
Bennington, VT(!), and does not appear to allow T-Mobile customers (even
post-pay) to roam on AT&T, making the TMO phone generally useless east of
Haynersville all the way across southern Vermont to I-91 in Brattleboro.
Last observed: 10/04/2016.
Rockland County, Bear Mountain State Park and Bridge/Palisades
Parkway: There is poor to no T-Mobile coverage on the Palisades Interstate
Parkway between Exit 16 and Exit 19 (at and near the US-6/Palisades Rotary
and Interchange). There is also little to NO TMO Wireless coverage between
the Bear Mountain Bridge Rotary westwards to the Palisades/US-6 West
rotary, and all T-Mobile calls drop heading westwards somewhere between
the two rotaries. There is very poor to no coverage from said drop, all
the way to south of the Palisades rest-area/Welcome Center, and the area
of poor to no coverage extends for over 6 miles south of the rest
area/Welcome Center all the way to New City, which is again typical of
T-Mobile's poor and spotty coverage outside of urban areas (in this case
New York City). T-Mobile customers who are on a contract plan (now
generally to pay for new phones and equipment) may want to ask for their
money back, since TMO is or should be well aware of this drop and large
dead area, hasn't corrected it, and allows the issue to continue. Most
recent instance occurred on 01/02/2023.
Rockland County, Suffren/Airmont: T-Mobile calls drop along
I-287/I-87 at Exit 14B/CTY-89/South Airmont Rd. Most recent instance
occurred on 08/01/2018.
Suffolk County, Amityville: T-Mobile calls drop on the Southern State
Parkway just east of Exit32/NY-110. Data sessions also drop (or hang the
session) and applications passing data (such as SSH, Telnet, streaming
audio and/or video, etc) require a restart. Last observed: 02/25/2015.
Suffolk County, Baiting Hollow/Wildwood: T-Mobile calls disconnect
along Sound Ave (old NY-25A) near the JCT of Osborne Road (as NY-25A
heads into a little "hollow" where it goes down, has a few curves, and
emerges from the hollow 1/4 of a mile later). Calls begin to deteriorate
entering the "hollow", and will drop before returning to the normal plane
of the road in either direction. As this area of the western North Fork
(NE of Riverhead) is relatively flat and not too challenging to cover,
TMO has generally acceptable coverage in the area, but on this main road
(Sound Ave), which is used as a bypass around Riverhead to get to areas
further east, where every other carrier manages to hold the connection,
T-Mobile still suffers a drop there. Last observed: 02/27/2016.
Suffolk County, Bayport: T-Mobile calls drop on NY-27A just west of
the JCT with CTY-97/Nichols Road. Data coverage also drops. Further west
along old NY-27A, data coverage is very poor and will only run at 2G
speeds. Overall, very poor coverage along old NY-27A, a very heavily
traveled road. Last observed: 03/03/2015.
Suffolk County, Centerport: TMobile calls drop and generally have poor
coverage along NY-25 at the JCT with Centerport Road (to the south)/Little
Neck Rd (heading north), in the general area of the Mill Pond House in
Centerport. This is one in a chain of many drops along NY-25 in eastern
Nassau/Western Suffolk where T-Mobile drops calls and has poor/no coverage
along NY-25A, generally where NY-25A drops towards the ocean or enters
into some cove along the north shore. Needless to say, Verizon has no
drops along the entirety of this stretch. Last observed: 12/18/2016.
Suffolk County, Farmingville: T-Mobile drops calls along the Long
Island Expressway (LIE/I-495) generally near exit 63 (CTY-83/North Ocean
Ave) in Famingville. Last observed: 06/23/2016.
Suffolk County, Fort Salonga (Northport): T-Mobile calls drop along
NY-25A at the JCT of Bread and Cheese Hollow Road, just west of Sunken
Meadow/Afred E. Smith State Park. There is pretty much no coverage at all
in the area, and coverage does not resume until the Sunken Meadon Parkway
(heading east) or Noorwod Rd. in downtown Northport. This is one in a
chain of many drops along NY-25A in eastern Nassau/Western Suffolk where
T-Mobile drops calls and has poor/no coverage along NY-25A, generally
where NY-25A drops towards the ocean or enters into some cove along the
north shore. Needless to say, Verizon has no drops along the entirety of
this stretch. Last observed: 12/02/2020.
Suffolk County, Kings Park: TMobile calls drop on NY-25A at the
intersection with Sunken Meadow Rd., approximately 1/2 mile west of the
JCT with the Sunken Meadow Parkway. Traveling eastward from this drop, TMO
service doesn't resume until approximately 1/2 mile east of the Sunken
Meadow Parkway, possibly because of TMO's apparent difficulty in
re-acquiring signal after a call drops (as we have seen in other areas as
well). Last observed: 02/22/2022.
Suffolk County, Mt. Sinai: T-Mobile drops calls along Mt. Sinai-Coram
Road, at the JCT with North Country Road (likely an old alignment of
NY-25A, as it is along other stretches of the North Shore as well). Calls
drop in both directions (heading northwest to Mt. Sinai or southeast to
NY-25A). Part of a series of drops and an area of generally poor coverage
north of NY-25A along North Country Rd, from just east of downtown Port
Jefferson, all the way along North Country (or other primarily E/W roads
along the North Shore) to Miller Place (near the firehouse), where North
Country then heads east/southeast to rejoin the current NY-25A. Note this
isn't unique to TMO; all the other carriers (including, surprisingly,
Verizon) have poor coverage and multiple drops from Mt. Sinai to Miller
Place as well. Most recent instance: 06/30/2019.
Suffolk County, Northport: T-Mobile calls drops along NY-25 in the
area between/delimited by Sandy Hollow Road (to the west) and Woodbine Ave
(to the east) in Northport. This is one in a chain of many drops along
NY-25 in eastern Nassau/Western Suffolk where T-Mobile drops calls and has
poor/no coverage along NY-25A, generally where NY-25A drops towards the
ocean or enters into some cove along the north shore. Needless to say,
Verizon has no drops along the entirety of this stretch. Last observed:
12/18/2016.
Suffolk County, Waterville: T-Mobile calls drop on NY-27 right as it
crosses the Long Island Railroad Montauk Branch tracks. Coverage on TMO
is relatively good along the NY-27 freeway, and remains that way as NY-27
becomes a smaller 3 to 4 lane road on the way to Sag Harbor and the
Hamptons (where there are other coverage issues as well). But it is
plauged with drops and patches of no service, and the drop right at the
LIRR crossing is one of them. No other carrier (not Verizon, nor AT&T,
nor Sprint) drops there, only T-Mobile. It's unclear if LIRR riders
experience a drop if onboard the train in the same location. It's also
amazing that T-Mobile can't fix this drop, considering all the wealthy
potential TMO customers who traverse what is essentially the main road to
their summer houses in the Hamptons and the rest of the South Fork. Last
observed: 07/03/2019.
Ulster County, Esopus: T-Mobile calls drop along US-9W, just north of
the town of Esopus, at the JCT with Ulster CTY-16. T-Mobile has generally
poor coverage along US-9W in the Esopus area, and a number of drops take
place along US-9W from south of Esopus all the way north to Kingston.
Typically, compared to nearly everyone else (Verizon, ATT, Sprint, which
seem to manage coverage in the area relatively well, especially Verizon,
of course), TMO simply can't seem to get its act together (of course) and
just drops along one of the major roads paralleling the west shore of the
Hudson which is likely the main road/first choice for local traffic. Last
observed: 07/16/2016.
Westchester County, Ardsley: TMO calls drop at Mile Marker 6 on the
Sprain Brook Parkway, approximately 1.5 miles north of the reservoir
located between the north and southbound carriageways. Occasionally the
drop will hold, but will mute out around Jackson Ave for around 5 to 10
seconds (causing many to think the call did indeed drop); generally 5 or
so seconds at around 75 to 80 MPH, closer to 10 in rush-hour traffic of 65
or so. Initially observed: 12/30/2014 / Last occurred: 04/14/2019
Westchester County, Briarcliff Manor: T-Mobile calls drop on the
Taconic State Parkway at Mile Marker 10.2, approx 2 miles north of the JCT
with NY-100/NY-133/"Ossining" exit. Last occurred: 02/20/2017.
Westchester County, Croton Reservoir/Kitchawan: TMO calls drop along
the Taconic State Parkway in the area(s) north and south of the Croton
Reservoir. Coverage/audio quality is poor north of Millwood (where the
Taconic crosses NY-100 and the old Putnam Division rail line), and the
poor coverage continues up and then down the hills northwards to the
Croton Reservoir. Coverage comes back (slightly) crossing over the
reservoir, and then is very spotty crossing over NY-129 all the way to
NY-35, where it comes in reliably between NY-35 and the (incomplete)
eastern section of the Bear Mountain Parkway. Last occurred: 04/10/2023.
Westchester County, Eastchester: T-Mobile drops calls on the
Hutchinson River Parkway near the Mill Road (southbound) / North Avenue
(northbound) exits, heading in both the northbound and southbound
directions. Last occurred: 03/17/2019.
Westchester County, Eastchester: T-Mobile calls drop on the
Hutchinson River Parkway in the southbound direction near the Hutch/Cross
County Parkway split. Last occurred: 01/12/2019.
Westchester County, Ossining: TMO drops occur at or near the Taconic
State Parkway's JCT with NY-134, north of the Millwood exit. This may be
coincident with the Briarcliff Manor drop (see above) and related
manifestations in slightly different areas of the same underlying coverage
issues which vary based on time of day, traffic, topography, and weather.
(AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon do not drop in the same area.) Last occurred:
04/14/2019.
Westchester County, Peekskill: T-Mobile calls drop on Highland Ave /
US-202 / US-6 / "The Goat Path" between the US-9 rotary and the Bear
Mountain Bridge, or more specifically, about 1/2 mile south of the
overlook/rest area. T-Mobile has very poor to non-existent service most of
the US-202/US-6 from the US-9 rotary to the Bear Mountain Bridge, so drops
with TMO along the route are to be expected, typical of TMO. Most recently
observed on: 08/01/2018.
Westchester County, Purchase: T-Mobile calls drop on I-684 near the
Anderson Hill Road overpass near Westchester County Airport/NY-120A.
Additional drops also occur further south near the 65/55 MPH speed limit
change, about 2 miles south of the Westco airport exit. This is another
area where Verizon/ATT used to have problems and similar drops, but they
were corrected nearly 10 years ago, why can't T-Mobile address these as
well? As of 2019, coverage will barely hold most of the time,
although the audio drops out and can be distorted; this may be a
seasonal result of bare trees in winter lacking leaves (with water) to
interfere with RF signals. As on 2021, calls may hold southbound to
I-287, but often will drop at or just south of I-287 where I-684 becomes
the Hutchinson River Parkway after the merge with CT-15/Merritt from CT.
Last occurred: 07/02/2021.
Westchester County, South Salem: T-Mobile drops calls along NY-123,
between NY-35 to the north and the CT state line to the south. There are
a number of T-Mobile drops along the NY-123 corridor between NY-35; one
example is just north of the JCT with Donant Valley Rd. Last occurred:
06/01/2018
Westchester County, Yonkers: T-Mobile calls drop along the Cross
County Parkway heading west, from the Hutchinson River Parkway (south)
leg, before JCT NY-22. Calls initiated along the Hutch, such as at the
rest area with the large "tree" cell tower, will in the general area of
NY-22 on the Cross County Parkway. While this drop doesn't always occur,
it's frequent enough (over 50% of the time) to be noted here. Last
occurred: 05/26/2019.
Pennsylvania
Bucks County, Bristol: T-Mobile drops calls along I-95/Delaware
Expressway at the JCT with the extensive on/off ramps for PA-413. (The
PA-413 high-speed ramps where built in the 1990s and intended as a future
connection to I-276/PA Turnpike Extensionn. It was later decided that the
geometry of the interchange was unsuitable, and a newer interchange is
currently (2017) being built to connect the PA Turnpike directly with I-95
slightly north of the PA-413 ramps. This would of course not have been
as necessary had the NJ towns along the never-built I-95 segment
in NJ (the only segment which, even as of 2017, is still not finished for
I-95 for its entire legnth!) realized in the 1980's that having I-95 pass
away from Princeton, et. al., was better than having
US-1 and US-206 become the de-facto I-95 route through the area, but no,
they steadfastly opposed I-95's completion as a free road and
only now that US-1 has been widened to 8 lanes, and US-206 is jammed and
will soon have to be widened as well, do they see the foolisheness of
their ways with the excessive local traffic in the area and have no
remedy as I-95 has been moved over to the NJ Turnpike, which will connect
with the current I-95 segment in Pennsylvania just north of the PA-413
interchange. In any case, T-Mobile can't seem to cover this too well
(perhaps they're waiting for I-95 to be properly built through
NJ before they improve coverage on the PA side? :) ), and calls drop
between the I-276/PA Turnpike overpass and the PA-413 ramps (between
which I-95/I-276 connection is being built, probably for the same amount
it would have cost to build the entirety of I-95 in NJ in the
1980s!). Last observed: 03/02/2017.
Bucks County, Yardley: T-Mobile drops calls along southbound I-95,
just after the Scudders Falls Bridge over the Delaware River (thus, at
the NJ/PA state line), slightly south of the soutbound I-95 rest area.
Calls placed at the I-95 Rest Area will deteriorate shortly after
leaving it, and within a mile or two further south along I-95, calls
drop completely. This may be part of the above "Bristol" drop and/or
generally (and typically) poor coverage on the part of T-Mobile. Last
observed: 01/28/2018.
Chester County, Concordville: T-Mobile calls drop along US-322 at
Creek Parkway. Calls initiated along US-1 heading south along US-322, or
from I-95 northwards, will drop within 1/2 a mile in either direction
after passing Creek Parkway. Last observed: 11/22/2015.
Chester County, Nottingham: T-Mobile calls drop along US-1 at the
Pennsylvania/Marlyand Line (north of Rising Sun, MD), near the JCT with
Ridge Road. All other carriers tested no longer drop in the area (Verizon
used to pick up a bit of the 00096/Harrisburg system there which sometimes
led to drops, but this was fixed around 2010). Last observed 05/01/201611~.
Chester County, Toughkenamon: T-Mobile calls drop along US-1 at Mile
Marker 17.5, or just a bit south of the JCT/interchange with Newark Rd.
Just another one of the seemingly many T-Mobile drops along the US-1
freeway from the Maryland line to Kennet Square. Last observed: 06/04/2019.
Dauphin County, East Hanover/Grantville: T-Mobile calls drop along
I-81 between Hanover to the east and Grantville/JCT PA-743/I-81 SB Rest
Area to the west. Additionally, there is relatively poor TMO coverage at
the southbound I-81 rest area. Calls initiated along I-81 north of the
I-78 JCT (a section of road itself prone to numerous T-Mobile drops) or
along I-78 east of the I-81 JCT will drop shortly after I-78 merges with
I-81 and ends. Heading westwards, there is little to no T-Mobile coverage
(and of course TMO won't let their customers roam on AT&T there to make
up for their poor coverage) until Grantville/PA-743 and the Pennsylvania
Welcome Center/Rest Area on the southbound side of I-81. Here again is an
example of T-Mobile's poor and unreliable coverage outside of urban
areas, as even on this highly travelled corridor, only 19 miles east of
Harrisburg (the state capital no less!). Needless to say, Verizon has no
coverage problems here, so it is possible to cover the area; it
unfortunately appears this is yet another area where TMO has inferior,
yet easily remedied, coverage issues. Last observed: 10/22/2015
Lackawanna County, Scranton: T-Mobile calls drop on I-81 passing over
Montage Mountain Rd, near Mile Marker 182. Last observed: 09/01/2015
Lancaster County, Ephrata: T-Mobile drops calls on US-222, at the JCT
with US-322, in Ephrata. This is a few miles south of the JCT with the PA
Turnpike/I-76, and along a relatively flat, unchallenging land topography;
Sprint drops here as well, but AT&T and Verizon do not. Last observed:
01/20/2018.
Lebanon County, Lebanon: T-Mobile calls drop along I-81 in the
general vicinity of mile marker 90, approximately 2 miles north of the
JCT with I-78 (which is also where I-78 ends). Last observed: 09/01/2015.
Lehigh County, Bethlehem: T-Mobile calls drop on PA-33 approximately
3/4 of a mile north of the JCT with I-78 (this is on the 'new' section of
PA-33 which was finally built when I-78 was re-routed off of US-22 and
built as a more southerly route around Allentow/Bethlehem). Last
observed: 01/20/2018.
Luzerne County, Bloomsburg/St. Johns: T-Mobile calls drop along I-81
at the JCT with I-80/exits 151A and B. Heading southward, calls drop on
the downhill along I-81, and by the time I-80 is crossed from above, TMO
calls become too distorted and atennuated to hear the called/calling
party, and calls drop shortly thereafter near the I-80E to I-81S transtion
on-ramp. Heading northwards, calls begin to attenuate near the JCT with
I-80, and by the time the I-80 transition/merge lanes end nortbound, TMO
calls drop completely. Last observed: 09/16/2016.
Luzerne County, Nanticoke/Mountain Top: T-Mobile drops calls on I-81
at Exit/Mile Marker 164/JCT PA-29/S. Cross Valley Expressway (just south
of the separate PA-309 JCT with I-81). Calls drop in both directions
(N/S), generally between the JCTs with PA-29 and PA-309. Last observed:
09/16/2016.
Luzerne County, Nuangola: TMO calls drop along I-81 in the vicinity
of Mile Marker 161, 1.5 miles north of exit (mile marker) 159. Part of a
continuous series of drops along I-81 as compared to Verizon which does
not drop at all along the same section(s) of road. T-Mobile is
effectively useless for longer-duration calls in this area as the
constant drops make conversation difficult to impossible. Last observed:
09/01/2015.
Luzerne County, Wilkes-Barre: T-Mobile calls drop on I-81 at Mile
Marker 173, between the PA Turnpike Extention (I-476) and PA-309. Last
observed: 09/01/2015.
Monroe County, Stroudsburg: T-Mobile calls drop along the US-209/PA-33
freeway, just south of the merge between PA-33 (which connects to I-80 to
the west), and US-209, (which connects to I-80 to the east), forming a
"Y". Calls drop at the "base" of the "Y", after PA-33 and US-209 merge,
heading southbound. No other carrier drops along PA-33/US-209 in this
area. Last observed: 01/20/2018.
Northampton County, Wind Gap: T-Mobile drops calls along PA-33 (along
the "old section" north of US-22), between the two PA-512 JCTs. (PA-512,
North Broadway and South Broadway, is effectively "Business PA-33".
T-Mobile calls also drop along PA-512 near the Arby's, closer to the
southern PA-512/PA-33 JCT.) Calls do not drop on any other carrier along
PA-33 or PA-512 between the two Wind Gap exists. Last observed: 01/20/2018.
Philadelphia City and County: T-Mobile calls disconnect along I-95
near the Eagles sports complex; southbound calls begin to deteriorate as
I-95 passes under the partial interchange with I-76/Walt Whitman Bridge,
and will completely disconnect and drop passing the Eagles/Phillies sports
complex area near Exit 17/PA-611. No other carrier experiences these
problems on such a heavily traveled road. Last observed: 09/17/2016.
Philadelphia City and County, North Philadelphia: T-Mobile drops calls
along I-95, in the general vicinity of Girard Ave., just north of
I-676/Vine Expressway. Last observed: 12/18/2016.
Philadelphia City and County/North Philadelphia: T-Mobile calls drop
along I-95/Delaware Expressway in the general area of JCT PA-73/Cottman
Ave, just north of where PA-73 breaks way from I-95 and heads over the
Tacony-Palmyra Bridge heading to New Jersey. Really? TMO can't even hold
a signal along I-95 in Philadelphia? Verizon can manage I-95 from Maine
to Virginia without a drop, why can't TMO manage a few miles north of
Philly? Last observed: 12/18/2016.
Philadelphia City and County/South Philadelphia: T-Mobile calls
drop/disconnect along I-95 in the general vicinity of the Philadelphia
International Airport, near the high-speed ramps to PA-291/Industrial
Highway. Last observed 08/23/2016.
Pike County, Blooming Grove: T-Mobile drops calls on I-84 at Mile
Marker 30.6/JCT PA-402/Exit 30. Part of an area of generally poor and
unusable coverage along I-84. Last observed: 01/02/2019.
Pike County, Lord's Valley: T-Mobile calls drop on I-84 at the JCT
PA-739/Dingman's Turnpike (which leads to Dingman's Ferry), near Mile
Marker 34. Also part of the retinue of drops and areas of poor coverage
which T-Mobile customers suffer along I-84 in the NE PA area. Last
observed: 01/02/2019.
Pike County, Matamoras: T-Mobile calls drop along I-84 west of
Matamoras, as I-84 leaves the Matamoras/Port Jervis area and ascends a
hill as it heads west to Scranton. Calls placed in Port Jervis will drop
at Mile Marker 47, and then again at 46, and then again at 44, making it
nearly unusable on that stretch of road, until the JCT with PA-739
(to Dingman's Ferry and NJ) is reached, where coverage becomes somewhat
better. Last observed: 01/02/2019.
Pike County, Milford: T-Mobile drops calls along US-209 just south
ogf Milford, entering the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
Calls drop suddently passing the northern park barrier along US-209; all
other carriers continue to maintain a good connection (but all do drop
somewhere in the park; ATT has the fewest drops, T-Mobile the most, with
Verizon and Sprint in-between; T-Mobile, however, has basically no
coverage of any use along most if not all of US-209, where coverage does
not resume until just south of the park's southern entry gate, at the
Turkey Hill gas station area, and thus is the worst of the all the
carriers there). Last observed: 01/20/2018.
Pike County, Dingman's Ferry (Delaware Water Gap National Recreation
Area): T-Mobile calls drop along US-209/Federal Road from the junction
with PA-739/Dingman's Turnpike to the north all the way to where US-209
crosses Suzie Creek and US-209's name changes to Milford Road, where
coverage barely resumes, and finaly to JCT I-80 where coverage resumes in
full, for a distance of about 18 miles. TMO (as well as Verizon, Sprint,
and AT&T Wireless) has very poor to non-existent coverage along this
stretch of US-209, and thus motorists as well as campers and hikers in the
Water Gap area may not be able to summon help or contact authorities
should an emergency arise. Besides tourists visiting the Water
Gap/Dingman's Ferry area, US-209 serves as a major thoroughfare between
the I-84/Port Jervis Area and the I-80 corridor, which heavy daytime
automobile use (trucks are generally prohibited), and has never been
properly covered since the inception of cellular service in the area in
the early 1990's. Drop last occurred: 10/20/2015
Pike County, Promised Land (State Park)/Blooming Grove: TMO calls
drop along I-84 between JCT PA-390 (Mile Marker/Exit 26) and just east of
JCT PA-507/Lake Wallenpaupack Rd. Heading westwards, T-Mobile calls
begin to degrade after exit 26/PA-390, and drop by Mile Marker 22.
Heading eastwards, TMO calls degrade just east of Exit 22/PA-507, and
drop just east of MM22. There is no T-Mobile coverage (or barely any)
for a mile or so between MM22 and MM23.5, which likely accounts for the
drop. Last observed: 09/16/2016.
Schuykill County, Donaldson/Good Spring/Tremont: T-Mobile drops calls
on I-81 at or about Mile Market 109, near the apex/crest of a hill between
exit 107/US-209 and exit 112/PA-25/E. Main St. I-81 makes a significant
curve to navigate the terrain in the area, and TMO drops calls just at
about the center point of the "curve" on I-81. Last observed: 09/16/2016.
Schuylkill County, Hecksherville: T-Mobile calls drop along I-81 at
Mile Marker 121.5, just north of the Highridge Park Road exit. Last
observed: 09/01/2015.
Schuylkill County, New Boston-Morea: T-Mobile calls drop while
traveling on I-81 at Mile Marker 128, about halfway between exit
124/Frackville/St. Clair/PA-61 and exit 131/Vulcan Hill Rd. Last
observed: 09/16/2016.
Schuylkill County, Ravine: T-Mobile calls drop along I-81 at Mile
Marker 103.5, just south of the Ravine exit (104) for Molleystown Rd.
Last observed: 09/16/2016.
Westmorland County, Ligonier: Poor to no TMO coverage on PA-31,
between JCT PA-381 heading eastward to Laurel Summit (on PA-31). At Laurel
Summit heading east (down the hill) coverage is generally better, but both
voice and data calls will generally drop heading westward from the summit
going to and past the JCT with PA-381. There is some limit roaming allowed
in the area on ATTWS (perhaps bleeding in from Maryland/I-68 to the
south?), but ATTWS' coverage is so poor here as well (see the ATT Wireless Dropped Call List) that
any roaming which T-Mobile allows its customers on ATT is of little help.
Last observed: 05/05/2015
Rhode Island
Providence county, Johnston: T-Mobile calls (voice and data) drop
along US-6 just west of the JCT and short co-running with I-295. Calls
placed on I-295 (the old "black and white RI-195) which transition over
the Johnston ramps to US-6 west, will drop heading westward along US-6 up
the slight hill right after where US-6A ends and US-6 resumes running as
a local road to head west towards Connecticut. (This is yet another New
England freeway which desperately needs to be built, and has been needed
for 50 years, but typically nothing is done and motorists just sit in
endless -and dangerous- traffic along US-6, US-44, and RI/CT-101 trying
to find some decent way to get between Hartford and Providence. It's
telling of how both states operate that despite the nearly universal
agreement for the completion of what was to be I-84 between Hartford and
Providence and all the accidents and fatalities along the current (lack
of) alternatives that for over 50 years nearly nothing has been done to
complete this vital corridor.) Last observed: 09/26/2015
Providence County, Scituate: T-Mobile calls (voice and data) drop
west of the intersection of US-6 (Bypass) and RI-102, right where the
US-6 Business (the southerly local road) and US-6 Bypass (the parallel
but more northerly 2-lane limited access road generally referred to as
US-6) meet to form (what used to be) the 4-lane US-6 heading westwards
towards the RI/CT line. TMO calls attennuate at the JCT with RI-102, and
fully drop out at the US-6 Business/Bypass merge. Last observed: 09/26/2015
Washington County, Westerly: T-Mobile calls (voice and data) drop at
the CI/RI state line along US-1 in downtown Westerley just west (south by
US-1 directions) of the Westerly Rotary. This appears to be part of a
series of drops by TMO along the CT/RI line, including many roads, (US-1,
I-95, CT/RI-78, CT/RI-138, etc.) which traverse the border between
Southeastern Connecticut and the beach and shore areas of Southern Rhode
Island. Also see the "Connecticut" section (above) for additional T-Mobile
coverage/call drops on the CT side of the line near Stonnington, CT. Last
observed 09/26/2015
Vermont
Windham County, Brattleboro: T-Mobile drops calls at Mile Marker 3.1
on I-91. This drop follows the two drops in Greenfield, MA, just south of
the Mass/Vermont line. It seems like TMO drops calls every 3 or so miles
on I-91 from Greenfield, MA, all the way to the next Brattleboro drop,
below. Last observed: 05/18/2018
Windham County, Brattleboro: T-Mobile calls drop at Mile Marker 5.2
of I-91, on an uphill, just north of the Vermont Welcome Center, and
there is no usable TMO service until exit 2 in Brattleboro. Southbound,
service on T-Mobile begins to attenuate near exit 3, and drops just south
of exit 2. Last observed: 05/18/2018
Windham County, Brattleboro: T-Mobile drops calls on US-5, just
south of the JCT with VT-9 west in downtown Brattleboro, near the old
movie theater. From downtown to JCT I-91, TMO coverage is spotty, and
thus more or less useless. Last observed: 05/18/2018
Windham County, Guilford: Drops occur at Mile Marker 4.2 just south
of the Vermont Welcome Center (with the moose to the right of the
building's main doorway, or at least there used to be a moose there, it
seems to be missing now in 2015!). As per the Massachusetts section, there
is a drop heading north near the VT/MA border (which Verizon and AT&T
fixed years ago, while lower tiered carriers like Sprint and TMO seem to
allow the drop to continue), thus T-Mobile will only cover around 4.2
miles before it drops again!. There is so-so coverage at the rest area,
but TMO does allow roaming on AT&T Wireless there, so often times it is
the AT&T signal being received (which does hand off to the Mass system and
will be rough but will not generally drop from Greenfield, Mass to
Brattleboro, VT. Essentially, don't expect to make too many calls on
T-Mobile once you get north of Greenfield, MA and head into Vermont! --
typical of how T-Mobile is really only viable for general use in urban
areas or inter-urban (highway) corridors. Last observed: 10/01/2016.
Virginia
DC area T-Mobile data note: As of late June, 2016, we've noticed
that on more or less all "nearly 4G" High Speed Packet Access (HSPA)
phones, such as the LG C-800 "My Touch" and similar non-LTE models, what
used to indicate as "4G" data service is now showing up as only "2G". We
suspect that this is due to T-Mobile's frequency shortage in the DC
area (and many other areas as well), as it converts the 1700/2100 MHz
bands to LTE ("true" 4G) only. HSPA (and it's variants, HSDPA and HSUPA;
generally referred to as "HSPA" although there are speed and other
differences) is an earlier nearly-4G technology which offers download
speeds close to true 4G but somewhat slower upload speeds; latency
is also a bit slower with HSPA than true 4G.
Originally, around 2008 or 2009, T-Mobile ran HSPA on the 1700/2100 MHz
bands which it owns/operates on, and later shared the spectrum with LTE
("true" 4G) when LTE was rolled out a few years later in 2014/2015. It
appears from TMO's announcements that it is moving HSPA service off
of 1700/2100 (which the older phones are designed to use for HSPA),
and moving all HSPA service to the "AWS" 1900MHz spectrum, which while
many older phones are able to use for voice calls, eg, talking,
they are not able to use it for HSPA data access, causing many
phones which used to show "4G" to now show only "2G". It is unclear if
this frequency re-alignment (or "refarming" as it appears to be called)
will eventually be effective in all TMO markets or just those without
sufficient LTE 1700/2100 bandwidth to also accommodate the slightly older
HSPA data service.
Thus, for those customers who purchased a T-Mobile phone (or
compatible/unlocked GSM model) from maybe 2012 or earlier, in markets
where TMO has moved HSPA to "AWS"/1900 Mhz frequencies, unless your phone
is able to handle data on 1900 MHz, it is likely that service will be
reverted to 2G only speeds. This seems to be the case throughout the
entire DC, Virginia, Maryland (including Baltimore) markets, and extending
northwards into the Philadelphia market as well. (The NYC market, which
starts roughly north of NJ-32 or NJ-33/133, still supports HSPA on
1700/2100.) Rather than keep a little bit of 1700/2100 MHz spectrum
available for HSPA phones which can not use data on 1900 MHz, T-Mobile
just effectively blocked all customers with phones more than a few years
old from using 4G data!
See the Cellular
Carrier Comparison page for more details.
Independent City of Alexandria, Old Town: T-Mobile calls (more often
data than voice) drop along the George Washington Memorial Parkway as it
transitions from a limited access parkway to North Washington Street in
Old Town. Heading southbound, after crossing the railroad tracks/spur
line leading to the Potmac Yards, TMO calls begin to deteriorate, and by
the time First Street is reached, calls drop completely. Last observed:
10/05/2015.
Independent City of Alexandria, Old Town/Belle View: T-Mobile calls
atennuate and become difficult to hear/understand spoken words on the
G.W. Parkway/VA-400 just south of Old Town before the JCTs with Belle
View Blvd. Calls will drop 50% of the time exiting from the SB GW Parkway
heading west on Belle View Blvd. near the 24-Hour Safeway. Last observed:
02/19/2016.
Independent City of Manassas (contained in Prince William County):
T-Mobile calls drop along I-66, between JCT VA-28 (which hopefully, one
day, will become part of the Outer Beltway with a TOLL-FREE bridge to
Maryland...in about a million years...) and JCT VA-234 North. Generally,
heading westbound on I-66, T-Mobile calls drop just east of the Rest
Area, which itself is about a mile or so east of JCT VA-234N. (VA-234 is
multiplexed with I-66 between JCT VA-234N and the VA-234 freeway segment
a few miles to the west; these should be connected north of I-66 so
VA-234 traffic doesn't have to merge with I-66 traffic; better yet, make
VA-234 the Outer Beltway!). Eastbound, calls initiated in Manassas or
along I-66 west of Manassas will drop prior to JCT VA-28. At times,
T-Mobile calls will transitio to VA-28 north, but will attenuate near
the traffic light (yes, a traffic light! Is it really too hard to have a
full interchange between VA-28 and I-66???!) just north of I-66 and drop
passing the remnants of the E/SE connection to Backlick Road (which I-66
bisected and made non-contiguous). Last observed: 09/28/2017.
Arlington County, East Falls Church: T-Mobile calls (and data sessions)
drop in the vicinity of, and while driving along, Washington Blvd and the
East Falls Church Metro Station. The same drops often occurs along I-66
which parallels Washington Blvd in the area. (It is likely, but untested,
that T-Mobile calls will also drop on Metro's Orange and Silver lines in
the same area, as they are above ground in the median of I-66 and thus
traverse the same coverage problem area which I-66 and Washington Blvd
do. Last observed: 10/20/2015.
Arlington County, East Falls Church: TMobile calls/data sessions drop
along I-66 slightly east of the N. Ohio St. overpass, at Mile Mark 70,
east of the East Falls Church Metro station (near where all the trees
along the inbound/eastbound Orange/Silver line line run between Metro and
eastbound I-66). This drop is likely associated with the above drop along
Washington Blvd, and appears to be a systemic problem with T-Mobile,
typical of cellular coverage in the mid-1990s rather than a modern,
well-tested service area. Besides the hugh volumes of traffic on I-66 and
on WMATA's Orange and Silver lines, the area is a densly-populated,
high-income DC suburb, and if T-Mobile can't even cover Arlington without
drops, it speaks volumes as to how they handle less
well-travelled/populated areas. (Verizon and Sprint don't drop here in
this area). Last observed: 11/20/2015.
Fairfax County, Herndon: T-Mobile's service near the Herndon Harris
Teeter (supermarket), near the intersection of Sunrise Valley Drive and
the eastern segment of the Herndon Parkway, is quite poor, resulting in a
series of drops in the general area, including directly outside of the
Harris Teeter. Needless to say, there is little to no coverage inside the
store, so calls drop when entering as well. Last observed: 07/26/2020.
Fairfax County, Herndon/reston: T-Mobile drops calls along the
Fairfax County Parkway, just north of West Ox Road, heading north to the
Dulles Airport Connector and (overpriced) non-airport Toll Road (which no
one should drive on at night since VA-7 moves just fine - now watch, VDOT
will purposely set the lights at night to stop people all the time to
"incentivize" motorists to use the Toll Road!). Calls also drop along
West Ox heading east from the Parkway to US-50 in the Fair Oaks area.
Last observed: 03/05/2021.
Fairfax County, McLean: TMO Calls drop on the GW Memorial Parkway near
JCT VA-123/Dolly Madison Blvd./Chain Bridge Rd. Last observed: 11/04/2014.
Fairfax County, McLean: T-Mobile calls drop along VA-123/Dolly
Madison Blvd near the JCT via VA-193/Georgetown Pike. Calls initiated in
downtown McClean will drop at or near the VA-193 when driving east on
VA-123. In conjunction with the above drop on the GW Parkway, calls
initiated on the Chain Bridge Rd. section on VA-123 (east of the GW
Parkway) will drop just west of the GW Parkway, between Kirby Rd. and
VA-193/Georgetown Pike. Last observed: 05/01/2017.
Fairfax County, McLean/Tysons: T-Mobile data calls drop (occasionally
voice but we haven't had too many drops voice-wise here) along the DC
Beltway/I-495 at the overpass over Old Dominion Rd/VA-738, mainly in the
northbound direction. Last observed: 06/30/2016.
Fairfax County, Wolf Trap: T-Mobile Calls disconnect/drop along
VA-193/Georgetown Pike just west of the JCT of VA-676/Towlston Rd.
Although a small, 2-lane road, Georgetown Pike is a heavily traveled road
in Northern VA, and serves as an alternative to VA-7 to get to the
overcrowded American Legion Bridge/I-495 Beltway (which in itself, due to
a lack of Potomac Crossings despite 40 years of explosive growth in the
region, serves as a "traffic magnet" since it's the only
Interstate-grade roadway to cross to Potomac between Northern Virginia
and Maryland...Typical "build nothing/do nothing" approach as it just
gets worse as more and more people move to the area). By comparison,
Verizon experiences no drops on all of VA-193/Georgetown Pike, from it's
western terminus at VA-7 west of Wolf Trap to the JCT with I-495. Last
observed: 03/05/2016
Fairfax County, Wolf Trap: T-Mobile calls drop along VA-193/Georgetown
Pike at the JCT with VA-683/Bellview Road. Calls begin to atennuate
heading westwards along VA-193 at the JCT with VA-684/Spring Hill Rd, and
disconnect completely upon crossing Bellview Rd. Last observed: 03/05/2016
Washington DC
DC area T-Mobile data note: As of late June, 2016, we've noticed
that on more or less all "nearly 4G" High Speed Packet Access (HSPA)
phones, such as the LG C-800 "My Touch" and similar non-LTE models, what
used to indicate as "4G" data service is now showing up as only "2G". We
suspect that this is due to T-Mobile's likely frequency shortage in the DC
area (and many other areas as well), as it converts the 1700/2100 MHz
bands to LTE ("true" 4G) only. HSPA (and it's variants, HSDPA and HSUPA;
generally referred to as "HSPA" although there are speed and other
differences) is an earlier nearly-4G technology which offers download
speeds close to true 4G but somewhat slower upload speeds; latency
is also a bit slower with HSPA than true 4G.
Originally, around 2008 or 2009, T-Mobile ran HSPA on the 1700/2100 MHz
bands which it owns/operates on, and later shared the spectrum with LTE
("true" 4G) when LTE was rolled out a few years later in 2014/2015. It
appears from TMO's announcements that it is moving HSPA service off
of 1700/2100 (which the older phones are designed to use for HSPA),
and moving all HSPA service to the "AWS" 1900MHz spectrum, which while
many older phones are able to use for voice calls, eg, talking,
they are not able to use it for HSPA data access, causing many
phones which used to show "4G" to now show only "2G". It is unclear if
this frequency re-alignment (or "refarming" as it appears to be called)
will eventually be effective in all TMO markets or just those without
sufficient LTE 1700/2100 bandwidth to also accommodate the slightly older
HSPA data service.
Thus, for those customers who purchased a T-Mobile phone (or
compatible/unlocked GSM model) from maybe 2012 or earlier, in markets
where TMO has moved HSPA to "AWS"/1900 Mhz frequencies, unless your phone
is able to handle data on 1900 MHz, it is likely that service will be
reverted to 2G only speeds. This seems to be the case throughout the
entire DC, Virginia, Maryland (including Baltimore) markets, and possibly
into the Philadelphia market as well. Rather than keep a little bit of
1700/2100 MHz spectrum available for HSPA phones which can not use data on
1900 MHz, T-Mobile just effectively blocked all customers with phones more
than a few years old from using 4G data!
See the Cellular
Carrier Comparison page for more details.
Georgetown: Wisconsin Ave and S Streets, NW: T-Mobile's coverage
degrades and suffers occassional audio drop-outs traveling on Wisconsin in
the vicinity of the new Safeway. Data service indicates "2G" on the top
floor/open-air roof of the Safeway parking lot. There is no service in the
store. Service along 34th St. NW has similar problems in the area heading
northward to Wisconsin; data speeds indicate 4G but actual throughput
appears significantly lower and very "bursty" in nature. More recently
(Jan 2016 onwards), coverage has become even poorer, and there is
effectively no coverage in or around the Georgetown Safeway on TMO. Last
observed: 02/05/2016
Georgetown: Wisconsin Ave and Q Streets, NW: T-Mobile drops calls
between 33rd Steet NW and Wisconsin Ave, along Q Street. T-Mobile offers
generally poor coverage in the upper Georgetown area (including outdoors,
on the rooftop parking lot of the Georgetown Safeway!), and this drop
along the western side of Q Street (west of Wisconsin) is symptomatic of
T-Mobile's poor coverage in the area. Both data and voice calls drop in
the area, with the balance tilting slightly towards more data drops than
voice. Last observed: 08/02/2016
Foggy Bottom: T-Mobile calls drop walking (yes, wallking!)
north on 20th St. at the intersection with M Street. Calls initiated in
a particular sequence - near George Wasgington University (outside the
Whole Foods to be precise) and which are then walked eastwards to 20th
street and then north to "M" Street and New Hampshire Ave will often drop
somewhere between "M" and New Hampshire. There appears to be adequate
coverage in the area, but TMO's network for some reason seems unable to
process and hand-off or otherwise handle calls through that particular
area. Last observed: 05/05/2016
Friendship Heights/Little Falls Stream Valley Park: T-Mobile calls
drop along the Dalecarlia Parkway, just west of Westmoreland Circle (where
Mass Ave/MD-396, Western Ave., and the Dalecarlia Pkwy meet). The
Delacarlia Parkway is an odd dual-carriageway semi-limited-access road
just south of the Maryland state line, running more or less north-south
between Westmoreland Circle and Sibley Hospital (and close to MacArthur
Blvd.), and while not the most heavily trafficked road in DC, should
hopefully have been (by 2019!) covered, yet T-Mobile still has problems
and dropped calls there in both directions. Last observed: 06/04/2019.
Washington DC Metro, L'Enfant: Calls drop south of L'Enfant Plaza on
the Yellow Line as it breaks away from the Green Line towards the
dedicated Yellow Line bridge crossing the Potomac River. Calls tend to
drop shortly after the switch track area where the Yellow Line heads
southwest in the tunnel prior to emerging to the open air segment leading
to the bridge. (All carriers are affected by this drop; there are many,
many more drops, practically between every underground station on
T-Mobile; Verizon has the fewest and can actually hold a connection
between stations as they used to when they were analog). Last observed:
11/05/2014.
Washington DC Metro, Gallery Place: Pretty much unusable T-Mobile
coverage for both voice and data on the lower level (Yellow and Green
line) platforms of the Gallery Place station (a major transfer point in
the Metrorail system). Depending on where a call is initiated on the
lower level platform, it will either take a long time to set up or just
fail outright. Data service indicates "2G" and can barely pass and data
at all. Update as of Sept 1st, 2016: Voice works acceptably on the upper
(Red Line) platform, at least closer to the western mezzanine (heading
towards Metro Center), but data is more or less useless. In areas where
voice calls are passable, data sessions are difficult to impossible to
initiate or maintain. Last observed: 09/02/2016.
Washington DC Metro, Metro Center: Similar to Gallery Place, above,
T-Mobile coverage is very weak on either end of the Metro Center lower
level (for Orange, Blue, and Silver line service), and even in the middle
of the lower level platforms T-Mobile calls disconnect, drop, and fade in
and out depending on the location a given call is being placed from.
While Verizon, ATTWS and Sprint also have some problems at Metro Center
(even late at night when the station is not crowded), T-Mobile is by far
the worst, and it's difficult to imagine how in the most heavily used
station in the Metrorail system, TMO can't do a better job. Last
observed: 05/05/2016
West Virginia
Morgan County, Berkeley Springs: There is very poor T-Mobile coverage
on WV-9 east of Berkeley Springs, and no coverage driving west to Paw Paw.
Coverage should be better as this location as it is just south of I-68,
but then again this is T-Mobile, which doesn't seem to believe in rural
coverage, at least not in this part of the country. Last occurred
09/17/2014.
Corrected Problems
The following were problem drop areas but have apparently been corrected and/or no longer suffer from regular/repeated drops.
Connecticut
Fairfield County, Stamford: T-Mobile drops occur on I-95 north of
Stamford over the tracks to the New Canaan Branch. The drop appears to
have been resolved as of August 2014.
New York
New York County (Manhattan): There is no T-Mobile coverage in the Park
Ave tunnel north of Grand Central. It is unclear is roaming is available
of AT&T Wireless, which does cover Grand Central Station as well as the
Park Ave tunnel between GCT and the above-ground section near 100th St.
Most recent instance occurred on 11/21/2014, corrected as of 2018.
New York County, Manhattan: While not a drop per se, unlike other
competing carriers, T-Mobile has no coverage in the Whole Foods/Columbus
Circle which is underground under in the Time Warner Center. TMO
generally markets itself as a carrier for urban locations (as it has such
poor coverage elsewhere it could hardly market itself otherwise!), yet in
one of the more popular food shopping venues in NYC it lacks any coverage
as compared to its competitors. Most recent instance occurred on
09/28/2015, corrected as of 2022 and there is very good TMO coverage at
the Whole Paychecks...errr Foods under Time Warner.
Westchester County, Bedford: TMobile calls (voice and data) drop
along I-684 within a few miles either way of the JCT with NY-172.
Last occurred: 02/20/2017, corrected (it appears) as of January, 2019.
Westchester County, Purchase: T-Mobile calls drop on the Hutchinson
River Parkway, a few miles south of the CT border and 1/2 mile north of
the JCT with I-684, in the general area of the Purchase exit. Last
occurred: 11/29/2014, corrected as of late 2018.
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