Anyone use T Mobile at the Lake??

K&M

K&M

Well-Known Member
We are looking into changing our cell service from ATT to T Mobile, but want to know if anyone who has T Mobile could chime in on how the reception at Powell is? We are typically on the North end, though we camp often very near Hole in the Rock.
Thanks in advance!
 
I use T mobile, it is much better since the installation of the new tower. There are spots near HITR that I have service and there are spots up river from bullfrog. One near tapestry and a couple around GH bay. I have an InReach so I don’t pay real close attention but I have texted and called from both of those spots and there are others south too. If you can see Navaho Mt down south you can usually text at a minimum. My phone is OLD and the newer ones people have when they’re with me even work better. Works good around bullfrog. Others on here can tell you exactly where they can use them if they’ll chime in.
 
We are about to switch from AT&T to T-Mobile also. AT&T service at the house is marginal and, of course the T-Mobile guy say it will work great so he’s coming to the house to show us how well it works. Their internet box works at the house so they say phone should work as well. We will see. I’m also planning on getting the Starlink option to be good to go anywhere on the lake. Sq
 
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I had pretty sketchy service with TMobile on southern end for many years. Our go to spot to make calls was in front of Dungeon Canyon. Otherwise no bueno. Even direct line of sight to Navajo Mountain was no guarantee. Others, mostly on Verizon it seemed, but some on AT&T, had better coverage. I switched to Cox Mobile this year, on Verizon network. We camped in Gunsight for my fall trip and had service. Don’t remember if I made calls on our tour up lake. iPhone 13. FWIW.
 
I camped at the confluence of the Escalante and the Colorado in the main channel in Sept 2024 and had 5 bars of cell service on Verizon. I was shocked! This was with an iphone13 so no satellite feature. Anyone know why that was? I think the area is pretty remote unless I missed a hidden city near by.
 
K&M said:
Thank you to all of you! Not sure exactly what we will do, but I will look into the satellite feature no matter what we do! We are old and our kids don't like it when they don't hear from us. Turn about is fair play, I say :)
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Well we're in the same boat, old and kids don't like not hearing but last year my mom passed away wasn't expected we found out just a day late but everyone was trying to get a hold of us no service .So shortly after I got mini star link we throw it in the camper and boat don't worry about it any more never had a problem.
 
bk2drvr said:
I camped at the confluence of the Escalante and the Colorado in the main channel in Sept 2024 and had 5 bars of cell service on Verizon. I was shocked! This was with an iphone13 so no satellite feature. Anyone know why that was? I think the area is pretty remote unless I missed a hidden city near by.
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That spot has been historically good for us and our friends on multiple providers and a variety of phones, both android and Apple. From the floating restroom south around the bend just past Escalante.
 
If you’re mainly looking for text, I think Verizon and T Mobile both have satellite texting now. This spring I was using my iPhone 15 on Verizon to text in GHB. There were no bars but the texting did work.

There are some downsides. You have to be deliberately texting - they didn’t seem to come in unless I was making it search for satellites. And it went through a ton of battery.

I still think that until Starlink is more integrated into the phone plans that a Garmin InReach is the better option
 
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4LOJO said:
Well we're in the same boat, old and kids don't like not hearing but last year my mom passed away wasn't expected we found out just a day late but everyone was trying to get a hold of us no service .So shortly after I got mini star link we throw it in the camper and boat don't worry about it any more never had a problem.
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We might just do that.. So you can take it with you in the boat, and bring it into the camper or a houseboat as well?? Sounds like a pretty good solution!
 
K&M said:
We might just do that.. So you can take it with you in the boat, and bring it into the camper or a houseboat as well?? Sounds like a pretty good solution!
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Yes Starlink Mini will keep you connected 100%…camper, boat, houseboat. In-motion or stationary, doesn’t matter. You can also pause and restart your subscription anytime without penalty. More discussion here:
Starlink Mini (3rd Gen) Power Source

I have run our Mini on 12v for up to 3 days straight (24 hrs a day) on a 100A LifePo battery.

If you want to wait a few years Starlink’s goal is to launch 1000’s more satellites to support cell service directly from space to your mobile phone.
 
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