Experience with T-Mobile vs. ATT during (e.g.) NJT delays?

Seriously considering switching to T-Moble from ATT for their unlimited plan (w/ no fees/taxes, without international surcharge, etc).  I wonder how their performance compares under the stress of heavy cell use.  I suspect there' not much of a difference... 

I believe my current ATT unlimited data plan, and the one I'm considering thru T-Mobile, have varying  data speeds if there is network congestion (according to the fine print/reviews I've read).  For me, I think this recently resulted in not being able to use any data--including not getting the NJT app to work, or being able to send texts--when trains were heavily delayed at Penn.  I had to purchase a paper ticket. Phone worked fine as soon as we were out of the tunnel in NJ... Anyone know if  this was a very local ATT/Penn Station problem. And/or, if you have the T-Mobile plan, have you had similar ridiculous slow-downs?

TIA

When Penn is a mess (pretty much all of the time these days), there are too many people trying to access data and the systems can't manage it.  Doesn't matter which network you're on.  Once you get out of the tunnel, you're only competing with the people on your train.

Pro Tip: If you have had the app open recently enough you can sometimes force the NJ Transit app to display a ticket by going into airplane mode.

Also flipping to airplane mode and back sometimes can kick start you getting data through temporarily.

The problem seems to be all carriers, it's not a bad signal, but there's just not enough bandwidth for everyone, and it's bad enough with a normal commute and even worse when there are problems as there are more people, and they're bored and frustrated so they're going to be browsing and complaining online.

I've personally tested devices from AT&T, Verizon (which I have) and Sprint and haven't noticed any difference. The only thing that makes a difference is travelling at times when there are less people, late at night or mornings like this morning where everyone else in the world seems to be on vacation.

@Steve is right. When an area is more crowded than expected, the indicator on your phone might show a strong signal, but you can't get any data through. This happened to me at a Bernie Sanders rally. They can only build so much capacity, and building enough to handle the toughest days is not good economic sense.

Cool tips, @qrysdonnell! I guess you should buy your ticket before getting to Penn Station. Then display it and take a picture of it (with screenshot) before going to the congested area. The conductor won't know the difference between the app and a display of a screenshot.

Actually, they can tell the difference.  A "live" ticket flashes whereas an image wouldn't.  

TMobile doesn't work in the tunnel whereas Verizon does. You won't get good reception unless you're at the 8th Ave. end of Penn and even then it's iffy. That said, I like and have TMobile and it works just fine. You are confusing signal strength with data and the two are not related in this case. If you don't need reception in the tunnel then TMobile is just fine. I would switch to paper tickets anyway. Sometimes they don't collect them. Unless you are doing monthlies. Technically you are to activate before you get on train but that's ridiculous as is much with NJ Transit.

They will spot a screenshot any won't accept it. If you're tricky you could conceivably create and animated GIF with the bar at the bottom flashing on and off (I created one once as a proof of concept, but I'm pretty sure I didn't try to show it to the guy*). I don't know how often the colors in the bar changes, but I suspect it's not in a rider's best interest to try and do anything suspicious. I'd assume that while they won't necessarily know what the bars should be by heart they're probably trained to see if anyone's is substantially different than anyone else's.

*I have a monthly pass so I'm not trying to steal service. Just a hacker at heart!

If for some reason the app is being slow, they'll usually come back and check later. I've never had to pay for a ticket because of the app. I do usually try and make sure I get it up when I sit down on the train, but sometimes I forget.

Another tip, newer phones are faster switching back to the app. I switched from an iPhone 5S to an iPhone 6S+ a while ago and the app switching was notably faster. Probably the only actual performance change that I noticed in the phone upgrade.

Tom_Reingold said:

@Steve is right. When an area is more crowded than expected, the indicator on your phone might show a strong signal, but you can't get any data through. This happened to me at a Bernie Sanders rally. They can only build so much capacity, and building enough to handle the toughest days is not good economic sense.

Cool tips, @qrysdonnell! I guess you should buy your ticket before getting to Penn Station. Then display it and take a picture of it (with screenshot) before going to the congested area. The conductor won't know the difference between the app and a display of a screenshot.

Steve said:

When Penn is a mess (pretty much all of the time these days), there are too many people trying to access data and the systems can't manage it.  Doesn't matter which network you're on.  Once you get out of the tunnel, you're only competing with the people on your train.

I thought this might be the case.  Thanks 

Liking the tips!

You're welcome.

@wendy, yeah I'm always at 8th Ave side.  Used to be very little reception for ATT down below, but the on track reception for ATT has improved slightly over the past year. Def. not the tunnel, still.