Two months ago I purchase a mobile broadband device after consulting with their sales people to determine what would best serve my needs. I was directed to a ZTE hot spot with an initial $25/month pass plan, with the understanding that I could upgrade that later to a standard monthly plan if I decided the T-Mobile service would work for me.
Now, here is were the (unintentional) lies exist. I say "unintentional" because I do believe they weren't misleading me, they were/are just woefully ignorant of their products and services.
First, when the device switches to "E" instead of 4G there is no data service, not slow or bad - NONE! One of their tech support people confirmed this when I contacted them to find out why I was not able to navigate the web, even though I was connected. This is further frustrated by the fact that if the device switches from 4G to E due to poor signal (weather conditions), it does not switch back when conditions improve - I have to turn the device off then back on again to establish a 4G connection.
Second, it seems I cannot just switch from the $25 pass plan to a $20/month plan, as I was told. And, to make matters worse, there are conflicting reasons why. When I contacted T-M to make the switch I was told that I would have to go to a local store and obtain a new SIM card, that pass cards are not compatible with the monthly plans. Went to the store, they didn't want to just give me the card, they wanted to perform the entire switch, although they say they do not have access to the $20/month plan.
So, I went back to talking to the phone people. After 4 transfers to different departments (apparently no one has ever switched from a pass plan to a monthly plan before) I reached the Activations department. According to them I need to purchase a new hotspot device because the one I have doesn't work with the monthly plans, a simple SIM change won't work. Someone is lying - either the initial sales person, or the activation group.
Third lie. I decided to just pay the $0.20/MB until I could get a solid confirmation of what I needed to do - I don't want to buy another hotspot device since I was told this would work. Well, it seems that was another lie. When I turn my device on it connects to 4G, but within a matter of a minute it switches to "E" which, as stated above, does not provide any internet capabilities. So, I now have an expensive paperweight until I can get this straightened out.
Lies, dern lies, and T-Mobile.