Anyone switched from AT&T to Verizon for the 5? Are you happy?

DeltaHF said:

I've been with AT&T since I first bought the original iPhone, and I've owned every model since. Now, though, I'm thinking about making the switch over to Verizon for the 5. Where I live, I would be in VZW LTE coverage area about half of the time (3G the rest), and on AT&T I would nearly always be on HSPA+.

Click to expand...

I'll start this off by saying I don't have an iPhone 5 on Verizon, but I do have a Verizon LTE iPad, so this is all "FWIW".

I've been with AT&T since the original iPhone. Switched to Verizon last year with the iPhone 4. Got the Verizon LTE iPad as soon as it came out, earlier this year.

Having gone from an AT&T iPhone 3Gs (which was only HSPA, not HSPA+) and switching to my Verizon iPhone 4s (which is just 3G), I hated the data experience. Their 3G network has lower ping times, so graphicless websites pop up a little bit faster, but their 3G speeds are so freaking slow (it's usual to only see 512kbps on a speedtest where I live, anything 1mbps or faster is a rare fluke) that everything else I did on the phone took forever. Apps would often take 2-3 minutes to download (which doesn't sound bad, unless you're used to the 10-30 seconds it takes on HSPA, or even faster on HSPA+).

On my iPad, the LTE speeds are extremely inconsistent. When you're near a tower were Verizon implemented LTE, they can be 20mbps+ down, which is awesome. However, in this market (which is the largest in VA), they haven't put LTE on all of their towers, so there's a lot of areas between LTE towers were the signal drops below 3 bars, and the speeds drop way below AT&T HSPA here.

Verizon's LTE is inconsistent enough in my market, and the speeds of their 3G network are so incredibly slow compared to AT&T HSPA, I paid the ETF and went back to AT&T for the iPhone 5. They don't even have LTE here and for me, but their HSPA+ is more of a consistently fast network for me here.

I'm in the same scenario as you but I did port over to VZW. I get LTE speeds at home which is great but right down the block it's only 3G and the speeds are depressing.

Out of 5 or 6 speedtests that I ran yesterday in 3G, I was averaging 0.5Mbps down and .3Mbps up -- really bad.

I'm debating porting the number back to AT&T. I called them yesterday and I can switch back and keep my unlimited data

Not happy at all with the switch. Previously switched to Verizon for the 4S. Hated the 3G speeds. Verizon's website showed LTE available in my area and confirmed it with the Verizon rep before I bought the 5 (for full price). Got home and have not once connected to the LTE network and experiencing terrible 3G speeds. I love the phone, but will have to jump back to AT&T to really use it. At least I know I get HSPA+ speeds on AT&T if LTE isn't available.

I'm from Los Angeles, and I'm pretty happy so far with Verizon. The ONLY thing I miss is surely the talk and surf.

aristobrat said:

I'll start this off by saying I don't have an iPhone 5 on Verizon, but I do have a Verizon LTE iPad, so this is all "FWIW".

I've been with AT&T since the original iPhone. Switched to Verizon last year with the iPhone 4. Got the Verizon LTE iPad as soon as it came out, earlier this year.

Having gone from an AT&T iPhone 3Gs (which was only HSPA, not HSPA+) and switching to my Verizon iPhone 4s (which is just 3G), I hated the data experience. Their 3G network has lower ping times, so graphicless websites pop up a little bit faster, but their 3G speeds are so freaking slow (it's usual to only see 512kbps on a speedtest where I live, anything 1mbps or faster is a rare fluke) that everything else I did on the phone took forever. Apps would often take 2-3 minutes to download (which doesn't sound bad, unless you're used to the 10-30 seconds it takes on HSPA, or even faster on HSPA+).

On my iPad, the LTE speeds are extremely inconsistent. When you're near a tower were Verizon implemented LTE, they can be 20mbps+ down, which is awesome. However, in this market (which is the largest in VA), they haven't put LTE on all of their towers, so there's a lot of areas between LTE towers were the signal drops below 3 bars, and the speeds drop way below AT&T HSPA here.

Verizon's LTE is inconsistent enough in my market, and the speeds of their 3G network are so incredibly slow compared to AT&T HSPA, I paid the ETF and went back to AT&T for the iPhone 5. They don't even have LTE here and for me, but their HSPA+ is more of a consistently fast network for me here.

Click to expand...

It's nice when not in an LTE zone that I still can get HSPA, '4G'.

I switched and have been very happy so far. It really depends on the coverage in your area and whether you have more than one device. If you only have one device then switching to Verizon is going to cost you a lot more than staying on AT&T.

I made the switch. I've been with AT&T since the iPhone 3G. My reception has been mediocre at best. I've been wanting to get rid of my land line at home but can't rely on AT&T not to drop calls on a regular basis. My 4S shows AT&T "4G" but it isn't any faster than the 3G ever was. They also don't offer LTE in my area and haven't announced any plans to add it anywhere in the near future.

I decided to switch to Verizon and after only two days, I'm far happier. My phone reception is far better. I get a better signal and I have LTE, which has been up to 3 times faster than my home broadband. When preorders went up, the Verizon store was open while Apple was still down. The preorder/sign up process was quick, smooth and flawless. I received my phone and had it activated with my ported number within 10 minutes of turning it on. The entire transition has been wonderful, I should have done this sooner.

I switched with the iPhone 5 and service has been excellent so far. I've only been out of LTE coverage once so far (Omaha, NE) and my LTE speeds have been around 20mbs down and 10 mbs up. No dropped calls and I always have more than 3 bars.

I haven't been out of the city yet, so that will be much more of a test, but so far so good.

if you have to give up unlimited data then DO NOT switch. Hspa+ on att is pretty fast and vzw's shared data plans are a complete ripoff. What's the point of LTE if you use up the data in one day?

For the nth time, I'll tell my story as I have the same sort of dilemma now. Maybe posters here can understand my story better. And sorry, I cannot actually contribute yet to this thread but it is one of those I'll keep an eye on.

With that out of the way, am on grandfathered unlimited data on AT&T but the area I live is not in AT&T LTE coverage and it is in Verizon LTE coverage. I am eligible for a full upgrade on November and my contract will expire June 2013 on AT&T.

I do not want to give up my unlimited data and at the same time I do not want a new 2 year contract with AT&T if they let them subsidized iP5 (which is not totally a global phone).

I travel a lot overseas, so for my style, purchasing outright thru my BB rewards account the unlock, more global phone iP5 Verizon without a contract is the way to go. I can still continue to use the unlimited data AT&T 3G and 3.5G and at the same time just test for a month the power of LTE via Verizon.

This thread is useful since if I do this, am stuck with an iP5 Verizon phone (but will not be under 2 year contract - could try other carriers later) that will never taste the power of AT& LTE.

Is the expensive shared data but more widely available Verizon LTE that I could potentially use worldwide the way to go for me? That is giving up my unlimited AT&T data plan (which I could use only within the USA even if I buy the AT&T iP5) once my contract expires ...

There is no right or wrong answer to this question as it's entirely location based. I have had AT&T for the Iphone 4 and 4s for the past 2.5 yrs. Data speeds with 3G/HSPA+ have been pretty good for their respective technologies. I lived in Nassau, worked in NYC. Call quality was so so, too many dropped calls with AT&T in NYC, but it did improve from the earlier AT&T Iphone 1 days. I recently moved to Suffolk, and AT&T was useless out here. Never have reception for voice or data. It was a no brainer for me to switch to Verizon as their LTE coverage has extended into Suffolk County NY already, while AT&T has barely touched down in Nassau County. While Verizon's 3G is usually slower, this is a non issue in an LTE zone. AT&T won't have LTE in Suffolk to probably late 2013 and between that and poor reception in my new town, it was a no brainer for me. Very happy with Verizon so far.

einmusiker said:

if you have to give up unlimited data then DO NOT switch. Hspa+ on att is pretty fast and vzw's shared data plans are a complete ripoff. What's the point of LTE if you use up the data in one day?

Click to expand...

AT&T HSPA+ for me maxed out at around 1.5 Mbps down, not exactly what I'd call "pretty fast".

Buckeyestar said:

AT&T HSPA+ for me maxed out at around 1.5 Mbps down, not exactly what I'd call "pretty fast".

Click to expand...

Hmm when I had it I consistently got 10mps down and 1.5 up

einmusiker said:

Hmm when I had it I consistently got 10mps down and 1.5 up

Click to expand...

In NYC, I would get 2-3 MB down at most. It was a joke, I considered it 3G. I've heard it's better in other areas.

DeltaHF said:

Where I live, I would be in VZW LTE coverage area about half of the time (3G the rest), and on AT&T I would nearly always be on HSPA+.

Click to expand...

I think the OP being on Verizon's 3G network half of them time is a huge factor here.

I think that if most people who just went from AT&T to Verizon switched off LTE on their iPhones for a full day (so they're only using Verizon's 3G network) and then reported back, there'd be some different opinions about the switch!

I switched.

I've been with AT&T/cingular for about 12 years. I've bought each iPhone on launch day as well. With the 5, I finally decided that I couldn't take it anymore

On AT&T, I would have 3-4 "call failed" per day (when in 4-5 bar coverage). I would drop an average of 3 calls per day. Yes, the theoretical data is faster, but this was never my experience. Click on a web link, and 30% of the time it can take "minutes" for the page to load and many times it just wouldn't load at all...even in my HSPDA+ home. Even driving home from work each day, there's a spot on a major freeway in the middle of town that I know when I pass it, I have a 75% chance of dropping my call.

I've long wanted to switch to Verizon. Where I work, there are MANY areas where the only people that can get reception are Verizon customers...and I don't mean I get a bar or two and they have 5...I mean my phone reads "No Service" and the Verizon phone has 3 bars.

It's actually been my experience that the Verizon 3G network (based on using other people's phones to compare) is consistently faster than AT&T, even on HSPDA+ because Verizon's network is just inherently more reliable.

For example, we had some friends over to the house last weekend...with his Verizon iPhone 4 and my AT&T iPhone 4S, we did a quick comparison. He had 2-3 bars and I had 3-4 bars (in HSPDA+ coverage). We both cleared our cache and cookies then simultaneously loaded up engadget.com. His took a few seconds, mine took 40+ seconds. We repeated this test several times throughout the day. The best my phone ever did was load the page at the same speed, but on average it was taking 7-8x longer to load...and this is when I always had more bars!

The point is that on paper, AT&T will always win the battle...but I've found that it's kinda like driving a Ferrari without a steering wheel...at times it can be very fast, but most of the time you're going to crash and burn as the network is just too unreliable.

I've ported on Friday to Verizon and I've been happy since. I have yet to drop a call or see my old friend, "Call Failed".

mbhforum said:

In NYC, I would get 2-3 MB down at most. It was a joke, I considered it 3G. I've heard it's better in other areas.

Click to expand...

I know what you mean about that HSPA+ speed, but after getting 512kbps on average for the last year on Verizon's 3G network, 2-3mbps down sounds pretty awesome.

aristobrat said:

I know what you mean about that HSPA+ speed, but after getting 512kbps on average for the last year on Verizon's 3G network, 2-3mbps down sounds pretty awesome.

Click to expand...

I debated leaving AT&T for Verizon back when the 4s came out, but at the time, AT&T 3G speeds were superior to Verizon's 3G. However, AT&T was slow to roll out LTE and Verizon has now surpassed them in this area as far as coverage. Each carrier has their pro's and cons, from pricing, to talking while surfing, coverage and you have to decide what works best for you.

I switched, and while I'm not entirely satisfied, I'm fairly certain I will stay. I had a grandfathered unlimited plan with AT&T, but I wanted to be able to tether and use more than 5GB data in so doing. Another huge selling point for me is the fact that you could get a Verizon phone unlocked much faster for travel to Europe, an that the phone supported at least some of the European LTE bands. Verizon also has better reception in the subway where I live (DC), and I travel a lot for work, so wanted more LTE availability.

With all that, I have been disappointed in the LTE speeds with Verizon. I knew AT&T LTE was faster around here, but I have only been getting 4-7 Mbps download (and strangely, slightly faster upload) speeds. I probably would be fine with this if I stopped reading about all these crazy fast AT&T speeds.

i made the switch with the 5... so far so good. It really depends on the area you live in and the coverage. AT&T doesn't have LTE here (philly suburbs), HSPA+ yes but i don't get the speeds on that that other people claim to get, i averaged 2-4mbps. verizon LTE coverage here is very consistent. I get about 10-20 down usually, occasionally will get 5 down on a speedtest which is still better than i was getting on at&t hspa+. verizon 3g is really slow though so if LTE isn't great in your area i might stay with at&t

As others have said, it's all about location. Where I am, AT&T drops calls constantly and their signal cannot penetrate the building in which I work. Verizon, on the other hand, has been rock solid though slower. I'll take slower and working over faster but broken every time.

My wife is on AT&T, by the way, so I can test VZW and AT&T side-by-side.

However, AT&T just lit up LTE in some parts of town, so maybe things will improve. But for now, I'll stick to Verizon.

spdp said:

I switched, and while I'm not entirely satisfied, I'm fairly certain I will stay. I had a grandfathered unlimited plan with AT&T, but I wanted to be able to tether and use more than 5GB data in so doing. Another huge selling point for me is the fact that you could get a Verizon phone unlocked much faster for travel to Europe, an that the phone supported at least some of the European LTE bands. Verizon also has better reception in the subway where I live (DC), and I travel a lot for work, so wanted more LTE availability.

With all that, I have been disappointed in the LTE speeds with Verizon. I knew AT&T LTE was faster around here, but I have only been getting 4-7 Mbps download (and strangely, slightly faster upload) speeds. I probably would be fine with this if I stopped reading about all these crazy fast AT&T speeds.

Click to expand...

This is what am talking about! Am really torn.

Please read my previous post.

i hate phones said:

i made the switch with the 5... so far so good. It really depends on the area you live in and the coverage. AT&T doesn't have LTE here (philly suburbs), HSPA+ yes but i don't get the speeds on that that other people claim to get, i averaged 2-4mbps. verizon LTE coverage here is very consistent. I get about 10-20 down usually, occasionally will get 5 down on a speedtest which is still better than i was getting on at&t hspa+. verizon 3g is really slow though so if LTE isn't great in your area i might stay with at&t

Click to expand...

What's wrong with 2-4 down? That's plenty of speed. Even if AT&T never got LTE in my area I would have stayed.

I live in Philly and AT&T is deploying LTE in the burbs.

Southeast Florida and very happy with my switch to Verizon.