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Which is the best US carrier?

  • AT&T

    Votes: 100 50.8%
  • Verizon

    Votes: 68 34.5%
  • T-Mobile

    Votes: 27 13.7%
  • Sprint

    Votes: 2 1.0%

  • Total voters
    197

generalsmart

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 11, 2014
115
0
Things have changed in the last few years, Verizon used to have the best coverage, but AT&T had faster speeds and you could use data and voice at the same time.

But, now, in early 2015, if you had to recommend a new iPhone buyer which of the four national carriers to go with, which would you choose, assuming you didn't know where exactly they lived.
 

paranoia

macrumors member
Jun 25, 2010
69
8
New England
I have used att for many years ,10years at least,always had great customer service,and great coverage,so I know most people disagree,but its always worked for me.
 

gabo864

macrumors 6502a
Sep 13, 2012
813
302
Verizon has pretty good coverage, Customer service is great and they've also lower their plans a little bit. I work at Best Buy Mobile and most people have Verizon (at least in my area) and they are pleased with their service as well.
 

z31fanatic

macrumors 6502a
Mar 7, 2015
867
325
Mukilteo, WA USA
Verizon has the best coverage. I wish I were still with them. I switched to AT&T when I got married because wife had a family plan with them.

As far as customer service, they all seem the same to me. I haven't had any problems with any of them.
 

minicard

macrumors regular
Oct 31, 2014
241
86
Oregon
It depends on your location. Here in Portland, ATT has better coverage for me. My personal phone is ATT and my work phone is Verizon. I usually get better signals on my ATT.
 

AppleTech22

macrumors 6502a
Jul 10, 2010
521
84
US
Sprint has made huge progress from when I got it back in the 4S days. Speed is now good, plus unlimited data truly is amazing.
 

heyyitssusan

macrumors 68040
Feb 9, 2014
3,847
9,393
I've had all of them. In my area, Sprint & T-Mobile are okay, and AT&T and VZW are the top two, but me personally I prefer Verizon.. I'm using it currently and I get better speeds and coverage.
 

boomhower

macrumors 68000
Oct 21, 2011
1,570
56
I'd find out where they live. The best depends on the coverage where you live. i had Verizon before and am now with AT&T. I've been very happy with both.
 

rugmankc

macrumors 68020
Sep 24, 2014
2,196
648
ATT--to date CSR's have been great--coverage and speeds also--:)

Verizon is too expensive--:eek:

TMO was worst for me in all areas--:(
 

scaredpoet

macrumors 604
Apr 6, 2007
6,627
342
This is an argument waiting to happen. :)

Realistically though, the "best" carrier for one person isn't the best carrier for the next person, or for everyone.

If you want blanket voice coverage everywhere, then Verizon's going to be the best for you.

If you want an LTE signal everywhere, even if it's not the fastest, AT&T is the carrier for you.

If you're price-conscious, your travel plans realistically don't take you into rural areas, and you want fast data speeds in populated areas as well as excellent voice quality, T-Mobile fits that description. Unlimited data is also a huge plus.

Sprint.... uhm... :confused: Yeah, I don't know if they're best at anything these days, to be honest. Hype, maybe? Even with their improvements, it's all been largely catchup. And their CDMA network continues to be a liability. At least Verizon can claim their legacy CDMA network covers everywhere for best voice coverage.
 

MattMJB0188

macrumors 68020
Dec 28, 2009
2,032
583
Verizon and AT&T will be the best carrier nationwide for signal, due to their 700/850mhz licenses. T-Mobile (coverage permitting) usually has the best data speeds due to their high capacity towers. Sprint is just pathetic in every single way. I don't know if anyone calls them a nationwide network anymore.

Rogers in Canada is very good, too, since they use the exact same frequencies as AT&T and have about 1/3 less customers.

I use AT&T and while their signal is excellent, LTE speeds crawl. I almost always shut LTE off on my iPhone 5.
 

panerista

macrumors G5
Oct 20, 2011
12,679
10,516
Austin, TX
Verizon and AT&T will be the best carrier nationwide for signal, due to their 700/850mhz licenses. T-Mobile (coverage permitting) usually has the best data speeds due to their high capacity towers. Sprint is just pathetic in every single way. I don't know if anyone calls them a nationwide network anymore.

Agreed on Sprint. People go to Sprint for the price, but everyone I know on it immediately regret the horrible data speeds.

Sprint and Verizon also use CDMA, which sucks.
 

MattMJB0188

macrumors 68020
Dec 28, 2009
2,032
583
Agreed on Sprint. People go to Sprint for the price, but everyone I know on it immediately regret the horrible data speeds.

Sprint and Verizon also use CDMA, which sucks.

Where I work, everyone has Sprint. They all have full signals on their phones (as the tower is about a quarter mile away). My AT&T phone reports 2 bars of HSPA+. Its funny how an older technology is pulling 5-6mbps down and my pings are lower when all of them are on Sprint Spark pulling 1-2mbps down lol.
 

Sketchr

macrumors 6502a
Jun 15, 2009
929
120
When it comes to the best, it's down to at&t and verizon. And it's very dependent on what area you're using the phone at, and the time. I live in the twin cities. At my office, verizon has the best signal and speeds. Only 6 miles away my home (IN my home) at&t has the best signal and speed. All around this metro area, verizon and at&t vary as to which is best.

While I have seen the fastest speed with verizon (up to 90ish mbps download) in a certain area, just a mile away the average is 7 mbps download. Whereas at&t seems to be an even 50ish mpbs in a wider area. Verizon seems more sporadic , while at&t is more even and stable. but both are very good compared to tmobile and sprint which are not very dependable.
 

imlynxy

macrumors 65816
Mar 8, 2012
1,409
611
I like Att. Cs is getting better now. great coverage on NE area.

Sprint very slow here. Verizon is more eensive in my case and has same coverage. T-mo coverage problems.
 

CEmajr

macrumors 601
Dec 18, 2012
4,448
1,228
Charlotte, NC
This is the third poll I have seen where AT&T comes out on top. I have used them for years and years but I thought that Verizon was a bigger player than AT&T.

They are but this is an iPhone site and the vast majority of iPhone users are still on AT&T from the days of iPhone exclusivity.
 

KdParker

macrumors 601
Oct 1, 2010
4,793
998
Everywhere
I think Verizon is, but I think the majority of us find AT&T to be the lesser of two evils.

Coverage is the big issue with AT&T. If you don't travel alot or stay within bigger cites, then AT&T would seem fine. But as soon as you venture off the main highway or drive long distances between major cities, you immediately see how Verizon is better in terms of coverage.

I am not talking about slower speeds, I am talking about no signal (AT&T) vs a 4g signal (Verizon).
 

nburwell

macrumors 603
May 6, 2008
5,436
2,352
DE
I've used both AT&T and Verizon. I'm currently with AT&T since I switched from Straight Talk three years ago. While I never really had major issues with Verizon, I got a better discount through my employer with AT&T. In the 3+ years I have been with them, I have not experienced any issues with the network or my (limited) interaction with the CSR's. I do like to travel frequently, and in the places that I have visited, I have not experienced any issues with the network (either data or voice). But then again, I haven't visited any rural areas either.
 
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