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

[rtztgue]

ATTENTION EVERYONE!!!

Will you please post your specific locations. It will help others know what the service of AT&T vs Verizon is like. Nothing major.. perhaps just a tag line at the end of the post. eg, Seattle, WA


It does us very little good to post things like "in my area, AT&T is better" if we do not know your area

Thanks

 

[djstile]

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+.

Has anyone else out there made the change, and are you happy with your decision?

I went on my parents shared data plan as my Dad has a SGSIII and my bill went down about $10 so I'd rather just give them the cash and save the money. In addition, I'm getting 24.39mbps d/l and 12.78mbps u/l at my house on Verizon LTE when on my 4s with AT&T I was getting 4 or so d/l and 2-3 u/l.

 

[2SwiFt29]

I think this all depends on the coverage area. I was actually a Verizon customer back in 2004 with the Motorola Q. Ever I made the switch from T-Mobile to Verizon, it went downhill as I kept getting no reception or dropped calls. Verizon was really bad for me. Then I made the switch to AT&T for the iPhone 3G and been an AT&T customer since. Sure they aren't perfect, but much better in my area for AT&T. I really debated hard about switching to Verizon or Sprint for the iPhone 5 but decided to stick with AT&T. Can't complain now since it finally goes to 4G / LTE.

 

[nlkccom]

My location: Los Angeles, CA.

Regardless of what comments you'll get in this thread, positive or negative, it all depends on your location and coverage.

Personally, I had the iPhone 4 with AT&T. I got no coverage at home, had to use Microcell. I get 2-3 bars at work on a good day, usually 1-2 bars. Many places I go to has weak AT&T coverage. It wasn't long before I decided to jump ship to Verizon once my contract is over.

I got the new iPad with Verizon, so I already have an idea what kind of coverage I'll get with Verizon. Much better than AT&T overall.

Now, I have the iPhone 5 on Verizon. I get near full signal at home. 30 down and about 15 up at home on LTE. Over the weekend, I was able to get strong signal at places where I know coverage from AT&T is weak. Can't wait to test it out at work tomorrow.

 

[ProMod]

I can also attest to poor building penetration with AT&T in Charlotte, NC. I've had them for about 11 years and it has always been like that. I switched to Verizon so we'll see if it's any better.

The biggest difference I'm noticing so far is in voice quality. The voice quality on Verizon seems much more compressed or "robotic", much less full and natural sounding than what I'm used to with AT&T. I can't fully determine if this is Verizon or if it's something with the iPhone 5 or my particular phone.

 

[lsbuffs]

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.

This +1 in all respects. In Highlands Ranch, CO

 

[maflynn]

I switched and I'm happy. For me verizon offers better coverage (in 3G and LTE) where I live, but more so where I travel too. The family likes to head up to New Hampshire and the last time we went there, I failed to get any signal from ATT. That was the last straw for us.

 

[GooMan]

I'm switching all 4 of our iPhones to Verizon from AT&T as soon as everything dies down and I can actually just stroll into a store and buy 4.

 

[bluespark]

Can I ask a dumb question? On Verizon, if you're using the Internet and someone tries to call, what happens? Does it go straight to voicemail, or does it ring and allow you to answer?

Also, for those on this thread who are happy with the switch, have you experienced the initial LTE lag being discussed in some of the other threads?

Thanks.

 

[patrickbarnes]

Switching to Verizon has been a mixed bag in SF.

On one block I get 42/12. The next block over, LTE drops down to "3G" (in quotes because calling CDMA even 3G is being generous) and you'd be lucky get a working data connection 50% of the time (still in down town SF). If it works, it's around 2/0.06 (yes, 60 kbits/s .

Average speeds are around 20/7.

AT&T averaged lower speeds on a 4S on "4G", but it worked at those lower speeds in more places.

I'm hoping this is just an interim problem with Verizon and they start covering more areas with LTE. But it is truly depressing when it drops down to EVDO.

Anyway, I needed a world phone and had no choice this time around.

 

[oghowie]

The biggest difference I'm noticing so far is in voice quality. The voice quality on Verizon seems much more compressed or "robotic", much less full and natural sounding than what I'm used to with AT&T. I can't fully determine if this is Verizon or if it's something with the iPhone 5 or my particular phone.

I noticed this today, but haven't taken enough calls to see if it was just the location I was at.

In general I get better reception, but speeds aren't mindblowing and sometimes they are only as fast as my wifes iPhone with "4G".

 

[Bswartz95]

Can I ask a dumb question? On Verizon, if you're using the Internet and someone tries to call, what happens? Does it go straight to voicemail, or does it ring and allow you to answer?

Also, for those on this thread who are happy with the switch, have you experienced the initial LTE lag being discussed in some of the other threads?

Thanks.

The phone rings and the call comes through. Same with texts.

I think the LTE lag is only when you power on the phone. That's the only lag I have found with my Verizon iPhone 5. I don't turn my phone off very often, so really it's a non-issue for me. It doesn't happen when you wake the phone up from standby.

 

[phinsup]

Can I ask a dumb question? On Verizon, if you're using the Internet and someone tries to call, what happens? Does it go straight to voicemail, or does it ring and allow you to answer?

Also, for those on this thread who are happy with the switch, have you experienced the initial LTE lag being discussed in some of the other threads?

Thanks.

yes it rings, you just don't have access to data while you are talking.

I had the LTE lag here, it appears to be fixed today as it is now instant and very fast.

 

[cschmelz]

I'm in Yakima, WA (central Washington state) and have been with AT*T for years, most recently with a 4S. My iPhone 5 is Verizon.

We have NO LTE though I hear reports of Q1 2013 for Verizon. I've driven a lot of areas with both phones running "Root Analytic's" cellular testing/mapping software including a river canyon where I fish a lot.

ATT was faster where I had 4 bars plus and I can see speeds w/ HSPA+ of up to 8mb/s HOWEVER there are a lot of moderate signal areas and even some I90 (Yakima to Seatle) areas where I get EDGE only and, in most cases, EDGE gives me a 'failed' for DL and UL speeds. I've found huge inconsistency in ATT's data network here, many failures to connect and lots of dropped calls. When it does work it is fast, but consistency wins out in my book.

Verizon has better signal in many areas, and almost every area has 3G, not 1x/EDGE. Typical speeds are much slower at 0.75-1.2mb but they are consistent, including on the highway where a 15 mile stretch w/ ATT would result in no data and dropped calls.

So I'm disappointed in the speeds, but I think it is worth it for consistency/reliability of calls and data. It should continue to improve as LTE rolls out through the fall and winter to more areas.

THe other kicker is I travel monthly to Tucson, Arizona and get AWFUL AT&T data service there. Verizon is fully LTE, so I'm excited about that.

I will continue to keep my iPad 3 on AT&T (unlimited) and that gives me the best of both worlds when traveling.

 

[Rgladman]

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.

My story is very much like yours, left ATT about 5 months ago to get the 4s and a Verizon LTE iPad. Definitely the wrong move, within 2 months I had sold the iPad and purchased the ATT LTE model.

As soon as the iPhone 5 was ready to be ordered I ordered from ATT and was glad to pay the ETF to go back.

The LTE speeds on the Verizon iPad were decent when I could find it but was very inconsistent, I live in an area that also has ATT LTE and it. Is better in the areas I spend most of my time.

The reality of these types of discussionsosthat you have determine what type of service you will have in your area.

 

[reputationZed]

I'm happy so far, went from not reliably making a call from my home to getting at least 2 bars. LTE is pretty spotty but no more so than ATT's LTE coverage inmy area. I actually just called and cancelled my ATT service. The CSR kept the 'what to we do to keep you as a customer’ to a minimum.

 

[rtztgue]

Ill post for my area. Seattle-Tacoma. I had the ip4 but At&T lost a tower near my office and I had to switch. So I got the Droid bionic 4g because I needed to be on the phone and access to data. The verizon ip4 could not do that.... Anyway... verizon has fewer dropped calls but I would rather have the dropped calls than the slower speed and the hiccups that occur with the 4g to 3g switcovers... I can put my phone on 3g only in the settings, but that defeats the purpose of my getting the 4g bionic...

I have also chatted with other verizon 4g (lte) in this area... same story.. service is spotty and the crossover from one service to another causes lags in the phone and data to be sporadic.

It would be nice to know how the at&t 4g is in this area. I would probably switch back, but that cell tower is still down, so no service here.

 

[87am]

I'm back on Verizon after spending the last two years with AT&T. The reliability I felt I was missing is very real. I had decent service with AT&T, but there were just so many times where calls would unexpectedly you drop that I became used to. Being back on Verizon has been refreshing, the only time my calls get disconnected is when the other person I'm talking to is using AT&T.

 

[Smileyboy]

I've been with AT&T since the iPhone was released in 07. It worked ok on Denver, when I would travel... Not so much. I stayed with them since they were the only company to carry the iPhone... Then it was unlimited data.. Then they started playing games.....like throttling my unlimited data and the FaceTime thing... I moved to New York 4 months ago and it just plain didn't work and I left. I'm on Verizon and I see this everywhere I go....

Omg!!! It works.

 

[spdp]

I'm starting to really waffle now about the switch. I'm in DC, and today was my first day downtown with the phone. I got good, but not blazing, speeds while standing on the sidewalk (22mbps), but the second I went inside a building, it plummeted. I only had 1-2 bars in my office, while a co-worker with an AT&T version had five bars. I went into a couple of other buildings in the downtown area today and couldn't connect to LTE at all. Given that I spend most of my day indoors and not on the sidewalk, this is a major issue.

The only reasons now that I would stay with Verizon is the wider (supposedly) network nationwide, as I travel a lot, the fact that it is unlocked NOW for international travel, and the general inconvenience of returning phones and dealing with porting back to AT&T. The first one is the only one that is really legitimate, but given how poor service has been in an area where Verizon is considered "strong," I don't know how much to trust its coverage anywhere else. I still have 11 days to decide...

 

[thomamon]

I switched from Verizon to ATT to get the iPhone 3G when it came out. I hated every minute of it and hated ATT.

My wife got the 4 for Verizon when it came out and I had been jealous ever since.

Made the switch for the 5 and there is no looking back!!!

 

[patrickbarnes]

I'm starting to really waffle now about the switch. I'm in DC, and today was my first day downtown with the phone. I got good, but not blazing, speeds while standing on the sidewalk (22mbps), but the second I went inside a building, it plummeted. I only had 1-2 bars in my office, while a co-worker with an AT&T version had five bars. I went into a couple of other buildings in the downtown area today and couldn't connect to LTE at all. Given that I spend most of my day indoors and not on the sidewalk, this is a major issue.

The only reasons now that I would stay with Verizon is the wider (supposedly) network nationwide, as I travel a lot, the fact that it is unlocked NOW for international travel, and the general inconvenience of returning phones and dealing with porting back to AT&T. The first one is the only one that is really legitimate, but given how poor service has been in an area where Verizon is considered "strong," I don't know how much to trust its coverage anywhere else. I still have 11 days to decide...

I'm in the same boat as you. Definitely feeling some buyers remorse with Verizon. I switched for the possibilities (unlocked, worldwide LTE, VoLTE support next year [hopefully], more spectrum to play with so congestion is less likely) but I don't know now.

Maybe Verizon is better in non-urban/downtown areas?

 

[Stangs55]

I can also attest to poor building penetration with AT&T in Charlotte, NC. I've had them for about 11 years and it has always been like that. I switched to Verizon so we'll see if it's any better.

The biggest difference I'm noticing so far is in voice quality. The voice quality on Verizon seems much more compressed or "robotic", much less full and natural sounding than what I'm used to with AT&T. I can't fully determine if this is Verizon or if it's something with the iPhone 5 or my particular phone.

I noticed this today, but haven't taken enough calls to see if it was just the location I was at.

In general I get better reception, but speeds aren't mindblowing and sometimes they are only as fast as my wifes iPhone with "4G".

I've noticed this as well after the switch...I wouldn't exactly interpret it as robotic, but it doesn't seem as clear or natural. The AT&T voice was very clear (when it wasn't dropping my call). I've also had some crackling on my line multiple times today either at random times during a call or when I've tried to call someone--on two separate times, my wife tried to call and all she heard was static noise after hitting the Call button. We never had that with AT&T...it's almost like Verizon is analogue while AT&T was digital (all-or-nothing). Other than that, coverage has been fantastic as I'm getting bars in places I've never had before.

Any else? Thoughts?

 

[iRooney]

I've done the exact opposite of this thread. I was originally with AT&T when I had the original iPhone, then the 3G, then 3GS. I switched to Verizon to get a Droid and then went with the iPhone 4 from there. I just recently killed my Verizon contract and switched back to AT&T for the 5. Couldn't be happier. I'm getting service in places Verizon couldn't touch.

 

[damant]

a + move to Verizon for me too.
I'm tired of att spuratic data and drop calls in various places ( california, las vegas, utah..areas).
can't stand it after 3 yrs with att !
their speed is ok at best ( 3-4megs down and 1 up)... but so inconsistent everywhere.

I don't have too much experience with att lte but my friend using galaxy s3 on att and he is not getting consistency numbers neither.

so far, iphone 5 on Verizon is great for me .