I had the original iPhone on AT&T and couldn't stand the phone service.. calls were always dropped, etc. So when the 4S came out, I switched to Sprint, and while I haven't been thrilled with their 3G speeds I still think I'll probably stay with them when I upgrade in a few months because of the unlimited data. I just don't want to be having to keep track and worry about going over. I drive around playing SiriusXM through my phone so I know that would be a problem if I was on any of the limited data plans.
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Carrier Sprint is pathetic
- Thread starter Squilly
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You have to look at the cons verse pros, I was under 2 contracts with Verizon but their customer service was so bad, I pad the ETF's on 2 phones to move my wife and son to AT&T with me. It was a hefty thing to do and may not be for you, but if I am paying any money for service and unable to use my device, you could argue your point with them to let you out of their contract, I would talk to them and see. I would not stay just because your under contract if your service is that bad?
Verizon's 3G does suck almost as bad as Sprint. But once you get an iPhone 5 you'll experience their LTE which is great and almost everywhere. You'll barely even see the 3G icon anymore.
Reminds me of my old post about my iphone 4s on sprint: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1288746/
15 year ex Sprint customer and employee here
now with Verizon
As soon as LTE is up and running well enough Sprint will probably get rid of their unlimited data too
Sprint follows the big two but can't right now because they are already bleeding customers and unlimited is the only thing keeping the ship from going completely underwater. For me my unlimited data was unusable so I said forget it and sent back 4 iPhone 4S and walked away from Sprint after 15 years - 3 years of subpar service
Lastly remember Sprint towers MAY NOT have a lot LTE traffic right now like the big two - many of my friends and on the forum I moderate with Sprint services don't have LTE devices because they are in wait and see mode.
Sprint shouldn't be hated on - if they work for you that is awesome- they have good pricing
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Sprint really is pathetic. My GF had sprint for a little over a year. We both had 4's, but I was on ATT's network. We used to move from place to place, in a fairly common and big city (Albany) and every once in a while NYC when we decided to make the trip down. ATT hands down absolutely killed sprint every time. It wasn't even close. It got to a point where she wasn't even receiving phone calls or text messages.
Some of you say that Sprint has great speeds, however, its common knowledge that both ATT and Verizon have better speeds AND coverage. Sprint might be suitable for your specific location, but I don't really understand why you would go with Sprint over the two other major carriers, who are both quicker and more reliable. The price difference from when I made the transfer is small. I understand the unlimited data thing, but when speeds are so unreliable and frustrating, I would rather be capped. Plus, nowadays, at least here in NY, most major cable and phone companies are providing wifi throughout towns and cities. PLUS SPRINT CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THE WORST!
Some of you say that Sprint has great speeds, however, its common knowledge that both ATT and Verizon have better speeds AND coverage. Sprint might be suitable for your specific location, but I don't really understand why you would go with Sprint over the two other major carriers, who are both quicker and more reliable. The price difference from when I made the transfer is small. I understand the unlimited data thing, but when speeds are so unreliable and frustrating, I would rather be capped. Plus, nowadays, at least here in NY, most major cable and phone companies are providing wifi throughout towns and cities. PLUS SPRINT CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THE WORST!
Had Sprint one day than returned to Verizon for the bad download speed and voice issues. Nice that one can test it out in one's area first. That is what all should do, and not have to post on these forums saying Sprint is lousy, but many keep it and have to deal with the lousy strength of their signal or downloads for the entire contract period. Just test it out for a few days, not happy, drop it..Simple 
I've dealt with every major carrier, and while I concede none are good, Sprint is by far the worst, and its not even close.
I did the same thing onli I cancelled my crappy Verizon account in January and my Crappy AT&T account in March and went straight to T-Mobile and got a Nexus 4. Never knew I could get 17-26Mbps downloads.
On AT&T all I could manage was 0.00 in the day and maybe 1.5Mbps at 3AM. It took me 10 minutes to download one song on AT&T through iTunes. On Verizon, I had no 3G at home and had enough after a year of that garbage.
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T-mobile kicks Sprint's ass in DFW data speed and coverage wise to me. I'm just waiting until my ETF fee is low enough so that I don't care about paying it but I'm definitely leaving Sprint.
How is T-Mobile the 4th major carrier in the US and Sprint 3rd?!?
Something i will never understand
Something i will never understand
I'm in New York City in the East Village and I'm getting up to 2.05 Mbps in the middle of a building. When I first got my 4S I cursed the sky because data was completely unusable. But from my standpoint Sprint's 3G speeds have improved dramatically in NYC in the last couple months.
It's all due to network vision improvements. Haters will always bash Sprint even though their experience was light years ago. Some have never experienced it and speak out of hearing it from other people.
I have high hopes for the company but the upgrades are killing me. With towers down for upgrades, that is making my phone unusable. Just want the upgrades to be done and over with.
Im getting LTE just about everywhere in brooklyn now. Im fine with sprint.
Average speed is 18mb/s down 3 mb/s up
Average speed is 18mb/s down 3 mb/s up
The way it looks right now, Sprint MIGHT have their initial LTE buildout completed by year end 2015. Maybe even their Network Vision joke will make the 3G network usable by that time as well.
Verizon pretty much crushes Sprint's network in every regard. People run over to Sprint trying to save a few bucks a year and end up sorely disappointed and/or frustrated with the poor service. The friends of mine who have Sprint have such poor data speeds that they often won't even update or download apps unless they're connected to Wifi, let alone try to watch a YouTube video. If we're out and about sometimes I turn on my hotspot just to give them usable data on their iPhones. Being on Sprint with an iPhone 5 is like buying a Ferrari and putting regular unleaded gas in it. What good is 500kbps of unlimited data to anyone?
Topic title is spot on. Absolutely pathetic.
Verizon pretty much crushes Sprint's network in every regard. People run over to Sprint trying to save a few bucks a year and end up sorely disappointed and/or frustrated with the poor service. The friends of mine who have Sprint have such poor data speeds that they often won't even update or download apps unless they're connected to Wifi, let alone try to watch a YouTube video. If we're out and about sometimes I turn on my hotspot just to give them usable data on their iPhones. Being on Sprint with an iPhone 5 is like buying a Ferrari and putting regular unleaded gas in it. What good is 500kbps of unlimited data to anyone?
Topic title is spot on. Absolutely pathetic.
Suckers like you are the reason Sprint has been able to to stay in business and operate the way the do. Their lousy 3G coverage has always been blamed on their network vision improvements...THEY'VE BEEN UPGRADING THEIR 3G SERVICE FOR 3+ YEARS!!!!!! Wake up man and realize the Sprint is a joke! By the Time Sprint gets done launchint their LTE service the other 3 gig carriers will be working on the next gen of LTE...
Omg, relax. First of all, Network Vision largely began in 2012, so how does that amount to 3+ years of broken promises? Sprint's 3G network was pretty much neglected in hopes that WiMAX would deliver, but it didn't, and now they're rebuilding their network from the ground up.
Also, Sprint and T-Mobile are in perfect position to upgrade to LTE-Advanced, their hardware supports it, unlike Verizon and AT&T.
I guess, that whoever has Sprint can try this: http://www.iclarified.com/30785/hacked-sprint-carrier-update-could-improve-your-network-speeds
It's from the guys who made the T-Mobile, Verizon & AT&T hacks.
It's from the guys who made the T-Mobile, Verizon & AT&T hacks.
I'm not the one having a meltdown over Sprint and its 3G performance, so you may want to ask yourself that question.