I had unlimited with AT&T, but AT&T only has edge in my area, so it is terrible (moved from an area that has HSPA+). Verizon has 3G and has announced LTE coming within a few months. No plans from AT&T for HSPA+, so hence my choice to switch. Edge was just painful, so I would prefer to pay 1/3 more for decent data speeds.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Anyone switched from AT&T to Verizon for the 5? Are you happy?
- Thread starter DeltaHF
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I had unlimited with AT&T, but AT&T only has edge in my area, so it is terrible (moved from an area that has HSPA+). Verizon has 3G and has announced LTE coming within a few months. No plans from AT&T for HSPA+, so hence my choice to switch. Edge was just painful, so I would prefer to pay 1/3 more for decent data speeds.
Until Verizon has LTE in all of your area it makes no sense to switch to them from AT&T.
AT&T made the smarter move to first update its 3G/4G/HSPA+ network everywhere and then roll out its LTE. This obviously means they are behind in LTE rollouts BUT their network is WAY faster EVERYWHERE.
I just got the iPhone 5 and im on AT&T and now get over 10mbps down in every area they have coverage where I live with the HSPA+ thats supported by the iPhone 5, which is awesome and I dont even really care that LTE is not here with these speeds.
On the other hand as soon as you leave Verizons LTE network your stuck with their crappy 1mbps CDMA.
AT&T made the smarter move to first update its 3G/4G/HSPA+ network everywhere and then roll out its LTE. This obviously means they are behind in LTE rollouts BUT their network is WAY faster EVERYWHERE.
I just got the iPhone 5 and im on AT&T and now get over 10mbps down in every area they have coverage where I live with the HSPA+ thats supported by the iPhone 5, which is awesome and I dont even really care that LTE is not here with these speeds.
On the other hand as soon as you leave Verizons LTE network your stuck with their crappy 1mbps CDMA.
If I had remained with AT&T, I would have given up the grandfathered plan because of my desire to have tethering/more unthrottled data. But the ability to use this phone in Europe, basically right away, was the main deciding point for me. You still have some time to think about it--I was already out of contract and couldn't afford to maintain two phones.
I had AT&T "4G" on my 4S. I get faster speeds on my Verizon 3G than I ever did on AT&T HSPA+. They may have built it out, but the doesn't make it better everywhere. And they still haven't announced LTE plans for my area.
each situation is different. I complete disagree.
I have unlimited with AT&T for the last two years. barely use 1GB a month because of AT&T bad coverage in Charlotte, nc. I have to turn airplane mode on everytime I got into my office building. when I go inside my kids school, AT&T is dead. by the way, AT&T has LTE in charlotte for a year now.
basically my AT&T iphone is off most of the day. what is the point of unlimited when you can't even use it?
I now have two Verizon iphone 5 with 1GB shared. even though LTE speed is not consistent, depending on signal strengh, that is understandable for wireless technology. most important thing is that I can make phone call and use internet in school building and my office building.
with AT&T old plan, it is cheaper than my current verizon shared plan. I lost unlimited data from AT&T. so it costs more and got less data by moving to verizon. But I have to since I can't use AT&T iphone most of the time.
Not sure where you are at but same here. I tested this with Verizon customers in my office.
I concur with this "cannot penetrate the building." many buildings I have been to in Charlotte, NC, I experienced no signal. the phone keeps searching until it burns all battery within a few hours.
Another thing I'm noticing is how much faster iMessage is. My AT&T phone used to sort of hang on the message before finally sending it through. And often it still wouldn't go. My iMessages just scream through now on big red.
Might be isolated instances and it depends on area too. But I would bet the majority of AT&T HSPA beats VZW 3G.
I've seen this exact thing. I'm in Houston (Neartown/Montrose) and switching to Verizon this week. Where are you?
I lived in Houston for 30 years until about two years ago when I moved to Oklahoma City.
AT&T in Houston is simply appalling. It is better in Oklahoma City, but still no where near Verizon.
I've been with AT&T since 2007. I decided to give up talk and surf functionality and make the switch. So far, I'm pleased the coverage is better and I get LTE at my house in the middle of the country. LTE speeds vary, but I got as high as 30mb in Cleveland and 23mb in the north Columbus area. If I need to talk and surf I just used iPad as a hotspot.
I was in NYC when I was getting 5-10mb down consistently. Even 2-3mb is fast compared to vzw's slowwwwww 3g which gets 250-500kbs if lucky
This is my exact problem as well. I feel like such an idiot for leaving AT&T for Verizon. They say they have more coverage and LTE in my area, but I've only gotten less bars and slower speeds with my Verizon iPhone 5 than my AT&T iPhone 4. Such a pity
I'm in Houston and teasing the switch right now, as well. It's been an interesting experience so far. Yesterday, I was getting abysmal verizon LTE speeds in the south west loop, not getting any higher than 6-7 down. Meanwhile, my 4s on ATT faux-g was getting 9 down. I work primarily in the medical center, and I know verizon is the only service that works where I am primarily. Around the rest of town, I tend to get anywhere from 10-30 down, although it's not very consistent. I'm still torn bc of my unlimited data, FAN discount, and talk/surf. I'd also be bringing one more phone over. Going to give it a few more days to decide. There aren't any ATT iphone 5s to be found in Houston, anyways.
Hehe...when I lived in Houston, the medical center is where I worked/lived. If that really is where you spend most of your time, it's honestly seems like an obvious choice to me....Just go ahead and try making a call from AT&T anywhere inside Methodist Hospital and then get back to me.
Had AT&T when I had the 3GS and I couldn't even make phone calls from my office. Switched to Verizon and now I can finally make phone calls. Albeit, the data transfers slightly slower than AT&T's did, but the ability to confidently make calls surpasses a faster data connection. This is all in NYC.
i just switched today from ATT. Very curious on how much it's different. They told me I have 13 days to return it if i'm not happy....
Thanks for your input, everyone. It seems the general consensus is:
I think I may just get a Verizon iPhone 5 and test it out for a few days before I port my number over and cancel my AT&T account.
Verizon: less bandwidth, lower latency, more reliable
AT&T: more bandwidth, less reliable
AT&T: more bandwidth, less reliable
I think I may just get a Verizon iPhone 5 and test it out for a few days before I port my number over and cancel my AT&T account.
This is very interesting to know, I have noticed hesitation sending iMessages about 90% of the time on AT&T (and sometimes they aren't sent at all, very unreliable).
I live in Manhattan, and I have been on AT&T. All I have been hearing about for years is how much better Verizon is. Just non-stop boasting.
So I switched to Verizon with the iPhone 5. In the middle of a Sunday night, on the west side, I got close to 20M/20M -- amazing! But the real test is how it performs at work.
Guess how many bars of LTE I have Monday morning in midtown? 0. Guess how many bars of 3G I have? 0. I have 3 bars of whatever Verizion "o" is -- which I assume is their version of Edge.
I gave up unlimited data for this? I'm sorry, AT&T, for dumping you. My friends said I could find someone hotter, but they were just punking me. Please take me back! I'll be a better boyfriend this time, and I won't take you for granted!
So I switched to Verizon with the iPhone 5. In the middle of a Sunday night, on the west side, I got close to 20M/20M -- amazing! But the real test is how it performs at work.
Guess how many bars of LTE I have Monday morning in midtown? 0. Guess how many bars of 3G I have? 0. I have 3 bars of whatever Verizion "o" is -- which I assume is their version of Edge.
I gave up unlimited data for this? I'm sorry, AT&T, for dumping you. My friends said I could find someone hotter, but they were just punking me. Please take me back! I'll be a better boyfriend this time, and I won't take you for granted!
The fact their CDMA network is outdated is reason Verizon is building out its lte network faster than AT&T. Why invest to upgrade their old network? Verizon is working to cover its entire network with lte within a shorter time frame than anyone else. They likely will be the first to offer volte out of the larger carriers.