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AT&T or Verizon? Agonizing over decision! Help!

M

MacVault

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 10, 2002
1,144
59
Planet Earth
I'm ready to order iPhone 5 but can't decide which carrier!!!

-- I've had iPhone 4 on AT&T for 2 years now, contract done in Oct.
-- Neither carrier has LTE in my area (central Oregon) yet.
-- I've read CDMA is less-likely to radiate my brain vs GSM ;)
-- Verizon's website says "...only Verizon’s 4G network is 100% 4G LTE"
-- Is one carrier's LTE technology / speed better than the other's?
-- Apple's website shows the CDMA model as having GSM bands. I thought only the GSM (AT&T) model support GSM. What am I missing?
-- I do like AT&T's ability to serve voice and data simultaneously.
-- AT&T coverage for me has been pretty darn good in all my travels even though sometimes on the Edge network.
-- What other differences am I missing???
-- Is there an overall concensus on which network is better? Or does it just depend on individual location and needs?

Can anyone help me make sense of all the above? I know I want iPhone 5, Black, 64GB. It's just painful trying to decide which carrier! Hellllllllllllp! :eek:

I guess 1 phone would fit all carriers only in a perfect world.
 
Last edited:
MacVault said:
I'm ready to order iPhone 5 but can't decide which carrier!!!

-- I've had iPhone 4 on AT&T for 2 years now, contract done in Oct.
-- Neither carrier has LTE in my area (central Oregon) yet.
-- I've read CDMA is less-likely to radiate my brain vs GSM ;)
-- Verizon's website says "...only Verizon’s 4G network is 100% 4G LTE"
-- Apple's website shows the CDMA model as having GSM bands. I thought only the GSM (AT&T) model support GSM. What am I missing?
-- I do like AT&T's ability to serve voice and data simultaneously.
-- AT&T coverage for me has been pretty darn good in all my travels even though sometimes on the Edge network.
-- What other differences am I missing???
-- Is there an overall concensus on which network is better? Or does it just depend on individual location and needs?

Can anyone help me make sense of all the above? I know I want iPhone 5, Black, 64GB. It's just painful trying to decide which carrier! Hellllllllllllp! :eek:

I guess 1 phone would fit all carriers only in a perfect world.
Click to expand...

Do you have unlimited data? If so, definitely stay with ATT. If not, I don't see a reason to switch if your're currently happy.
 
mateen110 said:
Do you have unlimited data? If so, definitely stay with ATT. If not, I don't see a reason to switch if your're currently happy.
Click to expand...

No, I don't have unlimited data. And, yes, dare I say... I have been very happy with AT&T - maybe that's my answer.
 
MacVault said:
I'm ready to order iPhone 5 but can't decide which carrier!!!

-- I've had iPhone 4 on AT&T for 2 years now, contract done in Oct.
-- Neither carrier has LTE in my area (central Oregon) yet.
-- I've read CDMA is less-likely to radiate my brain vs GSM ;)
-- Verizon's website says "...only Verizon’s 4G network is 100% 4G LTE"
-- Apple's website shows the CDMA model as having GSM bands. I thought only the GSM (AT&T) model support GSM. What am I missing?
-- I do like AT&T's ability to serve voice and data simultaneously.
-- AT&T coverage for me has been pretty darn good in all my travels even though sometimes on the Edge network.
-- What other differences am I missing???
-- Is there an overall concensus on which network is better? Or does it just depend on individual location and needs?

Can anyone help me make sense of all the above? I know I want iPhone 5, Black, 64GB. It's just painful trying to decide which carrier! Hellllllllllllp! :eek:

I guess 1 phone would fit all carriers only in a perfect world.
Click to expand...

I'm in similar boat as you... I do know I will be traveling next year and I know the A1429 CDMA model also supports Europe/Asia LTE bands which is a huge plus when I'm traveling. However, I also realize that the A1428 AT&T model will supports HSPA+ in Europe and Asia so this is not really bad. I don't absolutely need LTE when I'm traveling...

Now, the problem is that if I switch to Verizon, I will lose the ability to do voice/data at the same time. This is a dealbreaker for me and I stick with AT&T (until T-Mobile repurpose their 1900 bands for HSPA and launch their LTE network with AWS... then i'll move to T-Mobile).
 
Well verizon has nothing lte wise in your area besides northwest oregon like on the border. ATT probably doesnt either. If your coverage is fine. ATT you should stick with and try calling them saying your ready to cancel i know they offered me free unlimited texting for the next 8 months and 10$ a month for life after that.
 
1. Look which one has a better coverage in your area.
2. AT&T most of the times is cheaper, so take this in account.
3. If you care for the "talk and surf" thing that Verizon can't handle, go with AT&T.
4. If you care for better 4G LTE network, go with Verizon although AT&T will catch up til the end of the year.
 
Moshe1010 said:
1. Look which one has a better coverage in your area.
2. AT&T most of the times is cheaper, so take this in account.
3. If you care for the "talk and surf" thing that Verizon can't handle, go with AT&T.
4. If you care for better 4G LTE network, go with Verizon although AT&T will catch up til the end of the year.
Click to expand...

In what way is Verizon's 4G LTE network better? Better technology, ie. frequencies? Faster throughput? Or is it just that they currently cover more area vs. AT&T's current coverage?
 
I'm I the same position as the OP. I live in Western New York about 20 minutes outside the Buffalo/Amherst area.

I currently have Verizon with the double the data 4GB for $30 data plan and I'm not sure if I should make the switch over to AT&T for when I pick up the iPhone 5.

Both AT&T and Verizon have LTE in the Amherst/Buffalo area but not where I live yet. Although I have been getting 1-2 bars of LTE signal at home but it's not stable. What this tells me is that Verizon is expanding out to where I live.

My girlfriend has a 4S with AT&T and gets similar reception in my area compared to Verizon. However her 4G data speeds kill my 3G speeds. She typically gets 3-6mbps down and 1mbps up compared to my .25-1mbps down with the same kind of upload. She even beats my speeds with 1-2 bars of LTE. Even just browsing the web can get very annoying with the slow 3G speeds. That's basically my biggest gripe. Their 3G in my area kind of sucks based on my experience.

The fact that the Verizon iPhone won't have talk and surf at the same time kind of bums me out because I would probably use that feature more than FaceTime.

She has been satisfied with AT&T and I can only really complain about the horrid 3G speeds for Verizon. There are just so many horror stories from AT&T customers that have me worried.

My current phone is the Droid Charge if that matters. If I were to leave Verizon I'd also be giving up my $30 New Every 2 credit towards the upgrade price of a new phone.

Can anyone in the Western NY area give any feedback regarding their experiences with either AT&T or Verizon?
 
Now whichever carrier gives me free tethering and/or unlimited data you've got a deal. Anyone know if AT&T is giving any such deal to retain current customers?
 
MacVault said:
In what way is Verizon's 4G LTE network better? Better technology, ie. frequencies? Faster throughput? Or is it just that they currently cover more area vs. AT&T's current coverage?
Click to expand...

Hey also from Central Oregon, Bend area. Every since ATT put up their own towers 2 or 3 years ago they have had by far the best coverage in the area. Verizon is ok but ATT 3G is much much faster and it's rare I don't get 5 bars anywhere in Bend. That said Verizon is much better over the passes, especially Santiam. Neither Verizon or ATT has LTE in Oregon except for Portland and Salem on Verizon. ATT has said that LTE is coming to Portland in the next few months.

I personally have found ATT more reliable in Oregon as long as you're ok with losing service for an hour or so on your drive over the passes. I also would expect ATT to add LTE relatively quickly to Central Oregon because their network there is so new I would imagine it would be relatively easy to upgrade. Hope that helps
 
matty.p, thanks for the input. Nice to hear from someone in the area. And, yes, you are right about the passes, although I have been impressed with how much coverage is there through the mountains and even out hwy 20 to Boise. I streamed internet radio almost the entire way one time, though some of it was certainly the Edge network, but it didn't miss a beat for the most part.
 
ive had my line with ATT for about 7 years now....for me, they over-promise, under deliver. I have finally made the switch to Verizon with the iphone 5. I remember before the iphone was able to MMS, ATT kept promising it was coming, and after a year of Apple making it available, didnt come through as promised. Now they have issues with facetime over 3G and personal hotspot with the ipad......Verizon offers all of this stuff without question. Not to mention, that ATT had a well established network however has rolled out LTE painstakingly slow compared to Verizon. I bought an ipad 3 with Verizon this go round as a "TEST" to see how I would fare with a Verizon iphone....I have signal everywhere I go, and I would say 90% LTE, and I travel a lot! I was in the Rocky Mountains this weekend, and when ATT went out, LTE was still strong, before it went to 3G and finally cut out. Verizon at this time is just more reliable and offers you less headache.....even if you have to fallback to a slower 3G in lower coverage areas....its happened to me, yes, its frustrating sometimes, yes, but I rather poor signal and slower speeds than 4-5 bars of ATT and a stupid web page will refuse to load!
 
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