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Bye Bye AT&T and Hello Verizon

S

Starbuckpga

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 15, 2009
116
0
A few days ago I had asked about canceling my contract with AT&T since I just bought the iPhone 4S on the 7th of October. It was believed that I was not under contract at the time, but I paid the early upgrade fee of $449 which indicated I was under a contract at the time of my upgrade. I placed a call to AT&T to discuss my options and they stated since I was in buyers remorse, I could return the phone to Apple, and cancel my service with AT&T without any early termination fee. I've called Apple and they've emailed me a return slip and stated they will refund me the iPhone 4S in full as well.

I'd love to stay with AT&T, but for the five years I've been with them, I've had many issues in my area. I've gone through three iPhone 4's to help fix the problem, nothing. Last option was to hope the iPhone 4S would be better with the improved antennas, but still the same issues with the new phone. I had Verizon before I made the switch to AT&T and never dropped a call in my area. The only reason I made the switch years ago is because my employer at the time required me to use AT&T and was paying my bill. I left that employer six months ago, took the phone and line with me in my name as I knew a new phone was coming from Apple soon to hopefully fix my reception issues.

So this weekend I'll make the switch to Verizon, pack up the AT&T iPhone 4S and ship it back to Apple and cancel the service with AT&T.

Now my dilemma. Verizon currently says 1-2 weeks on the 4S. My question is, what do phone do I use in the meantime as I want the 4S for Verizon. If I just pick up a Droid to use for a week or two, would they still let me order the 4S at $199? LOL. I just need a solid phone to use till the 4S were to arrive and activate.
 
Just go get a GoPhone for a week or so and move on with life.

Go get a Verizon phone and then return it when your 4S comes in.
 
You could also check the Apple website nightly as well and see where the stock levels are. Good luck.
 
Stealthipad said:
Just go get a GoPhone for a week or so and move on with life.

Go get a Verizon phone and then return it when your 4S comes in.
Click to expand...

I thought about doing this, but when I buy say an Android phone, they give it to me at a discount with the two year contract. Once I buy the Android, I wouldn't be able to get the 4S at the discounted price of $199, I'd have to pay full price since I bought the Android at a discount with the two year contract. Catch my drift?

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djransom said:
You could also check the Apple website nightly as well and see where the stock levels are. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Def an option. Would be mind telling me how I could check stock levels? Also, would I be able to check levels at my local Apple store?

Thank you.
 
I had high hopes for this being about AT&T's dishonest business practices or complete fumble with 4G.

Oh well. Either way, stick it to 'em.
 
You might get lucky just asking Verizon if they can help you out. I've heard of situations where they gave loaner phones like that before. It's worth a try - you really have nothing to lose.:)
 
When I wanted my Droid X they would not lend me a phone at all. Their supply shortage resulted in me switching about 3 weeks later than planned. You could get a phone off eBay. Perhaps you can find a Droid X for cheap. I'd sell you mine for $100 and feel lucky to get that but I've found a good use for it after all.

FWIW, I was a switcher from AT&T (10 year customer) to VZW. They did not seem to care one way or the other that I was switching and this was pre-VZW iPhone.
 
Tell Verizon your problem and they will, most likely, give you a loaner until your iPhone comes in.

After all, you are a defector from AT&T. New customers are the hardest to get.
 
We recently switched to Vz this week as well. The wife came from AT&T and I came from TMo. I realize this is totally area dependent, but we both had little to no service at our home (10miles outside the 4th largest city in the US) and now have full bars.

Check out Radio Shack, we got our two 4s there the other day. If you are in a large city, there will be a lot of stores they can check for you and have it transferred to your store free of charge.
 
you better test Verizon first, at least for me i notice not difference in service/coverage between the 2.

I dont think Verizon is quite the same as it used to be but everyones experience will vary.
 
Mr. Pink said:
I had high hopes for this being about AT&T's dishonest business practices or complete fumble with 4G.

Oh well. Either way, stick it to 'em.
Click to expand...

Haters will always hate.

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kicko said:
you better test Verizon first, at least for me i notice not difference in service/coverage between the 2.

I dont think Verizon is quite the same as it used to be but everyones experience will vary.
Click to expand...

I found that out as their map said I was in an excellent area and could not even make a call.

The best carrier is the one who covers where you need to use your phone.
 
kicko said:
you better test Verizon first, at least for me i notice not difference in service/coverage between the 2.

I dont think Verizon is quite the same as it used to be but everyones experience will vary.
Click to expand...

I had them five years ago, but yes things have changed. Worse case I'd have 30 days to use their service, all fails I'll take the phone back, cancel with Verizon and go back to AT&T.

What sucks is I'm losing my unlimited data with AT&T since I was grandfathered into the plan. However, the last year I haven't used more than 400mbs a month and on average it's around 250.

----------

Too bad the new Droid Razr isn't out as I'd love to take it for a spin till my 4S would arrive.
 
To the OP, what area are you in, more or less? I was thinking of going from T-Mobile to AT&T for the 4S, but i've heard almost overwhelmingly bad reviews of their service around chicago, so i may wind up with Verizon as well, even though their cost is more.
 
On a different note I cant tell you how happy I've been with ATT since I got the 4S. I had a 3GS before, and its night and day. The reduced ping times and fast data are awesome, and I've had rock solid signal. LA area.
 
Starbuckpga said:
So this weekend I'll make the switch to Verizon, pack up the AT&T iPhone 4S and ship it back to Apple and cancel the service with AT&T.
Click to expand...

Made the switch a few days ago, and love Verizon. Better data connectivity and call stability in my area. Verizon is more pricey, but my phone is now more useful.
 
Yeah I think a lot depends on your area. In some cases AT&T will be better than Verizon and vice versa. I've been to areas where AT&T was really good with call quality and coverage as well as speeds and I am sure there will be times Verizon sucks compared to AT&T. However for my area, it's been said Verizon has had the better service of the two. Nothing against AT&T and I've been happy with them, but I just need a little bit better service for my area. With AT&T, I can't make a call from my office downtown and one out of five text messages I can get to go through. Five people sit around my office, all have Verizon, full bars, network, and can send texts all day long without issues. A lot will be told when I make the switch and try it a few weeks. If it's anything like it was five years ago when I had them, Verizon will be just fine for me.

Now, just wish the 4S had 4G and/or LTE speeds...lol.

Ah should say I also get a 20% discount on my bill as well with Verizon through my employer, so that will be nice as well.
 
kicko said:
you better test Verizon first, at least for me i notice not difference in service/coverage between the 2.

I dont think Verizon is quite the same as it used to be but everyones experience will vary.
Click to expand...

Try to ask people around you. My neighbors have a Verizon smartphone and said they have never dropped a call around here.

So I made the switch. Hello awesome. I even had a three-bar signal nearby where AT&T has no service. I'm also able to get much better data service at places near work where I like to read news items on apps. AT&T can claim all of that "fastest" network stuff, but three-bar Verizon is way better than no-bar AT&T.
 
From a loyal AT&T guy.

BYE!!!

More bandwidth for us.

Don't let it hit you where the good...
 
the 4S has a new antenna and radio chip. all previous iphones on AT&T were just crappy phones.

i had an android the last 6 months on AT&T before i switched back to the iphone and as a phone it was much better than the iphone because it had a qualcomm radio
 
This issue *may* vary be geographic area, but also there may be the possibility that these two carriers have a different technical (and business) approach to their service.

I read another post here stating how verizon has 700MHz frequencies, and how they penetrate with less attenuation into buildings. I find it hard to believe that AT&T wouldn't have some mechanism to overcome that advantage that verizon has. For example, boost signal strength; dedicate more bandwidth per call, etc.

I can't generalize to every area, but I can DEFINITELY state with certainty that in the 40 or so square miles that I have knowledge about, Verizon is vastly superior to AT&T as far as reliablility of signal.

In my commute from work to home i have 4 dead spots with AT&T. I have none with Verizon. It's hard to explain to someone that is accustomed to having calls and data be "usually available" (AT&T in my area) that in reality it can be "always available" (Verizon in my area).
 
Def an option. Would be mind telling me how I could check stock levels? Also, would I be able to check levels at my local Apple store?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

All you need to do is go to www.apple.com/retail/iphone. Select your State and then it will provide you where the apple store is located. Select the one near you. Reserve and pick one up next day between 8 am to 6 pm. That is what I did on the 21st of october. I reserved on the 20th and got it on the 21st. Reservation starts at 9:00 pm. Depending where you are, you probably want to do it at 9:00 PM. Keep in mind that it will take a while so you have to keep refreshing until you get the button. If you do it before 9 PM all will say "Unavailable" But after 9 pm it will change so keep refreshing.
 
It really comes down to what works well in your area. AT&T works great for me so I've had no complaints.

In the meantime, I'd just use a Gophone or try reserving an iPhone in store.
 
wordoflife said:
It really comes down to what works well in your area. AT&T works great for me so I've had no complaints.

In the meantime, I'd just use a Gophone or try reserving an iPhone in store.
Click to expand...

I agree, no doubt every carrier has weak spots. They might even want to bump up their service, but sometimes they have so many political hoops to jump through to put a tower or upgrade a tower.

Anyway, I've been all over with my AT&T iPhone 3G and 4 and they worked great.
 
Shadowbech said:
All you need to do is go to www.apple.com/retail/iphone. Select your State and then it will provide you where the apple store is located. Select the one near you. Reserve and pick one up next day between 8 am to 6 pm. That is what I did on the 21st of october. I reserved on the 20th and got it on the 21st. Reservation starts at 9:00 pm. Depending where you are, you probably want to do it at 9:00 PM. Keep in mind that it will take a while so you have to keep refreshing until you get the button. If you do it before 9 PM all will say "Unavailable" But after 9 pm it will change so keep refreshing.
Click to expand...

Great advice, but best bet is to check starting about 8:50PM because by 9ish the phones are usually gone, at least the good ones are.
 
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