I believe T-Mobile's free testdrive is still available. Actually trying it out beats looking at maps.
http://explore.t-mobile.com/test-drive-free-trial
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I believe T-Mobile's free testdrive is still available. Actually trying it out beats looking at maps.
http://explore.t-mobile.com/test-drive-free-trial
I believe T-Mobile's free testdrive is still available. Actually trying it out beats looking at maps.
http://explore.t-mobile.com/test-drive-free-trial
That is true!
If forgot about that.
Then you have the very "rare occasion" that I have in my workplace (located within city limits), my Sprint service constantly has LTE where people with VzN struggle for an LTE signal.
the grass is always greener. i'm quite honestly tired of all of the companies...
i left AT&T a few months ago with the Verizon single line promotion available at the iPhone 6 launch. yet, i found that they had horrible data coverage for my train commute. there was a 5-10 minute hole of data coverage...and a major one where i got zero coverage, even for email downloading, etc.
after talking with them for almost 2 months, they confirmed the problem, and said they couldn't do anything to help me (even though at the start a rep told me they would waive my ETF if they found that their coverage map was wrong). so i ate the ETF and went back to ATT.
while i don't like AT&T in general, for my uses, while not perfect, the coverage is better overall since i can use a Microcell at my house (verizon voice coverage was better there) and i now have full data coverage wherever i typically am (commute, work, home, and usual locations out and about).
i almost took the Tmobile test drive, but i spied enough passengers on my train ride to see that they had some major holes along my commute where their phones showed No Service. (VWZ showed service, but just didn't provide any ;P)
I suppose that a few isolated places exist where Verizon has worse coverage than the other three but the fact remains that if you want the most comprehensive and complete LTE network in the US then you're on Verizon. The data speaks for itself. Rootmetrics does tests of the carrier networks regularly and verizon consistently tops the other 3 in almost every market and in rural areas.
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See above. AT&T is better in a few areas but are mostly inferior to Verizon. Verizon users rarely even have to see anything less than LTE on their phones across most of the country.
I suggest trying out tmobile before
http://explore.t-mobile.com/test-drive-free-trial
Thats what I did and was satisfied, now I'm on tmobile.
I've been on T-Mobile for the past year, and it's been a great experience so far. I'm on their prepaid $30 plan (100 voice minutes, 5 GB 4G/LTE data, unlimited texts and throttled data), which is great for me because I don't use a lot of voice minutes.
Since I joined, T-Mobile has added unlimited music streaming and free tethering. All the while, the network speeds in my area have gone way up. From my office, last September I tested the network at 7.2 Mbps when it was still 4G/HSPA+. When the area got upgraded to LTE earlier this year, the network speed increased to 22 Mbps. Last week, I tested 61.2 Mbps and confirmed that the network was upgraded again to wideband LTE.
The bottomline on T-Mobile's network is that if you're in a metro area with decent data coverage, they've been rapidly improving it. If you live in an outlying area, the network coverage can be spotty and won't get better until they deploy their new band next year (and that's if you have one of the newer devices that supports LTE Band 12).
As with anything, you got to sift through the tradeoffs before deciding. T-Mobile's test drive program is a no brainer. Test the network for yourself and see how it performs in the areas you're likeliest to frequent. You even get to keep the earbuds.
Keep in mind that because you're on Sprint, you will need to buy a new phone if you move to any other network. Their phones cannot be unlocked for use with any other domestic carrier.
Since I joined, T-Mobile has added unlimited music streaming and free tethering. All the while, the network speeds in my area have gone way up. From my office, last September I tested the network at 7.2 Mbps when it was still 4G/HSPA+. When the area got upgraded to LTE earlier this year, the network speed increased to 22 Mbps. Last week, I tested 61.2 Mbps and confirmed that the network was upgraded again to wideband LTE.
The bottomline on T-Mobile's network is that if you're in a metro area with decent data coverage, they've been rapidly improving it. If you live in an outlying area, the network coverage can be spotty and won't get better until they deploy their new band next year (and that's if you have one of the newer devices that supports LTE Band 12).
As with anything, you got to sift through the tradeoffs before deciding. T-Mobile's test drive program is a no brainer. Test the network for yourself and see how it performs in the areas you're likeliest to frequent. You even get to keep the earbuds.
Keep in mind that because you're on Sprint, you will need to buy a new phone if you move to any other network. Their phones cannot be unlocked for use with any other domestic carrier.
I will give Verizon credit for this much - in the place we lived a few years ago, their coverage was absolutely terrible. I had a lot of missed/failed calls and battery life on my phone was in the toilet because the cellular radio was pushing so hard to maintain a signal (and the best I could get was 1x). We complained about it to Verizon and they said they would have to send somebody out to check our coverage before they would waive the ETF and let us out of our contract. I figured they would drag the process out for months (and keep collecting our money), but within 3 days a tech showed up at our property, checked the signal and said "Yep, no problem - the coverage sucks here!". He reported back to Verizon and they allowed us to cancel with a full ETF waiver. We went back to AT&T, who had much better coverage in the area (they were the only cell provider with decent coverage in the area, and even it was EDGE - but at least it was strong and consistent).
Cricket.
ATT subsidiary, ATT coverage.
Unlocked, able to swap sim without restriction when travelling.
Unlimited Talk, unlimited text, and 1GB high speed data, and unlimited data at capped speed. no risk of overage.
$35/mo and NO hidden taxes or fees.
T-Mobile; I switched form Sprint at the iPhone 6's launch. I love it. The data is much, much faster and the call quality is improved. Haven't had problems with coverage... a couple dropped calls while driving, but always in the same spot in rural areas. Even with my wife's corporate discount with Sprint, the two of us are saving money each month. It's worth it.
I have iPhone 6. On VZ only if your in an VoLTE coverage area you can have simultaneously data and voice. Otherwise VZ can only handle 1 at a time. As ATT can do both on LTE or 4g I went with ATT.
I have Verizon and i love it. Coverage everywhere i go, lte is solid. my plan is 30gb shared data with 3 lines for $220
If i were to leave Verizon and switch, i'd go with At&t.
If i were to leave Verizon and switch, i'd go with At&t.
And while Verizon can do simultaneous voice and data on LTE, Verizon cannot hand a call from LTE back to their standard cell network, so if you lose LTE coverage, you'll lose the call.
At this point AT&T offers effectively no LTE voice at all, with just a few smaller markets in operation, and while you're on a call (at least with my iPhone 5S,) the data drops back to "4G" if I'm on a call.
Having recently gone back to AT&T after being a Verizon subscriber for over 2 years, I'm pleased with AT&T's improvements since I last used them.
Responses here are of marginal value. For example, 115 million people have picked Verizon. Hopefully they do not all come here to share their experiences. Nor does that mean V is best for you.
Bottom line, coverage where YOU use YOUR phone is the top issue. Then deal with cost.
MOBILE PHONE CUSTOMERS
(old data, but the point is the same)
Verizon Wireless: 115 million
AT&T: 106 million
Sprint Nextel: 55 million
T-Mobile: 33 million
Bottom line, coverage where YOU use YOUR phone is the top issue. Then deal with cost.
MOBILE PHONE CUSTOMERS
(old data, but the point is the same)
Verizon Wireless: 115 million
AT&T: 106 million
Sprint Nextel: 55 million
T-Mobile: 33 million
glad to hear they waived your ETF. i was convinced by the first rep they would do it, but the subsequent two reps i worked with said they would only do it for my home residence. i get marginal service (1-2 bars) at my home residence, but it was usable.
i'm glad to be back with AT&T, as much i don't like them for other reasons. its obvious, but i truly learned the lesson of finding the best carrier to fit my daily patterns.
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absolutely. the only thing i wish existing on iOS was this app that allows you to track your locations for a few weeks and then it recommends the best service for you. (its out on android with the iOS version ultimately coming out...sorry: the name escapes me right now)
the thing that is frustrating is that all the coverage maps the companies post claim everyone has "excellent/very good" service everywhere. as we all know, that is far from the truth...
T-Mobile's latest customer count is 52.9 million and on a trajectory to pass Sprint by the middle of next year. That ranking likely also reflects data from before T-Mobile merged with Metro PCS.
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The crowdsourced maps from RootMetrics, among others, are probably a better source than the coverage maps from the carriers.
http://webcoveragemap.rootmetrics.com/us