For folks who switched from AT&T to Verizon

[LapsangSouchong]

Any regrets?

Has anyone missed the simultaneous voice/data to the point where they regretted the decision?

Anyone feel their service is worse?

Customer care is worse?


Hubs and I are contemplating the move, but I have concerns...

Like: if I'm on the phone and want to send an imessage, does it go as text? or wait til I'm off the phone? Same for receiving....

I kinda understand what happens otherwise.

(For the verizon die hards, please keep in mind, I've had simultaneous voice and data since 2002 or 2003. It would be a big shift.)

 

[darster]

Verizon uses 1x for both voice and texts. So if you are talking on phone, you cant send a text.

 

[MacBreezy]

The simultaneous data thing is not that big of an issue for me. Unless you use the phone while in the car and trying follow the map somewhere there really isn't anything that has come along for me to be so pressing that I couldn't wait to get off the phone to take care of whatever it is. The service is head and shoulders better than AT&T. I travel all over the country and I have service everywhere I've been so far. I have buddies that borrow my phone so much to call their wives at home that they know my number when it comes up on their phone. The call quality is much better and I have found customer care to be much more helpful than AT&T. I won't say that I'd never leave Verizon but it would have to take something really major for me to jump ship.

 

[Charadis]

Switched to Verizon. Today, switched back to AT&T, canceling Verizon service this Mon or Wed. Verizons service seemed very good in my area, and LTE showed up on my phone everywhere I went. Only used about 248 MB in one week, but it was like being connected to wifi wherever I went.

No problems with coverage, and customer service seemed friendly. I never got to experiment with the surfing while on a call, but I rarely have a reason to anyways.

-C

 

[LapsangSouchong]

Switched to Verizon. Today, switched back to AT&T, canceling Verizon service this Mon or Wed. Verizons service seemed very good in my area, and LTE showed up on my phone everywhere I went. Only used about 248 MB in one week, but it was like being connected to wifi wherever I went.

No problems with coverage, and customer service seemed friendly. I never got to experiment with the surfing while on a call, but I rarely have a reason to anyways.

-C

Why'd you switch back?

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The simultaneous data thing is not that big of an issue for me. Unless you use the phone while in the car and trying follow the map somewhere there really isn't anything that has come along for me to be so pressing that I couldn't wait to get off the phone to take care of whatever it is. The service is head and shoulders better than AT&T. I travel all over the country and I have service everywhere I've been so far. I have buddies that borrow my phone so much to call their wives at home that they know my number when it comes up on their phone. The call quality is much better and I have found customer care to be much more helpful than AT&T. I won't say that I'd never leave Verizon but it would have to take something really major for me to jump ship.

Thanks. SUPER helpful. I travel a lot now.

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Verizon uses 1x for both voice and texts. So if you are talking on phone, you cant send a text.

Weird. I had Verizon folks doing experiments for me today and they all swore the texts went while they were on the phone (and I got them). hmm

Thanks for this info.

 

[KdParker]

switched....and no issues.

Like the coverage and customer service. Glad to be rid of AT&T.

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Verizon uses 1x for both voice and texts. So if you are talking on phone, you cant send a text.

I have been able to send text and receive them while on the phone.

 

[Charadis]

Why'd you switch back?

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I originally switch to V because I thought hopping on my parents' family plan would be more cost effective. However, I realized I would only be saving about $35 /month at most, would be confined to only 2GB data per month (what if I was on road trip and wanted to take advantage of the insanely fast data?), and I have no control over the account if I wanted to change features.

I'll just hang on to unlimited data for another round; AT&T should be getting LTE in my area soon, supposedly.

-C

 

[LapsangSouchong]

Why'd you switch back?

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I originally switch to V because I thought hopping on my parents' family plan would be more cost effective. However, I realized I would only be saving about $35 /month at most, would be confined to only 2GB data per month (what if I was on road trip and wanted to take advantage of the insanely fast data?), and I have no control over the account if I wanted to change features.

I'll just hang on to unlimited data for another round; AT&T should be getting LTE in my area soon, supposedly.

-C

Aww gotcha. thanks

 

[rufhausen]

I couldn't wait to leave AT&T. Switched my wife and I to Verizon along with the iPhone 5 purchase.
We can actually make phone calls at home now and have not had a dropped call since switching.
I didn't think a regular text message counted as "data" (i.e., you don't need a data plan for texts). iMessage is another matter. I'm assuming a text to another iPhone user reverts to a non-iMessage text if you're on a call.
Voice quality also seems better, but since the phone is new, I'm not sure how much is the network.

 

[LapsangSouchong]

I have been able to send text and receive them while on the phone.

Thanks for clarifying. This is what I was told today.

 

[rotobadger]

I just switched to Verizon after being with AT&T from 2007. For me, the difference was noticeable immediately. I'm currently working in San Francisco (home is in Phoenix) and, for the first 2 weeks, was on my AT&T phone. In the office I'm working in I got almost zero data reception and very spotty voice. Very frustrating. Switched to Verizon and now it's like I'm on wi-fi all the time at that same location.

My wife has been on Verizon for quite some time and when we would make road trips (to San Diego for example) she would tease me the whole way with "how many bars do you have now?" I would, for a good part of the trip, consistently see "No Service" while she bragged about having 4-5 bars...the whole way.

So far I seeing better reception here in the bay area wherever I go. I have always felt Verizon had far better cell service than AT&T, at least from my experience.

Also, I would drop calls in Phoenix on a fairly regular basis. So much so that when talking to my wife and the call would drop, when I called her back the first thing she'd say is "AT&T".

I feel MUCH more confident on Verizon now. Can't really speak to the no data while using voice issue but I'm sure it will be only an occasional minor inconvenience for me.

 

[Martyrd0m]

Verizon uses 1x for both voice and texts. So if you are talking on phone, you cant send a text.

Wrong.

You can text and talk at the same time.

 

[LapsangSouchong]

I just switched to Verizon after being with AT&T from 2007. For me, the difference was noticeable immediately. I'm currently working in San Francisco (home is in Phoenix) and, for the first 2 weeks, was on my AT&T phone. In the office I'm working in I got almost zero data reception and very spotty voice. Very frustrating. Switched to Verizon and now it's like I'm on wi-fi all the time at that same location.

My wife has been on Verizon for quite some time and when we would make road trips (to San Diego for example) she would tease me the whole way with "how many bars do you have now?" I would, for a good part of the trip, consistently see "No Service" while she bragged about having 4-5 bars...the whole way.

So far I seeing better reception here in the bay area wherever I go. I have always felt Verizon had far better cell service than AT&T, at least from my experience.

Also, I would drop calls in Phoenix on a fairly regular basis. So much so that when talking to my wife and the call would drop, when I called her back the first thing she'd say is "AT&T".

I feel MUCH more confident on Verizon now. Can't really speak to the no data while using voice issue but I'm sure it will be only an occasional minor inconvenience for me.

Thanks for this. Husband was on verizon for YEARS until he joined my family plan. He's itching to go back, and it makes sense. I use tons of data, he uses like 100mb.

 

[acorntoy]

Verizon uses 1x for both voice and texts. So if you are talking on phone, you cant send a text.

Bull.

My phone sends texts perfectly when making a call, it just can't send picture messages.


Getting used to voice/data took about a month to get used to when I switched, and now I don't even miss it.

 

[dagamer34]

Switched back because I got 1 bar of Verizon LTE service at my apartment on Verizon, but 5 bars of AT&T LTE, plus push notifications didn't work until I got more bars.

The decision to switch back was very easy. Grass is not always greener on the other side.

 

[pencapchew]

Best to try it out in your area. I had the luxury of a 3G Verizon iPad that I drove from home to work for comparison before making the jump.

 

[Martyrd0m]

I switched our family plan from AT&T to Verizon for the iPhone 5. Been AT&T customers since the iPhone launch during the Cingular days. I even gave up our unlimited data plans to make the switch. Haven't been happier. Cellular service is amazing. I'm getting full balls with LTE where I was getting 1-2 bars of HSPA+ or whatever AT&T is calling it. Oh good days I would get .5 Mbps. I'm now getting 31 Mbps with Verizon. Haven't dropped a single call even when I'm out in the boonies for one of my clients.

 

[KoukiFC3S]

I switched from AT&T about 3 years ago and Verizon has been great. Their LTE coverage in So Cal is really good.

I just tried to send an iMessage while on a call, and it looks like the phone waits until the call is over to send it.

 

[scaredpoet]

Verizon uses 1x for both voice and texts. So if you are talking on phone, you cant send a text.

Actually, that's not true. Standard, old-school SMS will go through during call, because it's treated differently from other data, and uses the same control channel that is used to handle the voice call.

But that's just text messages. Everything else (iMessage, MMS, anything else using data) won't work until you hang up the call.

Whether that's a big deal to you depends on how you use your smartphone. Some people will probably never notice. For me it's a HUGE deal. When I travel for work, I'm using my cell phone a lot, and I also have to look at web sites, reference emails, check my synced calendar, and retrieve documents off Dropbox while I'm talking. Not having voice and data at the same time wouldn't cut it for me.

As it is, I'm irked that the iPhone 5 on AT&T drops to HSPA during a voice call.

 

[Buckeyestar]

I am so happy I switched to Verizon. My signal is far better, and I get LTE which is not available from AT&T where I live. I've got good signal in areas at work where AT&T left me hanging high and dry. My calls are much better too. I might be able to rely on Verizon enough to cancel my home phone, which I couldn't even contemplate with AT&T.

 

[drill423]

Made the switch as well. Live in the Houston area and have been really pleased. No dropped calls in over a week of use. No data drops while I drive around town. Getting better reception and reception in places where it was poor on att, including where I work.

Sure, I miss unlimited data and talk/surf, but the reliability more than makes up for it. It all depends on your needs and your coverage.

 

[iamthedudeman]

To each their own. I also travel all across the country, on a weekly basis and have to say they are about equal on coverage maybe giving verizon a slight edge. My wife comes with me on more than one occasion, but she has verizon and I don't notice her reception as being better than mine.

You will miss voice and data at the same time if you are used to it. One thing to consider and alot of people miss this. ATT network is way faster than Verizons on average. What good is better coverage if your 3G network is molasses?

When switching from 4G LTE to HSPA+ I dont notice a difference in usage speed. ATT's LTE is almost twice as fast as Verizons on average. ATT's HSPA+ is almost as fast as Verizons LTE. ATT has more backhaul to their towers as their 3G network and 4G network share the same data lines. More data lines means more data that can be broadcast out as cellular signals.

Verizon has two seperate lines for their LTE network and their slower CDMA network.

But going from Verizon LTE to Verizons' 3G network is painfull. Or going from LTE 20Mps to Verizon 3G, 2Mps max to average 1Mps to 500kps is what you will see.

ATT you will go from LTE 40Mps/20Mps to 14Mps to 7Mps on HSPA+ to 7Mps to 3Mps to HSDPA at the slowest speeds.

 

[Trey M]

I made the switch, and I literally could not be happier. AT&T always had their own way of doing things and they eventually just tired me with all of their BS. The worst part was how poorly AT&T performed in busy areas. You data was basically unusable, or you had to try 10 times to get any data load in a semi-crowded area (example: my college campus). However, with Verizon now, I have consistent LTE and data loads quickly just as it would anywhere else.

And the best part about Verizon is I don't have to worry about dropped calls anymore- I had so so many on AT&T, I can't believe they still haven't fixed that issue. Verizon gives me the confidence I have when I talk on my landline- that's how crystal clear and consistent the network is.

Even though AT&T has faster 3G speeds, Verizon's 3G and overall network consistency makes it better than sporadically fast AT&T 3G waves. It's always consistent and it leads to a better, overall faster experience. And their LTE is built out quite a bit more than AT&T atm and it flies....If I were you I wouldn't look back and I'd jumo ship from AT&T to Verizon ASAP. It really is THAT much better.

 

[srcampana]

I'm switching. I have had AT&T for years but I'm sick of the dropped calls and the awful HSPA+ download speeds 90% of the time. In SoCal, I'll show 4 bars and not be able to open a single page. It's pretty bad. I've had a Verizon iP5 since launch day and I've made some calls and compared them side by side. I even shut off LTE and compare V's 3G to AT&T HSPA+ and Verizon 3G destroys it. It's pretty ridiculous. I've always hated big red for not getting gsm (I travel a lot overseas) but now, I can travel overseas and get better service here. Done.

 

[shenan1982]

If you live\work\travel in good AT&T areas, they're 1000x better. The technology is better, the network deployment is better in most areas, and the functionality of the phone is as Apple intended. To take a smartphone with all the bells and whistles and not be able to be on a call and send off a text (or iMessage), or check directions, or do anything requiring internet, is plain primitive.

I would sooner go T-Mobile and live on EDGE before I'd go Verizon, because at least then the crippled phone would be saving me money. Verizon has done a fantastic job in marketing the last 10 years. They've got people convinced that their network is better. Don't get me wrong, in some places (particularly more rural, non-densly populated areas) it can be better, but that's where they have focused their effort. In a way it's smart because they know they're never going to beat a CDMA carrier, so they have to focus their efforts on the tier 2 markets. Look at their LTE map and you'll see what I mean. How do you think they can say "we have 20x more LTE than AT&T" ... because they light up cities like Boise, Bozeman, Billings, which require 1/20th of the manpower and resources to do. That's where their loyalists come in.

If you live in a top 200 city, AT&T has always and will always be your best network option for a fully functioning phone. All carriers have dead spots, so it comes down to where you live\work\play, and each has to make their own decision. I would not personally go with VZW though, as that no simultaneous voice and data would be going back into the stone age.

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switched....and no issues.

Like the coverage and customer service. Glad to be rid of AT&T.

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I have been able to send text and receive them while on the phone.

Sorry, for those of us with iPhones, "text" is now a commonly used word for "iMessage" ... on Verizon you cannot do that. Nothing that uses data while on the phone.