New iphone 5s plan for 2 (AT&T vs Verizon)

[josh22]

Hi,

My wife and I held out for the 5s to start our new phone plan together (i'm on verizon and she is at&t right now). We are in nyc and decided we need reliability for when we drive upstate (so no t-mobile as we are told it will be spotty when visiting parents). It seems like pricing for Verizon and AT&T are about the same. Is there any advantage to AT&T or Verizon? Or are they basically the same at this point. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks for the help.

Josh

 

[edtorious]

do any of you have unlimited data? You might want to consider sticking with your current carrier if you have unlimited data.

 

[josh22]

I do not. My wife does on at&t, but she is on her parent's plan. Could she separate from her parent's plan and I join her and still keep unlimited data? Do we still get subsidized phone?

 

[deeddawg]

I do not. My wife does on at&t, but she is on her parent's plan. Could she separate from her parent's plan and I join her and still keep unlimited data? Do we still get subsidized phone?

I believe she could do this, but I'd recommend calling cust svc to check. Contract and upgrade dates should remain the same, it shouldn't affect her ability to use an upgrade if she has one available.

Best to do it as a completely separate transaction from a phone purchase however.

 

[Carlanga]

I do not. My wife does on at&t, but she is on her parent's plan. Could she separate from her parent's plan and I join her and still keep unlimited data? Do we still get subsidized phone?

risky move, maybe see if you can get in the family plan action

 

[deeddawg]

risky move, maybe see if you can get in the family plan action

Why would it be risky (if decoupled from a phone purchase)?

As to joining your wife's parent's family plan... I think you can only do that once your and your wife have moved home and lived in their basement a couple months first.

 

[bradl]

risky move, maybe see if you can get in the family plan action

That just sounds so... nasty!

Seriously, this may be the better idea. IIRC, when a number splits off from a plan (I just had this happen a couple years ago when the 3GS went down in price), that technically becomes a new phone on a new line. So it may not be eligible for the previous plan's data/setup.

So porting the number over and joining the family plan may be the better idea.

BL.

 

[Carlanga]

Why would it be risky (if decoupled from a phone purchase)?
...

she might lose the unlimited data.

That just sounds so... nasty!
...

dirtyyy

 

[aristobrat]

Is there any advantage to AT&T or Verizon? Or are they basically the same at this point.

Don't know if either of these will matter to you, but an iPhone on Verizon can't do simultaneous voice + 3G/LTE data. This means if you're on a voice call and people send you iMessages, you won't get the iMessages until you hang up.

Also, Verizon iPhones are SIM-unlocked. If you travel internationally, this gives you the freedom to buy a local pre-paid SIM and use that for voice/data, vs. paying Verizon's expensive international roaming. AT&T will not SIM-unlock their phones until you've finished the contract (although you can pay for third-party services to unlock them).

 

[deeddawg]

she might lose the unlimited data.

Oh, I guess I figured the OP would be very careful to discuss that aspect with cust svc and so forth, preferably doing it in a corp store and viewing the screen before any changes were committed.

 

[josh22]

I asked AT&T today. Sounds like if we start our own plan my wife will lose the unlimited data. We gave interest on being on her parent's plan (they wouldn't let us pay then - they are too nice)...anyway, back to the original question - any other advantages to AT&T vs verizon or vice versa other than intl SIM card and same time data/talk.

Thanks

 

[deeddawg]

I asked AT&T today. Sounds like if we start our own plan my wife will lose the unlimited data.

Well dang, I stand corrected.

As for ATT/Verizon be sure you check actual coverage at your work and home, ideally via friends with current phones on each carrier. For example, my home shows good coverage for both AT&T and Verizon on their coverage maps... but in reality AT&T coverage is full bars even in the basement, but Verizon is 1-2 bars of 3G near a window and no signal at all in the basement.