Opinions on Sprint's Service?

[kartracer3]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to ask your opinion on Sprint's iPhone service. My contract is due to expire with AT&T and I have been debating about switching carriers. The shared data plans they introduced for family plans don't appeal to me. After doing some math I realized that I could get an equivalent family plan on Sprint (with unlimited data) for about the same price I am paying now with AT&T. I've never used Sprint before, do the have reliable service in the Northeast (PA) part of the country? Is there a difference with the CDMA vs GSM iPhones? Or do you know of a better option with another carrier like Verizon? Thanks!

 

[Wicked1]

I am in central NJ and I had Sprint for one year, their service is horrible, however I am on ATT and have been since 2008 with no issues, left Verizon as well after 8 years bc their customer service was horrible for me. I could not get a Sprint signal in my house and they are like Verizon no data and voice at the same time which is a bummer once you have it on ATT

 

[BFizzzle]

i switched from att to srpint on the 4s... (then switched right back lol)

Their data was godawful.. i would average .3 kb/s sooo 300 kbps.. my att 3g was 600 kb/s 6 mpbs..

that being said, my roomate has sprint iphone and now he gets 150 kb/s (1.5 mbps) (so some improvement here in the past year)

Sprints Voice service is insanely better than AT&T.. Crystal clear. Its like listening to a 320 kbps mp3, and a 65 kbps mp3. Seriously I was so impressed. I had zero dropped calls. Even with 1 bar of service i could hear/be heard just fine.

If sprint has LTE in your area/ will be having LTE in your area in the next 6 months, i would say go for it. (if you are getting the iphone 5.. and IF it has LTE)

I myself will have lte in austin tx by this fall per sprint.. so i will be switching over, if the iphone 5 does have LTE i will be getting an android. Im tired of throttled speeds after 3gb, dropped calls, and now this facetime bs?

 

[blairh]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to ask your opinion on Sprint's iPhone service. My contract is due to expire with AT&T and I have been debating about switching carriers. The shared data plans they introduced for family plans don't appeal to me. After doing some math I realized that I could get an equivalent family plan on Sprint (with unlimited data) for about the same price I am paying now with AT&T. I've never used Sprint before, do the have reliable service in the Northeast (PA) part of the country? Is there a difference with the CDMA vs GSM iPhones? Or do you know of a better option with another carrier like Verizon? Thanks!

I strongly advise against moving your service to Sprint. There is currently a 178 page thread over at Sprint's forum where customers are complaining about slow data speeds using their Sprint iPhone's. Perhaps this can change when Sprint truly rolls out real LTE, not WiMax, but that's a big if at this point.

I think in general you will get much slower data speeds on average with Sprint versus AT&T and Verizon.

 

[maflynn]

I avoid them like the plague. My wife had a ton of problems with their customer service a few years ago and we'll never go back to them. They're coverage and speed is inferior to both ATT and VZW.

 

[falterego]

...Sprints Voice service is insanely better than AT&T.. Crystal clear. Its like listening to a 320 kbps mp3, and a 65 kbps mp3. Seriously I was so impressed. I had zero dropped calls. Even with 1 bar of service i could hear/be heard just fine.

If sprint has LTE in your area/ will be having LTE in your area in the next 6 months, i would say go for it. (if you are getting the iphone 5.. and IF it has LTE)

I myself will have lte in austin tx by this fall per sprint.. so i will be switching over, if the iphone 5 does have LTE i will be getting an android. Im tired of throttled speeds after 3gb, dropped calls, and now this facetime bs?

I have the same experience with their voice service in LA. Data service on 3G is still pretty crap on my 4s, but it used to be awesome (3MB down) before a huge wind storm in the LA area knocked down 75 cell towers. I wouldn't rely so heavily on LTE for my decision making though. It will KILL your battery if you leave it on 24/7. I personally am fine with 3G, but it has to work better than this for me to stick with them when the new iPhone comes out. I'll take stable 3G and zero LTE over crap 3G and eventual LTE any day.

 

[anonymouslurker]

It really depends on where you're going to be using it.

I don't have experience using Sprint in PA, but where I'm located, I get fantastic coverage and fantastic speeds, for a much lower price than I would with other carriers.

But I've also traveled to areas with much worse Sprint coverage, and then it's very frustrating.

My suggestion would be to pick up a Sprint phone and use it for a few days in the areas you'll be most often (home, work, etc), and see how it works, and if you're not happy, cancel.

 

[BFizzzle]

I have the same experience with their voice service in LA. Data service on 3G is still pretty crap on my 4s, but it used to be awesome (3MB down) before a huge wind storm in the LA area knocked down 75 cell towers. I wouldn't rely so heavily on LTE for my decision making though. It will KILL your battery if you leave it on 24/7. I personally am fine with 3G, but it has to work better than this for me to stick with them when the new iPhone comes out. I'll take stable 3G and zero LTE over crap 3G and eventual LTE any day.

for sure, if i had 3mbps i would be just fine with that.
I dunno about the LTE killing the batter though.. I dont think apple will release a product with really really bad battery. i know my ipad 3 has a much bigger battery, but i get 10+ hours of lte use. Maybe these new LTE chipsets from qualcom will be better too. Not much longer until we find out.

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It really depends on where you're going to be using it.

I don't have experience using Sprint in PA, but where I'm located, I get fantastic coverage and fantastic speeds, for a much lower price than I would with other carriers.

But I've also traveled to areas with much worse Sprint coverage, and then it's very frustrating.

My suggestion would be to pick up a Sprint phone and use it for a few days in the areas you'll be most often (home, work, etc), and see how it works, and if you're not happy, cancel.

+1

sprint has a 14 day refund on your phone/contract

 

[willmtaylor]

It really depends on where you're going to be using it.

My suggestion would be to pick up a Sprint phone and use it for a few days in the areas you'll be most often (home, work, etc), and see how it works, and if you're not happy, cancel.

^This. It's all about coverage for you. If you're asking about customer service, etc., this forum is good for that, but only you can determine if Sprint has good coverage and data speeds where you'll be using it.

Also, do check out a very popular thread about leaving AT&T for Sprint; lots of people have already weighed in there.

 

[rocknblogger]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to ask your opinion on Sprint's iPhone service. My contract is due to expire with AT&T and I have been debating about switching carriers. The shared data plans they introduced for family plans don't appeal to me. After doing some math I realized that I could get an equivalent family plan on Sprint (with unlimited data) for about the same price I am paying now with AT&T. I've never used Sprint before, do the have reliable service in the Northeast (PA) part of the country? Is there a difference with the CDMA vs GSM iPhones? Or do you know of a better option with another carrier like Verizon? Thanks!

I've been with Sprint for a bout 10 years and all I can say is, it depends. It depends on where you are and what kind of coverage Sprint has in the area. I live in North Jersey and 90% of the time I don't have any issues.

Keep in mind I don't constantly check what my connection speed is. I just use my phone. I don't stream video but I do use SiriusXM or Spotify and most of the time either app works just fine. Occasionally they'll stop and buffer but that's probably normal when you're on the move and switch to different towers.

But I have been in areas outside on NJ where it was frustrating to try to use data. I think the best thing you can do is just go and try it. When the new iPhone is released get it and see how it works for you. If it's not up to your expectations just cancel and try something else.

I believe that Sprint will eventually successfully roll out LTE and it will have been worth it for all those that have been patient. The roll out may not be as fast as some would like but I do believe they will get there. In the meantime I have unlimitted data and Sprint already said they won't block FaceTime over cellular.

Good luck and hope things work out for you!!

 

[MsRandall]

Sprint.....NO

I would not recommend Sprint service. I was a customer for 14 years upto 4 months ago. Their service has degraded over the last 3 years. While they have removed perks like yearly upgrades, nvp discounts over multiple lines, etc...

Yes they are upgrading to LTE but YMMV. They have alot of unhappy customers so after 14 years I switched to Verizon and I STILL FOR NOW HAVE unlimited data but that will change after the iPhone 5 launch as I will be moving to a shared plan. How good is Sprints unlimited when your iphone couldnt download an app from the app store when you didnt have wifi available? Data was slow and painful on Sprint...I had 4 iPhones and paid to leave them thats just how bad ther servic was here in the SF bay area- major area.

 

[ET iPhone Home]

I've been with Sprint for a long while now. For me, they've been decent. As for Voice, no complaints whatsoever. They offer great coverage nationwide. As to Customer Service, they've been very good tome. They have saved me from a few billing errors, which they corrected on the spot. Now, keep in mind, I'm not a die-hard user of Data, so I'm not affected by their data speeds. I'm sure it's slow. I've read the complaints. I usually use Data on WiFi when needed.

Which is why I'm going unlocked with my next iPhone. Going with T-Mobile, rather then spend all this money on service I don't need, service meaning data.

 

[nburwell]

I wasn't on Virgin Mobile (which uses Sprint's network) for a full month until I switched to Straight Talk (AT&T) for service. I live just outside Philadelphia, the voice and especially data were horrible when I had VM. Even when I traveled up to New England, I had to rely on wifi hot spots so that I would be able access data on my phone. I would highly recommend you either stick with AT&T or look into Verizon. Sprint is pretty bad around the Mid-Atlantic area.

 

[forevercurvy]

I have Sprint; and it IS slow; I complain about it all the time. Especially when I use Siri; and a coworker was using Siri and she is with Verizon; and I noticed how her's was so fast and immediate. Mine usually takes forever, and I could do without Siri if it wasn't for wifi. So to answer the question, Sprint is not worth it.

 

[Applejuiced]

Dont do it.

 

[bushman4]

Sprint is slower than ATT & Verizon. Coverage on 4G isn't nearly as massive as the others. On a smartphone you can't be on the phone and internet at the same time .........Major downside.
So Sprint is offering unlimited 4G, big deal most of the time you'll be on a slow 3G network.

 

[SporkLover]

Sprint voice is great. Coverage is good and CDMA is superior in voice quality and how it handles calls (IMHO).

The data network is Sloooooooow and congested.

I've been a customer for 12 years and the smartphone explosion has really taken its toll on the data speeds (I travel a ton and it's consistently slow everywhere). I used to be able to get 2mb data at my house, now I'm lucky too see something north of 500kb.

The data speeds Are driving me to VZW

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Sprint is slower than ATT & Verizon. Coverage on 4G isn't nearly as massive as the others. On a smartphone you can't be on the phone and internet at the same time .........Major downside.
So Sprint is offering unlimited 4G, big deal most of the time you'll be on a slow 3G network.

Sort of. On the iPhone this is true. But with a phone with a 4g radio you can use data and voice at the sometime.

 

[faroZ06]

I think you should have facts and opinions. Speedtest.net results would be nice. I got 5.5mbps download on AT&T's 4G in good reception.

 

[Dominicanyor]

I have sprint and it's just a little slow I don't think it makes any different at all. The only thing that I do not like is that Im not able to surf the net wild I'm on the phone.