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Seriously Considering Switching From AT&T to Verizon

M

mom333

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 27, 2011
109
0
I have had horrible luck with phone calls on my 4S with AT&T. (Dropped calls, no audio, failed calls, and static - just poor reception all together.) I've been with the same carrier forever (originally was Cingular) and I thought things would get better, not worse.

I'm really considering switching to Verizon, but I don't want to lose my cheap plan with AT&T (I don't think they even offer the same plan now) if I find that Verizon is no better. See, Verizon is going to easily cost me an additional $40 per month. So, I'd like to "try" Verizon.

I'm thinking of going and starting a new plan for my husband and I, since it's mostly us calling each other, and getting two iPhone 4S. Try them out while I still have time to back out of my new contract with AT&T. Is this an insane idea, or a smart one?

Now, if I find Verizon is much better and worth the switch, will I be able to change my assigned Verizon numbers to my old AT&T numbers or am I going to have to go through the hassle of notifying everyone and their brother of my new phone number?

Thanks for any feedback.
 
You definitely can port a number after you've used the line for a while. I've done it. There may be some time limit, the Verizon store can advise you there -but I did it after about 3 weeks.
 
dulaney22 said:
Same price as AT&T and better coverage. Did it 2 years ago and couldn't be happier.
Click to expand...

This is where I stand as well though I did it a year ago. I pay less only because my work has a silly discount with VZW and not AT&T.
 
shanmugam said:
correct me if I am wrong

1) Roll over minutes
2) $15 - 200MB data plan

minimum data plan for Verizon $30...
Click to expand...

correct me if im wrong,

It still comes out to almost the same price if your on the $25 data plan. The 200 mb plan is pathetic. Oh wow verizon is $5 more expensive. BIG DEAL. are we seriously talking about $5/month here?

roll over minutes is BS anyway. My roll over minutes expired more times than not. With verizon if you go over you can just call them and they will put you on the higher plan and back date it so you don't pay overages.

So ill spend that extra $5/ month ( i know im such a baller) and have better service than AT&T 100% of the time.
 
powerbuddy said:
Why do people keep on saying VZW is more expensive than AT&T/Sprint when its almost the same price?
Click to expand...

Because it is more expensive. I have 2 lines for $49.99 and my data is $15 each line. It's easily going to be $40 more a month. I added everything up.
 
mom333 said:
Because it is more expensive. I have 2 lines for $49.99 and my data is $15 each line. It's easily going to be $40 more a month. I added everything up.
Click to expand...

yes but your comparing older plans. Verizon had some CHEAP older plans back in the day. Go to verizonwireless.com and ATT.com and you'll see verizon and AT&T copy each others plans.

If you get verizon's cheapest plan w/ unlimited texts it would be $90 + $60. So $150/month + tax.

Yes yours is cheaper but only b.c you have the lower data plan. Verizon doesnt offer that plan anymore. I honestly dont see how anyone can use that little data lol. Even my grandmother uses more internet than that. Using google maps once uses up like 20-30 mbs.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Is an extra $40/mo worth it to you to have decent cell coverage? Just pick up two lines and go to all the places you normally go and see if the signal is better. It's going to cost you a bit of money to find out (extra lines of service overlapping with AT&T for a few weeks + activation + restocking fees if you decide to return), but it may be worth it.

I made the switch to Verizon with the 4s, and the coverage so far is a lot better. Data speeds are slower than AT&T (quite significantly according to some tests that I've run, but real world usage doesn't seem to be affected that much). I'll probably end up spending $10-$20 more per month for our three line family plan on Verizon vs AT&T, but since our cell phones are our only phones, I figured that was easily worth it.
 
I just switched from AT&T to Verizon, and it's about $10/month more expensive.

$5 for the data plan, and about $5 more in "Verizon Wireless' Surcharges" (which are in addition to "Taxes, Governmental Surcharges & Fees"). AT&T didn't charge me for anything other than my plan + taxes and required gov't surcharges/fees.

The other noticeable thing for me is how amazingly slow downloads are on Verizon vs AT&T. Web surfing seems to go quicker (lower latency?), but downloading from the App Store/iTunes Stores are painstakingly slower.
 
You won't regret coming to Big Red. Best move I've ever made cell phone related. I've had them all and I must say in the South east US from Louisiana or Miami I have 3-5 bars of 3G everywhere. I had all iPhones with AT&T and once the 4 came out my wife and I switched that day. I had been with Verizon before but left strictly for the iPhone and loved it but my service was terrible in my area with AT&T. It's worth the 14 day trial they offer to see the difference.
 
Here where I live in Eastern NC I've had both - a 3GS on AT&T and my latest iPhone 4 on Verizon. At least in this area, Verizon rules. Once they merged here with Alltel, the service is quite good. My iPhone actually has service where my last Verizon phone, an HTC Droid Incredible, had none at all. I had a 3GS last year and the service was terrible. In my hometown there wasn't any 3G until this past December (after I had already gotten rid of the service, of course) and the places where 3G was located was quite spotty. It really depends on the area and how much you want to spend. Right now I'm only a family plan with 5 people (including myself) and my line is only $50 a month and we have 2200 shared between us and I have unlimited data. Our bill is usually $300 a month but we have two smartphone plans (mine and mom's BlackBerry) and the other three lines. The way I see it, all cell phone companies charge quite a bit. Last year it cost me $85 a month from AT&T for my 3GS with 450 minutes, unlimited texting and 200MB data.
 
We made the switch to Verizon when we got the 4S on launch day. It is costing us $20 more per month but it is well worth it. No more dropped calls. Even the data side is much better. We used to have problems with ATT in midtown Manhattan. None with Verizon whatsoever. Also at home, we used to have a Microcell to boost the signal of our ATT iPhone 4. But, with Verizon, the cellphone signal here at home has been very good and there's no need to boost it. It was the best decision we ever made.

What good is a cheaper plan if you can't use the phone where you need it?
 
s.hasan546 said:
correct me if im wrong,

It still comes out to almost the same price if your on the $25 data plan. The 200 mb plan is pathetic. Oh wow verizon is $5 more expensive. BIG DEAL. are we seriously talking about $5/month here?

roll over minutes is BS anyway. My roll over minutes expired more times than not. With verizon if you go over you can just call them and they will put you on the higher plan and back date it so you don't pay overages.

So ill spend that extra $5/ month ( i know im such a baller) and have better service than AT&T 100% of the time.
Click to expand...

Also

3. HSPA Speed - 3.5G speed vs Verizon 3G Speed

----------
Opie said:
You won't regret coming to Big Red. Best move I've ever made cell phone related. I've had them all and I must say in the South east US from Louisiana or Miami I have 3-5 bars of 3G everywhere. I had all iPhones with AT&T and once the 4 came out my wife and I switched that day. I had been with Verizon before but left strictly for the iPhone and loved it but my service was terrible in my area with AT&T. It's worth the 14 day trial they offer to see the difference.
Click to expand...

iPhone 4S fixes the reception issues with ATT.

If Verizon is so good, why iPhone 4S sales for ATT is greater than Verizon+Sprint Combined?
 
Last edited:
Verizon and AT&T can be cheap and expensive depending on many things. Right now, AT&T is the cheapest for me. If I go to Verizon, I'd be paying about $50/mo. I'm pretty happy with AT&T to be honest. I hate CDMA too.
 
wordoflife said:
Verizon and AT&T can be cheap and expensive depending on many things. Right now, AT&T is the cheapest for me. If I go to Verizon, I'd be paying about $50/mo. I'm pretty happy with AT&T to be honest. I hate CDMA too.
Click to expand...

agreed on this, also depends if you have FAN (discount from your employer) discount attached to your account
 
shanmugam said:
iPhone 4S fixes the reception issues with ATT.
Click to expand...

Improves, not fixes. There are many areas where Verizon has good coverage and AT&T does not, and the 4S can't help in those cases.

AT&T has speed and price advantages, and if you are in an area where AT&T coverage is good then it is rightly the more popular choice.

Fortunately AT&T coverage is good where I live, so I can get the benefits of GSM on my iPhone. Where I used to live in northern Indiana the AT&T signal is only EDGE (was just there Labor Day and this is still the case), so if I still lived there I would probably get the Verizon phone.
 
seanfranklin said:
Improves, not fixes. There are many areas where Verizon has good coverage and AT&T does not, and the 4S can't help in those cases.

AT&T has speed and price advantages, and if you are in an area where AT&T coverage is good then it is rightly the more popular choice.

Fortunately AT&T coverage is good where I live, so I can get the benefits of GSM on my iPhone. Where I used to live in northern Indiana the AT&T signal is only EDGE (was just there Labor Day and this is still the case), so if I still lived there I would probably get the Verizon phone.
Click to expand...

again, i would ask

If Verizon is so good, why iPhone 4S sales for ATT is greater than Verizon+Sprint Combined?

so ATT covers most of the America where as Verizon or Sprint does not have that percentage of coverage?
 
Where do you live? Honestly most places that AT&T is unbearable, so is Verizon. In my area Verizon has a little bit more coverage, but the call quality and over all network reliability is the same. Plus AT&T has much faster data speeds than Verizon.

And generally speaking Verizon is more expensive than AT&T, but there's a lot that could play into that.
 
derickdub said:
Where do you live? Honestly most places that AT&T is unbearable, so is Verizon. In my area Verizon has a little bit more coverage, but the call quality and over all network reliability is the same. Plus AT&T has much faster data speeds than Verizon.

And generally speaking Verizon is more expensive than AT&T, but there's a lot that could play into that.
Click to expand...
if you directed that question then i live in Portland, OR. metro area not a big metro area.
 
if i didn't have unlimited data plan for $30/mo, then I would have switched over to Verizon...

I'm only with ATT due to the unlimited data plan..
 
shanmugam said:
again, i would ask

If Verizon is so good, why iPhone 4S sales for ATT is greater than Verizon+Sprint Combined?

so ATT covers most of the America where as Verizon or Sprint does not have that percentage of coverage?
Click to expand...

I never said verizon is "so good", in fact I said that AT&T is superior IF you are in an area with AT&T coverage. Which is most areas, but not all areas. So there are some people for whom Verizon is a better choice (poor coverage with AT&T), and there are some for whom Sprint is a better choice (people who use a lot of data and live in a good Sprint coverage area, and would benefit from the unlimited Sprint data package).

But for most people, AT&T is a better choice (faster data connection, simultaneous voice/data, and more flexibility in pricing). That's why AT&T has more iPhone users.
 
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