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Carrier T-Mobile vs. Verizon

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pcubed18

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 14, 2010
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I am currently a Verizon customer based in NYC and use to have T-Mobile. I am thinking about going back for a few reasons 1- the magenta max bill is consistent with no dumbs fees like Verizon, international travel is a dream, in flight wifi with delta is free. 5G is a wash for me because I think it’s about the same.

But curious to hear other people and their experiences. Is it worth sticking with Verizon? I know T-Mobile has speeds but I also want reliability.

Thanks!
 
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We were with Verizon for years. Their customer service was so abysmal and their billing so cryptic that we switched on principle, despite living in an area where VZW has far better service than TMO. TMO has gotten better over the years in our area, at least. And our bill is $93 a month every month for 3 lines fully unlimited. And like $10 towards Netflix.
 
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I wasn't with Verizon; but my father retired from AT&T, so for years - as in 25 of them - we stuck with AT&T, until last December. For the umpteenth time I complained about a lack of speed and other issues despite strong signal strength. They tried telling me "Oh, well, you've got 5 bars..."

I politely informed them there's a difference between signal strength and bandwidth/availability, and told them there were other cellular carriers in the are that had faster speeds and better bandwidth availability.

They said, and I quote, "Well, if you think you can get better service with another carrier, you should probably go with that carrier." LOL

5 years ago I tried out T-Mobile, and in our area it was complete crap - I live in the middle of nowhere in the Ozarks, and I got nothing at the time. Downloaded the Test Drive App, knowing it was a crapshoot...and was surprised to find that at worst, they had the same signal strength as AT&T, but with faster speeds and a better/more solid connection.

So we switched. Went from $140 to $80 a month; speeds are faster, FAR less dropped calls, free Netflix, T-Mobile Tuesdays and all that jazz. Couldn't be happier. :)
 
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pcubed18 said:
I am currently a Verizon customer based in NYC and use to have T-Mobile. I am thinking about going back for a few reasons 1- the magenta max bill is consistent with no dumbs fees like Verizon, international travel is a dream, in flight wifi with delta is free. 5G is a wash for me because I think it’s about the same.

But curious to hear other people and their experiences. Is it worth sticking with Verizon? I know T-Mobile has speeds but I also want reliability.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I can only speak for us and our location.

We are in Phoenix and we had Sprint from 1999 to 2015. We left for T-Mobile in 2015 because we'd finally had enough. 2011 to 2015 was particularly bad.

We ended up paying slightly more than with Sprint, but we got stuff (such as free tethering) that Sprint was not offering then. Speeds and coverage immediately improved. Within the first year T-Mobile was still improving speeds and had increased capacity and signal.

Since 2015 I've never had to worry about my service, unlike with Sprint. I get coverage and signal everywhere, with one exception - at home. They have improved at home, but I am still using a coverage device they sent me (4G/LTE Cellspot, a femtocell) in 2016. Note that Verizon is a complete dead zone where I live. I've had several techs visit who had Verizon and they actually had to leave the entire community before they got service again.

We are still on the same plan, Simple Choice, which is a few plans before Magenta. It's not tax inclusive, but we do have some perks that Magenta does not.

T-Mobile is offering a free 3 month test drive through their app. I encourage you, if you want to try T-Mobile, to download their app and test it out. Location is always the key. T-Mobile is great for us but might not be for everyone.
 
Kung said:
I wasn't with Verizon; but my father retired from AT&T, so for years - as in 25 of them - we stuck with AT&T, until last December. For the umpteenth time I complained about a lack of speed and other issues despite strong signal strength. They tried telling me "Oh, well, you've got 5 bars..."

I politely informed them there's a difference between signal strength and bandwidth/availability, and told them there were other cellular carriers in the are that had faster speeds and better bandwidth availability.

They said, and I quote, "Well, if you think you can get better service with another carrier, you should probably go with that carrier." LOL

5 years ago I tried out T-Mobile, and in our area it was complete crap - I live in the middle of nowhere in the Ozarks, and I got nothing at the time. Downloaded the Test Drive App, knowing it was a crapshoot...and was surprised to find that at worst, they had the same signal strength as AT&T, but with faster speeds and a better/more solid connection.

So we switched. Went from $140 to $80 a month; speeds are faster, FAR less dropped calls, free Netflix, T-Mobile Tuesdays and all that jazz. Couldn't be happier. :)
Click to expand...
My sister has had a grandfathered plan with AT&T for years. Don't know when she got it, but over the years she's offered to put us on her plan. Each time I've said no. I can recall AT&T blaming the customer when they had network problems with the iPhone, but the primary reason was being beholding to my sister paying the bill - which she's failed to do at least twice that I know of.

And now it's just not realistic. We have ten lines with T-Mobile and are considering adding an 11th.
 
eyoungren said:
My sister has had a grandfathered plan with AT&T for years. Don't know when she got it, but over the years she's offered to put us on her plan. Each time I've said no. I can recall AT&T blaming the customer when they had network problems with the iPhone, but the primary reason was being beholding to my sister paying the bill - which she's failed to do at least twice that I know of.

And now it's just not realistic. We have ten lines with T-Mobile and are considering adding an 11th.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was one of those unlimited holdouts for a long time until I went back like 4 years and realized I'd *never* gone over like 15Gb of usage per month, and even that one time was during a 3 week vacation.

Switched and was like I'd discovered the internet all over again. LOL

I forgot to mention T-Mobile paid off our phones when we switched (we both had not-quite a year old iPhone 12's at the time).
 
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I'd say just get a $15 or $25 a month T-Mobile Connect plan or other prepaid plan for a month. Pay whatever the activation fee is and see if it is reliable enough for you. In your daily life.

If it works out. You'll have just had to pay for two plans for a month. At least you'll know if T-Mobile is good for you. If it is. You can start saving money after that. By switching.
 
velocityg4 said:
I'd say just get a $15 or $25 a month T-Mobile Connect plan or other prepaid plan for a month. Pay whatever the activation fee is and see if it is reliable enough for you. In your daily life.

If it works out. You'll have just had to pay for two plans for a month. At least you'll know if T-Mobile is good for you. If it is. You can start saving money after that. By switching.
Click to expand...
Just curious why you'd do this when T-Mobile is offering three free months through their app as a test drive.
 
I'm only on Verizon because I happen to use the perks they offer, such as free Apple Music, Disney Plus and 50GB hotspot data.

Starting with the iPhone 14/Pro, there will be no more physical SIM cards which will be a real pain for international travel. Most pre-paid plans you get in many locations overseas are only offered on physical sims. So, this is Apple once again trying to force an industry standard by inconveniencing their customers in the meantime.

If you're a traveler and are going to pick up a new iPhone in the next few years, I'd go with T-Moblie for the travel advantages you mentioned.
 
barkomatic said:
Starting with the iPhone 14/Pro, there will be no more physical SIM cards which will be a real pain for international travel. Most pre-paid plans you get in many locations overseas are only offered on physical sims. So, this is Apple once again trying to force an industry standard by inconveniencing their customers in the meantime.
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There's another thread I've posted in about this, but I will ask the same question here. Why would you take your most expensive primary phone for international travel?

I have an unlocked iPhone 6s+ as my secondary phone. If I were going to be making an international trip I'd be bringing my 6s+ and leaving my 11 Pro Max at home. My 6s+ would be much less of a target for thieves than say, an iPhone 14. If it's lost, stolen, or damaged I'm out a 7 year old phone and not my 11PM.

Someone said it was because of a better camera. But IDK, I wouldn't want to lose or damage my primary phone overseas.
 
eyoungren said:
There's another thread I've posted in about this, but I will ask the same question here. Why would you take your most expensive primary phone for international travel?

I have an unlocked iPhone 6s+ as my secondary phone. If I were going to be making an international trip I'd be bringing my 6s+ and leaving my 11 Pro Max at home. My 6s+ would be much less of a target for thieves than say, an iPhone 14. If it's lost, stolen, or damaged I'm out a 7 year old phone and not my 11PM.

Someone said it was because of a better camera. But IDK, I wouldn't want to lose or damage my primary phone overseas.
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You make a good point and I've thought about keeping my iPhone 12 as a backup and for use in these situations. However, I can get $430 to trade in a device that would otherwise just sit around my home as its battery slowly degrades anyway until I have to recycle it. The battery on my 12 has already diminished considerably in just 2 years.
 
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barkomatic said:
You make a good point and I've thought about keeping my iPhone 12 as a backup and for use in these situations. However, I can get $430 to trade in a device that would otherwise just sit around my home as its battery slowly degrades anyway until I have to recycle it. The battery on my 12 has already diminished considerably in just 2 years.
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Well, don't take my question too seriously. I'm asking it from the standpoint of a guy who has several old iPhones (my 5 has been replaced three times up into 2017) and my newest Mac is 2009 vintage.

So, I tend to keep my old phones rather than trading them in. I use them for other purposes. My 6s+ for example is the phone I take when out walking in the morning.
 
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My experience with T-Mobile was generally good from about 2016 to 2020. Then when they started their integration of Sprint and their 5G rollout I started to have issues. Dropped calls, slow data, bad signal in areas that were previously OK. I think its going to be a bit hit or miss until they get their upgrades done etc. After that it will probably be a lot better. The same could probably be said for the other two with 5G, but T-Mobile is also adding all of the sprint assets and customers at the same time.

That being said, they offer a test drive so it doesn't hurt to check it out. They do offer significant value and features if it works for your location.
 
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pcubed18 said:
I am currently a Verizon customer based in NYC and use to have T-Mobile. I am thinking about going back for a few reasons 1- the magenta max bill is consistent with no dumbs fees like Verizon, international travel is a dream, in flight wifi with delta is free. 5G is a wash for me because I think it’s about the same.

But curious to hear other people and their experiences. Is it worth sticking with Verizon? I know T-Mobile has speeds but I also want reliability.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I have been considering the same thing. The increase in my Verizon bill has me considering T-mobile.
 
Also with regards to e-sim I have used Airalo before and it worked really well and that has kept me with Verizon because I can make it work. But the simplicity of T-Mobile sounds appealing but worries the coverage will be average.
 
Is there a good website that lays out the price variations between T-Mobile and Verizon, especially when including Apple Watch and iPad data?
 
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I think a lot of this would be dependent on your area, but I'll chime in that if you want the best reliability you can also dual SIM. I have T-Mobile for my personal number and Mint for my business line, both are T-Mobile. My Mint plan is up the start of October and I am going to switch it over to a Verizon MVNO now that they support eSim. In my area, I can get Spectrum (which uses Verizon) with unlimited talk, text, and 1GB for only $15/mo. As a second line, 1GB shouldn't really matter.
 
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I worked for T-mobile, but the employee discount remained on my account. So I have stayed. I live in the Orlando area and the service is admittedly really spotty. Sometimes I can not even load maps to get around. I am still new in the area so I need GPS to find anything still really. I also have issues with dropped calls and even streaming music in the car. However, the places I spend my time either have fine service, or I am on Wi-Fi and it’s just fine for me. The speeds when service is fine are great, call quality is great, and my bill is low. No hidden fees. And the team of experts is probably the best. You will always get routed to the same call office with people working usually not far from where you live(within several hours). I have even been connected with the exact same person when calling in. Very friendly phone support. Right now, customer service and cost are the biggest priority for me, and they have been the best in both of those areas by a long shot.
I also know that as the Sprint towers are converted over to 5G towers, the service will only get better. This will just be an exercise in patience.
This morning the upgrade experience was not good. But the reps really did, I feel, the best they possibly could with what they had to work with. I didn’t see anyone complain that there were not called back when promised, and most everyone I have seen was still getting launch day delivery as orders did start to go through even though it took hours to work out their crashed upgrade system.
 
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MGGN said:
I think a lot of this would be dependent on your area, but I'll chime in that if you want the best reliability you can also dual SIM. I have T-Mobile for my personal number and Mint for my business line, both are T-Mobile. My Mint plan is up the start of October and I am going to switch it over to a Verizon MVNO now that they support eSim. In my area, I can get Spectrum (which uses Verizon) with unlimited talk, text, and 1GB for only $15/mo. As a second line, 1GB shouldn't really matter.
Click to expand...
Very good idea about dual SIM support!

I may have to do that.

So Calif area and I have had T Mobile for my personal phone over 10 years and love them.
I am grandfathered into a $25/line unlimited w/ lots of international travel without need to change SIM.

Also have a Verizon work phone and it gets a bit better range & reception in rural areas.
The Verizon phone is on a first responder priority as I work for a state government agency which is nice in the event of a disaster or emergency.

Between the 2, I love the combination of leveraging both networks.

My new iPhone 14 Plus that I bought will be my personal T Mobile phone and the only reason I upgraded from a 12 Pro was the SOS Satellite emergency feature.

I fish many times in remote areas where there are no cell towers.
 
I would never go back to T-Mobile. I had them back in the day and their coverage was terrible and I recently tried them and it was better but still terrible.

Of course it depends on where you’re using your phone. If you’re only using your phone in downtown New York City any carrier would probably work fine. If you’re traveling between cities and you don’t like having no signal then stick with Verizon. They could be giving gigabit speeds but that wouldn’t make up for dead zones.
 
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