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It could be a big mistake.

Better check with anybody with coverage in your area, don't believe the maps.

Verizon is overpriced, but good coverage and reliable.

Sprint or t-mobile, I would be lucky to get a signal.

Well said. You get what you pay for.
 
Thanks for all the input. I just placed an order for a T-Mobile test drive. They're sending me a 5S, which is nice since that's what I'm currently using. I really like the test drive idea, and I'll make sure to update how I feel about coverage/plans/reception/etc.


Anyone have questions for me while I serve as a guinea pig in this process? :)



Sounds like a good choice to me before you commit to any changes. Even if Sprint offered a test drive I would say not to bother. I have yet to meet a single person who was happy with Sprint.
 
Like others have said.. Its all about whether you travel or not. For me, i like listening to pod casts a bunch. So i need coverage not just AT point a and B. but also BETWEEN.

Tmobile is teh suck.

You might get good coverage at major locations... but rarely BETWEEN them.

My GPS always messed up with Tmobile. Not the case anymore with AT&T. Yes you pay a little more, but its worth every penny.

JMHO
 
The golden rule is you get what you pay for.

With VZW and AT&T, you get fantastic coverage and solid data speeds. TMobile has great speeds in select places, but terrible overall coverage.

AT&T and VZW are on another stratosphere in this comparison.

First of all, that's not the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule is a precious truth which should not be replaced with aluminum.


T-Mobile doesn't have terrible overall coverage by any means. However, there are spots in the country where you can only receive a usable signal from one carrier (or none at all). I've been in spots where T-Mobile is that carrier. But if it's very rural there's a better chance it's Verizon. Verizon's more widely spaced antennas give it more coverage area, but also more chance of congestion. Every single carrier has given me times when I've been elated with them over all the others, and times when I'd almost rather smash their device on the ground.


Yes, sometimes I think AT&T and Verizon are up in the stratosphere, because all that capacity must be transmitting somewhere! I'm sure if I were their only customer, and I didn't have to share, they'd be the best.
 
First of all, that's not the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule is a precious truth which should not be replaced with aluminum.


T-Mobile doesn't have terrible overall coverage by any means. However, there are spots in the country where you can only receive a usable signal from one carrier (or none at all). I've been in spots where T-Mobile is that carrier. But if it's very rural there's a better chance it's Verizon. Verizon's more widely spaced antennas give it more coverage area, but also more chance of congestion. Every single carrier has given me times when I've been elated with them over all the others, and times when I'd almost rather smash their device on the ground.


Yes, sometimes I think AT&T and Verizon are up in the stratosphere, because all that capacity must be transmitting somewhere! I'm sure if I were their only customer, and I didn't have to share, they'd be the best.

AT&T and Verizon get away with charging so much because of their coverage.

T-mobile is a great deal and if you have great service in your area, then nothing can beat it's value for price, unless you travel often and need coverage everywhere.

You can't really compare the big 2 to T-mobile, if it's overall coverage was nearly the same as them then everyone would be flocking to T-mobile since they have much better prices.

I have verizon currently, great coverage but don't really like the company, will be switching to t-mobile likely once their coverage improves in my area.
 
LOL!!! Miss.

There's a corporate repair store less than five miles from where I live and LTE sucks. :D

Of course, all the other towers around me are upgraded, just not the ones I actually connect to! :rolleyes:

Why dont you switch already? I dont mean to be a jerk but all you do is complain about sprint. Tmobile pays for your ETF so whats the hold up?
 
Why dont you switch already? I dont mean to be a jerk but all you do is complain about sprint. Tmobile pays for your ETF so whats the hold up?
Only my wife's phone is in need of any ETF coverage. My own iPhone 5 is paid for, I'm out of contract. My wife has less than a year to go.

We're waiting for next year's tax refund and then we will be able to purchase new phones outright. Yes, I could leave by selling our phones, but then we don't get what we want. I'd rather wait and get what I want when I have the money for it.

Until then I complain because I pay for a service I am not getting. If between now and the time we leave Sprint, Sprint gets my towers hooked up to new backhaul and I get what I am paying for then you'll see me stop complaining.

That said, you don't see my starting new threads to bitch about Sprint. My complaints are in context as replies started by others. So, it's not like I am going out of my way to whine about my service (or lack thereof).

Further, I recognize that Sprint has good coverage and service in the places that it does (and have acknowledged that in several threads). I don't deny that. Also, their call quality is still superior. If they were not doing at least something right I would not have stuck with them for 15 years.
 
It really depends on location with Sprint & T-mobile right now. I live in NYC, and I purchased the iPhone 5 for Sprint back in 2012 and the past two years were torture with Sprint' LTE service. I gave Sprint another last shot with the iPhone 6 because of the Spark improvements and my experience with Sprint LTE has changed completely. There are zero hiccups with loading information, everything is quite seamless and sometimes I switch off home WiFi to use LTE because it's become very reliable with carrier aggregation and Spark compatibility with the 6.
 
The other thing that's a downside with sprint is it's the only carrier that can't do voice and data at the same time. And it's not just the Iphone. It's every single phone with Spark connectivity. EVEN the new Samsung phones can no longer do voice and data.

AT&T and T-mobile could always do voice and data, and Verizon could do it with every phone except the Iphone, but now verizon has voice and data on the 6 and 6 plus, and sprint is the only carrier left in the dark.
 
I gave up unlimited data on Verizon to switch to T-Mobile. lol had terrible Verizon service. Now I get this.
 

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The T-Mobile test drive is a great program. Unfortunately for T-Mobile, in my case, it proved to be their downfall. I live in a mid-sized city, and in the largest suburb of that city. And yet could not even get a signal in my house. Regardless of cost, T-Mobile cannot replace Verizon for me.
 
question on tmobile test drive

do i get to keep my same phone number if im with verizon? how would they do that?
 
do i get to keep my same phone number if im with verizon? how would they do that?
They give you a 16GB iPhone loaner with it's own number. You use that phone for the trial period (you don't have to deactivate your old phone) to test it out.

T-Mobile makes a credit hold on your credit card. If you use a debit card then that hold is on your bank account. When you return the phone the hold is reversed.
 
Went from Sprint to T-Mobile for the 6 and regret nothing. T-Mobile is literally 5x faster than Sprint in my area of Dallas/FTW and the call quality is substantially better. Cheaper to boot.

I did Sprint for 3 years and had few problems I will say. They're just nothing to get excited about.
 
Just a quick update. I ordered and received my T-Mobile test drive device, and carried it with me throughout my normal workweek. It got solid signal everywhere I went through the week, and had pretty high U/D speeds on LTE. I took it back today, and ended up signing up. I was hesitant to consider it, because I learned that you have to turn in your phone for them to pay your ETF, but then they told me that I would still get a trade-in amount for it, $350 for my 5S. I asked them to repeat what they said, and they told me the same thing: I would give them my phone and they would pay off my ETF, and give me $350 for my phone. That, coupled with the fact that for the same amount of data, my bill will go from $100 on VZW to $80 on T-Mobile, and that's with the monthly payment for a iPhone 6 64gig, and I was sold. My phone is on order now, and I'm looking forward to it! I feel like I made the right choice, so here's hoping I'm right!

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I gave up unlimited data on Verizon to switch to T-Mobile. lol had terrible Verizon service. Now I get this.

Oh, and for the record, that speed is absurd.
 
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