Those with AT&T and Sprint IPhone 5 (hands on data speeds) Atlanta

[Apple_Robert]

For those who have been using the new IPhone 5, what has been your hands on experience in the Atlanta area, in regards to data speed and connection stability etc? I have seen several speed test on the forum, but that doesn't really say much, in regard to day to day usage, as one is out and about in the Atlanta area.

I have the IPhone 4s with Sprint. As many are aware, the 3g is erratic to say the least. If I want decent speed, I have had to try and use wifi connections as much as possible, when not at home.

I am not eligible for an upgrade until June 1st. I would like to make use of faster speeds (if possible). Thus, I am considering my option of waiting it out with Sprint, until i can upgrade, hoping I will have good LTE speed in my area, or paying the EFT, and possibly go with AT&T. If I did change carriers, it appears it would be a cheaper route ( 1 year left on contract), than buying a phone outright with Sprint and rolling the dice once again.


I don't do a lot of texting, but I do a lot of web surfing, playing youtube videos and using Netflix etc.

Any practical advice would be appreciated.

 

[Intell]

Anything is better than Sprint. AT&T's data speeds would be an amazing improvement.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Anything is better than Sprint. AT&T's data speeds would be an amazing improvement.

Numerous people have told me that. Going from unlimited data to some kind of data cap is concerning to me, as I have never really payed attention to my monthly totals with Sprint, outside of last month, and that was about 2gb, with mixed wifi usage.

 

[Stratus Fear]

I work in Sandy Springs and live in Marietta, and have AT&T. In the Sandy Springs area I consistently get 50+, and in the Marietta area I seem to get between 20 and 30 at home and when out and about in town. Even managed to pull over 20 in Midtown yesterday when the football game was going on at GT (saw lots of people using new iPhones too). I have yet to see a download speed below 20mbps and all my uploads have been around 15-20 regardless of location. Speeds seem to be almost as good when in transit as well. Coverage is spectacular. I've only dropped to HSPA+ in a valley here or there, or near the edge of AT&T's coverage when I went indoors (LTE seems to get out as far as Acworth on the northwestern side).

Can't say a whole lot about Sprint, but was chatting with a buddy of mine yesterday who claims to be a "Sprint fanboy" and was impressed with the speed I was getting on my AT&T iPhone 5. He has an Android phone with LTE (can't remember which model) and said the coverage is spotty and he has trouble getting anywhere north of 5mbps.

Of course, YMMV, but I would imagine most people will be somewhere close to this experience from the random things I've heard around this area.

 

[yang88she]

you won't see anything near AT&T speed...

I'm literally down the street and I got 16mbs down w/ 6mbs up on 141 (right down from the Sprint store)

Picked up my son from Six Flags, so I hit some areas around Marietta w/ LTE

#'s were far better than when I had the 4S, but it's nothing to brag about (would probably explain the lack of speedtest.net screenshots from Sprint users )

I have my entire family on the Sprint Network with my wife, son, brother in law all using 4S's and I just bought myself the 5.

If you can switch, then do it...with my family plan it saves me a TON in comparison with family plans from Verizon or AT&T. Yea the speeds are not there yet, but it works well enough for my family & I

 

[Apple_Robert]

you won't see anything near AT&T speed...

I'm literally down the street and I got 16mbs down w/ 6mbs up on 141 (right down from the Sprint store)

Picked up my son from Six Flags, so I hit some areas around Marietta w/ LTE

#'s were far better than when I had the 4S, but it's nothing to brag about (would probably explain the lack of speedtest.net screenshots from Sprint users )

I have my entire family on the Sprint Network with my wife, son, brother in law all using 4S's and I just bought myself the 5.

If you can switch, then do it...with my family plan it saves me a TON in comparison with family plans from Verizon or AT&T. Yea the speeds are not there yet, but it works well enough for my family & I

Thanks for the reply. I work in Johns Creek.

I called Sprint today and spoke with floor supervisor. Explained to him about having terrible 3g speed and that i have been with Sprint for over 10 years etc. I wanted to make use of the faster speed. Asked if there was anything they could do for me. His response was take the phone to Apple. It sounds like their is a problem with it. You shouldn't be getting 3g speeds at 200 or so...

When it comes to Sprint and the coverage map, I don't trust them. When you call and complain about low speeds (network problem etc) it is either, we don't see any problems, or we are working on upgrades excuses.

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I work in Sandy Springs and live in Marietta, and have AT&T. In the Sandy Springs area I consistently get 50+, and in the Marietta area I seem to get between 20 and 30 at home and when out and about in town. Even managed to pull over 20 in Midtown yesterday when the football game was going on at GT (saw lots of people using new iPhones too). I have yet to see a download speed below 20mbps and all my uploads have been around 15-20 regardless of location. Speeds seem to be almost as good when in transit as well. Coverage is spectacular. I've only dropped to HSPA+ in a valley here or there, or near the edge of AT&T's coverage when I went indoors (LTE seems to get out as far as Acworth on the northwestern side).

Can't say a whole lot about Sprint, but was chatting with a buddy of mine yesterday who claims to be a "Sprint fanboy" and was impressed with the speed I was getting on my AT&T iPhone 5. He has an Android phone with LTE (can't remember which model) and said the coverage is spotty and he has trouble getting anywhere north of 5mbps.

Of course, YMMV, but I would imagine most people will be somewhere close to this experience from the random things I've heard around this area.

Thanks for the reply. Sprint map shows solid lte coverage in and close around my area. Searching the web shows that that isn't true. It seems that Sprint takes a lot of liberty with the mapping. As such, I am not trusting of them, when it comes to soon coverage will be better kind of excuse.

In looking at pricing, it appears that I would pay about $10.00 more a month with AT&T, with the 3gb plan.

Do you have to keep a close eye on your usage?

 

[Stratus Fear]

Do you have to keep a close eye on your usage?

So far my usage patterns haven't differed too much from pre-LTE (other than playing with the phone more than usual since it's new ) I don't expect to have any issues staying under my cap. Unless you plan to change your usage patterns considerably (downloading tons of stuff, lots of tethering) you shouldn't expect to have a major issue.

 

[mrnd23]

I am with sprint now. Went to sent store today in smyrna near 75-285 intersection. No lte signalon any lte phone. Just really sad. Thy had no answer for my question. That broke the straw for me. I walked across the street to the att store. Got 50mbps average on diff 4g phones. Going to switch to att iphone5 soon.