Carrier Upgrading from 4S

[vicviper789]

I am looking to upgrade my (US) Sprint 4S (still running 5.1.1!) to a 6S+ soon. A lot has changed with US carriers since 2011 though so I am not up to date.

According to Sprint, I can keep my current plan (Everything 450 - unlimited data, text, and 450 minutes a month for $75/mo) and upgrade to a 128GB model for $299 with a 2 year contract. It sounds too good to be true so I do not know if they are desperate to get me off the 4S or if the remaining $500 will be divided over 24 months.

Looking at AT&T, I could get a 64GB 6S+ with either a 2 year contract or pay for the device upfront.
Upfront/no contract: $850 + $15 activation fee and $75/mo for 5GB of data
24mo contract: $399 + $45 activation fee and $90/mo for 5GB of data

Verizon offers me it for $400 + $86/mo with 3GB of data on their Medium plan
Or I could go prepaid. $800 upfront, $60/mo with 3GB of data on their prepaid plan. I am nervous with this option because I do not know if they will suddenly change or eliminate prepaid.

I have not considered T mobile, their service in the rural areas is awful.

I only went with Sprint in the beginning because of the unlimited data but I have found that I use on average 3GB of data a month with heavy usage. I mainly text and use only an average of 43 minutes a month. The only thing stopping me from going with Sprint again is that I do not know how good their LTE 4G is. I am hesitant to switch to ATT/Verizon because their monthly bills are rather high and I am currently a college student with no income (but I CAN afford the phone), I do not want to risk not passing the credit check. Of course, I would like to save money and own the device (not a fan of leasing)

To be honest, I am not up to date with the phone plans or advantages of going with one carrier over the other (like my 4S is bound to CDMA). There is just too much to keep track of.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[TWD98j]

If Sprint will let you keep your current plan and it has been working for you, my opinion is to stay put. I can tell you for a fact you'll be using more data, by default, on a 6S than on a 4S. The 6S' performance is exponentially faster - above and beyond - than the 4S and you will be consuming data at higher/faster rates. Obviously a big reason for this is because the 4S is not an LTE device, whereas the 6S is one.

Back when I had a 4S, I was using about 3-3.5GB per month. Then when I went to the 5S my data use increased to 4-5GB per month. Now with my 6S, I am using about 6-7GB per month. My usage habits have not changed during the years. Although I am not personally a fan of Sprint, if the coverage is great and your plan has been working for you, I would encourage you to upgrade to a 6S and stay put. IMO if you switch to AT&T or VZW, you'll end up paying (way) more and end up having to keep your data use in check so you don't risk overages. It sounds like if you stay with Sprint that won't be a concern since you have unlimited data. And I would also never ever update the iOS on your 4S and keep that on 5.1.1.

 

[vicviper789]

Thanks for the honest reply. If I can get the 6S+ for $299 and keep my plan, it will be a done deal. Sprint has pretty good reception in the city and is why I haven't dumped them sooner.

iOS 5 on the 4S feels way faster than iOS 7 on my iPad Air (1) but a lot of apps are locking out anything before iOS 6 and 7. For example, snapchat and my bank app will download/install but says you must upgrade iOS to use the app when you attempt to log in.