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Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile or AT&T for iPhone5?

M

munick

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 22, 2011
9
0
I've been waiting for a new iPhone that I could get on Verizon so this iPhone5 is presumably what I've been waiting for but now I've got Sprint and T-Mobile to take into consideration as well.
Does anyone have any solid pros/cons for all the US cellular carriers the new iPhones will be available on?
 
they're all going to get it. iPhone 5 will be a true global phone, with CDMA/GSM capabilities. 4G network, doubtful though.

AT&T - poor service, poor network. LTE will change that however.

Verizon - the best of the bunch, but probably the priciest.

Sprint - average service, but offers competitive pricing. iPhone 5 will be launched with unlimited data. Something AT&T and Verizon does not offer.

T-Mobile - On its last legs. Desperate to get the iPhone on their network, or get acquired by AT&T.
 
Are you looking for individual or family plan? About how much text per month? How much data? etc

In general, Verizon will be the most expensive and T-mobile will be cheapest with the assumption that all 4 carriers get the new iPhone. You also have to consider coverage in your area
 
forcetactic said:
Are you looking for individual or family plan? About how much text per month? How much data? etc

In general, Verizon will be the most expensive and T-mobile will be cheapest with the assumption that all 4 carriers get the new iPhone. You also have to consider coverage in your area
Click to expand...

Darn, this is almost exactly word for word what
i was gonna put in my post. If price is the biggest issue, go with T-Mobile. If coverage, well...it depends on where you live.
 
forcetactic said:
Are you looking for individual or family plan? About how much text per month? How much data? etc

In general, Verizon will be the most expensive and T-mobile will be cheapest with the assumption that all 4 carriers get the new iPhone. You also have to consider coverage in your area
Click to expand...
Lots of variables I hadn't considered here.
I'll be getting an individual plan and I'd say my number one priority is quality, thats to say coverage and data speed. I'm in the Los Angeles area, I'd assume anything is better than AT&T for coverage around here.
 
munick said:
Lots of variables I hadn't considered here.
I'll be getting an individual plan and I'd say my number one priority is quality, thats to say coverage and data speed. I'm in the Los Angeles area, I'd assume anything is better than AT&T for coverage around here.
Click to expand...

I'd go Verizon pronto. Large selection of phones to choose from as well, especially this holiday season.
 
aohus said:
I'd go Verizon pronto.
Click to expand...

My only issue with Verizon is the rare case when I'd want data and voice at the same time. I suppose it's so rare for me though that it might be a non-issue.
 
aohus said:
they're all going to get it. iPhone 5 will be a true global phone, with CDMA/GSM capabilities. 4G network, doubtful though.

AT&T - poor service, poor network. LTE will change that however.

Verizon - the best of the bunch, but probably the priciest.

Sprint - average service, but offers competitive pricing. iPhone 5 will be launched with unlimited data. Something AT&T and Verizon does not offer.

T-Mobile - On its last legs. Desperate to get the iPhone on their network, or get acquired by AT&T.
Click to expand...

This is great, thanks.
 
munick said:
I've been waiting for a new iPhone that I could get on Verizon so this iPhone5 is presumably what I've been waiting for but now I've got Sprint and T-Mobile to take into consideration as well.
Does anyone have any solid pros/cons for all the US cellular carriers the new iPhones will be available on?
Click to expand...

I've used all the major carriers and currently I'm on Verizon and AT&T, since I have a few phones that I enjoy.

A good common sense approach is to choose the network that has the best coverage in your area.

Just because one has better coverage than the other does not make the one with weak coverage a "bad carrier" but rather it's a reflection of how the cellular system works. Something that far too many people fail to understand or education themselves on.

As a result they do things like bash AT&T (for example) because it's popular to do.

When in reality AT&T is not bad, yes after being challenged to deliver data service to the millions of iPhones that were sold when AT&T was the only provider, they did slow down a bit, but that's to be expected of any carrier under those conditions.

I had AT&T before the iPhone onslaught, and during, and my service was still excellent with my non-iPhone smartphone. Great connectivity and call quality. I am NOT advocating for AT&T, but rather just sharing my experience.

Verizon is also good in my area which is why I use both. I really enjoy Android phones as well as the iPhone so I get my Androids from both carriers.
 
munick said:
My only issue with Verizon is the rare case when I'd want data and voice at the same time. I suppose it's so rare for me though that it might be a non-issue.
Click to expand...

this rarely happens. i know AT&T was pushing that specific 'use-case' scenario but in all honesty, I rarely have that as an issue.

Also, with folks starting to pile on LTE, that won't be an issue, as you can be on the phone and use LTE network no problems. This is only the case with Verizon's 3G (CDMA) network.
 
ann713 said:
I thought all chances of the iPhone 5 on T-Mobile was out the door. Are there any updates on this?
Click to expand...

Nothing confirmed or denied. But why not release it for T-Mobile as well? That would just mean more potential customers for them. Plus with T-Mobile having the cheapest plans, that would pick up more customers.
 
aohus said:
they're all going to get it. iPhone 5 will be a true global phone, with CDMA/GSM capabilities. 4G network, doubtful though.

AT&T - poor service, poor network. LTE will change that however.

Verizon - the best of the bunch, but probably the priciest.

Sprint - average service, but offers competitive pricing. iPhone 5 will be launched with unlimited data. Something AT&T and Verizon does not offer.

T-Mobile - On its last legs. Desperate to get the iPhone on their network, or get acquired by AT&T.
Click to expand...


I don't know that I agree with this. It depends where the person is located. For me... AT&T is the best.
 
AT&T or Verizon

I'm on Sprint right now, but I'm definitely leaving as soon as the iPhone 5 is released.

My issue with Sprint is the service and slow data speeds in my area. I live in Long Island and I'm usually in Manhattan or Queens. Around my house in LI I'm constantly losing signal, switching to roaming, and dropping calls. I also drop a lot of calls in Queens.

None of my friends who have AT&T have any of these problems in Long Island, and my co-workers in Manhattan have no problem with AT&T. But I'm constantly hearing how horrible AT&T is in Manhattan. That's pushing me towards Verizon. The only thing keeping me leaning towards AT&T is the fact that the 3G is 2X as fast as Verizon's and the fact that it's GSM and I can swap SIM cards if I leave the country.

I don't know what to do! I'm willing to give AT&T a try and if I can't stand it, I'll switch to Verizon before my 30 days are up.
 
Yeah it doesn't look like we'll see a T-Mobile iPhone, we'd be hearing more rumor activity similar to Sprint.

As far as carrier choice- take into consideration who has the best coverage of voice/data speeds in your area. Also if your employer has discounts with a certain carrier.
 
aohus said:
they're all going to get it. iPhone 5 will be a true global phone, with CDMA/GSM capabilities. 4G network, doubtful though.

AT&T - poor service, poor network. LTE will change that however.

Verizon - the best of the bunch, but probably the priciest.

Sprint - average service, but offers competitive pricing. iPhone 5 will be launched with unlimited data. Something AT&T and Verizon does not offer.

T-Mobile - On its last legs. Desperate to get the iPhone on their network, or get acquired by AT&T.
Click to expand...



Not where I live.

AT&T has been just fine.
I have a verizon phone and wireless internet for business (supplied by my company). The service just sucks. Dropped calls, phone wont ring but I get voicemails, random failed connections...
My daugter has a t-mobile blackberry and has zero problems. The plan is a little pricey but works better than verizon.
 
macinnv said:
Yeah it doesn't look like we'll see a T-Mobile iPhone, we'd be hearing more rumor activity similar to Sprint.

As far as carrier choice- take into consideration who has the best coverage of voice/data speeds in your area. Also if your employer has discounts with a certain carrier.
Click to expand...

The rumor mill has always been low with T-Mobile thanks to that damn AT&T merger.
 
aohus said:
T-Mobile - On its last legs. Desperate to get the iPhone on their network, or get acquired by AT&T.
Click to expand...

If you want to take a gamble you could get one with T-mobile if they close down your contract will be cancelled and you could get the phone unlocked and keep it (most likely).
 
aohus said:
they're all going to get it. iPhone 5 will be a true global phone, with CDMA/GSM capabilities. 4G network, doubtful though.

AT&T - poor service, poor network. LTE will change that however.

Verizon - the best of the bunch, but probably the priciest.

Sprint - average service, but offers competitive pricing. iPhone 5 will be launched with unlimited data. Something AT&T and Verizon does not offer.

T-Mobile - On its last legs. Desperate to get the iPhone on their network, or get acquired by AT&T.
Click to expand...

In San Diego, Sprint was voted the best cell reception by users, with Verizon second and AT&T last. It really depend where you are though as reception strength changes within San Diego depending on your location. I live in North County, on the border on Camp Pendleton Marine base and AT&T service is pretty bad here. I average 1 bar 3g, sometimes jumping to 3 and often dropping to Edge. I hear in general that Sprint and Verizon have better, but slower coverage, and AT&T has spottier but faster coverage. For me AT&T is slow and spotty. The last 10 or so speed tests I have done on my iPhone has resulted in 1 test with around 2Mbps down and 1Mbps up, 1 test with about 1Mbps down and .6Mbps up and 8 or 9 averaging .33-.60Mbps down and .05-.20Mbps up. Twice I couldn't even connect to do the speed test. I am considering switching to Sprint when the iPhone 5 drops as I will get better coverage, and in my case, faster service. Please share your experiences with your carrier in your area, as I am sure it will be helpful to others. A question, if AT&T upgrades to HSPA+, do you think it would improve areas like mine with bad coverage and speed?
 
I have to say that I support AT&T over Verizon. I wanted the original iPhone since it came out but everyone always said AT&T is horrible wait for Verizon and I did I got the droid as a substitute but then last summer I couldn't wait anymore and got the 4 on AT&T and its was the best phone I ever had. Then when it came on Verizon I switched back so I can go back on the family plan but it was the worst phone I ever had. Dropped calls, slow data, horrible voice quality. Anyway switched back to AT&T and everything is perfect again.
 
iPhone on ATT will be your best bet.
Verizon customer service = suck
Sprint may or may not get iPhone, slow network, poor coverage everywhere.
T-mo, stay away
 
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