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VZ is such a joke! Where is VZ superior to At&t?? I've tested in NYC, ATL, Charlotte, Orlando, VA, etc and never has VZ come anywhere close to the DL speeds that At&t has........and you still can't surf & talk! #cdmablows!!

https://www.wirelessweek.com/news/2016/02/t-announces-5g-field-trials-austin
Actually, there are many areas where VZW has better/faster coverage than ATT, especially rural ones. In the past year I've been in several situations where friends with ATT had poor coverage or slow speeds when I was just humming along.

Actually, VZW customers have been able to surf and talk for 2 years now.

Great rant though. :cool: You really got 'em. :rolleyes:
 
So, does this require a carrier update to come through and be installed? Seems like one of the FAQs at https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/verizon-lte-advanced-faqs/ mentions the following:

"How do I get Verizon LTE Advanced?

It's easy. You get Verizon LTE Advanced just by using a compatible device in more than 450 cities across the US. Only with Verizon.

You'll get an automatic software update, but you don't have to sign up, make any changes to your device settings or change your plan."
 
So, does this require a carrier update to come through and be installed? Seems like one of the FAQs at https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/verizon-lte-advanced-faqs/ mentions the following:

"How do I get Verizon LTE Advanced?

It's easy. You get Verizon LTE Advanced just by using a compatible device in more than 450 cities across the US. Only with Verizon.

You'll get an automatic software update, but you don't have to sign up, make any changes to your device settings or change your plan."
Wondered the same thing this site says no (see the update) http://www.droid-life.com/2016/08/29/verizon-lte-a-advanced-network-cities/
VZW site also seems to elude to the fact that you just need the latest OS your device can get.
 
At my gym I cant even stream apple music on lte have to switch to 3g
 
whats the point so u can just run through your data, why are companies even advertising speed, not like you can use it bring back unlimited! do it for the culture!

That is a negative way to look at it. On a brighter note you can now use all of your data in less than two days. After that, for nearly the entire month, you won't have to worry about data usage. You won't have any.



Mike
 
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So is it the latest OS (basically a particular iOS version in case of Apple) or a particular carrier update version, or a combination of both?
From what I saw earlier it was latest available OS for a particular device. Cant seem to find that now on VZW faq. It made no mention of a carrier update.

[Edit] Nothing you have to do
http://www.androidauthority.com/verizon-launches-lte-a-713189/

<<<UPDATE: Previously, we were unclear about whether a software update would be required before users could take advantage of these increased speeds. Verizon has reached out to us with the following information:

“For clarification, any customer utilizing one of the 39 devices that are LTE Advanced capable don’t need to do anything to take advantage of the technology. Their devices will automatically benefit from the technology with the newest version of the software on the device. There are no settings to activate and no indicator lights. It happens/happened automatically for customers.”

So it looks like you should start experiencing benefits of LTE-A without any updates to your device! >>>
 
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But Verizon VoLTE is limited by not being able to handoff to CDMA, resulting in a dropped call. It happens more than you think, Verizon does not have a perfect network and I've run into more than my fair share of 3G areas with Verizon.

Oh, I know. I was just responding to what the other guy said about not being able to talk and surf at the same time with Verizon. That's no longer the case as long as you have an iPhone that was introduced within the last two years and the phone is connected to Verizon's LTE network and VoLTE is enabled on the phone. But what you said about the dropped calls when the phone leaves an LTE area is correct.

As an aside, my family switched from Verizon to AT&T about a year ago and one of the reasons we did (other than the hefty corporate discount compared to the puny one Verizon offered) was the fact that my wife's 5s (which she has no intention of ditching anytime soon) would be able to do voice and data simultaneously by falling back onto their HSPA+ network when on a call.
 
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Looking forward to taking advantage of this since I have a 24GB plan now (I got an 18GB increase for only $8/mo more when some iCloud syncing stuff went crazy a few months ago—it's a long story). I'm also looking forward to the day when we can get this or something like it sent unlimited to our home WiFi for a reasonable price.

That makes me wonder: In the future, will most devices use WiFi, or just have cellular chips with programmable SIM cards that you just sign into with your wireless account? There will be so many internet of things devices that your plan will just have a limit, like "2000GB of data per month, up to 10 devices" or something to simplify things? T-Mobile is pushing things to become somewhat simpler, so I'm hopeful that will continue. I also wonder how long voice connections will still be a thing, rather than data only VOIP or VOLTE, which could possibly streamline networks and make them cheaper? Idk for sure, but removing complexity never hurts.
 
Actually, there are many areas where VZW has better/faster coverage than ATT, especially rural ones. In the past year I've been in several situations where friends with ATT had poor coverage or slow speeds when I was just humming along.

Actually, VZW customers have been able to surf and talk for 2 years now.

Great rant though. :cool: You really got 'em. :rolleyes:

How about Text and Talk then? They can't do that. My friends have 6 or 6s phones and I'll send them a pic over text while talking and they don't receive it….. riddle me that!
 
Verizon's LTE network is extremely saturated. On a good day, I was lucky to get 25 Mbps up and down in Atlanta. Most days, it was closer to 12-18 Mbps. So, to get 50% faster than that wouldn't be a huge bump but it's something.

The first time I did an AT&T speed test about a year ago while I was test driving their network I pulled almost 70 Mbps down in an area where Verizon would reliably give me 15 Mbps down.

From my perspective, Verizon's claim to fame is the ubiquity of their LTE coverage, not their speed. AT&T has more speed in a lot of places, in my experience, but they don't quite have the LTE footprint that Verizon has. T-Mobile has the speed in a lot of markets but their LTE footprint is smaller still (though getting bigger). Sprint, well, their LTE coverage is a joke compared to the aforementioned carriers.

I'm having a different Atlanta experience than you are. I did a speed test a few days ago and got 105.12. My speeds are normally in 60-70 range. Obviously numerous factors contribute to each of our experiences. Just offering a different perspective... :)
 
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I'm having a different Atlanta experience than you are. I did a speed test a few days ago and got 105.12. My speeds are normally in 60-70 range. Obviously numerous factors contribute to each of our experiences. Just offering a different perspective... :)

Wow. In the 4 years I had an LTE-capable phone on Verizon (starting with the iPhone 5, then to the 5s, and then to the 6), I don't think I broke 100 Mbps more than a time or two. Granted, I didn't do speed tests that often. Maybe once a quarter, if that. When I was thinking about jumping to AT&T about this time last year, I did do them more often just to try to compare apples to apples in the areas where I am the most. I'm glad you're seeing that kind of throughput, though!
 
I fixed my post. I meant to say "it's like XLTE all over again."

Nope. XLTE was just a marketing term for using new bandwidth. LTE-A is a real upgrade.

So basically they just refined and optimized how the network works. Is that right? And they're marketing it as something new.

Nope, not this time.

LTE-A is _real_ 4G for the first time. It has taken over a half decade to deploy after it got standardized.

Among other techniques, LTE-A uses multiple carriers over multiple antennas (and even multiple cell sites if necessary) to multiply the bandwidth to send data over. Besides huge potential boosts in speed, it also means smoother handoffs between towers.
 
How about making a more affordable cell phone service instead? We're half way through 2016, and cell phone services are still ridiculously overpriced. Increase in speed is nice, but what good is that if you have to pay an arm and two legs for it?
 
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How about making a more affordable cell phone service instead? We're half way through 2016, and cell phone services are still ridiculously overpriced. Increase in speed is nice, but what good is that if you have to pay an arm and two legs for it?

Good thing MVNOs exist.
 
VZ is such a joke! Where is VZ superior to At&t?? I've tested in NYC, ATL, Charlotte, Orlando, VA, etc and never has VZ come anywhere close to the DL speeds that At&t has........and you still can't surf & talk! #cdmablows!!

https://www.wirelessweek.com/news/2016/02/t-announces-5g-field-trials-austin

I talk and surf all the time.... LTE is GSM... Verizon supports VOLTE.... Internet search is your friend
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I actually used to work for Verizon, and even back then toward the end of it I wasn't a fan of what Verizon was doing to its customers and yes, I switched to T-Mobile. My store manager never found out, of course. I had friends at the store, and I told them that I left Verizon as a customer because I felt T-Mobile was a better value even without a corporate discount. By the time of my last week on the job I flat out told a customer that T-Mobile offers unlimited data for $80 (at the time) and that's what I had. Just being honest, I think that's closer to what they were looking for for their family. She was very grateful and probably a little shocked. All I wanted was to provide good customer service and technical support, and I was so sick that I was always held back by some sort of red tape by Verizon or the need to have to try and hock $200 worth of accessories with every phone to make some kind of money and keep my job.

I no longer work in the wireless industry at all actually, if you must know.
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But Verizon VoLTE is limited by not being able to handoff to CDMA, resulting in a dropped call. It happens more than you think, Verizon does not have a perfect network and I've run into more than my fair share of 3G areas with Verizon.

You used to be able to talk and surf on most Android phones on Verizon on I believe 3G, maybe 1X, but that's because those phones included two radios to give it that ability. Once Verizon phones all started only having on radio, the limitations became far more apparent. Sprint doesn't even have VoLTE whatsoever yet. CDMA in general is a huge pain in the ass.
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Totally worth that $150+ a month bill, right?

I can understand where you are coming from. I'd say that right now for me at least T-Mobile isn't a good "value" to me personally. I can see though if I had a single phone line and maybe an iPad that the math would work in T-Mobiles favor.

We have I think 8 lines on our account, with I think 30GB (24 plus 6GB of bonus data). We don't really have any data issues. Doing the math with T-Mobile we really wouldn't save anything compared to Verizon. The other thing is good reception is a regional issue. You may have fantastic coverage in your area with T-Mobile, and thats great. In my area Sprint and T-Mobile don't do well.
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How about Text and Talk then? They can't do that. My friends have 6 or 6s phones and I'll send them a pic over text while talking and they don't receive it….. riddle me that!

That shouldn't be a problem either. Have your friends make sure they have VOLTE enabled. The stuff you are bringing up was absolutely an issue 2 years ago but not an issue for me at all today.
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Oh, I know. I was just responding to what the other guy said about not being able to talk and surf at the same time with Verizon. That's no longer the case as long as you have an iPhone that was introduced within the last two years and the phone is connected to Verizon's LTE network and VoLTE is enabled on the phone. But what you said about the dropped calls when the phone leaves an LTE area is correct.

As an aside, my family switched from Verizon to AT&T about a year ago and one of the reasons we did (other than the hefty corporate discount compared to the puny one Verizon offered) was the fact that my wife's 5s (which she has no intention of ditching anytime soon) would be able to do voice and data simultaneously by falling back onto their HSPA+ network when on a call.

You're right that VOLTE doesn't elegantly fall back to CDMA. However it's never been an issue for me.

It's worth noting that peoples perception of a network can very easily be regional. In Dallas we have great LTE from Verizon and AT&T. I know people with T-Mobile and Sprint who seem to randomly have a hard time getting a signal. I know people in Brooklyn who swear by T-Mobile.
 
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whats the point so u can just run through your data, why are companies even advertising speed, not like you can use it bring back unlimited! do it for the culture!

Woo! Now I can blow through my data plan 50% quicker!

I don't get why people think that faster speeds mean you'll use more data. You only use as much data as your device needs to perform a task. Watching a video at 100MB/s or 10MB/s isn't going to use a different amount of data. Downloading files or such will happen FASTER, but won't use more data. The files are a fixed size!

Put a water pipe 4x larger up to your house. Will your water bill go up or will you use the same amount of water? Dozens of analogies.

Data is data. How fast it comes to you doesn't affect how much you use.
 
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How about Text and Talk then? They can't do that. My friends have 6 or 6s phones and I'll send them a pic over text while talking and they don't receive it….. riddle me that!
Been able to do that for a long time.
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Meanwhile, those of us with T-Mobile had this for almost two years now.

Yawn.

Welcome to last year, Verizon.
Meanwhile Verizon users had and have coverage in plenty places (including many indoor locations) where T-Mobile hadn't for a long time and in some case still doesn't. So what?
 
Two random speed test with Verizon LTE-A. Downtown LA area.

Test 1.PNG Test 2.PNG
 
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