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Who likes AT&T and why?
- Thread starter patricem
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Verizon. I'm an AT&T iPhone user, and I'm getting the Verizon one. Plus, if I want to use AT&T at some point, it works on that too (HSPA+). Really though, I'm going to be tethering through MiWi if I need data on the iPad.
I've been on AT&T since opening day 1st gen iPhone. I'm in so cal, and haven't experienced the horrible things I've read about. Using iphone4s & new ipad-lte. Happy Apple/AT&T customer here!
Unlimited won't be eligible anyways. And for sharing between your phone and tablet: just tether. MiWi has the bluetooth on demand thing now too.
I love AT&T in the Chicago area. We have LTE now, which is blazing fast, and HSPA+ here is excellent as well. I have friends on Verizon and Sprint, and the 3G is just painfully slow. Coverage and dropped calls are not an issue around here, and that goes for 5 of us on a family plan, all with various iPhones. I'm sure there are parts of the country where the coverage is not as good, but if you live in a big city, it's a great carrier imo.
I completely disagree. I was with AT&T for 18 months and I am glad that I switched to verizon. Almost half of the time that I called AT&T I was put on hold for over 20-30 minutes then I would be talking to an outsourced worker.
All of the Verizon representatives that I have spoken to we're Americans and the maximum amount of time that I was put on hold was for 3 minutes. Not to mention that Verizon was able to understand any problem I had and was able to resolve the issue. AT&T on the other hand...
Glideslope
macrumors G3
Love these threads.
I currently live in an are that has outstanding at&t coverage and Verizon coverage. I have been with at&t since 2005. Why? They offer a very attractive FAN PCK for my employer. The savings are considerable.
Have I had issues since 2005? Yes, a few. Did I have issues with Verizon prior to at&t? Yes, a few.
My experience with all these carriers is the longer you are with them, and the larger the amount of phones on your plan, or the more expensive your plan,the more they simply say, ok.
1. Decide your budget
2. Find who has the best coverage in YOUR AREA.
3. Go with them. Everything else is optional.
I currently live in an are that has outstanding at&t coverage and Verizon coverage. I have been with at&t since 2005. Why? They offer a very attractive FAN PCK for my employer. The savings are considerable.
Have I had issues since 2005? Yes, a few. Did I have issues with Verizon prior to at&t? Yes, a few.
My experience with all these carriers is the longer you are with them, and the larger the amount of phones on your plan, or the more expensive your plan,the more they simply say, ok.
1. Decide your budget
2. Find who has the best coverage in YOUR AREA.
3. Go with them. Everything else is optional.
noteple
macrumors 68000
Wife's on Verizon I'm on AT&T.
Coverage, sometimes I borrow her cell phone, sometimes she borrows mine.
Non LTE data AT&T has it all over her Verizon.
We both prefer the Verizon store over the AT&T stores in our market area.
Customer service numbers have both been hit and miss in quality.
Slight edge toward Verizon for English and the CSR understanding your problem.
Coverage, sometimes I borrow her cell phone, sometimes she borrows mine.
Non LTE data AT&T has it all over her Verizon.
We both prefer the Verizon store over the AT&T stores in our market area.
Customer service numbers have both been hit and miss in quality.
Slight edge toward Verizon for English and the CSR understanding your problem.
I really like AT&T for one reason, I can get 5 gigs of data for 36.00 with a FAN discount.
I have been able to get my iPad to work on a post paid AT&T account but with no contract.
Plus even though I do not have LTE in the area I am in, the speed is still awesome for the HSPA+.
I have been able to get my iPad to work on a post paid AT&T account but with no contract.
Plus even though I do not have LTE in the area I am in, the speed is still awesome for the HSPA+.
OTACORB
macrumors 68000
It's simple, AT&T has the best coverage for my local geographical area. Verizon has some very large gaps in coverage. One example is between where I live the the next town west which I travel to at least once and sometimes twice a week. There is at least a 30 mile area with ZERO Verizon towers and because there are also no Sprint towers either for them to roam off of that means ZERO Service. AT&T has Solid coverage not only in the metro areas, but the rural areas. AT&T has also really worked in the last year to expand 3G service in areas I never thought would get 3G. The good news is the 3G is HSPA + with the upgraded backhaul for really decent 3G data. I'd say I have 3G now in about 90% of the area I travel most often.
Because I work for a larger employer in town I also get a 25% fan discount off my bill, so I too also have the 5G Data with Hotspot which is great, cause that is what I also use when needed for my new iPad Wifi only. Works Great!
Verizon has a long way to go for me to give it any consideration.
Because I work for a larger employer in town I also get a 25% fan discount off my bill, so I too also have the 5G Data with Hotspot which is great, cause that is what I also use when needed for my new iPad Wifi only. Works Great!
Verizon has a long way to go for me to give it any consideration.
steve-p
macrumors 68000
Whenever visiting NJ/NY I mostly end up roaming on AT&T and coverage and data speed seem first class to me. Better than back home in the UK actually. As always though it's bound to be different in different regions.
Have ATT on my iPhone 4s, so it only seemed logical. Don't need the mobile hotspot, and AT&T offers 3gb for $30. It was a no-brainer for me.
S.B.G
Moderator emeritus
I chose AT&T because in my area their service is very good, there is a tower less than 1/2 mile from my home and only 2 miles from my office and their customer service has always been good when I've had to call them.
aricher
macrumors 68020
I agree, in my home town of Chicago AT&T is excellent, LTE is blazing fast, coverage is also great with only a few dead zones. When I travel for work to NYC and SF on the other hand the signal is much slower to non-existant. AT&T has known this for a long time and seeming has done little to boost their network speeds in those markets.
Ha! Try going to Midtown Manhattan. You'll find pockets where AT&T literally has NO data service on 3G. You'll have full bars, and the phone will just sit there and not pull anything. I even have a speed test at 0.00/0.00. Considering I only go to NYC occasionally for leisure travel, it's fine for me, but if I lived or worked in that area, I'd be on Verizon for sure.
You mean the data is non-existant? I have only had one instance where I had few bars. The bars don't translate into actual, usable data much of the time, however. Ironically (or maybe on purpose), around the Apple Store at 5th ave HSPA+ is pretty good, pulling over 3 down on a really busy day.
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I've also had great AT&T service in the Detroit area and throughout Michigan, throughout Connecticut, in Boston, and it's spotty and weak, but improving, in New Hampshire (they are PCS up there on CLR spaced towers, so it will always be patchy). Ohio, even without CLR in much of the state is insane too. In the 3G areas, I consistently beat my own records on speed tests.
aricher
macrumors 68020
A bit of both - a few dead zones where there are no bars but more often than not it's an area where the phone shows 2-3 bars but there is no signal to pull down any data and voice calls drop out- I haven't found too many of those zones in the city though and areas that were dead zones last fall are solid now.
I do know for a fact, spoke with the VP of a 3rd party company (trustworthy family member) that AT&T has contacted with, that AT&T has been beefing up their 4G network in Chicago for a massive rollout this year.
I'm surprised, except for the M&M store in Times Square, I had 3-5 bars all the time, but often no data. I'm not surprised that you had 2-3 bars and no data. That's typical in NYC.
steve-p
macrumors 68000
I didn't have any issues in Manhattan but I know what you mean. What you describe did happen at Newark while waiting for a flight which was kind of annoying. There was full strength signal but no data indicator and no network.
That's even weirder, but knowing AT&T, I'm not really surprised. I always had a data connection on the phone, it just didn't, well, do anything useful.