Verizon vs Sprint vs T mobile? What are your thoughts

[PigsDad]

Excellent post. I just wanted to comment on one item:

Further, T-Mobile will loan/rent or sell you a micro cell spot for your home if the coverage is weak. This is huge for some folks (like me). T-Mobile is very Wi-Fi calling friendly.

What I really like about T-Mobile is that they use wifi calling that doesn't require a micro cell or other special equipment (that the cell company is happy to sell / rent you for an outrageous cost, given that it uses your internet connection and data and just basically duplicates the same wifi functionality that is build into your phone). And using wifi instead of micro cell means you can use that mode anywhere you have a wifi signal (home, business, friend's house, etc.)

At home, I have our phones automatically connect to our home wifi and all calls, texts, etc. work perfectly even though the cell coverage can be dicey, especially in our basement. I also use that feature at work, as I sit in the middle of a very large metal framed building and cell signal is weak or non-existent.

Kurt

 

[taterhed]

And, AFAIK, the T-Mobile devices (WIFI calling router or Micro-cell) are deposit-only units. Don't think they actually charge for them with deposit/credit. YMMV

 

[Makai Guy]

Wi-Fi calling is a no-extra-charge option on my Verizon Wireless phone as well. The only restriction is when enable it, you must enter an access address for emergency services to use if you should call 911, in case the 911 service doesn't recognize or automatically receive your calling address. You're warned to update the address whenever using wi-fi calling away from the address you entered. This all seems reasonable, and since I figure in an emergency away from home I'd probably never remember to update the address first, I've never enabled it. Since I don't have per-call or per-minute charges I haven't felt it was a problem to use my Verizon phone connection rather than wi-fi for my calling anyway.

Our phones and plan also include mobile Wi-Fi hotspot capabilities at no extra charge to share its internet connection with up to 10 devices.

 

[taterhed]

....To be fair....
I wanted to point out that I wasn't only endorsing Sprint or T-Mobile.
My purpose was to attest to the very good level of Sprint coverage; right now, today, with new enhanced equipment, and to attest to the quality/coverage of the T-Mobile signal in the NOVA area vs Sprint.
Also, I believe the T-Mobile prices are equal-to-or better than the other major carriers and their international service/price can not be beat by the other 3 majors.

I'm pretty much sure that hotspot, roaming, unlimited data-talk-text, wifi calling (of some sort) are available on all the big 4 with competitive prices. Verizon excepted: their prices seem high and higher for the service given for new customers IMHO>

 

[pittle]

You know, it just depends on where you live. Coverage is different in different locations. When we first moved to the Phoenix area, our AT&T coverage was not so good, but a year later when we bought our house it was great! We are still with AT&T and keep it because of the Mexico coverage. Our son who lives nearby had Sprint for years (he lived in KC), but out here, his worked great at home, but when he went to CA for work, it was awful so he changed to Verizon.So, it just depends on where you use it the most. Ask friends and family in your area what works best for them.

 

[Sandy VDH]

Swapped to newer Verizon Unlimited plan. Includes Phone and Text, and Data (with a daily limitation) while traveling in Canada and Mexico. There is some validation it does to make sure you are not permanently residing in those countries, but are just traveling.

 

[tompalm]

I was with LA Cellular and then ATT for many, many years. Switched to T-Mobile a few years ago. Both had areas of poor coverage in LA but neither is generally much better. I live in LA and T-Mobile is great so curious where you were that you experienced such poor coverage. Note that they have made significant coverage improvements nationwide in just the last few years.

I pay ~$27 per line for five lines with TM, while I used to pay ~$130 per month for one line with ATT. Rates have changed since then but still...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

It was a few years ago that we stayed at the Marriott SpringHill Suites about three miles south of LAX and noticed if you are on one side of the Hotel, we could not get data, but the other side worked good. Lower floors were weak and higher floors were fine. I can say the same thing happened last year when we stay at the Elara in Las Vegas. There was very weak data service in our room facing south, but when going to the other side of the building where the gym was at or any room on the north side, the data worked good.

While we were in LA, my brother-in-law and wife drove us up and down the coast just north of LAX to the south about 10 miles. The data was hit and miss, but the phone voice worked fine. Maybe it is better now.

In Hawaii, the windward side of Oahu around Kailua has terrible data, especially around the Golf Course of the Marine Corps Base. Some places on base are ok. But, it is getting better.

No complaints with Tmobile pricing and customer service. If you travel international, it is the best way to go.

 

[Ken555]

It was a few years ago that we stayed at the Marriott SpringHill Suites about three miles south of LAX and noticed if you are on one side of the Hotel, we could not get data, but the other side worked good. Lower floors were weak and higher floors were fine. I can say the same thing happened last year when we stay at the Elara in Las Vegas. There was very weak data service in our room facing south, but when going to the other side of the building where the gym was at or any room on the north side, the data worked good.

While we were in LA, my brother-in-law and wife drove us up and down the coast just north of LAX to the south about 10 miles. The data was hit and miss, but the phone voice worked fine. Maybe it is better now.

In Hawaii, the windward side of Oahu around Kailua has terrible data, especially around the Golf Course of the Marine Corps Base. Some places on base are ok. But, it is getting better.

No complaints with Tmobile pricing and customer service. If you travel international, it is the best way to go.

Do you have a newer phone? Much of what you report can be due to older phones... though there are some locations where they don’t/didn’t have great coverage so one side might be closer to a Main Street or freeway that has it but the other did not.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[tompalm]

Do you have a newer phone? Much of what you report can be due to older phones... though there are some locations where they don’t/didn’t have great coverage so one side might be closer to a Main Street or freeway that has it but the other did not.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I get a new iPhone every year when they come out. I have the 7 Plus and had the 6 Plus before the 7 came out. My wife has the same phones that I get and we both have iPads with Tmobile data plans. So four devices with the same problem. Not a big deal. But I often see people checking their email or surfing the net in areas that I can’t get data like inside Tripler Hospital. Verizon and AT&T both work better inside that hospital.

 

[Jan M.]

We have Verizon for our personal phones and my husband has Sprint for his work phone. His territory is all of Florida from Sarasota across to Fort Pierce and clear down through the Keys. Verizon has much better coverage and reception than Sprint. The Sprint cellphone cut in and out, dropped calls so much that his boss got so frustrated one day that he ordered Jim to hang up, go buy a phone and arrange for a Vonage land line. The company pays for the land line but they are all stuck with Sprint for the cell phones

The same was true about the dropped calls, reception and coverage when we lived in Pennsylvania and his territory was the western half of the State and all of West Virginia. Back there he had AT&T. His bosses eventually got tired of not being able to reach him when he was in areas that had no coverage and the calls dropping so they got him a Verizon phone.

We've travelled all over in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Arkansas, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Branson and have no complaints about the Verizon coverage.

 

[wackymother]

[QUOTE="Jan M., post: 2062573, member: 44708"

The same was true about the dropped calls, reception and coverage when we lived in Pennsylvania and his territory was the western half of the State and all of West Virginia. [/QUOTE]

Yes, our daughter is going to college in western Pennsylvania! That's why we had to get Verizon. Zero coverage with Sprint and T-Mobile after you leave Route 78. ONLY Verizon works out there.

 

[Mosca]

An extra bonus for AT&T, my car has a cellular modem that is on AT&T. I added it to my plan, and have one bill. They actually gave me a $20 discount on my other service so that the payment stayed the same.

 

[bogey21]

I get a new iPhone every year when they come out.

To each his own I guess. I have owned two clam shells since 1999. My first one (an LG) lasted 6 or 7 years. My current Samsung Rugby still works just like the day ATT gave it to me for free. At my request ATT has blocked text messaging and voice mail for me.

George

 

[taterhed]

Yup. If it works for you.....keep it.

My only gripe is with people that try to switch companies but then hate the new service---even though they are using a phone not fully compatible with the network and/or a phone that's not taking full advantage of the available technology.

In my case, my Note5 (with enhanced LTE on Sprint) works great at my house while other cheaper/non-enhanced phones are less satisfactory. Also, my old IPhone6 was a perfectly suitable phone for Sprint, but not T-mobile. My SPRINT IPhone 6 received zero bars of service near my home. When I tried the same SIM card in a T-Mobile phone (with 700a Band 12 LTE), I got very good service. Just an example of the variables that can affect service.

 

[bobpark56]

"None of the above" works for us. We have settled on Ting, which rides on the Sprint network. Two phones, 500 minutes, $28 per month for both (we don't do data or smart phones...just the simple old stuff). We back this up with Comcast's voice over internet service. Unlimited minutes there help us manage our Ting minutes.

 

[taterhed]

I've actually got a back-up phone on Ting. Not a bad deal.

 

[Elan]

I've been with T-Mobile for quite a while now. Perhaps not the best coverage, but I'll sacrifice a little in coverage in exchange for saving nearly $100/mo compared to Verizon. With wifi calling, coverage becomes less and less of an issue.

 

[nkldavy]

Can you add international coverage for this plan? On a per-country basis, or the whole world? And how much does that add.

The T-mobile over 55 plan sounds great. But I need a way to add coverage when we travel overseas. Yes, I could buy local SIM cards; but my experience with that has been spotty. After running all over Paris looking for one, and finally paying for something that didn't work, I'd prefer coverage with via my cell carrier. Currently on Verizon, which has per-country plans; but their basic service is much higher than noted above. Wondering if it would be worth it to switch to T-Mobile. Alternative is Consumer Cellular, but AFAIK they have NO international coverage.

My understanding is that if you want more than Canada or Mexico, you won't qualify for the 55+ program.

 

[tompalm]

I've been with T-Mobile for quite a while now. Perhaps not the best coverage, but I'll sacrifice a little in coverage in exchange for saving nearly $100/mo compared to Verizon. With wifi calling, coverage becomes less and less of an issue.

That is exactly how I feel. We have four iPhones and two iPads with 4 GBs of data on each and the plan only cost $120 per month after all taxes and fees are paid. They do give me a 15 percent corporate discount, so the normal rate would be close to $140 per month, but that is a lot cheaper than any other carrier I checked out.

 

[Elan]

That is exactly how I feel. We have four iPhones and two iPads with 4 GBs of data on each and the plan only cost $120 per month after all taxes and fees are paid. They do give me a 15 percent corporate discount, so the normal rate would be close to $140 per month, but that is a lot cheaper than any other carrier I checked out.

Yep. We've got 4 lines with unlimited everything (I think data is throttled after 2.5GB per line ) for less than $90 total.

Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[bbodb1]

The following is offered from a slightly different perspective, but in terms of cost of phone purchase something I have noticed with respect to Verizon vs AT&T is that Verizon phones are not subsidized as much as AT&T phones at an outlet such as Best Buy. This latest wave of new phones has consistently had lower monthly prices for the same phone on the AT*T system as opposed to Verizon's price. That really should not be a large factor, but every dollar matters.... For example, the latest iPhone is around $33 per month on Verizon yet on AT&T it is around $26 per month. That's around a $160 difference for the same phone.

 

[winger]

I've been with T-Mobile for quite a while now. Perhaps not the best coverage, but I'll sacrifice a little in coverage in exchange for saving nearly $100/mo compared to Verizon. With wifi calling, coverage becomes less and less of an issue.

You do realize if you are off somewhere on a hike on the woods or mountains, or zipping down the street or highway, and cell coverage is lacking, you likely won't find a Wi-Fi signal either, right? Yes, I know of you are indoors like at ac restaurateur (think McD's) or someone's house (think your home), then there's likely to be Wi-Fi.

 

[Elan]

You do realize if you are off somewhere on a hike on the woods or mountains, or zipping down the street or highway, and cell coverage is lacking, you likely won't find a Wi-Fi signal either, right? Yes, I know of you are indoors like at ac restaurateur (think McD's) or someone's house (think your home), then there's likely to be Wi-Fi.

Really? Gosh golly, I thought every tree, street sign and man-hole cover was a wifi access point. Thanks for your priceless insight.


Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[bogey21]

To each his own I guess. I have owned two clam shells since 1999. My first one (an LG) lasted 6 or 7 years. My current Samsung Rugby still works just like the day ATT gave it to me for free. At my request ATT has blocked text messaging and voice mail for me.

It looks like I jinxed myself with the above post. The very next day the battery in my Rugby shot craps. It only took me 5 minutes and $43.89 at my local Batteries Plus store to get a new one put in my phone.

George

 

[bobpark56]

I've actually got a back-up phone on Ting. Not a bad deal.

Right. We did too. Cost all of about $21 for an Alcatel phone.