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What Cell phone carrier do you use?

XxMagpulxX

XxMagpulxX

5️⃣ Platinum
Tacoma3G Supporter
Joined
Jan 3, 2020
Messages
268
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Location
Sparks, Nv.
2016 TRD OR DCSB Auto
Blazing Blue Pearl
Im looking to jump ship from Sprint, who was bought out by T-Mobile. I have been having issues ever since their merger. Nothing that their customer service will actually fix. So Im lookin at either AT&T or Verizon.

Who are you with and are you happy with them?
 
I have AT&T. I think I get 30gb data with 15gb hotspot data for $49 a month after military discount.

I think there are cheaper options from T-Mobile and Sprint. Actually, I’ve been hearing good things about T-Mobile in the last year or so, funnily enough.

Back to AT&T. I’ve been to most states and a lot of remote locations with their service. It’s hard to really say if their coverage is good or not because it’s unpredictable, as are all carriers. I’ll have service in seemingly remote areas and then in populated areas that you would expect to have a great connection, the parking space you’re in can be the difference of it working or not.

Overall, needing or wanting to switch has never crossed our minds so I guess that means we have enough uptime to not be too bothered by when it doesn’t work.
 
As mentioned above, all carriers have their good and bad days. I had Verizon for years, but one of their salesmen pissed me off when I went in looking to upgrade (got mouthy when i told him i was shopping different carriers) so i switched to Sprint. They had great deals and phone options. When Sprint merged with T-Mobile i saw a bit of an increase in coverage. Sprint also had a Credit Union appreciation plan that gets me a $100 check every year. I like their 55 and over plan too. Hard to beat the price, and i like the FCC act that my monthly bill is always the same. No added crap or taxes.

Just my opinion, but I'll stay with T-Mobile.
 
My wife and I have unlimited from AT&T. Our service is decent in our area, but if go to our cabin at the lake our service drops to zero. My family that has Verizon has great service. We rarely have any service issues. Probably doesn't hurt that we have a 5G tower in our back yard.
 
Dirtboy2009 said:
As mentioned above, all carriers have their good and bad days. I had Verizon for years, but one of their salesmen pissed me off when I went in looking to upgrade (got mouthy when i told him i was shopping different carriers) so i switched to Sprint. They had great deals and phone options. When Sprint merged with T-Mobile i saw a bit of an increase in coverage. Sprint also had a Credit Union appreciation plan that gets me a $100 check every year. I like their 55 and over plan too. Hard to beat the price, and i like the FCC act that my monthly bill is always the same. No added crap or taxes.

Just my opinion, but I'll stay with T-Mobile.
Click to expand...
Remember when going into a cell phone store was as time consuming and complicated as buying a car?

I don’t know if it’s any better nowadays because I haven’t been to one in years. I’ve actually had the same phone number since 2004, so that’s like 17 years? When the iPhone came out I just started doing phone upgrades at the Apple store which is a bit easier.

When the mobile store guys try to keep you on their service when you’re settled on switching… ugh.
 
I have Verizon, I got it through Costco. I'm happy with them and have been for several years.
 
StormRnr said:
I'm with Verizon. I'm happy with the coverage, but we keep outpacing the data plans. I' generally favor the places where cell service drops off and the vibrations stop.
Click to expand...
I agree with this however, there are times when I need service due to work issues. The merger between Sprint and T-Mobile has completely disappointed me.
 
One thing for folks to remember, if it is an emergency, even if you don't have service, still try to dial 911. Once you dial 911, it opens up ALL providers towers and ingores any hard distance limits a tower has.
 
XxMagpulxX said:
Im looking to jump ship from Sprint, who was bought out by T-Mobile. I have been having issues ever since their merger. Nothing that their customer service will actually fix. So Im lookin at either AT&T or Verizon.

Who are you with and are you happy with them?
Click to expand...
i was with verizon for years, and jumped shipped to T mobile. not sure yet if it was a wise choice
 
We have Verizon, it’s the best coverage where we live, but I read that ATT are putting in new towers in the area. During summer you have a good chance of dropping 2-3 calls a week, or about how well my Tacoma works with CarPlay.
 
NVTaco said:
One thing for folks to remember, if it is an emergency, even if you don't have service, still try to dial 911. Once you dial 911, it opens up ALL providers towers and ingores any hard distance limits a tower has.
Click to expand...
As long as the phone has the matching frequencies and bands of the towers in reach. :)
I think 911 calls work for phones even without active service. I believe they show Emergency Calls only even if you aren't paying for service.
Thanks FCC!

Not sure how much has changed. I was in the wireless industry for many many moons.
All the way back to the red logo springs days. Nextel with their iDen tech and Cingular before they got eated by AT&T.
Sold and worked for almost all of them. I always find myself back at Verizon when I have to pay for my own service.
Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T/Cingular and Nextel were always on demo lines.

I do find Verizon service to be superior.
CDMA would give better coverage. GSM would provide better reception penetration.
This has been my experience where I am.
I know this stuff changes dependent on location.

Overall, CDMA was always more reliable for me. I do notice that GSM does slightly better in some areas when inside older buildings.

Now with Verizon phones taking sim cards and stuff, I don't know how the types of service work together or separate.
I'm still on Verizon.

I know other carriers contract with each other for coverage. But also carriers will allow their own subscribers to take precedence over out of carrier subscribers that are from other carriers. They used to run off a queue.

So I'd say Verizon is best. AT&T close. I'd go either route or whatever offered a better deal.
Worth checking into other carriers who run off their towers.
Also have been considering GoogleFi. But haven't looked into it much. Just a big Google fan.

For frequencies and bands, I believe it was higher frequency was better distance. Lower frequency was penetration.
Higher = faster. Lower = slower.
Take into account interference of other products used in the area. Building material throughout the time. Density of surroundings.
Just sharing what I've picked up or have explained to people. Give a general idea if you're not familiar.
Maybe things have changed since back when I was into it. Technology my guys. Oof.
 

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XxMagpulxX said:
Im looking to jump ship from Sprint, who was bought out by T-Mobile. I have been having issues ever since their merger. Nothing that their customer service will actually fix. So Im lookin at either AT&T or Verizon.

Who are you with and are you happy with them?
Click to expand...
What kind of issues? I'd assume service?

I used to make a lot of retention/account services calls on behalf of customers.
Sometimes there are solutions. It's how you present it to the call person.
Sometimes they don't even know it's an option. Other times it's a game. I'd be happy to give some insight or tell you how I would handle it.
 
Just switched to AT&T from Verizon. The coverage isn't much better in my area, but now I am paying $40 less a month for 2 lines. So I am ok with it.
 
TexMcGee said:
Just switched to AT&T from Verizon. The coverage isn't much better in my area, but now I am paying $40 less a month for 2 lines. So I am ok with it.
Click to expand...
Comparable plan? Does that take into account for phone payments?
 
bonifacio said:
Comparable plan? Does that take into account for phone payments?
Click to expand...
Phones are paid off and still in good shape. Was paying ~125 a month with verizon for 2 phones lines, and switched to AT&T, my first bill was $82. We both have had the most basic unlimited plans with both carriers. I work from home so my phone is on wifi 90% of the time. So I don't need much data. We also get an extra $10 off per line with auto pay.
 
Well I was fed up with large cell phone bills and money is tight for me ATM so I’m using Mint Mobile (think a “deprioritized” T-Mobile user lol) because I prepay for a whole year and only pay $15/month. Coverage happens to be good in my area, but you can check service coverage beforehand on their site by typing in your zip. I have an unlocked iPhone and was able to just pop in the SIM they sent me and go online to activate it. I also switched my mother to them and transferring her number was straightforward enough.

(if anyone is interested I think I get a referral credit if you buy through the above link thanks)
 
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