Considering switching from Verizon, interested in current subscribers thoughts

12/10/2014 2:50:35 PM

it sucks by comparison, but it's not as bad as sprint...you pay for what you get, which is, for most people, enough

any reason you're not considering straight talk (t-mo or att card, your choice) or cricket (att)?

12/10/2014 3:06:17 PM

No reason, I'm just trying to save a few bucks and am still researching options. My contract is not up with Verizon and T-Mobile offers the ETF reimbursement. I don't know a whole lot about Cricket or Straight Talk yet.

12/10/2014 3:14:27 PM

Service was terrible. It became frustrating. Too many dead spots. Wasnt enough savings to justify the lack of service.

12/11/2014 5:54:45 AM

I thought I was going to pinch some pennies by using the $35 T-Mobile 5GB/100 min plan and use data for Google Voice calls but the service was terrible outside a 2-3 mile radius from any big city center

so now I'm super pinching pennies with Straight Talk BYOT (NOT BYOP) for $15/mo 1GB data-only and it's working out absolutely fine with how much I'm on wi-fi

12/11/2014 7:16:58 AM

^,^^

service is turrible. dohs knuckleheads don't know how to run a cell service.

T-mobile uses AT&T bands/phones but somehow with even shittier coverage. Don't do it, unless you're always in the city.

StraightTalk is pretty good, at least on VZW phones; though the CSRs suck, so hope you never have issues.

12/11/2014 8:57:33 AM

i had no problem in the Raleigh area (except for a dead zone on I-40 near the airport) but coverage in the eastern or western part of the state was terrible. i changed because my contract was out and my new job didn't have t-mobile repeaters inside and haven't looked back.

12/11/2014 11:53:34 AM

I'm with everyone else. Coverage is spotty, but it is super cheap so I don't care. I don't have a smart phone and very rarely talk on the phone. I pay 15 bucks a month for unlimited text + 10 cents a minute. This has probably saved me over 1000 bucks over the last few years.

12/11/2014 4:11:57 PM

IMO, the best options to save money and not have crap service are:

straight talk using AT&T 4G/LTE SIM with "unlimited" everything (soft cap at 3GB): ~$46/month (after taxes/fees, with auto-refill discount, which is a limited-time offer right now)

cricket using AT&T 4G/LTE SIM with "unlimited" everything (soft cap at 1GB): $35 (flat fee including taxes/fees, and after auto-refill discount)

i'm moving from the former to the latter and don't expect any change in actual service...my N4 unofficially supports certain bands of AT&T/TMO 4G LTE and i get it pretty much anywhere in raleigh, many places i travel on a regular basis, and quite a bit on the interstate

i have wifi at home and work and i rarely go over 1GB in a month...we'll see how annoying it is to be capped at 128kbps the first time i go over

if you're still in contract, well...i'd just wait it out...because i assume TMO will only pay your ETF in the form of account credit and you have to sign a contract with them

12/12/2014 10:39:59 AM

^straight talk with VZW. Same price, better coverage.

12/12/2014 11:30:15 AM

T-mobile is great if you live on like the top floor of the tallest building in your city and don't mind standing on your balcony to make calls.

12/13/2014 12:06:23 AM

Leaning toward straight talk now. Any opinions?

12/15/2014 7:39:25 AM

^^^Also, does anyone have any idea how you know which towers will be used for Straight Talk? I've googled the shit out of it, but can't seem to find anything definitive in terms of whether it uses Verizon, AT&T, T-Mo, or Sprint.

12/15/2014 8:55:22 AM

^http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2011/12/how-to-get-tracfone-net10-or-straight.html

12/15/2014 10:13:08 AM

Quote :

"straight talk with VZW. Same price, better coverage."

true, though no 4G (unless that's changed), so HSDPA/HSPA+/4G LTE is better* for me

also, i prefer unlocked phones that i can ROM

*i realize it's worse coverage, but for where i am 95% of the time, it's more than adequate...the other 5% sucks, though

Quote :

"Also, does anyone have any idea how you know which towers will be used for Straight Talk? I've googled the shit out of it, but can't seem to find anything definitive in terms of whether it uses Verizon, AT&T, T-Mo, or Sprint."

depends on the phone...if you're buying new from wally world, the boxes usually have map of the US that's colored red for verizon (CDMA) and blue for AT&T (GSM)...i don't think ST uses the sprint network, but i could be wrong...i know they use TMO (or did), but it's dictated by the SIM, not the phone

you can always look up the phone on http://www.gsmarena.com/ or http://www.phonescoop.com/ and see which radio it uses...for those phones with CDMA and GSM variants (that you're doing BYOB), you'll have to check it against the IMEI to make sure

[Edited on December 15, 2014 at 12:07 PM. Reason : .]

12/15/2014 11:56:02 AM

Republic Wireless.

12/15/2014 12:14:31 PM

I looked up my phone on ST's website, and it says it's compatible. It's a Verizon Galaxy S5. I'm a n00b with all this wireless talk (CDMA vs. GSM, etc.), so I still don't get how I know whether I will get 4G service, which network, etc.

12/15/2014 2:00:03 PM

AFAIK, verizon (who runs a CDMA network) doesn't allow MVNOs* access to the 4G LTE band...so if your phone is 4G and you go with straight talk, you will likely be stuck on 3G (which sucks compared to GSM 3G)...but CDMA is an arguably** superior technology (each tower covers more area, penetrates buildings, etc) and verizon has better coverage than ANYONE, so you may*** have more service, even if it's not as fast

* a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is a company (straight talk, net10, cricket, etc) that doesn't have its own network, but rather pays companies like verizon and AT&T/TMO for access to theirs...and then bills the customer independently of the network owner

** i'm not looking for an actual argument

*** depends on a whole slew of factors, but you're more likely to have service where AT&T/TMO don't

12/15/2014 2:26:35 PM

^thanks, very helpful. Discussion point: What phone providers DO allow MVNO's to access 4G? I wouldn't think it would be that difficult to swap my GS5 out on CL for a phone that runs on a providers that allows 4G on ST. But then again, maybe the coverage is so much worse on these (presumably AT&T or TMO?) that it's not worth it for the faster speeds.

12/15/2014 2:37:58 PM

Quote :

"AFAIK, verizon (who runs a CDMA network) doesn't allow MVNOs* access to the 4G LTE band."

Verizon has slowly begun to allow LTE access. Page Plus has it and Selectel should soon if they don't already.

12/15/2014 3:03:13 PM

^^ verizon is the only one who doesn't...though from ^ said, that's only partly the case and might be heading the way of allowing it

page plus deals pop up on slickdeals from time to time, so you may want to look into them, since you could use your existing phone and get 4G...from what i recall, PP isn't as cheap as ST or cricket, but you might be getting the entire verizon network (3G/4G) for less, so there's that

[Edited on December 15, 2014 at 3:43 PM. Reason : .]

12/15/2014 3:43:32 PM

Verizon better keep those ghetto ass phones off the 4G network until they can consistently maintain decent download speed around Raleigh.

12/15/2014 5:44:53 PM

at $35/month (after taxes/fees) for cricket (and on my N4, which doesn't officially support 4G), i'm not complaining



[Edited on December 16, 2014 at 8:53 AM. Reason : image]

12/16/2014 8:51:36 AM

^Looking at my $185 bill for 2 lines, this makes me want to throw up.

[Edited on December 16, 2014 at 9:25 AM. Reason : ]

12/16/2014 9:24:52 AM

at least you have the best network

with cricket you can get 2 plans ("basic", with 1GB of 3G/4G) for $65 ($35 for first line with autopay discount, second line for $30 after $10 add-a-line discount)

2 "smart" plans (3GB of 3G/4G) would be $85 ($45 for first line with autopay, $40 for second with add-a-line discount)

AFAIK, they have the best bang-for-your-buck plans out there for your average user, assuming you don't mind using the AT&T network

personally, i think VZW would be better off (make more money by charging more people less) letting more MVNOs use their network, but maybe they don't have the hardware or something

12/16/2014 9:51:47 AM

After a couple of hours of trying to decipher broken English from about 4 different ST customer reps, the consensus *SEEMS* to be that I can in fact access LTE on ST using my Verizon phone (not sure which network, the rep claims they have no way of knowing which network the phone will use?). They claim that they will need to send me a new LTE SIM for Verizon phones which will take 7-10 days. I'm skeptical on all this since I got some different answers from different customer reps, but the potential savings is inclining me to see if I can get it figured out.

12/16/2014 2:33:19 PM

this isn't a definitive source or anything, but it at least implies that 4G LTE access on verizon towers is allowed, but throttled to 5/2 (down/up): http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2014/12/straight-talk-now-allowing-verizon-lte.html

you'd think it'd be bigger news if verizon were allowing ST users unrestricted 4G LTE access, which leads me to believe that they aren't...apparently ST does sell at least one VZW/4G phone, the ZTE rapido, and it is definitely throttled

so yes, it seems like you can take your 4G phone to ST (yay!) but it will be throttled (boo!) to speeds less than HSPA+42 (which is technically 3G, though frequently considered 3.5G since it's enhanced)

they (and you) can tell which network the phone will use just by googling it...what they meant to say is that they aren't going bother looking it up and even if they could, they probably aren't supposed to make any guarantees

a CDMA phone will only work on a CDMA network (VZW) and a GSM phone will only work on a GSM network (ATT/TMO)...very few phones are "global" phones that will work on both

you'll need a SIM for any GSM phone or 4G CDMA phone (not for a 3G-only CDMA phone, though), so you'll have to buy the BYOP activation kit

12/16/2014 3:22:48 PM

i just went through the process of bringing my former verizon iphone 5 to straight talk

12/16/2014 8:23:45 PM

Quote :

"if verizon were allowing ST users unrestricted 4G LTE access, which leads me to believe that they aren't"

verizon dosent give a fuck about any ghetto ass prepaid phones


they will allow them because 3g is already on a death countdown, and they make money from the mvno, but not near as much as a real customer

12/16/2014 8:27:00 PM

^ i agree 100%

although i feel like they're poised to make more money now that they've opened up the LTE bands to MVNOs (even at reduced throughput)...more people at a lower rate is usually better than fewer people at a higher one

that said, i can't think of any reason to go back to VZW (or their network, rather) any time soon...yeah, their network is technically better, but i have yet to have trouble with service anywhere i go with any regularity and have even been surprised to find i have service in certain places (GSM coverage used to be a joke for anyone not in a city or near an interstate)

there are more GSM options and the phones are far more likely to be unlockable and able to be ROM'd, which i care far more about (i can't imagine going back to a bloated manufacturer's ROM ever again)...add to that the lower cost of phones (out of contract) and the service (on an MVNO) and it's an easy decision for me

12/17/2014 7:43:45 AM

I took the plunge for my GS5 on Straight Talk. They are sending me the 'special' 4G LTE SIM card that can be used for Verizon phones. Apparently they only sell the AT&T and TMO SIM cards in stores?

I'll be curious to see if it's throttled as discussed above. If so, what's to stop me from popping an AT&T SIM card in my phone? Aren't most Verizon phones unlocked out of the box these days?

12/17/2014 7:49:54 AM

Quote :

"They are sending me the 'special' 4G LTE SIM card that can be used for Verizon phones. Apparently they only sell the AT&T and TMO SIM cards in stores?"

i wouldn't be surprised...ALL GSM (ATT/TMO) phones requires a SIM, while only 4G CDMA phones require one

Quote :

"I'll be curious to see if it's throttled as discussed above. If so, what's to stop me from popping an AT&T SIM card in my phone? Aren't most Verizon phones unlocked out of the box these days?"

it doesn't work like that, unfortunately

a SIM (subscriber identity module) has always been part of the GSM spec (AFAIK) and contains the customer's information and therefore any GSM phone that's not blacklisted can be used as long as the SIM is activated...it's the SIM that's authorized, not the phone itself

CDMA uses whitelists...phones are specifically allowed, not specifically denied (as is the case with GSM)

IIRC, 4G LTE is actually GSM technology, hence the reason it uses SIM cards...since the networks aren't pure LTE (voice-over-LTE or voLTE), i assume whitelists are still used for every phone, since they can connect to the old CDMA2000 network, as well as LTE

by the time CDMA2000 (which encompasses all CDMA 3G technology, i think, and includes 1xRTT and 1xEV-DO) goes away, every phone will be LTE/WCDMA and (again, i assume) that they'll all operate the way that GSM does

i'm still confused by most of this...GSM used to use TDMA (time division), but CDMA (code division) is more powerful and flexible, so GSM switched to CDMA for their 3G (and newer) networks...with 4G/LTE, the differences between CDMA and GSM is becoming significantly less (hence the reason i think all phones will be compatible with all bands within the next 5 or 6 years)

[Edited on December 17, 2014 at 8:37 AM. Reason : .]

12/17/2014 8:19:30 AM

Update: I've been running ST for about 36 hours now. Both voice and data coverage have been great. I even had to travel to a fairly remote part of Southeast Ohio today, coverage was pretty much what I would get with Verizon. I can confirm that they throttle speeds, I'm getting 5-6 down 2-2.5 up fairly consistently, but honestly I haven't even noticed the difference.

Aside from the horrid customer service reps (who hopefully I won't need to contact often), happy so far.

12/19/2014 7:56:44 PM

Verzion LTE has sucked profusely the entire month of December around Crabtree Valley. It might be due to the fact that the mall has been slammed, but whatever the reason its frustrating. Verizon is not cheap, lately it seems its not reliable either.

During the power outages on Christmas Eve it completely stopped working at my house, it failed black Friday at the mall, also on the Saturday before Christmas.

I worked for VZW for 3 years, the company talks a big game about its network, now that I am a paying customer it kind of pisses me off that the data is not reliable.

12/27/2014 3:10:19 AM

I've had AT&T with my company's mobile plan for years, but they're changing the terms and making it less attractive so that employees will ditch that plan for BYOD (do that and my company pays you $60/mo towards whatever plan you get).

I've had unlimited data for as long as I've owned a smart phone, so I'm a bit of a data whore (7-8 gigs/month isn't out of the question, though I admit I almost never connect to WiFi since it's usually slower than my 4G LTE connection). Now that I've got to pay my own way, I really don't know which provider to go with?

Seems like everyone has an awesome "share" plan, but if you're a single individual you get the shaft Whichever carrier I go with, I want to trade in my iPhone 5 (16 gig) and upgrade to a 6 (64 gig). Any advice? I feel like 3 gig/mo is the bare minimum I could deal with. I had Verizon for a while (2005-2009) and loved them but damn their cell plans look expensive at a glance.

Any advice

1/20/2015 4:38:00 PM

considering switching myself.

Currently in a Verizon plan 60 bux unlimited talk and text and 2gb of data (addl $10GB a month) with an LG G3.

But i can get unlimited data from Tmobile.


Also verizon is adding tracking data to my browser (BOO), and they sem to just be dicks in general.

1/20/2015 9:41:51 PM

Quote :

"cricket using AT&T 4G/LTE SIM with "unlimited" everything (soft cap at 1GB 2.5GB): $35 (flat fee including taxes/fees, and after auto-refill discount)"

just got a text from cricket...the 1GB soft cap has been upped to 2.5GB

BYOP, no contract, and $35/month (AFTER taxes/fees) for "unlimited" AT&T 4G LTE service? best value, hands down

2/3/2015 1:44:52 PM

Big ups to T-Mobile for their prepaid data options on the iPad Air 2. There's an intro deal for 5 gigabytes over 150 days for $10.00, plus they give you 200 MB every 30 days for free for life.

2/17/2015 2:41:38 PM

I some how pay more for T-Mobile than I did with Verizon. T-Mobile doesn't seem to work outside of any metropolitan area on the West Coast. It's dead an hour north of LA and doesn't come back until you get to SF area. Similar problems in Oregon/Utah/Washington.

I remember in Raleigh it never worked in Louisburg area, but got better when I had it there.

2/17/2015 5:41:43 PM

Is AT&T still throttling after 5GB for the old unlimited plans or are they supposed to change so that they throttle only at times of peak usage?

2/19/2015 12:20:31 PM