Advice on Carriers for Note 5?

[dougdraws]

Hi gang. I've been considering the Note 5 for a while now, but I'm hesitant which carrier to go with. I had Verizon before with my Droid Turbo, but they lied to me about a couple things and I left them for Boost. I hear some nasty things about AT&T and Sprint is just plain bad.

Right now with Boost I have the Galaxy S3 at $55 a month with 10GB of data, but the newest phones Boost has right now is the iPhone 6 Plus and the Galaxy S6. I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice on the other carriers like T-Mobile and such for the Note 5?

Thanks

 

[B. Diddy]

My wife has the T-Mobile Note5, and likes it a lot. T-Mobile's coverage and data speeds in the Silicon Valley where we live is very good, but since coverage is still T-Mobile's main shortcoming, it'd be important for you to check how it is in your area. Also, if good coverage in sparsely populated or rural areas is important, then T-Mobile may not be the best choice.

 

[dougdraws]

B. Diddy, thanks for your reply. I chatted with T-Mobile last night at length discussing the Note 5 and they set me up with their "test drive" plan. I get to test drive the phone for 20 days and decide if I want to keep it. That should be enough time to check out the phone and get an idea for the T-Mobile service. They say if I don't want it I can return the phone with no further obligations.

I was impressed with this test drive concept and with their customer service. Of course the plan price will be more than I'm paying now with Boost, but the phone will be much better with updated technology and Android system. Verizon and AT&T only wanted to give me 2GB of data for $65 a month, but with T-Mobile I get 16GB of data at the same price. Naturally until the phone is paid off it will be about $95 a month. They have some other nice options, too. Customer service won me over with their very nice and helpful staff.

So I got the 32GB Gold version of the Note 5. It will be here next Tuesday. Curious to see how the phone and their service works out.

 

[B. Diddy]

Awesome. The Test Drive is a great T-Mobile feature, and I wish more carriers offered it. Experiment with wi-fi calling as well, if you do find areas of poorer reception.

 

[dougdraws]

Yep, I definitely will, as well as the Bluetooth reception. I use a BT headset a lot on calls so will be curious how well their Note 5 handles that. I will report back after I've tested the phone out for a few days.

Another thing I liked was that they said if I don't like the phone I can return it and try a different model (iPhone 6, LG G4, etc.) within the 20 day period.

 

[B. Diddy]

My wife uses a Plantronics Voyager Legend BT headset, and it works flawlessly with the phone.

 

[acles003]

From reading the forums I've notice a theme of people with a Note 5 on Verizon complaining about their phone not working properly. Not sure why, just what I've noticed.

I have a Note 5 on T-Mobile and so far I'm very happy with it.

 

[bassplayrguy]

I am on ATT and have absolutely no complaints. Service is great and coverage is second to none.

 

[wookiee2cu]

I had been with AT&T since it used to be called Cingular. I switched to T-Mobile last October because I wanted the Note 5 and wasn't eligible with AT&T for the upgrade. T-Mobile said they covered all fees which turned out not to be completely true, in the end I still had to pay what my early upgrade fee with AT&T would have been. But my bill is now about $10 less a month, I have unlimited Data (AT&T was 6 or 10GB per month), 7GB of tethering (don't use this often but it's nice when I need it and the speeds are surprisingly fast) and I can upgrade my phone twice a year for $100 a pop. I'm on a single line, I'm doing the lease plan on the 64gb model and my bill is $126 a month; that is including the $8 per month for insurance on the device. Another nice thing is they don't add a ton of bloatware or remove features like other carriers have done. The only downside I have seen regarding T-Mobile is coverage but it hasn't been an issue for me.

 

[dougdraws]

Thanks for the info everyone. Excited to get my phone and see how coverage, BT and performance/features are like. Also, to start playing around with it. From what I've seen there's a LOT to customize.

 

[mhettrich]

I have a Note 5 on T-Mobile as well and have had no issues. I'd definitely recommend it.

 

[dpham00]

Awesome. The Test Drive is a great T-Mobile feature, and I wish more carriers offered it. Experiment with wi-fi calling as well, if you do find areas of poorer reception.

Samsung offers a thirty day test drive for the note 5. Includes active sim for the carrier of your choice.

 

[B. Diddy]

Samsung offers a thirty day test drive for the note 5. Includes active sim for the carrier of your choice.

I didn't realize they were still running that offer--thanks for the tip!

 

[dpham00]

I didn't realize they were still running that offer--thanks for the tip!

Yes they are. It does cost a buck though, so not entirely free like tmobile, but way cheaper than setting up with any carrier that doesn't offer a free test drive. Of note that will call and pester you multiple times, so choose what number you give them wisely.

 

[anon(9638631)]

I had been with AT&T since it used to be called Cingular. I switched to T-Mobile last October because I wanted the Note 5 and wasn't eligible with AT&T for the upgrade. T-Mobile said they covered all fees which turned out not to be completely true, in the end I still had to pay what my early upgrade fee with AT&T would have been. But my bill is now about $10 less a month, I have unlimited Data (AT&T was 6 or 10GB per month), 7GB of tethering (don't use this often but it's nice when I need it and the speeds are surprisingly fast) and I can upgrade my phone twice a year for $100 a pop. I'm on a single line, I'm doing the lease plan on the 64gb model and my bill is $126 a month; that is including the $8 per month for insurance on the device. Another nice thing is they don't add a ton of bloatware or remove features like other carriers have done. The only downside I have seen regarding T-Mobile is coverage but it hasn't been an issue for me.

Funny, I have been with AT&T since before it was Cingular. Went from AT&T to Cingular and back to AT&T.

Anyway, zero complaints about AT&T. I have my AT&T phone and a Verizon work phone. I work in the heart of the fifth largest city in the US and the AT&T service throttles the Verizon service in all carrier aspects.

 

[BergerKing]

My wife uses a Plantronics Voyager Legend BT headset, and it works flawlessly with the phone.

As does my Plantronics Pro HD. Love upper end Plantronics headset, only one I've had comfortable enough for all day wear.

 

[angrytentpole]

Funny, I have been with AT&T since before it was Cingular. Went from AT&T to Cingular and back to AT&T.

Anyway, zero complaints about AT&T. I have my AT&T phone and a Verizon work phone. I work in the heart of the fifth largest city in the US and the AT&T service throttles the Verizon service in all carrier aspects.

I second this.

From NYC to PA to NJ to upstate Buffalo NY, haven't had any issues with AT&T, really happy coming from Sprint.

 

[dougdraws]

Hey gang, I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to post an update just in case someone else might come across this thread.

After signing up with T-Mobile (back at the beginning of 2016 when I created this thread) they installed me under their "test drive" plan. Supposedly, this plan (according to the Rep I talked with) allowed you to have the phone for thirty days and if you didn't like it you could return it and owe them nothing. After a few days I discovered my $700 phone wasn't as great as I thought and the coverage stunk. I sent the phone back and that's when I started getting these bills from T-Mobile.

Even though the rep expressly told me several times when I was signing up that I could return the phone and cancel my account anytime during the test drive period, I started getting all these bills. First, off, they wanted me to pay $102 for my first month of service (even though I returned the phone during my 'test drive'). Second, they were trying to charge me $30.74 for some JUMP! service agreement. And finally, they were saying they never got the phone I returned and they were trying to charge me for that, too.

This is even lower behavior than Verizon, who also lied to me about my monthly service charge and charging me for the phone that I returned (even though they said I would NOT be charged anything when I returned the phone). I can't believe how easily these companies lie to you and then just send you bills for things they told you they were not going to charge you for. It's appalling and they should be reported.

I finally went on to their Facebook page and posted a message on their wall about this. Soon a Rep contacted me and after talking about the whole mess he cancelled all bills and cleaned up my account.

Eventually I went with AT&T, when I found out they had one Note 5 in their possession. After almost a year now I can say that AT&T service is much much better and so is the phone.

 

[Climb14er]

From reading the forums I've notice a theme of people with a Note 5 on Verizon complaining about their phone not working properly. Not sure why, just what I've noticed.

I have a Note 5 on T-Mobile and so far I'm very happy with it.

My Note 5 on VZ has worked very well from Day One in terms of phone reception and clarity.