wanting to break off my parents plan, which carrier is best?

[RavenSword]

So, I'm looking to break off from my parents family plan and going on my own. However, I'm wondering which carrier is going to be best? I was thinking of Verizon, but wasn't sure how good they were with updates if I have a android phone with them. Also, I do know there among the pricer carriers with plans along with att, but I know they have better coverage than ATT or the other carriers.

The family plan is with ATT, whose plans are the same price as Verizon's as far as I can tell. So I think I'd rather have the better coverage of Verizon if its the same amount as ATT.

Is sprint good? What about T-Mobile? I know these two carriers are less expensive, espeacily T-Mobile. But I'd almost rather pay more for Verizon or att if the service is going to suck on sprint and T-Mobile.

I don't travel so I don't really need to worry about which works better overseas or whatever.

What do you guys think?

 

[Smply_Rcklss]

T-Mobile is really good if you're in an rural area or metropolitan. Sprint I heard was actually getting a lot better, Verizon I had no coverage really anywhere surprisingly & AT&T was actually the better of the 4. T-Mobile would be the cheapest to go imo.

Tapatalk'n On The M8

 

[codyoehl]

Tmobile has cheap prices, I will give them that, but their service isn't so good

I've had their 4g LTE service and it's not so good, but I'm not sure if it's just where I live

T-Mobile actually has a program where they will send you a IPhone 5s to test the network if you want to do it

Posted via Android Central App with my Samsung Galaxy S5

 

[MDMcAtee]

You need to research this before jumping carriers.

There are many obvious reasons to look at besides the cost factors.

How good of coverage will you get with your phones for starters.

How good is the customer service with each in your area.

What type of plan are you interested in, or are you looking at a no contract type.

Depending on your credit score, which carrier is willing to give you the best deals.

Do you plan on traveling, if so what carrier has the best coverage in those areas.

From my experiences with AT&T, Sprint, T Mobile, and Verizon all have different conditions to be met with your credit history, all have different issues with coverages and all have hoops to jump through on phone issues.

It's not just about 1 thing but many things to take into consideration before choosing a carrier.

Where I live, AT&T has the best coverage and the least amount of dead zones. They also offer free micro towers for cell phone coverage for your home if needed. Verizon and Sprint charges for this.

Another factor is customer service, again AT&T for me is better than all the rest, provided you are willing to be diligent polite determined to work with them.

Billing issues, I have had better luck getting everything correct with AT&T month to month than the other carriers, with Sprint being the absolute worst I have ever seen, and Verizon coming in a close second.

Upgrades, for someone starting out on their own, I will suggest this. Buy your phone outright and not on a contract. If you run into issues with the carrier you can switch with no early termination fee, and you aren't as likely to rush to be constantly spending money on a phone. Look at keeping it for at least 2 os updates and look for a phone that is solid, not just because of some new feature. You will have more important things to spend your money on than a phone.

A lot of the adds on TV try to intice you to switch, read the fine print carefully, not all that glitters is gold.

Good luck

Posted via Android Central App from my HTC M8

 

[cdtommy]

i like verizon

 

[RavenSword]

I could be wrong, but I may get a bit of a discount with Verizon through my work. I'll have to check that out.

How accurate are those coverage maps online anyway?

 

[Almeuit]

I could be wrong, but I may get a bit of a discount with Verizon through my work. I'll have to check that out.

How accurate are those coverage maps online anyway?

Remember the discount will only be off the data bucket price.. Not the entire bill.

Also.. Verizon normally is good for the majority of people but they're not the best everywhere. I tried them and personally couldn't stand the call quality compared to T-Mobile (yes I'm one of those weird people who use their phone to call people .)

But... I'd check root metrics and see how they ranked the carriers for your area. Do you travel often? Where do you mostly work and play?

Sent from my T-Mobile Note 3 using the AC App.

 

[cdtommy]

they give 4g almost anywhere in the US

 

[Almeuit]

they give 4g almost anywhere in the US

But not everyone needs that. Such as I don't travel much so T-Mobile works all around where I live, work, and play.

It wasn't the 4g I had an issue with on Verizon.. It was the call quality.

Sent from my T-Mobile Note 3 using AC Forums.

 

[RavenSword]

Is tmobile way of no contract, full priced phones better than subsidies though?

 

[spiraleze]

All the carriers have a no contract option when you buy the phone at full retail price (as required by T-Mobile).

 

[ultravisitor]

You need to see how service is in the areas where you live and travel. Many people talk about how great T-Mobile is, but I currently have a T-Mobile device and can see how spotty the service is. The coverage I get on my T-Mobile device is nowhere near as strong as consistent as it is with my Verizon device. The last thing I want is for me to be stuck in an emergency situation and not have coverage, which is why I stay with Verizon.

 

[RavenSword]

Although I'm going to stay on my parents plan, it frustrates me because they have our upgrades under attack next, not regular subsidized upgrades anymore. So I can tell if its best to just buy a nexus 5 or something unlocked or to pay the full 600-700 dollar price with at next.

 

[Nastrodamous]

I am on Verizon, but i am switching to tmobile or at&t because they are gsm.

 

[RavenSword]

So, I really think I'm between the M8 and the GS5 right now. I'll wait and see what moto has though. Like I said, I'm not doing any purchasing yet. But I'm trying to get a idea.