Help me decide

[chevyman29]

I am really close to buying one tomorrow from sprint and just popping my Verizon sim card in.
It says it's factory unlocked so it should work !
I don't need a new phone for any reason other than I WANT this phone. LOL.

My only concern is how good the signal is on Verizon ? Can anybody speak to this ? I've read mixed reports , some good some not so good about this phone on Verizon.

I don't care about the camera to much I figure it'll get better with time , but signal is a big deal for me.

I love the size and the way it feels in hand.
I have a s 8 for my main phone and a z force for my secondary line. I was just gonna throw the essential on the secondary line.

What do y'all think ?

 

[dpackerz]

I'm on Verizon. I would say the signal strength could be better, but I'm coming from a Turbo2, which was great. I haven't really had a problem. I'm only in fringe signal pickup areas inside of work (Metro Detroit). Camera is fine - it's a phone for God's sake. It's improved in 2 week's time with updates. The Wi-Fi calling isn't working. I called Verizon and they've never heard of the phone (even the techie's I was transferred to). It's certified now, so hopefully that will work soon. I think the phone's a keeper. It's bare bones Android to allow you to make the phone the way you want it. Some people just can't accept that.

 

[twflys]

can you buy an unlocked one at Sprint? I didn't think you could, I thought that the carriers won't sell phones "outright", you have to sign a contract as well.. hmm

 

[dpackerz]

can you buy an unlocked one at Sprint? I didn't think you could, I thought that the carriers won't sell phones "outright", you have to sign a contract as well.. hmm

I think you can buy unlocked from Essential, then put the Sprint Sim in from your last phone, assuming it's the same type Sim.

 

[chevyman29]

Well on the best buy website it shows a sprint model and a unlocked one. But on the one listed for sprint it says it's unlocked right on the first page. So I'm assuming it's ready to go.

I was told by the local sprint store that they will sale it outright. We'll see today I guess.

My moto z gets really good signal. And the s8 gets pretty good signal. As long as it works as good as the s8 it should be fine.

Thanks for the replies !

 

[anon(9918034)]

Well on the best buy website it shows a sprint model and a unlocked one. But on the one listed for sprint it says it's unlocked right on the first page. So I'm assuming it's ready to go.

I was told by the local sprint store that they will sale it outright. We'll see today I guess.

My moto z gets really good signal. And the s8 gets pretty good signal. As long as it works as good as the s8 it should be fine.

Thanks for the replies !

Be careful because it takes 24 hours after pay off to get the phone unlocked. They cannot unlock a phone in store, you have to call their customer care to get that done. In another thread a person said they paid off the sprint phone and they told him 55 days until he could unlock it. The phone is locked to sprints network.

 

[aitt]

Buy it, try it, find out. Don't work return it.

 

[modifier]

If they claim in the store that it's unlocked, ask to confirm it by inserting your Verizon SIM. It's rare for carriers to sell phones outright and unlocked.

 

[chevyman29]

Well I purchased it today outright no questions asked . 699.00 plus tax . Put in my Verizon sim set everything up . Phone is really fast and smooth . Camera seems OK to me. But I haven't used it much . It did a 223 mb update right out of the box . The only problem is I can't get it to do voice and data at the same time . Even though enhanced 4g is turned on .
Do I need to call Verizon or sprint ?

 

[PhiPsi32]

I moved my VZW SIM from my 6P to PH-1. Signal on PH-1 is about 7-10dBm weaker. Frequently lost signal or was kicked to 3G. I'm in a weak VZW (Yes, there are in fact areas in urban centers with poor VZW coverage).

 

[twflys]

Outright from Sprint?

 

[chevyman29]

Well after talking with Verizon they claim that all features may not work at this time but could work later .......
Does anybody have one working on Verizon that does voice and data at the same time ?
Might be that since mine came from sprint it's something different about it .
No big deal if I can't get it working back it goes .

 

[modifier]

They're all the same device. Buying one direct from Essential would net the same results. The issue is currently with Verizon, not Essential. The device has been approved on Verizon but they (Verizon) are apparently dragging their feet.

 

[chevyman29]

Yes outright straight from the sprint store

 

[twflys]

okay, fingers crossed... just pulled in, I'll try it myself. last place said "no way".

 

[twflys]

no dice, wouldn't sell it without a contract..

 

[chevyman29]

Well the first place I went to would do it but they wanted 50.00 more ...
But the place I went to today acted like it was no big deal and told me upfront it's 35 restocking fee with 13 days .
But it's going back tomorrow . I can't work with the no data thing .
But I will say I loved the way it felt in hand . The signal was a slight bit worse than my s8

 

[anon(9918034)]

Well the first place I went to would do it but they wanted 50.00 more ...
But the place I went to today acted like it was no big deal and told me upfront it's 35 restocking fee with 13 days .
But it's going back tomorrow . I can't work with the no data thing .
But I will say I loved the way it felt in hand . The signal was a slight bit worse than my s8

Just switch to sprint, it works like a charm and has their LTE+ network. Pulled 83mbps download the other day on ******* sprint of all carriers haha

 

[chevyman29]

Well the area I live in sprint isn't even close on coverage compared to Verizon. So that's a non starter.
I would love to see the next version of this phone

 

[anon(9918034)]

Well the area I live in sprint isn't even close on coverage compared to Verizon. So that's a non starter.
I would love to see the next version of this phone

That's the one thing I want to see change with these damn carriers. Is to allow any phone to work, who cares if they buy it from you or not. As long as they are shelling out money for your service does it actually matter.