I am getting the S4...but now I need help choosing between Verizon or AT&T!

jcp007

Trusted Member
May 17, 2012
6,967
83
0
Visit site
Been with AT&T for more than 18 years with no major issues. Just wish that they were quicker with Android OS updates.
 

paintdrinkingpete

Well-known member
Dec 12, 2009
2,917
276
0
Visit site
Newbie here....no cell phone!!! :)
I have ATT landline and DSL Pro internet. I want to get rid of the landline and keep the DSL Pro. I also want to move my current landline # on the GS4.
So, I figure the best move for me is to go ATT to make sure when my number is ported I don't lose the DSL.
In my area, Verizon has the better coverage, but not significantly better, so ATT with the Samsung Galaxy S4 should be fine.....BUT it appears that Verizon has 4G LTE while ATT has 4G...not sure what the big diff. is however.

LTE is 4G, just a faster version. Both ATT & VZ offer it, but not necessarily in your area (if you go to a carrier's web site you should find a coverage map). For many people 4G (HSPA+) is enough, it depends on if you plan on downloading or streaming a lot. Remember that with either VZ or ATT you're going to have data caps. LTE is fast enough that you can use up your whole month's allocation while drinking a single cup of coffee.

4G simply = "4th generation" in terms of technology of mobile data transmission. It is a generic term to describe those network types developed since those classified as "3G". There are several different specific technologies that fall under the generic term "4G", one of them being Verizon's LTE. While all 4G tech is faster than it's 3G counterparts, there can be a big difference in the performance of the various 4G network types...and LTE is considered to be the fastest.

Back when 3G was all the rage a few years ago, Verizon always branded their network as "1XEV" on their phones, and folks would be like, "Why doesn't this phone have 3G?!?", when in fact 1XEV was Verizon's 3G technology. They eventually just started putting a "3G" logo on their phones to avoid consumer confusion...which is probably why they also branded their LTE network as "4G LTE".

Sorry I don't really have anything to add as far as an answer to your number porting and DSL questions.
 

Suntan

Well-known member
Mar 16, 2011
1,603
86
48
Visit site
Both VZW and ATT treat their customers like ****. Get the one that has better coverage in your area.

-Suntan
 

GS4Bob

Well-known member
Mar 18, 2013
174
0
16
Visit site
LTE is 4G, just a faster version. Both ATT & VZ offer it, but not necessarily in your area (if you go to a carrier's web site you should find a coverage map). For many people 4G (HSPA+) is enough, it depends on if you plan on downloading or streaming a lot. Remember that with either VZ or ATT you're going to have data caps. LTE is fast enough that you can use up your whole month's allocation while drinking a single cup of coffee.

It appears from the coverage maps of ATT & Verizon that Verizon has 4G LTE and ATT has the 4G w/HSPA. ATT has 4G LTE in larger urban areas...I am in a small urban area.
Reports of consumers coverage in the area indicated Verizon is best. Prices seem to be about the same for voice/data.
 

JRDroid

Well-known member
Nov 12, 2012
1,483
0
0
Visit site
Personally, having been on both networks, I prefer AT&T. The data speeds you get on AT&T when you are in non-LTE areas are just sooooo much better than the data speeds in Verizon's non-LTE areas. However, Verizon has a much larger footprint, so if you travel a lot to less populous areas (particularly in the center of the country), Verizon may be the better fit. But if you don't frequently travel to the mid-west, I'd say AT&T.
 

paul-c

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2011
1,222
77
0
Visit site
I've been on both networks and prefer AT&T. Pricing is roughly the same. I'd give the nod to AT&T in terms of network performance. If you ever feel like getting a Nexus or an unlocked international phone, forget it on Verizon. That's the main reason I like AT&T. I think Verizon is a nice option for people that live in more rural areas where signal is harder to find. If you don't really have to worry about that, go with AT&T.

Sent from my Panasonic ELUGA
 
Last edited:

Suntan

Well-known member
Mar 16, 2011
1,603
86
48
Visit site
I've been on both networks and prefer AT&T. Pricing is roughly the same. I'd give the nod to AT&T in terms of network performance. If you ever feel like getting a Nexus or an unlocked international phone, forget it on Verizon. That's the main reason I like AT&T. I think Verizon is a nice option for people that live in more rural areas where signal is harder to find. If you don't really have to worry about that, go with AT&T.

Sent from my Panasonic ELUGA

Just two comments.

1) "network performance" is an entirely different thing depending on where you are. If you're going to "give the nod" to one or the other, at least give the local region of the country that you are talking about.

2) Verizon will gladly unlock any of their international phones for you if you are a customer in good standing for a couple of months. When I was doing more travel abroad a few years ago, it took all of a 5 minute call to VZW and she gave me the code to unlock the SIM slot.

-Suntan
 

paul-c

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2011
1,222
77
0
Visit site
Just two comments.

1) "network performance" is an entirely different thing depending on where you are. If you're going to "give the nod" to one or the other, at least give the local region of the country that you are talking about.

2) Verizon will gladly unlock any of their international phones for you if you are a customer in good standing for a couple of months. When I was doing more travel abroad a few years ago, it took all of a 5 minute call to VZW and she gave me the code to unlock the SIM slot.

-Suntan

Oh, ok. I live in Chicago. And I was referring to unlocked phones that aren't Verizon branded, like all the cool phones that Verizon never gets. Thanks for your critique, though.

Sent from my Motorola RAZR i
 
Last edited:

paul-c

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2011
1,222
77
0
Visit site
:confused: ...Didn't the OP say he was going to pre-order the GS4?

-Suntan

Yes, he did. He also asked to be convinced to go with one carrier or another. So I mentioned that AT&T will allow pretty much any GSM phone to run on their network, which in my mind is a selling point. He's not going to keep the S4 forever, right? You like Verizon, I like AT&T. They hate both of us. Whatever.

Sent from my Motorola RAZR i
 

Almeuit

Moderator Team Leader
Moderator
Apr 17, 2012
32,278
23
0
Visit site
Yes, he did. He also asked to be convinced to go with one carrier or another. So I mentioned that AT&T will allow pretty much any GSM phone to run on their network, which in my mind is a selling point. He's not going to keep the S4 forever, right? You like Verizon, I like AT&T. They hate both of us. Whatever.

Sent from my Motorola RAZR i

Lolol

Sent from my Sprint S3 using AC forums.
 

Jennifer Stough

Retired Moderator
Feb 12, 2013
1,971
7
0
Visit site
We use Verizon because here in Kansas no one even comes close to their coverage, and being in a more rural area, it is even a larger issue. If I were in a larger area I would go with either ATT or VZW. And, if I travelled outside of the US, then I AT&T would definitely be my preference since a simple sim card change would allow me to use local services wherever I happened to be.

THIS. We were stationed at Ft Riley (about 3 hours from KC, 15 mins away from Manhattan) and we couldn't get service anywhere. Tmobile offered 4G in Manhattan, but on Ft Riley or the nearest cities I had edge or g. Att was constantly dropping connection on post, and so was sprint. Verizon was the best option, and had the phones we wanted. (Hubby wanted razr maxx hd but ended up getting the note 2, I was sold on the DNA the first commercial I saw.)

Sent from my Verizon Droid DNA
 

vzwty

Well-known member
Dec 3, 2010
189
5
0
Visit site
Verizon:

-Later release
-Slower updates
-More bloatware
-Obnoxious carrier branding
-Data caps (not sure about ATT)
-Expensive as hell
-Don't get yearly upgrades

Going to disagree. I have Sprint which is the cheapest right? Wrong. With the Shared Data plan I can pay the same with Verizon as I do with Sprint, plus actually have LTE! I don't need unlimited data(some do) so the plan works great for me. I'm switching to Verizon ASAP. AT&T is the same price as Verizon but has less LTE coverage and less voice coverage. The ony carrier who doesn't cap data is Sprint, but that's because they have LTE in a handful of markets. As soon as they get larger, they WILL cap data. Just watch. Sprint did away with yearly upgrades unless you pay a "fee" which is ridicoulous. I'd say Verizon is a good choice for most.
 

racedog

Well-known member
Feb 3, 2011
1,248
197
63
Visit site
THIS. We were stationed at Ft Riley (about 3 hours from KC, 15 mins away from Manhattan) and we couldn't get service anywhere. Tmobile offered 4G in Manhattan, but on Ft Riley or the nearest cities I had edge or g. Att was constantly dropping connection on post, and so was sprint. Verizon was the best option, and had the phones we wanted. (Hubby wanted razr maxx hd but ended up getting the note 2, I was sold on the DNA the first commercial I saw.)

Sent from my Verizon Droid DNA

We are 30 miles west of Ft. Riley so you know that when I say we are in the boondocks, I mean it! And, if it takes you 3 hours to get from Ft. Riley to KC, then you're driving to damn slow . ;-)
On the other stuff, we had TMO, but major calls issues everywhere and data was nothing more than wishful thinking. Sprint was spotty at best and AT&T doesn't even offer service in our location. When Verizon bought Alltel we moved over to them. Price is high, CS us spotty but service is excellent. What can you do, you pay the price and at least you have quality phone service and fast data.
 

Jennifer Stough

Retired Moderator
Feb 12, 2013
1,971
7
0
Visit site
We are 30 miles west of Ft. Riley so you know that when I say we are in the boondocks, I mean it! And, if it takes you 3 hours to get from Ft. Riley to KC, then you're driving to damn slow . ;-)
On the other stuff, we had TMO, but major calls issues everywhere and data was nothing more than wishful thinking. Sprint was spotty at best and AT&T doesn't even offer service in our location. When Verizon bought Alltel we moved over to them. Price is high, CS us spotty but service is excellent. What can you do, you pay the price and at least you have quality phone service and fast data.

It took about 2 and a half hours to get there, but with stops it took 3. We always stopped in the toll rest station in Topeka for some chow.

Sent from my Verizon Droid DNA
 

Suntan

Well-known member
Mar 16, 2011
1,603
86
48
Visit site
Yes, he did. He also asked to be convinced to go with one carrier or another. So I mentioned that AT&T will allow pretty much any GSM phone to run on their network, which in my mind is a selling point. He's not going to keep the S4 forever, right? You like Verizon, I like AT&T. They hate both of us. Whatever.

Sent from my Motorola RAZR i

Jeez. I really don't care what carrier anyone uses. Further, I really don't see any point where I professed to like VZW, I think my first post in this thread made it pretty clear where my opinion about which carrier to go with stands.

I was just questioning your logic. I would have done the same if you were professing in favor of VZW too. Sorry you get offended when people ask you to clarify your position.

-Suntan
 

vinny jr

Well-known member
Sep 16, 2011
119
5
0
Visit site
I'm getting my SGS4 on T-Mobile. I have the SGS3 on T-Mobile, on their HSPA+ Network I get during the height of the day between 17 - 25mb down and between 3 - 7mb up, after 6:00pm the speeds get even faster. I have real unlimited data and not once have I ever had an issue. With those speeds on HSPA+ and now with T-Mobile pushing out their LTE Network I couldn't be happier. Having their HSPA+ Network to fall back on is fantastic. I know for fact that they having been installing all kinds of new hardware in many areas, I know some tower jockeys that are self-employed to different carriers and said that T-Mobile is moving very fast with their LTE. Great stuff coming from T-Mobile.
 

paul-c

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2011
1,222
77
0
Visit site
Jeez. I really don't care what carrier anyone uses. Further, I really don't see any point where I professed to like VZW, I think my first post in this thread made it pretty clear where my opinion about which carrier to go with stands.

I was just questioning your logic. I would have done the same if you were professing in favor of VZW too. Sorry you get offended when people ask you to clarify your position.

-Suntan

You went about it the wrong way. Instead of just asking me where I was from in regards to network performance, you proceeded to try and lecture me about how to make a post. It's obvious that network performance varies from place to place, you didn't need to point that out. I felt you were being a little condescending, that's all. That's why I responded the way I did. Moving on...

Sent from my Motorola RAZR i
 
Last edited:

Raptor007

Trusted Member
Apr 18, 2010
4,906
58
0
Visit site
Its a tough call. Verizon has the best coverage, but cripples the sht out of their phones and locks them down worse than prom night. AT&T has less LTE and tries to pawn off HSDPA as 4G which is faster than Verizons 3G, but Verizon will be 4G LTE everywhere by end of June. On AT&T you can get less LTE, and less customer service, but better choices on hardware.

Now the big question is what will both carriers GS4 actually be, will it be 16GB only, will Verizon go 16/32GB while it seems AT&T is going 16GB only based on the $249 price. No one knows until mid April for AT&T and who knows when for Verizon since they aren't talking.