Is it worth switching???

[Bigbj]

i am thinking about buying a new phone and switching from metro to st. is this a good idea? i wan the oppo find 5 if anyone cares. it seems to me that itd be better to get the tmobile sim as there are less issues with internet cancellation issues. on the oppo website, it says the find 5 is compatible with tmobile, att, and simple mobile, so for st, i could get either the att or tmobile sim and either would work without unlock or anything? i would get full speed data connection? (i would get tmobile as it has good service in my area and the internet cancelation issues with att). also, would i need to do anything with apn? will the GPS on the phone still work? if so, how well would it work (ie would it take a long time to locate or would it be relatively fast?
i have also noticed that some people are saying no streaming is allowed with st? is this true? if so would it make a difference if i used the tmobile or att sims? i mostly use youtube and netflix, are these allowed?

any thoughts on if its worth switching from metro to st?
i know its a lot of questions but the st forum is tiny and not may answers.

 

[Joshb101]

I recently made the switch from Metro to ST. Whether its a good switch really depends on you. If you can live with the data cap and either ATT or T-Mobile have good coverage in your area then I don't see why not.

If T-Mobile has good coverage in your area then when you're selecting a sim card to order make sure you pick the T-mobile card so you can run off of T-Mobile's towers and have their higher data cap.

It seems the phone will be sold unlocked when it is finally sold in the US so you won't have to worry about doing any unlocking. You will have to enter in APN settings, but don't worry ST gives you all that info and a little guide and its really easy and quick to do.

As for the GPS that really depends on the phone itself, so you'd have to look up any reviews for that. Though since this is suppose to be a top quality phone I suspect the GPS will be pretty snappy.

The talk about no-streaming allowed is left over TOS that ST won't remove because it covers them legally very nicely when they decide to kick someone off of ST for using too much data.
Personally I use ATT's network which I know means a cap of about 2GB a month in data and I've streamed youtube and netflix with no issues. Not that I have done very much streaming or anything though.
As far as I understand ATT has a cap of around 2GB and T-Mobile is around 4-5GB.

I really made the switch because I'm going to be spending several months where Metro only has essentially roaming coverage. Not to mention I wanted the S3, but plan to switch to T-Mobile's $30 plan when I move permanently so a GSM phone was the way to go.

 

[Bigbj]

Thank you, that helps out a lot. The whole reason I want to switch is because I got a had feeling about the metro merger and I don't think it will end well for the consumer. I also want the freedom of GSM. I want to be able to take my phone to another company if I don't like mine or if I move or something I can just get a new SIM.

If anyone has the T-Mobile SIM and can give me that side of the story, I'd appreciate it. Also, can I get some data speeds from the T-Mobile and att SIM?

 

[Joshb101]

Honestly I really don't think you have anything to worry about concerning the Metro - T-Mobile merger, but that's already been hashed out in the Metro forum. And yes having the GSM freedom is very nice.

Speeds are all going to depend on location and etc. I know where I work and live I consistently get about 5-6 mbps down and 1 up on ATT on their 4G (HSPA+).

 

[Fuzzy13]

Switching to ST is a great idea. Get the Tmobile SIM. Not because of the "cap" or whatever but because T mobile offers MUCH better data service than Att. But you have to make sure that Tmobile has coverage in your area. I did a 2 month test when I signed up for ST the first time. I used the ATT sim the first time and the Tmob sim the 2nd month. The ATT sim was giving me 3mbps and really good coverage. The Tmobile SIM is giving me 8-12mbps and decent coverage. Att does have the coverage, Ill give them that, but their data speeds are awful. T mobile is MUCH better with data speeds.

I don't know how much you talk on the phone but Tmobile offers the $30 5Gb plan which a lot of people use including myself, although I am switching back to ST at the end of the month. 100 minutes is enough but It's always on my mind every time I make a call.

Your best bet is to Google and see if you can find other people using an Oppo phone on T mobile or Att and see what they are saying.

 

[Bigbj]

thanks to both of you. the oppo phone hasnt been publicly released yet (it will at the end of the month). im like east LA so both have good coverage. ill go with the tmob sim for sure.