Phone carrier

[kumaga]

I'm curious about what phone carrier you guys have, and why?

 

[Rxpert83]

Sprint

As for why- We've had them for at least the past 10 years, and I'm still on the family plan.

Their improved LTE has just gone live in my home area, so the unlimited data doesn't hurt either.

 

[jhawkkw]

T-Mobile USA because the $30 prepaid plan is awesome.

 

[YoungGun]

Ting. No contract, and only pay for what you use.

 

[Hunter5]

Started with Sprint, customer serviced sucked, so I left them. Went with MetroPCS because I now needed phones for my daughters (2 of them, 4 phones total) so they could keep in-touch when waiting for the school bus, etc, but started with cheap (inexpensive) phones. Now that they (Metro) are on T-Mobile towers, everything has improved tremendously. Let my daughters and wife buy what they would be happy with and I sold my SG3 for the Nexus 5...never been happier!

 

[Hook]

I use AT&T Gophone and have since 2009 (on a Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic) when there weren't that many practical ways in the US to have data on a non-contract phone. While they are far from the only option anymore and they aren't the cheapest, I like them, they suit my needs and their customer service is actually amazing. I don't use a lot of data as I work in a building with no signal whatsoever. That's 9 hours a day with no voice, data or wifi, which is why I never had a contract plan. For me, the $40/month plan is perfect (and they are bumping i to 500MB data when I still don't use up my 250MB I have now). Their coverage is great for most places I go. T-Mobile is not that good where I am (or at least wasn't a year ago when I tried out the $30 pre pay plan).

 

[gtbarry]

T-Mobile USA because the $30 prepaid plan is awesome.

100 talk minutes - a great excuse to text, hangout, whatsapp, skype instead
(never gone over 80 minutes in a month)

unlimited text

unlimited data - first 5gb is at LTE speed which I get at 20-30mbps up and 15-25mbps down
(never gone over 2.5gb in a month)

Side note: I dual wield a work phone on the AT&T network. Never lost a signal on either phone in any location and AT&T is overall very slightly faster data. t-mobile is occasionally significantly faster data.

 

[Twiz]

AT&T Family Share plan because they have the best signal in my area.

Nothing like going to the grocery store and knowing you forgot something on the list written on a piece of paper you LEFT on the kitchen table and not being able to call home on your verizon phone cause there is NO signal in that area...

 

[akmsr]

Metropcs, so I can make phone calls.
Kidding aside for unlimited data on a prepaid carrier. Switched from boost, they throttle down to 2g speed after 2.5GB. On metro i pay more for unlimited but worth to me as I use my phone exclusively for everything.
Also easiest to tether.

 

[BigCiX]

at&t

 

[amarie82]

Sprint i have been with them for awhile and i use my unlimited data and the coverage in my area is pretty good!

 

[gale65]

Straight talk with an AT&T sim. T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile either don't work or don't work well in my area and the ST is the next cheapest.

 

[mrsmumbles]

Aio. Cheaper than Boost Mobile, and the data can actually be used.

 

[ritchea]

Gophone. Had Sprint for 12 years but the signal just all but disappeared the last year (current maps still show "acceptable") which isn't, in my area. Tried T-Mobile but not any better. Moved to ST ATT and is was better. Moved to Gophone because of better signal/service overall. One son has LTE on T-Mobile's $30. 100 minute plan with nexus 4. Options are pretty varied. Choose reception first, then prioritize based on other needs. I'll never go contract again although I don't have a problem with post pay if the price is right.

 

[JBentleyR]

For our viewers on this side of the Pond:

Three 3-2-1 PAYG. Definitely the best option for a low user.

 

[akmsr]

Aio. Cheaper than Boost Mobile, and the data can actually be used.

interesting but do they give you unlimited data for that price? after 2.5 GB boost gives you shitty speed but unlimited data. i used over 20 GB a month with them.

 

[kate]

Aio. Cheaper than Boost Mobile, and the data can actually be used.

interesting but do they give you unlimited data for that price? after 2.5 GB boost gives you shitty speed but unlimited data. i used over 20 GB a month with them.

AIO limits LTE to 8Mbps maximum and according to their site throttles you to "a maximum 128Kbps for the remainder of your monthly billing cycle."

 

[mrsmumbles]

interesting but do they give you unlimited data for that price? after 2.5 GB boost gives you shitty speed but unlimited data. i used over 20 GB a month with them.

That's amazing. I couldn't even get 50 MBs from them.

 

[mrsmumbles]

AIO limits LTE to 8Mbps maximum and according to their site throttles you to "a maximum 128Kbps for the remainder of your monthly billing cycle."

As I said, it's way more than I could get from BM. All I got from BM was the myth that they actually had data.

 

[kgravelle7k2]

I have had Att back when rollover minutes were revolutionary then to verizon for the coverage and now sprint for ultd data

 

[mrsmumbles]

I have had Att back when rollover minutes were revolutionary then to verizon for the coverage and now sprint for ultd data

I was just thinking about those rollover minutes this past weekend, just a weird random thought that went through my mind. It sounds like a lot of posters in this thread are in areas where Sprint's network works, which is great.

 

[akmsr]

That's amazing. I couldn't even get 50 MBs from them.

As I said, it's way more than I could get from BM. All I got from BM was the myth that they actually had data.

it was a little tricky. you could be in an area with bad sprint service. if you have low strength signal, using any kind of social networking app is a big no-no. that goes for BM apps and google apps too. all will hog your tiny bandwidth. leaving you with unusable internet.
root your phone, install a minimalistic custom rom with no bloatware, it will also have minimum google apps and a light aosp browser, use the browser to log on to all social network sites etc. most useless thing in a boostmobile phone is their app. it is 100 times easier to go to internet in a computer and log on their site. so flip the bird to those pesky apps, boost, google and enjoy your tolerable internet. :smokingsomb:
i have a retired galaxy prevail sitting in my house with gingerbread, that is almost as smooth as my nexus 5. i was using it like 4 months ago. used it for internet exclusively for last 2 months of boost mobile service. about 20 GB a month. most of my internet use is video streaming which is impossible with boost. so i used to download them overnight. voila.

 

[Rxpert83]

I was just thinking about those rollover minutes this past weekend, just a weird random thought that went through my mind. It sounds like a lot of posters in this thread are in areas where Sprint's network works, which is great.

I've dealt with the terrible data speeds (100-200kb/s on a good day, 0.5 KB/s on a bad one ) for years, and network vision is finally coming to fruition here.

I'm almost always on their LTE now, which is plenty fast.

The good news is Sprints always had solid voice coverage near me, its just the data that has struggled.

 

[steveu694]

T-Mobile USA because the $30 prepaid plan is awesome.

How does that work? I pay $88 a month includes cost of phone. I'd love to lower my bill.

 

[steveu694]

And in my opinion, tmobiles signal is far from great, and I'm in Houston, a major city.