AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint

[flipman2013]

Hey everyone, I had a question concerning which network would offer the best phones/plans/customer service. To make a long story short I am being transfered to AT&T because of the Alltel merger. At this point, I am considering opting out of my contract within the first 30 days and get away with no cancellation charges or anything. That leaves me with looking for a new provider. I'm looking for a place with a good selection of android phones as well as a fairly unlimited data plan. I will be needing 2 data plans plus 3 additional non-data lines. I have the availability of 3 networks; AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. I am probably going to opt out of At&T and go with either T-Mobile or Sprint just because I have not heard very good things about AT&T and their selection of phones seemed fairly limited on the android side of things. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[sitlet]

This isnt a good question to ask. You are going to have a lot of people that say they hate their current carrier, and others that say the same thing about other carriers.

The bottom line is, every company can be very good to you, and also treat you like crap. The best thing for you to do to decide is check three things: phones, pricing, and coverage.

Make sure you check every carrier's coverage and see if it will work for you. If there is a dead spot where you live or work, chances are thats not a good choice. Check out the phones, as one carrier may have a lot of phones you are interested in. And probably the most important thing for people these days is pricing. Go to each carriers site, and check out the plan that you will need. See how much it will cost you in the long run for the features you need.

 

[MonmouthDroid]

I would go with sprint. T-Mobile has a good selection of android phones, so does sprint though. I have had both and I wouldn't go back to T-Mobile. I switched back to them. It lasted 2 days and I was gone. Their coverage out side of major cities is absolutely terrible. Sprint is better for that. I have Verizon and I love them, but since they weren't one of your choices, I'd say next best is sprint. They have not so great customer service, but way better coverage. TMO has better customer service but way crappier coverage than sprint. In that trade off, I'd personally pick sprint

 

[Musky]

I agree with MonmouthDroid and have had the same experience with TMO. I too love Verizon, but helped my sister and her husband set up their EVOs on Sprint and so far, everything is working as it should. They traveled about two hours outside a major metropolitan area and still got strong signals all the way.

I would consider Sprint as the lessor of the "three evils" that you listed. LOL

 

[IOWA]

The ranking for service/service area/and quality of service goes as:

1.) Verizon
2.) Sprint (but roams off VZW)
3.) ATT
4.) TMobile.

 

[Snow_Fox]

Seeing as I have sold all three carriers, I feel qualified to speak on the subject.

My parents are with at&t.

At&t has never let me down coverage wise.

I like at&t's texting plan for family text. 30$ for all lines.. however, their rates on data are ludacris. If you want the captivate or aria, I would not skip over at&t. If you don't want one of those phones and you still want android.. it may be time to look elsewhere.

Tmobile I hate their customer service. The people at my store knew more about what to do if something went wrong in tmobiles system than they did.. With that said.. their coverage is pretty good and they have a wide variety of android phones.. I feel they are a bit lacking in the heavy hitter department... good over all selection..but, not a lot stands out on its own.(correction, they have N1)

Sprint- Much better customer service, although at least in my area coverage is lacking. They have a decent variety of phones and the evo does stand out to me a bit more than anything on t-mo... Although a lot of people find the lack of sim cards a turn off.

I would prob consider staying with at&t depending on what your credit is like.. I mean if you wouldn't be able to get back with them.. then why give up what you have? On the flipside if your credit *is* good and verizon is an option.. I gotta admit their line up seems best so far..

 

[dmodert66]

The ranking for service/service area/and quality of service goes as:

1.) Verizon
2.) Sprint (but roams off VZW)
3.) ATT
4.) TMobile.

This.

If you can't do Verizon, I would go with Sprint. I can not speak to T-Mobile, but AT&T has always been bad in my area (spent 5 years with them, each renewal "We are going to put a tower by your house this year."...It STILL hasn't happened. Total time elapsed, 10 years.

Again, in my area, Sprint is pretty good, but kind of spotty on coverage compared to VZW which is the best and is why I pay more to be on their network.

You should check which has the best signal where you live/work/play and make your decision that way...

 

[dan330]

first.. you need to find out who does have good coverage in your area of needs. asking coworkers and neighbors for their experience is a good start!

next.. Sprint has be best plans on price!!! and they have best roaming plans (mostly off Verizon's network).

I hear Tmobile just announced that they will limit their unlimited data. Once you reach 5gb each month.. they will slow your data speeds way down till next months starts.

Verizon seems to have the best selection of phones.

Sprint does have 2 top rated phones: evo and epic
and 4G speeds!

hope that helps!

 

[flipman2013]

After reading all the comments I think I will seriously consider either Verizon or Sprint and begin looking into both of these services, then I will do a little research into T-Mobile as my third choice.

 

[Kelmar]

first.. you need to find out who does have good coverage in your area of needs. asking coworkers and neighbors for their experience is a good start!

next.. Sprint has be best plans on price!!! and they have best roaming plans (mostly off Verizon's network).

Verizon seems to have the best selection of phones.

hope that helps!

This! Coverage is most important IMO.

 

[shawn1224]

As a T-mobile customer beware, even in big cities their coverage is suspect. In Houston their 3G is spotty and you can drive in & out of pockets of coverage depending on what part of the city you're in. Also their building penetration is horrible. I work on the 6th floor and rarely see more than 2 bars on a consistent basis.

They do have some benefits like good customer service and the widest selection of Android devices. Also affordable low month to month plans. I pay close to $70 for unlimited everything and I'm not tied down to a contract so I can leave whenever I want, although the drawback is that the phones are not subsidized so you have to fork over full price.

 

[Tangent]

first.. you need to find out who does have good coverage in your area of needs. asking coworkers and neighbors for their experience is a good start!

...

This!!! Any blanket statements about Carrier X sucks, Carrier Y is way better is worthless at best. You often hear people talking about how TMobile is the worst. (No need to even leave this thread for examples) Yet I manage to get better download speeds at work than co-workers using Verizon, I very rarely lose 3G signal in areas I live and work, and I have never lost voice signal anywhere, while friends with Verizon and Sprint both have.

 

[dan330]

here are 2 more things to add to your thoughts...

CDMA vs GSM
GSM.. has better battery life. but can not keep a good connection when the signal is low.
CDMA.. is opposite.

WImax vs LTE
I really cant tell much here... other than wimax is available right now for you to use.

 

[XboxOmac]

AT&T is by far the best network in our town. I currently have CricKet and it has no more than 2 bars when in school. AT&T phones have almost just to max coverage. I prefer coverage to anything else.

 

[gallandof]

where do you live? maybe thers a member here who lives in a relative area and can give you some idea of what reception isd like with there carrier. for example here a little south of Boston Verizon is king, Tmobile and AT&T drop calls like its their job (seriously when I had tmobile id drop a call 4-5 times a day, AT&T was at least 1 a day) Verizon I only drop a call in one area on my ride home from work. Have yet to try sprint though.

 

[Ninja Monkey]

The ranking for service/service area/and quality of service goes as:

1.) Verizon
2.) Sprint (but roams off VZW)
3.) ATT
4.) TMobile.

Maybe in your area. This statement isn't accurate for every area though.

The best thing to do is check out some wireless carrier forums in your area to see what the locals say.

In my area Verizon and AT&T are tied (the only people that have issues with AT&T are iPhone 4 users and that's more about the phone). Sprint is third (doesn't do well if you live near the water) and T-Mobile is a joke. Dead last would be Metro PCS.

 

[Chidori602]

lets see i have tmo and i wouldnt say its bad. Never dropped a call where a live or where i travel nor have i had any trouble with 3g. Its also way cheaper than all the other big carriers. 3g speed wise i say its really good, especially if you get the G2. The data plan is also really good, 10 gigs for 20 dollars and when you go over they just cut your speed in half, they dont charge extra.

 

[IOWA]

Maybe in your area. This statement isn't accurate for every area though.

The best thing to do is check out some wireless carrier forums in your area to see what the locals say.

In my area Verizon and AT&T are tied (the only people that have issues with AT&T are iPhone 4 users and that's more about the phone). Sprint is third (doesn't do well if you live near the water) and T-Mobile is a joke. Dead last would be Metro PCS.

This was more of an overall approach