Should I switch from AT&T?

stgermaine · May 26, 2011

Hi. Currently on AT&T, 2yr plan ends in about a month or so.

Reasons to switch:
1. More friends are on Verizon than on AT&T
2. Seems to have better reception (parents say so, I don't have any problem. Then again, I'm out of state for 3/4 of the time, so I wouldn't really know if they have problems)

Reasons not to switch:
1. Spoiled little bro got a phone when he entered 7th grade. He needs to wait about a year for his 2 yr contract to end. (Early termination fee is $150 minus $4 for each full month of your Service Commitment that you complete)
2. I bought an unlocked GSM android phone. It's not the most high-tech phone I could have bought (LG GT430 Optimus) but it has wifi, android, good battery life, etc. I can't buy unlocked GSM phones no more, but I don't switch phones that much. Hopefully there's a good cheap android phone at Verizon.

Would I save any money to switch to Verizon? (at least enough to offset the early termination fee)?

Thanks!

HunterBrooke · Jun 9, 2011

VZ isn't cheap, so saving money really shouldn't be part ofnthe equation, IMO.

I switched because the ATT service here (SF area) is really bad. If you don't have service issues, why switch? I love GSM and was sorry to go, but a phone does need to make phone calls ...

moondrius · Jun 9, 2011

I really don't see the whole Verizon is more expensive thing. I am pretty sure that Att is the same if not a little just a little cheaper due to no unlimited data. I know Att has roll over and all that but price wise they are very close.

It really comes down to your service and if you don't have problems then I say don't switch.

WA_Bob · Jun 9, 2011

I can't speak for your area, but Verizon generally has better service everywhere I've been. Also, we may bit*h about Verizon customer service, but my friends and coworkers with AT&T tell me constantly I have it good compared to them.

WhySoSerious? · Jun 9, 2011

I travel around the country and I have had service with Cingular, T-Mobile, Sprint, back to AT&T and Verizon.
I use the phone part of the SmartPhone a lot. I can make calls in an elevator or 3 floors underground with Verizon. Amazing coverage and dropped calls? What are those? I think I had 1 dropped call in the last 2 years on Verizon and I'm not 100% certain it was my phone that dropped.
T-Mobile wasn't that bad but I would run into dead zones and dead cities.
Cingular wasn't bad either.
I was on At&T for a few weeks and got rid of that crap.
I live in DC and travel to NYC, Chicago, Austin, and San Francisco frequently. AT&T was a joke especially on the west coast.

Verizon really is better in my experience. I thought it was commercials and marketing but when I switched I became a believer.
So I'm done switching carriers Verizon is it for me. But I am a business user and actually use the mobile device as a phone-phone (how old school), email machine, and lastly play on the internet.

I have a 4-G MiFi to play on the internet with my iPod touch, but I think its time I get an Android. That's why I'm on here.

Looking for advice in the thread I started about Android, LTE, physical keyboard phones.

But when it comes to service I don't think you can beat Verizon.

If the phone part of the SmartPhone and the stronger coverage isn't as important to you I don't know if its worth the additional expense.

RBEmerson · Jun 12, 2011

Short answer, we were standing in Irvington, VA (Northern Neck area) with an AT&T phone and zero bars while people talked away on their Verizon phones.

We've cruised along the Intracoastal Waterway from the Chesapeake to Palm Beach, FL and very rarely not had voice and data service. Ironically, we've found only three locations where service is the pits and isn't in the boonies: parts of Wellington, Florida, Dividing Creek off the Wye River near Easton, MD, and our home, near the center of Montgomery county, PA. Go figure.

We travel to Germany often and need a GSM phone - hence the Incredible 2 and, before that, the BB Storm. VZW isn't great about GSM but we connect to Vodaphone as soon as we step off the plane in Frankfurt, Germany.

Here in the US, it's scary how rarely service goes away. Even in the middle of North Carolina's Alligator River (Google Map it to see how in the middle of nowhere that is), the phone has worked like a charm.

ATT just simply hasn't worked as well. If you're only in the big city areas, ATT is probably enough. But step away from civilization and life probably won't be a much fun.

trparky · Jun 21, 2011

I don't know how bad it is in your area in my area AT&T service has taken a turn for the worst. I've had more dropped/failed calls in the last four months than I've ever had in the past two years. Data has become a lot slower and latency is getting worse.

I live in a city, North East Ohio specifically.

I say switch to Verizon, I will be. And be damned the ETF; I don't care, I'll pay the stupid $190 ETF just to escape the stupidity of AT&T. If that doesn't tell you how bad AT&T has gotten/AT&T is, I don't know what will.

ekyle · Jun 22, 2011

When all the tiered info was outted yesterday I looked into AT&T. I'd save $5/month with all the features and whatnot I have now. That's only because I couldn't find the insurance package I have on VZW, which costs $5. I'd say their close, and if it's a few dollars difference I prefer to have the better coverage. A friend of mine with AT&T can't get service in a theater by my house, my phone shows full service.

Kuhns787 · Jun 24, 2011

I too live in a small town where the coverage sucks for At&t sucks! Any of my friends that have Verizon get wonderful coverage. I am going to switch but have to find a way out of my contract without paying the cancelation fee. A friend said to say someone in your house is working in the woods where At&t does not have coverage and Verizon does. Has anyone tried this? Does it work?
Also want to know do I contact Verizon first to start the process or call At&t and ask to cancel. My issue is we will have to order the phones and don't want to go without service so any help in this area would be appriciated. Oh yeah we want to keep the same numbers does it cost to have them ported?

Should I switch from AT&T?

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