Cell Phone Companies

[Raider Nation Fisher]

So T-Mobile has finally gone too far. I'm through with them now. We are buying our contracts out and going elsewhere. The question is where?

As much as I hate to say it of the big 4 tmo seems to have the cheapest rate plans. Verizon appears to be more expensive then all the others. With AT&T and Sprint being about the same cost wise.

Here's what we are looking for in a provider.

Cost plays a decent part but is negotiable.

Service coverage is important, but seems to be about the same throughout the state. Coverage in the country parts of the state can be kind of sketchy regardless of co.

4g service is preferable but not a deal breaker.

Phones are pretty much the same regardless of carrier so that's not an issue.

Unlimited web is a high priority at least for my phone. I don't ever really use a computer. My phone serves as a computer and everything else.

Lastly the biggest two factors. Customer Service. Having the greatest phone, plan, service, etc is worthless if the customer service is non exsistant.

The last is more of a question. Contract or non contract? Getting the latest greatest phone every 2yrs at a discount is pointless if the phone doesnt last 2yrs. that's part of why I'm leaving T-Mobile. I've spent close to 1400 dollars this past year on phones, cause I didn't qualify for an upgrade. And they wouldn't give me insurance because appearently you have to register for it 2 weeks after purchasing a phone, and they neglect to tell you that.

So basically out of the big 4 which do yall prefer. And what pros and cons have yall experienced with them.

[Glenn]

Phones are pretty much the same regardless of carrier so that's not an issue.

Getting the latest greatest phone every 2yrs at a discount is pointless if the phone doesnt last 2yrs.

Huh? Then why switch?

Three other things:

1. I've never heard of anyone spending $1400 on cell phones. There's got to be more to the story on this. Do tell.
   
2. How on earth could you NOT have phones that last more than 2 years? I have about 20 phones from T-Mobile, some dating back to 2002, and guess what? They all still work. So again, there's got to be more to the story on this. Did you drop them in the water or something? If that's the case, then it doesn't matter what carrier you have if you keep breaking phones. Having a different carrier won't solve that.
   
3. Get on T-Mobile's no-contract plan if you don't want a 2-year contract. $50/mo and it comes with unlimited everything. It's the best of all carriers.
   

[deaknh03]

My family uses Verizon. They are probably the most expensive, but in this case, I think you get what you pay for. Verizon has the best coverage, and I live more towards the woods as opposed to the city, and I can say we have never lost a call. We don't have a landline, so it's very important that we have a good, solid service. The phones are somewhat interchangeable with other services, and I have a droid, whereas my wife has a standard phone, non smart. Our bill is $100 per month, with unlimited data for my phone and more minutes than we can use as well as unlimited text. I have friends that have other services, and they are always complaining about the service, or lack thereof, and that is the one thing my family prioritizes over everything else.

[BASSclary]

I know for Verizon (And I think most other carriers), you can't get a new contract with unlimited data anymore,, but if you have it already, you can keep it. I'm kinda mad because we didn't have it before and can't get it! I have Verizon, and it's great. i get service everywhere and they have 4G which is incredibly fast! And forget AT&T. They didn't become the punchline of cellphone jokes for no reason. Also, my school has a cellphone signal blocker, which works really well on verizon phones, and other companies who use the same broadcasting type. But you don't go to school still (;

[Raider Nation Fisher]

Huh? Then why switch?

Three other things:

1. I've never heard of anyone spending $1400 on cell phones. There's got to be more to the story on this. Do tell.
   
2. How on earth could you NOT have phones that last more than 2 years? I have about 20 phones from T-Mobile, some dating back to 2002, and guess what? They all still work. So again, there's got to be more to the story on this. Did you drop them in the water or something? If that's the case, then it doesn't matter what carrier you have if you keep breaking phones. Having a different carrier won't solve that.
   
3. Get on T-Mobile's no-contract plan if you don't want a 2-year contract. $50/mo and it comes with unlimited everything. It's the best of all carriers.
   

Basically all the wireless carriers have the same or very similar phones. A lot of them the only difference is the name of the phone.

As for the 1400 on the phones. I had been using a Garmin phone, which is one of the most durable smart phones I have ever owned. Anyway after 2 yrs it started having software issues. It lock up and freeze up. Since I had never had anything other than software issues I had canceled my insurance on it, and was just going off the warranty. T-Mobile shipped me out another Garmin under my warranty and it was broken. Sent it back and recieved 2 more that also had major issues. I bit the bullet and used my upgrade for a MyTouch. Cost me $199 with the upgrade. Five days after getting said phone, I dropped it off my lap, it fell 3ft to the ground and the case cracked and the screen shattered. Having forgotten to put insurance back on my account I was SOL. Went back to the store and paid full price 499 for a HTC of some kind. Was going back to the store the next day for a protective case, and it fell out of my pocket and into a puddle. I had misplaced my wallet so I couldnt get insurance put on the account the previous day. Returned to T-Mobile and purchased my HTC Sensation. Again for the full price of 599 this go around. Still didn't have my license so couldn't sign up for insurance. Found my license 3 wks later and went to get insurance put on the phone and was informed that because it had been over 2 wks I could no longer insure my phone. It now has an otter box and a pretty much bullet proof screen protector on it so it virtually break proof now. With my wife upgrading her phone over the summer that put me up to 1400 dollars.

As for the longevity of said phone, since I'm not currently doing heavy industrial, I seem to be getting more life from the phone. Smart phones and most phones just are not designed for that kind of work invironment. However I do have a 1st generation Motorola Razor that has been run over by my truck twice, dropped 60 ft to a concrete floor, fallen in the lake twice and the toilet 3 times, as well as used as a teething toy by my son. That still works as if it were brand new.

[Bass Junkie]

I believe Sprint offers completely unlimited data

I know for Verizon (And I think most other carriers), you can't get a new contract with unlimited data anymore,, but if you have it already, you can keep it. I'm kinda mad because we didn't have it before and can't get it! I have Verizon, and it's great. i get service everywhere and they have 4G which is incredibly fast! And forget AT&T. They didn't become the punchline of cellphone jokes for no reason. Also, my school has a cellphone signal blocker, which works really well on verizon phones, and other companies who use the same broadcasting type. But you don't go to school still (;

[Glenn]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. It sounds like you've had a string of bad luck. You're right, your work environment is not optimal for smartphones. However there are some amazingly strong cases available now, that make them nearly indestructible.

Yes, there is a deadline by when you need to apply for insurance. Unfortunately, there's a lot of fraudulent activity in the cell phone business, and one of them is insurance fraud. Obviously you're not trying to do that, but the cell phone companies have had to put in these requirements in order to cut down on that activity. They all do it, so it's not just a T-Mobile thing. I don't think any of them are very good at calling out the deadline either.

T-Mobile's monthly and contract unlimited data plans, out of the box, comes with 2GB of 4G data. It switches to 2G data after that, but at least they don't cut you off like ATT and Verizon do. And of course, you can upgrade to 5GB or 10GB, should you find constantly go over 2GB.

[SirSnookalot]

Glenn is the expert in this area. Only smart phone failure I have had has been a battery replacement, I've had cell phones since the late 80's.

Raider Nation, sounds like your kinda hard on your phones, running them over with a truck not once but twice. I have a Casio Commando, built like rock.

My only complaint with Verizon has been my phone not ringing when a call was coming in and the voice mail message didn't appear for a week or 2. it has with this phone as well as my last, makes think it's a Verizon issue and not the fault of the phone, no settings ever get changed.

@Deak, my bill is $130 mo, 1 smartphone with unlimited data and no texting and 1 flipphone standard service., could be a difference in minutes, I forget what I have. No longer in business I reduced it down from 1000 a month.

[Glenn]

$100+ per month is outrageous. T-Mobile has unlimited everything for $49.99 - whether 2-yr contract or monthly.

[SirSnookalot]

$100+ per month is outrageous. T-Mobile has unlimited everything for $49.99 - whether 2-yr contract or monthly.

For 2 phone plan? Have to check that out when my contract expires.

[Glenn]

2 phones? I thought you were talking about 1 phone. It's $49.99 per phone, but that's still less than you're paying now.

[Bass Junkie]

Especially with unlimited everything.

[Raider Nation Fisher]

$100+ per month is outrageous. T-Mobile has unlimited everything for $49.99 - whether 2-yr contract or monthly.

That's the one saving grace for T-Mobile. But I still have to buy out my plans in order to get that rate plan. My biggest complaint with T-Mobile right now is that they keep shutting my phones off. I pay my bill then a week later my service gets suspended. I talk with them and "oh there was a 5 dollar charge that wasn't paid." That's happened twice. Lately its been, "we never recieved your payment", after a few minutes of arguing, then its "oh well we did recieve your payment, it just hadnt showed up yet." I've been able to keep from getting the reconnection fees, but its getting old having this happen every dang month.

[Glenn]

Do you pay your bill online? You can log into my.t-mobile.com and pay your bill. You can do this each month, or sign up for auto-payment either through T-Mobile or your bank. That way there won't be any issues. You can even log in via you phone to do this.

You can also walk into a store and pay there as well. Again, this would solve any issues as well, since you'll get confirmation and receipts of payment every time.

It's just a matter of what you prefer.

[Raider Nation Fisher]

Do you pay your bill online? You can log into my.t-mobile.com and pay your bill. You can do this each month, or sign up for auto-payment either through T-Mobile or your bank. That way there won't be any issues. You can even log in via you phone to do this.

You can also walk into a store and pay there as well. Again, this would solve any issues as well, since you'll get confirmation and receipts of payment every time.

It's just a matter of what you prefer.

She Who Must Be Obeyd has been using some kind of online bill pay thing. I didn't even think about paying them in store. That very well may be easier seeing as how they have a store less than a mile from my house.

[Marty]

Here in western NY I'm a long ways away from RNF, so things may be quite different. I have an ancient (five years old) flip phone that does nothing but make calls. I'm with Verizon and my fishing partner is with T-Mobile. I have service at every body of water where we fish and there are several where he has no service. At one lake in particular, which is a very popular lake and not that far, on more than one occasion after we have finished up and are driving home he has gotten a text alert about 10 minutes after we left the launch. That's how far away he was from service. That's unacceptable to me. He lives with it because his wife had T-Mobile before he did and his whole family is on one plan now and switching isn't practical, at least in the near term.

[Red]

I know for Verizon (And I think most other carriers), you can't get a new contract with unlimited data anymore,, but if you have it already, you can keep it. I'm kinda mad because we didn't have it before and can't get it! I have Verizon, and it's great. i get service everywhere and they have 4G which is incredibly fast! And forget AT&T. They didn't become the punchline of cellphone jokes for no reason. Also, my school has a cellphone signal blocker, which works really well on verizon phones, and other companies who use the same broadcasting type. But you don't go to school still (;

My wife and I just upgraded our plan with verizon to unlimited data, something we did not have previously.

[Glenn]

Keep in mind T-Mobile just got a ton of new coverage area, thanks to ATT....to the tune of about 60 million more Americans will now have T-Mobile coverage very soon.

[BASSclary]

My wife and I just upgraded our plan with verizon to unlimited data, something we did not have previously.

When did you do it? When I walked in they I asked how much the unlimited data was now-a-days, and they told me it didn't exist anymore since summer. How'd you get it?

[Raider Nation Fisher]

When did you do it? When I walked in they I asked how much the unlimited data was now-a-days, and they told me it didn't exist anymore since summer. How'd you get it?

They had it two weeks ago when I went to see about upgrading my work phone. I figured I'd check on their family plans and what not while I was there. The sales guy told me they've had unlimited data for the past two months.

[Raider Nation Fisher]

Keep in mind T-Mobile just got a ton of new coverage area, thanks to ATT....to the tune of about 60 million more Americans will now have T-Mobile coverage very soon.

I have to ask. Do you have stock in, or work for T-Mobile? I love the enthusiasm for them. Honestly you have pretty much convinced me to stay with them. If I can get this worked out with them, I believe I will stay with them. It seems its been this past 6 months that I've been having these problems. Up until then they have been absolutely amazing. Customer Service wise, Coverage wise, and cost wise.

[BASSclary]

They had it two weeks ago when I went to see about upgrading my work phone. I figured I'd check on their family plans and what not while I was there. The sales guy told me they've had unlimited data for the past two months.

Do you have a family plan like me ? Because when I click on upgrade it only gives me the choice of like 2, 5, 10, etc

[Red]

I just asked my wife cause she handles all that crap. We have three lines on the plan however one is a child line and has nothing on it except the ability to call and receive calls from mine and my wifes phones. this all happened about a month or so ago.

[BASSclary]

Me and Verizon are going to have a talk soon....

[Raider Nation Fisher]

Do you have a family plan like me ? Because when I click on upgrade it only gives me the choice of like 2, 5, 10, etc

I have unlimited everything through my work phone, which is with Verizon. My personal phone and my wifes personal phone I have through T-Mobile. In which we again have unlimited everything.

As for Verizon they do have unlimited data and I believe the plan for it was 109 a month. Just for the data. Now for the total mind screw that I just experienced. I use my phone for over 95% of my internet usage. This includes GPS usage. With all the web browsing, searching, and GPSing that I do with said phone. And It is A LOT I average out between 5 and 6 Gigs a month. Unless you are using your phone as a WiFi hotspot to run your laptop and other devices, odds are you will never go over 10 gigs a month. I guess what I'm saying is unlimited sounds great, but you spend for more than you will ever use. The other thing I have recently learned. My wifes BlackBerry is unlimited up to 2 gigs. Once she hits that 2 gigs her internet speed slows down, but we are not charged for any overage. She averages around 500 megs a month. Plus with phones being capable of running off WiFi connections, which don't go against Ur data usage, the odds of going over 10 gigs is even less likely to happen. My advice is to ask Verizon how much data you use a month, then go accordingly. I guarantee you, you will be shocked at what u find.