Best cell phone service . . .

[robav8r]

I'm ready to punch AT&T customer service in the mouth, if I could get my hands on them. Looking for some current gouge on best service, plans and customer service. We're an iPhone family (3 lines), two here in DC, one in Vermont. Was thinking about Verizon, but wanted to hear from the gallery first. Thanks . . .

 

[sevenhelmet]

Verizon is expensive, but I haven't had any issues.

 

[Randy Daytona]

I'm ready to punch AT&T customer service in the mouth, if I could get my hands on them. Looking for some current gouge on best service, plans and customer service. We're an iPhone family (3 lines), two here in DC, one in Vermont. Was thinking about Verizon, but wanted to hear from the gallery first. Thanks . . .

We had AT&T a while back - actually had really good customer service and coverage but they were bloody expensive. We went with Virgin Mobile several years ago and have been pleasantly surprised. https://www.virginmobileusa.com They use Sprint's network and thus the coverage is not as good as AT&T or Verizon but the price is hard to beat. $40 for 4 GB of data, unlimited texts and unlimited calls per person per month. (wife got an iphone, I chose an android) Perhaps get a cheap Virgin flip phone and try it a few months to see if you have good enough coverage before going all in.

 

[ChuckM]

If you own your phones outright look at Cricket. Same network as ATT, you just swap the SIM cards. I've got two phones and an iPad with 2.5G (then throttled to 3G) of data and unlimited everything else for $90/month. If you have the capitol to just purchase a phone outright when one of them shits, then prepaid is the best deal out there. Pro tip: just buy used off of craigslist or stick with the much cheaper IPhone SE.

 

[zippy]

Verizon, hands down. I've had AT&T before and T- Mobile now.. Verizon has had the best coverage and call clarity etc.

T- Mobile works for my international travel but the downside is I can only use the phone about half the time/ places I go in the US.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I was going to dump AT&T and go with verizon until I asked around, a few were happy but anyone that had to deal with them for anything other than paying a bill was not happy, I am not sure about their coverage now, but a few years ago it wasn't the best, I would have no signal while standing in a major downtown city but nearly full signal in the mountains?? That would be fine if I was working in a cabin!

I was thinking about Sprint but they still have not they greatest service where I live, of course that may change in a few years.

My current AT&T bill is 150 per month and that is unlimited text, talk, 3GB data, and phone insurance for 3 phones.

The coworker that sits next to me at work has an iphone 6 and an ipad has verizon and pays 110-120 per month, I only know this because she complains every time she pays it, of course she does this at work and on company time.

 

[robav8r]

Verizon, hands down. I've had AT&T before and T- Mobile now.. Verizon has had the best coverage and call clarity etc.

T- Mobile works for my international travel but the downside is I can only use the phone about half the time/ places I go in the US.

How about Verizon coverage overseas (Europe) ???

 

[Brett327]

Verizon is CDMA, most everywhere else is GSM. I think I read once that every iPhone is actually capable of using both systems. I think it's dependent on your SIMM, but that would require your phones to be unlocked. I would do a bit more research before pulling the trigger on that though.

 

[Randy Daytona]

Brett beat me to it concerning the different modes. VirginMobile is either CDMA or some kind of dual mode CDMA/GSM - I will ask that the more technologically savvy go into the details.

I once had an AT&T iphone pick up the cell towers in Mexico when flying offshore and got a $750 bill for about 15 minutes of use (AT&T customer service was fantastic in that case and wrote the bill down to simply an extra $25) but I am very careful now. I don't use a phone at all in Europe because I am on vacation there.

 

[dustydog]

I've been pretty happy with T-Mobile. Their coverage is not as good as Verizon but it works everywhere, except Cuba, and international coverage is more important to me than getting a phone call in Tupelo, MS.

Two IPhone 6S Pluses with 10G of data each, unlimited talk, text, intl included, roll over data, free streaming and intl data iPad plan, all for $150. That includes the price of the phones. I'm paying off the balance of the phones, so that will drop me to $110 plus tax.

 

[Pags]

I use Verizon and have been happy with it. They offer a military/federal discount. They are a bit pricey but I've never had any issues so I file that under "you get what you pay for." They do offer several different levels of overseas plans. When I was in Europe this summer I accidentally turned on cell service for a second and my iPhone 6+ connected just fine.

I'm not familiar enough with all the SIM functionality but I believe Brett is correct and iPhones have multiple antenna

 

[SynixMan]

There are multiple models of iPhones these days but only to function on the different LTE bands. If you've got a 6 or newer, you'll be fine to connect overseas with a Verizon model phone. How your carrier bills is another thing. You can turn off international data roaming in the settings so you don't get some random huge bill. If your devices are paid off, ATT should allow you to unlock them and move to a different carrier. Also new iPhones are going to be announced on the 7th, so don't buy new just yet.

I had T-Mobile in Norfolk and was perfectly happy, but they were terrible in the Lower Alabama/West Florida area for service so we switched to Verizon. Three lines for $90ish after the mil discount. As others have said, it's not cheap, but it works well.

 

[Machine]

T-Mobile just went to unlimited data on their plan(s).

I think it really depends on what features you want and which carrier offers you the best coverage for where you need it. For example, when my parents come over to my house they get no signal on AT&T so there's no way I'd be able to use AT&T. Verizon has the best signal at home, but for international coverage it sucks. You need to figure out what is best for your circumstances.

 

[zippy]

There are multiple models of iPhones these days but only to function on the different LTE bands. If you've got a 6 or newer, you'll be fine to connect overseas with a Verizon model phone. How your carrier bills is another thing. You can turn off international data roaming in the settings so you don't get some random huge bill. If your devices are paid off, ATT should allow you to unlock them and move to a different carrier. Also new iPhones are going to be announced on the 7th, so don't buy new just yet.

I had T-Mobile in Norfolk and was perfectly happy, but they were terrible in the Lower Alabama/West Florida area for service so we switched to Verizon. Three lines for $90ish after the mil discount. As others have said, it's not cheap, but it works well.

T-Moble is a step down from Verizon but adequate in Hampton Roads, spotty on 64, 295 and 95...

Of course it's worthless about 7 miles from the lake where I spend a lot of my off time when I'm not at the beach with no water... Even though they show coverage on their map.

 

[SynixMan]

T-Moble is a step down from Verizon but adequate in Hampton Roads, spotty on 64, 295 and 95...

The most egregious T-Mobile offense to me was spotty service on 95 between Richmond and DC. WTFO