Calling all non-Verizon users........... | FerrariChat

Calling all non-Verizon users...........

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by kizdan, Feb 6, 2017.

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  1. kizdan

    kizdan F1 Veteran

    Dec 31, 2003
    5,505
    I have gotten to the point where I am just fed up with Verizon. My wife's contract ended, and she was looking forward to getting a new phone. Except now, there is no promotional pricing on a new phone if you sign up for another 2 years. And I love how they'll only quote you a phone's cost by monthly payments. You still pay full retail when you go with the monthly payments. I asked them why I would bother committing for another 2 years, and they told me because of their lowered price on their plans. There ya go, an invitation to look at other carriers. There are some out there with unlimited everything for less than Verizon.

    My question to you people;
    -Which carrier are you with?
    -How is their customer service?
    -Do you have any issues with too many areas with no service?
    -How would you rate the quality of the calls, in terms of clarity?
    -Do you experience dropped calls?
    -Would you recommend this carrier?
     
  2. Ducman491

    Ducman491 Formula 3

    Apr 9, 2004
    1,591
    Mentor OH
    Full Name:
    Jason
    I went to Sprint when Verizon wouldn't give me unlimited data anymore.

    I've been with them for about 4 years now and I really have no complaints. Customer service has been good but I really haven't had many problems to test them. We migrated the rest of the phones in our house as the plans expired and we probably saved $200 a month on 5 phones.

    My kids complain about the service and it's odd because we can be standing next to each other and I'll have 3 bars and they'll have one. Don't know why. I rarely drop a call and only lose connection in very remote areas. Clarity has been good too.

    In short, good value for money but with the service area your mileage may vary.
     
  3. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 13, 2014
    25,865
    DFW, Texas
    Full Name:
    Tom C
    #3 tomc, Feb 6, 2017
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2017
    T-mobile. The coverage can get spotty away from DFW Metroplex, especially to the west, but likely not a problem in most U.S. cities.

    Call quality is good. I have had an iPhone 6, iPhone SE, several Android models. Never had a dropped call. But, I interact with the wife and my crew via text and email mostly.

    Unlimited text, data and minutes for wife, MIL and I.

    Customer service has been
    decent the few times I've needed them. Done via online chat.

    They do the same monthly installment b.s. on phones. I just buy phones online from their site rather than at store, which are always crowded for some reason.

    4G LTE is great for email, Skype, texting, video/audio conferencing, etc. I just ran a Zoom meeting this morning without needing WiFi. Ditto last week using Webex. Really helps me keep on top of things at the office, while I'm away from the office, and thus I can drive the Ferrari more and get work done.

    I'd recommend T-mobile.

    T
     
  4. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    AT&T.

    Hate them.

    Hate the new buy as you go phone plans. HATE THEM.

    My phone bill is ridiculous, and there's no good way to replace it with another carrier. I shopped, they all seem to work this way now and they ALL act like I should be thrilled I'd even be allowed on their network.

    I'm interested to see how this thread goes. Too late to add a poll? Or maybe a separate thread with a poll??

    D
     
  5. jimpo1

    jimpo1 Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Jul 30, 2001
    24,510
    Dallas, TX
    Full Name:
    Jim E
    I miss the days of 'free phones'. The new monthly installments suck. I'm fine using an older model phone, but the family isn't. I therefore get stuck with installments.
     
  6. buddyg

    buddyg F1 Veteran
    Rossa Subscribed

    Sep 20, 2004
    5,446
    West Michigan
    Full Name:
    Buddy
    Monthly installments do suck but they are all doing it so we are screwed.

    -Which carrier are you with? AT&T
    -How is their customer service? Fine
    -Do you have any issues with too many areas with no service? Nope
    -How would you rate the quality of the calls, in terms of clarity? Fine
    -Do you experience dropped calls? Nope
    -Would you recommend this carrier? Yes
     
  7. Matt LaMotte

    Matt LaMotte Formula 3

    Oct 30, 2002
    1,874
    Just to help clarify some things with the device payment plan through Verizon. Let's do a comparison of a Iphone 7 with 32 gigs of memory. If we look at the contract option you would have normally paid 200 for the device and then a 40.00 upgrade fee so 240.00 out the door for the phone. However for a smartphone sharing off whatever data plan you have you pay what they call a line access fee for that device. If you are under a contract that line access fee is 40.00 a month. When the device payment plan option came out it was called the "Edge" program. That option meant you only paid the retail tax up front and a 20.00 upgrade fee and you were out the door with the phone. However they took the full retail cost of that phone and split it up over 24 months on top of your 40.0p line access. You were basically paying 650 for a Iphone 7 over 2 years instead of 240.00 up front. So like you said the contract price was a much better deal IF YOU WERE ELIGIBLE. With a 2 year contract you can upgrade every 24 months. If you break the phone or want a new phone you were typically told you had to wait till your contract was up or pay 650.00 all up front just to get a new phone. Then Verizon made a major change where now with the newer plans you get a 20.00 credit on the line access if you are out of contract or doing the device payment option. They changed the name from the Edge plan when Samsung started doing a phone called the S6 Edge and it all got confusing so it's nowcalled device payment. So back to the math. 2 year price for a Iphone=240.00 up front and 40.00 a month for the line access and you got to keep it 2 years before your eligible to upgrade. With device payment you pay the retail price tax up front and a 30.00 upgrade fee and your out the door with the phone=Est 80.00 depending on your tax rate and your out the door. Monthly cost is 20.00 for the line access plus a phone payment of 27.08 over 24 months IF YOU KEEP IT THAT LONG. With Iphones and some Samsungs if you have paid off half the device which if you just make your payments at the 1 yr mark you can trade the phone in if it's in good shape and swap to a different phone. So again the math. Device payment 80 up front instead of 240 and 7 dollars more a month verse a 2 yr contracts price. 7 dollars × 24 months is 168 plus 80.00 is 248.00 and you don't have to keep it 2 years or 240.00 and your stuck with it 2 years.

    After reading this your probably saying this guy has to work for Verizon! Yes I do but I will gladly help with any questions any of you guys have. I'm going on 12 yes and even longer on here so feel free to shoot me any questions you may have. I answer them all day long so I will be glad to help out any fellow Fchatters. It can be a confusing business that changes weekly so I feel the frustration.
     
  8. energy88

    energy88 Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jan 21, 2012
    26,812
    West of Fredericksburg, VA
    Full Name:
    John
    Matt, my head is spinning! I believe Verizon and Comcast are in competition to see who can develop the world's most complex service and billing plan.
     
  9. bball16

    bball16 F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Dec 2, 2011
    3,846
    NY LI FtL
    Full Name:
    Mike
    I'm with ATT for years. Service works well on Long Island and great in S Florida. They rollover unused data so I never run out and now , since I'm a Direct Tv customer, I get free data when I stream tv on phone or iPad. I'm happy.
     
  10. Matt LaMotte

    Matt LaMotte Formula 3

    Oct 30, 2002
    1,874
    #10 Matt LaMotte, Feb 10, 2017
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2017
    I know what you mean. I have sheets we use to try to simplify the math and it can be a struggle sometimes to explain it. My previous post was the long drawn out explanation. What it all comes down to is the 20.00 credit you now get helps offset the monthly cost of the phone. Many people think that they are paying full retail price on top of the normal bill and that was how it was when it first started. Sorry if I confused anyone worse than they were! ��
     
  11. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Mar 31, 2006
    32,793
    East Central, FL
    Full Name:
    Wade O.
  12. energy88

    energy88 Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jan 21, 2012
    26,812
    West of Fredericksburg, VA
    Full Name:
    John
  13. Lotaz

    Lotaz Formula 3

    Nov 18, 2016
    1,537
    Las Vegas
    Full Name:
    Scott
    Since Verizon pays my bills I have been with them for years. My work focus is mainly on Verizon as they are our biggest customer. I too though am fed up and left their service. Verizon customer service is the WORST! I rank them right up there with the local cable company which is very low on customer satisfaction. I have watched as Verizon has gone from the TOP phone service provider to a steadily declining customer base. There are other companies that WANT your business where Verizon doesn't seem to care.

    Matt is a "typical" Verizon employee that just doesn't get it. I don't care if my phone service lacks as long as the customer service is welcoming and good. With in the last 2 weeks I had phone arguments with reps just like him. I told them I would shop and they kept explaining to me why their service was better for the same cost. I had the same issues in the "Verizon" owned stores. Anyway I did shop and all I will say is do your research there are better deals than Verizon with companies that WANT your business not just expect it. Verizon enjoyed being the "best" for so long they forgot how to "work" to get customers.

    Rant over/
     
  14. Matt LaMotte

    Matt LaMotte Formula 3

    Oct 30, 2002
    1,874
    I'm a little confused as to what part I don't get. There are definitely cheaper companies out there. As far as network quality goes I will leave that up to you. It doesn't matter if you have ten million towers if you live in a dead area your not going to be happy with reception. Whose is best is up to you. You can sit here all day long and tell me how you could care less how good the phone service is as long as your phone works but I bet the minute your stranded on the highway without any reception your attitude will change. Verizon and I would love to have you as a customer and if your ever in my town I would love to help you too just as I would TYPICALLY do with anyone.
     
  15. kizdan

    kizdan F1 Veteran

    Dec 31, 2003
    5,505
    I guess I have resorted to sticking with Verizon, but will be holding onto my phones for a lot longer. Not going to pay $700+ to have the latest phone.
     
  16. BMW.SauberF1Team

    BMW.SauberF1Team F1 World Champ

    Dec 4, 2004
    14,244
    -Which carrier are you with? UltraMobile (an MVNO of T-mobile)
    -How is their customer service? Don't know as I never have needed to contact them
    -Do you have any issues with too many areas with no service? No, but I rarely go out into rural areas. I did have a small area between Augusta and Charleston with poor reception so I'd guess other random backroads would be similar.
    -How would you rate the quality of the calls, in terms of clarity? No issues at all.
    -Do you experience dropped calls? No.
    -Would you recommend this carrier? Yes. Only $30 a month for unlimited talk and text including international at no extra cost and no contracts. That price also includes 1gb 4G LTE, but I'm always on wifi so I never use more than 500mb. I bought the sim with that data plan and put it into my unlocked Google Nexus phone and have never had issues.

    The downsides are they don't have all the features of T-mobile, which is why they're a MVNO and get wholesale rates. Eventually, I'd like to change over to Google's cell service whenever I upgrade to a Pixel. Same rates, but they allow wifi talk and text, which some want. I get around it by having two phone numbers with Google Voice being my virtual # that I use for wifi texting.
     
  17. Argento360

    Argento360 Karting

    Mar 9, 2006
    173
    CA,AZ,NV
    Full Name:
    John
    #17 Argento360, Mar 16, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 16, 2017
    Well I think I'm qualified to chime in here. I've been with Sprint for over 12 years, the last few years because of their unlimited and supposedly "unthrottled" data. For the past few years I've always upgraded to the top of the line Android phone with a new 2-year contract for around $200 for the phone and about $80/mo for the service.

    Last July my screen cracked leaving my phone inoperable. My last two-year contract was just a week from being done so I started shopping around for the latest and greatest phone and the usual deal. As others have correctly pointed out this business model has now been replaced with leases where you essentially buy the now latest and greatest phone for about $800 but pay for it over 24 months. This did not sound like a good deal to me so I started looking at the alternatives. Since every one of the primary carriers is now doing the same thing, I had to look at some of the resellers.

    Long story short, after a lot of shopping around I finally decided to dump Sprint and try a Walmart plan based on T-Mobile called Family Mobile. The offered a thin and lightweight, just released, 5.5 inch screen, quad-core LG Stylo 2 Plus for $200 to own plus $55/month for unlimited phone/talk/text with the one caveat that after 10GB per month at LTE speed, they throttle you down to just 128Kbps. Since I could return it if I didn't like it I gave it a try. First, although the screen is only 720p (down from Quad HD on my last phone) and the camera had slightly less megapixels this is by far the best phone I've ever owned. It has an awesome battery life, big beautiful screen, never overheats and get screaming fast data everywhere I go on LTE.

    All the salespeople I talked to said T-Mobile is fine, but have fewer towers than ATT so if you drive and talk on the phone a lot and don't stay in one place you will probably have dropped calls. This doesn't matter to me because all I use is data.

    What really surprised me though is how fast T-Mobile's LTE is compared to Sprint. In fact, it's so fast that it is extremely easy to go through your entire 10GB data allocation in one day if you're downloading or streaming ever the network. With Sprint, at least in my experience (but my entire experience in many places around the country) is that even when you are connected to their relatively new LTE network, one minute it's fast-ish and the next minute, literally zero. Same with their 3g, only worse. Much, much worse. I'd have been okay if I had gotten at consistent 3g speeds but the variance is just ridiculous. Very frustrating and borderline fraud if you ask me. For years I've thought, well maybe it's just this particular area or maybe the network is just congested, etc. etc. But after having T-Mobile for just a few weeks I realized what it is actually like to have reliable and fast data. Even when I've used my 10GB monthly allocation IMO their network is so good that even 128Kbps is just fine. For example I can still stream radio while making calls, checking email and web pages with no problems. I like to push limits so if the radio stream starts to buffer I just close some pages, or apps etc. Very much as advertised and IMO very fair deal if you ask me.

    I would add one other thing which is while every other carrier (at least last time I checked) would charge extra for allowing the phone to share data as a hotspot, this service includes it for free so when I travel, I just turn on my phone's hotspot, connect my laptop via wifi and use both as if I'm at home or in an office. Couldn't be happier. Hope this might help someone.
     
  18. valter

    valter F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 25, 2008
    2,662
    Nibiru
    Full Name:
    Vlad
    StraightTalk as in Walmart, no contract, $45 flat/mo no limits. Data not fast but I dont care, 3 yrs and counting
     
  19. energy88

    energy88 Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jan 21, 2012
    26,812
    West of Fredericksburg, VA
    Full Name:
    John

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