Sprint Nexus 5 to T-mobile - Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey guys, just picked up a new Nexus 5 about a week ago after a couple years with an iPhone 4. Loving the phone but have quickly realized how terrible Sprint's LTE is. I was looking forward to getting a LTE device and though my slow data woes were due to having a 3G phone, but now I realize that Sprint just has poor coverage where I live.
When I got the Nexus, Sprint switched me off my contract to the new "Framily" plan crap, and set up the Easy Pay for the Nexus. So if I am not mistaken I can take my number somewhere else whenever I want without any ETF, just have to pay off the remaining balance of the phone. T-mobile has excellent service in my area...
So my question is; I know the Nexus 5 is an unlocked phone, and in theory my device I bought from Sprint should switch right over to T-Mo with no problem. I have searched around and found a lot of people asking the opposite question- wanting to go from T-mobile to Sprint with their Nexus 5 and Sprint has given them problems not wanting to add the IMEI to their system since it wasn't bought from them or the Google Play store.
Does anyone know if it will be possible for me to just pay off my phone balance/bill with Sprint, walk next door to T-mobile and get up and running with them using the same exact device?
Thanks!

look at your Coverage area for T-Mobile if not go to an Att mvno called puretalkusa if coverage is good T-Mobile will pay your etf but it is an absolute pain in the a$$ in the process of getting it setup so they will pay the etf you may have to stick with sprint for a month or so call sprint and ask what the contract payment would be or you can keep your nexus 5 and get the cheapest plan on sprint and find an old sprint phone and activate and take your nexus 5 to T-Mobile thing is I don't know if sprint carrier locks there nexus 5s
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

spinninbsod said:
look at your Coverage area for T-Mobile if not go to an Att mvno called puretalkusa if coverage is good T-Mobile will pay your etf but it is an absolute pain in the a$$ in the process of getting it setup so they will pay the etf you may have to stick with sprint for a month or so call sprint and ask what the contract payment would be or you can keep your nexus 5 and get the cheapest plan on sprint and find an old sprint phone and activate and take your nexus 5 to T-Mobile thing is I don't know if sprint carrier locks there nexus 5s
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-mobile coverage is excellent in my area according to their map on the website, not sure how accurate/true that is...but I have a coworker who has a S4 on T-mobile and gets excellent speeds all around the office while I can only get LTE in certain areas of the building and even then I am lucky to crack 5mbps
As for the ETF thing, if I am understanding correct I should have none because I am no longer on a contract plan since switching to the Framily plan. So for me to get away from Sprint all I would have to do is pay the balance on my Nexus, plus of course my latest bill I am sure, and then I am free...no need to get T-mobile to pay my ETFs.
Really just wondering if Sprint "carrier locks" their devices like you said above...which again, if I am understanding correctly, isn't really possible with a Nexus phone because it is, well, an unlocked phone.

It is accurate I get okay signal in my area but a around not that great but its a lot better than Verizon I always got terrible signal with Verizon you are very lucky I hope you never have to deal with T-Mobile technical support because it is very terrible
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 12:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:18 AM ----------
I try to stay out of contracts T-Mobile has no contracts lucky you don't have to deal with etfs
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

The phone isn't locked to sprint. I just switched a couple months back. Went to T-Mobile put in there sim and went about the rest of my day.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

GituSum said:
The phone isn't locked to sprint. I just switched a couple months back. Went to T-Mobile put in there sim and went about the rest of my day.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok awesome, exactly what I was wondering. So I can still get their 80$ fully unlimited plan with bringing my own device?
Also I see you are located in Houston like me, how much better is T-mobile's data for you compared to Sprint...

matts290 said:
Ok awesome, exactly what I was wondering. So I can still get their 80$ fully unlimited plan with bringing my own device?
Also I see you are located in Houston like me, how much better is T-mobile's data for you compared to Sprint...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's been good so far. I get lte in a few places I would get 1x with sprint. The couple things I've seen with T-Mobile is once you leave the city its no good. I would be on edge a good amount of the time while my wife (with an N5 on sprint) still would have lte. This was going to college station and San Antonio. The other thing is building penetration. T-Mobile signal gets worse when I go inside buildings. To be honest I'm having my wife wait until they roll out the spark update to see if I pick up better signal at the few places I was getting 1x. If I do and T-Mobile hasn't upgraded there edge speeds to lte outside of the city then I'll go back to sprint.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

GituSum said:
The other thing is building penetration. T-Mobile signal gets worse when I go inside buildings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dang - and I thought Sprint's signal's building penetration was horrible... didn't realize T-mo was bad as well.

jj14 said:
Dang - and I thought Sprint's signal's building penetration was horrible... didn't realize T-mo was bad as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont get me wrong sprint wasnt that great either. Its just tmobile is a little worse. Not that i dont have signal but it will drop to edge or a slow 3g/hspa. At least where i go. My big thing is the signal out of the city. I travel outside of houston often and i would hold lte alot longer on sprint then i do with tmobile. Tmobile is supposed to be upgrading there edge towers with lte by 2015 so it might be better. But thats the great thing about the nexus
5, if the service sucks you can just switch.
Overall though when I'm in the city I've been a lot happier with T-Mobile. The LTE speeds have been double those of sprint. That might change if the nexus gets the spark update though. So if you stay in the city more you'll be a lot happier with T-Mobile.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

If your area has band 26, you'll get better building penetration.

Related

At&t has E in my area, T-mobile has 4g

When I was on cm7 I could change to the t-mobile tower without incurring roaming charges and achieve 4g data but now that I am on SKY ICS, I can't...
I didn't have to do anything with setting up apn through the dialer with cm7, I just went to mobile operators and chose the tower I wanted on cm7. Is there a way to do the same on SKY ICS? Thanks.
Will I had the same deal except I was on T-mobile. Back in the g1 launch days. T-Mobile and AT&T have since redefined the roaming agreement and don't allow free roaming unless there its no AT&T or T-mobile coverage in that area. Other wise you get that "cannot register on network" error. This hadn't work from the T-Mobile side for a while. At least 6 to 8 months. But recently T-Mobile expanded coverage from Edge and now they have their 4g(hspa) coverage here.
I would much rather have T-Mobile then AT&T anyway. My wife rubs it in my face now that they have 4g(Hspa) coverage. She never switched over with me, and she is darn happy the merger never went through.
But I don't think its possible anymore. And if it worked while on cm7 I'd stick with it for a while longer. Maybe it had to do with open apn because I can't even choose a different carrier, its locked.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
Jnewell05 said:
I would much rather have T-Mobile then AT&T anyway. My wife rubs it in my face now that they have 4g(Hspa) coverage. She never switched over with me, and she is darn happy the merger never went through.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been feeling more tempted of late to buy out of my contract for T-Mo. When LTE was first lit up here, I averaged around 15Mbps down. Lately, it's been around 6MBps. While some of my friends on T-Mo have been averaging 8-9MBps on their G-Nex. WTF?
There's a family plan on T-Mo: 1000 min, 2GB ea= $70.
My current family plan on ATT: 550 min, 2GB ea= $110.
That's $960 ($480/line) over two years. This essentially wipes out any savings I had from buying my phone subsidized on AT&T even if I factor in my 15% company discount, especially if I look at the new price of the Galaxy Nexus on the play store.
I'm just a bit wary of their future since they're trying to get themselves bought out.
Won't matter if they get bought out because you have a contract with them so it wouldn't effect you at all. And if something happened such as price increase etc you could cancel and move to another company for free. It waives the cancellation fee if they change the contract. I don't see them getting bought out anytime soon.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

[Q] Straight Talk vs TMobile vs Ting vs ???

Curious what opinions are...
What is the best cheap provider?
I see there are some big threads about TMobile, but searching around the net, I see a lot of people who seem to like Straight Talk.
Anyone use Ting?
Any opinions? Any first hand experiences?
Thanks
www.lycamobile.us and www.gosmartmobile.com also have better deals, especially for pay-as-you-go users.
.jond said:
Curious what opinions are...
What is the best cheap provider?
I see there are some big threads about TMobile, but searching around the net, I see a lot of people who seem to like Straight Talk.
Anyone use Ting?
Any opinions? Any first hand experiences?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard too many complaints about Smart Talk to consider them a first option. They're good for basic AT&T-area coverage I guess, but not very heavy data usage. T-Mobile has less coverage but is much better about data.
Get a plan at aiowireless.com. They're owned and operated by AT&T and have great service. I've used them for 2 months now and don't regret switching from T-Mobile. I get way better coverage and LTE nearly everywhere. T-Mobile's LTE is still in infancy and only in a few markets across the USA.
AT&T is trying to buy Leap Communications which owns Cricket. If government regulators allow them to do so, AT&T will be merging Aio with Cricket. Same service, new name. Though Cricket has been viewed as a "cheap and crappy" pay as you go service for many years, if owned and operated by AT&T, I think it'll really boost it's way into competing with the bigger dogs now that it'll have better coverage and service to offer.
.jond said:
Curious what opinions are...
What is the best cheap provider?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One son switched his galaxy nexus from ST ATT to ST TMob in Dec. His coverage (Orlando, FL/UCF) improved and dl speed went from 6 to 11/12MB . In June, I switched him to TMob $30 (100 min) plan. Coverage seems the same, but now he has 5GB high speed data. I keep extra $ in the account in case he needs more minutes but he hasn't yet.
I moved two Iphones (4s) from ST ATT to GoPhone in July. The other three of us live in a rural south Florida area with decent coverage about 100 feet from our house. We usually get a signal inside the house. Local coverage/signal the same; however, I no longer have to constantly (weekly at times) re-negotiate the data connections and mms just works. (ST never fully supported GSM Iphones. ) I considered aio but went with gophone. ATT installed the sims and made certain everything was working. All I paid for was the first month ($60.+sales tax), no sim or activation fee. Since then, I have gotten refills for $54./month--no tax.
I have a Nexus 4 and am still on ST ATT. I was waiting on my last 90 day purchase to run out before moving to GoPhone, when they actually became transparent with their data policy. I just purchased another 30 days and a new LTE sim in anticipation that one day, Google will actually make the Nexus 5 available. After I experience LTE through ST, I will decide to stay or go.
My Orlando area son will take my n4 as he will be on LTE with it. I will get ATT LTE when in covered areas with n5.
We have no experience with other prepay. We had been Sprint customers for 12 years until we no longer were able to receive a signal in our house (tried TMob with same results). I do thank Sprint for not caring about our situation since it made me consider prepay. The best thing about prepay is you can leave if you don't like it. If you watch forums (howardforums is great for carrier info), you can find out when good deals are available. Last month I picked up TMob micro sim for a buck as I was considering trying them again. As I mentioned, ATT did gophone set up for free.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
Great information! Very cool.
Anyone else?
Rarscaryfrosty said:
Get a plan at aiowireless.com. They're owned and operated by AT&T and have great service. I've used them for 2 months now and don't regret switching from T-Mobile. I get way better coverage and LTE nearly everywhere. T-Mobile's LTE is still in infancy and only in a few markets across the USA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also thinking of switching from regular AT&T to Aio, although it will mean the loss of some coverage since it will only talk to AT&T towers (no roaming). From a practical standpoint, however, this probably isn't a big deal since 99% of the places I'm likely to be have AT&T coverage; it's mainly on long trips to the west (Nebraska, Wyoming, etc.) where it gets thin.
How the hell is this Nexus 5 General?
ritchea said:
One son switched his galaxy nexus from ST ATT to ST TMob in Dec. His coverage (Orlando, FL/UCF) improved and dl speed went from 6 to 11/12MB . In June, I switched him to TMob $30 (100 min) plan. Coverage seems the same, but now he has 5GB high speed data. I keep extra $ in the account in case he needs more minutes but he hasn't yet.
I moved two Iphones (4s) from ST ATT to GoPhone in July. The other three of us live in a rural south Florida area with decent coverage about 100 feet from our house. We usually get a signal inside the house. Local coverage/signal the same; however, I no longer have to constantly (weekly at times) re-negotiate the data connections and mms just works. (ST never fully supported GSM Iphones. ) I considered aio but went with gophone. ATT installed the sims and made certain everything was working. All I paid for was the first month ($60.+sales tax), no sim or activation fee. Since then, I have gotten refills for $54./month--no tax.
I have a Nexus 4 and am still on ST ATT. I was waiting on my last 90 day purchase to run out before moving to GoPhone, when they actually became transparent with their data policy. I just purchased another 30 days and a new LTE sim in anticipation that one day, Google will actually make the Nexus 5 available. After I experience LTE through ST, I will decide to stay or go.
My Orlando area son will take my n4 as he will be on LTE with it. I will get ATT LTE when in covered areas with n5.
We have no experience with other prepay. We had been Sprint customers for 12 years until we no longer were able to receive a signal in our house (tried TMob with same results). I do thank Sprint for not caring about our situation since it made me consider prepay. The best thing about prepay is you can leave if you don't like it. If you watch forums (howardforums is great for carrier info), you can find out when good deals are available. Last month I picked up TMob micro sim for a buck as I was considering trying them again. As I mentioned, ATT did gophone set up for free.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where do you get your Gophone refills at $54?
rochrunner said:
I'm also thinking of switching from regular AT&T to Aio, although it will mean the loss of some coverage since it will only talk to AT&T towers (no roaming). From a practical standpoint, however, this probably isn't a big deal since 99% of the places I'm likely to be have AT&T coverage; it's mainly on long trips to the west (Nebraska, Wyoming, etc.) where it gets thin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, where I work, my office is in a basement. I sadly cannot get coverage in the basement with Aio Wireless, but I got 2 bars of HSPA with T-Mobile. My coworker who has Aio also can get service though, I assume this is due to antenna differences in our phones. I have a nexus 4 right now, and it's commonly known is has a crappy antenna compared to some other phones. I'm hoping the antenna on the nexus 5 will pick up reception better, but it's no big deal since I walk up to the main level of the office multiple times a day where I can get perfect coverage.
Tmobile's $30/mo prepaid is tough to beat overall if you don't use much voice. 4G, good coverage, and cheap! I'm planning to dump my Verizon plan after I see some good reviews on the Nexus 5. I'll save $53/mo even with my company's Verizon discount.
TiltedAz said:
Tmobile's $30/mo prepaid is tough to beat overall if you don't use much voice. 4G, good coverage, and cheap! I'm planning to dump my Verizon plan after I see some good reviews on the Nexus 5. I'll save $53/mo even with my company's Verizon discount.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you say good coverage?
ryude said:
Did you say good coverage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Duh.. a-yup....
Got 1 question, if you switch to tmo prepaid, would you be able to keep your number? And how long it takes for number transfer?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Lancez said:
Got 1 question, if you switch to tmo prepaid, would you be able to keep your number? And how long it takes for number transfer?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can transfer your number. Typically it takes up to 8 hours for everything to work. It took me 2 weeks to even get texting working. Once it kicked in though, I had no issues sending/receiving texts to and from people. It was a bit frustrating going 2 weeks without texts. I was surprised when I switched to Aio wireless and it only took 2 hours for me to send and receive SMS and MMS.
TiltedAz said:
Duh.. a-yup....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where I live Sprint has better coverage... and that's saying something.
Rarscaryfrosty said:
You can transfer your number. Typically it takes up to 8 hours for everything to work. It took me 2 weeks to even get texting working. Once it kicked in though, I had no issues sending/receiving texts to and from people. It was a bit frustrating going 2 weeks without texts. I was surprised when I switched to Aio wireless and it only took 2 hours for me to send and receive SMS and MMS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Took me 40 seconds after I ported my number, but maybe that's because I ported my number from TMo postpaid to prepaid
.jond said:
Curious what opinions are...
What is the best cheap provider?
I see there are some big threads about TMobile, but searching around the net, I see a lot of people who seem to like Straight Talk.
Anyone use Ting?
Any opinions? Any first hand experiences?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I say try both yourself and see which best works for you. You can pick up a Tmob SIM for $1 on sales they have all the time, ST sims they go for like $6, so one month port your # into TMob and the next month port it to ST, see which one works best for you.
Tmo Pros: 5GB data, $30 bucks flat, no extra fees
Tmo Cons: only 100 mins (why i use talkatone and port my main # to GV, no mins used, only data)
ST Pros: Unlimited Mins, ATT Towers
ST Cons: $45 bucks + $3 something in fees, 2.5GB and after that they throttle like crazy (basically useless), they are picky with streaming music/vid
miamidesigner said:
I say try both yourself and see which best works for you. You can pick up a Tmob SIM for $1 on sales they have all the time, ST sims they go for like $6, so one month port your # into TMob and the next month port it to ST, see which one works best for you.
Tmo Pros: 5GB data, $30 bucks flat, no extra fees
Tmo Cons: only 100 mins (why i use talkatone and port my main # to GV, no mins used, only data)
ST Pros: Unlimited Mins, ATT Towers
ST Cons: $45 bucks + $3 something in fees, 2.5GB and after that they throttle like crazy (basically useless), they are picky with streaming music/vid
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And depending where you live, ST actually has service whereas Tmo does not.
You can also try Solavei. Offers the most data for the lowest price. (4GB for $49. First two months are $39 right now.) Best value I'd say compared to what others offer. Runs off of T-Mobile.
Disclaimer: I am an independent rep with them but I've personally used the service since November (when the Nexus 4 came out) and love it.
Link in my signature or PM me as I can get you some freebies as well.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Returning Sprint N5 Going PrePaid

As the title suggests I'm going to return the Sprint N5 I just got and go with a prepaid plan. My area suffers from the older tower hardware issue so my phone hasn't gotten LTE since I got it even though I have been in definite coverage areas.
So I ordered a new N5 32GB today and am going to pick up a sim this week to play with. I looked into the T-Mobile $30 plan but the 100 minutes is really low and although I get good coverage in San Francisco on TMo I'm not sure how the coverage is around my parent's place (more rural area) Because of the TMo limitations I am leaning towards going with Straight Talk.
Anything I need to know or maybe another service I should consider?
I was thinking I could port my number into GVoice while I figure this whole thing out. That way I don't have to deal with porting into prepaid multiple times. Anyone done this before?
Thanks for any help :good:
I'll probably go with Straight Talk if Sprint service in my area doesn't improve really soon.
Side comment - you probably could have just kept the same phone and swapped the sim card. There's no such thing as a "Sprint Nexus 5" - the same model is compatible with all US carriers except for Verizon.
skusa93 said:
As the title suggests I'm going to return the Sprint N5 I just got and go with a prepaid plan. My area suffers from the older tower hardware issue so my phone hasn't gotten LTE since I got it even though I have been in definite coverage areas.
So I ordered a new N5 32GB today and am going to pick up a sim this week to play with. I looked into the T-Mobile $30 plan but the 100 minutes is really low and although I get good coverage in San Francisco on TMo I'm not sure how the coverage is around my parent's place (more rural area) Because of the TMo limitations I am leaning towards going with Straight Talk.
Anything I need to know or maybe another service I should consider?
I was thinking I could port my number into GVoice while I figure this whole thing out. That way I don't have to deal with porting into prepaid multiple times. Anyone done this before?
Thanks for any help :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What rural area? I can probably let you know.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
maxpower7 said:
I'll probably go with Straight Talk if Sprint service in my area doesn't improve really soon.
Side comment - you probably could have just kept the same phone and swapped the sim card. There's no such thing as a "Sprint Nexus 5" - the same model is compatible with all US carriers except for Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I bought the Sprint phone on contract though and would have had to pay an ETF to keep it and this way I could get a 32GB instead of a 16GB.
aooga said:
What rural area? I can probably let you know.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They live near Folsom lake on the south side.
I activated a sim with the $30 TMo plan tonight then did the *#*#4636 code and forced it into "LTE Only" Went on a drive and it held onto LTE much better than I would have expected. Speeds weren't crazy (8-30Mbps down) but respectable considering the area.
Gonna give this sim to my Dad and get him an HTC One for the wifi calling then try out Straight Talk in a week or so when my N5 shows up.
Not sure what to do about the GVoice number though, I'm gonna see if I can call them tomorrow. Really don't want to lose this number due to something stupid.
I'm visiting in-laws in folsom right now and have good LTE coverage and around 25 Mb/s download. I've generally found this area to be good in the last year or so with the improvements. We are near the high school.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
skusa93 said:
As the title suggests I'm going to return the Sprint N5 I just got and go with a prepaid plan. My area suffers from the older tower hardware issue so my phone hasn't gotten LTE since I got it even though I have been in definite coverage areas.
So I ordered a new N5 32GB today and am going to pick up a sim this week to play with. I looked into the T-Mobile $30 plan but the 100 minutes is really low and although I get good coverage in San Francisco on TMo I'm not sure how the coverage is around my parent's place (more rural area) Because of the TMo limitations I am leaning towards going with Straight Talk.
Anything I need to know or maybe another service I should consider?
I was thinking I could port my number into GVoice while I figure this whole thing out. That way I don't have to deal with porting into prepaid multiple times. Anyone done this before?
Thanks for any help :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage.html
Check coverage in here, its pretty accurate mine says good i can connect usually outdoors and some buildings. (100% correct)
refer to the color coded map legend then hover your mouse over the colors at the bottom that corresponds to yours

Thinking of leaving sprint, would like some opinions.

I have been with sprint for 8 years now. Just got the M8 for the new spark network that according to sprints coverage map, I was fully covered in. We'll, that's not the case. Been having a lot of problems, mainly if I drop to 3g, I actually have no data and no phone calls and can't send texts. Apparently this is a mass problem that could be a while to fix. I still have ten days to return it and reverse my contract. I would like to know from those of you on Verizon, how the service and speeds generally are. Sprint is so bad that if I'm somewhere I don't know where I'm at and try to pull up a route on maps, it will fail to pull anything up, or search for a route until it says no connection, even with 4 bars. It's hard for me to leave since I've been with them for 8 years, but I'm really getting tired of it. Also I would like some opinions on if I should get the phone through Verizon itself or best buy. Reason I ask is when I bought my original HTC one I went through 3 of them, all for different hardware issues. Each time it was a hassle. Had to go to different stores, call sprint, one store even said I was lying about my LTE not working on the phone and that I don't have LTE in my area, even tho the previous one got LTE.
Varekai said:
I have been with sprint for 8 years now. Just got the M8 for the new spark network that according to sprints coverage map, I was fully covered in. We'll, that's not the case. Been having a lot of problems, mainly if I drop to 3g, I actually have no data and no phone calls and can't send texts. Apparently this is a mass problem that could be a while to fix. I still have ten days to return it and reverse my contract. I would like to know from those of you on Verizon, how the service and speeds generally are. Sprint is so bad that if I'm somewhere I don't know where I'm at and try to pull up a route on maps, it will fail to pull anything up, or search for a route until it says no connection, even with 4 bars. It's hard for me to leave since I've been with them for 8 years, but I'm really getting tired of it. Also I would like some opinions on if I should get the phone through Verizon itself or best buy. Reason I ask is when I bought my original HTC one I went through 3 of them, all for different hardware issues. Each time it was a hassle. Had to go to different stores, call sprint, one store even said I was lying about my LTE not working on the phone and that I don't have LTE in my area, even tho the previous one got LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where are you located?
Spring hill, FL
download open signal or sensorly from the market it should give you a idea of the coverage Verizon or hell even sprint offers in your area before you decide
I was in your exact position a week ago. I had been with Sprint for 12 years and it almost felt like cheating on my wife going into a Verizon store. I am in Austin, TX which has been one of the first markets to get network upgrades. When I first got the EVO LTE it was about 6 months before I saw my first LTE signal and it was at work. The speeds were GREAT....for a few months. Once everyone got an LTE capable phone it was all downhill and speeds went to crap. Anytime I traveled I had the same problem with getting maps to work, like you described. I had to pull into a Starbucks or McDonald's to get WiFi to figure out where I was going. I finally had it last weekend when both my wife (iPhone) and I couldn't get any data to find the nearest oil change place while sitting at an intersection of two major highways on a Sunday morning. We could have hoped for better service with the Spark network but it just seemed liked deja vu all over again.
I went into Verizon store that had the phone I wanted (M8) and they would give my wife $210 on her iPhone 4s trade in along with $100 per line activation. I switched over and even though its only been a week I am amazed. I am getting LTE on Verizon where I couldn't even get 3g on sprint. And the LTE speeds are about 3-5 times better than I got on Sprint. I don't have unlimited data anymore but having an unlimited amount of something that never works is worthless. I'm paying the same amount for a 4 GB plan now BUT IT WORKS! Based in the performance I've seen the past week I just feel stupid for not doing this sooner. All my favorite apps that require data just start working immediately (e.g. steaming music or video). I mistakenly thought there was only a subtle difference between carriers but I was wrong. Just check out rootmetrics.com (HUGE help). You won't be sorry you changed.
TLDR: Sprint sucks. Change carriers. Don't look back. M8 rocks.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using xda premium
I think we all know by now what carriers can deliver. If anyone is traveling in mostly rural areas Verizon or AT&T is your best option. For overall coverage Verizon wins hands down, but you pay more for it. I live in the city of Atlanta and every carriers has great coverage in the heart of the city. Which makes me want to switch T-Mobile because I would save about $40, but whenever I take a road trip I'm reminded why I pay for Verizon and deal with locked bootloaders, and of course my unlimited data. While I love Verizon, I also love flashing ROMS. Verizon doesn't help us at all in that regard and it's something to consider IMO. Most people don't know you get university discounts on carriers and it's usually 15%, which has me looking at AT&T also knowing I'd be giving up unlimited. [emoji30]
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
I was in the same boat you are. I am in Western NY and had Sprint for almost 12 years and was relatively happy with the service *for the price* until 4G/LTE was being rolled out by all of the carriers and they left Sprint in the dust (in my area). I've had THREE 4G capable phones in the last 5 years (Evo, Evo 3D, Evo 4G LTE) and didn't see any 4G service in my area until late last year. Just last week I started getting a 4G signal at my house - one bar and DL speeds were around 1 Mbps. Furthermore, I was paying the monthly $10 fee for the 'smartphone experience' and never saw any real ROI.
I went to Verizon yesterday and picked up an M8 on the $60/1GB plan. For me, 1GB is just fine as i'm on WiFi 80% of the time and i'm good at monitoring my data usage. Service-wise I get a full signal at my house and 30Mbps DL speeds. I'm not looking back.
Thanks for the replies. I downloaded the apps and will check them out. Bootloader being locked down was mentioned, does this mean you can't unlock it with HTC Dec unlock to s-off and root? I don't know if I can live without rooting. Also does Verizon give a hard time about exchanging a rooted device? I know people at sprint store have always given me a hard time with it.
Well according to those two apps, sprint actually has better 4g from where I live to where I work.
I was with Sprint for 10 years. I live in Naples Florida. About 2 years ago the big news was all the 4G LTE towers that were going up. When they lit ours up, it was spotty at best. My service was always terrible with Sprint. I had the EVO 4G lte when the service went live, but it wouldn't hold a 4g signal. I was due for an upgrade when the M7 came out, so I got one. Same crap. When Verizon came out with the M7, I decided to give Verizon a try. I think I had the phone for about 10 minutes when I decided to cancel my contract with Sprint and go with Verizon. To this day I still cant get over how much better the service, especially the data is. What good is unlimited data if it hardly works?
I also left Sprint for similar reason. It has all been hope and not much to show in the end. I live is the greater Los Angeles area. When I first switch to Sprint was because their family plans were actually priced well and the discount I was getting made my 2-line family plan with unlimited everything for $110 a month, compare to other carriers.
As to.e went by and policies have changed, being that their data plans are $30, I now only get discount on the data (Verizon does the same). I was barely getting a $3 discount.
Their 4G WiMax was good but spotty. Their 4G LTE now was also ok but spotty. And I really didn't want to hope that their spark will be any better in terms of coverage.
My company gives me a Verizon Android base phone. In which it has work so damn great and that's what it made me switch to Verizon now on my personal line.
Sprint 2 lines - employee discount = $155 a month
Verizon 2 lines - employee discount = $147
I do get 22% discount because of my employer.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
I've had Sprint for the past 10 years & finally gave them the boot. Well almost, I'm still stuck with them for another week or so since I'm waiting for my M8 to come in. I went thru best buy and they had to order the phone. My wife & kids are on Verizon now and absolutely love it. On Sprint, we have to use an airave just to make calls in the house. On Verizon, they have full bars on 4g lte. Without the airave, I'm lucky to to have 1 bar. It's the same at my work. In fact, I'm better off setting my phone to roam. I get Verizon 3g because of the PRL I use. On Sprints network, maybe a bar. I've complained numerous times to Sprint, and they don't really care. All they kept saying was that lte is right around the corner. They've been saying that for a few years now. If I'm going to spend this kind of money for 4 smartphones I'd like to be able to use them to their fullest.
I loved Sprint when I first had my original EVO. But the WiMax was virtually nonexistent, and when I bought my first LTE phone it was nonexistent for a year but I still had to pay for it. That was the first major strike, and as of the last year with them the LTE coverage was terrible, and due to that and their crappy 3G I couldn't even stream music the whole way home from work, it would drop out. Sooo, me and the wife decided it was time to go. Contracts up this year, and when the M8 was announced we got new phones that day. I'll never look back. LTE all the time with like two exceptions, and I get about 25 Mbs in downtown St Louis. Plus, we paid about $200-210 per month on Sprint and now we pay about $160-170 on Verizon. Well worth it.
Maps rarely tell the store. Why don't you purchase a new verizon line and try it. Don't port your number just yet. All carriers have a 14 day return policy and a 3 day zero cost guarantee. If you cancel within 3 days you pay nothing, between 3 and 14 you only pay for the partial month service and activation fee. If you go through a 3rd party like Best Buy Mobile, there are no restocking fees either.
This way you can see for yourself how it works. If you decided to keep the carrier, call them up and have them port your old number over the top of the new temporary number.
I'm at Ocala Fl, had Sprint for ten yrs no matter how much I tried to ignore the network,it's just too slow. Any emergency I need like us I g Google maps quick, it just took for ever. I've been in Verizon 3 yrs and love it, I hate that they are more strict with rooting and unlocking but their 4g???? Solid every where I go. I have the Dish Network app that I can watch cable anywhere I go and because of 4G, the quality it's awesome
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
I left sprint also, their LTE speeds where great at first, now the suck.
From West palm beach, Florida
Varekai said:
I have been with sprint for 8 years now. Just got the M8 for the new spark network that according to sprints coverage map, I was fully covered in. We'll, that's not the case. Been having a lot of problems, mainly if I drop to 3g, I actually have no data and no phone calls and can't send texts. Apparently this is a mass problem that could be a while to fix. I still have ten days to return it and reverse my contract. I would like to know from those of you on Verizon, how the service and speeds generally are. Sprint is so bad that if I'm somewhere I don't know where I'm at and try to pull up a route on maps, it will fail to pull anything up, or search for a route until it says no connection, even with 4 bars. It's hard for me to leave since I've been with them for 8 years, but I'm really getting tired of it. Also I would like some opinions on if I should get the phone through Verizon itself or best buy. Reason I ask is when I bought my original HTC one I went through 3 of them, all for different hardware issues. Each time it was a hassle. Had to go to different stores, call sprint, one store even said I was lying about my LTE not working on the phone and that I don't have LTE in my area, even tho the previous one got LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the exact same problems as you with my Sprint HTC One M7 and switched to Verizon late last year. It's been a WORLD of difference. I too was sick and tired of hearing Sprint talking about launching 14 different 4G networks and getting charged for them only to never receive the service. Verizon's coverage is so much better, I don't drop any calls anymore and my connection is actually usable. Even when I only have a bar or two of service I can still access the data network which I sometimes couldn't do when I had 4 bars on Sprint. It was also a bit cheaper for me to switch as I had two unlimited my way plans on Sprint costing around $180 a month whereas with Verizon I can have two lines with 4G of data (more than enough considering I was used to always connecting to WiFi because Sprint's network was so bad) for $150/mo.
Seriously, make the switch. Sprint is awful.
P.S. I paid TWO large ETFs to get away from Sprint. That's how bad I wanted to get away from them.
The 3 different times I tried Sprint, in 3 different parts of the country, it was so slow I couldn't stand it.
Both AT&T and Verizon are light years ahead of Sprint, based on my experiences.
LPChris said:
I had the exact same problems as you with my Sprint HTC One M7 and switched to Verizon late last year. It's been a WORLD of difference. I too was sick and tired of hearing Sprint talking about launching 14 different 4G networks and getting charged for them only to never receive the service. Verizon's coverage is so much better, I don't drop any calls anymore and my connection is actually usable. Even when I only have a bar or two of service I can still access the data network which I sometimes couldn't do when I had 4 bars on Sprint. It was also a bit cheaper for me to switch as I had two unlimited my way plans on Sprint costing around $180 a month whereas with Verizon I can have two lines with 4G of data (more than enough considering I was used to always connecting to WiFi because Sprint's network was so bad) for $150/mo.
Seriously, make the switch. Sprint is awful.
P.S. I paid TWO large ETFs to get away from Sprint. That's how bad I wanted to get away from them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did this morning. Went from .03mb to 223mb on speed test at work. Unfortunately I'm having a problem with the phone locking up. Twice I hit the power button abd screen wouldn't turn on I had to hold power ablnd vol buttons to reboot
Oops, double post

[Q] Will this ever be available for Verizon?

As the subject line says, just curious as to if there has been any word on whether or not they will be bringing this device to Verizon or are we out of luck. I'm assuming it won't work on Verizon networks currently, correct? If it's not going to be available I guess I'll be looking for an alternative when my contract is up this summer.
Sent from my Droid Razr M using xda app-developers app
its not cdma compatible. but verizon still doesnt allow devices unless they have verizons carrier branding anyway. thats why you cant use a nexus 7 or nexus 5, even though they do have compatible bands. i dont see this company ever doing carrier subsidization, so im going to say itll never be on verizon.
The Jack of Clubs said:
its not cdma compatible. but verizon still doesnt allow devices unless they have verizons carrier branding anyway. thats why you cant use a nexus 7 or nexus 5, even though they do have compatible bands. i dont see this company ever doing carrier subsidization, so im going to say itll never be on verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bummer. But thanks man. Didn't know that about Nexus and Verizon either. Maybe it's time to switch.
Sent from my Droid Razr M using xda app-developers app
Jersey846 said:
Bummer. But thanks man. Didn't know that about Nexus and Verizon either. Maybe it's time to switch.
Sent from my Droid Razr M using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I highly recommend T-Mobile if the coverage is good in your area. Tmo happens to be the best in my area out of all the companies, so my choice was obvious. Their pricing is fantastic. And if you do switch to them, get the Jump plan so you can get a new phone every 6 months and have insurance
CosMiiK said:
I highly recommend T-Mobile if the coverage is good in your area. Tmo happens to be the best in my area out of all the companies, so my choice was obvious. Their pricing is fantastic. And if you do switch to them, get the Jump plan so you can get a new phone every 6 months and have insurance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm located in the DC area and I believe T-Mobile is here, but I am somewhat limited because I do a lot of traveling. Some of the traveling is to somewhat remote areas where I barely even get service with Verizon. I'm pretty sure some of those areas wouldn't get any reception with less coverage than I get now. But maybe I should start exploring other possibilities. Thanks for the recommendation!
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013) using xda-developers app
Jersey846 said:
I'm located in the DC area and I believe T-Mobile is here, but I am somewhat limited because I do a lot of traveling. Some of the traveling is to somewhat remote areas where I barely even get service with Verizon. I'm pretty sure some of those areas wouldn't get any reception with less coverage than I get now. But maybe I should start exploring other possibilities. Thanks for the recommendation!
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013) using xda-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T might do the trick.
There are only a few small areas (such as the area around Penn State University) where there is a noticeable difference between AT&T and Verizon coverage these days.
T-Mobile's network is WAY too small. EDGE-only for miles around where I live.
Jersey846 said:
I'm located in the DC area and I believe T-Mobile is here, but I am somewhat limited because I do a lot of traveling. Some of the traveling is to somewhat remote areas where I barely even get service with Verizon. I'm pretty sure some of those areas wouldn't get any reception with less coverage than I get now. But maybe I should start exploring other possibilities. Thanks for the recommendation!
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013) using xda-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check coverage maps. I absolutely love t-mobile where I live. Everywhere I go I get LTE and when I travel out of state I get great service to where I go as well. If anything get a prepaid AT&T plan since they have really good coverage. We're getting band 12 on T-Mobile from Verizon so that's going to help a lot. The only bad part is band 12(700mhz) isn't supported by the Oneplus One.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
FuMMoD said:
Check coverage maps. I absolutely love t-mobile where I live. Everywhere I go I get LTE and when I travel out of state I get great service to where I go as well. If anything get a prepaid AT&T plan since they have really good coverage. We're getting band 12 on T-Mobile from Verizon so that's going to help a lot. The only bad part is band 12(700mhz) isn't supported by the Oneplus One.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I originally switched to T-Mo because of Verizon being so bad in my area (and price but thats another story). Getting that band actually won't help me at home at all. But traveling is a huge plus
Jersey846 said:
I'm located in the DC area and I believe T-Mobile is here, but I am somewhat limited because I do a lot of traveling. Some of the traveling is to somewhat remote areas where I barely even get service with Verizon. I'm pretty sure some of those areas wouldn't get any reception with less coverage than I get now. But maybe I should start exploring other possibilities. Thanks for the recommendation!
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013) using xda-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also travel a TON and Tmobile didn't work well for me. I switched to Straight Talk prepaid which is part of AT&T, $45 a month for unlimited everything. Service is also great for me anywhere I travel to.
Good luck!!!
winter128 said:
I also travel a TON and Tmobile didn't work well for me. I switched to Straight Talk prepaid which is part of AT&T, $45 a month for unlimited everything. Service is also great for me anywhere I travel to.
Good luck!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the difference in price and service as compared to regular AT&T. Assuming you just pay for the phone outright at full price? I didn't think AT&T offered unlimited data anymore either. I'd love that.
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013) using xda-developers app
Jersey846 said:
What's the difference in price and service as compared to regular AT&T. Assuming you just pay for the phone outright at full price? I didn't think AT&T offered unlimited data anymore either. I'd love that.
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013) using xda-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ST claims "unlimited" data but in reality you are likely to get nastygrams past 2GB. So I'd consider it to be a 2GB plan.
Same network, same coverage, probably worse customer support if you need it (but less likely since there is only one plan and you bring your own device), and no subsidy penalty.
I'm currently on Straight Talk and love it. If/when I finally replace my i777 with this device, I'm going stay on ST. They've improved their customer service considerably - I would advise others to use it; there's absolutely nothing to lose!
Entropy, it's good to see you around!
Entropy512 said:
ST claims "unlimited" data but in reality you are likely to get nastygrams past 2GB. So I'd consider it to be a 2GB plan.
Same network, same coverage, probably worse customer support if you need it (but less likely since there is only one plan and you bring your own device), and no subsidy penalty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, just bumped their data alotment from 2.5gbs to 3gbs about 2 weeks ago :beer:
Sent from my LG-VS410PP using Tapatalk 2

Categories

Resources