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Verizon, att, or sprint can't decide!?

Right now I have Verizon and can upgrade next month but my contract ends in december if I upgrade with Verizon I'll loose my unlimited I was thinking about going to att cause I'd get an extra gig for the same price then was thinking about sprint cause they have the cheapest plan and unlimited but no 4g I either want to get the HTC evo lte/htc one x or the S3. So I guess I'm wondering if I should break my contract and get another gig with att, go with sprint for unlimited but only 3g for who knows how long or should I just stick with Verizon?
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Att is good but expensive bad covrage in buildings. Varizon is kind of limited have good signal inside building 850 band is great. Sprint and t-mo cheaper but weak signal data slow. In my area t-mo is using atts towers. Sprint is cheap... but you ge alot of CAN You hear me nowwwww. JM2C.
Signed &

I really, really hate VZ. Been with T-Mobile for 14 years and very happy. Good service and best prices. Very good coverage in my area.
Speaking of coverage... Coverage with any carrier is EXTREMELY location-dependent. Coverage maps can only give approximate coverage areas. Signal strength within a coverage area can come and go from mile to mile, block to block or even room to room.
People are constantly asking about coverage but trying to give meaningful advice about expected coverage is just worthless. It is. The only thing that really works is first, check a map to get a rough idea what to expect. Pick a provider that shows good coverage in the area then actually try their service in places you expect to use it. Walk around the house, work, etc and see if it drops calls or loses data connection.
It's the only way to be fairly sure you'll be happy with any provider's signal quality.
Registered Linux user #266531. Android user since v1.0.

Yea I'm starting to hate Verizon as well with the shared data andno option for the individual plans anymore unless your grandfathered in like me but that will probably change next year like there doing with the unlimited plans. Both att and Verizon have about the same coverage in my area. Sprint has cover mostly in my area but some dead zones. And tmoblie only has voice in my area so that's out of the question. I'm thinking I'll stick with Verizon even though I really don't want to... was also thinking about a prepay smartphone but none in my area has good enough coverage.
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Honestly AT&T's LTE Is plenty fast for me but id want a Sprint phone

Verizon has the only SGSIII with a locked boot loader. That would be enough for me to leave.
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lowandbehold said:
Verizon has the only SGSIII with a locked boot loader. That would be enough for me to leave.
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What does that mean?
Sent from my Kindle Fire

But being that Verizon is CDMA, phones sell much cheaper here and on eBay. You could get decent phone for $300ish, not use your upgrade, and keep unlimited. Just a thought.

Mark930 said:
What does that mean?
Sent from my Kindle Fire
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Locked bootloaders prevent custom images/roms from being loaded on the device. A good example of that is the now ancient DROID X on VZW there was a huge fuss about their being a chip that would destroy the phone and ish, but I digress, it essentially makes it so you can only load VZW Official or VZW based roms. No AOKP, No CM- anything etc.
If you're not into that, it's not a big deal. But I, as a flashaholic must have unlocked bootloaders.
Now carrier wise, Tmo is better because if you exceed data they just slow you down.
Att (mine) charges $10/GB over 3GB so 2GB over costs you the same as the 5GB plan essentially.
Sprint... Well do you want people to hear you?
But as it was said before, coverage is the deal breaker. But Tmo is also adding brought spectrum from VZW, which should prove interesting since the Tmo/Att merger got the kaibosh
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Ah OK I don't think I'll be rooting my next phone cause I'm pretty sure I messes up my last phone the Samsung fascinate from rooting and flashing ended up buying an iPhone on cregslist caue I can't even boot my fascinate any more. I think Verizon is $10/1G overage too but who really knows with all their changes
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good nice
_________

I just upgraded with Verizon which forced me to change to a shared plan from unlimited. I was bummed about this, but Verizon has been amazing to me.
Here's how I justified it. Largest network/Best service. I had unlimted data...I rarely use more than 100 - 500mb as I have Wifi at home and at work/school. So it wasn't really a loss. Check out your data use...do you really use that much data? (You could, I'm just sharing my experience)

I use around 1.8-2.5G a month and how smart phones are getting better and better I can see data use going up as well I don't have wifi t work and my wifi at home is choppy.
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So did they make you join the shared plan or did you have the option to drop down to 2g from unlimited?
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Vzw gsiii $0 etf

So I searched through the forums for this, and didn't see anything so I figured I'd make a new topic....
I'm currently on a family plan, and I got my GS3 this summer on day one as I had preordered it to save my unlimited data...
However, for a multitude of reasons, I'm strongly considering closing my line off of the family plan and getting my own plan on ATT.
When I got my GS3, my receipt said $0 for the ETF, as did a number of other people I remember seeing around release time.
I'm curious, has anyone who had the $0 ETF canceled or heard of anyone who also had it canceling their plan with no charge?

Out of curiosity why Att? Not only will you not get unlimited data, the service is not as good as Verizon. I know because I came from them after 3 years of putting up with slow 3g and then getting threatened to have my plan switched and throttled without my permission. The only thing I miss from them is cheaper plan and not trying to lock down phones like Verizon which is the one thing that might drive me away eventually.
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cell128 said:
Out of curiosity why Att? Not only will you not get unlimited data, the service is not as good as Verizon. I know because I came from them after 3 years of putting up with slow 3g and then getting threatened to have my plan switched and throttled without my permission. The only thing I miss from them is cheaper plan and not trying to lock down phones like Verizon which is the one thing that might drive me away eventually.
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Discounts through work, and they still have LTE. Plus I would prefer a GSM-based network, and ATT > TMobile

shredder47 said:
Discounts through work, and they still have LTE. Plus I would prefer a GSM-based network, and ATT > TMobile
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And the funny thing is ATTs LTE speeds are on par with T-Mo's HSPA+ lol plus T-Mo has a reasonably priced unlimited everything plan with no throttling. How exactly is ATT better than T-Mo?
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cvsolidx17 said:
And the funny thing is ATTs LTE speeds are on par with T-Mo's HSPA+ lol plus T-Mo has a reasonably priced unlimited everything plan with no throttling. How exactly is ATT better than T-Mo?
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T-Mobile's HSPA+ speeds are only good in certain areas. You'll hit a lot of dead zones and be on EDGE a lot more than you will be on AT&T.
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sounds like a poor decision.

david_hume said:
T-Mobile's HSPA+ speeds are only good in certain areas. You'll hit a lot of dead zones and be on EDGE a lot more than you will be on AT&T.
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I can confirm this. Switched from T-Mobile to Verizon because of frequent dropped calls and their data coverage is horrible unless you live in a good size city. Plan prices were the best though.

Also their LTE is running on 2 different bands I beleive. My friend has an iPhone 5 and we compared speeds using the speedtest app. Mine was pulling 25DL while his was only getting about 5DL. I may be wrong about the bands but I sure made fun of that speed. Especially since Verizon lte is already carrying a heavier load than att's lte which is still kinda new
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Nightmare_24_7 said:
I can confirm this. Switched from T-Mobile to Verizon because of frequent dropped calls and their data coverage is horrible unless you live in a good size city. Plan prices were the best though.
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I can also confirm this. I used to be on T-Mobile 2 year ago and there were a lot of moments where I couldn't even call or text a friend at all. Switched to Verizon and all of those issues vanished. Haven't regretted my switch ever since
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I appreciate everyone's concern about my carrier choice, but I'm more curious about the orignal question of if anyone has heard of anyone switching with the $0 ETF

you should contact verizon about that if you realyl want to know the answer.
get on the chat, itll take you less than 10 minutes

shredder47 said:
I appreciate everyone's concern about my carrier choice, but I'm more curious about the orignal question of if anyone has heard of anyone switching with the $0 ETF
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LOL, I too was wondering about this.
P.S. I agree with what everyone is saying. D O N ' T D O I T!!!!

shredder47 said:
I appreciate everyone's concern about my carrier choice, but I'm more curious about the orignal question of if anyone has heard of anyone switching with the $0 ETF
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Usually they charge you when you break your contact, unless your close to it being over they may let you go. Depends on which kind of service Rep you get.
stripped apart rebuilt with Clean Rom&XdaTechnology!!!

How is AT&T's network in central NJ and NYC?

I'm currently trying to decide which carrier to go with for the Galaxy S4. I'm leaning towards Verizon, but I'm also considering AT&T because their non-shared family plan is cheaper if you go with less minutes. But I'm worried that their service might still suck, because we were with them until a few years ago and there were a lot of dropped calls, delayed text messages, etc. They also get rated poorly in Consumer Reports and other surveys. So I'm wondering if it's worth giving it a shot and hoping their service has improved, or if I should just go with Verizon.
There are three areas specifically that my family is at the most: Princeton, NJ and Brooklyn, NY and Flushing, NY. I'd love to hear from anyone with recent experience with AT&T in or around those three areas. Any experiences from people in the general tri-state area and New York City would also be great.

..

xavierfox42 said:
I live in Brooklyn and am running a SGS3 I9300 on AT&T's GoPhone service. Since it's the international version it doesn't have 4G LTE, but the 3G network is decent enough. I usually get around 2000Kb/s download when I run the Speedtest.net app.
I really don't like using AT&T though, but it's the only carrier that will work with the I9300's wireless bands, so I'm basically forced to use them or only get 2G. My next phone will be bought in the US and thus I'll be able to switch to T-Mobile or Simple Mobile or another reasonably-priced carrier. I would drop AT&T in a heartbeat if I could. I think they're easily the most evil of all the telecom companies (except maybe Comcast).
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Do you have any problems with dropped calls or other issues like that?

No, the service is fine. No real problems to speak of. As expected for a major carrier in an urban area.
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T-Mobile to Sprint? Activation Question/ Nexus 5

Question: I have a Nexus 5 on T-Mobile's network and would like to switch to Sprint. I know with Sprint you have to get a ICC ID (SIM Card) from Sprint. My question is will Sprint activate my phone on their $60 Unlimited Everything PREPAID plan or ANY plan what so ever? According to articles the Nexus 5 has been dropped from the BYOSD Banned list meaning we can buy the Nexus 5 from the Play Store and activate it on Sprint's Network.
I want to try the Spark Network in my area for at least a month or so. I know the general consensus is that Sprint suck, but I have liked them as a company when I was a customer and want to try this all new Spark Network and compare Speeds.
So how can I switch over? Or is it possible to switch over at all?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

I have a question too, i got a T-Mobile sim in my Nexus 5 under about Phone it shows IMEI
but when i stick a Sprint sim will it show ESN?

If you're thinking Sprint you ought to look at Ting. Same network (yes, Spark) but lower costs.
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dymetrice1 said:
Question: I have a Nexus 5 on T-Mobile's network and would like to switch to Sprint. I know with Sprint you have to get a ICC ID (SIM Card) from Sprint. My question is will Sprint activate my phone on their $60 Unlimited Everything PREPAID plan or ANY plan what so ever? According to articles the Nexus 5 has been dropped from the BYOSD Banned list meaning we can buy the Nexus 5 from the Play Store and activate it on Sprint's Network.
I want to try the Spark Network in my area for at least a month or so. I know the general consensus is that Sprint suck, but I have liked them as a company when I was a customer and want to try this all new Spark Network and compare Speeds.
So how can I switch over? Or is it possible to switch over at all?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
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Stay away from Sprint. Nothing but problems with them and the Nexus 5. Go with AT&T or see if you can go with their subsidary, AIO Wireless... Seriously, do not go with Sprint, you will be sorry if you do!

Vegasden said:
If you're thinking Sprint you ought to look at Ting. Same network (yes, Spark) but lower costs.
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Interesting! I was hoping not to do that but will research them. Thanks
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

I would but AIO doesn't have unlimited data from what I'm hearing. Is that correct. Have you experienced AIO?
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dymetrice1 said:
I would but AIO doesn't have unlimited data from what I'm hearing. Is that correct. Have you experienced AIO?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
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AIO does have unlimited data
Unlimited Data
Up to 4G LTE speeds with compatible device (speeds reduced when you use up your high-speed allowance)
So for the 55$ Plan the High Speed data is 2GB after 2GB its 2G speeds

gsteelx said:
Stay away from Sprint. Nothing but problems with them and the Nexus 5. Go with AT&T or see if you can go with their subsidary, AIO Wireless... Seriously, do not go with Sprint, you will be sorry if you do!
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Can you link to some of these supposed problems?
I run my Nexus 5 on Ting (which runs on Sprint's network) and I have had zero problems whatsoever.

MasterTec said:
Can you link to some of these supposed problems?
I run my Nexus 5 on Ting (which runs on Sprint's network) and I have had zero problems whatsoever.
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Here is one (of many) doing a Google search.
https://community.sprint.com/baw/message/676757
plus a thread I started... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2570111
If you are having a good experience, thats great, but I still, would tell people to stay away from Sprint. I feel as though they make promises they can't keep.

gsteelx said:
Here is one (of many) doing a Google search.
https://community.sprint.com/baw/message/676757
plus a thread I started... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2570111
If you are having a good experience, thats great, but I still, would tell people to stay away from Sprint. I feel as though they make promises they can't keep.
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OK so you had the unfortunate luck of having a defective SIM card and a tower near your home that was being fixed. After both were corrected you stated that you were very happy but then a couple of weeks later you claim to be tired of sprints BS without giving any other details.
Yeah.. definitely more of an isolated event than a company problem. Are some people with Nexus 5 phones having LTE problems? Yes it sure seems like it. Are some people with other phones having LTE problems? I think it's very safe to say that is probably the case as well.
You have to remember that for every one person on these boards that complain about their service there are probably tens of thousands of others who have had no issues whatsoever. So for you to just come straight out and state such a strong statement "Seriously, do not go with Sprint, you will be sorry if you do" based only on your personal experience, which you didn't even bother to explain at the time of that post, is in my opinion flat out incompetent and naive.

MasterTec said:
OK so you had the unfortunate luck of having a defective SIM card and a tower near your home that was being fixed. After both were corrected you stated that you were very happy but then a couple of weeks later you claim to be tired of sprints BS without giving any other details.
Yeah.. definitely more of an isolated event than a company problem. Are some people with Nexus 5 phones having LTE problems? Yes it sure seems like it. Are some people with other phones having LTE problems? I think it's very safe to say that is probably the case as well.
You have to remember that for every one person on these boards that complain about their service there are probably tens of thousands of others who have had no issues whatsoever. So for you to just come straight out and state such a strong statement "Seriously, do not go with Sprint, you will be sorry if you do" based only on your personal experience, which you didn't even bother to explain at the time of that post, is in my opinion flat out incompetent and naive.
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Buddy, I am not going to argue with you. As I stated (on the OTHER thread you quoted me on) I am entitled in my opinion, and will share it with whomever I feel.
I feel that you being on Ting is a stupid idea, but you probably think its great. You probably think signing a 2 year is stupid, but, I would take that over anything. We can agree to disagree all day long, nothing can change that.
Thats the great thing about opinions my man, we all have them, and thankfully we have the first amendment, and can speak our minds.
If people don't want to listen to me, thats fine, I won't lose any sleep at night. If I helped someone, than awesome!
That is all, nothing more, nothing less.

dymetrice1 said:
Question: I have a Nexus 5 on T-Mobile's network and would like to switch to Sprint. I know with Sprint you have to get a ICC ID (SIM Card) from Sprint. My question is will Sprint activate my phone on their $60 Unlimited Everything PREPAID plan or ANY plan what so ever? According to articles the Nexus 5 has been dropped from the BYOSD Banned list meaning we can buy the Nexus 5 from the Play Store and activate it on Sprint's Network.
I want to try the Spark Network in my area for at least a month or so. I know the general consensus is that Sprint suck, but I have liked them as a company when I was a customer and want to try this all new Spark Network and compare Speeds.
So how can I switch over? Or is it possible to switch over at all?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
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Disregarding the completely useless aforementioned posts, the Nexus 5 requires the "spark" update in order to access the Sprint Spark (Clearwire TDD-LTE) network and B26 (LTE 800). Some users have been able to access a few TDD-LTE towers here and there but the vast majority of users have not been able to even with the knowledge that the site is broadcasting B41 LTE that other Spark devices (GS4T / LG G2/ etc) pick up.
In other words you'll only be accessing the PCS LTE network which are in varying stages of progress in all markets which may or may not be loaded / overloaded. So the Nexus 5 is not a device you want to use to test the "Spark" network at least until LG / Google gets the Spark update out sometime in 1Q 2014.

Sprint Nexus 5 to T-mobile

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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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.