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Location: Charlotte,NC, US, North America, Earth, Alpha Quadrant,Milky Way Galaxy
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Not sure how relevant this is but I wish I knew this last fall before renewing my contract. Sprint has been building out it's 4G LTE network nationwide at a snail's pace for about a year now (or it feels like that). Sprint will be more than happy to sell you a great phone that is 4G LTE capable (like the iphone 5). The story line being told by personnel (and I don't blame them, they are doing what they're told) is that the build out would be completed soon (like late 2012, then first couple months of 2013) in Charlotte. I travel a lot and the only place I really got strong coverage was Chicago and Atlanta (and even that was shaky). I saw a map of 4G LTE Sprint coverage and it's just a smattering of dots on the US map compared the complete blanket that Verizon has.
I was at the Rea Rd Best Buy today and switched my daughter from an iphone 4s on Sprint (which was slow )to an iphone 5 Verizon (which is 4G LTE capable). I still have sprint on my phone (Samsung Galaxy Note II) and limp along at 3G. The best buy rep in mobile dept somberly said that a Sprint rep came in and said the build out won't be done until maybe July 2013. Pretty darn different than Jan 2013. I know this information was known and it's an age old tactic to get people to buy phones that they can't take advantage of it's true speed. What's even worse is that you re-up your contract and they won't let you out. And then there's the 4G surcharge you pay for that you never really use. I normally don't write these things but if you're thinking of going to a 4G LTE device like the iphone or the cool Samsung phones, you should know what service you'll be getting. I at least applaud Best Buy personnel for telling the truth (I think they got tired of getting beat up by customers). If you complain enough Sprint will give you a $50 credit or something to make you less upset.
I benchmarked my daughter's iphone 5 on Verizon and it's sickening how fast it is, in some instances it's faster than cable high speed internet. I'm considering switching myself even if it means paying the early termination fee.
Not sure how relevant this is but I wish I knew this last fall before renewing my contract. Sprint has been building out it's 4G LTE network nationwide at a snail's pace for about a year now (or it feels like that). Sprint will be more than happy to sell you a great phone that is 4G LTE capable (like the iphone 5). The story line being told by personnel (and I don't blame them, they are doing what they're told) is that the build out would be completed soon (like late 2012, then first couple months of 2013) in Charlotte. I travel a lot and the only place I really got strong coverage was Chicago and Atlanta (and even that was shaky). I saw a map of 4G LTE Sprint coverage and it's just a smattering of dots on the US map compared the complete blanket that Verizon has.
I was at the Rea Rd Best Buy today and switched my daughter from an iphone 4s on Sprint (which was slow )to an iphone 5 Verizon (which is 4G LTE capable). I still have sprint on my phone (Samsung Galaxy Note II) and limp along at 3G. The best buy rep in mobile dept somberly said that a Sprint rep came in and said the build out won't be done until maybe July 2013. Pretty darn different than Jan 2013. I know this information was known and it's an age old tactic to get people to buy phones that they can't take advantage of it's true speed. What's even worse is that you re-up your contract and they won't let you out. And then there's the 4G surcharge you pay for that you never really use. I normally don't write these things but if you're thinking of going to a 4G LTE device like the iphone or the cool Samsung phones, you should know what service you'll be getting. I at least applaud Best Buy personnel for telling the truth (I think they got tired of getting beat up by customers). If you complain enough Sprint will give you a $50 credit or something to make you less upset.
I benchmarked my daughter's iphone 5 on Verizon and it's sickening how fast it is, in some instances it's faster than cable high speed internet. I'm considering switching myself even if it means paying the early termination fee.
I am so with you. I left Sprint in the middle of last year when they released the their new EVO(OneX). I really hated Sprints design of the OneX and loved Att's design more. However, I didn't like the fact that Sprints 3G became unbearably slow and I always had to find wifi in order to get online using my phone. Att & Verizon already had massive LTE coverage and Sprint was just starting. Price wise, Sprint couldn't be beaten, but I didn't want to get stuck with a LTE phone w/o LTE service. Judging by Sprints history I had a feeling that they would take a long time to get LTE running here in Charlotte.
I searched for discounts for ATT and found out that my employer was a preferred employer. I was able to get a really substantial discount off my bill. I made the switch and haven't looked back. LTE as you've seen with VZW is extremely fast. Keep your eye out for any contract changes with Sprint. They made a change on how the family plans worked and I was able to use that to get out of my contract and switch to ATT. If you see any notices about changes to your contract, google it and see what others are doing. You may be able to use that to get out of your contract as well. Good luck!
At least you guys know what LTE is. Wasn't it AT&T that pushed Apple to update the iPhone to say "4G" on non LTE networks? They never upgraded the service just redefined what 4G was.
Verizon may have funky incompatible service and the inability to talk and surf at the same time but between LTE beating Sprint and perception of reception beating AT&T I find it hard to leave. LTE is so reliable when you have a signal. Meanwhile the pay as you go guys are going to hold their nose due to the freedom to tether in the 700mhz band. Let's see how that goes.
Right now I've got not many minutes (350) and all the texting I need (1000 I think) and still unlimited data (not available to new customers) and I'm paying $65 including tax. And I've had LTE for almost a year in Charlotte.
As far as Sprint goes, this press release for "coming soon" or a pre-rollout was back in October. Now way could they have finished by now.
At least you guys know what LTE is. Wasn't it AT&T that pushed Apple to update the iPhone to say "4G" on non LTE networks? They never upgraded the service just redefined what 4G was.
Verizon may have funky incompatible service and the inability to talk and surf at the same time but between LTE beating Sprint and perception of reception beating AT&T I find it hard to leave. LTE is so reliable when you have a signal. Meanwhile the pay as you go guys are going to hold their nose due to the freedom to tether in the 700mhz band. Let's see how that goes.
Right now I've got not many minutes (350) and all the texting I need (1000 I think) and still unlimited data (not available to new customers) and I'm paying $65 including tax. And I've had LTE for almost a year in Charlotte.
As far as Sprint goes, this press release for "coming soon" or a pre-rollout was back in October. Now way could they have finished by now.
Nice...! you have a great plan and a great price. If you want to upgrade your phone, you have to pay out right for the next one right? Or you'll loose your unlim data?
Nice...! you have a great plan and a great price. If you want to upgrade your phone, you have to pay out right for the next one right? Or you'll loose your unlim data?
Yeah that's my understanding. My contract is good until March 2014 and the RAZR Max is a great phone. And I just got a new one under warranty. The charging pin was bent and instead of unbending it or blaming me they just popped a $500 replacement phone into the mail so it's as good as new.
I've never used 2GB but I hate to be metered. Put the pay-as-you-go plans won't be LTE at those prices anytime soon thanks to the tethering rules (not tethering per say but not allowed to limit app types).
Is $20 more worth it for 4G and less minutes? Well I can't imagine going back to even 3G at this point and I couldn't port my phone. I'd have to buy something crappy but even then I'd have to amortize the phone cost over 2 years. No way would I keep a phone longer (smart phone).
So to me the phone is much better, the network is better and the data is damn fast.
And I'm getting Jelly Bean to boot.
Correction on plan. It's 450 minutes with 250 texts. Going from unlimited to 2GB would increase my bill by 1 cent.
But somehow it shows my discount is $8 less so that could be an issue when I need a new phone. I'm not going to model it any further or I'll accidentally change my plan for no reason at a higher rate.
Location: Charlotte,NC, US, North America, Earth, Alpha Quadrant,Milky Way Galaxy
3,770 posts, read 7,545,926 times
Reputation: 2118
Quote:
Originally Posted by GCharlotte
Yeah that's my understanding. My contract is good until March 2014 and the RAZR Max is a great phone. And I just got a new one under warranty. The charging pin was bent and instead of unbending it or blaming me they just popped a $500 replacement phone into the mail so it's as good as new.
I've never used 2GB but I hate to be metered. Put the pay-as-you-go plans won't be LTE at those prices anytime soon thanks to the tethering rules (not tethering per say but not allowed to limit app types).
Is $20 more worth it for 4G and less minutes? Well I can't imagine going back to even 3G at this point and I couldn't port my phone. I'd have to buy something crappy but even then I'd have to amortize the phone cost over 2 years. No way would I keep a phone longer (smart phone).
So to me the phone is much better, the network is better and the data is damn fast.
And I'm getting Jelly Bean to boot.
Correction on plan. It's 450 minutes with 250 texts. Going from unlimited to 2GB would increase my bill by 1 cent.
But somehow it shows my discount is $8 less so that could be an issue when I need a new phone. I'm not going to model it any further or I'll accidentally change my plan for no reason at a higher rate.
I stayed with Sprint (to long) because of unlimited data. Now, I would be fine with a build out taking 1 year, 2 years or whatever. The thing that really ticked me off is I *asked* the rep *specifically* when it would be available. This was back in August and I was told late fall (like Nov), I figured I could hold out till then. I didn't realize the 3G speed would suffer as well. I would have kept my evo 4g and waited it out, but bought two phones on that word, and this was the party line at the store, when calling support, etc. It's an okie doke (classic). Anyway, I decided not to throw anymore money after poor service and moved to Verizon. I'm sure they have their issues but they deliver for the most part as advertised and I will pay for my data as I use it (unlimited isn't any good if you can't use any of it).
I was in best buy over the weekend and saw a few folks upgrading to 4G LTE phones on Sprint and I sooo wanted to tell them my story but was distracted with my activation. Anyway, just be informed.
I actually get decent 4G service with Sprint at Eastland Mall of all places but nowhere else in the city.
According to Sprint website there's strong coverage inside the 485 with spottyness. Outside the loop and in the outlying areas it's mostly 3G. 4G does track the highways pretty well too.
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