iPhone on Verizon or AT&T or Sprint or ?

iPhone with Verizon or AT&T or Sprint or?...Hey all you experienced iPhone users... finally getting thé bug tó upgrade tó à good smartphone ànd pretty much want tó get à 4S but can't figure out which carrier tó go with. Which one is best, or maybe thé good ànd bad skinny óf each?



iPhone with Verizon or AT&T or Sprint or? Thé best carrier depends on where you àre. You would be better óf asking around among your friends. Ask them about dead spots ànd dropped calls. Make sure thé carrier you select will work where you àre thé most.



Look àt their coverage maps fór thé àreas óf interest tó you, ànd go with whichever is better.



Sprint still has unlimited data so I would definitely consider them. Very few people actually use more than 2 GB óf data monthly.



iPhone with Verizon or AT&T or Sprint or? Some Experiences..



My Friend asked à similar question à few days ago looking fór CDMA vs GSM experiences. After considering thé wide range óf responses ànd thé pricing/coverage óf all thé carriers (AT&T, Sprint & Verizon) She has gone with Sprint. Here's why:



1. Dropped calls on AT&T àre à continuing issue. I live in metro Atlanta ànd thé coverage here is fair ànd spotty in many àreas.



2. Coverage on CDMA vs. GSM is much better on à national basis. Sprint has roaming agreements with most óf thé other CDMA carriers ànd unlimited roaming is included in thé price package. Also, with thé 4S, I can always get à GSM SIM chip if I travel away from CDMA territory so that offers me flexibility.



3. Price, AT&T and Sprint àre very close in price, around $75-80/month. But, Sprint offers unlimited data ànd texting in that price package (450 minutes fór both) but on Sprint those minutes only really apply tó calls to/from landline phones. They also do not charge fór mobile tó mobile calls regardless óf carriers involved.



4. Spoke with friends who have Sprint service ànd were very pleased.



So yesterday She ordered à 4S, with 32MB óf RAM in black. She should have it on Tuesday. Hope She was right.



iPhone with Verizon or AT&T or Sprint or? Other friend say..



" I think you will be fine. I had similar thoughts ànd same experience with ATT ànd went tó Sprint almost exactly one year ago. I have had no problems ànd could have went tó any carrier as my contract is up now but stayed with Sprint.

Stayed too because great price ànd unlimited data. I tether from my EVO à lot. "



iPhone with Verizon or AT&T or Sprint or? Another experience..



I have been in thé telecom industry since touchtone was first introduced. ànd nothing works everywhere.



I travel tó various locations. I look tó see what thé coverage it between here ànd there.



I have some friends who have sprint....ànd thé same answer is what I get from others. 'depends where you àre".



I will say....that I think all service is getting better.



I have AT&T....ànd thé talk data àt same time is my draw.

iPhone pay as you go

Can you use pay as you go everything for the iPhone?

You can in the UK. I don't know about elsewhere but I don't see why not.

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AT&T originally had a policy of not allowing the iPhone on a pay as you go plan, although someone on this list has said that they were able to use it recently on AT&T, but would not say how.

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My daughter uses her iPhone prepaid here in the U.S.

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How is she using the iPhone a prepaid. AT&T said they would not allow it.

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I have no idea. She took my old 3G into a store and they told her she could do it. No she does not have a plan, she's not able to get an open account.

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And that is really funny, because they have repeatedly said they would not do it, and it is not something the store manager can override because it is coded into the account on the SIM card.

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I had pay as you go w/O2 in Germany. It was more expensive. I think the data was 15 euro a month for some limit that I had no trouble staying within, but the phone calls or texts were 15 cents each.

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It all depends on usage, of course. I wonder how many people pay for things they never use, or only use a fraction of?

iPhone, AT&T is Offering 1000 Rollover Minutes to iPhone Users

I did receive a message about the rollover minutes, but my husband and I never use up our minutes and we're constantly losing the rollovers for lack of use.

Wish they'd over something else I could use, maybe a certain number of free texts. I don't have texting since I have emailing, but it would come in handy sometime.

You & me both. I don't come anywhere near to using up my monthly minutes, let alone dipping into the rollovers. And most of my calls last week, for example, were to another ATT mobile so were free anyway.

OTOH I hardly ever text, but did get a couple (& responded) from that same mobile last week so they'll be added to my bill.

What puzzles me is that there were 2 texts received (& one I sent) but one of the received-ones apparently counted as 2 messages. Is there a character limit or something??

I often read email on my phone but hardly ever send any from there. Some of what I send is from me to me to get some notes on my main computer. :-) (but I'm using OneNote more for a lot of that now)

Anyhoo, I haven't gotten any messages about free minutes & haven't gone to that link listed earlier either -- I don't need the minutes & the whole thing looked a bit odd -- certainly marketing-y if not hinky.

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SMS messages a limited to 160 characters. When there are more than that, the text is sent as multiple message. You can't turn on the character counter by going into Settings-> Messages-> slide on Character count

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Oops, that should have been you CAN turn on the character count by going to Settings->Messages-> slide on Character Count.

That will let you know how many characters your message is. It will show to the right of the text input field.

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But that does not count or limit the character count of incoming messages, which is what he was questioning.

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True, but it let's her know if she'll be sending 1or 2 texts. Which is a help as she's paying by the text and didn't know there was a character limit per text :-)

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since it is going to a 3rd party address and not AT&T like the first one, it is hard to say if it is a phishing scam or not. With texting to a numeric address, there is no telling at all who it is going to.

Even if it is authentic and honest, it is only a "warm and fuzzy", for 99% of all customers will never use them. There are a few cases where they might use some of the free minutes.

And that is was makes this such a great possible phishing scam or social engineering.

I changed a phone number on a post-paid account and in the process AT&T took away 3500 rollover minutes at a time when I could have gone over my plan minutes. They gifted me back 1000 rollover minutes when I complained. So some CS Reps have the discretionary ability to do this, anyway, without a promotion going on.

This is much like the Vz "warm and fuzzy" customer service I experienced in the past. They are always polite and promise you the world, but they never, ever follow through

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Hurray!!!

Someone finally realized the true value to the customers of an extra 1000 rollover minutes... zip, zero, nothing!

It gives the customer a good feeling, but probably nothing of value. There are so few cases where there will be any value to the customer.

Since the question came up recently of whether or not is was a phishing scam since it does not go to AT&T, but a 3rd party, if it is a scam, then that just shows you how much of a good feeling it is.

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Since I've knocked my monthly minutes way way down because I dont use my cell much during the day....except for holidays, this does come in handy for me.

I did get 1000 extra minutes in Feb with the freebie...and I definitely dipped into it.

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Anyone else positively know they have used some of the free rollover minutes, so I can change my position from 99% of the customers won't use them?

I think the seniors plan at 200 minutes is the only plan with fewer minutes than the 450 minute plan, and the senior plan does not allow rollover minutes.

For me, on the 450 plan, I have topped out at about 3500 rollover minutes, so I guess I use fewer minutes than Techlady. That might be true, seeing that I am a grumpy old fart and a confirmed bachelor.

iPhone, 3G, edge, or ? Symbols

I have been in some remote areas where I used to have data but don't sometimes late at night. I have wondered about maintenance but still scratching my head?

Last night I drove for two hours before I got back into it and I drive the same boring route Dallas to El Paso,TX.

On AT&T I've been seeing a very small circle where E or 3G would be. What's this?
I've got hooked on that stitcher app and it really helps the miles go by.

That symbol is GPRS which is a level below Edge. Here is what Apple says about GPRS:

*General Packet Radio Service:* A high-speed packet data service implemented as the data component of the GSM network. GPRS speeds are roughly equivalent to that of a home 56k dial-up Internet connection; users should expect between 20-40 kbit/s down and 10-20 kbit/s up depending on signal strength. This info from Apple Support page: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2106

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Thanks, any idea why I used to see edge and now don't? I'll be making the trip again tonight so I'll see. The gsm won't support stitcher. I'll try some other apps and see.

Oh and edge supports stitcher fine I suppose because it's basically audio content.

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It could be that they are having equipment problems. Use this app to report it to them the next time you go that way. Tell them you have GPRS instead of Edge.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/at-t-mark-the-spot/id338307313?mt=8

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The one who described the round icon.

Mark the Spot is an excellent app that gives AT&T the information to fix those no signal spots, if enough people have the problem.

The reason you don't see the Edge signal is that it may be in a shadow or no signal spot, like a valley below the signal or a lowered freeway (think Los Angeles), or the canyons of New York City.

I only have a basic knowledge of this part. GSM is a radio transmission type. Edge and 3G are ways to send data within GSM.

iPhone abroad

I thought there was no problem swapping out an ATT GSM sim for another sim with carrier in Europe, then switching back on returning home to the USA. Recent osts make me think I'm dead wrong. Only an unlocked GSM iPhone can allow the ser to switch sims? Or is the problem continuing to pay for ATT usage while ctually using a foreign service? I'm confused.

It has to be unlocked from ATT to use another sim.

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This applies here as well. My iPhone is locked to O2 and it needs to be unlocked to use another network. Most (all?) phones are locked to the carrier you buy them from.

iPhone, Poor reception

Recently my phone rception had been poor. Some times its clear as a bell, and the next moment it is very poor. Any suggestions or do I have to live with it?

Have you tried calling your phone service provider? It's impossible for anyone over the Internet to diagnose this problem.

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I had that problem, mostly at home. But based on advice from a tech at AT&T I have gotten into the habit of turning my iPhone completely off ( for at least 0:01) and then back on. So it can re-register with the network. This has noticeably improved mt reception. I have more bars and much more consistent service. Give it a try.

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Save some time and turn "Airplane Mode" ON in Settings, then turn it OFF again.

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A good place to start with any problem with the iPhone, or any computer for that matter, is a re-boot. For the iPhone, hold both the top button and the home button together until you see the apple logo.

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I'm not picking on you, but everyone that doesn't tell us what you have.

You know it would be a lot easier if people would give us a little more info about their system.

If you are on AT&T then get Mark the Spot from the iTune App Store. It give them the info they need to look into the problem. If Verizon has something like that use it.

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I used mark the spot so much at home that att gave me a micro cell for my house.

AT&T

I live in the mountains and normally have 1 or 2 bars so I can text friends. Since Tuesday, all I have now is no service. No bars. Do satellites move around or is this something I should ask AT&T about? I wanted to ask here first since you guys are so smart. ;-)

I have wireless internet and can still email people but I miss texting. And I can't vote on my Idol or dancing. LOL

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Well a satellite really has nothing to do with it but your closest cell tower(s) could be having issues. I would contact AT&T and report it.

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Can't help with ATT part, but if you get a Google Voice account you can text for free over your internet connection. That will help with the voting.

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Certainly satellites move around, but they have no effect on cellular service since cellular service does not involve satellites. It involves antennas on towers mostly.

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If you haven't already, you may want to re-boot the phone: Hold down both the home butto and the lock button until the apple logo appears (be patient, it takes a few seconds).

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A HA! You are brilliant! It worked. You know what I think happened is when the power went out, it did something to the phone. It was on the charger. Power was only out 3 hours, but I left it hooked up because this happened at night and I was asleep. Now all the past text messages are rolling in and I have 2 bars back. Yeah!

I wish I had gotten some type of booklet when I bought this at the AT & T store. This is my first iphone (3G) and I am mostly learning by trial and error.

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That is the first thing to try when ever you have a cell service problem. It forces a reset of the connection to the cell towers.

I would still install Mark the Spot and start sending in reports to AT&T to see if they can improve your 2 bars to 3 or 4.

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As others have said, it has nothing to do about satellites. Either the cell towers is having an issue or they made a change to it.

Contact AT&T, by land line or internet.

You should also install the iTunes App called Mark the Spot from AT&T. This will record problems you have with your cell service and when you do have service will send it to AT&T. They have added a new feature that supposedly will give you feed back on your reports, if you register. The registration registers your phone, with no direct identification of you, but of course your phone is registered for your service so you are identified indirectly.

In your case I would down load it, attempt to register, and file repeated reports from your home. The squeaky wheel eventually gets the grease.

By giving them feedback on where you are having issues like no service or dropped calls, it helps them fix the issues. The app gives them the data they need is a fast, efficient method for you. I use it to report no service areas when I travel for work or if I find a bad spot local to my home. When I was in the metro Denver area I inundated them with reports as the service draws wind there.

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You should call and ask AT&T because, sometimes their working on towers in your area. So I would call them and see if that's the case. They will tell you and they will compensate you for lost days. They did for me! :)

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There us an app called Mark the Spot that reports reception problems and runs a diagnostic.

Agree. I used to use it a lot. But my issues were when driving

By the time I could safely input data. I was out of the pocket.

But. You need cell service in order to transmit the data.

My issues in upstate ny were spots of no service.

It is a valiant app. But I gave up on it.

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The latest version of Mark the Spot saves the data and location and sends it the next time there is service.

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I used mark the spot constantly and after a few months AT&T gave me a micro cell. That solved my connection problems @ HOME.

That's about the only thing I can say good about ATT. They do look at Mark The Spot and with enough complaints do something about their service.

T-Mobile 'll boost iPhone service..

AT&T CEO says T-Mobile deal will boost iPhone service, chances for world peace via 9 to 5 Mac

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Has anyone determined when we can call T-Mobile cells for free?

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Honestly, never - there will not be any such thing as a "T-Mobile Cell on AT&T" as AT&T is going to be using T-Mobile's spectrum (900MHz) for "4G"/LTE and all current T-Mobile subscribers will have to get new phones that use the AT&T spectrum (3G network - 850/1900MHz: M4, T4) so I would venture to guess that when the user gets a new phone (approximately 1 year according to press releases) , you can then call them for free. In reality they will likely roll the numbers into the database around the half way mark (5-6 months out).

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Not quite what you meant, but If you have unlimited messaging already, you can add unlimited mobile calls (received/sent) for no additional charge.