Sprint vs. Verizon and iPhones

[DisneyMum4]

We have been with Verizon for years and love the service. However, the bill continues to go up and with no unlimited data any longer, has us looking elsewhere. I have had AT&T with a work phone and their service was okay but they do not offer the unlimited data any longer so we are trying to decide which carrier to go with between Sprint and VZW.

Alittle history, DH and I have iphones that are on unlimited data. DD has a 2gb plan and has been going over lately. DH and I are ready to upgrade to the new iPhones as ours are getting slower and slower. If we upgrade with VZW, we can pay full retail and keep the unlimited data or go to 6gb for the price we pay for unlimited which will allow us to pay contract prices for the phones. Our bill currently runs 250+ a month for the 3 iPhones and a dummy phone. With Sprint, we can move to their unlimited plan and pay 210 a month for 3 iphones and unlimited data and one dummy phone. Not much of a savings but also looking to move DS to a iphone when he starts middle school next year.

So i need opinions on the services. We live in the upstate of SC. I travel everywhere with my job in the state and also in NC. As a family we travel to GA, FL, NC and TN often. I welcome your thoughts on the carriers.

 

[disneylove69]

I have had Sprint for over 10 years and for work we use the Sprint wireless card. Depends where you are at the service isn't that hot. Sprint is cheap so I can't really complain.

 

[tvguy]

I have had Sprint for over 10 years and for work we use the Sprint wireless card. Depends where you are at the service isn't that hot. Sprint is cheap so I can't really complain.

You need to check the coverage map where you plan to use your the phone most often. We went at work from A-T& T to Sprint to Verizon, with Sprint by far being the cheapest, but the coverage was the worst by a long shot. At least here, if you want coverage you really have no choice but Verizon. They charge more because of that.

 

[Dork42775]

I have Sprint and live in Asheville. It is nowhere near as good as Verizon for data and i have a few dropped call areas but for the savings i get with Sprint i cannot justify switching to Verizon. I mean think back 10-15 years ago we lived our everyday lives without a cell phone so i think we can do without it for a few minutes every now and then.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Do you really need unlimited data? I used to have two devices on my AT&T account with unlimited data, which I was reluctant to give up, even though switching to a shared data plan with 10 GB of data a month would save me over $150 a month. When I carefully looked at how much data my family uses (4 iPhones, 2 iPads), we only were using a max of 3 GB a month. It was a no brainer to change plans!

 

[wenrob]

Do you really need unlimited data? I used to have two devices on my AT&T account with unlimited data, which I was reluctant to give up, even though switching to a shared data plan with 10 GB of data a month would save me over $150 a month. When I carefully looked at how much data my family uses (4 iPhones, 2 iPads), we only were using a max of 3 GB a month. It was a no brainer to change plans!

Agreed. We were hanging onto DH's unlimited, they would throttle his data and we could not tether. So he had "unlimited data" that was severely limited. Going over what we actually use as a family (rarely over 3GBs) I went ahead and signed up for the 10GB mobile share plan (10GB is where the discounts come in with AT&T) and haven't regretted it. My bill went way down and now we can actually use the data. Our wireless crapped out last week so three of us were tethering with our phones for a day and half and it barely made a dent in our data usage. I know they purposely set it up this way to get you to drop unlimited but it has been worth it for us.

 

[tvguy]

I guess it just depends on the individual. We are 4 months into smart phones with 5GB shared a month for 4 phones on Verizon. Haven't use more than 1 GB yet since everywhere we are (home and work) has free WiFi.

 

[havaneselover]

I guess it just depends on the individual. We are 4 months into smart phones with 5GB shared a month for 4 phones on Verizon. Haven't use more than 1 GB yet since everywhere we are (home and work) has free WiFi.

I use straight talk and get 3gb / month for $45. I don't even use 500 mb.

I'm considering Boost Mobile (Sprint prepaid) because they offer $100 off an Iphone 6, $50 account credit, and monthly service is $35 for 1 gb of data. I'm just concerned about the coverage.

 

[semo233]

We have had Sprint for many many years. I called last week to see if they had a cheaper plan for us. They now have a family share plan that is $100 per month, unlimited talk and text and 20 gb of data. You can share all that with up to 10 lines. The access charges vary depending upon what kind of phone you have, but even if all 3 of us got new iPhone 6's, it would be less than $200 per month.
The person I spoke with also mentioned keeping an eye out for new promotions over the next few weeks as there were some really great new plans coming out, but he could not tell me about them yet.

 

[rock_doctor]

I use straight talk and get 3gb / month for $45. I don't even use 500 mb.

I'm considering Boost Mobile (Sprint prepaid) because they offer $100 off an Iphone 6, $50 account credit, and monthly service is $35 for 1 gb of data. I'm just concerned about the coverage.

Boost is owned by sprint so they are the same coverage. If sprint works for you then boost will also (most likely your straight talk is on sprint). The only real difference is the lack of customer service. Boost doesn't have any... All calls go to another country and that is all she wrote. In honestly, sprints iPhone plan is (imho) pretty good. I can't see anybody doing better. $50 a month for everything unlimited... The service is ok and in some areas sprint is better then verizon (not many but some). I have been on the sprint network since 1998 and for the most part they have worked just fine.

 

[havaneselover]

Boost is owned by sprint so they are the same coverage. If sprint works for you then boost will also (most likely your straight talk is on sprint). The only real difference is the lack of customer service. Boost doesn't have any... All calls go to another country and that is all she wrote. In honestly, sprints iPhone plan is (imho) pretty good. I can't see anybody doing better. $50 a month for everything unlimited... The service is ok and in some areas sprint is better then verizon (not many but some). I have been on the sprint network since 1998 and for the most part they have worked just fine.

I think I'm on AT&T's network with ST.

I've heard lots of complaints about ST's customer service but the few times I've called I've had my problems fixed quickly.

I guess the reason I'd pick Boost over sprint is I can get what I need from Boost for $35/month compared with $50/month with Sprint. Both are charging me $600 for a 64 gb Iphone 6.

 

[MillauFr]

My daughter uses Virgin Mobile and pays $33 per month for unlimited data.

 

[eliza61]

this is us. I get a discount at sprint from my employer so I go with the cheapest carrier. I have 3 lines with unlimited every thing for 155.00 a month including taxes.

kids have smart phones. I don't, although its getting harder and harder to get away from them.