So who is the best cell phone carrier ?

[pcslookout]

Some of the choses are a little confusing.

Who is the best? Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile or Sprint ?

 

[tsupersonic]

Whatever carrier works best in your area.

 

[pcslookout]

Whatever carrier works best in your area.

How do I find that out ?

 

[RossMAN]

How do I find that out ?

What's your city/state or zip code? PM me if you don't want to post publicly.

If you don't use a lot of data and have a capable phone it's hard to beat:
https://fi.google.com/about/

You could also use Google searches like "city, state best cell phone coverage" and sometimes it varies within the city. For example downtown Manhattan New York maybe be different than Long Island, New York.

https://www.androidcentral.com/what-are-coverage-maps-us-carriers

https://www.whistleout.com/CellPhones/Guides/Coverage

https://www.cnet.com/news/comparing-wireless-carrier-plans-us/

 

[Red Storm]

Yeah you'll have to check what coverage is like in your area.

All things being equal, I'd go with T-Mobile. Good service, good speeds, higher unlimited "threshold" before they start potentially throttling.

 

[Raduque]

How do I find that out ?

All the carriers have a trial period of 14 days (some states 30) - if you think you can cover your entire usage area (you know, home/work/play) in that time.

 

[happy medium]

I'd go with Metro PCS in my area. East coast, major city.
T-mobile coverage for much less.
I have Verizon now and for about 45% less money Metro PCS was just as good if not better.

 

[nOOky]

We use Verizon because it still offers the best coverage in rural areas overall, and at our home. People with ATT can't even use their phones in our house. Verizon is expensive and they suck as far as offering discounts or deals to existing customers though if money is a concern.

 

[shortylickens]

Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T have all screwed me in the past.

Tmobile has never screwed me and they also have a plan I really like.

 

[Raduque]

Verizon is expensive and they suck as far as offering discounts or deals to existing customers though if money is a concern.

All the carriers are crap at giving existing customers deals... except maybe Sprint because they're bleeding customers like a head wound.

 

[MrSquished]

Coverage varies by area.

Customer Service T-Mobile seems to get the nod.

Prices T-Mobile and Sprint are the cheapest of the big 4.

 

[bradly1101]

T-Mobile's budget brand, MetroPCS, has been great for me for many years. The $30 Period Unlimited Plan (2GB LTE/mo. else 4/3G) is way beyond my needs. Most of the video I watch on my phone is the occasional news report.

T-Mobile's network has never glitched on me.

 

[Anubis]

if you live in or around a major metro area all of them are in general fine

if you live anywhere else its ATT or VZW, in general VZW has the best coverage

 

[Yuriman]

I wish I could find it, but recently I read an article whose premise was that Verizon and T-Mobile are the only carriers that "matter" anymore, except for maybe some very specific locations. AT&T's coverage and speeds haven't kept up with those two, and Sprint is a very, very distant 4th.

 

[Red Storm]

I wish I could find it, but recently I read an article whose premise was that Verizon and T-Mobile are the only carriers that "matter" anymore, except for maybe some very specific locations. AT&T's coverage and speeds haven't kept up with those two, and Sprint is a very, very distant 4th.

I would agree with that statement.

 

[Oyeve]

I believe the latest consensus is that tmo's 4glte is as fast or faster than vzw but vzw has better overall coverage across the US. But, in NYC, tmo, imo, spanks vzw. I use both tmo and vzw and in my testing tmo is at least always 50% faster/stronger than vzw. I also prefer tmo flashed phones as they usually have more bands that I can play with. Not so with vzw, at least since I last tried to get 4glte from tmo on my vzw branded LG-V20. Never worked on LTE, always H+.

 

[Raduque]

I had Verizon in Texas and it was great. Great through NM, AZ, CO and UT including the mountain passes. But once I got into Salt Lake and started using the service at home and work, it sucked. I got almost no signal in my house, so I had to switch to somebody else. Trialed T-Mobile and it was amazing signal and data speeds so I switched.

 

[Puffnstuff]

If the OP wants a deal he should go with freedompop, buy the gsm lte sim package at $49.99 for one whole year of unlimited calls/texts and 1gb of data per month on the AT&T network then pair it with the unlocked gsm phone of his choice.

 

[happy medium]

If the OP wants a deal he should go with freedompop, buy the gen lte sim package at $49.99 for one whole year of unlimited calls/texts and 1gb of data per month on the AT&T network then pair it with the unlocked gsm phone of his choice.

Metro pcs will give you unlimited calls,texts,and 4g LTE data for $50 a month and a free phone for switching from another network.

https://www.metropcs.com/shop/plans?cid=ps|GOOGLE|Brand_B_High-Volume_(B)|Metro PCS| metropcs

 

[Red Storm]

Metro pcs will give you unlimited calls,texts,and 4g LTE data for $50 a month and a free phone for switching from another network.

https://www.metropcs.com/shop/plans?cid=ps|GOOGLE|Brand_B_High-Volume_(B)|Metro PCS| metropcs

We really should be including the finer details with these. No tethering, video streams at 480P, potential throttling after 35GB.

 

[bradly1101]

We really should be including the finer details with these. No tethering, video streams at 480P, potential throttling after 35GB.

I'm on their $30/mo. plan, and I believe you are talking about the Data Maximizer service regarding video. It can be turned off for free.

 

[MrSquished]

I didn't realize that T-Mo really kicked up its network that much especially in the NYC Metro market. I have a Pixel 2 XL phone, I've been thinking of switching to Project Fi - which primarily runs on TMO and Sprint, so that should work out. GOod info.

 

[sonitravel09]

TIM and Vodafone are the big phone carriers, especially TIM but it depends on location

 

[happy medium]

We really should be including the finer details with these. No tethering, video streams at 480P, potential throttling after 35GB.

For $10 more you get 1080p videos, and 15gb of tethering,and no throttling, not that you will use 35gb a month anyway.
Pay bill paperless and its $55 a month.
Best deal in wireless on the T- mobile network.

 

[RossMAN]

For $10 more you get 1080p videos, and 15gb of tethering,and no throttling, not that you will use 35gb a month anyway.
Pay bill paperless and its $55 a month.
Best deal in wireless on the T- mobile network.

Good suggestion and if AT&T has better coverage in your area Cricket is another option:
https://www.cricketwireless.com/sup...ricket-plans-and-features/customer/plans.html