Service Provider - what do you like?

[Leslielbk]

I have the HTC 8X, and AT&T has been my carrier for a really long (15 years?) time. Has anyone used T-Mobile? Virgin? Some new thing from AT&T called AIO? What about Sprint & Verizon? I don't want to stick with AT&T if there's something better and faster and less expensive. I'm shopping around, and it could be there's a better carrier and it would make sense to pay the cancellation fee to get out of my contract. I'm new at switching (obviously). I don't even know what to look for speed-wise. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you !!!

 

[dazorange]

That kind of thing is really hard to judge. As for myself, I've been with Verizon for years and have been pretty satisfied with the service. Rarely have I experienced service issues and the speeds are pretty good. I doubt that it would pay to break a contract since the cancellation fees are pretty high. You might want to simply wait until your contract runs out and then switch. But make sure that you are informed about the service where you will be using the phone. For me it has to have good coverage all over the states so I went with the provider that has the largest network. For you another provider might be cheaper and still offer comparable service in your city. In the end it all depends on your needs. Look at your usage and then shop for plans offered by all the providers. It's pretty simple to go on their websites and get info about the pricing.

 

[Eric J F]

We have T-Mobile and are generally satisfied with them. The two major criticisms are the coverage is sometimes limited (inside our house it's pretty bad), and T-Mobile doesn't support WiFi Calling on the 8X even though the phone is capable.

The main advantages to T-Mobile are the great customer service and the reasonable cost. We pay about half what our friends with AT&T pay for roughly the same service. Also, the data plans don't really have caps; when you reach your limit you just get a slower connection.

T-Mobile has also recently eliminated contracts and ridiculously high international rates.

The main consideration should be coverage, though, then all these other factors.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Moved to Carrier Discussion Lounge forum.

 

[fatclue_98]

Coverage, coverage, coverage. It don't matter one whit if the price is agreeable if the service sucks. By and large, AT&T and Verizon have the best networks, but also the highest prices. I had AIO and the service was great (it's a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T) but their speeds are throttled. Not a problem if the cost was considerably less than the Mother Ship, but it's not. Do your own research where you live or at least from WPC members who do, or have lived in your city.

 

[Leslielbk]

Ah - there's the rub. I live on a barrier island along the west coast of Florida. Most of us complain about the same things everyone else does - lousy service inside buildings, and dead zones in specific spots. There sure isn't a consensus among users that I've found. I appreciate the guides you all have offered though, and will continue the research until I find an answer. Thank you all!!

 

[Eric J F]

Another consideration: WiFi calling enabled phones (moot point re: T-Mobile) let you use them in places where the cell signal is bad but WiFi is available. In our house we use WiFi on our Lumia since the signal is often poor. All things being otherwise equal you may want to look into this.

 

[S_C_B]

I have AT&T GoPhone, and the device and coverage are really good. I'm seriously considering switching to AIO, because they give you 7 gigs of high speed data. I know they limit you to 8 Mbps, but I think I can deal with that.

 

[Leslielbk]

How do I find out if my HTC 8x is enabled for WiFi calling? This sounds like a good idea.

 

[HeyCori]

How do I find out if my HTC 8x is enabled for WiFi calling? This sounds like a good idea.

Last I heard, T-Mobile is not supporting WiFi calling on the 8X. There's a few workarounds but it sounds like you will have to do a factory reset. Here's more info

T-Mobile's wifi calling? - Microsoft Community

Alternatively, you could try signing up for Skype.

 

[Eric J F]

As was said above, T-Mobile will not enable WiFi Calling on the 8X. If you want the long sad story (my T-Mobile 8X accidentally got WiFi Calling for a while), go to the T-Mobile 8X forum via the My Account app or here and scroll down a ways for more detail:

https://t-mobile.jive-mobile.com/#jive-place-content?content=/api/core/v2/spaces/2235

A factory reset will not enable WiFi Calling if you've installed GDR2; as you'll see in the forums it disabled mine.

I only mentioned WiFi Calling in case you wanted to unlock or switch phones.

 

[fatclue_98]

I have AT&T GoPhone, and the device and coverage are really good. I'm seriously considering switching to AIO, because they give you 7 gigs of high speed data. I know they limit you to 8 Mbps, but I think I can deal with that.

8 Mbps for LTE. H+ is only 4 Mbps.

 

[metalchick719]

Ah - there's the rub. I live on a barrier island along the west coast of Florida. Most of us complain about the same things everyone else does - lousy service inside buildings, and dead zones in specific spots. There sure isn't a consensus among users that I've found. I appreciate the guides you all have offered though, and will continue the research until I find an answer. Thank you all!!

Hmm... I can't really speak for your particular area, but I have T-Mobile (I'm from NY). When I visited Florida in February, I got excellent service on my Lumia 810 (switched to a 920 in May) everywhere I went. I was staying with my boyfriend at his parents' place in Beverly Hills but was also in Fort Lauderdale, Crystal River, Jacksonville, Margate and passed through Tampa and Orlando and always had a steady 4G on my phone. I'm not sure if you're near any of these areas, but hope I was able to help somewhat. :wink: