Verizon phone contract is about to be up...help?

[desertjosh]

Right now I have the S3, but my contract is almost up from Verizon. I was wondering if I should jump ship to another carrier. I want at least 10 gigs of data and good service in the desert. Is AT&T better than Verizon? What is the best phone out right now? I was looking at the s5 active, but is there a new version coning out soon? Thanks all!

[Malaprop14]

IMHO, still the better carrier service wise (as in connectivity, not customer service). Price wise many others seem to offer better deals, but I like to stick with the best coverage as opposed to a great deal for less than stellar coverage. I have a regular S5 and I really like it.

[tommyboy619]

Stick with Verizon. They still have the best coverage.

[noob_tube]

I have no experience with Verizon, but I do recommend avoiding AT&T. The service flat out sucks and the network speeds are slow. It has gotten so bad that I'm seriously contemplating switching carriers and losing the unlimited data plan I'm grandfathered into.

[stagar15dj]

I switched from Verizon 450 min voice and 250 text to T-Mobile about a year and half ago and save about thirty dollars a month with unlimited voice, text, and one Gig data. I don't use much of the data, mainly voice and text. Coverage has been good so far. Couldn't take my iphone 4s, something about not compatible with T-Mobile network, but they did give me $110 trade in on another phone. I could have signed a contract and gotten another iphone but didn't want an extra charge on my monthly bill. Got a cheap Nokia Windows phone and it serves the purpose.

[sk8804]

Verizon phone contract is about to be up...help?

I have verizon prepay and it's 45 a month unlimited talk and text and 500mb of data. I believe a gig of data is 10 bucks more for every gig added and each add on gig is good for 3 months. Great service reception. Same as contract side in my experience

[desertjosh]

Well its not just me, it is my wife too. We both want top of the line phones

[socalsam]

Call verizon first. They might give you a better deal to stay with them.

[hermosabeach]

T mobile is cheap and will give you $&$ and a micro cell to run your calls at home through the internet.

Coverage is weaker than AT&T and Verizon nation wide.

As your coworkers and neighbors to see what carrier they have and the reception levels.

[the86d]

T mobile is cheap and will give you $&$ and a micro cell to run your calls at home through the internet.

Coverage is weaker than AT&T and Verizon nation wide.

As your coworkers and neighbors to see what carrier they have and the reception levels.

Most T-mobile phones include WiFi calling (and WiFi texting) so you don't need a micro-cell device if you have decent WiFi. (SMS doesn't run well with large attachments w/WiFi calling enabled though.)

[e90bmw]

Well its not just me, it is my wife too. We both want top of the line phones

You didn't specify if you had a tiered plan or unlimited.
If you are already on a tiered plan go to Costco and buy phones from them.
If you are unlimited, do not give up unlimited for a tiered plan. You will pay more for less.

[dyson]

Call verizon first. They might give you a better deal to stay with them.

This. I called Verizon to see if they had a loyalty plan after my contract was up. Got unlimited calls and text plus 1 GB of data for $50 per month.

[sholling]

I had Verizon but their coverage sucks in my neighborhood. I checked with friends, coworkers, and neighbors to see what kind of reception they were getting from various carriers in my neighborhood, in my city, and at work and then switched. I'm getting much better coverage where I use my phone and still have unlimited 4G data. My advice is to check with your friends, neighbors, and coworkers and see what kind of coverage and call quality they are getting and (unless you travel a lot) base your decision on what works best in your stomping ground.

[the86d]

This. I called Verizon to see if they had a loyalty plan after my contract was up. Got unlimited calls and text plus 1 GB of data for $50 per month.

The drawback to most Verizon, Sprint, and Boost phones is that if your phone dies, you can't just buy one on eBay and put your old SIM in it when it arrives.

Another drawback to not having a SIM card is that Verizon, and Sprint will not activate a smartphone w/out a data plan (unless something changed in recent years) but on T-mobile if the SIM is compatible on both devices you can put a flip-phone SIM in a smartphone, and just use data via WiFi (or a WiFi tether from a data-plan'd phone) but you would have a keyboard for texting if it has one. So if you are planning on handing your smartphone to your kid when you upgrade, assume you will be hit with data-fees for that phone by default with VZW, or Sprint at a minimum...

[desertjosh]

Sorry, I am already on a tiered plan. We currently have 6 gigs which I go over every month.