Cell phone providers

[tstowater]

Sounds like you all need to shut off your phone for a couple weeks and learn to deal with its use in an appropriate way. I'm sorry but it appears that too much time is spent on the phone by this group and a lot of others. I have the luxury (if you want to call it that) of having a computer handy most of the time and don't depend on my smart phone for data. I would rather not have a cell phone, but it is a necessary evil. What did you do before cell phones? I'm guessing that there is a segment here who still remembers the "pre-cellphone" days or the "pre-smartphone" days? The last question is whether our expectations are reasonable???? Sorry.

 

[Aron Snyder]

I've been in the wilderness since Thursday and had 3G and cell in several spots.

We just moved from 4 miles, to 6 miles in....and I'm still rocking 3G.

In Colorado, Verizon is the only way to go.

Couple photos from the trip so far.....

 

[Slim Jim]

Awesome pics Aron. The pic of the moose is bad a$$

 

[Shrek]

Great pictures Aron . You really do have an awesome job that gets you out in the field.

Tstowater , I do remember the time before cell phones and I much prefer having them. I remember having to go back to town because you forgot something instead of calling a friend who was coming your way anyway. Calling for help instead of heading back to a land line. I don't miss pre cell phone days at all. In fact I had a car phone in early '89 and went to the brick when it came out and cut my land line in '96 , and this spring went to cell for all my Internet on a tablet. I don't miss the bad old days at all. My problem is that there isn't strong competition for Verizon so they are gouging me on price.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Sounds like you all need to shut off your phone for a couple weeks and learn to deal with its use in an appropriate way. I'm sorry but it appears that too much time is spent on the phone by this group and a lot of others. I have the luxury (if you want to call it that) of having a computer handy most of the time and don't depend on my smart phone for data. I would rather not have a cell phone, but it is a necessary evil. What did you do before cell phones? I'm guessing that there is a segment here who still remembers the "pre-cellphone" days or the "pre-smartphone" days? The last question is whether our expectations are reasonable???? Sorry.

I'm sorry that you see our desire to have quality cell phone coverage and support as inappropriate. I grew up where every friend of mine gave me their house number to get a hold of them. Even had to call the land lines of my first few girlfriends and talk to their parents before them. I am glad to get into the wilderness away from my phone every chance I get but I sure don't have a desire to be without a phone any time soon (typing this on my phone btw).

Thanks for the input guys I'm thinkin about it. I really do hate paying as much as I do for Verizon but looks like they might be the way to go.... :-/

Mike

 

[SHTF]

I've been in the wilderness since Thursday and had 3G and cell in several spots.

We just moved from 4 miles, to 6 miles in....and I'm still rocking 3G.

In Colorado, Verizon is the only way to go.

Couple photos from the trip so far.....

I can attest to this I called him last night about seeing if he was going to Full draw and he was in the backwoods then. I definitely will be looking at Verizon.I know they are more expensive but Im willing to give it a try if it means we get good coverage. I feel like Im dumping all this money on Sprint and getting crappy service. Its like anything in Life people will pay for good quality. If it sucks then its hard to justify dropping 240 a month on cell service when we get maybe 75% service level of what we should be getting.

 

[dotman]

Dot,

WE have had the worst luck with Sprint. We have been a customer or over 10 years and have paid on average 180 to 260 a month for 4 smart phones. You cannot believe the amount of dropped calls we have had. Its rediculous the service level we get out here in Denver. I really dont have much good things to say about Sprint cause our experience after being a customer for 10+ years is now an epic failure. I work for Comcast so I know how the experiences can be for different customers but you would think after being a loyal customer for this long they would be a bit more friendly to us. Ive had billing issues where I pay my bill on the agreed upon time frame but they dont get it on the books till the next day then they acuse me of not upholding my part of the deal. Its just been a nightmare. My wife is extremely done with them. and the drop calls are an epic failure. I live in Littleton a Western Suburb of Denver and we cant even get good cell coverage at our home. They gave us a Airwave for free but even that has caused problems of not being able to call out or texts not working right. Once we remove the airwave things work again. Its been a non stop battle with them. Our contract is up in Oct of 2014 we plan to switch after 11 years of Sprint. Not laying this on your shoulders at all but if you are in a position to do something about the madness we have been through let me know. If you own Comcast Service maybe we can trade favors on helping each other out with getting the customer service we should be expecting.

James

Send me a pm with your email, I'll send you an email Monday. What you just posted should not happen but with a large company it takes time to get good people in every region. I want the full experience you have had and will pass it on to the right people.

 

[rodney482]

They all suck..

 

[Sunspot]

They all suck..

In terms of coverage, there is some truth to that statement. Whenever I am asked if XYZ-wireless is best, I usually tell them that they have to consider their core areas and who provides the coverage needed. Unfortunately, that can change when you drive down the road four hours. That is why for temporary solutions, prepaid plans work well.

 

[dotman]

I'll be the first to tell you the Sprint network (my employer) isn't the best but I will also say we are the only company working on it and we will be first shortly.

The recent investments made and the fact we will have the most current network technology in full force within a year, plus our spectrum holds out pace both at&t arnd Verizon. They have mostly lower frequency spectrum which allows their signal to travel further with less towers, currently. But that will change. What most don't know is rthat AT&T 4g and Verizon 4g are both limited to the USA and to move to the new LTE advanced network they will have to do a major overhaul. Our new network only needs software upgrades going forward and our 800 frequency spectrum that will be in play within the next year will smoke everyone else as far as penetration.

So yes we are not the best today and are working thru issues but we are 100x better today then just a few years ago and we will shortly be a 1000x better.

The best thing about us is there are zero hidden costs unlike the others, no just because you download a certain app that is always connected to the web and uses up your data plan.

So for now we may not be the best in your area but keep an eye out cause our new owner doesn't play for second place.

The biggest complaint I have heard about our network recently is in download speed, it will improve. The biggest reason people have moved from at&t and Verizon, price diff.

Also without mobile internet I would never be on the web and forums like Rokslide would have less activity, I have to sit infront of a computer enough at work, I'm not going to come home and do it even more. Just look at Arons post above, he is out in nature not behind a computer screen in the ac.

So here I post from out in the woods in Kansas on a beautiful day that started out in the 60's . The smatphone has created a ability to conduct business from anywhere, when I want to be away I just turn it off.

 

[Sunspot]

I'll be the first to tell you the Sprint network (my employer) isn't the best but I will also say we are the only company working on it and we will be first shortly.

The recent investments made and the fact we will have the most current network technology in full force within a year, plus our spectrum holds out pace both at&t arnd Verizon. They have mostly lower frequency spectrum which allows their signal to travel further with less towers, currently. But that will change. What most don't know is rthat AT&T 4g and Verizon 4g are both limited to the USA and to move to the new LTE advanced network they will have to do a major overhaul. Our new network only needs software upgrades going forward and our 800 frequency spectrum that will be in play within the next year will smoke everyone else as far as penetration.

So yes we are not the best today and are working thru issues but we are 100x better today then just a few years ago and we will shortly be a 1000x better.

The best thing about us is there are zero hidden costs unlike the others, no just because you download a certain app that is always connected to the web and uses up your data plan.

So for now we may not be the best in your area but keep an eye out cause our new owner doesn't play for second place.

The biggest complaint I have heard about our network recently is in download speed, it will improve. The biggest reason people have moved from at&t and Verizon, price diff.

Also without mobile internet I would never be on the web and forums like Rokslide would have less activity, I have to sit infront of a computer enough at work, I'm not going to come home and do it even more. Just look at Arons post above, he is out in nature not behind a computer screen in the ac.

So here I post from out in the woods in Kansas on a beautiful day that started out in the 60's . The smatphone has created a ability to conduct business from anywhere, when I want to be away I just turn it off.

People do not realize that those with future spectrum win and Sprint, due to shrewd business moves, is now the king of spectrum. The game is coming back to them. They still might not have coverage like V or ATT but you won't get squeezed as hard for data. Pick the carrier and plan that fits best for your needs (Ford, Chevy, Dodge).

 

[Shrek]

Does anyone know if I can root my Samsung tab 10.2 and use it with sprint ? If I could use the same tablet I would probably switch within a few weeks to sprint for three out of 4 lines.

 

[dotman]

Does anyone know if I can root my Samsung tab 10.2 and use it with sprint ? If I could use the same tablet I would probably switch within a few weeks to sprint for three out of 4 lines.

Notsure but we do offer that tablet in our product line. I actually have the same tablet but I just use the WiFi and tap into my hot spot (i can take this anywhere and add up to 8 devices). Send me a pm with your email and we'll get it figured out good or bad.

 

[Liv2HntBigBullz]

Aron are you running Sprint?

I couldn't tell if it was Sprint or VZN that you were talking about.

 

[dotman]

Aron are you running Sprint?

I couldn't tell if it was Sprint or VZN that you were talking about.

He is on Verizon, I tried to get him away from the darkside but he heard too many bad stories about us

 

[tstowater]

I'm sorry that you see our desire to have quality cell phone coverage and support as inappropriate. I grew up where every friend of mine gave me their house number to get a hold of them. Even had to call the land lines of my first few girlfriends and talk to their parents before them. I am glad to get into the wilderness away from my phone every chance I get but I sure don't have a desire to be without a phone any time soon (typing this on my phone btw).

Thanks for the input guys I'm thinkin about it. I really do hate paying as much as I do for Verizon but looks like they might be the way to go.... :-/

Mike

Mike: I'm not taking shots at people, but the general concept that we want to be available all the time. I would rather not be when I am not in the office and on recreational time (aka hunting). That being said, I generally will shut off my cell phone or hope there is no coverage if I'm hunting. I may be a minority, but I don't want to be bothered by the phone or feel the need that I need to check for phone messages, texts, emails or Rokslide. I don't get my office email on my cell phone for a reason. I know that there are people here who live on their cell phone as their occupations demand that, but that has also made living more unbearable in many ways, IMO. I envy the pre-fax machine days. Maybe it is unique to my occupation, but technology has its pluses and minuses.

BTW, I have Verizon and I have been as pissed at them as all of you and frankly wanted to leave them after I got my phone bill after getting back from Alaska last year and the "surprise" in the bill that I specifically questioned the local Verizon office about ahead of the trip. I don't like surprises and really don't like it when customer service questions my integrity and tells my that "they can't do anything for me". We did get things straightened out, but it was a PITA. So, I feel your pain. I just dont' like the fact that we are too dependent on the stuff (technology). Just my opinion.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Mike: I'm not taking shots at people, but the general concept that we want to be available all the time. I would rather not be when I am not in the office and on recreational time (aka hunting). That being said, I generally will shut off my cell phone or hope there is no coverage if I'm hunting. I may be a minority, but I don't want to be bothered by the phone or feel the need that I need to check for phone messages, texts, emails or Rokslide. I don't get my office email on my cell phone for a reason. I know that there are people here who live on their cell phone as their occupations demand that, but that has also made living more unbearable in many ways, IMO. I envy the pre-fax machine days. Maybe it is unique to my occupation, but technology has its pluses and minuses.

BTW, I have Verizon and I have been as pissed at them as all of you and frankly wanted to leave them after I got my phone bill after getting back from Alaska last year and the "surprise" in the bill that I specifically questioned the local Verizon office about ahead of the trip. I don't like surprises and really don't like it when customer service questions my integrity and tells my that "they can't do anything for me". We did get things straightened out, but it was a PITA. So, I feel your pain. I just dont' like the fact that we are too dependent on the stuff (technology). Just my opinion.

I understand what you're saying just don't agree with it. I've been called and called people for help packing out animals, use my phone for my ballistic program, business emails and customer communication...etc my phone has actually allowed me to get more time away from the office.
Not trying to change your mind just want to say if you feel that way great, just don't expect others to feel the same way.

Mike

 

[ST52v]

Any updates with sprint and their coverage? My wife's contract with verison is not up until june. Her I phone is just about completely dead. To top it off she has an old unlimited data plan that they say we cant use any more. To keep it we would have to pay full price for a phone and not enter under a new contract. No contract would be a good thing but full price for a phone sucks. We have been with them for 15 years and for them to tell me we don't allow u to use that plan any more ticks me off. I would like to tell them to stick it.

 

[marc]

I have both verizon and Sprint and I cannot make a call on my gov sprint phone from my house that is 30 miles from downtown Seattle!!!!!

I just priced out my plan vs t mobile and it is about the same for the same service except verizon has a bigger network. I will be sticking with verizon as long as they continue to allow me to grandfather my unlimited data like they are now.

 

[Ironman8]

I have had Sprint for the last two years and can't even begin to describe the numbers of dropped calls, texts not sending/receiving, slow data, ect. CS is generally ok, but their solution (for the last two years) has been to tell me that they have a tower down or that their service will be better "soon". They usually will apply a $25 credit to my account when I take it up the ladder, but it's literally an hour minimum on the phone to get there. What's ironic is that my phone magically works when I call their CS (have them as a contact in my phone...if that tells you anything). What's also pretty funny is that I got a text from Sprint a couple weeks ago telling me how awesome their service will be now. That week I dropped no less than 15 calls. If I wasn't paying $155/mo. for me and my wife, I may not complain as much, but for that price, I better have damn good service...especially since I live in/near one of the largest cities in the US! I really don't mean this as a "bash Sprint" post, but I've been hearing the "we're getting better" line for quite a while.

Hopefully Dotman can chime in with some insight. My contract is up in a few months...