Switching from Verizon to Sprint - crazy?

[willow33]

DH and I have been with Verizon for a very long time. We can upgrade right now and we were thinking of getting iphones until we starting crunching the numbers and saw how much our monthly bill would be. We currently have basic phones (krzr and EnV2) and a month to month plan so we can switch carriers at no extra charge.

So we started looking at Sprint and the Evo. DH gets a 23% monthly discount for Sprint as opposed to only 15% for Verizon. I also like that Sprint includes texting in their plans. We would choose the smallest amount of minutes since we don't need the unlimited option. And I also like that you can call any mobile phone, not just on the sprint network and it's included. Most of my family has Verizon.

I realize that Sprint's network isn't as great as Verizon. I need to see if any of my local friends have Sprint and see what their experience is like.

But am I crazy for even thinking about it? Is Sprint awful? Anyone have it and like it or switch from Verizon?

Thanks :)

[Reyadawnbringer]

We have sprint and love it. We switched for the same reason and we have been nothing but thrilled with the service and ecstatic that we pay so much less than our friends for so much more service.

[KLD313]

I've had Sprint for years and love it but I can't compare it to Verizon. The customer service is great and I've never not had coverage when I needed it. I think they have a map online of their coverage areas and how strong the service is so you can check that out too.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I don't have experience with Verizon, but my Sprint service has worked almost everywhere for what seems like a thousand years - maybe 1997? I get that discount also from my former employer, so switching (even for an iPhone) away from Sprint just has not happened here.

[jenfromnj]

I think this one will definitely depend on where you live and the coverage in your area. I know that here (northern NJ, close to NYC) Verizon has by far the best coverage. I know quite a few people who have AT&T and Sprint, and their coverage was never as good as Verizon. So for us, switching away from Verizon wouldn't make sense, even though we think their customer service isn' the best.

[ha98ed14]

I've been with Sprint for 14 years, starting in 1997... It was the first and only carrier I have used. I have been unhappy at moments, but they are always willing to adjust my bill. Just this past month, I had been getting pinged by these $15 text messages. I had no idea where they were coming from. There were 5 of them spread over 2 bills. They deleted all the charges and put a block on my phone so I cannot be hit with them again. One thing I do know for sure is that Sprint has the highest bandwidth of any of the carriers. If you are not ready to commit to Sprint, you might try Virgin Mobile, which is prepaid and no contract, and since it runs on the exact same network. You could go buy a phone at Target and put some minutes on it and try it out in the different locations where you use your phone to figure out if the coverage is good enough to switch. Make sure the Sprint Network is going to give you as good of coverage before you give up your Verizon upgrade.

ETA: Some Virgin phone can cost less that $20 and cards are sold in $15 denominations, so it would not be an expensive cost.

[JBaxter]

Ive been very happy with my sprint coverage. I think I switched in 2000 ( may have been 1999) with one year in there with AT&T ( which sucked) I have the EVO and have been happy so far.

[kaharris83]

We have Sprint and DH has had them for over 10 years. He travels constantly for work and has never been without coverage. Their customer service has been great for us as well. Something to keep in mind, the Sprint plans that cover the EVO also include roaming so if you are in an area with no Sprint coverage your phone will roam to Verizon's network anyway.

[khm]

Ages ago, we had Sprint, then went with Nextel for their construction phones for my husband's new business. They later merged with Sprint and we went with Sprint when we no longer needed the walkie talkie feature of Nextel.

We've been very happy. The price is insanely way lower. We both have smart phones (non-blackberry). He has unlimited talk and unlimited data/text. I have 450 talk and unlimited data/text. We pay under $130 for BOTH of us.

We can use our phone for an internet connection with PDAnet to connect our laptops to the internet. I used this all the time when sitting real estate open houses! My husband uses it when he travels and the hotels do not have free wi-fi. It is shockingly fast, I had no issue browsing that way.

[JBaxter]

Sprint has free talk mobile to any mobile..

[hellokitty]

We have been sprint customers for almost 12 yrs. For the most part, we have been pretty happy. The signal has never been an issue for us. There are some carriers like AT&T in our area where you can barely even GET a signal. Anyway, last yr we thought about switching to verizon (at the time DH really wanted an iphone and there were rumors they would get it), and we were about to do it. DH even went to the verizon store to crunch #'s. Well, the sales associate was dishonest with him. He left out a HUGE monthly smartphone charge! So, when we were ready to switch, we realized it would be much more expensive. Anyway, we're still with sprint and going on almost 18 mo using smartphones and VERY pleased with their unlimited plan. For the price, no other carrier will come close.

[Jacksmommy2b]

We switched from at&t to Sprint a few months ago. We pay $140 total for two evos with everything.( talk, text and data) We were paying $120+ for talk and text with no data and non-smart phones with at&t. I can't recommend it enough, so much more for the money.

[willow33]

Sprint has free talk mobile to any mobile..

I just read that today! I had no idea Sprint offered that. It makes the decision much easier since my mom, sister, etc... all have verizon.


Something to keep in mind, the Sprint plans that cover the EVO also include roaming so if you are in an area with no Sprint coverage your phone will roam to Verizon's network anyway.

Really? I need to find that on the Sprint website to show DH because that is wonderful.

[Babymakes3]

I have had Nextel (now Sprint) for years, DH uses them for his business as well. We have had no problems and love Sprint!

[Jacksmommy2b]

Our Sprint guy told us that Verizon has a better voice network but Sprint has a better data network. So here at least Sprint uses Verizon network for voice and Verizon uses the Sprint 4g network.

[Tondi G]

depends on where you live. My sister HATED Sprint.

[teedeedee]

We've had Sprint for 10 years now. We have only had a few very minor problems, and they have always adjusted our bill. We are very happy with them.

DH and I got EVOs for Christmas and we love them. We have an ipod touch that is no longer getting used (and we are mac people!). Great phone IMO.