My Switch From Verizon to T-Mobile
If you’re looking to lower your bill, T-Mobile might be your best move
T-Mobile and Verizon are both heavy hitters in the mobile arena. One is known for its robust network quality, and the other for being friendly to your wallet. But how do they stack up in reality?
Let’s dive in.
Disclaimer- neither T-Mobile or Verizon is affiliated with this post in any way. This is not an ad, and any purchases mentioned in this article were completed with my own funds. I was not compensated in any way for writing this piece.
The Verizon Experience
I was a Verizon customer for over 10 years. Anytime you can hitch a ride on a family plan, you do it. The family chose Verizon, so I was left with no other choice. It also was a pretty good service- I wasn’t complaining.
The plan changed names an unnecessary number of times as Verizon (not so sneakily) tried to raise prices, but it was most recently called the “Play More Unlimited” plan.
Back when smartphones came on the scene we started off with a limited data plan. It didn’t work out well. We wised up and moved to the unlimited plan.
While it would have been nice to stay on this plan forever, the time eventually came for me to spread my wings and fly on my own.
Disclaimer: Mobile network coverage varies DRASTICALLY in different markets. I can only speak to my market- the greater Chicago area. (Go Bears!)
The Good Stuff
1. Network quality
Verizon claims they have the best network and I believe it. I can’t compare directly to the quality of AT&T, US Cellular but Verizon’s network and coverage is pretty insane.
Back in the early days I’d have to move a certain part of the basement and use a metal antenna to get coverage, but that era ended pre-2010.
I had coverage nearly everywhere. In the last 10 years I’ve lived in Chicago, St. Louis, Little Rock, Des Moines and Seattle. Coverage was great in each one. Even when the Chicago streets flooded with 2 million Blackhawks fans for the Stanley Cup parade I still had coverage downtown.
Battery drain could happen quickly with weak coverage. In grad school this would happen in the library. Leslie Knope was right, the library stinks. All the thick walls in the library meant I had but 1 bar of LTE coverage. My battery would drain faster there than anywhere else because my phone was struggling to get a solid signal.
Roaming was non-existent on Verizon. Until recently, I thought roaming literally didn’t exist anymore. I had LTE coverage nearly everywhere I went except a drive through the Rockies and a hike at the base of Mount Rainier. After trudging up 1000ft up from the base, I was back to 5 bars and full LTE coverage. If you are looking to switch to Verizon, you can look forward to a reliable network.
2. Call quality
Personally, I think my call quality was more dependent on my phone than the network. It was great until I switched from my iPhone SE to a Google Pixel 3. The Pixel would take up to 15 seconds to join the call after I answered it. I never dropped any calls, though. 15 embarrassing seconds into each phone call is when the quality really started to shine.
The Bad Stuff
Verizon isn’t all fast speeds and reliable connections. It has its flaws just like the rest of us. One of which was throttling.
1. Throttling
Throttling was at its worst for me a couple of years ago. On our family plan Verizon seemed to lump all of our lines together as a group for throttling purposes. I don’t remember the exact number, but after about 20 GB of usage our data speeds would get downgraded to 3G.
My brother’s Wi-Fi would go out at home, so he would use exclusivelymobile data. Streaming HD quality video ate through 20 GB pretty quickly, which left us with pretty dumpy data speeds the rest of the month. Sometimes we’d hit our 20 GB two weeks into the month which lead to a brutal few weeks until the billing cycle finally reset.
This happened less frequently when the cutoff increased to 50 GB- but it would still happen.
2. Hotspot
Verizon claims they will give 15 GB of LTE hotspot data before downgrading speeds. I’m 90% sure this is BS. I use my phone as a hotspot daily while I work on my iPad from the train. Speeds were consistentlyfaster on my phone than my iPad even at the beginning of the billing cycle.
It was not uncommon to have no network connection on my iPad. I’d check the same page on my phone and surprise, it worked just fine. Some days I had to completely give up working on the train because I couldn’t get data to my iPad.
It was frustrating.
3. Customer service
I’m not a “let me speak to your supervisor” kind of person, so I found the customer service at Verizon to be totally adequate. When I went to the Verizon store, the associates were always helpful.
As with most modern companies, getting through to someone on the phone can take a long time. If you need to speak to someone quick, don’t call Verizon. You’re better off going to a store to get someone in person.
My last interaction with Verizon was my only bad customer service experience. That’s not why I left, I promise. But we’ll get to that later.
4. Cost
Here’s the big one. Verizon is expensive. My plan on Verizon costs almost twice as much as my current plan on T-Mobile.
My top reason for switching was cost, and I’m not alone. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners released a report that I can’t legally share in this post, but they wanted to find out why customers leave their carriers.
The top reason people leave Verizon is cost. Verizon does attract customers for their network quality but loses others because they cost too damn much.
My Verizon plan was advertised as $45 per line on the website. That seems reasonable right? Well, the fine print mentions that $45 only pays for the data fee. Each line also has a $20 access fe. Now we’re at $65 per line before taxes and other fees.
Tax on mobile plans is about 21% in the USA depending on your state. In Illinois, we pay a whopping 31% tax on our phone bills.
Here’s how my Verizon bill worked out per line:
- $45 “Play More Unlimited” plan
- $20 line access fee
- $1.95 Verizon administration surcharge
- $.021 regulatory charges
- $3.81 (8.48%) Federal universal service charge
- $5.85 (13.0%) State and local taxes
- $1.52 State and local fee
Total monthly bill per line: $72.49
$72.49 is a long way from the $45 per line advertised online. And that’s the price for a 4 line family plan.
If you want a plan by yourself the price jumps from $45 to $80! Add on the taxes and fees, and we’re over $100 per month.
Sure, the network quality at Verizon is great. But it just wasn’t great enough for me to stay at that cost.
My Current Plan
I’m now on the T-Mobile Magenta plan. I was lucky enough to steal my fiancé and her mom from their carriers and now we have a three-line plan. We pay $40 per line total. No extra fees, no extra BS. Just $40 per line as advertised.
This is not an ad. T-Mobile has not involved in this review- I am just a regular consumer posting his experience with a product.
The Process of Switching
T-Mobile Test Drive
I would highly recommend using the T-Mobile Test Drive to decide if T-Mobile works for you. If you haven’t heard of this, it’s pretty nifty.
To enroll in the test drive I went online, filled out some boxes with my name and email, and within a few days I had a nice little T-Mobile hotspot ready to give me some data.
I then connected my phone to the hotspot and used T-Mobile for a few days instead of Verizon.
Overall, I was impressed. I was expecting limited coverage, slow speeds, and maybe some extra T-mobile bad luck that followed me around. That’s not what happened. I had coverage in all the places I needed it. I had no service in the elevator or stairwell, but I was willing to make that tradeoff.
I learned online from a T-Mobile rep that you should expect the hotspot to provide lower speeds than the real network. They send you a pretty shoddy hotspot device since they don’t expect you to return it. The rep was right.
My speeds now are much snappier than they were during the test drive.
T-Mobile In Store Experience
The process switching to T-Mobile went better than expected but it wasn’t without a few hiccups. If you find a way to switch carriers without any issues, please send me a message. I want to know your secrets and maybe start a business with you.
We walked into the store and a nice young guy named Vladimir helped us right away. We both wanted black iPhone 12 mini. They had it in stock! We had our first win.
My guy Vlad brought out the phones and started the process of switching us to T-Mobile. Things were going smoothly until Verizon got involved…
Porting
When switching to a new carrier, you need to go through a process called porting.
Your old carrier needs to “approve” this port over to the new carrier. I knew it couldn’t go smoothly forever; Verizon started to make things difficult.
Vladimir needs me to get a port PIN from Verizon to start the transfer. I go onto Verizon’s website and request a port PIN.
I get a text with the PIN and it looks like we’re all good to go. Oh, how naive I was. Of course, it doesn’t work…that would be too easy.
Verizon wants me verify this process over the phone. I guess I’ll have no choice. I call customer service.
Thank you for calling Verizon customer service. All of our customer service agents are currently busy. The current wait time is -forty five- minutes. Please stay on the line or request a call back when you are next in line. Your time is very important to us”.
Now I have to stay on hold or just endlessly browse some phone I’m not buying in the T-Mobile store until Verizon gets back to me.
I have Vlad on my side. He calls Verizon and uses some secret insider code to get in contact with a Verizon rep. He’s good, but customer Verizon is a tough match; they still put him on hold for about ten minutes. Vladimir explains the situation, I verify some information, and we’re in business.
A few minutes later I have a working iPhone 12 mini on T-Mobile’s network! I still have to transfer all my data over from my Pixel. This became an impossible task, but that’s not T-Mobile’s fault.
Switch to iOS from Android
To switch from Android to iPhone you need an app called “Move to iOS. This app is worthless- at least it was for me.
I would plug in both phones and wait for the spinning wheel of death to start. Once connected, my “estimated time remaining” varied between 4 hours and got down to 15 minutes. It never dipped below 15 minutes, eventually culminating with an error message and a feeling of frustration.
I tried this multiple times and wasted a few hours before finally giving up and just setting my iPhone with no old data. I keep all my photos, emails, and contacts backed up through Google, so I didn’t lose anything important.
The T-Mobile Experience
My T-Mobile journey so far has been better than expected. My short review is that I would strongly recommend T-Mobile to anyone who’s looking for a switch.
The T-Mobile Network
LTE- Good
4G LTE has been fantastic on T-Mobile. I have coverage everywhere I need it and it might be faster than Verizon. Occasionally, I’ll get a drop in coverage in the elevator at work but that’s about it. I’m not plagued by congestion downtown, but it’s also a semi-ghost town due to Covid.
No service in the elevator in a high rise downtown
My download speeds on LTE are consistently between 20 and 60mbps and upload speeds are typically between 5 and 30mbps.
I’m using LTE more than 5G on my iPhone. It’s consistent, reliable, and fast enough for my needs. The iPhone 12 mini allows you to turn 5G on or off. I use it as needed which isn’t very often. LTE works just fine for my daily routine.
5G- not so good… yet
T-Mobile 5G has a LOT of potential but it doesn’t quite meet my needs right now. When I have it turned on with my iPhone it shows consistent coverage and at least 2–3 bars of 5G. The download experience doesn’t always match what the service icon tells me.
I frequently can’t load a webpage or video when connected to 5G. I’ll get the spinning wheel of death. If I try again a minute later, it loads lightning fast. I get this problem downtown Chicago more than in the suburbs. Maybe this is the feared congestion everyone talks about.
I’m doing some speed testing between LTE and 5G to really get a sense of what the speed is like and will be posting that when I’m done.
Call quality- just okay
Verizon wins the call quality competition so far. I don’t have major issues on T-Mobile, but they do happen. The most common issue is difficulty with connecting to the call. I’ll click “call” and have to wait up to 15 seconds for the first ring. Once it gets rolling, the call is fine. T-Mobile just needs a little warm up time- I’ll allow it at the cost I’m paying.
Occasionally, I drop a call. I’ve had it happen once so far. We’ll see how this shakes out eventually.
Hotspot- great!
The hotspot experience is another ray of sunshine in T-Mobile land. I use the hotspot feature daily and it’s been steady and reliable. It hasn’t failed me yet and my speed are great. I just ran a speed test to double-check and I hit over 200mbps for my download speed. Like I said. It’s been great. I get 20 GB per month on my plan and the speeds have been consistently good without throttling.
Customer Service- TBD
I don’t have much insight into the customer service yet. The few customer service reps I’ve dealt with in the store have been helpful. You’ll hear no complaints from me so far. Stay tuned and we’ll talk in a year.
Cost- great!
We have a BIG win for T-Mobile in the cost department. T-Mobile is much more wallet-friendly than Verizon. The Magenta plan on T-Mobile with three lines costs $40 per line each month-no hidden fees. I couldn’t be happier with the quality of the network I’ve received for the price. T-Mobile has made me a happy customer.
Extra Perks
1. T-Mobile Tuesdays
#Tuesdays as the T-Mobile veterans call them, have been a nice surprise. I had never heard of T-Mobile Tuesdays before signing up. T-Mobile essentially gives you deals every Tuesday. T-Mobile’s veterans will tell you #Tuesdays used to be a lot better but I’ve enjoyed it so far. Typically, you’re not getting straight up free stuff, but there are some nice deals.
My favorite so far has been BOGO TopGolf on Sundays. When you show up to TopGolf and enter the code from the #Tuesdays app, you get an extra hour of free play- it’s pretty sweet.
A non-comprehensive list of recent offers includes:
- 40% off hotels on booking.com
- Free medium sub with any purchase at Firehouse Subs
- Free Livestream access to Justin Bieber’s Live NYE concert (hell yes)
- 10 cents off per gallon at Shell
- Free Shake at Shake Shack
- Free 1 night disc rental at Red Box
- 40% off “Pay now” rental cars at rentalcars.com
Your life isn’t going to change with #Tuesdays, but it’s a nice little perk. I know what some of you are thinking: the companies only offer discount deals because it gets people to spend money they wouldn’t have spent without the deal. I get it. But I enjoy an extra hour at top golf every once in a while.
2. Free Netflix
T-Mobile is nice enough to toss in a Netflix subscription with the Magenta plan. In my plan we get a free Netflix subscription. I already had Netflix so this isn’t a life changer at all. I simply logged into my T-Mobile account, entered my Netflix login info, and now T-Mobile pays my Netflix bill each month (this only applies to the basic plan which I had anyway).
To be fair, my Verizon plan offered Disney +, Hulu, and ESPN + as part of the Play More Unlimited plan so it’s a wash in the streaming services department.
Future Issues
I am nervous to see what happens downtown Chicago post-Covid. Congestion is a big topic on T-Mobile reddit threads but I simply haven’t experienced it yet. Maybe I’ll change my tune in a year.
I also haven’t done much travel with T-Mobile yet. I frequently travel to central Illinois and coverage has been good out there so far. In fact, my download speed tests have actually been a lot faster in rural areas compared to the Chicago area.
I’ve heard great things about T-Mobile’s international service but I haven’t used it yet. My plan currently provides unlimited texting and standard speed data in 210 countries. Calls will cost $.25 per minute and usage is taxed in some countries.
Should you switch?
If you are tired of expensive and unpredictable bills, T-Mobile may be for you. I have no complaints with my service so far, and I am very happy with the price. I’d recommend that anyone who’s looking for a switch test out the T-Mobile Test Drive first to see if the network really works for you. T-Mobile is changing their reputation, don’t count them out.
