Bear with me, this will take some explaining.
I'm currently on a Verizon family plan. 4 phones (GS4s for my wife and I, dumbphones for our 13-year-old twins), 4GB a month, which we don't use much of currently. Paying $220 a month or so. The GS4 contracts don't expire until summer 2015, but one dumbphone is off-contract now, and the other will be in July. My original plan was to switch the upgrades to my wife's and my lines this summer, pass the GS4s on to the kids, and get whatever the new hotness is for us at that time.
However, I'm seriously considering just leaving Verizon for a GSM carrier instead. Main reason is that I want GSM phones, specifically for me, a Nexus 5. I like to play with ROMs and rooting, and I greatly prefer stock Android. My GS4 is a nice, fast phone, but I hate Touchwiz, and the bootloader is locked up tight. I'm also not a fan of the physical Home button. If I had it to do over again, I probably would have gone with a Droid Maxx or possibly Moto X, though I like the bigger screen. But a Nexus or GPE phone would really be ideal, and those don't exist on Verizon.
I have some concerns, though. Basically, I'd be choosing between T-mobile and AT&T. My main concern is network coverage, specifically in rural areas. I don't spend a ton of time in those places, but I do go mountain biking back in the woods, and it's awfully nice to have a signal. When you need it, you need it, you know? Having LTE everywhere isn't as important to me as having some kind of signal everywhere. I'm assuming AT&T is going to be better than T-mobile in this department?
What about getting out of my Verizon contracts? I'm already going to have to buy 4 phones, I'd like to reduce the impact of this whole thing as much as possible. If I do it, I'll be putting the kids in smartphones, probably something cheap like Moto Gs or the like. I know T-Mobile has offered to buy out existing contracts if you trade your phones in to them. Not sure if that would be worth it, I could always sell the GS4s and possibly make enough to pay the Verizon ETFs, maybe? AT&T is advertising a 4-person family plan with 10 gigs for $160 a month, is that legit?
tl;dr
- Am I crazy for leaving Verizon just to get GSM phones?
- Is Verizon worse than others when it comes to locked bootloaders?
- How do the AT&T and T-Mo networks really compare to Verizon's?
- What's the best, cheapest way to get out of my existing contract with Verizon?
Thanks!
I'm currently on a Verizon family plan. 4 phones (GS4s for my wife and I, dumbphones for our 13-year-old twins), 4GB a month, which we don't use much of currently. Paying $220 a month or so. The GS4 contracts don't expire until summer 2015, but one dumbphone is off-contract now, and the other will be in July. My original plan was to switch the upgrades to my wife's and my lines this summer, pass the GS4s on to the kids, and get whatever the new hotness is for us at that time.
However, I'm seriously considering just leaving Verizon for a GSM carrier instead. Main reason is that I want GSM phones, specifically for me, a Nexus 5. I like to play with ROMs and rooting, and I greatly prefer stock Android. My GS4 is a nice, fast phone, but I hate Touchwiz, and the bootloader is locked up tight. I'm also not a fan of the physical Home button. If I had it to do over again, I probably would have gone with a Droid Maxx or possibly Moto X, though I like the bigger screen. But a Nexus or GPE phone would really be ideal, and those don't exist on Verizon.
I have some concerns, though. Basically, I'd be choosing between T-mobile and AT&T. My main concern is network coverage, specifically in rural areas. I don't spend a ton of time in those places, but I do go mountain biking back in the woods, and it's awfully nice to have a signal. When you need it, you need it, you know? Having LTE everywhere isn't as important to me as having some kind of signal everywhere. I'm assuming AT&T is going to be better than T-mobile in this department?
What about getting out of my Verizon contracts? I'm already going to have to buy 4 phones, I'd like to reduce the impact of this whole thing as much as possible. If I do it, I'll be putting the kids in smartphones, probably something cheap like Moto Gs or the like. I know T-Mobile has offered to buy out existing contracts if you trade your phones in to them. Not sure if that would be worth it, I could always sell the GS4s and possibly make enough to pay the Verizon ETFs, maybe? AT&T is advertising a 4-person family plan with 10 gigs for $160 a month, is that legit?
tl;dr
- Am I crazy for leaving Verizon just to get GSM phones?
- Is Verizon worse than others when it comes to locked bootloaders?
- How do the AT&T and T-Mo networks really compare to Verizon's?
- What's the best, cheapest way to get out of my existing contract with Verizon?
Thanks!
