T-Mobile, AT&T, or Sprint?

I am very happy with AT&T.  Can't give you advice on cost, because I made a deal a very long time ago.

AT&T - everyone is going to have a different price depending on the deal you get. But it is the best coverage on the island.

We use Sprint for cells and have companies hotspot for work. We had no issues connecting with them while in the island. Our cells work even in the mountains.

We are planning to keep our Sprint plans from mainland when we move permanently to PR.

We use Sprint and have not had any problems with service or hot spot.  Because our house is concrete, we get the best service outside on the patio though. Not a bad place to take care of business anyway.

My mainland T-Mobile service was just fine for the month I was in Puerto Rico on the east coast. Had no difficulties anywhere.  The mobile hot spot worked quite well, too.  I did see on another thread that someone said T-Mobile in PR is not the same as mainland T-Mobile.

So i am hearing that all 3 seem ok with AT&T maybe having an edge?

Verizon did worked for me when I was in the island but sucked in term of bars and data speed.

If you don't need a contract, I recommend Cricket instead of AT&T. I still live in Minnesota and I have Cricket and plan to keep them when moving. Cricket uses AT&T's towers so the service areas are identical. Only difference is no contract and much cheaper!

purplesugar wrote:

If you don't need a contract, I recommend Cricket instead of AT&T. I still live in Minnesota and I have Cricket and plan to keep them when moving. Cricket uses AT&T's towers so the service areas are identical. Only difference is no contract and much cheaper!

That sounds very interesting purplesugar, kill two birds with one stone!

purplesugar wrote:

If you don't need a contract, I recommend Cricket instead of AT&T. I still live in Minnesota and I have Cricket and plan to keep them when moving. Cricket uses AT&T's towers so the service areas are identical. Only difference is no contract and much cheaper!

Looks like Cricket is out for me, my iPhone is not allowed to use it's HotSpot feature so I would not be able to use the phone to provide Internet access to my laptop, that is a big bummer with me as free wireless hotspots are not as common outside of the metro area. I like their prices but I need the iPhone to be able to provide wifi to my other devices.

ReyP wrote:

purplesugar wrote:

If you don't need a contract, I recommend Cricket instead of AT&T. I still live in Minnesota and I have Cricket and plan to keep them when moving. Cricket uses AT&T's towers so the service areas are identical. Only difference is no contract and much cheaper!

Looks like Cricket is out for me, my iPhone is not allowed to use it's HotSpot feature so I would not be able to use the phone to provide Internet access to my laptop, that is a big bummer with me as free wireless hotspots are not as common outside of the metro area. I like their prices but I need the iPhone to be able to provide wifi to my other devices.

Oh, that is too bad! I've heard rumors that Cricket is going to allow hotspots again..we'll see if it happens. I plan to find a way around it if I have to, just as a backup in case internet goes down.

They do allow hot spot for $20.00 per phone on some model phones but none of the Apple phones are included, i chatted with them online and they said no iPhones at the moment. The iPhone has been out since 2007 so any day now, LOL. Looks like AT&T or Sprint are the main options.

Never get T-Mobile, it is THE WORST. Hardly ever got a signal. AT&T had the best rate for us and we never have to worry about signal problems again. Unlimited calls, text and 2 g data, $44/mth w/auto pay. Data after 1g does dl at a slower rate though. We don't need the data that much, we do most of our netting at home.

So AT&T it is, thanks

If you are still in the mainland, go to a sprint AND a AT&T store, and see if  they will pay for all your early termination fees, and there is a price war going on; some advertise cutting bills in half? I say, before you come here, because VZN is a major competition there, but not here, as they pulled out of PR years ago. VZN & Sprint use the same technology; CDMA, so (typically) a VZN phone (if unlocked by the carrier) would ONLY work on a Sprint network, if it would work at all... an expensive mistake, if not! T-Mobile & AT&T use GSM technology, so your options would be limited, as well as risky. I hope this isn't too late to help! If either AT&T, or Sprint will set you up with a matching plan, pay for your phone & plan early termination, give you a new iphone, AND cut tour bill in half, you're golden! Both companies have coverage maps; you can see who better fits your needs! Best of luck, and let us know how it goes.

Mac-

So far it seems like AT&T has the best coverage but Sprint also have good coverage of where I plan to move to. I will check on both,

Is AT&T PR and AT&T mainland the same company or are the rules and packages different?
I want to have no contract.

ReyP wrote:

So far it seems like AT&T has the best coverage but Sprint also have good coverage of where I plan to move to. I will check on both,

Is AT&T PR and AT&T mainland the same company or are the rules and packages different?
I want to have no contract.

Rules are different I will recommend opening the account in the mainland. You can always pay your bill on line, even the phones will cost you more in PR.

adlin20 wrote:

ReyP wrote:

So far it seems like AT&T has the best coverage but Sprint also have good coverage of where I plan to move to. I will check on both,

Is AT&T PR and AT&T mainland the same company or are the rules and packages different?
I want to have no contract.

Rules are different I will recommend opening the account in the mainland. You can always pay your bill on line, even the phones will cost you more in PR.

Assuming I switch to AT&T in the mainland, do I then change my number in the Island and how much they charge?

If it is like Sprint, you can ask for a number with the PR area code. We did that with my sister in law cell. We got it in Texas and ask the guy at the store to assign a PR area code numder. No charge

I cannot say for AT&T, but Sprint does not charge for switching numbers. You can keep your mainland number, or change to a PR number, it is your choice. AT&T and Sprint are the same companies, on mainland and in PR. For me, there is no difference to call someone in my town, (Rincón), or calling Hawaii.

So adlin and Mac, based on your suggestions I plan to switch carries from Verizon which has lousy service in the island, while I am still in the mainland, then shortly before I leave I will change one of the phones to PR number. Once in the island I will switch the other. Reason: Movers, realtors and others will still need a mainland number for a while until all mainland related business / mail, transport, etc is done.

Thanks for the advice.

AT&T has been very good here.

hct408 wrote:

AT&T has been very good here.

Yes, it is also good in the mainland. I will likely switch to it when it is time as it also seems to have the best coverage.

AT&T is great!!! I have used straight talk for the past 4 years here and have no problems ever.best of luck!

Fajardochica wrote:

AT&T is great!!! I have used straight talk for the past 4 years here and have no problems ever.best of luck!

Are you on a contract?

It must depend on location. We use t-mobile (including using the phone as a hotspot) and have very good  reception in the San Juan area and in Isabela and Rincon and Mayaguez. If we go inland we notice that service is spotty. We use their prepaid service that works in Mexico, US and Canada and it seems to work fine here, including phone calls with friends in Mexico.

There is never a charge for switching your number to a new carrier - number portability is free.
Verizon roams on Open Mobile's network here and while they are in the process of doing a lot of upgrades, AT&Ts coverage is better. My husband works in the industry.

Yes sounds like most votes are for AT&T followed by Sprint.
Does ATT charge for Turning phone to a hot spot?
Do they have the Hotspot if off contract?

Just want to throw in that T-Mobile works fantastic for me. Their prices and customer service is really good. You can try their prepaid service first to see if their coverage satisfies you.

That's what I did. Prepaid for about 5 months, but decided  that the post-paid plans met our budget better. The transition from prepaid to postpaid went smoothly too.

I get great coverage over most of the island. I haven't strayed into the center of the island much, but the coast has good 3G/HSPA+ coverage for me. I  can't comment  on LTE  as my current phone (Moto G 1st Gen) doesn't have an LTE radio, but I've heard from others that LTE is fairly widespread in the larger metros (San Juan, Mayaguez, Rincon, etc).

Hi, everyone.  I know this post is a little outdated but we are in the process of upgrading our old Tracfone that uses GSM technology to a smartphone that seems to use CDMA technology which I think uses Verizon network.  This worries me because you are all saying Verizon is no longer on the island so does that mean the new phone won't work in PR?  We are old school and have never used a smart phone before, haha.

Anyone with information or ideas?

Schuttzie wrote:

Hi, everyone.  I know this post is a little outdated but we are in the process of upgrading our old Tracfone that uses GSM technology to a smartphone that seems to use CDMA technology which I think uses Verizon network.  This worries me because you are all saying Verizon is no longer on the island so does that mean the new phone won't work in PR?  We are old school and have never used a smart phone before, haha.

Anyone with information or ideas?

Stick with GSM, (AT&T, and T-Mobile use GSM), Not sure if Sprint uses it. GSM is more world wide than CDMA. The most recommended carriers in PR to my knowledge use GSM.

If you are considering a smart phone based on CDMA, I recommend you look at a different phone that is not CDMA based.

I use an iPhone because I am an Apple nut!. I use all Apple products and have a large number of shares in their stock, so I am very bias. There is no Microsoft or Android in my house. But my son (Who lives outside my home) loves his Android devices. So I guess those are fine also.

Consider a phone that is not older than 2 years since they entered the market. They need to be updated every few months for security reasons and to take advantage of new features and services. My phone is updated often since it is an Apple device, Android devices and Windows devices depending on manufacturer, get updated somewhat often and some not at all. This is because Google that makes the Operating system updates the code reasonably often, but the manufacturer has modified the code for their own features  and branding so the update from Google will not necessarily load on your phone, it needs to come from the manufacturer since they changed the original from Google this may happen several months later or not at all depending on manufacturer and age of the phone.

Here is some secondhand information about Verizon and Puerto Rico.  (I have AT&T).  Check this link, which is a forum for Verizon Customers.
https://community.verizonwireless.com/thread/840831

My wife had no major issues with her Verizon iPhone in PR, I had nothing but trouble. In the Mainland neither one has any issues. There can be minor differences with phones that can make a huge difference on your experience and coverage.
We are switching to AT&T.

last year we traveled all over the island and we had no problem with AT&T cell service

FWIW we have been using Sprint for more than 10 years. Works just fine all over the island.

Thank you, all!  I'll check the link, Frogrock but I may just make sure I have a phone with GSM technology.  Thanks, Rey, for the helpful tips!

The information in that verizon link is wrong.  You can roam here for no additional charge no matter what phone you have.  It will use from your same USA bucket of minutes or data, no difference at all.

I have also used Sprint here (in March, 2016 I will have been here 10 years). No complaints here. I've lived in Arroyo, Guayama, and now Rincon.

So sprint and data works fine everywhere?

Yup, for me it does.