Switching to Ting?

[frugalredhead]

So my contract with Verizon is up and my husband's is up September 1st. We have looked into switching to Ting and would save about $65 a month. However, I have been reading reviews on Ting and a lot of people have trouble with call quality, there is limited 4G network and they say that the 3G is VERY slow. We would be able to use the wireless network at home, and I can at work, but my husband doesn't have access to Wifi at his work. We also do a lot of camping and the phone service looks really crappy on the map for the places we go, and would really need to have good cell service in case of an emergency.

Being that our cell phones are our only phone line, and we use them ALL the time for internet, I'm not sure if it's really worth switching.

Also, both of our phones are starting to have issues so we would need to get new phones, which cost more money through Ting. To get a Samsung S4 (which is what we have now) through Ting would be $500 each. To get the brand new Samsung S5 through Verizon would be $100 with a 2 year contract. it would take just over 5 months to break even, and I am afraid that I'll find that the service isn't great and want to go back to Verizon, but then won't have the phone that we really want to have.

So to make a long story short, do you have Ting, and how is the service where you are?

[phantom]

I switched from Verizon to Ting about 3 months ago. So far, the service has been good. I live in Western PA, where it's a bit hilly and phone signals can be a bit spotty, but I haven't had any more problems with Ting than I had with Verizon.

I can't say much about the internet service. Part of the reason I switched to Ting was to start using internet on my phone without paying a ton to do so. So, I have no point of comparison. Also, I'm trying to keep my dependence on having internet on my phone low, so I still don't use it much. Using data when I'm out and about is slower than when I'm at home on Wifi, but I don't find it to be painfully slow.

I'm planning on spending some time out in the middle of nowhere in a few weeks, and I'm really curious to see how Ting will work for me. My husband hasn't switched over from Verizon yet, so we'll be able to compare his service and mine.

[MonkeyMama]

We switched to Ting last November.

The best thing to do is if you know anyone who has sprint, see what there coverage is like in your home and/or areas you use the most. You can look up Sprint coverage maps to get an idea.

I've never had any problem with voice. The data isn't great in our area. We are fine with it though because of the cost. We had Sprint and were paying $100/month never getting advertised speeds. Now we pay $30/month and Sprint is finally turning on the 4G in our region. MUCH BETTER.

It depends where you are. I would never say Sprint has the best coverage, but interestingly my dad was backpacking a couple of weeks ago and had service every night. Someone with another provider had to use their cell phone to make a call. That was a first!

Verizon is good service and I would certainly pay a premium for their network. We only left them because their smart phone pricing was ridiculous (& I think those prices are coming down - we left about 3 years ago). We were VERY unhappy with Sprint and would have switched back, if not for Ting. But, it's relative. We are now used to really crappy data coverage. It also depends on the phone. My phones seem to always have better antenna than my husband's. Though I usually had lower tier phones - so it's very random. (Maybe also he is pickier. My phone has always worked just fine for my needs - has never seemed too slow, to me).

With Ting you won't know until you try. They will basically fully reimburse you to switch your current phone to a Ting-compatible one (same model). I would probably go that route. If you are happy with the coverage for your own needs and decide to stay, then you can always buy a more long-term phone. It's really not that big of a deal to try it out. They make it very easy to turn on and off service. You can even test it out with a spare phone and a new line (that is what we did).

Technically we are paying $30/month for service, but with all of our referral credits and other credits it has come out to $12.50/month, for 2 phones, To-date. We didn't even get a bill for the first 6 months or so. We've also racked up credits towards next line or phone purchase. (Will eventually add lines for our kids). They give away credits all the time. Customer service is A+.