Carrier Trying out T-MO, Sprint and VZW in a new area

[gfbane]

I have an AT&T iPhone and AT&T hotspot. I will be traveling on vacation and want to check cell coverage across the different services.

I know that I will need to get a Verizon sim and am planning on just buying the minimal prepaid plan. AT&T will definitely be able to check between the hotspot and the phone.

However, for T-Mobile and Sprint, how hard is it to switch between them while on the apple sim? Presumably, I will want to purchase a data plan on both and be able to switch between them to test the connectivity.

Either way, if I do or do not hear from people, I will report back. The trip will be the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Thanks!

 

[ron7624]

I can't help much, but have ATT plan I also have a T-Mobile sim in my Air 1. The Air 1 is my only device that can be used with Verizon but don't have a Verizon sim. But the swap between t-m and ATT is seamless. the T-Mobile sim can not be used in my other devices as it must be registered with that company for that device. I took the Apple sim out of my iPad Mini 4 and put the ATT sim on from my Mini 2 and it came up att without a problem.
(Sold the mini 2)

 

[gfbane]

I purchased a "AT&T" iPad mini 4 New, with an open box on eBay for $475. That seems to be a good get in my opinion. I confirmed that it had an apple sim however, when in the plan choice options in settings, only AT&T plans were available.

I swung by the Apple Store yesterday and picked up an Apple SIM and the specialist offered me a verizon sim for free. I put the apple sim in and was able to select between Sprint T-Mobile and Gig Sky. I was able to browse plans on t-mobile however, when I selected Sprint as the carrier it asks me to contact support. I went back to T-Mobile and selected a plan for 5GB for $10 for 5 months. I tried to switch to sprint and it still prompted me to contact support.

When I put the Verizon sim in, it says "No SIM Card Installed". I will likely need to either go into a VZW store or call their support number.

 

[gfbane]

I ended up going to a verizon store and bought 1GB for $20 and they gave me a sim card. I went to one sprint store and they didn't have any nano-sim cards to be able to set me up with service. I went to a second sprint store and the guy there wasn't even sure how to turn on service. We looked at a more detailed coverage map and it looked like there wasn't going to be much signal where we were anyway so I decided to just stop trying on sprint.

When I got to my location, there was 2 bars of AT&T 4G and 2-3 bars of Verizon LTE. I didn't even bother to try T-mobile as I had significant coverage between my phone on AT&T and iPad on Verizon. it was very easy to swap sims and the iPad would alternate between T-Mobile and Verizon with no issues.

 

[uhslax24]

I purchased a "AT&T" iPad mini 4 New, with an open box on eBay for $475. That seems to be a good get in my opinion. I confirmed that it had an apple sim however, when in the plan choice options in settings, only AT&T plans were available.

I swung by the Apple Store yesterday and picked up an Apple SIM and the specialist offered me a verizon sim for free. I put the apple sim in and was able to select between Sprint T-Mobile and Gig Sky. I was able to browse plans on t-mobile however, when I selected Sprint as the carrier it asks me to contact support. I went back to T-Mobile and selected a plan for 5GB for $10 for 5 months. I tried to switch to sprint and it still prompted me to contact support.

When I put the Verizon sim in, it says "No SIM Card Installed". I will likely need to either go into a VZW store or call their support number.

IMHO that 5GB for $10 is the best deal in the US. I pay that much just to access data on my Verizon plan...

 

[gfbane]

I agree, I will keep the T-Mo for ongoing use. I will likely buy 1GB iPad plan on Verizon once or twice a year when I am traveling where I know I won't have ATT or T-mobile.