Would it be better to stay with T-Mobile or switch over to Verizon?

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Really depends on where you live. In general, you will get more reliable service with Verizon, but at a cost. I live in Los Angeles area and use Verizon paid by work and it usually has better voice quality, but slower internet. I have used tmobile as personal phone for a lot longer and their service, especially internet has improved dramatically in the past year. If I had to give an answer last year I would have said choose Verizon. If you asked me today I'd say there is not enough of a difference in performance/reliability to justify the cost of getting Verizon, at least not in my area. I've had both services for over 5 years. In the end it comes down to your area. If you'll be heading to college i'd suggest you keep your current plan and not make a decision on this until you've tried at your college. Also note that being inside big buildings can affect all carriers too. In certain buildings I lose connection with both services. Make sure to examine all costs too. Determine how much data you'll actually use. The more that you use, the more that tmobile is a better value.

As far as services go, like navigation, and internet reliability issues, I'd suggest you download maps to your phone. You can download area maps from google. I use a windows phone for one of my lines and it has the HERE maps app that doesn't need internet connection so that works too. There are plenty of workarounds you can find in case your internet connection isn't always reliable.