This is a good call. T-Mobile has eliminated contracts altogether and is now pay as you go, so you’ll be rid of contracts completely. They have good coverage, better than AT&T in some areas, and have 4G LTE service.
But neither one of those solutions will give her the phone she wants.
Before you decide to stick it out, calculate how much it will cost:
http://support.sprint.com/support/article/Learn_about_early_termination_fee/case-sp061027-20110823-171256 (quick reading suggests $240)
Then, subtract $45 (+ sales tax for your state) from your current plan price including all taxes. How much are you saving each month ? Is it >$20/mo ? Then you will save money by getting out now and paying the ETF.
Don’t forget you can ebay your current phone as well once you get out, to help offset the cost of your new phone.
Note that the Straight Talk option only saves money at high levels of data usage. AT&T’s website suggests that a 2-year contract plan with 1G of data (which is enough for many people) would run $50/month, and then the ~$200 savings on the cost of the phone would make that deal cheaper overall.
Just be careful with the comparison there - a “$50” contract plan is going to have taxes and “fees” in addition to sales taxes, likely making the plan more expensive than it appears by perhaps $7-$15. In contrast prepaid plans have no extra taxes except sales tax, so $45 is much closer to what you really pay.
Definitely try and get Sprint to let you out of your contract (at no cost) due to non-performance at your new house. Roaming in your living room is unacceptable coverage and not the level of service you had when you signed the contract.
Not true for all prepaid plans. I have Straight Talk’s $45 monthly unlimited plan and here’s what my cost breaks down to:
Subtotal $45.00
Discounts and Credits 0.00
Tax1 3.65
Prepaid Wireless Telecommunications E911 Tax2 0.36
Federal Universal Service3 0.68
Regulatory Cost Recovery4 0.09
Purchase Amount $49.78
So my total cost is closer to $50 than to $45. And even the tax without the other fees makes it $48.65.
I’m going to try. Unfortunately, I DID sign the contract after I moved here, but I had only been here a few months and wasn’t aware of how crappy the level of coverage truly was.
When I did figure out that I was in roaming in my living room, they sent me an Airavething (at no cost), which was supposed to help. And it does help. However, if I start talking on the phone and then walk out the door with my dogs, when I get out of range, the call drops. Granted, that’s not something I do all the time, but it’s a nuisance. I still lose calls in the house, too, like if I’m in the living room and walk into the kitchen.
I don’t expect Sprint to see it my way.
You only pay some of those because you auto-refill with straight talk directly. Stop, and buy cards directly at walmart and you pay only sales tax. Admittedly sales tax is the majority of that, but you can actually reduce the cost to <$45 month before tax by buying 3 or 6 month cards at walmart.
I wasn’t aware of that before. And since I shop for food at Wal-Mart, I’ll pick up a card next time it’s time to refill my account.
I can barely afford one month at a time. Three months at a time isn’t in my budget.
What you do is have AT&T “port” your number from Sprint. You give them permission to move your number to their system/your account, and then they handle the technical details (canceling with Sprint first would cause you to loose your number :eek:)!
You can buy the phone on Amazon at any time, and then ask AT&T to add to your account under the ported. Your contract would only be for service or data, since you are bringing your own phone.
I would recommend speaking with a sales agent from AT&T and explain your situation, so that they can guide you through the details.
ETA:Keep & Transfer Your Phone Number to a New Phone with AT&T
Yeah, this was why the SEQUENCE of events was important.
Did you get to the part where I discovered I still have a year on my contract with Sprint? I haven’t called them to see if I can get out of it, as I’ve had a few minor catastrophes to deal with around the house this weekend.
Being able to “port” a number is required by law. AT&T would handle the details. I did not mean to offend, but simply point out a possible serious error in the sequence to avoid in handling the matter. (I lost my original number to a botched port, so that is why I am urging caution.)
AT&T might buy out your contract, but you may have to sign a contract with them. The alternative would be paying a cancellation fee to Sprint.
AT&T wants your business, so your sales agent would likely try to make this very easy for you; you personally may not even have to contact Sprint.
I got that and appreciate the caution. I really want to keep this number. You didn’t offend. The guy who called me a 13-year old did. I’ll have you know I’m 13 X 5. 
I don’t mind a contract. I’ve been with Sprint for over 15 years. It’s the change in coverage since I moved that’s the problem.