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Verizon Unlimited Data + new phone help
LaPuzza
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
My wife and I have unlimited data right now, grandfathered. I've got a 4G phone and she has a 3G iPhone. We're on a family plan. I understand, generically, that if wither of us makes a change in plan or does a new phone with a subsidy we're out of our unlimited plan. I also understand that Verizon can pull the plug on us pretty much whenever.
For me, if I buy a used phone or a new one at full price, I get to keep the data plan. I get and am considering that.
However, what happens if my wife wants a 4g phone. Can we just buy a 4G outright and we keep our unlimited? Or does the upgrade from 3G to 4G screw that up somehow? I don't want to buy a $600 phone if I'm going to lose unlmited when my wife makes her jump to 4G.
Also, if there's some better way I'm missing to do this, besides buying phones at full price or used, I'd be thrilled to know what that option is.
For me, if I buy a used phone or a new one at full price, I get to keep the data plan. I get and am considering that.
However, what happens if my wife wants a 4g phone. Can we just buy a 4G outright and we keep our unlimited? Or does the upgrade from 3G to 4G screw that up somehow? I don't want to buy a $600 phone if I'm going to lose unlmited when my wife makes her jump to 4G.
Also, if there's some better way I'm missing to do this, besides buying phones at full price or used, I'd be thrilled to know what that option is.
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1) You have to buy the phone outright from someplace other than the carrier store (I bought mine a Best Buy). A carrier will not allow you to walk out the store without activating the phone on a new plan, and they will not allow you to walk out of the store with an unactivated phone.
2) You must call the customer support line to swap the IMEI. If you activate the phone in the store, they will kill your unlimited account.
I just need to walk out without the phone having been activated, and then go online to switch my service to the new device? That sounds easy enough.
When did you do that? 2011 or recently?
Verizon has stated that the only way to keep your unlimited plan is by paying the full price for a phone, although previously thats how it worked.
Im pretty sure there will be no issue going from 3G to 4G; I went from 3G on my Incredible to 4G on my S3 and didnt have a problem although the S3 was sort of grandfathered in so maybe Verizon's policies have changed on this (theres no technical reason for them to, but theres no technical reason for them to be eliminating the unlimited data plans so).
Im going to be in the same position as LaPuzza sooner than Id like, so Im curious as to how this will work out for him.
Sort of unrelated, but no you can't. Any contract for AT&T that started in March 2012 or later must fully expire before becoming upgrade eligible, whether it's for the standard 2-year upgrade pricing or the 20-month payment plan. You'll be eligible to get a discount on a new phone in November 2014. For now, people with unlimited plans are grandfathered in (as well as people on the old $15 and $25 capped plans) but that policy may change by that point. The new "upgrade every year" option will cost you more money (about $130 more per year for an iPhone) and doesn't get you the same discount as signing a 2-year contract.
As for Verizon, if you sign a contract with them (as a new customer or as an existing one, they don't care) it has to be under one of their Share Everything plans. Which have data caps. As someone who sells phones for a living, here's my advice: find out how much data you're actually using, at least 6 months back. Compare a capped plan with that much data + a little extra to your current one. If it's cheaper or the same, consider ditching the unlimited for a discount on a phone as it'll save you $400 or so. If it's going to cost more, keep what you have.
I get people every day who could save $50 a month switching their families to the new plans but they want to cling to their unlimited ones despite never using more than 500MB in any given month. I also understand that a forum full of tech-savvy younger people probably uses more data on their phones than my average customer.
I am not a heavy user, but I have about a gig a week in use this month. Assuming the mrs and I both do that, and will only expect use to go up, I think it ends up being a smart call to keep the data plan. 800 more for 2 phones, but we save maybe 50 a month keeping our plan. I like the freedom of not worrying about it, but i understand that if Big Red changes it's mind on the plan, I am double hosed.
Luckily for you, if they force that kind of change mid-contract it nullifies the contract and allows you to skip carriers. Not that you have a lot of options with CDMA carriers, but they'll be scared enough of customers jumping ship to Sprint that they won't do it. Also there will reach a point when everyone with unlimited will be out of contract anyway, so watch out for that. Should be some time next fall, I think.
It's why they did the method they did: all new contracts on the new plans, everyone else only changes by request (or apparently by outright purchase in a store, which is weird because I wouldn't do that on an outright purchase unless the customer asked...)
I think Verizon was waiting to buy Sprint so they could monopolize the CDMA market, but with the Softbank deal that's unlikely. Still, Verizon has a lot of cash...
See, I'm not leaving Verizon. I value coverage above all else, and they win that battle. I'd take a dumb phone on Verizon before I'd take a Sprint herophone. Besides, I could terminate whether they change or not; I'm out of contract.
If they do change the unlimited data, I've got 2 free phone upgrades. I could just grab a couple new phones at that time and ebay my old ones, or vice versa.
I switched to Sprint to try it.
I'm switching back after two painful years.
I don't think spending outrageous sums to keep the unlimited data is worth it in most cases, but if you're really using the way you say you are... damn. Use wifi hotspots more. :P
Yeah, most of that is actually at home. When the Roku and the iPad are on, and my wife is on the net, I just ride the 4g pony all the way to... Nothing productive.
You can't upgrade your home internet for less than $800? :P
800$ is like 33$ a month over 2 years, if the plan you would switch too is more expensive than 33$ a month (pretty sure it would be), you are saving money and have a great plan.
edit: downside, you cant take that verizon phone anywhere else if you are on month to month and get fed up. but the resale value will be more than enough to buy 2 really nice phones on any other network.
The "literal dollar amount" is the difference in the cost between the unsubsidized phone and the contract discount.
In the case of my iPhone 5, instead of paying $700, I paid $400, and was even able to sell my damaged 4 (which was originally $300 subsidized) for $200.
It's worth noting that the resale (and thus trade-in) value of Verizon and Sprint phones is substantially less than their GSM equivalents. I wouldn't count on the resale value thing, plan on spending the money and if you get any of it back consider it a bonus. Plus, all it takes is one unlucky drop on concrete / into toilet and it's worthless
Worst case, I pay $700 for a phone and then Verizon takes away my data. I have an upgrade to use, and can buy a new iPhone. I live in a Verizon town (used to be Airtouch/Alltel were the only options here, so Omaha is a strong Verizon town). If I can't sell a NIB iPhone with a clean history here, I'll be very, very surprised. I won't even need to Craigslist the thing - I can pretty much hold up a sign on a streetcorner and someone will jump on it.
Just keep in mind the costs: $700 for the phone, $200 on the upgrade, recoup maybe $450 of that? $500 if you're lucky?
You're still out a fair chunk of change.