Verizon?
06-05-2016, 06:17 PM
#1
Verizon?
Can someone explain to me what I'm missing here...
My wife's plan has been eligible for an upgrade since 2012 but it says no upgrade is available. Mine has been eligible since 2014 and it says I do have an upgrade available.
But then you click on it... and it says hey... we're gonna charge you $20 to use your upgrade... then we're going to charge you retail price for your phone.
How the **** is that legal?
We're paying like $170 a month. We're a grandfathered unlimited plan but we use less than 10g a month. Barely.
I don't understand how this policy helps Verizon keep people on their plans?
Why the **** would I pay you $20 so I can upgrade my phone? I'd rather just buy a damned phone straight up and say F U and keep my unlimited data. Or switch to that crazy *** new company that you basically pay for a certain amount and if you don't use it you don't pay for it...
My wife's plan has been eligible for an upgrade since 2012 but it says no upgrade is available. Mine has been eligible since 2014 and it says I do have an upgrade available.
But then you click on it... and it says hey... we're gonna charge you $20 to use your upgrade... then we're going to charge you retail price for your phone.
How the **** is that legal?
We're paying like $170 a month. We're a grandfathered unlimited plan but we use less than 10g a month. Barely.
I don't understand how this policy helps Verizon keep people on their plans?
Why the **** would I pay you $20 so I can upgrade my phone? I'd rather just buy a damned phone straight up and say F U and keep my unlimited data. Or switch to that crazy *** new company that you basically pay for a certain amount and if you don't use it you don't pay for it...
06-05-2016, 06:34 PM
#2
I'm really not sure how the cell industry is getting away with this and I worked in telecom for 7 years.
Why is no one telling them to **** off?
The crazy thing is neither of the big companies is even offering real hook ups when you sign a contract. It used to be that they gave you the phone for the cost of the taxes if you signed up on a contract... and upgrades were upgrades... just pay the taxes. Get the phone.
Now upgrades just mean you can pay for the phone monthy instead of all at once... and you don't really get **** for signing up.
So why would I switch and why would I pay you $20 to buy a phone at full retail. This is shady as ****.
Why is no one telling them to **** off?
The crazy thing is neither of the big companies is even offering real hook ups when you sign a contract. It used to be that they gave you the phone for the cost of the taxes if you signed up on a contract... and upgrades were upgrades... just pay the taxes. Get the phone.
Now upgrades just mean you can pay for the phone monthy instead of all at once... and you don't really get **** for signing up.
So why would I switch and why would I pay you $20 to buy a phone at full retail. This is shady as ****.
06-06-2016, 06:39 AM
#3
Its because you still have the unlimited. You can keep it if you start paying the extra $20 a month after upgrading.
I had VZ unlimited for about 10 years and was paying $118 a month for just my line. But I was using 12-15GB per month average.
Finally got tired of their **** and got on Google Fi. They charge for exactly what you use, down to the penny. No crazy overages or penalties. My average bill with them is like $53 and thats including a ~$22 phone payment. They do not subsidize phones, you have to pay full price for them, but they will let you break it down into 24 month payments without any charge for it. No contract either so you can leave whenver you like, you would just owe the remainder of the phone you purchased thru them (if you do/did).
I had VZ unlimited for about 10 years and was paying $118 a month for just my line. But I was using 12-15GB per month average.
Finally got tired of their **** and got on Google Fi. They charge for exactly what you use, down to the penny. No crazy overages or penalties. My average bill with them is like $53 and thats including a ~$22 phone payment. They do not subsidize phones, you have to pay full price for them, but they will let you break it down into 24 month payments without any charge for it. No contract either so you can leave whenver you like, you would just owe the remainder of the phone you purchased thru them (if you do/did).
06-06-2016, 08:24 AM
#5
If in doubt, FLAT OUT
iTrader: (33)
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Nor Cal SJ
Posts: 7,034
Car Info: 2010 Hatch, 2011 Sedan
I've been doing my upgrades for Verizon at Best Buy. They often offer some good deals on discounts or big gift cards (though it is for their store, works if you need to buy something). This time Verizon actually had the better deal with a huge trade in credit for your old phone ($100 more than BB). So if you're sticking with Verizon, gotta look for the deals, because the standard upgrade + $20 is no longer worth it.
06-06-2016, 09:06 AM
#6
That's another thing, its a true WORLD phone/plan.
Over 120 countries are included in the plan, so you dont pay long distance if you're traveling. So its both CDMA/GSM and they use Sprint/T-mobile towers. It will switch between the two automatically depending on what has the stronger signal.
I was hesitant at first to just drop VZ, because they do have great coverage, and I had the unlimited. So I kept VZ while I got Fi for 3 or so months. I would check both phones in the areas I spend most of my time (home, Tahoe/Truckee, bay, ect). Everywhere I had VZ, I had about the same with Fi.
Another huge thing that helped the switch is the VOIP. Vz has it, but you still need a carrier signal for it to work
wtf... My office is in the basement of out building and I get ZERO VZ reception, so my phone was always destroying battery searching for signal (I started just putting it in airplane mode in my office). Fi has a true VOIP, I can put my phone in airplane mode and turn of wifi to make calls/txt. I can be in my house/office on wifi, start a phone call, then walk out to the car and head out somewhere without dropped the call (it switched to network automatically).
Over 120 countries are included in the plan, so you dont pay long distance if you're traveling. So its both CDMA/GSM and they use Sprint/T-mobile towers. It will switch between the two automatically depending on what has the stronger signal.
I was hesitant at first to just drop VZ, because they do have great coverage, and I had the unlimited. So I kept VZ while I got Fi for 3 or so months. I would check both phones in the areas I spend most of my time (home, Tahoe/Truckee, bay, ect). Everywhere I had VZ, I had about the same with Fi.
Another huge thing that helped the switch is the VOIP. Vz has it, but you still need a carrier signal for it to work
wtf... My office is in the basement of out building and I get ZERO VZ reception, so my phone was always destroying battery searching for signal (I started just putting it in airplane mode in my office). Fi has a true VOIP, I can put my phone in airplane mode and turn of wifi to make calls/txt. I can be in my house/office on wifi, start a phone call, then walk out to the car and head out somewhere without dropped the call (it switched to network automatically).
06-06-2016, 09:13 AM
#7
Here are the bills on Fi over the last year. They vary based on data usage.
I signed up for a 3GB plan ($10 per gig) and its $20 for unlimited call/txt.
If I use 1.5 GB, they will credit me $15... if I end up going over my 3GB plan, and use say 4.5, they will only charge me $45 (no crazy fees for going over, just charge you for what you use).
I dropped my data usage down A TON. Went from 12-15GB a month to typically less than one. I NEVER used wifi at home/work, now I use it all the time. I dont stream Google Music/Pandora/Whatever on my commute, I only play local music I store on the phone (would use like 8GB a month in just music alone).
They also have FREE data tethering built in. It just counts toward your data consumption. But I know VZ charges extra to even have an option to do that.
I signed up for a 3GB plan ($10 per gig) and its $20 for unlimited call/txt.
If I use 1.5 GB, they will credit me $15... if I end up going over my 3GB plan, and use say 4.5, they will only charge me $45 (no crazy fees for going over, just charge you for what you use).
I dropped my data usage down A TON. Went from 12-15GB a month to typically less than one. I NEVER used wifi at home/work, now I use it all the time. I dont stream Google Music/Pandora/Whatever on my commute, I only play local music I store on the phone (would use like 8GB a month in just music alone).
They also have FREE data tethering built in. It just counts toward your data consumption. But I know VZ charges extra to even have an option to do that.
06-06-2016, 09:49 AM
#8
Friend of mine is on that and he's been happy but I've been concerned to drop VZ because coverage is sketchy where I live for others and I need coverage at the cabin and Bear Valley and Verizon has both covered.
My wife and I stream all the time so my guess is we'll still use 7-9gigs a month. I use less than I used to because I use wifi at home and I don't listen to music as much on my commutes as I used to. No stereo.
My wife and I stream all the time so my guess is we'll still use 7-9gigs a month. I use less than I used to because I use wifi at home and I don't listen to music as much on my commutes as I used to. No stereo.
06-06-2016, 09:58 AM
#9
If in doubt, FLAT OUT
iTrader: (33)
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Nor Cal SJ
Posts: 7,034
Car Info: 2010 Hatch, 2011 Sedan
I'm on the 18GB family plan with a bonus 4GB/month for the last upgrades. My daughter and I use wifi at home, so between us, we use about 1-2GB a month. My son uses the rest of that by himself (read: too cheap to get his internet installed). We're talking about switching to Fi also, and Google Fiber once it shows up here because Comcast is also annoying.
Last edited by 04GG; 06-06-2016 at 10:25 AM.
06-06-2016, 10:42 AM
#10
^^I CANT WAIT for Gfiber.. ugh cant come soon enough. You guys will prolly get it before us too.
Pick up GFi with 1 phone with the basic call/txt and 1 GB. Test the reception at those places you need it. If it doesnt work out, cancel the "contract" and sell the phone. Nothing really lost and it would be a cheap bill.
The one thing is, you have only a small selection of phones that work on Fi for the time being (all android too).
https://fi.google.com/about/phones/
Nexus 6, 6P, 5X and more to come
Friend of mine is on that and he's been happy but I've been concerned to drop VZ because coverage is sketchy where I live for others and I need coverage at the cabin and Bear Valley and Verizon has both covered.
My wife and I stream all the time so my guess is we'll still use 7-9gigs a month. I use less than I used to because I use wifi at home and I don't listen to music as much on my commutes as I used to. No stereo.
My wife and I stream all the time so my guess is we'll still use 7-9gigs a month. I use less than I used to because I use wifi at home and I don't listen to music as much on my commutes as I used to. No stereo.
The one thing is, you have only a small selection of phones that work on Fi for the time being (all android too).
https://fi.google.com/about/phones/
Nexus 6, 6P, 5X and more to come
06-06-2016, 01:26 PM
#13
If in doubt, FLAT OUT
iTrader: (33)
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Nor Cal SJ
Posts: 7,034
Car Info: 2010 Hatch, 2011 Sedan
Gotta wait for the deals. My daughter is also only iPhone. They took her old trade in for a bonus deal for like $200 credit, where it was 5yrs old and only in average shape (valued at about $50) toward a 6S. I got $300 for my scratched refurb S6. The month to month deal saves you a little on taxes up front but you end up paying the full price basically. The only benefit is no big up front payout.
06-06-2016, 03:56 PM
#15
Moist IT Outsourcing Services
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Indian Ocean
Posts: 5,331
Car Info: Mahindra Tractor
I've been on Straight Talk for 2.5 years now. I pay $47.17 a month for 'Unlimited' data which is the first 5GB are LTE and everything after that is 2G. I also have unlimited text and voice.
I got the ATT sim so I basically get ATT coverage except for maybe 1 or 2 radios and haven't had any real issues.
They also support IPhones.
I got the ATT sim so I basically get ATT coverage except for maybe 1 or 2 radios and haven't had any real issues.
They also support IPhones.