Nubie Question - Buying a Phone Outright

[bpeter]

I currently have a family plan account on Verizon, grandfathered-in, pay for unlimited data, and have a Droid Charge. My upgrade date is February 13 2013.

If I buy another phone outright (or for arguments sake, want to use another phone that I have previously used and is not currently on any network and is not being used (sitting in a drawer)), will Verizon switch my current phone number over to the new/other phone without charging any fees?

I was just curious if I had to go through Verizon to get the new phone or whether or not I could go and get another 4G phone and just have them switch my phone number to the new/other phone.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

 

[karsdroid]

I currently have a family plan account on Verizon, grandfathered-in, pay for unlimited data, and have a Droid Charge. My upgrade date is February 13 2013.

If I buy another phone outright (or for arguments sake, want to use another phone that I have previously used and is not currently on any network and is not being used (sitting in a drawer)), will Verizon switch my current phone number over to the new/other phone without charging any fees?

I was just curious if I had to go through Verizon to get the new phone or whether or not I could go and get another 4G phone and just have them switch my phone number to the new/other phone.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

you can switch around phones all you want, however on verizon you are stuck with verizon phones....you don't necessarily have to get the phone from verizon, you can get from amazon, ebay, etc....but it has to be a verizon model. you can switch online from your account with no problem but you would need the sim card. not sure if your charge has a small sim card or not. when i switched from the gs3 to the note 2 it was as simple as moving my sim card from one phone to the other. no other actions needed.

 

[bpeter]

Karsdroid, I'd like to thank you for your reply. I was starting to think I had written something was wrong with my post; 179 views and you were the first to know the info and reply.

Sincerly, Thank You.

 

[1812dave]

I saved $160 by getting another line, getting the note for $299 and paying $10/mo for 2 years on that unused line. Verizon salesperson suggested it. I keep my unlimited data, and before I left the store they had already placed the phone back on my primary line with my normal phone number. That nets out at $540 as opposed to $700.

 

[bpeter]

I saved $160 by getting another line, getting the note for $299 and paying $10/mo for 2 years on that unused line. Verizon salesperson suggested it. I keep my unlimited data, and before I left the store they had already placed the phone back on my primary line with my normal phone number. That nets out at $540 as opposed to $700.

I'm not blowin' smoke at you - that's genius. It's exactly what I will do.

 

[1812dave]

I can't take credit. LOL! It was the idea of the cute little salesgal. After quizzing her repeatedly, it seems that is an workable way to save some money and not lose out on unlimited data. It seems it's de rigueur for them to offer that method to keep unlimited customers somewhat mollified.

 

[karsdroid]

I'm not blowin' smoke at you - that's genius. It's exactly what I will do.

you might want to check out the verizon specific note 2 forum....we've all been talking about this quite a bit. i myself have a dumb phone line that i upgraded to the note 2 and then switched it to my line, thus preserving my unlimited on my line but using the upgrade from the dumb phone....it's worth it to have one dumb phone line on tap....

 

[ibcop]

I saved $160 by getting another line, getting the note for $299 and paying $10/mo for 2 years on that unused line. Verizon salesperson suggested it. I keep my unlimited data, and before I left the store they had already placed the phone back on my primary line with my normal phone number. That nets out at $540 as opposed to $700.

You're gonna pay more than $540 for that line and device. That $9.99 "add a line"? Try more like $15 or $16 a month when you add taxes and fees. Plus the $35 activation unless they waived it.

Your close to $700, if not over.

And of course they recommended it - they get commission on it.

 

[1812dave]

LOL! nonsense. It's not that much. also, I get a 15% discount. and they worked with me on the activation fee, too! anything else???

oh, and one more thing: I have until the middle of January to return the phone, instead of the usual 14 days, thanks to the holidays

 

[Emperor]

I also have been grandfathered into my unlimited data plan with Verizon. I just purchased the Note 2 and got a nice deal. I used a dumb phone line ($10 per month), the Note 2 cost $300 under contract, and they gave me the $100 to trade-in my droid razr. So I paid a total of $200 for the new phone.

Regarding buying the phone outright without contract sounds like a good idea. I heard tmobile is going to stop selling phones on contract so you might be thinking ahead of your time ... for those who can afford it.

 

[jneusch]

LOL! nonsense. It's not that much. also, I get a 15% discount. and they worked with me on the activation fee, too! anything else???

oh, and one more thing: I have until the middle of January to return the phone, instead of the usual 14 days, thanks to the holidays

I did the same thing last year. I get a 21% discount but it didn't apply to additional lines. I hope yours does. My bill is just over $15 per month with taxes and regulatory fees.



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[curney]

I bought mine off contract. I ised my upgrade on my gs3. I aways get a phone every year so half the time I am buying off contract, It seems to work out for me because I sell my old phone for a hundred Or So over the 2 year price On craigslist or ebay. I sold my GS3 for 425. New note 2 was 750 with tax. Next year I will sell this for 300 or So and that will pay for my new every two. In the end I spend 300 to 400 every 2 years and always have what I think is the best phone. I would not recommend selling your old phon back to Verizon, you should get double on craigslist. If yoo figure the resale cost of your old phone i don't think It makes Sense to open another line. To much hassle. Also, if you upgrade every year then your old Phone is worth more since it is one year old instead of 20 months. This is what I have been doing for the last 3 years and it has worked out very well in the end. I hope that helps.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ibcop]

LOL! nonsense. It's not that much. also, I get a 15% discount. and they worked with me on the activation fee, too! anything else???

oh, and one more thing: I have until the middle of January to return the phone, instead of the usual 14 days, thanks to the holidays

Okay, keep telling yourself that. And you don't get a discount on any extra lines.