[scott750]

This may be a stupid question but I thought I'd ask anyway.

I recently got the Note 2 for full retail price so I could keep my unlimited data plan, but I'm wondering if there is some kind of "unlocking" code Verizon can give me to get rid of the damn bloatware?

If I buy a car I can do whatever I want to it. The same should be for a smartphone. If I paid the reduced subsidized price, then I can see them justifying all the advertisement and apps.

Is my only perk for paying $750 to keep unlimited data?

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 2

[DroidXcon]

This may be a stupid question but I thought I'd ask anyway.

I recently got the Note 2 for full retail price so I could keep my unlimited data plan, but I'm wondering if there is some kind of "unlocking" code Verizon can give me to get rid of the damn bloatware?

If I buy a car I can do whatever I want to it. The same should be for a smartphone. If I paid the reduced subsidized price, then I can see them justifying all the advertisement and apps.

Is my only perk for paying $750 to keep unlimited data?

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 2

Pretty much. Technically they lose money when you buy it out right. So there is not much motivation for them to give you a perk

From my Galaxy Note 2 via Tapatalk

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

I call BS when carriers say they lose money when they sell it out right, or at a subsidized price. You can buy tablets all day long for $300, the nexus 7 is $249, a very good tablet, only thing it is missing is feature for phone. I doubt very much that it costs $400+ to add a phone to the nexus 7. Not to mention the nexus 7 is bigger then all smart phones. The carriers are doing the same thing back in MA Bell and At&t days before the government de-regulated them. What we are paying for is commission to the sales person, third party agents, and so on..

[jneusch]

My extra perk is a 60 day return policy at Best Buy (RZ Silver) with no worries and no contract extension. My contract is up in May and if Sprint adds LTE in and around my area I may make the switch to them. It's about $35 per month less and unlimited data.

The resale value on flagship phones is also very good. I sold my GS3 after almost 6 months of use for $475. So the true cost to me was about $175, which may seem like a lot, but I'm a tech junkie.

I have always been dumbfounded that a "radio" can cost so much. The iPod touch, for example, has all the same features as an iPhone. My iPad 3 has LTE and cost an extra $130 and no contract. I guess we are paying for the privilege of being tied to a carrier when buying a phone.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[sudbury78]

A very noted perk my friends as a fellow full price purchaser is a lighter wallet.

[fwhomeboy]

A very noted perk my friends as a fellow full price purchaser is a lighter wallet.

If you were coming from a Thunderbolt and paid full retail price for the Note 2 to keep unlimited data, Verizon will give you the next upgrade free to keep you with Verizon with no changes to your data plan for the next two years. That deal comes in March. Now that's a nice perk. Wait, I think I dreamed that last night. Disregard.

[ibcop]

The only perk you get from Verizon is bent over - and not even with the common courtesy of a reach around either.

[Who?]

I hear Verizon may send you a Christmas card next year

[treb1797]

The only perk you get from Verizon is bent over - and not even with the common courtesy of a reach around either.

Those bastards

[scott750]

Lol you guys are funny! Lol

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 2

[roberte1342]

You are better off buying it tax free from amazon wireless for $279 on a new number. When it arrives and is activated change that new line to a dumbphone you have lyng an a junk drawer somewhere for $9.95/mo. Wait a few hours and activate the Note 2 on your unlimited phone number. (LTE sims take time to deactivate and become available for reactivation)
Enjoy unlimited data on your Note 2.
Two years later rinse and repeat or cancel the extra line.
If you have no use for a spare dumbphone it won't save alot. But if you do already have a dumbphone in use on your family shared plan then the savings are significant. In my case my 11 year old uses the $9.95 plan on a feature phone with the data turned off.

The way I see it, If I pay full price VZW isn't going to discount my monthly service so I am actually paying more. When I went to the VZW store with $300 cash in hand I left Noteless and disappointed that activation fees and taxes would have brought my total above $400. My budget for this phone was $300 and not a penny more. Amazon wireless sent me mine for $279 with free 2 day shipping and no activation fees. I had enough extra to buy a case

[jneusch]

You are better off buying it tax free from amazon wireless for $279 on a new number. When it arrives and is activated change that new line to a dumbphone you have lyng an a junk drawer somewhere for $9.95/mo. Wait a few hours and activate the Note 2 on your unlimited phone number. (LTE sims take time to deactivate and become available for reactivation)
Enjoy unlimited data on your Note 2.
Two years later rinse and repeat or cancel the extra line.
If you have no use for a spare dumbphone it won't save alot. But if you do already have a dumbphone in use on your family shared plan then the savings are significant. In my case my 11 year old uses the $9.95 plan on a feature phone with the data turned off.

The way I see it, If I pay full price VZW isn't going to discount my monthly service so I am actually paying more. When I went to the VZW store with $300 cash in hand I left Noteless and disappointed that activation fees and taxes would have brought my total above $400. My budget for this phone was $300 and not a penny more. Amazon wireless sent me mine for $279 with free 2 day shipping and no activation fees. I had enough extra to buy a case

This might be a good idea for someone on a grandfathered plan, however here are the problems:

1. Amazon has their own Terms of Service agreement that does not allow you to do what you did. I believe the new device must remain active on the designated line for 6 months. I would expect additional charges from them.
2. The $9.95 is really about $15 after all the taxes. Added up over 24 months is $360 for the additional line. At this point you might as well have paid retail and not been locked into an additional two years.
3. God forbid you ever need to change rate plans to the new share everything plan. The $9.95 goes to $30 for a dumb phone.

I have personal experience with #2 and #3 so I am not talking BS here. I had to go to an unlimited minutes plan for work. This was something unforeseen when I did the extra line thing in October, 2011. That's way before share everything. I had no choice but to pay the ETF rather than move my extra line to a $30 +tax bill.

If you are going to do it, I would stay away from Amazon on this one and buy from BB or VZW direct. Be prepared for the what if scenario, and know that you really ARE paying full price when adding up the cost of the extra line.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Synycalwon]

This may be a stupid question but I thought I'd ask anyway.

I recently got the Note 2 for full retail price so I could keep my unlimited data plan, but I'm wondering if there is some kind of "unlocking" code Verizon can give me to get rid of the damn bloatware?

If I buy a car I can do whatever I want to it. The same should be for a smartphone. If I paid the reduced subsidized price, then I can see them justifying all the advertisement and apps.

Is my only perk for paying $750 to keep unlimited data?

The primary benefit IS keeping unlimited data, but another is the freedom of not being locked into a two year contract and having to play the wait to upgrade game. Personally, I really like that freedom as it gives me more control over my options as I can make a change at any time without worrying about ETF’s. The only limitation would be my own finances which I have direct control over anyway. There is also always the option of selling the phone to recoup some cost. Another benefit is you don’t pay an upgrade fee.

As to the bloatware, you can easily disable it (no root needed). It still takes up some storage space, but at least it’s removed from your app drawer. If you want to go further, you can root and remove it or go with a custom ROM that has it removed already. In the end, it’s still up to you whatever you want to do with the phone (same as a car); the only caveat is how it may affect the warranty.

Also personally speaking, I always prefer to get a phone directly from the carrier, no middle man and their potential extra requirements or hoops to jump through, nor do I have any patience (or see a real value) in playing the game of keeping a spare dumb phone and swapping upgrades between lines. I prefer to keep things simple.

[kilofoxtrot]

Once your contract is fulfilled, whats to keep Verizon from canceling your unlimited data? The answer I think is nothing.

I see this happening sooner or later.

[jneusch]

Once your contract is fulfilled, whats to keep Verizon from canceling your unlimited data? The answer I think is nothing.

I see this happening sooner or later.

Eventually this is probably the plan, but I would think they would be more likely to take it away under contract because you are stuck. If you are out of contract you can simply leave and go to another provider.

[Synycalwon]

Once your contract is fulfilled, whats to keep Verizon from canceling your unlimited data? The answer I think is nothing.

I see this happening sooner or later.

There is a bit of risk that after paying full retail to keep unlimited data, Verizon could nix it. But the same holds true even if you’re on contract as Verizon still reserves the right to modify the terms of service. The real question is though: would Verizon actually nix unlimited? This Cnet article has a good discussion on the issue:

Excerpt:

I reached out to consumer rights attorney Michael Aschenbrener, of Aschenbrener Law regarding your question to get a legal perspective. Aschenbrener explained that Verizon Wireless is under no obligation to continue offering you an unlimited data plan. Verizon and all other carriers can refuse to continue providing service of any kind to any customer once that customer is paying his bill on a month-to-month basis, he said. You have to remember that when you forgo the subsidy, you are no longer in a contract for service with Verizon.

This means Verizon can change the terms at any time. Of course, this also means that you can cancel your service at any time and not pay an early termination fee.

But what I didn't realize and what you likely don't realize yourself is that even if you have a contract with Verizon, the terms could still be modified. Aschenbrener explained that according to the terms of carrier wireless contracts, operators include a clause that allows them to modify the terms whenever they want. The only upside for the consumer is that if the carrier changes the contract, you can get out of the contract without paying an early termination fee. The catch is that you have to pay close attention to these changes.

What this means is that Verizon could change its policy at any time and simply get rid of its unlimited data plan. So whether you buy your new phone or even if you were still within the two-year contract period, Verizon could get rid of this pricing plan and force all customers into a tiered offering.

The question is whether Verizon will actually do this. That is a tough question to answer. It's clear that Verizon's executives don't want customers on the unlimited plan any longer. In fact, the company's Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo has said on multiple occasions that the company is better off if all customers are on tiered offerings.

So far it looks like the policies that Verizon has in place to encourage (well, more like strong-arm) subscribers to abandon their unlimited data plans is working. Shammo said at an investor conference in September that Verizon has seen people coming off the unlimited data plan to subscribe to the Share plans. And on the company's third-quarter earnings call, he said that more customers than expected have been shifting to the Share Everything plans. And he also noted that the company has not seen a surge of unlimited subscribers paying full price to keep their data plans.

"Most devices sold during the quarter had a subsidy," he said. "But we saw some smartphone customers buying phones at full price."

This is good news for customers who really want to keep their unlimited data plans. Why? The way I see it, Verizon may feel like it can afford to appease a small minority of customers willing to pay full price for a smartphone to keep the unlimited data plan. Even though Verizon can change its pricing policy at any time, it may not want to risk the bad publicity from doing so. And why should they bother if most people are switching to the tiered offerings anyway?

[kilofoxtrot]

Eventually this is probably the plan, but I would think they would be more likely to take it away under contract because you are stuck. If you are out of contract you can simply leave and go to another provider.

Within a year there wont be anyone under contract and with unlimited data. (I could be off a few months).

[jludwig57]

I was on unlimited data from Verizon until I took a trip to Italy and got a dumb phone activated for the international service. When I got back to the US, they reactivated my smartphone and I went from unlimited data to 2 gb of data for each month.

[DroidXcon]

I was on unlimited data from Verizon until I took a trip to Italy and got a dumb phone activated for the international service. When I got back to the US, they reactivated my smartphone and I went from unlimited data to 2 gb of data for each month.

Oh snap. You got Verizoned!!!!

Ok that's the new catch phrase people

From my Galaxy Note 2 via Tapatalk

[jludwig57]

Oh snap. You got Verizoned!!!!

Ok that's the new catch phrase people

From my Galaxy Note 2 via Tapatalk

They say you had to notice it within 14 days to correct the error. It was noticed in 21 days when the next bill was recieved. Now on A T & T.

[roberte1342]

This might be a good idea for someone on a grandfathered plan, however here are the problems:

1. Amazon has their own Terms of Service agreement that does not allow you to do what you did. I believe the new device must remain active on the designated line for 6 months. I would expect additional charges from them.

Excerpt from Amazon's TOS:
If you transfer this equipment to another carrier's service or to another line in your family account and deactivate the line that Amazon established for your device (emphasis mine)

The way I interpret this is that as long as the line I originally upgraded the Note 2 on, stays active regardless of what device is attached to it, throughout the 181 day commission maturity period then what I did is OK. At no time was that phone number deactivated. I am fully aware that I must keep this line (phone number) active up to two years to avoid an ETF from Verizon. In my case, this $9.95 number was due for an upgrade and I took advantage of it. AFAIK VZW ties everything contract wise to the phone number and not the device.
I'll keep an eye on this and will certainly post a followup if I get dinged in any way or something unexpected happens. But everyone I've talked to says everything is OK.

2. The $9.95 is really about $15 after all the taxes. Added up over 24 months is $360 for the additional line. At this point you might as well have paid retail and not been locked into an additional two years.

Ok, lets do the math. $15 * 24/mo = $360. $360 + $279 = $639. OP paid $750. $750 - $639 = $111 in savings. I already admitted that there are not significant savings if you do not have a purpose for the extra line. Since I already had the dumbphone line and plan on keeping it for my kid this cost was already budgeted. So, in my case the savings are $390. This is a far cry from paying full price.
Granted, there are risks. I felt it was worth taking. I'll be the first to post in this thread should any problem come up. Your advice is sound that anyone else doing this should be aware of this risk and find out for themselves ahead of time.

3. God forbid you ever need to change rate plans to the new share everything plan. The $9.95 goes to $30 for a dumb phone.

If for some reason VZW announced 100GB data buckets for the base SA plan then I'll feel ripped off and consider changing over. Since I don't see pigs flying yet I think I'm going to stay where I am for the foreseeable future or until VZW forces me over, which would not surprise me.

I have personal experience with #2 and #3 so I am not talking BS here. I had to go to an unlimited minutes plan for work. This was something unforeseen when I did the extra line thing in October, 2011. That's way before share everything. I had no choice but to pay the ETF rather than move my extra line to a $30 +tax bill.

If you are going to do it, I would stay away from Amazon on this one and buy from BB or VZW direct. Be prepared for the what if scenario, and know that you really ARE paying full price when adding up the cost of the extra line.

My wife upgraded her phone through Amazon to an S3 for $100, no additional fees or taxes. So far so good. I've been shopping with Amazon for over 12 years and have never had a problem that couldn't be solved with a single phone call. Mucking around with BB or VZW has been an experience I'd rather avoid. But with anything like this YMMV.

[weasel123]

I bought mine at full price so I could still get unlimited data and my monthly rate would not go up $20 bucks. Then I asked the rep to give me some kind of discount since I was buying at full price and I got a $120 credit towards my bill. not bad

[droptine8]

Morning folks,
I ran into the same issue as everyone above and thanks to a kiosk owner in a local mall I was able to get the upgrade price of $299 and keep unlimited data.From what I was told the folks at the Verizon stores are aware of the work around and can make it work but are told that it shouldn't even be brought up. I'll do my best to explain the details, the only thing I know for a fact is that it worked.
He added a month to month (this is important) line to my existing Unlimited data contract. That new line being added gets you a phone upgrade or phone at discounted price. He then transferred the upgrade to my existing number and voila. After one month I called verizon and cancelled the month to month line. My total cost was:
$299.99 for the Note 2
$9.95 for one month of an additional line
$30.00 (if I remember correctly) for an additional sim card.
I hope this info was helpful and I'm not sure if verizon has or will nix this loophole but it worked for me and I am grateful for that kiosk owner in a local mall.
Cheers

[Jackson Galaxy]

Not having to sign a new contract is a pretty good peek IMHO

[jneusch]

Excerpt from Amazon's TOS:
If you transfer this equipment to another carrier's service or to another line in your family account and deactivate the line that Amazon established for your device (emphasis mine)

The way I interpret this is that as long as the line I originally upgraded the Note 2 on, stays active regardless of what device is attached to it, throughout the 181 day commission maturity period then what I did is OK. At no time was that phone number deactivated. I am fully aware that I must keep this line (phone number) active up to two years to avoid an ETF from Verizon. In my case, this $9.95 number was due for an upgrade and I took advantage of it. AFAIK VZW ties everything contract wise to the phone number and not the device.
I'll keep an eye on this and will certainly post a followup if I get dinged in any way or something unexpected happens. But everyone I've talked to says everything is OK.


Ok, lets do the math. $15 * 24/mo = $360. $360 + $279 = $639. OP paid $750. $750 - $639 = $111 in savings. I already admitted that there are not significant savings if you do not have a purpose for the extra line. Since I already had the dumbphone line and plan on keeping it for my kid this cost was already budgeted. So, in my case the savings are $390. This is a far cry from paying full price.
Granted, there are risks. I felt it was worth taking. I'll be the first to post in this thread should any problem come up. Your advice is sound that anyone else doing this should be aware of this risk and find out for themselves ahead of time.



If for some reason VZW announced 100GB data buckets for the base SA plan then I'll feel ripped off and consider changing over. Since I don't see pigs flying yet I think I'm going to stay where I am for the foreseeable future or until VZW forces me over, which would not surprise me.



My wife upgraded her phone through Amazon to an S3 for $100, no additional fees or taxes. So far so good. I've been shopping with Amazon for over 12 years and have never had a problem that couldn't be solved with a single phone call. Mucking around with BB or VZW has been an experience I'd rather avoid. But with anything like this YMMV.

I hope it works out for you. I was pointing these things out because everyone's situation is different and you cannot predict the future. I'm not sure why the OP paid $750. Full retail is $649, which is then a net cost of $10. If you needed the additional line the decision is much easier to make, but to carry the additional line for 2 years might not make a lot of sense.

I too spend a lot of money on Amazon and am a Prime member. With that said, I will stick to brick and mortar to purchase my cell phones. Mainly because I want the Best Buy protection plan. They will also price match, they have a great return policy and no restocking fees.

We all make our choices for our own reasons. The beauty of this forum is to share our individual thoughts, help others decide what's best for them, and to seek help when needed.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk