How are you all upgrading to new phones?

[SpikeJones]

Hello All,
I have been looking at the HTC Thunderbolt thread every so often, just to check if there are new things that people are discussing, that I may need to know about. Every so often, I will see a new thread with the subject along the lines of, "Goodbye Thunderbolt," or, "Hello Samsung Galaxy III," etc.

I was just wondering, how you are all going about doing this. I thought that you can upgrade 22 months after you purchased your phone, so for me, I bought my Thunderbolt on the day of release, so I could upgrade on January 17th, or so I thought.

Then, I saw someone say that we can upgrade sometime in November. Either way, how are all of you who are leaving the Thundrebolt getting new phones? Are you canceling your contract, and purchasing a new phone? Isn't that a boatload of money?

I may be understanding Verizon's policy of upgrades and contracts incorrectly, but I was just very confused.

 

[cadzilla74]

If you get a new phone at a discount from Verizon (i.e.; a Galaxy S3 at $199) then you will be forced into the new "tiered shared data" plans. If you purchase the phone at retail price and activate it on your current contract you will keep unlimited data at the current price.

I will be purchasing my next phone for full price as long as the possibility of retaining unlimited data continues. The math for me is simple. Purchase a phone for $600 I will keep, for the sake of argument, for 18 months. The cost of the phone is $400 more than the $199 I would have paid Verizon for it. So $400 divided by 540 days equals 75 cents a day cost to own.

I currently pay $30/month for unlimited data and I use a lot of it. I use wifi whenever I can but it is not available at work and I do most of my streaming over LTE from there. I work 12 hour shift nights and we go from insanely busy to zero going on, back and forth, constantly. During the down time I'll stream various HD feeds and usually average about 7-8gb a month LTE only. So I'd need the 10gb tier which would be $100/month vs the $30 I pay now. That's $70 times 18 months which equals an increase paid to Verizon of $1,260 total or $2.33 a day over 540 days. That's one heck of a lot more than the initial extra $400 out of pocket to just buy the phone outright.

So if someone asks you if you could have the exact same thing for $0.75 a day or $2.33 a day for the next 18 months, which would you choose?

(Of course for folks who only use 1-2gb a month per device and have multiple devices sharing a 10gb pool they may actually SAVE money by not paying for separate unlimited plans on each device.)

You really need to take a look at your current usage and number of devices, plus try to extrapolate potential increases in usage over time over the course of 2 years, put it all together and whip out the old calculator. It's just not a one-size-fits-all world out there in data-land anymore.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Hello All,
I have been looking at the HTC Thunderbolt thread every so often, just to check if there are new things that people are discussing, that I may need to know about. Every so often, I will see a new thread with the subject along the lines of, "Goodbye Thunderbolt," or, "Hello Samsung Galaxy III," etc.

I was just wondering, how you are all going about doing this. I thought that you can upgrade 22 months after you purchased your phone, so for me, I bought my Thunderbolt on the day of release, so I could upgrade on January 17th, or so I thought.

Then, I saw someone say that we can upgrade sometime in November. Either way, how are all of you who are leaving the Thundrebolt getting new phones? Are you canceling your contract, and purchasing a new phone? Isn't that a boatload of money?

I may be understanding Verizon's policy of upgrades and contracts incorrectly, but I was just very confused.

It is November (I also got mine at launch), so it must be 20 months.

2 ways to get an upgrade earlier than that:

1. As already mentioned, pay full price. This is what many of us do.

2. Activate a new phone on a different line on your plan (a new line or one that is upgrade eligible), then switch numbers.

 

[cegabq]

But if you upgrade an eligible line, then VZ will kick in the shared plan, so if you have unlimited at the moment, you'll lose this.
I'm watching local craigslist for a good condition Galaxy Nexus to buy off contract.
But cadzilla74's number also tell a compelling tale - if you have the cash up front to do this.

 

[SpikeJones]

But if you upgrade an eligible line, then VZ will kick in the shared plan, so if you have unlimited at the moment, you'll lose this.
I'm watching local craigslist for a good condition Galaxy Nexus to buy off contract.
But cadzilla74's number also tell a compelling tale - if you have the cash up front to do this.

If you purchase a phone off craigslist or ebay or anywhere similar, how do you go about "activating," or making the new phone "work?" Do you just place your SIM card in the new phone? And does the phone you purchase have to be a "verizon" phone?

Also, my mother has an iPhone 4, and will probably want the iPhone 5 once it comes out. Will she have to go through Verizon to upgrade to her new phone? If she does this in November, and I have already bought myself a different phone from craigslist (say in September to avoid the shared tier plan), will her upgrading herself effectively create the shared plan I have been trying to avoid? If so, how can she upgrade to the iPhone 5 without going through Verizon?

 

[cegabq]

If you purchase a phone off craigslist or ebay or anywhere similar, how do you go about "activating," or making the new phone "work?" Do you just place your SIM card in the new phone? And does the phone you purchase have to be a "verizon" phone?

I'd make sure it had a clean ESN; I'd look the phone over carefully & then insist that the seller go with me to the Verizon store to make sure it can be legally activated. So yes, to work on my VZ plan, the phone would have work on the VZ network. So I can't buy an unlocked Galaxy Nexus straight from Google, because those won't work on the VZ network. Otherwise that's what I'd be doing!

 

[SpikeJones]

Thank you for all your help! I will definitely take all you said into consideration. Also, and this may be a bit off topic, whether I decide to go through Verizon or some other outlet, would it be better for me to wait until say November, or February of next year (or even a bit after) for MWC?

 

[defcon999]

I'd make sure it had a clean ESN; I'd look the phone over carefully & then insist that the seller go with me to the Verizon store to make sure it can be legally activated. So yes, to work on my VZ plan, the phone would have work on the VZ network. So I can't buy an unlocked Galaxy Nexus straight from Google, because those won't work on the VZ network. Otherwise that's what I'd be doing!

I bought a dumbphone off ebay years ago. The ESN number was listed in the listing. I called Verizon and told them the number....they confirmed that it indeed was a CLEAN ESN number and that I would be able activate it.

I would have the seller provide the ESN number to you and while you are in front of them...activate it. Also, NEVER EVER EVER EVER pay cash!....use a credit card if you can or a cashiers check or money order.

I would definitely wait until November or early next year. Verizon typically announces their new phones late October early November with a release date about the time of Black Friday. Then sometime around Feb. they will announce more phones.

 

[cegabq]

I bought a dumbphone off ebay years ago. The ESN number was listed in the listing. I called Verizon and told them the number....they confirmed that it indeed was a CLEAN ESN number and that I would be able activate it.

I would have the seller provide the ESN number to you and while you are in front of them...activate it. Also, NEVER EVER EVER EVER pay cash!....use a credit card if you can or a cashiers check or money order.

I would definitely wait until November or early next year. Verizon typically announces their new phones late October early November with a release date about the time of Black Friday. Then sometime around Feb. they will announce more phones.

Well, I wouldn't mind paying cash - BUT not until after I successfully activated the phone, either with her/him standing by or meeting me at the VZ store

 

[Ry]

But if you upgrade an eligible line, then VZ will kick in the shared plan, so if you have unlimited at the moment, you'll lose this.
I'm watching local craigslist for a good condition Galaxy Nexus to buy off contract.
But cadzilla74's number also tell a compelling tale - if you have the cash up front to do this.

Not true. If you upgrade, you can move to a tiered data plan instead of changing all of your lines to Share Everything.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Android Central Forums

 

[dpham00]

If you wanted to upgrade earlier than 20 months, why didn?t you buy with a one year contract? I used my annual upgrade to buy the Thunderbolt with a one year contract. I only paid $30 more, and imo well worth it. To answer your question though, some got upgraded phones as warranty replacement. I got the rezound as a warranty replacement. Others could have used an upgrade from another line if you have a family plan. Otherwise, some could also have bought a no contract cpo phone. Also, you can buy used from ebay, cl, etc. And of course, there are some who chose to buy at full retail.

Hello All,
I have been looking at the HTC Thunderbolt thread every so often, just to check if there are new things that people are discussing, that I may need to know about. Every so often, I will see a new thread with the subject along the lines of, "Goodbye Thunderbolt," or, "Hello Samsung Galaxy III," etc.

I was just wondering, how you are all going about doing this. I thought that you can upgrade 22 months after you purchased your phone, so for me, I bought my Thunderbolt on the day of release, so I could upgrade on January 17th, or so I thought.

Then, I saw someone say that we can upgrade sometime in November. Either way, how are all of you who are leaving the Thundrebolt getting new phones? Are you canceling your contract, and purchasing a new phone? Isn't that a boatload of money?

I may be understanding Verizon's policy of upgrades and contracts incorrectly, but I was just very confused.

 

[AZSALUKI]

But if you upgrade an eligible line, then VZ will kick in the shared plan, so if you have unlimited at the moment, you'll lose this.
I'm watching local craigslist for a good condition Galaxy Nexus to buy off contract.
But cadzilla74's number also tell a compelling tale - if you have the cash up front to do this.

Ditto what Ry said. I just upgraded my wife's dumb phone to the siii. I was able to select the 2gb plan for her line and my unlimited data was unaffected. The "plan" was to do this and then switch lines so I would put the siii on my line and give her my tbolt. But she saw the siii and played with it for 5 minutes and said "NO WAY!" so she has the siii and I still have my bolt. DOH! plan foiled!

sent from my bolt using tapatalk

 

[Effenhimer]

My son's Dinc was due for an upgrade, so I went to Radio Shack, upgraded his line for $150 losing HIS unlimited data and switching to the 2gb tiered plan, (also no VZW upgrade fees or extra charges), and then walked it across the hall to the VZW store and told them to swap the SIM cards (they have different sized SIM's so they gave us new ones, and the signal issues I was having are GONE now that he has that new SIM in it). Now he has a totally custom Thunderbolt running the newest, fastest roms we can find, and I have an SGSIII with my unlimited data still intact... (Which is SAWEEEEETTT by the way!)

 

[Jude526]

If you purchase a phone off craigslist or ebay or anywhere similar, how do you go about "activating," or making the new phone "work?" Do you just place your SIM card in the new phone? And does the phone you purchase have to be a "verizon" phone?

Also, my mother has an iPhone 4, and will probably want the iPhone 5 once it comes out. Will she have to go through Verizon to upgrade to her new phone? If she does this in November, and I have already bought myself a different phone from craigslist (say in September to avoid the shared tier plan), will her upgrading herself effectively create the shared plan I have been trying to avoid? If so, how can she upgrade to the iPhone 5 without going through Verizon?

She would have to pay full retail to keep unlimited data. If she gets phone on contract then loses the unlimited. I am saving money by switching. It isn't bad but doesn't work for everyone

Sent from my ADR6400L using Android Central Forums

 

[msokad]

I bit the bullet and paid full price for my S3. I use my phone too much to lose my current unlimited plan. My wife on a different plan and uses less than 2GB a month so she paid the sale price and was moved to the new plan.

What was funny is how the sale guy tried to get me to move to the new plan. I told him I use over 4GB an month and would cost me more per month. He stopped throwing me the sales pitch after that.

 

[recDNA]

Well, I wouldn't mind paying cash - BUT not until after I successfully activated the phone, either with her/him standing by or meeting me at the VZ store

Well you can't do that on ebay!

 

[armeddroid]

1. Tiered Data - Upgrade
2. Keep Unlimited - Buy phone full price.
3. Switch to Sprint

Option 2 for me.
:-$

 

[yodatom10]

I paid full price to get a proper android device.

Sent from my Jelly bean powered Galaxy Nexus

 

[creicheneker]

So if I decide to go off of my grandfathered data plan, I will be eligible for an upgrade?

 

[dpham00]

So if I decide to go off of my grandfathered data plan, I will be eligible for an upgrade?

You would need to move to a tiered data plan for subsidized 2 year contract pricing.