verizon far less phone options

[matt souders]

Is it me or does it seem like being with verizon restricts us from getting a lot of great phones? It seems like there are a lot of good unlocked phones that can't be used on verizon like the Moto G or the one plus 2 to name a few. I have verizon and don't have an issue with the service, I just feel I'm missing out. Am I wrong?

 

[worldspy99]

Is it me or does it seem like being with verizon restricts us from getting a lot of great phones? It seems like there are a lot of good unlocked phones that can't be used on verizon like the Moto G or the one plus 2 to name a few. I have verizon and don't have an issue with the service, I just feel I'm missing out. Am I wrong?

No you are not but VZW keeps claiming that they have the best coverage and in rural areas that is absolutely true. But they do lock you in their devices with bloatware and untimely updates (if ever for some of the devices).

 

[dpham00]

It is up to the manufacturers to make unlocked phones compatible with the Verizon network. Most don't.


Keep in mind phones that aren't Verizon certified might not get the $15/25 off contract discount,and Verizon might not activate it, so you might need an active Verizon 4GLTE sim

 

[landale]

Part of the problem isn't Verizon but CDMA which is the technology used for voice and 3G data on Verizon and Sprint for that matter. This technology is fully owned by Qualcomm which means any phone that supports it has to pay a license fee to Qualcomm for each device they sell. Given there are basically only two carriers in the world that still support CDMA most companies aren't going to include it in there unlocked phones when it would given them little benefit. It sucks but it's the sad truth.

Ultimately Verizon will drop CDMA and this problem will go away but until then you're not going to see many unlocked phones that work on Verizon. Of course as we have seen just because they support Verizon doesn't mean Verizon will make it easy for you to use either.

 

[matt souders]

I know it's up to me, but is this a good enough reason to switch to at&t or would I be losing out on coverage or something else? Do a lot of people switch because of the limited choices?

 

[Joshua Luther2]

It is up to the manufacturers to make unlocked phones compatible with the Verizon network. Most don't.


Keep in mind phones that aren't Verizon certified might not get the $15/25 off contract discount,and Verizon might not activate it, so you might need an active Verizon 4GLTE sim

That discount will no longer be a factor.

 

[dpham00]

That discount will no longer be a factor.

Still will be if you don't move to the new plan.

 

[Joshua Luther2]

I have until the 13th to decide if I want to upgrade or not. But in my case, the price will be about the same. The only sure fire way to save money is for me to wait till April when my phone is paid off, sell it, then buy a Moto X or some other unlocked phone. Then I can pick my carrier.

 

[hokiesteve]

Is it me or does it seem like being with verizon restricts us from getting a lot of great phones? It seems like there are a lot of good unlocked phones that can't be used on verizon like the Moto G or the one plus 2 to name a few. I have verizon and don't have an issue with the service, I just feel I'm missing out. Am I wrong?

Nope, but this is going to become much less of an issue going forward. Once Verizon is comfortable with VoLTE only phones with no CDMA radios, the unlocked phone selection will increase greatly. The fact that unlocked phones(sim-free iPhone, Nexus 6, and Moto X Pure) exist that can be activated and used on any carrier in the US offers a hint that we are on the verge of having a competitive phone market that much more resembles Europe.