An unofficial guide to Verizon Contracts.

[theoneuafter]

So i wonder then if waiting till August is worth it? Is the savings that much better? I have a Droid but got it from Craigslist so I know nothing of the upgrade costs.
Thanks for the help I appreciate it!

 

[Menno]

It all depends on how much your upgrade credit is. If it's only $50 or less (which your plan would fall under I believe) it's not really worth it.

That being said, if you're happy with your droid, and it's not causing you issues, waiting can't hurt it. I'm a tech guy though, so I typically get stuff as soon as I can.

 

[0pusX]

great post!! Thanks

 

[tech42er#AC]

If I'm on the Nationwide Family Talk&Text 1400, but I'm not the primary line, can I use the primary line's Annual Upgrade after 10 months and just let the primary line keep their old phone? My basic question is just whether the perks that belong to the primary line (Annual Upgrade after 10 months, NE2 after 20, etc.) can be transferred to one of the shared lines?

 

[Menno]

If I'm on the Nationwide Family Talk&Text 1400, but I'm not the primary line, can I use the primary line's Annual Upgrade after 10 months and just let the primary line keep their old phone? My basic question is just whether the perks that belong to the primary line (Annual Upgrade after 10 months, NE2 after 20, etc.) can be transferred to one of the shared lines?

You can use their upgrade (it's after 12 months, not 10 though for 2yr annual upgrades)

It's not transferred so much as you use it to get the phone you want and they keep the current phone, but their contract is still extended by 2 years. A lot of reps in this area call this a "buddy upgrade" and yes, generally the secondary lines can do this. It's just that ONE line per family plan gets the benefit at any given time.

Now, if that line has an early upgrade promotion (such as the new one for smartphones going on right now) ONLY that line can take advantage of these promotions.

 

[raineslc]

I have a kinda complicated issue...I am currently on my parents account as an add a line with just a regular phone...Just got a real job so I'm wanting to get off their plan and start one of my own with a smart phone, my girlfriend is in the same situation so we were wanting to start a family plan. Soooo currently we pay our parents 20 bucks each (10 for the line and 10 for text). So if we start a new family plan the monthly bill is going to be 160 instead of just 40 that we currently pay. BUT since niether of us are available for an upgrade until June 2011 verizon wants me to pay an ETF for the lines we have now and start a new plan.....or start a new plan and add an extra 2 lines that will not be used to get the contract price on the phones....So all i really wanna know is if there is a way around this or am i just gonna have to wait cause im not gonna pay for an ETF when im increasing the monthly bill by $140

 

[mikells43]

thanks just read it , very useful thanks alot!

 

[steelcurtain11]

hi menno, my contract is up this november and i was wondering if you could help me in getting the best price for the phone and plan.
I currently am on a family plan with one of my parents, just a normal talk/unlimited text plan. but i plan on getting a droid phone and my parent will most likely just get another normal phone. right now for 700min and unlimited text we pay $100 i believe.
when it comes time to upgrade our phones, do we just go into the store and talk to them about new ones?
Also, how do i make sure i get all the possible discounts i can? say the new 2yr pricing on a droid and any additional money off that, or even any additional money off our plan per month? that'd be very hepful. do i just ask for those things or is there something i should mention about it?

Thanks

 

[jy2#AC]

"If, six months down the road"

What does this mean? Say you buy the new DroidX at the launch, signing a new contract for them on an unlimited everything plan. If, six months down the road, you decide that you don't really need unlimited minutes, and maybe you switched to using Google Voice for all your texting. You can call up customer service, lower yourself to a cheaper plan without any penalty. Say that in a year, you decide you don't need a smart phone anymore and pick up a cheap flip phone off Ebay and activate it. Again, no penalty.

Hi menno, thanks for such a clear write-up! I am assuming it all still holds... (I do wonder if perhaps there are special rules around the iPhone.)

I am wondering about the "If, six months down the road" clause. I noticed in another post you mention a six month minimum usually holds if going through somewhere like Wirefly. If upgrading from Verizon directly, can you switch back to a flip phone with no data plan sooner than that, without penalty? Supposing, say your mom or wife on her own contract is content with her flip phone for another two years, can this really score a discounted contract-free phone on a different contract?

Thanks again!

 

[wirefly_kim]

Hi menno, thanks for such a clear write-up! I am assuming it all still holds... (I do wonder if perhaps there are special rules around the iPhone.)

I am wondering about the "If, six months down the road" clause. I noticed in another post you mention a six month minimum usually holds if going through somewhere like Wirefly. If upgrading from Verizon directly, can you switch back to a flip phone with no data plan sooner than that, without penalty? Supposing, say your mom or wife on her own contract is content with her flip phone for another two years, can this really score a discounted contract-free phone on a different contract?

Thanks again!

With most 3rd parties, ourselves included, there is a 6 month contract that is agreed to at thet ime of purchase. One of the terms of this contract state that you will not lower your monthly rate plan during this period of time. You can read more about our Terms of Purchase here Wirefly terms and conditions including our equipment discount policy.

 

[ben7337]

Hi menno, thanks for such a clear write-up! I am assuming it all still holds... (I do wonder if perhaps there are special rules around the iPhone.)

I am wondering about the "If, six months down the road" clause. I noticed in another post you mention a six month minimum usually holds if going through somewhere like Wirefly. If upgrading from Verizon directly, can you switch back to a flip phone with no data plan sooner than that, without penalty? Supposing, say your mom or wife on her own contract is content with her flip phone for another two years, can this really score a discounted contract-free phone on a different contract?

Thanks again!

I know you asked menno, but figured I'd field the question and say that yes you can change your mother back to the flip phone if you upgrade her line and drop the data plan without any ill effects. However for simplicity you can also do what is known as a buddy or transfer upgrade where you use her upgrade on your line and her line is extended for another 2 years. This was not allowed with the iPhone 4 on verizon at launch, not sure if it is yet, and I also do not know if there are other phones subject to the same restrictions. However in general this is an easy way to do things and once 4G comes on in my area I intend to do this. Your monthly bill more than makes up the $300-$400 that verizon subsidizes in phone costs so to not use every upgrade available is only giving them more profit.

 

[Menno]

Hi menno, thanks for such a clear write-up! I am assuming it all still holds... (I do wonder if perhaps there are special rules around the iPhone.)

I am wondering about the "If, six months down the road" clause. I noticed in another post you mention a six month minimum usually holds if going through somewhere like Wirefly. If upgrading from Verizon directly, can you switch back to a flip phone with no data plan sooner than that, without penalty? Supposing, say your mom or wife on her own contract is content with her flip phone for another two years, can this really score a discounted contract-free phone on a different contract?

Thanks again!

Most of the information still holds. The big exceptions being there are no longer Annual upgrades or additional NE2 credits. I should really update it one of these days.


If you upgrade directly through Verizon, you can switch your phone sooner. How it would work in this case is you NEED to activate the upgraded phone on your mother/wifes line first. This will extend their contract by 2 years.

After that is done, you activate their old phone back on their number (the extended contract is still there) and then activate that new phone onto your number, or wherever you want it.

The only drawback to this is that you oftentimes cannot insure a phone activated this way, and unless your line is on the SAME account as your wife/mother's phone, you'll have problems with warranty claims as well.

If you ARE on the same account, I HIGHLY suggest you go to a corp store and ask them if they will do a buddy upgrade. (some retailers will offer this as well, with no other penalties) This will give you the new phone on your number but the extended contract on the upgrade just like above, but it's all done in a single step and warranty/insurance will apply like normal.

I hope that helps!

 

[happyaccidents3]

Is it possible to order a phone from wirefly /amazon/ letstalk.com on a 2 year contract then call Verizon and switch to a 1 year contract for an additional $70? Im trying to get the thunderbolt for a little as possible since i missed out on the $230 1 year price they had the first day.

 

[tdynasty]

Verizon Discontinuing One Year Contracts?

What's up with this Verizon? Continuing to screw the customers! Check out the link - Verizon Wireless Discontinuing One Year Contracts Starting April 17th Sad Sad Day:'(

 

[xtn]

Sooooo...

For a Droid I can walk in and pay $560.

Or I can walk in, pay $150 with a contract, pay $350 to cancel the contract, and walk out the door witj my new Droid for only $500?

What am I missing?

 

[Friend-O]

Sooooo...

For a Droid I can walk in and pay $560.

Or I can walk in, pay $150 with a contract, pay $350 to cancel the contract, and walk out the door witj my new Droid for only $500?

What am I missing?

Great point. And it would end up being less than $350 to cancel, as the amount decreases the further into the contract you are. Hmmm...

 

[STC09]

What's up with this Verizon? Continuing to screw the customers! Check out the link - Verizon Wireless Discontinuing One Year Contracts Starting April 17th Sad Sad Day:'(

Sleazy POS move, Verizon. I'm finishing out my current two-year on an OG Droid and was looking forward to having a new phone every year afterward. The Droid is so slow and obsolete now it's painful.

Does Sprint do one year contracts?

 

[Menno]

Sleazy POS move, Verizon. I'm finishing out my current two-year on an OG Droid and was looking forward to having a new phone every year afterward. The Droid is so slow and obsolete now it's painful.

Does Sprint do one year contracts?

No, unless something big changed the last time I checked. It's actually really hard to sign up with Sprint on anything other than a 2 year contract. Last time I tried (month to month, provided equipment) the store refused to do it for me. I hope the Nexus S 4g changes that.

 

[lardog]

Thanks for the clear details

 

[STC09]

Apparently corporate accounts are still eligible for one year contracts. If the next Nexus doesn't live up to expectations, this will be my backup plan.

No more two-year plans, NFW, for anything less than a Nexus-class superphone.