[Instruction] How to get a new phone and keep (legacy) Unlimited Data on Verizon

[NBAJ2K]

I was looking at possibly purchasing the LG G3 phone tonight or tomorrow morning (transferring a UDP upgrade to a 2gb line). It looks like I won't receive the phone until Tuesday the 26th at the earliest since Verizon doesn't ship on the weekends. Should I still be in the clear as long as I place the order before the 24th, or since I wouldn't be getting the phone till the 26th is that probably too late?

Part of me wants to just hold out hope that transferring an upgrade to a 2gb line won't be effected. Id prefer to wait and upgrade to one of the new Motorola phones rumored to be coming out in the next couple months. Looks like it might be a last minute decision on what I do, hopefully I play it right.

-J

 

[jfriend33]

Re: Verizon How to Both Get a Subsidized Phone and Keep Unlimited Data after 8/24/14

I wouldn't risk my unlimited plan with the bb loop hole. Too risky. Happy others have had success.

1400 min plan with 2 unltd and 3 feature phones. Only 2 ffs are under contract.*

I phoned verizon corporate CS. They insisted the phone has to be purchased on or by the 24th not activated and actually you have the full 14 days after receiving your order to make any changes.*

I'm ordering from best buy tomorrow or Sunday. I have 3 upgrades available. I'm going to use my $50 bb gc (from SD tablet trade in) , get a Galaxy S5 or lg g3 for $49.99, get a free $50 best buy gift card from a previous promo. So minus upgrade fee it's only $30 oop.*

I will then wait 14 days to see if anything newer is released. If not, sell the phone brand new on eBay or swappa.com. Put the $450-$500 in savings and get the new Droid maxx refresh, moto maxx, or shamu for full retail.*

There's no point in me not doing this. If the network optimization is that bad I will sell the phone and pay the etf and not be in the hole.*

I have seen a few documents stating September 13th as the official starting day which makes more sense to me because they need some type of a grace period for customer returns.*

I had my account remarked accordingly so if I do need to exchange my phone (in case I buy from Verizon due to whatever) I will be in the clear and also had it remarked I wouldn't lose my unlimited plan if my phone arrived after the 24th.*

They aren't discounting our plans if we pay retail. And there's a significant chance the throttling won't be that bad. Plus we would just lower our plan to 700 mins, keep the feature phones only, and take our smartphone business elsewhere.*

Am I crazy? Because I do have a 32gb droid maxx with unlocked bootloader and it's a great phone. The only reason I'm upgrading early is because I don't want to add $30 a month data plan until next year. And with 3 upgrades sitting I need at least one guaranteed upgrade...

 

[jfriend33]

Re: Verizon closing the transfer upgrade loophole?

My guess is that Verizon will change that so that when you transfer the upgrade to Line #2 and use it, it will extend Line #2's contract date, not Line #1's contract date.

In fact, that would be the only way they could enforce this - by extending Line #2's contract by 2 years and requiring the data plan stay on Line #2.

That would prevent you from extending your UDP line's contract date also, so it would be in line with Verizon's throttling policy b/c your UDP line would now be off contract and subject to throttling.

The terms are different now. Being under contract no longer makes a difference. Unlimited is unlimited.

My guess is that Verizon will change that so that when you transfer the upgrade to Line #2 and use it, it will extend Line #2's contract date, not Line #1's contract date.

In fact, that would be the only way they could enforce this - by extending Line #2's contract by 2 years and requiring the data plan stay on Line #2.

That would prevent you from extending your UDP line's contract date also, so it would be in line with Verizon's throttling policy b/c your UDP line would now be off contract and subject to throttling.

 

[jfriend33]

Re: Verizon: How to keep Unlimited Data and get phone on subsidized price

Isn't it possible they could evaluate all accounts at a later date and say hey you violated the TOS we're taking away your unlimited?

 

[NBAJ2K]

Re: Verizon How to Both Get a Subsidized Phone and Keep Unlimited Data after 8/24/14

I phoned verizon corporate CS. They insisted the phone has to be purchased on or by the 24th not activated and actually you have the full 14 days after receiving your order to make any changes.*

I will then wait 14 days to see if anything newer is released. If not, sell the phone brand new on eBay or swappa.com. Put the $450-$500 in savings and get the new Droid maxx refresh, moto maxx, or shamu for full retail.*

I have seen a few documents stating September 13th as the official starting day which makes more sense to me because they need some type of a grace period for customer returns.*

I had my account remarked accordingly so if I do need to exchange my phone (in case I buy from Verizon due to whatever) I will be in the clear and also had it remarked I wouldn't lose my unlimited plan if my phone arrived after the 24th.*

Am I crazy? Because I do have a 32gb droid maxx with unlocked bootloader and it's a great phone. The only reason I'm upgrading early is because I don't want to add $30 a month data plan until next year. And with 3 upgrades sitting I need at least one guaranteed upgrade...

Thanks for this post. Do you happen to know if I went ahead and transferred my UDP upgraded to a 2gb line and ordered a LG G3, am I able to immediately sell it on Swappa in the sealed box, or would I have to activate it first on one of the lines?

What you were mentioning about selling on Swappa is exactly what I was going to try to do, banking the money and then using that to buy a phone for retail in the future. I'm hoping what you were told is correct and that as long as I order the phoen before the 24th I'll be ok. I'll just sit on it and not activate it, that should be fine, right? Worst case is I could always pay the $35 restocking fee if I find out that transferring a UDP upgrade to another line is still an option after this date.

I'm on the Galaxy S4... really miss having a phone with an unlocked bootloader.

-J

 

[jfriend33]

Re: Verizon How to Both Get a Subsidized Phone and Keep Unlimited Data after 8/24/14

Thanks for this post. Do you happen to know if I went ahead and transferred my UDP upgraded to a 2gb line and ordered a LG G3, am I able to immediately sell it on Swappa in the sealed box, or would I have to activate it first on one of the lines?

What you were mentioning about selling on Swappa is exactly what I was going to try to do, banking the money and then using that to buy a phone for retail in the future. I'm hoping what you were told is correct and that as long as I order the phoen before the 24th I'll be ok. I'll just sit on it and not activate it, that should be fine, right? Worst case is I could always pay the $35 restocking fee if I find out that transferring a UDP upgrade to another line is still an option after this date.

I'm on the Galaxy S4... really miss having a phone with an unlocked bootloader.

-J

You don't need to rush to do anything.
You have a line with tiered data that costs over 30 a month.
All you have to do is anytime now or after the 24th just xfer the upgrade to the line with the tiered data.

I may end up adding data myself just wasn't wanting to just yet .

You can sell your phone just keep the sim.

Others can correct me if I'm wrong but in this scenario it wouldn't matter if you activate it first or not.

I would probably just activate it just to get the pending change off my account.

 

[jfriend33]

Re: Verizon How to Both Get a Subsidized Phone and Keep Unlimited Data after 8/24/14

Thanks for this post. Do you happen to know if I went ahead and transferred my UDP upgraded to a 2gb line and ordered a LG G3, am I able to immediately sell it on Swappa in the sealed box, or would I have to activate it first on one of the lines?

What you were mentioning about selling on Swappa is exactly what I was going to try to do, banking the money and then using that to buy a phone for retail in the future. I'm hoping what you were told is correct and that as long as I order the phoen before the 24th I'll be ok. I'll just sit on it and not activate it, that should be fine, right? Worst case is I could always pay the $35 restocking fee if I find out that transferring a UDP upgrade to another line is still an option after this date.

I'm on the Galaxy S4... really miss having a phone with an unlocked bootloader.

-J

What is your current account setup

 

[NBAJ2K]

Re: Verizon How to Both Get a Subsidized Phone and Keep Unlimited Data after 8/24/14

What is your current account setup

Line 1 - 2GB Tiered
Line 2 - 2GB Tiered
Line 3 - UDP
Line 4 - UDP (Upgrade Available).

I was planning to transfer the upgrade from Line 4, to line 2, and then once i received the phone, activate it on line 3. It sounds like I shouldn't have a problem with this before Aug 24th, but since I won't be receiving the phone until after the 24th, hopefully that won't be a problem.

I know the loophole that's definitely going to be closing is the one for activating a data plan on a feature phone line and then taking it off, but I'm a little worried about the loophole of transferring an upgrade to a tiered line may close too (and force me to lose my unlimited data). That's why to be safe, I was debating possibly trying to do the upgrade now, sell the phone, and then just purchase one for full retail in the future. It's definitely more of a hassle, but hopefully would lead to a better chance of upgrading to a new phone (maybe Moto S?) and keeping unlimited data.

-J

 

[jfriend33]

Re: Verizon How to Both Get a Subsidized Phone and Keep Unlimited Data after 8/24/14

Line 1 - 2GB Tiered
Line 2 - 2GB Tiered
Line 3 - UDP
Line 4 - UDP (Upgrade Available).

I was planning to transfer the upgrade from Line 4, to line 2, and then once i received the phone, activate it on line 3. It sounds like I shouldn't have a problem with this before Aug 24th, but since I won't be receiving the phone until after the 24th, hopefully that won't be a problem.

I know the loophole that's definitely going to be closing is the one for activating a data plan on a feature phone line and then taking it off, but I'm a little worried about the loophole of transferring an upgrade to a tiered line may close too (and force me to lose my unlimited data). That's why to be safe, I was debating possibly trying to do the upgrade now, sell the phone, and then just purchase one for full retail in the future. It's definitely more of a hassle, but hopefully would lead to a better chance of upgrading to a new phone (maybe Moto S?) and keeping unlimited data.

-J

Call Verizon, I promise you after the 25th you will have no problem at all upgrading. Since you have a data package that is not unlimited all you have to do is keep transferring your upgrades to that line. Good luck buddy.

Sent from my unlocked consumer edition Motorola Droid Maxx xt1080m.

 

[HuskyKMA]

Re: Verizon: How to keep Unlimited Data and get phone on subsidized price

Had a scare today when I had a email from Verizon titled "Account Change Notification" in my inbox.

Opened it up expecting the worst. Turns out it was just letting me know that I had a free trial of visual voice mail on my new device. Phew!

 

[NBAJ2K]

Re: Verizon How to Both Get a Subsidized Phone and Keep Unlimited Data after 8/24/14

Call Verizon, I promise you after the 25th you will have no problem at all upgrading. Since you have a data package that is not unlimited all you have to do is keep transferring your upgrades to that line. Good luck buddy.

Sent from my unlocked consumer edition Motorola Droid Maxx xt1080m.

I really hope you are right.... Since Verizon is doing their best to slowly get people off of the unlimited plans, I definitely see them force me off if i try to transfer the upgrade and then upgrade that's all. I believe even JulesJam who started this thread mentioned it previously that it is unknown what Verizon will do for that scenario just yet.

I don't know if I want to call Verizon, since I'm not sure I want to tell them I'm transferring a UDP upgrade to a different line and have them possibly notate my account or screw something up for me. From what I was read, I want to leave the reps out of it as much as possible. (I guess I'm a little paraniod, but I worked hard to get the unlimited line in the first place through a diff loophole awhile back, really don't want to mess that up!)

-J

 

[jfriend33]

Re: Verizon How to Both Get a Subsidized Phone and Keep Unlimited Data after 8/24/14

I really hope you are right.... Since Verizon is doing their best to slowly get people off of the unlimited plans, I definitely see them force me off if i try to transfer the upgrade and then upgrade that's all. I believe even JulesJam who started this thread mentioned it previously that it is unknown what Verizon will do for that scenario just yet.

I don't know if I want to call Verizon, since I'm not sure I want to tell them I'm transferring a UDP upgrade to a different line and have them possibly notate my account or screw something up for me. From what I was read, I want to leave the reps out of it as much as possible. (I guess I'm a little paraniod, but I worked hard to get the unlimited line in the first place through a diff loophole awhile back, really don't want to mess that up!)

-J

It's completely understandable man. I swear to god I'm going to lose my hair over this.

Another part of me wishes I would have sold both of my unlimited lines for 500 each on eBay. A small part of me wants to believe that the next generation volte will be compatible with our unlimited plans. And any network optimization would be negligible due to such fast speeds.

Sent from my unlocked consumer edition Motorola Droid Maxx xt1080m.

 

[diesteldorf]

Re: Verizon to close the upgrade to smartphone then downgrade to basic phone loophole

If you can pick it up in store I don't see a problem with it as long as you're not using the upgrade on a UDP line.

Transfer the upgrade, go to the store, and watch them activate it for you on the line you upgraded. Thank them and go home. Turn the new phone off, remove the SIM, and activate another phone on that line. For a 4G device, put the new SIM in and turn it on. Something older, go to the website and click on "Activate or Switch a Device" under your account and follow the prompts. Then put your SIM in the new phone and turn it on.

Note that this doesn't change after Sunday. What changes is the requirement that you keep paying for a data plan on a line you upgrade. Currently, if you switch the line you used the upgrade on back to a dumbphone, the data plan drops back off. Come Sunday, you'll have to keep paying for it even if you switch that line to a phone that can't use it.

Previously, I had always transferred upgrades through VZW.com, but Best Buys price was cheaper by $100, so I debated and took a chance.

I transferred the upgrade and and placed the order through bestbuy.com. I selected in store pickup and activated in store. The employee was pretty cool, in that he didn't seem to mind when I told him I knew how to program the phone myself. It wasn't for fear of losing UDP, but I was in a hurry and was planning to sell the phone.

The transferred uograde worked and the new phone was activated on my basic line, using the sim card that came with the phone. It had the 2 GB data plan. My UDP line still has unlimited after almost 3 weeks and the contract was extended for 2 years.

I still prefer upgrading through VZW.com and avoiding Best Buy, but I was able to get the job done. At this point, Best Buy is best if you are looking to upgrade under the current policy.

 

[DroidxRage]

Re: Verizon: How to keep Unlimited Data and get phone on subsidized price

Confirmed LG G3 through Amazon and kept my unlimited data plan. Just activated this morning and so far so good!

Options during checkout: 2GB / Verizon TEC. Swapped SIM from old phone into new G3 and voila, it recognized the account and Verizon page is still showing my UDP!

One thing I noticed: I was worried about accidentally hitting power while trying to take the back plate off my G3 to get the SIM, and therefore activating the BAD SIM inside. Fear not, the battery is not in the device when it ships so no fear of turning the device on!

THANK YOU to all the good people of the internets who helped make this happen. I owe you all a debt of gratitude. <3 my Android community!

 

[UDPGuy]

Re: Verizon to close the upgrade to smartphone then downgrade to basic phone loophole

Previously, I had always transferred upgrades through VZW.com, but Best Buys price was cheaper by $100, so I debated and took a chance.

I transferred the upgrade and and placed the order through bestbuy.com. I selected in store pickup and activated in store. The employee was pretty cool, in that he didn't seem to mind when I told him I knew how to program the phone myself. It wasn't for fear of losing UDP, but I was in a hurry and was planning to sell the phone.

The transferred uograde worked and the new phone was activated on my basic line, using the sim card that came with the phone. It had the 2 GB data plan. My UDP line still has unlimited after almost 3 weeks and the contract was extended for 2 years.

I still prefer upgrading through VZW.com and avoiding Best Buy, but I was able to get the job done. At this point, Best Buy is best if you are looking to upgrade under the current policy.

Very true. Best buy is always cheaper, or they will price match. And it's usually faster then Verizon directly.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[yourphonemyphone]

Re: Verizon closing the transfer upgrade loophole?

The terms are different now. Being under contract no longer makes a difference. Unlimited is unlimited.

Are you referring to the fact that being under contract is no longer one of the conditions VZW will use to decide to throttle you or not?

Today is August 23. I assume today is the very last day people can use the loophole to use a basic line to get smartphones with no need to commit to 24 months of data plan, even with a basic phone line?

I wonder how many people, outside of us geeky guys/gals on AndroidCentral or related forums) know about this new change. I sure hope Verizon makes this new policy to customers very clearly when they upgrade new phones after tomorrow.... or else there will be a lot of people getting stuck with 24 months of data for each basic line they upgrade.

 

[BabyCave]

Re: Verizon: Unlimited data Plan - How Much Longer?

I know this is an old post, but I wanted to make an update.

A few days ago I used my upgrade to go from a Droid Razr Maxx 2 to the Moto X. I had previously been grandfathered in with the Unlimited Data plan, and never once had an issue upgrading. When I went to upgrade, I didn't get any notifications about switching plans or features, nor any "by clicking this you agree to blah-blahs" and when prompted to pick a new plan, I chose "I do not wish to switch plans at this time."

When I got my new phone in the mail, I activated it and checked "My Verizon," and they had switched me to the 2GB data plan without notifying me that they would. I called Verizon support, and the rep (who claimed to be a tier-2 employee) told me it was impossible for me to keep my UDP and upgrade my phone, because they do not offer it anymore with the new phones.

I WAS told that I could go to a Verizon store, reverse the upgrade, and they could restore my UDP to my old phone, but I would not be able to upgrade and keep my UDP, because for some "reason" that the rep couldn't explain, the new phones are "not compatible" with the UDP. This sounded like utter BS, and I'm pretty pissed that VZ would do that.

I was also told that after reverting the upgrade, I would "lose" my free upgrade.

 

[Mr. Toad]

Re: Verizon: Unlimited data Plan - How Much Longer?

I know this is an old post, but I wanted to make an update.

A few days ago I used my upgrade to go from a Droid Razr Maxx 2 to the Moto X. I had previously been grandfathered in with the Unlimited Data plan, and never once had an issue upgrading. When I went to upgrade, I didn't get any notifications about switching plans or features, nor any "by clicking this you agree to blah-blahs" and when prompted to pick a new plan, I chose "I do not wish to switch plans at this time."

When I got my new phone in the mail, I activated it and checked "My Verizon," and they had switched me to the 2GB data plan without notifying me that they would. I called Verizon support, and the rep (who claimed to be a tier-2 employee) told me it was impossible for me to keep my UDP and upgrade my phone, because they do not offer it anymore with the new phones.

I WAS told that I could go to a Verizon store, reverse the upgrade, and they could restore my UDP to my old phone, but I would not be able to upgrade and keep my UDP, because for some "reason" that the rep couldn't explain, the new phones are "not compatible" with the UDP. This sounded like utter BS, and I'm pretty pissed that VZ would do that.

I was also told that after reverting the upgrade, I would "lose" my free upgrade.

That is nothing new. Verizon has not allowed an upgrade on an unlimited line for over 2 years now. They have been upfront about it.

On this and other forums you will see many large threads on how to use a loophole to get an upgrade and keep your unlimited data.

 

[BlueDaNoob]

Re: [Instruction] How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

It doesn't look like I'll receive the phone until after the 25th, even though I ordered it this morning (22nd). I wonder if the changes on the 25th will affect me since I've already ordered?

edit: I actually have chat logs from verizon CSRs telling me to use this method so hopefully they won't screw me over.

This is what I am trying to find out by scouring the web right now and am not having any luck. Have an unlimited line w/ upgrade available and dummy line with none. Was going to do the regular transfer trick but the catch it seems is that people are saying when the phone arrives you need to turn it on with the assigned SIM in it to complete the activation process. THEN you can just swap whatever SIM card from a different line onto it.

I haven't done this yet because it's Sat the 23rd and the loophole is slated to close tomorrow. Obviously, I can still do the transfer online and order the phone but it will not arrive until after the date this ability ends. Even if I place the order now, when the phone arrives after the 24th will turning it on to complete the activation on the dummy line take on the new terms and require that dummy line keep that data plan?

 

[dpham00]

Re: Verizon: Unlimited data Plan - How Much Longer?

Sounds about right. Officially they don't let you keep unlimited. There should have been a warning somewhere in the upgrade process.

As for the past, the Droid razr maxx came out in January 2012,and upgrades keeping unlimited data ended around July 2012,so assuming that you got the Droid razr maxx before the cutoff then you should have had no problem keeping unlimited at that time.

Also, you can return the device, and the upgrade should be reset. Then you can use one of the loopholes to upgrade

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3