Is this a good plan? And will it work?

[Oxn]

Ok so i am NOT on a data plan.
I have had an upgrade available for 1 year now.

So my plan is can i ebay or CL a Thunderbolt, lock myself into a 2 year LTE plan, then when either Bionic or Targa comes out upgrade to that and sell off my TB at a slight loss?

So my question is that if im not on a data plan, and bring in a TB for them to activate and get a 2year data plan, will i lose my upgrade?

 

[ChuckG73]

You can activate a phone on VZW and not have to sign up for a contract and can just be on a month to month contract. Why would you want to lock into a contract when you are not getting the benefit of saving money on the phone? I brought a TB on CL. I still have my 2 every new sitting in pocket that I will use on the Bionic and then sell the TB.

 

[Oxn]

You can activate a phone on VZW and not have to sign up for a contract and can just be on a month to month contract. Why would you want to lock into a contract when you are not getting the benefit of saving money on the phone? I brought a TB on CL. I still have my 2 every new sitting in pocket that I will use on the Bionic and then sell the TB.

So your saying if i bring in a TB, i can just pay month to month for data? I wont have to extend my contract?

Edit: OO so basically youre doing what i planned on right?

Edit 2: But now you wont be locked into unlimited LTE.

 

[Hand_O_Death]

if u want to lock into unlimited 4G now, yes u need to buy a 4G phone while it is still unlimited and pay full price for the phone you want when it comes out. BUT their is no announcement on when tiered data will come into effect so I would wait for now. maybe the phone you want will come out before tiered.

 

[Oxn]

if u want to lock into unlimited 4G now, yes u need to buy a 4G phone while it is still unlimited and pay full price for the phone you want when it comes out. BUT their is no announcement on when tiered data will come into effect so I would wait for now. maybe the phone you want will come out before tiered.

but can i lock into the 2years without taking away my upgrade if i bring in a TB?

 

[Jude526]

You may be waiting for a long time for the Bionic. There are rumors it is scrapped

 

[Jude526]

when you bring in a device for them to activate that you didn't get from Verizon directly, there is no contract you will be month to month. And you can still use your upgrade when you want to use it. But if you are currently on a device that doesn't have a data plan, you will have to get a data plan regardless

 

[Blue Tide]

if u want to lock into unlimited 4G now, yes u need to buy a 4G phone while it is still unlimited and pay full price for the phone you want when it comes out. BUT their is no announcement on when tiered data will come into effect so I would wait for now. maybe the phone you want will come out before tiered.

Wait, so this brings up a question that affects me. I currently have a Droid 2 on 3G with unlimited data. If I were to buy a 4G phone AFTER tiered data comes out, would I be grandfathered or not? I always thought I would be, but if I don't have a 4G phone by then...?:-\

 

[DolfanCole]

but can i lock into the 2years without taking away my upgrade if i bring in a TB?

No, you'd have to use your upgrade. What he was saying is to lock in now, and if/when the phone you want comes along, sell the TB and get the new one at full price. Selling the TB will help cover the difference between the full price and contract price.

 

[Oxn]

when you bring in a device for them to activate that you didn't get from Verizon directly, there is no contract you will be month to month. And you can still use your upgrade when you want to use it. But if you are currently on a device that doesn't have a data plan, you will have to get a data plan regardless

Well yes i will get the data plan if its month to month, and as long as it dont effect my upgrade.

So i guess that is the plan then.

Buy a TB off ebay, get month to month data plan, and use my upgrade for the phone i really really want ie: Bionic or Targa or Droid 3 or SGII

 

[DolfanCole]

Wait, so this brings up a question that affects me. I currently have a Droid 2 on 3G with unlimited data. If I were to buy a 4G phone AFTER tiered data comes out, would I be grandfathered or not? I always thought I would be, but if I don't have a 4G phone by then...?:-\

If you buy a new phone and update your contract after tiered data comes out, then it's a totally new contract and you wouldn't be grandfathered (assuming they're grandfathering at all). But, if you buy at full price (off contract), then you can activate on your existing data plan. What I don't know though is how it will be handled going from 3G to 4G. They may require that you switch, although I have no idea.

 

[Oxn]

No, you'd have to use your upgrade. What he was saying is to lock in now, and if/when the phone you want comes along, sell the TB and get the new one at full price. Selling the TB will help cover the difference between the full price and contract price.

but if i dont lock in then my upgrade is still in tack right? and just pay month to month data?

 

[DolfanCole]

but if i dont lock in then my upgrade is still in tack right? and just pay month to month data?

As far as I know, that's correct.

But, maybe a better option is to go ahead and use the upgrade now, and when a better or more desired device comes out, get it at full price. In going that route, you're (1) locked in before tiered data; and (2) you're contract will be up sooner since you would have started it sooner. I'd recommend looking at the pluses/minuses of each route.

 

[Oxn]

Well the reason i wanna use my upgrade for later is because the TB is already cheapening on ebay, its around the 400 range now for a phone that is suppsoe to be like 650?

So if i do it the other way around and want to get for example bionic day one, ill be buying from verizon for like $700 plus tax.

 

[Oxn]

actually now that i think about it since im not going to be locking in anyways, i could go even cheaper and get like a DX or D2 and just go for 3G.

I dont have a smartphone thats why.

 

[DolfanCole]

actually now that i think about it since im not going to be locking in anyways, i could go even cheaper and get like a DX or D2 and just go for 3G.

I dont have a smartphone thats why.

As far as getting the TBolt cheaper now, you might see the same thing happen to the Bionic too. You'd just have to refrain from getting it right after launch.

That only caution would be on getting a 3G phone versus a 4G phone. I don't know if Verizon differentiates between the two at this point as far as data plans, but they may do so later. Locking in now with a 4G phone (assuming there's no difference in plans) may grandfather you into the 4G plan later. Again, much of this is just speculation on what Verizon will do though.

 

[Hand_O_Death]

but can i lock into the 2years without taking away my upgrade if i bring in a TB?

No, I believe that when you upgrade to a new phone through Verizon, you are using your new ever 2

And just remember if you want to get into the unlimited 4G plan, that would be the only reason to get a 4G phone you do not want. And then you could wait until we know for sure that the tiered is coming into effect.

 

[Oxn]

Also, since i never had a data plan before can you guys answer this for me?

If my bill cycle is for example the 5th of every month, and i decided to get dat on like the 27th, does that mean im going to be paying $29.99 for the first 8 days or so?

 

[Hand_O_Death]

With thing like that, they average the date and the price and charge you that.

Like if you are halfway through your cycle, they will charge you $15

Check when you purchase it to be sure though with whom your buying it from

BUT if your renewing your contract, it will be starting all over again anyways.

 

[BigDFSU]

Wait, so this brings up a question that affects me. I currently have a Droid 2 on 3G with unlimited data. If I were to buy a 4G phone AFTER tiered data comes out, would I be grandfathered or not? I always thought I would be, but if I don't have a 4G phone by then...?:-\

This is the question I've been trying to get answered.

I wasn't worried about the switch to tiered plans because I thought since I already had unlimited data on my Storm that when I upgraded, whenever I upgrade, that I would get unlimited data even with 4G. Is that not true though? Is Verizon considering the 4G plans completely separate? It honestly wouldn't surprise me, Verizon loves to screw people over in these types of ways.

I guess I can call but honestly I've noticed that if you call in a few times about something, you might end up with a different answer each time.