Made Deal With Vzw, your opinion?

[df79transam]

I'm having second thoughts a little bit, I just made a deal with Verizon and I'm wondering if it was a good one. I had a droid razr maxx stop working on me, and I started having problems with the several replacements they sent me. I was persistent with them, I've call what seems 100 times in three weeks, and I finally made a deal with them

I wanted them to sell me a razr maxx hd with a two year contract but I didn't want to lose my grandfathered unlimited data plan, several days have went by trying to get them to let me keep it, and there is no way they are going to allow that. I can't in no way buy a phone out right, my only way is to buy it on a contract.

I told the rep, if I can't have my unlimited data, I would like to have 5gb of data but I didn't want to pay no more on my bill than what I'm paying now, which is $80.00 a month.

They came back at me a few hours ago as I was on the phone with them and they proposed this, they said I could get the razr maxx hd with a two year contract price, and that I could have the 5gb plan at the price I requested but under one deal, I can pay $30 a month for the 5gb plan for 12 months, and the extra $20 of the plan, they would credit my account and give me $240 to spend as I wish, I can put it towards paying for the phone, which is $199 on a two year contract.

I done a ton of research over the three weeks that I have been dealing with Verizon, and from what I gather, Verizon will or MIGHT get rid of the grandfathered unlimited data plan in the up coming years. Most will be off their contracts by 2014, and most will want the latest and greatest phone, most can't afford to fork out full retail to purchase a phone, and will have to buy a phone on contract, therefore having to give up his or her unlimited data plan. As of right now, its just a rumor on the internet, but I find it to have a lot of truth to it, Verizon wants people off its unlimited data because its not making them any money, its costing them money. These new data plans that came out in 2012, its meant to make Verizon money.

Going off this information, I finally decided, with my income, and assuming Verizon will do away with the unlimited data plans, I decided to take the bait they put in front of me. I feel like it was an ok deal, but I'm having second thoughts, what is your guys opinion?

 

[diesteldorf]

Obviously, the key is whether Verizon will forcibly yank unlimited data from everyone at some point. No one knows. However, according to them, over 30% of customers are on a share everything plan so the number of those with unlimited data is destined to keep shrinking.

I use my phone as a mobile internet and tablet device first and a phone second. I always have and there are months where I may only use 1-2 GB but others where I may use 5-10 or even 22--my personal high. I know if I lost it, I would have to change the way I use my device. The monthly service plan would lose its value, and I may cancel VZW or go back to a basic phone.

You essentially got a Razr Maxx for free with a little credit left over. Unlimited Data lines are normally going for $250-$300 on ebay, but you'd have to subtract the listing/final value/paypal fees from your take, so by getting VZW to pay you $240 to willingly give it up worked OK for you.

If they take it away from me, I'll have the option to leave Verizon or take a hefty subsidy on a top of the line device. However, I'll never give it up voluntarily. It's just too valuable in my opinion and even new phones depreciate too quickly while Verizon's network coverage will only keep getting better.

 

[df79transam]

That's comforting to hear that, I felt like I made a deal with the devil and lost. I hate so much giving up my unlimited data plan, and I had decided that I would fight to keep it no matter what. After doing all the research I done, reading anything verizon related, I felt strongly afterwards that there is no way that I could win, unlimited data I foresee will be a rare thing in the future, therefore I took the deal.

The most I've ever used is 4.5gb and that was one month, usually my usage is 3.5gb a month. I hate knowing a year from now, I'll start paying $50 for limited data that I was paying $30 to use as much as I wanted but essentially getting a free $650 phone makes things feel better for a short while.

 

[Eclipse2K]

Certified Like New Replacements seem to be hit or miss. I have had your experiences in the past so I try and avoid them if possible. However, at this stage I would not be willing to give up unlimited data for a RAZR MAXX HD. The specifications are lackluster and the device is more than half a year old. The only thing it has going for it is the battery life which is similar to the Note II. If you're happy with the RAZR HD for the next two years go for it but I could imagine it becoming slow and lag filled within that two year time span. I'm not trying to rip on the RAZR HD but rather help you make an informed decision since you're giving up a lot for a glorified RAZR Maxx with slightly better battery and HD (although pentile and mediocre at all but the brightest settings).

On a side note I wouldn't have a smart phone if I only had 2 GB of data. I don't have a Note II to surf the web at home where I have Wi-Fi. I'll use my expensive computer for that one. I want to be able to watch Netflix on the go or stay connected to Skype if I choose to without worry. You're being offered the 5 GB which is better but I still find such small data cap limits to be counter productive. Phones are becoming more advances with what it can do with data and they're taking the data away.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II

 

[df79transam]

I read a thread of yours from a while back, you had a regular razr maxx, and went through 8 replacements before you finally decided to just buy a razr maxx hd. Sounds like the hd didn't meet you standards?

I received one replacement maxx, after my original maxx just died, the replacement they sent me, the front facing camera will not even work, I demanded they let me have an equivalent phone to what I had, I love the battery life on the maxx, and I'm a strong believer in Motorola radios, they seem to pick up a cell signal better than any other maker I have tried, LG, and Samsung, Samsung I've really had a bad experience with, that's why I went with the hd, I was totally happy with my razr maxx, and planned to buy it before they did away with the grandfathered plans and it be my last phone for a while, but it didn't happen as planned.

 

[Eclipse2K]

I read a thread of yours from a while back, you had a regular razr maxx, and went through 8 replacements before you finally decided to just buy a razr maxx hd. Sounds like the hd didn't meet you standards?

I received one replacement maxx, after my original maxx just died, the replacement they sent me, the front facing camera will not even work, I demanded they let me have an equivalent phone to what I had, I love the battery life on the maxx, and I'm a strong believer in Motorola radios, they seem to pick up a cell signal better than any other maker I have tried, LG, and Samsung, Samsung I've really had a bad experience with, that's why I went with the hd, I was totally happy with my razr maxx, and planned to buy it before they did away with the grandfathered plans and it be my last phone for a while, but it didn't happen as planned.

The RAZR HD was great for the time being but the Wi-Fi kept cutting out on several different router setups. I switched to a Note II due to this and than tried using a RAZR HD again and I couldn't do it. Not saying the RAZR HD is a bad phone but it isn't techy enough for me.

As for the radios I would agree Motorola used to be superior but that's no longer true. While Motorola has great radios Samsung has improved tremendously with the Note II. A side by side comparison showed the Note II with a slightly better signal than the RAZR HD based on dBm. That's not saying the RAZR HD was bad but Samsung has caught up.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II

 

[df79transam]

Will I'll be dang, I didn't know that. Yeah I can agree with you on the tech stuff, I myself am a nerd when it comes to electronics, and I try to stay up to date on the latest news, but I would say I'm a little behind, (Nov 2012 latest). My brother had an S3 last year for a short while, he had bad luck getting a signal and because of it traded for a razr hd, he used to have a razr before the s3, he couldn't wait to get a moto phone again, he still has the razr hd and loves it.

But I understand that people have different experiences with cell phones and go with what works for them, and that's what makes this area so fun. And I suppose to we as people are creatures of habit and tend to stick to what we know, like ford vs Chevy kind of thing.

That's great to hear about Samsung, I love the design of their phones, and most of all they are not afraid to punch Apple back in the face.

The one thing that appeals to me with this phone is the battery, the fact that it doesn't look like the case would scratch easily, and it's new, like yourself, I know how bad you hate refurbished phones, i to despise them. They can take a turd, roll it around on a table, take it apart, give it a one hundred point inspection, and they are not going to convince me it's better than new, it's still a dang turd, aka refurbished phones.

 

[cadzilla74]

I think, under the circumstances, you managed to barter your way into something you can live with and save a few bucks along the way so, kudos to you for even taking the time and making the effort to try to get Verizon to work with you.

While I'm sure Verizon will find a away at some point to completely do away with unlimited data plans, as long as it is still available I'll be hanging on to mine and buying my next phone retail.

A "subsidized phone" combined with loss of unlimited data is no bargain.

My wife and I both still hvae unlimited. It would cost me $70 more a month for us to get lumped together on a 10gb shared plan.

So that's $70 per month times 24 months equals $1,680 more. Plus the "subsidized phone" isn't free so add another $200 for that.

So by biting the bullet and paying $700 for a new S4 let's say, I'm still saving almost $1,200.

I simply can't justify donating a over a grand to Verizon for absolutely zero improvement, actually more restrictions, in service. Whether it is a lump sum or stretched over months of overinflated payments, I have a lot better things to do with the money.

We grandfathered unlimited customers have only 3 clear choices when it comes to getting a new flagship phone.

1. Bail on Verizon altogether
2. Lose unlimited and end up paying a LOT more and getting nothing in return except a new phone
3. Pay the retail price of the phone and save a pile of dough in the long run

I appreciate everyone's situation is different but for me, I'm going to go one more round paying retail and hoping I can keep the unlimited for the life of this one before I don't have the choice.

 

[Droid3r]

I think, under the circumstances, you managed to barter your way into something you can live with and save a few bucks along the way so, kudos to you for even taking the time and making the effort to try to get Verizon to work with you.

While I'm sure Verizon will find a away at some point to completely do away with unlimited data plans, as long as it is still available I'll be hanging on to mine and buying my next phone retail.

A "subsidized phone" combined with loss of unlimited data is no bargain.

My wife and I both still hvae unlimited. It would cost me $70 more a month for us to get lumped together on a 10gb shared plan.

So that's $70 per month times 24 months equals $1,680 more. Plus the "subsidized phone" isn't free so add another $200 for that.

So by biting the bullet and paying $700 for a new S4 let's say, I'm still saving almost $1,200.

I simply can't justify donating a over a grand to Verizon for absolutely zero improvement, actually more restrictions, in service. Whether it is a lump sum or stretched over months of overinflated payments, I have a lot better things to do with the money.

We grandfathered unlimited customers have only 3 clear choices when it comes to getting a new flagship phone.

1. Bail on Verizon altogether
2. Lose unlimited and end up paying a LOT more and getting nothing in return except a new phone
3. Pay the retail price of the phone and save a pile of dough in the long run

I appreciate everyone's situation is different but for me, I'm going to go one more round paying retail and hoping I can keep the unlimited for the life of this one before I don't have the choice.

I would never get on VZW tiered data plans. I live in NYC so tmobile is a good alternative for me if VZW tries to force me off.

iSheep... iSheep... Meowww that's Apple VZW GSIII

 

[df79transam]

I live in west Tennessee, out in the sticks, I wish I had the opportunity of T Mobile but just don't. At&t or Verizon is it for me, Verizon is far better unfortunately than At&t, at my current address. I hate the directions that carriers are taking, either its because of a bad economy or they are money hungry, I think its the last thing, money hungry. What upsets me is, back in 2008 or 2009, can't remember, when I bought my storm one (yeah I know, it was junk), Verizon advertised unlimited data, just $30 a month, with the impression I could use all I wanted. Will...being who they are (not just Verizon per say) they can't admit that they screwed up, they under estimated future of smart phones, may that was it, and are trying to fix the amount of people using data. They weren't making money off the unlimited data, so they found a way to get more money, and prevent the high amount of traffic through the air waves.

I don't know the case, all I know is that, as a previous unlimited data owner, it makes me angry for Verizon to take away the options I used to have. I know they can do as they please, and I foresee unlimited data coming to and end, but to advertise to me several years ago unlimited, and then later on sell me just a bucket full amount to use, that's unfair. Many are like myself, I barely manage to get by each month on what I make, and I am a tech nerd, so I love at least trying to get a new phone every so often but in order to do that, my best option is a subsidized phone. The only way I could pay full retail for a phone is to get a loan from the bank, and I really don't want to do that.

I don't know, it just all depends on what is right for the individual, like some have stated, you have to sit down and crunch some numbers now days. What I don't like is, a few years ago, it just didn't seem this way, you had options, the new every two program they had, you could purchase a phone on a one year contract, get $50 or $100 back through a rebate card, and things like that, Verizon and other carriers made you feel all warm and tingly on the inside, and as a consumer, I loved that, it made me want to keep coming back but as it is now days, I feel like an unappreciated prisoner.

I wish that Verizon would have went back like At&t did on existing customers being able to keep their unlimited data when thinking of purchasing a subsidized phone on contract before I decided to take the deal. But on another note as I said earlier, I think the days of unlimited data plans are numbered, and that sucks, a smartphone needs data, and to have that data limited just sucks, whats the point of having a smart phone if you can't enjoy watching movies on the go, or what ever it is you enjoy.

From one forum, I was reading in a thread about a persons view on why unlimited data might come to and end. People told the person that if Verizon was to say this year, "unlimited data is gone", it would make a whole lot of people angry and possibly leave. That person came back and said that in June of 2014, folks are going to be reaching the end of his or her contracts, and like myself, they are going to want to buy the latest smartphone, and be faced with what I recently had to decide, and that person said, many will take the new phone. With many people making this move, more and more will give up their unlimited data plan, and that will leave that many less on the unlimited data. Will either from 2014-2020, there will be few and few people on these plans, and that is when Verizon will announce that everyone has to get on a tier data plan.

Keep in mind, this is only speculation, you know what that means, heck the earth might blow up before then and no one will have to worry about unlimited data plans.

 

[Eclipse2K]

Its all about what type of device you're looking for and the opinions of others should have no merit on your final decision. We can help guide you to the positives and negatives of each device but in the end the device you choose is the one you'll be using; not us. If you were happy with the RAZR Maxx you'll be delighted with the HD. I was extremely happy with the HD until I used the Note II so as I said definitely not a bad phone.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II

 

[df79transam]

Thank you eclipse, I appreciate your honesty.

 

[Eclipse2K]

Thank you eclipse, I appreciate your honesty.

No problem. You need to ask yourself what you'll be using your phone for. I had no issues with the RAZR HD for texting, calls, surfing the web, and a little bit of video. The battery life was superior to any other phone and runs a very vanilla form of Android. I will admit that I have noticed the Wi-Fi issues were mostly due to Jelly Bean and not the RAZR. I had these same issues on my Note II although its not as noticeable or common. I have used Linksys routers and my new Asus router so I have tried different setups.

The main reason I prefer the Note II is because if its more vibrant and larger screen. If that doesn't mean anything to you and you prefer slightly (or way better depending in usage type) battery life than the RAZR HD is for you. Consider this - the RAZR HD gets similar battery life to the RAZR Maxx that you have been using. The RAZR Maxx HD gets far better battery than the original RAZR Maxx that you have. And both devices run with a 3300 mAh battery.

Enjoy it man!

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II

 

[PhiPsi32]

This is an excellent thread, and I like the discussion points. Based on the comments I typically see on the forum, subscribers have a short term outlook on their wireless plans. By that I mean the value of retaining an unlimited data plan is weighed against the cost and opportunity of purchasing the newest handsets. Really, the emphasis is on new handsets (just look at all the posts anticipating the S4, One, the next Nexus device etc.). But as it has been pointed out, these feature rich handsets are desirable for the services they offer such as streaming media, video chat, cloud storage, and so on. It all leads to larger and larger consumption of mobile data. Hence, it looks like the best long term play is to retain your unlimited data plan if you have one.

On the other hand, I see some changes coming. Verizon is almost ready to roll out Voice over LTE (VoLTE). The prediction is that VoLTE will be available network wide by the end of 2015. VZW will likely retain CDMA voice service for another year or two to accomodate legacy devices. Once legacy service is discontinued, it's all mobile data. It would be at this point that I expect VZW to can the remaining unlimited data plans (and plans with airtime). I expect there will be very few by that point anyway, at least not enough to cause unmanageable churn in the subscriber base.

 

[diesteldorf]

PhiPsi32,

You bring up good points, and if it takes Verizon till 2016-2017 to kill all unlimited data plans, I'll deal with it then. I would also expect the technology to have evolved and the data caps to be higher too.

 

[PhiPsi32]

I agree completely and had a similar thought. I expect the networks to become more efficient (handling more data traffic for the same or reduced cost). If we're lucky, the technology will evolve in a fashion such that VZW can offer larger data buckets for the same price without eroding their profits.

PhiPsi32,

You bring up good points, and if it takes Verizon till 2016-2017 to kill all unlimited data plans, I'll deal with it then. I would also expect the technology to have evolved and the data caps to be hire too.

 

[dpham00]

This is an excellent thread, and I like the discussion points. Based on the comments I typically see on the forum, subscribers have a short term outlook on their wireless plans. By that I mean the value of retaining an unlimited data plan is weighed against the cost and opportunity of purchasing the newest handsets. Really, the emphasis is on new handsets (just look at all the posts anticipating the S4, One, the next Nexus device etc.). But as it has been pointed out, these feature rich handsets are desirable for the services they offer such as streaming media, video chat, cloud storage, and so on. It all leads to larger and larger consumption of mobile data. Hence, it looks like the best long term play is to retain your unlimited data plan if you have one.

On the other hand, I see some changes coming. Verizon is almost ready to roll out Voice over LTE (VoLTE). The prediction is that VoLTE will be available network wide by the end of 2015. VZW will likely retain CDMA voice service for another year or two to accomodate legacy devices. Once legacy service is discontinued, it's all mobile data. It would be at this point that I expect VZW to can the remaining unlimited data plans (and plans with airtime). I expect there will be very few by that point anyway, at least not enough to cause unmanageable churn in the subscriber base.

Where are you getting your information?

It is my understanding that Verizon would sunset CDMA 2021 at the earliest.

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note II

 

[dpham00]

This is an excellent thread, and I like the discussion points. Based on the comments I typically see on the forum, subscribers have a short term outlook on their wireless plans. By that I mean the value of retaining an unlimited data plan is weighed against the cost and opportunity of purchasing the newest handsets. Really, the emphasis is on new handsets (just look at all the posts anticipating the S4, One, the next Nexus device etc.). But as it has been pointed out, these feature rich handsets are desirable for the services they offer such as streaming media, video chat, cloud storage, and so on. It all leads to larger and larger consumption of mobile data. Hence, it looks like the best long term play is to retain your unlimited data plan if you have one.

On the other hand, I see some changes coming. Verizon is almost ready to roll out Voice over LTE (VoLTE). The prediction is that VoLTE will be available network wide by the end of 2015. VZW will likely retain CDMA voice service for another year or two to accomodate legacy devices. Once legacy service is discontinued, it's all mobile data. It would be at this point that I expect VZW to can the remaining unlimited data plans (and plans with airtime). I expect there will be very few by that point anyway, at least not enough to cause unmanageable churn in the subscriber base.

Where are you getting your information? It is my understanding that Verizon is sunsetting CDMA 2021 at the earliest


http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/verizon-wireless-sunset-2g-and-3g-cdma-networks-2021/2012-10-10

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note II

 

[gollum18]

Where are you getting your information? It is my understanding that Verizon is sunsetting CDMA 2021 at the earliest


http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/verizon-wireless-sunset-2g-and-3g-cdma-networks-2021/2012-10-10

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note II

Good glad to see they are finally moving on from that 100+ year old tech. Maybe sprint can follow suit.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[dpham00]

Good glad to see they are finally moving on from that 100+ year old tech. Maybe sprint can follow suit.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Honestly, I don't care how old the tech is, I will stay with them so long as Verizon provides the best total network coverage.

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note II