Should I switch back to Verizon??

[angelbones1]

I'm in a bit of a dilemma about what to do so I thought I would come to you experts on your take. Less than two weeks ago, I switched to Fi by porting my existing number which I had been using on Verizon (non-Nexus phone then, a 6p now). So far service has been fine and I was prepared to keep it for a while, if not permanently. Then, although I was told that since I only had two months left on my contract, I could switch without penalty. Yesterday, I was told there would be a penalty. When I made the switch I had no problems paying out the rest of my contract, which is approximately the same amount as the early term fee. In other words, that penalty sucked but I was willing to live with it as I figured going forward, I would be saving money with Fi.

Now, here's the complication. Verizon says that I have 90 days to come back and they would refund that penalty. I was sharing data with two family members on that contract but I was told I could either join back up with them or just do a separate deal in my name. If I go back with my family members, it will actually be cheaper than staying on Fi, since it will be $15 for the phone service and by splitting the data three ways, it's about another $20. In other words, I could go back to Verizon for approx. $35, or stay with Fi for roughly $40 (maybe less as I haven't gotten my first month's usage yet.

Assuming, for sake of argument, it's roughly the same price, should I go back? My main concern is that I'll be stuck with some Verizon features I don't want to deal with. Is that fear unfounded? Also, some have expressed concerns about switching to Verizon, so is there some hassle or other issues to be worried about? As I stated before I've had no problems with Fi once I started focusing on using wifi more often, but I'm also concerned from other threads that my coverage may be limited with Fi, and coverage was admittedly pretty good with Verizon. Thoughts?

 

[HonnyBrown]

I've been with Verizon for ten years and I have absolutely no complaints about them. They stand behind their customers in a big way. I buy my phones on eBay, so I don't get their upgrade and device fees. My Mom is on my plan and she ran over our data allowance once. Verizon gave me a free gig for being a loyal customer.

I have nothing bad to say about them.

 

[Dubbayoo]

I'm done paying them $100+ every month.....gone for good.

 

[Grab Boyd]

As a rule, I avoid verizon and NEVER had wireless service with them so it depends on WHAT you want. It so happens that FI does indirectly roam on verizon, US cellular, at&t and other carriers so you actually will not lose any coverage. Of course, roaming comes with limitations and you will be subject to them ( restricted data speeds basically). OTOH, international roaming is free on FI ( incl Canada and Mexico, some Caribbean countries).

 

[gritz]

I think if you can get beyond the contract period you will never go back to being tethered to Verizon or AT&T. It puts you in the driver's seat. If you think about it you always pay for the phone one way or another. The wife and I were out of contract on the phones with AT&T at $118 a month with 6 GB Roll-over plan using my military discount of 15%. Still, I could drop my phone contract with AT&T (Nexus 5) and go with Project Fi for $20 plus whatever data I used ... and it looks like the 1st month will be about $7. So adding the 2 year cost for the Nexus 6P at $20 a month puts my monthly price at $47. Add that to my wife's AT&T plan now (which has 8.7 GB of unused data at the moment ) at the monthly cost of $72 = So my new TOTAL MONTHLY is $117 which about an even swap with me getting a brand new Nexus 6P phone ...AND .... Important to me, not being tied to any penalty for breaking a contract. If I do decide to leave Fi I can ... and yes, I have to pay for the phone .. but you do anyway. This is one fantastic phone, really. I had a Nexus 5 before this and a Droid X before it. Ok ...my data. I am almost always on wifi either at home or wherever I go downtown and sit down ... so both the wife and I use little data, EXCEPT on vacation. This year my AT&T bill on vacation for one month was $285 ... because I used it for GPS and tethered our laptop and AIO computer in the trailer. However ... with the wife's Rollover data plan we'll use her phone as a hotspot while on vacation which will provide plenty of extra data for our RV use. Consider also that Providers like Verizon and AT&T are getting out of the tower business and going to leasing. So I don't think you'll have a problem with SS anyplace. Download Network Signal Info Pro and look at the towers around you, you might be surprised. Checking .... I have 15 T-Mobile Towers (which is what I see and what Google is using) within a 10 mile radius and I live 6 miles out of Caldwell, Idaho, not densely populated. And I suspect Google's reach is only going to get better.