Worth leaving VZW to get an HTC One?

[walterkurtz]

every year or two when i upgrade to a new phone, i compare verizon and tmo. because tmo no longer has contracts, there is no discounted phone purchasing for existing customers. even when you factor in the full cost of the phone over 24 mos, t-mobile is always cheaper than verizon. as i recall verizon had a $50. per month "line access fee" on their service. wtf is that? without that fee, they would be on par with t-mo. from what i've heard, though, their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[dpham00]

All right, I'll back off the sarcasm. I appreciate you giving the details of your plan. Obviously the T-Mobile plan would be more for you - but you can get 5! $30 plans on T-Mo for $150, which would give you 100 min. talk/unlimited texts/unlimited 4g data (5gb unthrottled), each. So it's apples to oranges. If you had unlimited or even 5gb data on 5 lines on VZW, I'm sure it would be more $$$ than on T-Mo.

And I'll freely admit that T-Mo has limited coverage. When I drive into the country I download all my music and maps ahead of time.

well, 5 lines of unlimited on Verizon, while possible, would not allow for the usage of subsidized phones, so it doesn't make much sense to me at least. the closest that i can think of is 5 lines with 4 unlimited data smartphones, and one dumb phone. The cost would be $220 a month, if on the 700 minute plan, for the 5 lines (4 unlimited data smartphone + 1 dumb phone). Now, reducing the Verizon plan by $100 ($20 x $5) for the subsidy brings your 5 lines to $120, plus taxes and fees. T-Mobile 5 lines, 4 with unlimited puts you at $190, plus taxes and fees. Now, on T-Mobile you do get unlimited talk and text, and the fifth line on T-mobile does get 500mb data (compared to none on Verizon). So T-Mo is a better deal if you need unlimited minutes and texts, and perhaps the 5th smartphone line. But Verizon isn't a bad option, if you need unlimited data, but few minutes and no texts, and don't mind dealing with customer unfriendly policies. With T-Mo, if you buy a phone on payment plan, and cancel, you will have to make a balloon payment, which can exceed $600. On Verizon, if you cancel the contract, you will have to pay ETF of $350 maximum.

The unlimited and family plans on Verizon are a legacy plans, the only way to get one would be by assuming liability of a line that already had unlimited data. You can assume liability of 4 such lines, and join them together into a family plan, then add a line for the 5th dumb phone line. Of course, assuming liability of unlimited lines may cost, if you don't have donor lines.

 

[dpham00]

every year or two when i upgrade to a new phone, i compare verizon and tmo. because tmo no longer has contracts, there is no discounted phone purchasing for existing customers. even when you factor in the full cost of the phone over 24 mos, t-mobile is always cheaper than verizon. as i recall verizon had a $50. per month "line access fee" on their service. wtf is that? without that fee, they would be on par with t-mo. from what i've heard, though, their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

Which plan has a $50 line access fee? On my family plan, each of my 5 lines has a $10 line access fee, and there is a $40 account access fee.

On the share everything plan, the line access fee is $40 for smartphone, $30 for dumb phone. The account access fee should be just the data charge, which starts at $40, and is shared amongst all the lines on the account

 

[walterkurtz]

Which plan has a $50 line access fee? On my family plan, each of my 5 lines has a $10 line access fee, and there is a $40 account access fee.

On the share everything plan, the line access fee is $40 for smartphone, $30 for dumb phone. The account access fee should be just the data charge, which starts at $40, and is shared amongst all the lines on the account

i don't recall which plan. i am not a family. and i like my data unlimited. i don't know what verizon calls that. but i do know it was $50 a month last time i looked (a few months ago). it was the reason i stayed with t-mo. glad i did.

 

[Raakshas]

A few things ...

1. The subsidy would be $20x4 - I doubt if verizon is paying you to keep a dumphone ...
2. I don't know how easy it is to assume liability of legacy plans ... since if they are so great then why would anyone give it to you ?
3. most importantly ... your subsidy is $0 .... because verizon is not going to let you get a new subsidized phone and keep that unlimited plan (read)

So ... all in all .... verizon is a rip off ... the only reasons to be with verizon are
a) you live in an area with poor coverage from other providers ....
b) you are a traveling salesman
c) you are a masochist and enjoy all the crapware that verizon installs on their phones ...

 

[dpham00]

A few things ...

1. The subsidy would be $20x4 - I doubt if verizon is paying you to keep a dumphone ...
2. I don't know how easy it is to assume liability of legacy plans ... since if they are so great then why would anyone give it to you ?
3. most importantly ... your subsidy is $0 .... because verizon is not going to let you get a new subsidized phone and keep that unlimited plan (read)

So ... all in all .... verizon is a rip off ... the only reasons to be with verizon are
a) you live in an area with poor coverage from other providers ....
b) you are a traveling salesman
c) you are a masochist and enjoy all the crapware that verizon installs on their phones ...

1. You upgrade the dumb phone to a smartphone, and once you activate the smartphone, you put the dumb phone back the same day. I have done this multiple times, no issues. Others have been able to do so as well. So yes, you really do get 5 subsidized phones in 2 years, if doing the method i mentioned.

2. Many people have been able to do so, there are people selling unlimited lines on eBay for those interested.

3. The loophole is to transfer the upgrade from the unlimited line to a non-unlimited line first. Many people have reported success with this method. And also, that is why I said to have 4 smartphones with unlimited, and one dumb phone, so you can transfer the ugprades from the smartphones to the dumb phone.

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note II

 

[antheauxny]

I left Sprint for T-Mobile. Couldn't be happier. Sprint service where I live is just horrible. Well, the 3G is. 4G was good (when I had the OG Evo) & LTE was non-existent here.

With T-Mobile I consistently get 4 or all 5 bars. No dropped calls. Speedy service. I love it.