The List of things Verizon changed on the SIII

[ApproachShot]

So then you have to decide if all these things outweigh the network performance. If not might as well suck it up. Either that or actually see if you can get service from someone else without the hassle. Otherwise, again, suck it up. And of course they use it against us. All companies who believe and for the most part demonstrate they have a superior product do business the way they want. Companies who are inferior are not don't have that luxury. That's just business period. Not Verizon.

 

[blueyzfr6]

1. No 1 year contract
2. No more Unlimited Data
3. $30 Upgrade fee
4. Couldn't pre-order and put the phone on my bill.

 

[hokiesteve]

See, the beauty of it is that you don't have to use Verizon. All you have to do is balance the positives versus the negatives and make your choice from there. It's called compromise.

As many of us have learned while growing up, you can't always have everything you want in the world.

Fully understood. I know how the world works. That doesn't mean that we can't complain and lobby for things to change. Not interfering with device design would be an easy one for Verizon to change, and it wouldn't have a negative impact on their bottom line. If anything it would help.

 

[sixty_four]

Fully understood. I know how the world works. That doesn't mean that we can't complain and lobby for things to change. Not interfering with device design would be an easy one for Verizon to change, and it wouldn't have a negative impact on their bottom line. If anything it would help.

Making your voice heard and being part of a movement for change is an admirable quality. Other admirable qualities are prioritization and a sense of perspective. Saying how a wireless company is screwing people over because of a locked bootloader isn't a big deal if you don't foster a false sense of entitlement that your smartphone should be everything you dreamed it would be.

Am I happy with all of Verizon's (or Samsung's or HTC's) decisions? Most certainly not. But at the same time, I realize that these whiz-bang toys are really just luxury items for me. If they weren't, how in the world did my parents and the generations before them ever make it through life? Oh, the humanity! I need to recalibrate my sense of perspective every now and then when I start getting too worked up about my latest toy or gadget.

It's not the end of the world and I would bet that the people making the decisions at Verizon don't care what people are saying in this thread about the locked bootloader and modified WiFi toggle. "What's this??? 10,000,000 units sold. Less than 20 forum users unhappy about locked bootloader? Holy...jumpin'. Put on some coffee and call the President boys, we need to fix this. ASAP!"

 

[Premium1]

1. No 1 year contract
2. No more Unlimited Data
3. $30 Upgrade fee
4. Couldn't pre-order and put the phone on my bill.

all of those are things other carriers have done/ been doing. Only 1 with unlimited is sprint and their network is terrible in most places. Sprint/at&t/tmo all charge the upgrade fee( theirs is more $$ also)

 

[techgeek32#WN]

These two points might be mute as it is turning out that the reception issues that plagued the GNex are popping up with the SIII. I know several people that are returning or selling theirs due to poor reception and I am right behind them. No reason to give up my Maxx and GNex if the SIII has no better reception than the GNex. We all might be worrying about these two issues prematurely as Verizon will have greater problems if a large majority of the SIII's are being returned. I will never buy another Samsung phone again. I don't understand how they can design such awesome phones but forget that people actually need to make a stable and reliable phone call once in a while.

 

[Joe the Insider]

How about we make a list of things people have been ing about for the S3. It's incredibly annoying...

 

[Joe the Insider]

1. No 1 year contract
2. No more Unlimited Data
3. $30 Upgrade fee
4. Couldn't pre-order and put the phone on my bill.

For point 4, maybe you should pay your bill on time. Also, Having the ability to put your phone on your bill is royalty and only Verizon offers it. People put phones on their bill, then nto Verizon when their bill comes in and forgets they ever added it to their bill.

 

[NIKSTORM]

I just don't feel that's it's right, that they said 2 day shipping when I pre ordered. Then vzw desides to send out the phones in the middle of a holiday weekend. Knowing that 2 day shipping then turns into 6 day shipping.
I did win in the end cause while I was waiting for my brand new phone a horrible buggy update came out for my old dinc. This caused my phone to crap out , which caused vzw to send me a brand new Dinc 2.

 

[VicVinegar]

I dislike Verizon for many of the same reasons people have already listed. Their latest stance on net neutrality is the latest, along with this S3 issue. The fact Verizon thinks they "own" the internet is very disturbing and make an argument that it is their 1st Amendment right to use it as they please.
Verizon: net neutrality violates our free speech rights | Ars Technica

This has much bigger implications than the S3 situation. Unfortunately, where do you go? For my home internet, my options are Fios and Comcast. Comcast is hardly a champion of net neutrality and its consumers. On wireless, I guess maybe T-Mo or Sprint would be the "fairest" companies? ATT is no friend of the consumer or net neutrality. I live in a major metro area, I'd probably be OK with any carrier, but many people don't have that option.

I just don't deal with any other company that makes me regret doing business with them as much as Verizon. Hopefully this issue gets resolved and my phone arrives and activates with unlimited without any additional hiccups and I can not interact with them for another couple years.

 

[Cory Streater]

I'm tired of having to check this thread for personal attacks every 20 minutes. Good topic with a bad title and I can't figure out what to name it at this point. So thread closed. Okay, title fixed. I'll leave it up to you guys to hold back your personal attacks.

 

[hokiesteve]

Re: The List of How Verizon Screwed Us Over

Making your voice heard and being part of a movement for change is an admirable quality. Other admirable qualities are prioritization and a sense of perspective. Saying how a wireless company is screwing people over because of a locked bootloader isn't a big deal if you don't foster a false sense of entitlement that your smartphone should be everything you dreamed it would be.

Am I happy with all of Verizon's (or Samsung's or HTC's) decisions? Most certainly not. But at the same time, I realize that these whiz-bang toys are really just luxury items for me. If they weren't, how in the world did my parents and the generations before them ever make it through life? Oh, the humanity! I need to recalibrate my sense of perspective every now and then when I start getting too worked up about my latest toy or gadget.

It's not the end of the world and I would bet that the people making the decisions at Verizon don't care what people are saying in this thread about the locked bootloader and modified WiFi toggle. "What's this??? 10,000,000 units sold. Less than 20 forum users unhappy about locked bootloader? Holy...jumpin'. Put on some coffee and call the President boys, we need to fix this. ASAP!"

False sense of entitlement? Don't these high-end devices typically cost $200-$300 and a two year contract with a minimum total cost of somewhere around $2400 over the course of that two years? How is it a false sense of entitlement to expect a professionally designed and manufacturered device and quality reliable service for that cost? At that cost, I don't find it professional to receive a locked down device loaded with non-removable sponsored software and I feel burned as a consumer. These problems are not inadequacies in the device but they are features deliberately crippled by the carrier in an attempt to squeeze a bit extra revenue at the detriment of the customer experience.

Let's not forget that Android phones leverage free software licensed under the GPL, notably the Linux kernel. While Verizon/Samsung might not necessarily be in violation the GPL by locking the bootloader, they are deliberately preventing their users from exercising their rights under copyright law and the software license to modify and run modified versions of the software that was provided on the phone. I don't consider that to be ethical or professional behavior.

 

[j32driver]

I'm with the OP on this one!

I get a work discount on Verizon, and I travel across the country on a daily basis. Many places I go, I can make calls on Verizon and members of my crew using other carriers get ZERO cell service. Because of this... I'm married to Verizon. It is a hate filled, abusive, relationship... but I can't leave.

In my house we've had the Droid Eris, the Fascinate, and the Charge. All three phones were eventually borked by Verizon updates to the point of being almost useless. However, through the power of the Dev community... I've managed to breath extended life into all 3 phones, with greater functionality than they were ever designed with. Because of Verizon's track record of ruining phones with future software updates, I'll NEVER own a phone that I can't fully hack.

I was planning on picking up 2 of the S3s... one of which would have been full price. If the bootloader hack turns out to truly be working, I still will. But a locked bootloader stops my purchases in their tracks.

 

[sixty_four]

Re: The List of How Verizon Screwed Us Over

False sense of entitlement? Don't these high-end devices typically cost $200-$300 and a two year contract with a minimum total cost of somewhere around $2400 over the course of that two years? How is it a false sense of entitlement to expect a professionally designed and manufacturered device and quality reliable service for that cost? At that cost, I don't find it professional to receive a locked down device loaded with non-removable sponsored software and I feel burned as a consumer. These problems are not inadequacies in the device but they are features deliberately crippled by the carrier in an attempt to squeeze a bit extra revenue at the detriment of the customer experience.

Let's not forget that Android phones leverage free software licensed under the GPL, notably the Linux kernel. While Verizon/Samsung might not necessarily be in violation the GPL by locking the bootloader, they are deliberately preventing their users from exercising their rights under copyright law and the software license to modify and run modified versions of the software that was provided on the phone. I don't consider that to be ethical or professional behavior.

No doubt these are expensive toys and I would hope we would be getting a well-designed and manufactured device with service to match. How does a locked bootloader or modified WiFi toggle affect any of those factors? Ok, it's locked. It's still well-made (hopefully) and well-designed. The service is still big Red.

I understand that some dislike questionable modifications and the elimination of choice. I don't care for those things myself but with a little perspective, it's not the end of the world for a device and service that is a non-essential luxury for me.

I don't understand the relationship of Android in its various flavors and the GPL. Wouldn't a vendor be required to make available the source of any software they use under the GPL? I don't think the GPL makes mention of the right to freely access any hardware running GPL-compliant software. If that's accurate, then there are no user rights or license terms being violated. It's got to be a pretty complicated legal situation. Food for thought, I guess.

Another thought game. Assuming I don't have a clue about wireless device marketing (and you'd be right with that assumption), would the loudest complainers about locked bootloaders, bloatware, poor interfaces, et al be willing to foot the costs for a phone without any of that stuff? The difference in cost would be there to cover any subsidized costs of bloatware publishers. I have no idea what Slacker or Skype pay Verizon (if they pay anything at all) to put their trash on my Inc. The increased cost if the unlocked model would also help cover any estimated support that Joe Sixpack would need to un-brick the unlocked phone he decided to go with so he could be like the cool kids.

Don't get me wrong, I see what you're saying. I also see that Verizon's in it for the money and if they hurt the feelings of a handful of smartphone nerds along the way, I don't think they'll care. Still I don't feel like I'm getting screwed by The Man because if I hated it that much, I'd drop them after hitting the submit button.

I guess if you're a company like Apple, you have the beans to dictate to the carriers what goes on your hardware and what doesn't. Maybe the manufacturers need to start pushing back.

 

[DianeR]

I just don't feel that's it's right, that they said 2 day shipping when I pre ordered. Then vzw desides to send out the phones in the middle of a holiday weekend. Knowing that 2 day shipping then turns into 6 day shipping.
I did win in the end cause while I was waiting for my brand new phone a horrible buggy update came out for my old dinc. This caused my phone to crap out , which caused vzw to send me a brand new Dinc 2.

So, they should have stuck to their original ship by dates of 7/9, 7/10, 7/11? I think a lot of people here would disagree with you on that!!!

 

[ibcop]

I'm tired of having to check this thread for personal attacks every 20 minutes. Good topic with a bad title and I can't figure out what to name it at this point. So thread closed. Okay, title fixed. I'll leave it up to you guys to hold back your personal attacks.

I say it's time to shut it down......not that it matters what I say.....

 

[duanedude1]

The problem with shutting the thread down is that, now that it has been renamed, it could be useful for those trying to weigh the positives and negatives. That is, if those participating focus on the changes Verizon made, not vitriol. The thread is not about taking your business elsewhere and the merits of the various carriers, it is about the changes made. Certainly this can be discussed, even debated, without a shut-down. Can't it?

 

[dkeven]

As for me and my humble opinion, yes I don't like the way Verizon does business and yes I could go to another network and take my chances there, but its does work for me (the network) and I choose to remain and voice my opinion on the forums here and on VZW. Just because someone does not want to hear it doesn't make it wrong, I work for a Major American car manufacture, I will not buy a foreign made car, do I want to hear how good someone thinks their toyo or honda is and how bad they think the American counterpart is, no. But I do try and make the best product I can and change the perceptions of those that try the brand again. I don,t like the sorry way our Country has been run either but I'm not moving to another one I am voting and talking with others encouraging them to do the same. If all the dissidents leave it will just continue to get worse. Keep raising hell that's what changes things or do you think a mass exodus of Bank of America is what changes their fee plans, bad PR changed their plans

 

[dkeven]

oh and got the SIII yesterday been using it all day hard to knock it, us the Verizon WIFI app to turn that on and off so the toggle is a non-issue, Probably not going to root so the bootloader is a non-issue. Got the blue thank heavens the white is awful

 

[dpham00]

for those complaining about the bootloader, even the Verizon Galaxy Nexus came with a locked bootloader from the factory. When Google's flagship developer phone had locked bootloader, it would be pretty hard for any other phone to NOT come with a locked bootloader