• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

The Facts about VZW's Share Everything Plans

Very confusing. I currently have 5 phones. 4 are smart phones. 3 have unlimited data, 1 has 4 GB -only 4g phone....the others are 3g only. (Last one is sons "dumb phone").

Just did a check on data usage for past 6 months. Highest usage by one phone was 1.85 GB. Taking highest usage of all phones, max was 4.38 GB data. Currently pay about $340.00 for everything (700 minutes/unlimited texts/$30.00 each data phone.....)

If I wanted to switch plans, and wanted 10GB (which would seem like enough....), I would be paying $290....? (Plus taxes....)

$40 X 4 + $30 + $100 = $290, that's correct.
 
Upvote 0
I guess that means I dont have to panic too much...My phone contract has been up since last July.(original Droid...) Husband's and son since 2/2010. I dont think we have ever gone past data limits, so I can wait on prices of phones to come down. If I desperately want one at a subsidized price, I should be ok....
 
Upvote 0
You are correct, you are not allowed to have a smartphone without data. However, here is what you can do.

Upgrade the dumbphone to the smartphone. Then immediately re-activate the dumbphone. Then activate the new smartphone on the unlimited line. The data package is not required to maintain your contract, AS LONG AS YOU BOUGHT THE SMARTPHONE FROM VERIZON DIRECTLY. (3rd party sellers have their own terms, which usually require the data package to remain on the line for a period of time or you will be charged their ETF.) Therefore by reactivating the dumbphone, you can cancel the data package.


As an existing customer in the same situation as the poster above (3 total lines: 1 data, 2 dumb) if I plan to add another line (a dumb phone for a 4th line) AFTER the June 28th date, I should still be able add it for $9.99 extra a month, since I'm still under the terms of my current agreement/plan, correct?

OR... I can use the workaround you mentioned above and purchase a smartphone for that 4th line, move it to my primary to conserve unlimited data, and then buy a dumb phone from ebay or Craigslist and activate it and just pay $9.99 per month for the extra line, right? (For third parties that allow this, I heard Costco will let you do the swap, which is great since they have a very good 90 day exchange policy.)

Do you think Verizon will eventually eliminate this workaround after June 28 or possibly sometime later to prevent ppl from keeping their unlimited data plans? From my experience of 7+ years as a Verizon customer, I would not be surprised at all. They've taken so many things away throughout the years...
 
Upvote 0
I have 3 phones on my account - one unlimited data and two basic phones (no data). However, if I buy a subsidized smartphone for one of the no-data lines (since they are eligible for upgrade), will I HAVE to have a data subscription on that line? Even if I'm not going to use the smartphone on that line?

I know that this is OK at ATT but I don't think VZW lets you get away with it...

If you are looking to upgrade the smartphone and it is not eligible for an upgrade - but one of the dumbphones is - there is a far more elegant way to accomplish this. You can simply log into your VZW account and transfer the upgrade from the dumbphone to the smartphone. But you have to do it before the 28th if you want to keep your unlimited data.

I did this yesterday (actually I added a new line first, which is something we were planning on anyway, then transferred the upgrade to my year-old DX2).

Apologies if I mis-read or misunderstood the problem.
 
Upvote 0
As an existing customer in the same situation as the poster above (3 total lines: 1 data, 2 dumb) if I plan to add another line (a dumb phone for a 4th line) AFTER the June 28th date, I should still be able add it for $9.99 extra a month, since I'm still under the terms of my current agreement/plan, correct?

OR... I can use the workaround you mentioned above and purchase a smartphone for that 4th line, move it to my primary to conserve unlimited data, and then buy a dumb phone from ebay or Craigslist and activate it and just pay $9.99 per month for the extra line, right? (For third parties that allow this, I heard Costco will let you do the swap, which is great since they have a very good 90 day exchange policy.)

Do you think Verizon will eventually eliminate this workaround after June 28 or possibly sometime later to prevent ppl from keeping their unlimited data plans? From my experience of 7+ years as a Verizon customer, I would not be surprised at all. They've taken so many things away throughout the years...

I don't see them getting rid of this feature anytime soon. Not too many people use it (although believe it or not I learned about it from a VZW CSR.) its basically the same thing as getting a phone unsubsidized, except you are "financing" part of the phone cost in the monthly dumbphone line cost instead of paying it up front. Verizon is still getting theirs.
 
Upvote 0
My co-worker is due for an upgrade. He is looking at the razor maxx. The account is in his name. The other two smartphones on his plan aren't due for upgrades until August an November. My question is if he upgrade now, what will happen with the upgrades on the other lines later this year. Thanks for any help.
 
Upvote 0
My co-worker is due for an upgrade. He is looking at the razor maxx. The account is in his name. The other two smartphones on his plan aren't due for upgrades until August an November. My question is if he upgrade now, what will happen with the upgrades on the other lines later this year. Thanks for any help.

Well, if they are on unlimited data, then he will have to either pay the full unsubsidized price for a new phone to maintain unlimited, or they will revert to the 2GB for $30 plan if he gets a subsidized phone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kkelly
Upvote 0
I decided to upgrade to Razr Maxx. Kept my unlimited data. OG Droid was stuck on Froyo. I rooted it to GB, but had issues with every ROM. CM had torch issues. Loved Steel Droid and Liquid Smooth, but had issues with the phone freezing. If there were cheaper phones, i would update the other lines available.
 
Upvote 0
What's the consensus on upgrading on the 28th and exchanging for an Incredible 4g if it keeps the July 12th street date? Will it revert back and eliminate the unlimited data?

*EDIT* Single line Nationwide Talk and Text 450 plan with unlimited data. Not adding any second lines anytime soon.

The story coming from CSRs is that if you have unlimited, buy a phone prior to the 28th, you will not be able to keep your unlimited data if you want to exchange it under the 14 day policy after the 28th. The reason is because those transactions are treated as a return and purchase, as opposed to a swap. Therefore you won't be able to exchange whichever phone you buy for the Inc 4G. Sorry.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TzuDohNihm
Upvote 0
The story coming from CSRs is that if you have unlimited, buy a phone prior to the 28th, you will not be able to keep your unlimited data if you want to exchange it under the 14 day policy after the 28th. The reason is because those transactions are treated as a return and purchase, as opposed to a swap. Therefore you won't be able to exchange whichever phone you buy for the Inc 4G. Sorry.

That is what I thought I was picking up from everything swirling around.

Well damn. I don't want the Rezound because of several reasons, age and lack of ICS becoming the top ones.

Blur has always felt bulky and obtrusive to me and I am almost always near a power source so battery life isn't a chief concern. I have also disliked Motorola products for quite some time now.

And Samsung just apes the cult of Jobs too much with the look of their UI that I can't find myself falling in love with the SIII.

So basically unless I want to pay full retail for the Incredible 4g I am boned, huh?

*EDIT* I probably should look into it but the plan I mentioned above with an employee discount I receive I pay $75/month. I rarely go above 2GB excpet this past month for some reason I hit 2.75GB.
 
Upvote 0
That is what I thought I was picking up from everything swirling around.

Well damn. I don't want the Rezound because of several reasons, age and lack of ICS becoming the top ones.

Blur has always felt bulky and obtrusive to me and I am almost always near a power source so battery life isn't a chief concern. I have also disliked Motorola products for quite some time now.

And Samsung just apes the cult of Jobs too much with the look of their UI that I can't find myself falling in love with the SIII.

So basically unless I want to pay full retail for the Incredible 4g I am boned, huh?

*EDIT* I probably should look into it but the plan I mentioned above with an employee discount I receive I pay $75/month. I rarely go above 2GB excpet this past month for some reason I hit 2.75GB.
Unfortunately, I think we are going to have to come to the realization that the only way to keep our unlimited plan is to pay full price for our phones, and while that sucks, I am going to do it, rather than to lose the unlimited data that I sometimes need to use.
 
Upvote 0
Antimony,

One more clarification if you please.

Could I upgrade my line before Thursday by purchasing, say the GSIII, then pay full retail for an Incredible 4G and sell the GSIII and just swap SIMs? Or does SIM swapping invalidate the unlimited plans?

Also, I have never sold a used phone, I would never even take the GSIII out of the box, how would I go about selling it?
 
Upvote 0
Yep, you can swap SIMs all you want, no affect to your unlimited data.

As far as the GSIII, you will still need to activate it on your line. But you don't need to take the phone out to do it. I believe you can do it from this site:

Activate Your Phone

Your IMEI should be on the outside of the box. :)

Once you have activated it, just re-activate the phone you had before, and you are all set to sell the GSIII as NEW, unopened.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TzuDohNihm
Upvote 0
Yep, you can swap SIMs all you want, no affect to your unlimited data.

As far as the GSIII, you will still need to activate it on your line. But you don't need to take the phone out to do it. I believe you can do it from this site:

Activate Your Phone

Your IMEI should be on the outside of the box. :)

Once you have activated it, just re-activate the phone you had before, and you are all set to sell the GSIII as NEW, unopened.
If you do it like this, is there a sim in the unopened box that you should take out and keep? Or does that come in a separate package?
 
Upvote 0
I stopped by a authorized reseller store this evening and was told that pre-orders prior to the 28th will not keep your unlimited plan because the system doesn't finalize the transaction until the phone ships and is activated. Going to double check at a corporate store tomorrow.

Any thoughts?

1) There are numerous news sources that have reported Verizon's stance on allowing unlimited data if you preorder this phone before the 28th, and

2) I have screenshots of my preorder where it clearly shows my selection of the unlimited data plan during the checkout process.

if for some reason Verizon does not honor it, then I will present the evidence and insist that they do. If they still do not, then I will return the phone and cancel the entire order. Either way, I'm keeping my unlimited data plan! :D
 
Upvote 0
I stopped by a authorized reseller store this evening and was told that pre-orders prior to the 28th will not keep your unlimited plan because the system doesn't finalize the transaction until the phone ships and is activated. Going to double check at a corporate store tomorrow.

Any thoughts?

That's not what the VZW CSR told me on the phone. It's not what the VZW rep told me in the store. And it's not what the website told me when I placed the pre-order on the kiosk in the VZW store.

The problem here is that resellers may go by different rules to company stores.

if you want it done right, my advice is to do the deal through the VZW store and not a reseller in this instance.
 
Upvote 0
Upgrade the dumbphone to the smartphone. Then immediately re-activate the dumbphone. Then activate the new smartphone on the unlimited line. The data package is not required to maintain your contract, AS LONG AS YOU BOUGHT THE SMARTPHONE FROM VERIZON DIRECTLY. (3rd party sellers have their own terms, which usually require the data package to remain on the line for a period of time or you will be charged their ETF.) Therefore by reactivating the dumbphone, you can cancel the data package.

is the process as simple as...
- receive the new smartphone for dumbphone line

- *228 to active the new smartphone on dumbphone line

- immediately call back to *228 on the dumbphone to reactivate the dumbphone on the dumbphone line.

-request new sim card for smartphone that is linked to phone number of smarphone line.

- when new sim card arrives, swap the sims, take smartphone and *228 but activate it on the smartphone line (i think it asks you which phone number you want to activate the phone on during the activation process)

- you should now have original dumbphone on original dumbphone plan and new smartphone on old grandfathered unlimited data. you will never be able to use the upgrade from the line with grandfathered unlimited data (unless you want to loose unlimited data or pay retail phone price).
 
Upvote 0
Is it possible to transfer the unlimited data plan of one smartphone (wife's Iphone ) for the 2GB plan on my GS3 when it arrives? I also have a dumbphone phone line that is currently on hold. Would activating that phone temporarily assist in the swap?

My current data plan is a $15 150Mb plan that has been fine by properly monitoring data use and using Wifi most of the time. The only data intense Apps my wife uses are video skype and facetime, and that is usually on Wifi because the 3G quality is so much lower.
 
Upvote 0
Is it possible to transfer the unlimited data plan of one smartphone (wife's Iphone ) for the 2GB plan on my GS3 when it arrives? I also have a dumbphone phone line that is currently on hold. Would activating that phone temporarily assist in the swap?

My current data plan is a $15 150Mb plan that has been fine by properly monitoring data use and using Wifi most of the time. The only data intense Apps my wife uses are video skype and facetime, and that is usually on Wifi because the 3G quality is so much lower.

Jumped on the PC and checked in to it, and it looks like a no go.
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones