Verizon Upgrade Question

[ndsustudent]

So I got a 2 year plan back on March of this year. I currently have an Eris and have been wanting to upgrade for a while since the phone is a pos. So I am wondering how long you need to wait to upgrade early.

As I understand it, at 1 year they will let you do an early upgrade if you sign on for another 2 years. Is that true or is there any way that I can upgrade now (for the upgrade price of course)

 

[trav473]

you could always add a line, get you a new phone, then drop a "dumb" phone on the new line. IIRC it would add $10/month to your bill.

 

[Knewz]

what trav said would work and...im not sure if this promotion is still going on but you can add a line for free if you activate a smart phone...meaning the usually $10 extra a month would be waived. of course there still would be the data package but u can drop that later.

Early upgrades are given 20-22 months into the contract. If you are the primary on the account you can upgrade every 12 months.

 

[AFAngryWarrior]

I get new phones all the time out of contract. All you have to do is sell your Eris on Craigslist and then buy someone elses Droid on Craigslist. I usually either break even or end up paying less than I would have to upgrade anyway. The only downside is that you have an Eris and you're right it is a POS. I had one and got rid of it within my 30 day WFG. So you may have to pay a little more $$.

 

[ndsustudent]

what trav said would work and...im not sure if this promotion is still going on but you can add a line for free if you activate a smart phone...meaning the usually $10 extra a month would be waived. of course there still would be the data package but u can drop that later.

Early upgrades are given 20-22 months into the contract. If you are the primary on the account you can upgrade every 12 months.

So in March I could upgrade again for the upgrade cost? I am the only one on my line.

Otherwise the adding a line and dropping thing seems complicated, I'm not really sure how that works.

 

[trav473]

So in March I could upgrade again for the upgrade cost? I am the only one on my line.

Otherwise the adding a line and dropping thing seems complicated, I'm not really sure how that works.

when you add a line, you sign another 2 year contract on that new line. so,.... to avoid the early termination fee,you have to keep the line active for 2 years. save the bucks on the data package, activate a non-data phone on that new line, and drop the data package. the contract is on the line, ($10/month additional) not on the data package.

 

[misterfish]

So in March I could upgrade again for the upgrade cost? I am the only one on my line.

Otherwise the adding a line and dropping thing seems complicated, I'm not really sure how that works.

The best (and least expensive) option for you would be to buy your phone online, then swap it out with your Eris. If you are the only line on your account, you would have to upgrade to a family share plan to add a line. If you have the lowest single line plan (450 minutes) and you're paying $40 per month, you're looking at adding another $30 to your bill to go to the lowest two-line family share plan of 700 minutes.

The adding a line thing works like this: Say you want a Fascinate. By adding a new line to your account with a two-year agreement, you can get the Fascinate for $200 after rebate instead of the full retail price of $700. You add the Fascinate to the new line, but before activating it, you swap it out for some cheapy non-data plan phone like Trav said. You could use some old phone you've got lying around the house somewhere, or you could buy one on Craigslist for $5. That would free up the Fascinate, which you could then swap your Eris for on your line.

Again, though, by doing that, you're obligating yourself to two years on a line you won't be using. If you did that with the family share scenario, you're actually paying more than full retail for the Fascinate ($30 second line x 24 months = $720 plus taxes and fees on the line).

 

[TimDaMan]

I plan on adding a extra line to, in affect, get an ealry upgrade on my 2nd line. I will change my second line to a dumb phone so I will eliminate the $30 on that line, and add a 3rd line for free after the $10 credit. However, the fine print says you may not change plans, and you must keep the data plan in order to receive the $10 credit.

 

[octoberdana]

I plan on adding a extra line to, in affect, get an ealry upgrade on my 2nd line. I will change my second line to a dumb phone so I will eliminate the $30 on that line, and add a 3rd line for free after the $10 credit. However, the fine print says you may not change plans, and you must keep the data plan in order to receive the $10 credit.

We were going to do this for my daughter for her birthday, but I can't move the smartphone to her line and get the $10 credit she would have to change her cell phone number. Which I think is ridiculous. If you add a secondary line you should be able to put the credit on any other secondary line.

 

[Sailingmaster]

The "Smartphones talk free" promotional plan has a couple of other faults. You can't add global data packages without changing the plan, nor can you use the Block Select Secondary feature to stop text messaging. (Yes, there are situations where you want to block text messaging on a secondary line of a talk & text plan.)

 

[butthead007]

Annual upgrades are only available if your monthly access charge is $44.99 or higher. If you're on the 450 $39.99 plan, then you would not be eligible for an annual upgrade.

 

[Bob-o]

Annual upgrades are only available if your monthly access charge is $44.99 or higher. If you're on the 450 $39.99 plan, then you would not be eligible for an annual upgrade.

So I have the family share plan at 139.99. Does that qualify for annual upgrade? I have 2 other lines on my plan as well. They have never told me I can get an annual upgrade? I have read about this annual stuff and its got me wondering? Thanks

Bob