Best Alternative to LG Optimus Elite on $25.00 Plan
Hi Forum,
I've had the Elite since September and like the phone except for some major data connectivity issues specific to the phone (see threads in Elite forums). I am considering ditching the Optimus Elite and getting a Slider or Chaser, to--hopefully--remedy my data issues. Coming from the OE, will my experience by unsatisfactory? What is the next best phone I could get in order to not lose the $25.00 plan?
To be perfectly honest it probably is the Motorola Triumph. Sure there are a lot of people who are going to complain about various aspects of the phone, but the hardware itself isn't that bad. The 4.1" screen is still adequate in today's world where 4.7" is the norm for new high end phones. Processor and memory can handle what I throw at it (I can play NFS Most Wanted with occasional stutters.) If you check the forums a lot of people will complain about the fact that it never received an update, but if you are the rooting type (and if you're on this forum I assume you are), the phone is extremely easy to root and CM7 runs great on this device; there's also CM9 if you're okay with a partially working camera. After owning the phone for a year, the main concern I have are some of the phone's defects, such as the charging port no longer working, but there are workarounds to these as well. Considering the price you can probably pick up a Triumph for nowadays, I'd say the Triumph is your best bet.
The Following User Says Thank You to keisukehonda For This Useful Post:
Thank you for your response. I will have to consider this phone. The Elite, although I like it quite a bit, is almost impossible to use due to the data issues.
Device(s): 3X LG Optimus V Rooted -
Eken T02A Tablet -
KindleFire -
Ramos W17PRO Tablet
Carrier: Not Provided
Thanks: 46
Thanked 89 Times in 81 Posts
Yep, very dependable data, and no root wifi is what keeps it around. It also broadcast very far, it can be in the house 70ft away and I still get enough signal in the work shop on my tablet. [no high speed zone, my OV wifi is my only high speed]
Re: Best Alternative to LG Optimus Elite on $25.00 Plan
That's really quite cool. I may very well downgrade to the Optimus V.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 350X
Yep, very dependable data, and no root wifi is what keeps it around. It also broadcast very far, it can be in the house 70ft away and I still get enough signal in the work shop on my tablet. [no high speed zone, my OV wifi is my only high speed]
Just got off phone with VM. My Op Elite has no data. Tried everything but can not fix it. VM told me it needs to be replaced and that no matter what I would lose the $25 plan even if I got another Elite. They said ANY phone change from this point on triggers the $35 new plan. NO MATTER WHAT OR WHY YOU ARE CHANGING PHONES.
Re: Best Alternative to LG Optimus Elite on $25.00 Plan
Man, what? I wonder if that's true..
You never know for sure with CS...
Quote:
Originally Posted by vmforlife
Just got off phone with VM. My Op Elite has no data. Tried everything but can not fix it. VM told me it needs to be replaced and that no matter what I would lose the $25 plan even if I got another Elite. They said ANY phone change from this point on triggers the $35 new plan. NO MATTER WHAT OR WHY YOU ARE CHANGING PHONES.
I had the CS rep refer to a supervisor. The supervisor confirmed that ANY phone change from now on triggers the loss of the $25 plan.
Luckily just today my data started to work again. I believe my entire month had to cycle and reset for data to reset as well. My new month started today and my data suddenly is now working.
I spent hours on the phone with CS trying to reset data service and was finally told I had to replace my handset and that this meant a $35 charge a sthe old grandfatheres $25 plan was tied to my phone and my phone only from now on.
YOU MAY GET A DIFFERENT ANSWER FROM ANOTHER CS REP OR SUPERVISOR. They were pretty firm with me. I TOLD THEM I HAD BOUGHT A 2 Year replacement warranty from Walmart when i bought the phone and would replace it with the exact phone. They said so sad too bad but any phone change triggered the end of my $25 plan. No matter the reason or circumstances or type od phone.
Hopefully my LG optimis elite will now last a while since data is finally working.
The Following User Says Thank You to vmforlife For This Useful Post:
Device(s): HTC EVO V, Kyocera Rise, LG Optimus Elite
Carrier: Virgin Mobile
Thanks: 8
Thanked 14 Times in 14 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by vmforlife
I had the CS rep refer to a supervisor. The supervisor confirmed that ANY phone change from now on triggers the loss of the $25 plan.
Luckily just today my data started to work again. I believe my entire month had to cycle and reset for data to reset as well. My new month started today and my data suddenly is now working.
I spent hours on the phone with CS trying to reset data service and was finally told I had to replace my handset and that this meant a $35 charge a sthe old grandfatheres $25 plan was tied to my phone and my phone only from now on.
YOU MAY GET A DIFFERENT ANSWER FROM ANOTHER CS REP OR SUPERVISOR. They were pretty firm with me. I TOLD THEM I HAD BOUGHT A 2 Year replacement warranty from Walmart when i bought the phone and would replace it with the exact phone. They said so sad too bad but any phone change triggered the end of my $25 plan. No matter the reason or circumstances or type od phone.
Hopefully my LG optimis elite will now last a while since data is finally working.
Customer service reps have been saying this since last year. Nothing official has been released, and the FAQ on the website still lists phones that will allow you to keep the $25 plan. Unfortunately, most of them are now discontinued, but they are available elsewhere.
My guess is that it may no longer be possible to put an Elite on a $25 plan without triggering a plan change, thanks to the system updates. It was a nice bonus that lasted for the better part of a year, much longer than Virgin Mobile intended.
As for any phone swap causing loss of the $25 plan... I'll wait for an official notification.
The Following User Says Thank You to aml1025 For This Useful Post:
I would think any change to your plan would prompt a CS rep to say that said change will trigger the end of the now long gone $25 plan. I was going to try and port a number over from T-mo but don't want to deal with CS tellingme it will end my $25 plan.
From a VM perspective, im sure they would like to end all grandfathered plans and migrate everyone to current plans.
The Following User Says Thank You to vmforlife For This Useful Post:
Device(s): 3X LG Optimus V Rooted -
Eken T02A Tablet -
KindleFire -
Ramos W17PRO Tablet
Carrier: Not Provided
Thanks: 46
Thanked 89 Times in 81 Posts
CS read from scripts, what the script says and what really happens can always vary. These are peple paid $2.50 an hr in India to answer phones in a call center, that answers phones for 300 companies, one min the person is talking to you about virgin mobile, is now talking to another about their home loan from BOA...........
Actually, the CS reps I get are from the Philippines.
Unfortunately, there are going to be issues with any MVNO that is budget minded. I do use H2o wireless as a backup and actually got Americans on the line. I was amazed.
I'm not sure we can do everything online, but the more the better.
Unless they changed things since I left Virgin/optimus elite in February, you will keep your $25 with the new elite. I was told I would lose it too. but even with 3 replacement elites I never lost the plan.
Thanks for that information. I would expect to come across an angry thread on the forum if anything official comes out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aml1025
Customer service reps have been saying this since last year. Nothing official has been released, and the FAQ on the website still lists phones that will allow you to keep the $25 plan. Unfortunately, most of them are now discontinued, but they are available elsewhere.
My guess is that it may no longer be possible to put an Elite on a $25 plan without triggering a plan change, thanks to the system updates. It was a nice bonus that lasted for the better part of a year, much longer than Virgin Mobile intended.
As for any phone swap causing loss of the $25 plan... I'll wait for an official notification.
I try to handle everything that I am able to online. I have had to call them on a few occasions when their online systems were not functioning to my satisfaction, and my experience has been fully positive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 350X
CS read from scripts, what the script says and what really happens can always vary. These are peple paid $2.50 an hr in India to answer phones in a call center, that answers phones for 300 companies, one min the person is talking to you about virgin mobile, is now talking to another about their home loan from BOA...........
handle your account online, you don't need them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vmforlife
Actually, the CS reps I get are from the Philippines.
Unfortunately, there are going to be issues with any MVNO that is budget minded. I do use H2o wireless as a backup and actually got Americans on the line. I was amazed.
I'm not sure we can do everything online, but the more the better.
I'll probably risk it. We shall see.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacFett
Unless they changed things since I left Virgin/optimus elite in February, you will keep your $25 with the new elite. I was told I would lose it too. but even with 3 replacement elites I never lost the plan.
Keep us posted. Now that my data has finally been restored I very much ...again... like my Op elite but when it fails I would like to hope I can keep my $25 Plan either via a new Op Elite or similar. I doubt VM would allow any 4g phone on their $25 grandfAthered plans.
Yay, $25/mo Triumph user here. Someone above mentioned a charge port issue workaround... you mean the one where you buy extra batteries and swap them out all day long? Or the one where a bunch of owners kidnapped Motorola's CEO and... never mind.
The Following User Says Thank You to batvette For This Useful Post:
Well, I'm giving one more replacement Elite a spin when it gets here.
If I can't get it working to my satisfaction, I will be throwing my hands up and getting something else. It's a real bummer to me, because other than the data problem, the phone is real stellar.
We will see.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vmforlife
Keep us posted. Now that my data has finally been restored I very much ...again... like my Op elite but when it fails I would like to hope I can keep my $25 Plan either via a new Op Elite or similar. I doubt VM would allow any 4g phone on their $25 grandfAthered plans.
The charging port issue sounds like a deal breaker to me--especially for the price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by batvette
Yay, $25/mo Triumph user here. Someone above mentioned a charge port issue workaround... you mean the one where you buy extra batteries and swap them out all day long? Or the one where a bunch of owners kidnapped Motorola's CEO and... never mind.
Well, I'm giving one more replacement Elite a spin when it gets here.
If I can't get it working to my satisfaction, I will be throwing my hands up and getting something else. It's a real bummer to me, because other than the data problem, the phone is real stellar.
We will see.
The charging port issue sounds like a deal breaker to me--especially for the price.
Price is the reason I'm sticking with my Triumph. Last week the charge port got to the point where I can't depend on it to charge the battery at all now. I'm not impressed with VM's new phones and the Galaxy S2 appears to be nearing the end of its sales cycle. (Radio Shack's trade in program won't pay a dime for them)
My wallet is also thin thin thin now. I took the Triumph apart and resoldered the charge port shell, no improvement. Yet the phone works great now that I have the root/delete alog files fix down. So I took some bits of plastic and made a battery charger. Ordered a pair of OEM motorola batteries off ebay for $18.
The Triumph has a beautiful display, does all I need it to. I have some paid games I don't want to rebuy and I keep that wonderful $25 a month that nobody else on the planet gets.
Because I think cheap, nowadays, is the new cool. Hey when it's all you got, tell yourself it's all you need.
(I look around me at drawers full of broken Chinese flashlights, digital cameras, all the money spent for the latest/greatest/gotta have? I'm sick of it and nothing leads me to believe the next phone won't be just another disappointment in a year. I'd rather have the $300! PLUS $10 a month.)
I think the charge port thing is the only real defect they had, and most will get it. If you don't mind swapping batteries (the battery cover thing is also easily fixed) I bet you can get used Triumphs for pennies on the dollar at the moment. The ebay guy with the batteries had 60 pairs left. For us po folks, still a good choice?
2Likes
Best Alternative to LG Optimus Elite on $25.00 Plan
