Do I have to lose my Alltel Plan for the Droid?

[matt4876]

I currently have an old Alltel Family Data plan that gives me 500 minutes, 5 my circle friends, and unlimited Data for $109 per month. On this plan I have two blackberrys. Now do I lose this plan and have to get a the closest VZN plan (700 Family Basic plus $29 each for two data plans = $129 total) in order to get the Droid?

I have rec'd conflicting answers on this both in store and over the phone with Verizon. Has anyone gotten a reliable answer from anyone at verizon on this?

 

[knickerbocker]

I currently have an old Alltel Family Data plan that gives me 500 minutes, 5 my circle friends, and unlimited Data for $109 per month. On this plan I have two blackberrys. Now do I lose this plan and have to get a the closest VZN plan (700 Family Basic plus $29 each for two data plans = $129 total) in order to get the Droid?

I have rec'd conflicting answers on this both in store and over the phone with Verizon. Has anyone gotten a reliable answer from anyone at verizon on this?

I am in the same boat. I have been told you don't have to switch if you already have smartphone/BB plan on VZW.

 

[matt4876]

I am in the same boat. I have been told you don't have to switch if you already have smartphone/BB plan on VZW.

Excellent

 

[matt4876]

Maybe I should go ahead and get the phone at BestBuy instead of from the Verizon store. That way I'll be less likely to have to deal with someone trying to ram a VZN contract down my throat like they try at the VZN store.

 

[ajm144k]

Matt

it all depends. if you have one line on your account that is eligible for an upgrade (annual upgrade or new every 2), you can convert your account to verizon contracts. if you go this route, you can get your main line eligible for the new every 2 discount (2 year rebate price as well as $50 additional off). your secondary line will get $30 off the two year rebate price of a phone.

another route is if you have an annual upgrade available on one of your lines, you can renew that contract and it will stay as the alltel pricing and everything for 1 year. you will get a discount, but not the 2 year rebate price (im guessing you'd pay 300 instead of 200, but its better than 600 retail).

it really is a bit confusing.

 

[matt4876]

Matt

it all depends. if you have one line on your account that is eligible for an upgrade (annual upgrade or new every 2), you can convert your account to verizon contracts. if you go this route, you can get your main line eligible for the new every 2 discount (2 year rebate price as well as $50 additional off). your secondary line will get $30 off the two year rebate price of a phone.

another route is if you have an annual upgrade available on one of your lines, you can renew that contract and it will stay as the alltel pricing and everything for 1 year. you will get a discount, but not the 2 year rebate price (im guessing you'd pay 300 instead of 200, but its better than 600 retail).

it really is a bit confusing.

For me there are two phones on the account right now: Mine which has been out of contract (month-to-month) for about 3 months and my wife's line that is under contract until March. I only intend on upgrading my phone right now, but would consider upgrading hers when she is eligible. On the VZN site is says that my wife's line is eligible for the NE2 at the end of this month (3-4months early).

So if I'm understanding this right, I would only be able to sign on for an additional year at my alltel rate and have to pay the 1yr contract price for the droid? And who knows what happens when my wife wants to upgrade.

 

[ajm144k]

if you go to verizonwireless.com and log in and click on 'upgrade my phone.' you should see your lines there. if they are NOT greyed out, you have some kind of upgrade available right now. There will be little meters on lines that are nearing the NE2 date. your wifes should have this little meter, and apparently it should just about be full. if you choose to use the NE2, you will need to convert to a verizon contract, with their terms and pricing.

if your line isnt greyed out but is not yet up to the date you can get a NE2, you are eligible for an annual upgrade. this would be the case where you can 'renew' you current alltel account for 1 year. you keep the terms and price of the current alltel contract.

if your line's little picture is greyed out, this means you have no upgrade eligible on that specific line. BUT if your other line has any upgrade available, this qualifies your account for conversion to verizon accounts. this is what i JUST went thru all day/night yesterday. you can restructure your account to have verizon contracts on both lines, and get the NE2 $50 phone rebate on your CURRENT main line and an additional $30 off a phone for your secondary line.


sorry, it really is pretty confusing. especially typing it out. PM me if you still need a little clarification

 

[matt4876]

Makes sense. Especially the last part about how if I have one line eligible I can go VZN on both lines and upgrade my wife's line immediately. I went through that as well today with VZN but then after finding out I could upgrade both phones I realized that the VZN pricing was alot higher for me.

I'm starting to question whether this is worth it. I have been very unhappy with VZN customer service in trying to figure all this out.

 

[ajm144k]

yeah, they seem to be behind compared to Alltel's customer service.

For me, switching all 3 of our lines to Verizon and also adding the smartphone data package to one of my lines that was previously just a regular cell phone... it totaled to cost me only $10 more on Verizon. If it weren't for adding another smartphone package to one of my lines, the switch to Verizon contracts would have been $20 cheaper each month.

 

[matt4876]

So I just went on the Verizon site and started the process to buy a new smartphone just to see if it would let me do so without losing my Alltel contract. I picked the Storm2 and went through the whole process. The only thing it made me change was my text messaging plan from the 4.99 Alltel 200 pack to a 5.00 250 VZN pack. Other than that I was able to keep my Alltel plan with two year pricing.

This give me hope that I will indeed be able to keep my plan. I just wish VZN would get their act together can come out with an official policy on this, I got 3 different answers from VZN reps in store and over the phone on this.

 

[knickerbocker]

I just upgraded my wife's phone to a VZW phone and I got the VZW price and I was not forced into a VZW plan. In fact, until you have all VZW phones, you cannot have a VZW plan - if you have alltel phones, you get an alltel rate plan.

 

[Santamoose]

I wish we were as lucky. Our upgrade isn't until March, and my plan was to just start a new line so I could get the Droid today and drop this piece of sh*t Blackberry Curve. After going through it all they end up telling me basically "Sorry but you'd have to start a new contract with VZW outside your current Alltel contract, because VZW bought your company. Sucks to be you! Haha!"

BAD MOOD ACTIVATED. I was really amped and excited to ditch this brick of a RIM, gathering up money to go and get it after someone at a VZW store suggested I add a new line..

Ridiculous business practices.

 

[unknowndroid]

I wish we were as lucky. Our upgrade isn't until March, and my plan was to just start a new line so I could get the Droid today and drop this piece of sh*t Blackberry Curve. After going through it all they end up telling me basically "Sorry but you'd have to start a new contract with VZW outside your current Alltel contract, because VZW bought your company. Sucks to be you! Haha!"

BAD MOOD ACTIVATED. I was really amped and excited to ditch this brick of a RIM, gathering up money to go and get it after someone at a VZW store suggested I add a new line..

Ridiculous business practices.

I'm trying to understand how this is ridiculous. You had a contract with Alltel, Alltel was unable to grow their company large enough or successful enough to stay in business and were bought by Verizon. Verizon will honor your contract with Alltel as long as you keep the phones that Alltel subsidized. If you switch to a phone that Verizon subsidizes, why shouldn't you go onto a Verizon contract? I've been a Verizon customer since VZW began. Why should a former Alltel customer get a phone subsidized by Verizon, and get to keep a cheaper Alltel rate plan. Screw that, you're on the same network and get the same coverage and services that I get, pay what I pay.

Your other option is to ride out your Alltel contract and go to another carrier, and pay their rate plan. Either way, once you get a new subsidized phone, from any carrier, you should be subject to the same contract as all other customers.

 

[Santamoose]

I'm trying to understand how this is ridiculous. You had a contract with Alltel, Alltel was unable to grow their company large enough or successful enough to stay in business and were bought by Verizon. Verizon will honor your contract with Alltel as long as you keep the phones that Alltel subsidized. If you switch to a phone that Verizon subsidizes, why shouldn't you go onto a Verizon contract? I've been a Verizon customer since VZW began. Why should a former Alltel customer get a phone subsidized by Verizon, and get to keep a cheaper Alltel rate plan. Screw that, you're on the same network and get the same coverage and services that I get, pay what I pay.

Your other option is to ride out your Alltel contract and go to another carrier, and pay their rate plan. Either way, once you get a new subsidized phone, from any carrier, you should be subject to the same contract as all other customers.

Because whether we like it or not, once our contract with Alltel is up, we have to either move carriers or open a "new" account with VZW. I'm sorry I'm not in control of the growth of a particular company, I can't really claim that I had any say in their marketing campaigns or their coverage distribution in the country.

It's a bit stupid to say I can't have the same things as any other VZW customer, when I pay to use the same network, pay my bills at the same store and deal with the same customer service as anyone on a VZW contract. I am a VZW customer one way or another.

Unfortunately, VZW has the best coverage in the country. I tried TMo for 2 weeks and that didn't fly with their spottyness, and you couldn't PAY ME to use Sprint in this area. So, thanks to VZW and AT&T for buying out the competition, I'm not left with much of a choice. Now I have to wait 8 months until the contract is up, and start again with a company I was technically already paying for service.

 

[aaron5610]

When I ordered my Droid Friday (it's coming in tomorrow i can't wait!) I got to keep my Alltel 1200 smartpack plan. It was a deciding factor for me because my Alltel plan gives me unlimited data, 2 lines (one with and one without data) unlimited text on both lines and every call option, all for $130 a month. Verizon is a ripoff when it comes to there plans! I wish Alltel would have stayed there own company really. I know I won't be able to keep my Alltel plan forever, once new technology comes out or they upgrade there network but for the time being and while I have the Droid things will stay the same. What the Verizon rep told me was that as long as I had unlimited data that I could upgrade to the Droid, so I'm guessing that it is the same for any Alltel unlimited data plan, but that is just a guess...

 

[unknowndroid]

It's a bit stupid to say I can't have the same things as any other VZW customer, when I pay to use the same network, pay my bills at the same store and deal with the same customer service as anyone on a VZW contract. I am a VZW customer one way or another.

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't have the same things as any VZW customer, I'm saying if you do, you should pay the same rate as any VZW customer. The Alltel plans cost less $$ across the board. All Verizon is saying is that when your contract with Alltel is up, you need to go on the same contract as all other Verizon customers, and like you said, you "are" a Verizon customer.

 

[aaron5610]

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't have the same things as any VZW customer, I'm saying if you do, you should pay the same rate as any VZW customer. The Alltel plans cost less $$ across the board. All Verizon is saying is that when your contract with Alltel is up, you need to go on the same contract as all other Verizon customers, and like you said, you "are" a Verizon customer.

The only thing is us "Alltel/Verizon" customers didn't have a choice, we we're bought by Verizon.

 

[Santamoose]

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't have the same things as any VZW customer, I'm saying if you do, you should pay the same rate as any VZW customer. The Alltel plans cost less $$ across the board. All Verizon is saying is that when your contract with Alltel is up, you need to go on the same contract as all other Verizon customers, and like you said, you "are" a Verizon customer.

Basically what Aaron said. So we're being told basically "Durr sorry we eliminated the competition, but you'll have to deal with it for another year! Sorry about that, now give us your money!"

If I could I'd pay the VZW rate, but they won't have it. The difference between our current bill and what it would be on VZW is about $30 by the way. VZW just isn't willing to work with Alltel customers, I've come to find with prior experiences.

 

[unknowndroid]

Basically what Aaron said. So we're being told basically "Durr sorry we eliminated the competition, but you'll have to deal with it for another year! Sorry about that, now give us your money!"

If I could I'd pay the VZW rate, but they won't have it. The difference between our current bill and what it would be on VZW is about $30 by the way. VZW just isn't willing to work with Alltel customers, I've come to find with prior experiences.

OK, so they won't let you upgrade to a Verizon phone, no matter what, even if you sign a new 2 year contract with Verizon? I missed that.

 

[Santamoose]

OK, so they won't let you upgrade to a Verizon phone, no matter what, even if you sign a new 2 year contract with Verizon? I missed that.

I never made the assertion that I couldn't do that.

Unfortunately starting a second contract isn't a fiscally sound idea for anyone, and for me seeing as I am still under contract with the rest of my family. So I have to stick with the 3 year old RIM technology (using RIM is basically like daily driving a Ferrari I've found, nearly impossible) for another year.

 

[TheBeachBoy]

I'm trying to understand how this is ridiculous. You had a contract with Alltel, Alltel was unable to grow their company large enough or successful enough to stay in business and were bought by Verizon. Verizon will honor your contract with Alltel as long as you keep the phones that Alltel subsidized. If you switch to a phone that Verizon subsidizes, why shouldn't you go onto a Verizon contract? I've been a Verizon customer since VZW began. Why should a former Alltel customer get a phone subsidized by Verizon, and get to keep a cheaper Alltel rate plan. Screw that, you're on the same network and get the same coverage and services that I get, pay what I pay.

Your other option is to ride out your Alltel contract and go to another carrier, and pay their rate plan. Either way, once you get a new subsidized phone, from any carrier, you should be subject to the same contract as all other customers.

I've been out of contract with Alltel Month-to-month for awhile now, but wanted to upgrade to the Droid. On, MyVerizon, I just went to Upgrade My Phone, used my NE2 discount, picked the Droid, selected my new messaging pack (Alltel one was deleted), selected the Data plan, and bingo, Droid shipped with free overnight shipping, with my existing Alltel voice plan. Unless something changes and they don't honor the voice plan, then I'll change to a Verizon plan. If they do have to change it, then so be...it would be within their rights since I'm (electronically) signing a contract with them, not Alltel. I suppose I got grandfathered in with my old plan.

I did ask the rep at the Verizon store and he said I could keep my existing Alltel voice plan, though take that with a grain of salt as sometimes these reps don't get the training on all the little details.

 

[Lafond]

I was on a family plan with Alltel with my family starting 2005. Our contract has been up for years, and we are just paying the bill per month. When I heard about the Droid coming to Verizon, I wanted to know the same thing. My wife's parents have an Alltel family data plan with a 2-yr contract signed a few months ago (one has a BB) and I wanted to add myself to that with the Verizon plan.

One store said I couldn't period, one said I couldn't without adding a Verizon data plan on top of the existing plan, and my most trusted place (used to be Alltel) said I can. In short, I went to the place I always went to, they added me to the Alltel data plan, and it costs me $40/mo. Wife's family has the same exact plan as the OP and I added the Droid for $40. Just confirmation for you.

 

[AZDroid]

I have two Droids on my Alltel plan, I asked how much it would cost and they said no plan change needed, I got the new every two discount on mine as well.

However, there is a problem, the merger as far as towers go is still not complete and won't be for about another year. So those on an Alltel plans are still using Alltel towers, those on a VZW plan use the VZW towers. But the Droid is optimized for the VZW network. When I'm at home, I have an Alltel tower very close to me and I get fantastic 3G coverage just as I had fantastic coverage on my BlackBerry 8330. But when I go into the city, my signal on my Droid jumps all over the place. I go from 1x to 3G to nothing changing every few seconds in some areas. I met friends for lunch at Chili's and had no 3G, my friend next to me with a VZW 8330 had full signal. I went back to that area with an Alltel 8330 and it had full signal but the Droid was wacked out!

Swapped out Droid once in case it was defective but issue remained. I have a trouble ticket started and hopefully they will be able to get it working reliably.

Here is what they think is the problem: At home, not too many towers around so it is picking up the Alltel tower no problem, but in town there are tons of towers and the phone is having a hard time choosing one on the network it is not optimized for. I drove around yesterday and compared an Alltel 8330 to my Droid. There were times when the Alltel 8330 would briefly go to 1x but within seconds would get a solid fix and be on 5 bars 1XEV(full data coverage). The Droid however was bouncing like crazy between 1x Rtt, EvDo rev.A, and EvDo rev.0 then it would lose the 1x and 3G and just have 1 or 2 bars and no data apps would work at all. Switching the phone to airplane mode then back again could get me to get some choppy data coverage back as long as I was parked but driving around it would be lost which makes having that uber cool google navigation with voice totally useless

I only got the Droids because I could stay on my Alltel plan, not just for the $30 per month I save, but also because I used to have VZW but switched to Alltel because VZW had lousy service at my house. I couldn't even have a phone convo unless I stood in one certain spot and if I even turned my head I would drop the call....so if I switch to the VZW plan I will have great data in town but at home and work since I work at home, I will be screwed.

But I've got 2 1/2 more weeks for them to figure out a way to fix it or I may have to turn these babies back in my son especially will not be happy to go back to his 8130 pearl!

 

[jestexman]

I am on Alltel FP GF 1200 and all i did was order my phone through sales over the phone. They sent the phone i did a *228,1 and that was it. I did go online and make sure the data plan was added. Since i did not have one before. And it did take off my alltel txt plan and replace it with a vzw one. Oh and the store i went to said "we could not let you walk out of here with a alltel plan on the Droid"

So i went around them. Only time i have talked to anyone was to order the phone.

I now have 2 VZW phones on a Alltel Plan with a VZW Data and txt plan attached to it.

I did have a NE2 for my line "dorid line" and was able to use it also.

Hope this helps....