I am up for my upgrade on my phones. I have had Verizon for 11 years now. I don't want to upgrade as I will loose my unlimited... However my Maxs are starting to act funny, and I would like to upgrade. Has anyone had any luck keeping their unlimited plan? If not where I live I will probably switch to Sprint.... I don't want to but they offer everything unlimited for cheaper.....
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up for an upgrade
- Thread starter n813ca
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For the 'acting funny' part, you might want to consider a factory reset. It's something of a bother because you have to set up your phone again. But it's a great way to clear out all those old apps that you don't use, and it often helps with little 'quirks' that the phone has developed over time.
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you could open a new line of service, purchase the phone with the new line, then transfer the phone to your unlimited data line, and ask vzw to put a dummy esn on the new line and all you pay is $10 extra for the next two years, this way when time comes for an upgrade, you have a line that can be upgraded without sacrificing your unlimited data. And it is completely legal/legit in the VZW world.
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Hmmm maybe if a person uses a lot of data, this might be worth the $240 over the two year period or paying over $600 outright for a phone. I have unlimited and checked my data usage. I don't even get close to using 2GB a month, even though I have unlimited. I'm sure it's because I'm typically on wifi when at home and most the other times, I'm on a computer.
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I wouldn't want to lose my Unlimited plan as I use 8-10 GB a month. I will definitely look into just buying a phone outright when I find a replacement phone I like. I do have insurance on my phone at the moment so if it gave up the ghost Asurion would cover a new phone after a modest deductible.
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I have upgraded to several phones, currently on the Droid DNA thanks to VZW's promotion, and i still have unlimited data, thing with my about unlimited data, you never know when a time may come that you will just eat data up big time, so for me i like having that cushion of space to play with.
well i also refuse to give up my unlimited data, and i know i have probably gone over 2gig once, but having that cushion is nice to have. Have you thought about adding a line and putting the dummy esn on it?
most you pay is 10$ a month and you have a line that you can upgrade in 2 years and still keep your unlimited data on your main line.
all you have to do is move the phone to your main line and tell vzw customer support that you want to put a dummy esn on the new line.
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Are you guys totally sure the dummy esn thing is only $10/month? One of the guys in a mall kiosk tried to work such a deal for me about a year back (when I was trying to move from a Bionic to a GS3) and it ended up costing me way more than he'd said it would (at which point I undid the deal).
IIRC, he had me get on a Family Share Plan with my nonexistent cousin, who got the GS3. I kept unlimited data, nonexistent cousin had a limited data plan, and then we swapped phones -- so I got the GS3 and she got the Bionic. Of course, I had actually traded in the Bionic, so my nonexistent cousin had no phone. Which made sense, as she was nonexistent.
The problem was that, as far as VZW was concerned, my invisible cousin had a Bionic, and you can't have a Bionic without a data plan. So, in order for me to keep unlimited data on the new phone, I had to pay for a 2GB data plan on my invisible cousin's line (aka the dummy line). Which was substantially more than $10/month. I can't remember what it was, exactly, but it might've been $30 or something.
Now, this was some time ago, so things might have changed. AND the guy at the mall kiosk was a liar/moron/sack of poo, so it's very possible that there WAS a cheaper way to do it than he did it. Still, I'm very cautious when someone says it can be done for $10/month -- because when they tried to do it for me, and SAID it could be done for only $10 more than what I was paying, it could not be done that cheap at all, and I ended up having to undo the deal and give back the shiny new phone.
IIRC, he had me get on a Family Share Plan with my nonexistent cousin, who got the GS3. I kept unlimited data, nonexistent cousin had a limited data plan, and then we swapped phones -- so I got the GS3 and she got the Bionic. Of course, I had actually traded in the Bionic, so my nonexistent cousin had no phone. Which made sense, as she was nonexistent.
The problem was that, as far as VZW was concerned, my invisible cousin had a Bionic, and you can't have a Bionic without a data plan. So, in order for me to keep unlimited data on the new phone, I had to pay for a 2GB data plan on my invisible cousin's line (aka the dummy line). Which was substantially more than $10/month. I can't remember what it was, exactly, but it might've been $30 or something.
Now, this was some time ago, so things might have changed. AND the guy at the mall kiosk was a liar/moron/sack of poo, so it's very possible that there WAS a cheaper way to do it than he did it. Still, I'm very cautious when someone says it can be done for $10/month -- because when they tried to do it for me, and SAID it could be done for only $10 more than what I was paying, it could not be done that cheap at all, and I ended up having to undo the deal and give back the shiny new phone.
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well see this is the thing, if you go to the store they cannot do it. I have no idea why (this was confirmed by my friend who wanted his DNA activated on his old line)
you first need to call vzw in a way here is what you say:
Hi I have unlimited data on my current line and i just opened a new line on my family share account. I want the new line phone that i just ordered to be put on my phone number and a dummy esn on the new line so it only costs $10 extra a month cause each added line is just $9.99 and any extra features such as text and data are added separately.
they will do there thing, it may take a while. Use your micro sim card on your phone for the new phone but do not activate it until they tell you to.
it will all be done and you will not have a month by month contract on your line, and a new 2 year agreement on a new line that you can use to upgrade as you see fit.
no you do not, my bill is now $10 more. you have to pay the activation fee unless you can wiggle your way to getting if waived as i did.
I have done this numerous times.
Droid Eris - Droid X - Droid 2 - Galaxy Nexus - Motorola RAZR - HTC DNA
i know it works because i do it all the time.
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Valuable info, VoidedSaint -- just one more question:
Do you have to be grandfathered in on Family Share for this to work? I've got unlimited data, but it's an individual account. Will they allow me to "open a new line on my family share account" in the first place? Or will they only put new lines in Share Everything for people who aren't presently in Family Share?
Do you have to be grandfathered in on Family Share for this to work? I've got unlimited data, but it's an individual account. Will they allow me to "open a new line on my family share account" in the first place? Or will they only put new lines in Share Everything for people who aren't presently in Family Share?
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they may move you to a family share and keep your unlimited data, that is a very good question and i suggest you call them and ask if you move to a family share plan can you keep your unlimited data as the primary line and add the new line.
once you have found out respond here and then we shall know what to expect
once you have found out respond here and then we shall know what to expect
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I have been using family members upgrades to get new phones to avoid losing the unlimited data. I am with Verizon and use around 8 gigs a month. For example when I got the iPhone 5 a couple months ago I used my moms upgrade. Now I want either the HTC one or GS4 for my work line so ill use my dads upgrade.
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VoidedSaint, I did the upgrade phone swap that you talk about with my mom's phone/line before Verizon implemented the family share plan. I did it in store and the rep's knew what I was doing and made the trade for me. My mom kept her old phone, and I was able to make the swap. The only thing I'm worried about is if Verizon would still make the swap, or if they would force my mom's line into a shared data plan. I think the key here is to find a representative that is open to making the swap, and knows what they are doing. I'm going to post the question over in the Verizon area and I might wander into the store this week to see if this is still possible...
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I confirmed the day before yesterday that they can do it in store. At first they tried to tell me it wasn't possible, but the CSR's in store were kind enough to take the time to look it up and then apply it to my phone on one of my lines. Basically they apply it to the upgrade line for a couple of minutes and then move it over to my phone line. Very cool. If your phone supports NFC, you will definitely want to upgrade in store. They gave me a new SIM which supported card-less payments. They told me you had to get the new SIM if you wanted it to work. If the CSR's tell you it's not possible, be courteous and apply the old "My friend did it yesterday at store X across town." I'm lucky that a CSR standing nearby informed the CSR helping me that it was possible. When the CSR learned about it, they were going out of there way to make it happen to help me avoid a full price upgrade.
I applied this to an existing phone line, but you should be able to do it the same way that VoidedSaint outlined. The CSR's in store are using the same system as the phone CSR's, so I can't see why it wouldn't work. I think it boils down to whether the in store's CSR's want to take the time to make it happen.
Overall, I am very happy with Verizon's customer service!
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You might want to upgrade though and get a phone at the discounted rate.
Verizon factors in the cost of the phone over the two year contract. So when you go past two years, you're still esentially paying for the phone through your monthly bill and every month after your two year contract is up that you don't upgrade, Verizon gets free money.
That's why all these side phone companies that you see offering unlimited everything for like $50 a month.. they make you buy the phone without discounts. So that's why their monthly fee is so low. You're not paying for the phone over two years like you are with Verizon.
Verizon factors in the cost of the phone over the two year contract. So when you go past two years, you're still esentially paying for the phone through your monthly bill and every month after your two year contract is up that you don't upgrade, Verizon gets free money.
That's why all these side phone companies that you see offering unlimited everything for like $50 a month.. they make you buy the phone without discounts. So that's why their monthly fee is so low. You're not paying for the phone over two years like you are with Verizon.
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I think this only works if you are upgrading your primary line, and you have the potential of losing your unlimited data. Verizon has said that the only way to keep your unlimited data is to upgrade the phone at full retail price. The loophole in the process seems to be upgrading a dumb phone on another line. I'm not sure Amazon or other third party vendors could setup this process (I could be wrong), and I would never trust one of those re-seller kiosks or stores to upgrade the phone at discount (I've heard too many horror stories).
Verizon has said that they may offer the same model that T-Mobile has in place, if there is interest (which there is). Wait and see and don't hold your breath...
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