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A Hebrew

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 7, 2012
846
2
Minnesota
Hello,

I am relatively new to smartphones in general. I turned 18 last year and before that my parents never really believed in the use of a cell phone. Well I have my own money now after working for the past 4+ years and rarely spending so I am looking into getting an iPhone 5 through Verizon Wireless. I do have some questions though that I hope someone can help me with:

1) I intend to buy the iPhone from BestBuy.com and then pick it up in the store. With this as the case, how would purchasing the 2-year contract agreement work? Would I pay the monthly fee/activation fee at the store or would that be a separate bill?

2) Is it possible to pay all bills from Verizon 100% paperless? AKA they send me the bill through email or something and I do a direct transfer from my bank account.

3) Is the 2-year contract agreement the way to go over prepaid since you save a ton on the iPhone?

4) How much data should I purchase if I will be sending/receiving 20 emails a day, I will visit 25ish webpages a day, and I will be streaming about 30 minutes of video a month?


Thanks.
 

Menel

Suspended
Aug 4, 2011
6,351
1,356
Hello,

I am relatively new to smartphones in general. I turned 18 last year and before that my parents never really believed in the use of a cell phone. Well I have my own money now after working for the past 4+ years and rarely spending so I am looking into getting an iPhone 5 through Verizon Wireless. I do have some questions though that I hope someone can help me with:

1) I intend to buy the iPhone from BestBuy.com and then pick it up in the store. With this as the case, how would purchasing the 2-year contract agreement work? Would I pay the monthly fee/activation fee at the store or would that be a separate bill?

2) Is it possible to pay all bills from Verizon 100% paperless? AKA they send me the bill through email or something and I do a direct transfer from my bank account.

3) Is the 2-year contract agreement the way to go over prepaid since you save a ton on the iPhone?

4) How much data should I purchase if I will be sending/receiving 20 emails a day, I will visit 25ish webpages a day, and I will be streaming about 30 minutes of video a month?


Thanks.
1. separate bill.

2. Yes. Once you get acct established, that's all controlled online. You'll have a startup fee, they'll likely run a credit check, and due to your age, expect to need to pay a deposit.

3. Yes, because there is no discount if you own your own.

4. You should be able to make it on 1GB. But get their app, and monitor your usage, you may need 2GB.
 

unagimiyagi

macrumors 6502a
Jun 9, 2009
905
229
Chiming in on the pre-paid vs contract agreement...
if you can buy the phone outright, you should. You will most definitely save money.
You save money if you are OK going to T-mobile, Straight Talk, Net10, etc.

If you want AT&T service or Verizon and are OK paying $70 a month, and you need that level of service (secret: it's identical to the pre-paid carriers), and you know for sure that you are going to stay with AT&T for 2 years, then sure take the contract deal.

But my experience shows that alot can change in only two years.

I did the calculation and even after paying full outrageous price that Apple wants for an iphone 5, I'm still saving $600 over two years. If you have a family, or even a spouse, that's $1200 over just two years. It's not going to rock your world, but it it's still real money. Cell phone service is a commodity like electricity and running water, it should not be disproportionately expensive. So don't pay these outrageous contract prices. The cell companies know that their business models are outdated, but they're trying to hang on. Don't let them.
 

A Hebrew

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 7, 2012
846
2
Minnesota
So if I were to buy the iPhone with a certain contract would I have a certain amount of days to activate the phone/pay the first bill for it? How is that done?
 

bohbot16

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2009
674
10
So if I were to buy the iPhone with a certain contract would I have a certain amount of days to activate the phone/pay the first bill for it? How is that done?

You would activate it in store. The first bill won't come right away, as contract plans are post-paid.
 

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
Don't even say PRE-PAID if you are not ready to put up usd$600+ up front.

Once you have a subsidized phone (contract mandatory) your plan choices are really limited. But within those given, u can always switch back&forth.
 

Cody21

macrumors 6502a
Aug 9, 2012
544
0
Knoxville, TN
Hello,

I am relatively new to smartphones in general. I turned 18 last year and before that my parents never really believed in the use of a cell phone. Well I have my own money now after working for the past 4+ years and rarely spending so I am looking into getting an iPhone 5 through Verizon Wireless. I do have some questions though that I hope someone can help me with:

1) I intend to buy the iPhone from BestBuy.com and then pick it up in the store. With this as the case, how would purchasing the 2-year contract agreement work? Would I pay the monthly fee/activation fee at the store or would that be a separate bill?

2) Is it possible to pay all bills from Verizon 100% paperless? AKA they send me the bill through email or something and I do a direct transfer from my bank account.

3) Is the 2-year contract agreement the way to go over prepaid since you save a ton on the iPhone?

4) How much data should I purchase if I will be sending/receiving 20 emails a day, I will visit 25ish webpages a day, and I will be streaming about 30 minutes of video a month?


Thanks.

1) Separate bill.

2) Yes, you can pay through the myverizon app or online.

3) Yes, because there are no discounts.

4) probably 2-3gb to be safe.

And just some more info regarding opening an account at your age: I opened an account with AT&T when I was 18 or 19 and never had to pay a deposit though it may be different at Verizon.
 
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