Verizon Introducing $20 Fee to Upgrade Your Smartphone

[dk001]

If you reuse your sim card and simply place the old sim in a mew phone, there should not be charge. I do this and I do not get charged. However, if you get a new sim, you will pay. That has been my experience. The problem is most people do reuse the sim. If you go to apple they sell you a phone with a sim already in there, they will not switch the sim over and the same is true at most telco stores.

New SIMs are free from AT&T. All too often after swapping SIMs, I have had to go into the AT&T store to get a new SIM. These micro versions seem especially fragile. No charge for anything. They scan, insert, turn on and hand back to me.
I've even changed due to size restrictions (mini to micro...) and there has not been a charge.
I think the article has it incorrect or is missing a portion.

 

[Gregintosh]

Where T-Mobile gets you is by forcing a $20 charge by including a new sim card on each and every phone purchase. Doesn't matter if it's an upgrade, you still pay for that new sim.

I did not have to pay for a new sim card when I upgraded my iPhones on T-Mobile at all. You just have to pay for a new sim card if yours isnt the correct size (upgrading from a regular or micro sim to a nano sim). I can see some sales reps adding it on if you don't tell them you are all set already, so its up to you to tell them you don't wanna buy another sim card and you will use the one you got.

 

[macduke]

I can't wait until they start charging a fee for the time it takes them to do all of the fee calculation.

I wish I could start a simple wireless company.

Need a phone? Buy a phone or pay it off over time.
Need service? Unlimited calling because nobody calls anymore. Unlimited texts because they cost like a millionth of a cent to send. $50/mo
Need an extra line? $10/line/mo
Need data? Pick how much you want and share it with everyone on your plan. $10 per 2GB. Do whatever you want with the data, like tethering, because you paid for it. It's yours.
Taxes? Built into the service and data cost.
Fees? Nope.
Need a tablet data plan? $10/mo plus whatever data you want.
Do whatever you want with your phones. Switch them around—we don't care because you bought them.

It would be so simple. Too bad I don't have a nationwide infrastructure at my disposal.

So if you wanted service with 2GB of data, $60/mo.

Need data for an iPad with 4GB of data? $30/mo.

Service with four lines and 12GB of data? $140/mo.

Service with two lines, iPad access and 8GB of data? $110/mo.

It would be stupid simple.

 

[dk001]

"Can we bill you now?"

Seriously, what is all this nonsense that these clowns keep spawning?
Reading things like my cell phone and cable bill, it reads like every made-up thing.

Line Access Fee? I would like my service without this. Oh, you can't provide service without this, then its a part of the @#$! monthly bill. Don't tell me its only $29.99 if it flat doesn't work without this other stuff. AT&T family sharing plan: Add a line for only $15. I went to AT&T.

"So I can add a line for $15?"

AT&T "yep"

Me "That is exactly $15.00? not $15 plus a bunch of miscellaneous fees and taxes. The TOTAL is $15 a month?

AT&T: "That's right. Its only $15."

First bill arrives at +$21 and change. I go back to AT&T. You said...

If T-mobile reached my house, I would be there already.

I ordered a Nexus 6P and am going to test out Google Fi. I may end up with a new "carrier".

 

[rawweb]

You're lucky you get service from someone else. It sucks being stuck in an area with only Verizon and AT&T coverage. Could switch to ATT but they aren't much better than VZW in my opinion.

I'm stuck on an A&T contract until fall. After that I'm a free agent. I have nothing good to say about AT&T either. I'm sure they'll add this convenient fee next since someone else is making dime on it.

 

[JackieInCo]

I did not have to pay for a new sim card when I upgraded my iPhones on T-Mobile at all. You just have to pay for a new sim card if yours isnt the correct size (upgrading from a regular or micro sim to a nano sim). I can see some sales reps adding it on if you don't tell them you are all set already, so its up to you to tell them you don't wanna buy another sim card and you will use the one you got.

Wrong. Go to the website and add a phone to your cart.

 

[rdlink]

..That's not 100% accurate. Apple set that rule, probably to not upset the carriers too much! The bank doesn't care what you do with the phone, as long as you pay them back their $700!

Unless you have proof otherwise I believe you're way off base. Apple sells unlocked phones outright every day without activating them, with no fear of "upsetting the carriers." In fact, the iPhone has Apple in the position that they could give two ***s what the carriers think. They're the ones with power in that relationship, not the carriers. The carriers hate the iPhone because of that, BTW.

When I went in to buy an unlocked phone using the Apple Upgrade Program they wouldn't let me get it unless I activated it. They told me that it was because the bank wants the phone out of the box, and activated so that they know you're not just going to buy it on credit, cancel the credit card you used to put it on payments, and resell it overseas without paying for it. Makes perfect sense, because financial institutions have underwriters and loss departments that they have to answer to.

 

[phillytim]

These companies are LUCKY that we even pay them money, much less keep doing business with them!

They are getting as bad as the airline industry!

Sheesh.

 

[dk001]

If they really cared, they would spend money on new towers (not upgrading old towers) so I could actually use T-Mobile.

They are. They are deploying 700 Mhz in most of the USA to help with coverage. Unfortunately it takes time.

The challenge in many places is zoning. Local zoning ordinances makes it significantly easier and faster to upgrade than to request and be granted for new.

 

[macduke]

Don't blame you. After twenty plus years, I made the switch to Cricket.

Welcome to the forums!

I haven't checked out Cricket in a long time. Back in the day they were pretty rough around the edges with service. Was mainly good in urban areas. They use Sprint as an MVNO and I'm not a big fan of Sprint. I'm from Kansas City where their headquarters are and sometimes you couldn't even get service in the area around their headquarters. I'm still amazed that they're in business.

 

[kazmac]

Ouch. While I like Verizon save for the crappy LTE in some areas in NYC and home, dang. That said, I'm still getting more and paying much less than I would with AT&T; except when it comes time to upgrade.

 

[Mr. Buzzcut]

False. Reread the article. It says specifically it applies to direct and indirect channels. Where it notes it doesn't matter whether you buy from Verizon or directly from Apple through Apple's upgrade program. Even if you never ask for support from Verizon or engage with Verizon, they will still be able to detect the new phone when it's activated on their network, and then will bill you on your next month bill. They were losing money from people buying through new means that didn't involve them, so they've added a fee to try to get money from those customers.

At the moment nothing we can do about it other than complain but probably 0 chance it will make a difference so they know we don't have any options, just like Comcast. Sure you could switch to T-Mobile, but if you were willing to sacrafrice call quality and call coverage you would have switched a long time ago and not just over $20. T-Mobile gives discounts because it's at the bottom of the barrel and trying to attract customers, but if it ever reaches Verizon's status, it would charge the same fees as well sadly.

Read it again. Customer provided phone which is just ESN change has no fee.

 

[lemieuxfan67]

Wrong. Go to the website and add a phone to your cart.

Here is a screen capture when purchasing a t-mobile phone. I was not charged a SIM card fee.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

So they got rid of them short term in order to force people off the 2 year contracts and then added them back. Cellular companies are truly scum.

I called it months ago. Eventually they'll keep increasing the cost from 20 to 25 to 30 to 40 and then just remove 0% financing altogether.

 

[CEmajr]

So glad I dumped these guys for T-Mobile a few years ago.

 

[Le Big Mac]

If you buy from the Apple store and you tell them it's for Verizon, they collect the $20.
If you buy an unlocked device and activate it yourself, there is no fee.
Moral, buy unlocked devices and swap the SIM yourself.

So basically this is a fee on anyone who can't pay full price in cash.

 

[Sketchr]

Here is a screen capture when purchasing a t-mobile phone. I was not charged a SIM card fee.

View attachment 624309

Well, they did charge you $7.00 for shipping a non expedited phone. That would be free from Vz, att or Apple.

 

[willmtaylor]

Let's see, get crappy service from TMo, get no service from Sprint, pay hella more per month at ATT or pay a fee once every year or two (that I can probably negotiate a bill credit for anyway) with the provider that has the strongest signal and fastest data where I am?

I think I'll stick with VZW.

 

[Le Big Mac]

It comes as no surprise that they're doing this, after all they are not making as much profit on the hardware now that people are financing through Apple.

Yeah. First it was an upgrade fee to supplement profits on the subsidized phones. Then, having succeeded in getting rid of phone subsidies, and having no advantage in financing phones through leases/next-type plans, they realized they needed to make up that revenue somehow. Voi-la - fees for any changes!

 

[Carlanga]

I can see carriers starting to charge every-time I turn my phone on/off for reconnecting to the service lmao

 

[cylack]

I guess “support costs” is just code for “outrageous CEO and upper level management yearly bonuses”

 

[xraydoc]

I ordered a Nexus 6P and am going to test out Google Fi. I may end up with a new "carrier".

Let us know how it goes. Seems rather attractive (all but the Android part) but perhaps one day there will be an iPhone version.

 

[BklynApple]

Does anyone know if this new fee applies to people who upgrade at an Apple Store? I've never been to a Verizon Store for any iPhone needs, I am assuming (hoping) that if you upgrade in an Apple Store, there is no additional fee.

Anyone know?

According to this article, it counts even if you purchase in the Apple store. It appears the charge will just be added to your bill later.

 

[Le Big Mac]

If you buy a iPhone in verizon store for $649, then you need to pay $20.
If you buy a iPhone in apple store for $649, then you need to pay $0. ?

WTF. Ok, Verizon don't want for customers to buy phones in thire stores.

They actually may not want that . . . given all the stores they (and ATT et al) have, it's inefficient to stock them all with all the models of iPhone. May be easier to outsource that to Apple.
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You guys would understand this if you have ever been in a Verizon store while Soccer Mom and her two offspring are trying to do an upgrade. What should be a 5-10 minute process can easily take 45 minutes.

So basically Verizon wants to charge you for their own inefficiency. This shouldn't be a 45 minute proces, but it becomes one because their systems are such crap it takes that long.

 

[jamezr]

Thanks Verizon for reinforcing my decision to move to T-Mobile. Cost savings and JoD more than make up for any loss in coverage.