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Verizon Raises Smartphone Upgrade Fee to $30
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Even better, I pay exactly $100 per month with Cricket for 5 LINES INCLUDING TAX!!! Cricket is owned by AT&T and uses the same AT&T network. Going from post-paid to pre-paid is going to save you a fortune. An activation fee is pocket change in relation to the amount you pay over time for service.
I just can't imagine that very many people would be okay with the small carriers like Cricket. Yes. You save a good bit of money, but you're not getting the same quality product/service. I want fast speeds and good coverage. If smartphones weren't around today, that would be different.
I gave T-Mobile a shot. It wasn't awful, but there were plenty of times on roads or in buildings where I had no signal. Basic things like their iOS app and website messed up frequently. I had the simple choice plan with 10gb per line for 2 lines. That included tethering. I never came close to using 10gb of data because of binge on and music freedom. The One plan sounded like a step down for me.
All in all, if they improve their network coverage and spectrum more, id be willing to try again in the future. Just have to get the basics more consistent.
I gave T-Mobile a shot. It wasn't awful, but there were plenty of times on roads or in buildings where I had no signal. Basic things like their iOS app and website messed up frequently. I had the simple choice plan with 10gb per line for 2 lines. That included tethering. I never came close to using 10gb of data because of binge on and music freedom. The One plan sounded like a step down for me.
All in all, if they improve their network coverage and spectrum more, id be willing to try again in the future. Just have to get the basics more consistent.
I'll be honest I'm surprised carriers in the U.K. have never pulled a stunt like this.
Most of them apply RPI to increase the airtime on an annual basis and they've also increased overage charges in the past couple of years too.
Most of them apply RPI to increase the airtime on an annual basis and they've also increased overage charges in the past couple of years too.
Did you not read the previous comment? Cricket is owned by AT&T. It's not a "small carrier" [sic]. Phones using the Cricket Wireless service connect to AT&T cellular towers.
What customers on prepaid services like Cricket miss are things like hotspot access, international coverage, and at least in the past other features like Visual Voicemail, etc. Plus, the customer service is generally poorer than if you use the big name-brand postpaid services like AT&T.
I tried Sprint. I need to be able to do things like text and receive texts reliably. I would often go a whole night at home with 0 notifications on my phone and then hit the freeway and it would light up like the 4th of July.
I am not happy about this fee and have been considering a switch to Google Fi with a Pixel.
I am not happy about this fee and have been considering a switch to Google Fi with a Pixel.
Yes I'm thinking about just going back to prepaid again. This postpaid stuff is just getting way too expensive. $100+ a month for one single line with 6gb of data or whatever, just crazy.
Did you miss just last week when T-Mobile introduced their new One plan, which is a single line with unlimited data for $70/mo -- and that includes all taxes and fees.
Getting back on topic, I got a new phone last month. I was replacing a feature phone and I needed a new SIM card because the one I had would not fit my new smartphone. Went to a local T-Mobile store, told them I needed a new SIM, showed ID, they did some typing, and handed me the card to punch out. That was it.
Unlike this Verizon upgrade, T-Mobile actually had to give me something physical as part of the transaction -- and they still didn't charge me anything.
Wow. Glad I'm on Three in the UK.
£20 per month, unlimited (all-you-can-use) data with a 30GB tethering limit.
No upgrade fees. No handset fees. I just buy a new iPhone outright every year, selling my old one for more than 1/2 the cost.
£20 per month, unlimited (all-you-can-use) data with a 30GB tethering limit.
No upgrade fees. No handset fees. I just buy a new iPhone outright every year, selling my old one for more than 1/2 the cost.
Well, it's not like this is a new charge. Verizon has been extracting their pound of flesh for years. They are simply adjusting the pricing.
With the disappearance of handset subsidies in the USA, postpaid, previously handset subsidy loving Joe Consumer should expect to see a few more of these service fee increases.
With the disappearance of handset subsidies in the USA, postpaid, previously handset subsidy loving Joe Consumer should expect to see a few more of these service fee increases.
They used to essentially pay customers to upgrade and stay with them (by giving some money toward a subsidized upgrade), then they stopped that but at least didn't charge to upgrade either, and then they started to charge customers to essentially just to stay with them on top of paying for devices (and of course service) as well. "Progress."
Say huh? Did a side-by-side speed test with my brother's service in Austin. Are you in a major metroplex?
Yeah, I noticed this when checking prices on their site. Really disgusting. I think a phone call is in order.
Tell them you will switch to at and t when your contract expires.
If the fee isn't waived then leave.
If the fee isn't waived then leave.
I don't think you get hit with the upgrade fee if you buy from Apple directly. Though I am more than sure that if people start to get around the fee Verizon/ AT&T will add that to the Apple purchased phones as well.
Not without violating the terms by which VZW purchased the 700MHz spectrum. I hope they get sued in court if they terminate someone's unlimited account.
AT&T's coverage in rural areas is poor. VZW's advantage in rural areas comes from the fact that their network still uses analog technology (CDMA) which carries a signal farther and through more dense terrain than its digital counterpart.
They ARE competition for each other. But in this backwards world today, companies to compete to see how much more they can charge for the same things. It's in virtually every market, not just cellular providers.
I guess this will help pay for their useless Yahoo acquisition.
I tethered only very briefly a few times. Got an automated text one day saying I'd be forced onto a 4GB + tethering plan. They said they sent me warning texts but I received none whatsoever. Sure, unauthorized tethering was against the rules, but I guess being a paying customer for several years, threats to leave and all the other details didn't matter to them at all. Their loss.
I tethered only very briefly a few times. Got an automated text one day saying I'd be forced onto a 4GB + tethering plan. They said they sent me warning texts but I received none whatsoever. Sure, unauthorized tethering was against the rules, but I guess being a paying customer for several years, threats to leave and all the other details didn't matter to them at all. Their loss.