So now that Verizon has released news of their future changes, I want to get a 4G plan now so that I can continue my grandfathered unlimited data when I get the next iPhone with 4G LTE. Is there any way to go through Verizon and have them just magically turn on the 4G with my 3G still working, or do I have to buy a used (or refurbished) 4G phone and use that? Are there any problems with my idea here or any things I might have looked over? Does anybody else have any ideas? Thanks!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Moving to 4G plan on Verizon with a 3G phone
- Thread starter mfuchs88
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Already discussed:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1372501/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1372627/
...but the truth is that nobody fully knows anything for certain until Verizon goes through with it.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1372501/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1372627/
...but the truth is that nobody fully knows anything for certain until Verizon goes through with it.
Your logic is flawed. Your plan won't work.
The choices are this:
1. Upgrade at your renewal time and sign up for a tiered (shared) data plan and have them subsidize $400 of your next iPhone.
2. When the next iPhone comes out, go to apple (or wherever) and pay full retail price. Activate the phone on Verizon. (EDIT: They may actually force you to buy an iPhone from them at full price to retain your unlimited data. They may not want you to get it from apple. just a thought, nothing concrete).
If you go out and buy a used 4G device right now to activate, it will have zero impact on either of the above two options.
Let's say you go buy a 4G device right now and then proceed with option 1 above. You would still be forced onto a tiered plan if you indend to have Verizon subsidize your next phone purchase.
Let's say you go buy a 4G device right now and then proceed with option 2 above. You will still be paying full retail price for the next iPhone in order to keep your unlimited data.
Neither scenario is going to benefit from you buying a used 4G device right now. Either sign up for a shared data plan and let them subsidize your next purchase or buy the phone outright at full price and retain your full data.
The choices are this:
1. Upgrade at your renewal time and sign up for a tiered (shared) data plan and have them subsidize $400 of your next iPhone.
2. When the next iPhone comes out, go to apple (or wherever) and pay full retail price. Activate the phone on Verizon. (EDIT: They may actually force you to buy an iPhone from them at full price to retain your unlimited data. They may not want you to get it from apple. just a thought, nothing concrete).
If you go out and buy a used 4G device right now to activate, it will have zero impact on either of the above two options.
Let's say you go buy a 4G device right now and then proceed with option 1 above. You would still be forced onto a tiered plan if you indend to have Verizon subsidize your next phone purchase.
Let's say you go buy a 4G device right now and then proceed with option 2 above. You will still be paying full retail price for the next iPhone in order to keep your unlimited data.
Neither scenario is going to benefit from you buying a used 4G device right now. Either sign up for a shared data plan and let them subsidize your next purchase or buy the phone outright at full price and retain your full data.
Thanks for the links! 
But by that point it will be too late, won't it?
----------
Well what I was saying is that if I just wait and buy an iPhone at full price, I will still have to change my plan to 4G since now I have 3G. That's one of the points where they will take away my unlimited and that's what I'm trying to avoid.
So what I was planning on doing is buying a used Android 4G phone now and activating it, therefore switching my unlimited from 3G to 4G so that once the new iPhone comes out I can buy it at full retail price and just have them activate it, meaning that no changes to my plan or service will need to be made and therefore I can keep my unlimited 4G.
----------
This doesn't make sense to me because if I have 3G now, when I pay full price for an iPhone and bring it to them, they will have to activate it for 4G for it to work. At that point Verizon will switch me over to tiered and I will lose my unlimited. That's why if I get 4G before the changes are made, I can keep my unlimited when I activate my new iPhone at full price.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, as I would really love to be wrong.
But by that point it will be too late, won't it?
----------
Well what I was saying is that if I just wait and buy an iPhone at full price, I will still have to change my plan to 4G since now I have 3G. That's one of the points where they will take away my unlimited and that's what I'm trying to avoid.
So what I was planning on doing is buying a used Android 4G phone now and activating it, therefore switching my unlimited from 3G to 4G so that once the new iPhone comes out I can buy it at full retail price and just have them activate it, meaning that no changes to my plan or service will need to be made and therefore I can keep my unlimited 4G.
----------
This doesn't make sense to me because if I have 3G now, when I pay full price for an iPhone and bring it to them, they will have to activate it for 4G for it to work. At that point Verizon will switch me over to tiered and I will lose my unlimited. That's why if I get 4G before the changes are made, I can keep my unlimited when I activate my new iPhone at full price.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, as I would really love to be wrong.
The point is there is no right or wrong answer.
Noone knows, its all speculation right now.
There is no 4G plan per say. If you have a 4G phone and a data package you will get a 4G signal. Verizon did say that as long as you don't buy a subsidised phone you will automatically get kicked out of the unlimited data.
We can keep our unlimited indefinitely as long as we don't get a subsidised phone from Verizon. If you but an iPhone at full price, you're OK. If you get the discouted price, you're screwed.
We can keep our unlimited indefinitely as long as we don't get a subsidised phone from Verizon. If you but an iPhone at full price, you're OK. If you get the discouted price, you're screwed.
If I understand correctly, you want to call up VZW and have them change your plan to 4G. They won't do this unless you are using a 4G LTE device. Even if you decided to somehow acquire a 4G LTE device you would either have to keep using that device. If you activated the iPhone back onto that line this would change your data plan back to the 3G plan.
Ok perfect. I am more than willing to use an android device until then as I've been using one for two years now. That's why I'm asking. It's time to upgrade to a new phone anyway, so a used 4G android device would be awesome.
If you have an upgrade and are fine with Android, it makes good sense to do this. It's really a question of whether you're happy enough with the current selection or if you want to see if a new phone's released prior to the deadline (most notably the Samsung Galaxy SIII).
I did it.
I had a spare thunderbolt from when I used the line's SIM card on my iPad. It turns out I could activate the thunderbolt even though I never deactivated it when I took the moved it's sim to my iPad.
I took the thunderbolt to Verizon store and activated the phone on my line where I had an iPhone 4s. I checked online and still have unlimited data. Now I just have to live with this for the next 5 months (or so).
I had a spare thunderbolt from when I used the line's SIM card on my iPad. It turns out I could activate the thunderbolt even though I never deactivated it when I took the moved it's sim to my iPad.
I took the thunderbolt to Verizon store and activated the phone on my line where I had an iPhone 4s. I checked online and still have unlimited data. Now I just have to live with this for the next 5 months (or so).
According to This weeks Verizon statement (I'm not sure I trust them anymore to not change the rules as they see fit \ renig on the past statement),
All you have to do is buy your all of your phones from now on at full price without any subsidy to keep unlimited 4G.
All you have to do is buy your all of your phones from now on at full price without any subsidy to keep unlimited 4G.
Which may be more expensive than just paying for the extra data. Fortunately, I've never gone over 2gb since I use Wifi at home and work.
Yeah. For the individual line holder who uses 100gb of data a month. It makes financial sense to forgo the subsidy upgrade (cause they end up paying more on a tiered data plan).
But for 99.9% of family plan users. Each subsidy (worth $300-400 per line) that an account holder forgoes just to maintain unlimited is simply not a wise economical choice. If they have 4 lines. That means they are forgoing $1200-1500 in subsidies every 20 months they are eligible for upgrades. That would pay for 120-150GB of over charges (assuming Verizon keeps the $10/GB that you go over your allotted amount