Carrier Unhappy with 2 GB.

[pongyuekong]

Went with Verizon 2GB data plan for $60 per month and I use up 2 GB within a week. It's my first smart phone so I was unsure how much data I needed but now I know.

What is my best option? Pay off my ETF $350 and go with T-Mobile unlimited plan? I also heard about sprint unlimited plan.

 

[imnjs]

If you're within a week can't you just return the phone?

 

[pongyuekong]

I had it for about 20 days now and been using with my cellular off since I hit 1.980 GB.

 

[boshii]

Went with Verizon 2GB data plan for $60 per month and I use up 2 GB within a week. It's my first smart phone so I was unsure how much data I needed but now I know.

What is my best option? Pay off my ETF $350 and go with T-Mobile unlimited plan? I also heard about sprint unlimited plan.

T-mobile will buy you out of your contract.

 

[rrm74001]

I use up 2 GB within a week

What are you doing on your phone?

With limited data plans, you are pretty much forced to connect to Wi-Fi whenever possible. It sounds like you are not doing that.

 

[imnjs]

T-mobile will buy you out of your contract.

Yeah it's pretty silly how it works though. You basically pay the ETF and T-Mobile reimburses you sometime down the road.

 

[pongyuekong]

Yeah it's pretty silly how it works though. You basically pay the ETF and T-Mobile reimburses you sometime down the road.

How does it work? Is it worth looking at? I was thinking about visiting my local T-Mobile store after work tomorrow and ask a few questions. And I just do my everyday thing with my phone on the travel such as gps and read online; I went through almost 2 gig within a week.

 

[wxman2003]

How is T-Mobile LTE coverage in your area? Same with Sprint. If they are not LTE, you will be lucky to hit 2GB in a month on their very slow non LTE networks.

 

[KPOM]

If you decide to ETF your VZW line, note that there is another thread running about back-door ways of getting unlimited data plans by assuming liability on a grandfathered plan. Since you don't have enough posts to send a PM or check out the MacRumors Marketplace, Slick Deals may be your best bet.

 

[Mr Hands]

Jesus... I get 2GB on my iPad with Sprint for $15.

Unlimited everything on the iPhone for $50.

 

[famoussasjohn]

Yeah it's pretty silly how it works though. You basically pay the ETF and T-Mobile reimburses you sometime down the road.

Not necessarily silly, T-Mobile has to get their moneys worth so they don't go around paying peoples ETF's just so they can bone out on them and they can go back to their previous carrier.

 

[Learylvr.]

If you don't have good LTE in the area you use your phone most..., skip Sprint. Without LTE, Sprint is a nightmare. Unlimited data means nothing if you only have Sprint 3G, it more like 1x. Lol

 

[jlake02]

NO way I could survive on 2GB.

 

[JayIsAwesome]

If you don't have good LTE in the area you use your phone most..., skip Sprint. Without LTE, Sprint is a nightmare. Unlimited data means nothing if you only have Sprint 3G, it more like 1x. Lol

This! Sprint's 3G is a joke.

 

[unnamedny]

Went with Verizon 2GB data plan for $60 per month and I use up 2 GB within a week. It's my first smart phone so I was unsure how much data I needed but now I know.

What is my best option? Pay off my ETF $350 and go with T-Mobile unlimited plan? I also heard about sprint unlimited plan.

Since it's your first smartphone and your first week, don't run into such a fast conclusion. You probably played with it none stop this week. You downloaded numerous number of apps and music. Your usage rate will most likely go down with in a month. Try to use wifi more often as well. Is there any other plans Verizon offer?

 

[JayIsAwesome]

NO way I could survive on 2GB.

Same here. You have this badass smartphone but you're only limited to using 2GBs of data? In a month? Eww

 

[nateo200]

If you don't have good LTE in the area you use your phone most..., skip Sprint. Without LTE, Sprint is a nightmare. Unlimited data means nothing if you only have Sprint 3G, it more like 1x. Lol

Sprint is only a little worse than AT&T.....Pre-iPhone 3G era...lol. Sprint is just a nightmare...and if you decide to switch your phone is essentially a paper weight since they won't unlock it for you to use on a rival locally.

Same here. You have this badass smartphone but you're only limited to using 2GBs of data? In a month? Eww

Yeah I tried 2GB's once....just kept going over the limit many many many times....Generally speaking the first month I have a new iPhone my usage is like 4x higher than normal....although I can definitely see that 4x as normal becoming normal lol. I've only had an LTE smartphone since April (5c) and now I have the 6 and the LTE just makes things more fun, no more waiting and if my home WiFi gets unbearable for uploads or even downloads I just switch over to LTE.

 

[ELPresidente720]

I live happily on 3 a month. Wifi is my friend.

 

[scaredpoet]

How does it work? Is it worth looking at? I was thinking about visiting my local T-Mobile store after work tomorrow and ask a few questions. And I just do my everyday thing with my phone on the travel such as gps and read online; I went through almost 2 gig within a week.

I did it. Initially it was so I could get out of my AT&T contract and get back in later on a cheaper plan, but I just never bothered to leave T-Mobile because their coverage was decent enough and the prices were even cheaper.

There's some loopholes though that you have to be aware of:

1. You have to trade in a phone. And you aren't going to get full value back on your brand new iPhone if trade that in. If you or a friend has an old, beat up Verizon flip phone lying around, your best bet is to turn that in for trade instead. You won't get any money off of it, but you'll at least be able to use your existing Verizon iPhone (which is unlocked) on T-Mobile and not have to buy an iPhone twice.

2. You HAVE to buy a phone. Again, you could trade in your iPhone and buy a new one from them, but you will lose a lot of money that way. Or, you could trade in a crummy phone and buy their cheapest, crummiest flip phone they have in the store, which is usually some really cheap LG model. LG is probably making tons of money off phones that never end up getting used for anything.

3. You have to submit your final bill that shows the ETF amount. Usually the first page, and the page showing the ETF charge is enough.

4. Takes up to 8 weeks to get reimbursed the ETF as a prepaid card. During that time, you need to maintain service with T-mobile and be current on your bill. You'll probably also need to pay the ETF before you get your rebate card.

If you can front the cash in paying your ETF for a while, it's a good deal.

Also, if you sign up, you can get someone to refer you (like myself) and you'll get another $25, AND free unlimited data for up to a year (bringing you bill down by another $30 per month).

 

[pongyuekong]

I did it. Initially it was so I could get out of my AT&T contract and get back in later on a cheaper plan, but I just never bothered to leave T-Mobile because their coverage was decent enough and the prices were even cheaper.

There's some loopholes though that you have to be aware of:

1. You have to trade in a phone. And you aren't going to get full value back on your brand new iPhone if trade that in. If you or a friend has an old, beat up Verizon flip phone lying around, your best bet is to turn that in for trade instead. You won't get any money off of it, but you'll at least be able to use your existing Verizon iPhone (which is unlocked) on T-Mobile and not have to buy an iPhone twice.

2. You HAVE to buy a phone. Again, you could trade in your iPhone and buy a new one from them, but you will lose a lot of money that way. Or, you could trade in a crummy phone and buy their cheapest, crummiest flip phone they have in the store, which is usually some really cheap LG model. LG is probably making tons of money off phones that never end up getting used for anything.

3. You have to submit your final bill that shows the ETF amount. Usually the first page, and the page showing the ETF charge is enough.

4. Takes up to 8 weeks to get reimbursed the ETF as a prepaid card. During that time, you need to maintain service with T-mobile and be current on your bill. You'll probably also need to pay the ETF before you get your rebate card.

If you can front the cash in paying your ETF for a while, it's a good deal.

Also, if you sign up, you can get someone to refer you (like myself) and you'll get another $25, AND free unlimited data for up to a year (bringing you bill down by another $30 per month).

Now that's a lot of hassle... I don't have an old phone or want a new phone. Is it okay to pay my ETF myself and go to T-Mobile afterwards?

 

[freeskier93]

Same here. You have this badass smartphone but you're only limited to using 2GBs of data? In a month? Eww

There's this thing called WiFi and for some people are always connected to it. If I'm not at home I'm at work or school which have WiFi. The only time I'm using data is driving between these places, which uses nothing because it's just email coming in. For the times when I'm out doing fun stuff (aka not at home/work/school) 2GB is more than plenty since I'm not on my phone 24/7.

 

[scaredpoet]

Now that's a lot of hassle... I don't have an old phone or want a new phone. Is it okay to pay my ETF myself and go to T-Mobile afterwards?

Sure. You can just port over and then pay your ETF when your old carrier bills you for it. Though overall, doing that stuff above will soften the ETF blow.

----------

There's this thing called WiFi and for some people are always connected to it. If I'm not at home I'm at work or school which have WiFi. The only time I'm using data is driving between these places, which uses nothing because it's just email coming in. For the times when I'm out doing fun stuff (aka not at home/work/school) 2GB is more than plenty since I'm not on my phone 24/7.

That's great for you. You must be in an area where phone companies aren't abandoning their copper networks and trying to claim that those same 2GB LTE plans are fine for home and work use.

Unfortunately, unless you already have fiber going to your home and office, you might find yourself either equally capped by the phone company over the next few years, or paying a lot more from the cable company to have a cap that runs at about 300GB instead, unless of course they wake up and decide that maybe they're "giving away" too much and reduce their caps too.

So that's why wireless caps are a big deal.

 

[CEmajr]

You can just port Over and pay your etf normally. Good thing is that you don't need a new phone since your Verizon one works fine on Tmobile.

Unlimited data is nice. It feels good to freely use your iPhone and not worry about overages and data caps. You'll love it.

 

[Stevessvt]

To add to the TMobile thing, if you know someone on TMo and have him refer you, you both get unlimited LTE/month for one year. Never turn wifi on again!

https://referral.t-mobile.com/

 

[*KID*]

Check out both Tmobile & Sprint. I'm pretty happy on Sprint & know people in my area pretty unhappy with Tmobile, so it really comes down to where you are & how each carriers service is there. I have already hit 3.1 GB - 2g would not cut it for me....

the only thing is - your Verizon phone won't work on Sprint.