Verizon 4S on a dumphone plan?

[max pl]

So my mom picked up a 4S a week ago on the standard verizon family plan which includes shared voice minutes with myself and my brother, along with the mandatory $30 data.

She was misled by me as I told her there was a $20 dollar 250/300mb option, but apparently thats for everything but iphone.

Anyway, she isnt going to use data, basically at all. $30 a month is $720 dollars wasted over 2 years on something she isnt going to use.

Can she just pick up a dumbphone + off contract iphone and use the sim in the iphone? Or does Verizon do what Ive heard AT&T does, a mandate a data package for iphones when they detect youre using an iphone?
Can this be bypassed with a jailbreak?

Thanks

edit: actually, now that i think about it the subsidy offsets a bunch of the cost and she's really only going to be paying about $250 more with the data.
does that make sense?

 

[Kyotoma]

Verizon does not use SIM cards at all, and in no way will Verizon ever activate an iPhone without a data plan on the contract. This cannot be avoided by Jailbreaking.

 

[Macman45]

Same here in the UK....I'm with 02, have been for years. When I got my very first iPhone, they sold me mandatory "Bolt ons" for the device. I'm older and wiser now, and several iPhones later I have a decent data plan.

OP: I can't see how your Mom is going to be able to use the iPhone without a data bolt on. Seems a shame...A full featured phone that she won't use. Maybe sell it and get her an ordinary phone?

 

[Stealthipad]

If you Mom got a subsidized price on her iPhone, they will demand that she maintains a smart phone plan for the duration of the contract. Verizon HAS to charge a iPhone plan for a iPhone.

 

[sweetbrat]

If it was only a week ago that she purchased it, I'd see if you can return it and get her a phone that doesn't require a data plan. It sounds like that might be more in line with what she needs.

 

[max pl]

If it was only a week ago that she purchased it, I'd see if you can return it and get her a phone that doesn't require a data plan. It sounds like that might be more in line with what she needs.

yeh, i'll find out what she thinks of all of this.

she wants an iphone and would use some of the apps on wifi, as she's usually around buildings with wifi. paying for data is senseless in such a case.

ill talk to her and explain her options. perhaps she really isnt too concerned about the data costs, and its just me looking out for everyones best interest.

i too barely use any data and its difficult to justify the cost.

Verizon does not use SIM cards at all, and in no way will Verizon ever activate an iPhone without a data plan on the contract. This cannot be avoided by Jailbreaking.

yeh i always thought this as well when i was with AT&T, but why is it that our iphones and my brothers nexus all have them. i know 4G phones require a sim, but what about the sim's in the iphones? or are they just cards and not sim cards in the true sense where you can swap them between GSM phones?

 

[aneftp]

So my mom picked up a 4S a week ago on the standard verizon family plan which includes shared voice minutes with myself and my brother, along with the mandatory $30 data.

She was misled by me as I told her there was a $20 dollar 250/300mb option, but apparently thats for everything but iphone.

Anyway, she isnt going to use data, basically at all. $30 a month is $720 dollars wasted over 2 years on something she isnt going to use.

Can she just pick up a dumbphone + off contract iphone and use the sim in the iphone? Or does Verizon do what Ive heard AT&T does, a mandate a data package for iphones when they detect youre using an iphone?
Can this be bypassed with a jailbreak?

Thanks

edit: actually, now that i think about it the subsidy offsets a bunch of the cost and she's really only going to be paying about $250 more with the data.
does that make sense?

That's weird. Verizon had the $20/300MB data plan available last week. on their webpage. When I log onto it today, that option isn't available anymore.

You might want to call Customer Service and request the $20 data plan. Sometimes Verizon "hides" these options and you have to call and request it.

 

[Ksizzle9]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

You must have a 4S? If so, and you are on Verizon, it is only there for international roaming so that you can use GSM where required.

 

[Kyotoma]

yeh i always thought this as well when i was with AT&T, but why is it that our iphones and my brothers nexus all have them. i know 4G phones require a sim, but what about the sim's in the iphones? or are they just cards and not sim cards in the true sense where you can swap them between GSM phones?

The GSM iPhones, if carrier unlocked, will work on any GSM network that supports 850/900/1800/1900/2100 MHz bands. The iPhone 4S for Verizon has a SIM slot that can be unlocked for international use only. The Nexus(I would assume Galaxy Nexus) uses an LTE card that works differently than the CDMA technology that Verizon uses for its 1xRTT and 3G networks, thus needing the extra card in addition to other radio hardware in order to utilize that connection.

 

[max pl]

That's weird. Verizon had the $20/300MB data plan available last week. on their webpage. When I log onto it today, that option isn't available anymore.

You might want to call Customer Service and request the $20 data plan. Sometimes Verizon "hides" these options and you have to call and request it.

doubt it. i think you saw the deal for android phones perhaps.

this was just posted 6 days ago highlighting the differences.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1310431/

thanks for the sim explanation as well. i guess verizon's gonna suck in that regard til most phones are lte capable.

 

[ritmomundo]

yeh, i'll find out what she thinks of all of this.

she wants an iphone and would use some of the apps on wifi, as she's usually around buildings with wifi. paying for data is senseless in such a case.

ill talk to her and explain her options. perhaps she really isnt too concerned about the data costs, and its just me looking out for everyones best interest.

i too barely use any data and its difficult to justify the cost.

This may not be the best solution, but maybe suggest getting her a regular "dumbphone" and an iPod touch? That way she'd get to use the apps over wifi, and not have to pay for data.

yeh i always thought this as well when i was with AT&T, but why is it that our iphones and my brothers nexus all have them. i know 4G phones require a sim, but what about the sim's in the iphones? or are they just cards and not sim cards in the true sense where you can swap them between GSM phones?

Some VZW phones, including the 4S, now have SIM cards, for international roaming purposes (i.e., world phones). Swapping them out between GSM phones won't work because in order to be on VZW's network, your phone will still have to operate on CDMA.

 

[Carl G35c]

return the iphone and have her buy an ipod touch

 

[max pl]

no that wont be happening.

she primarily needs a phone and the convenience of smartphone functionality is just an add on. she wont juggle 2 devices, one of which will get minimal use.

anyway, thanks for all the info everyone.

 

[Namji]

Just tell her, if you want to play?? you got to pay...

 

[cynics]

Like ritmomundo said the 4s has a sim on Verizon's network and can be unlocked to use as a world phone.

To the best of my very limited knowledge most if not all Verizon's dumb phones do not have sim cards.

 

[takeshi74]

Can this be bypassed with a jailbreak?

Nope. The iPhone doesn't enforce this. The carrier's network does.

If you Mom got a subsidized price on her iPhone, they will demand that she maintains a smart phone plan for the duration of the contract. Verizon HAS to charge a iPhone plan for a iPhone.

The contract is irrelevant. Data plan is mandatory with iPhones -- on contract or not. Additionally, it's not quite as you state. The contract and data plan are entirely separate. If the OP's mom sold the iPhone and used a dumb phone she could drop the data plan on her line. Contract applies to the line of service, not the data plan unless she signed up under some special agreement/offer that explicitly states otherwise.

 

[C DM]

That's weird. Verizon had the $20/300MB data plan available last week. on their webpage. When I log onto it today, that option isn't available anymore.

You might want to call Customer Service and request the $20 data plan. Sometimes Verizon "hides" these options and you have to call and request it.

Yeah, that was a "holiday promotional" data feature/plan that Verizon seems to have removed just very recently. Perhaps they might still offer it to someone if they call in and ask about it.

 

[lordofthereef]

If you Mom got a subsidized price on her iPhone, they will demand that she maintains a smart phone plan for the duration of the contract. Verizon HAS to charge a iPhone plan for a iPhone.

I know for a fact that this is not the case for ATT. Is Verizon's policy different? (it very well may be, which is why I ask). ATT will allow you to get a subsidized handset and go back to a dumb phone, thus allowing you to drop any data plan you were requried to pick up when buying your iPhone.

----------

The contract is irrelevant. Data plan is mandatory with iPhones -- on contract or not. Additionally, it's not quite as you state. The contract and data plan are entirely separate. If the OP's mom sold the iPhone and used a dumb phone she could drop the data plan on her line. Contract applies to the line of service, not the data plan unless she signed up under some special agreement/offer that explicitly states otherwise.

I should have read all the way through the thread. This is what I thought. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[mattraehl]

That's weird. Verizon had the $20/300MB data plan available last week. on their webpage. When I log onto it today, that option isn't available anymore.

You might want to call Customer Service and request the $20 data plan. Sometimes Verizon "hides" these options and you have to call and request it.

It must have been cancelled recently. I bought my 4S in December and I am on the $20/300MB plan. Glad I jumped on it when I did. Not surprising that Verizon did this within a week of AT&T bumping their lowest plan from $15 to $20.

 

[Liam08]

You guys in the USA truly get stiffed on contracts. $20 for 300mb? I pay the equivalent of $49 (£31) for 300 minutes 3000 texts and 1gb of web. Even I pay over the top.

 

[max pl]

i'm gonna call verizon today to pressure them to give her the 300mb plan, or else she's exchanging for the dumphone.

lost money for them if they deny it.

 

[max pl]

called and had the 300mb deal honored. well until its confirmed by some offline team which i'll hear about monday.

the deal ran through jan. 15th and she bought the phone the 13th, asking for the cheapest data package offered yet was given the 2 gig one.

i actually began the call by mentioning that she's about to dump the iphone for a dumbphone unless they get her on the 300mb. really didnt have to push that much though after she told me the date the promotion ended and i put two and two together.

$20 for data is still too much for her needs in the grand scheme of things, but at least she'll now be saving a bit on something she barely uses.

 

[0dev]

You guys in the USA truly get stiffed on contracts. $20 for 300mb? I pay the equivalent of $49 (£31) for 300 minutes 3000 texts and 1gb of web. Even I pay over the top.

I pay £10 (about $15) for 250 minutes, unlimited texts, and unlimited internet! Paying more than that merely for 300MB data alone is just unthinkable

 

[nycfly89]

you'll be surprised how much data she will actually start using now that she has an iphone. so you may not think she will use it, she eventually will. siri, emailing, connection always being on (wifi turns off when phone is in standby) browsing the web now that she has that option while out. 300mb should be plenty. and verizon is always excellent about honoring promotions/deals that have expired (i got a feature added on to my account 3 months after it ended). welcome your mom to the hi-tech world!