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Verizon LTE Month to Month?

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repthrd

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 10, 2011
12
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So I have heard mixed answers from Verizon reps, Verizon CS, Best Buy Employees and Apple Employees. Some are saying on Verizon you have to pay an activation fee EVERYTIME you turn on the LTE.

I just got my 64 GB Verizon LTE iPad and they "had to" activate it. So I let them, although I really am only going to turn this on sparingly. I got home and called Verizon and got logged into the Verizon web portal. I talked to one last employee and they said I can "suspend" my service for no fee and do it as often as I want. It only lasts 90 days though so I have to do it every 90 for it not to pop on unless I want it.

So my first question...what is the right answer here? Can I just totally cancel that account and just use my credit card on my iPad to turn on the service? Or should I manage it in the web portal? I can't get 2 people to tell me the same thing.

2nd Question - I would assume if I have LTE on and am on Wifi it would use the Wifi if available? Or is it just good practice to leave the LTE radio off unless I am using it. I realize it will be a bit more of a battery hog if I leave it on.

Thanks!
 
repthrd said:
So I have heard mixed answers from Verizon reps, Verizon CS, Best Buy Employees and Apple Employees. Some are saying on Verizon you have to pay an activation fee EVERYTIME you turn on the LTE.

I just got my 64 GB Verizon LTE iPad and they "had to" activate it. So I let them, although I really am only going to turn this on sparingly. I got home and called Verizon and got logged into the Verizon web portal. I talked to one last employee and they said I can "suspend" my service for no fee and do it as often as I want. It only lasts 90 days though so I have to do it every 90 for it not to pop on unless I want it.

So my first question...what is the right answer here? Can I just totally cancel that account and just use my credit card on my iPad to turn on the service? Or should I manage it in the web portal? I can't get 2 people to tell me the same thing.

2nd Question - I would assume if I have LTE on and am on Wifi it would use the Wifi if available? Or is it just good practice to leave the LTE radio off unless I am using it. I realize it will be a bit more of a battery hog if I leave it on.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Nah don't worry about it man, they would never do anything like that.
 
Well I definitely have to keep it in suspend mode...my question is that the way it should be working..
 
I'm actually wondering the same thing. Bought mine at Verizon today and they charged me the $35 activation fee and set me up on a recurring $30/2gb plan. And I can't manage the account from settings>cellular data>view account on the iPad. It says the SIM card is already active on a subscription that cannot be managed on this device. I have to log into the vzw website and manage from there.

I thought I could sign up and cancel as often as I wanted, and manage that directly from the device?

Anyone else had similar experiences at Verizon today?
 
For the iPad, there are no activation fees or deactivation fees for LTE or 3G data services. It should all be handled on the iPad, via the Cellular Data settings.


As for LTE, yes, it will access WiFi if it can and not use LTE. However, if you have a shaky WiFi signal, it'll be bouncing back and forth between LTE and WiFi. You might end up using data/draining your battery.

I personally turn off cellular data if I'm at home or at my office, because I have WiFi. I only really turn it on when I'm on the go.


Hope this helps. :)
 
pelicanflip said:
For the iPad, there are no activation fees or deactivation fees for LTE or 3G data services. It should all be handled on the iPad, via the Cellular Data settings.
Click to expand...

Umm, not so. Only on credit card prepay. If you do it through a Verizon account you get "cannot be managed on this device call 1-800- etc" You're right on the no fees either way though.
 
Verizon salespeople will try to set you up on a "postpaid" plan for the iPad, which requires a $35 activation fee and will charge you every month for your data. I saw a few Verizon salespeople do this in the store this morning. They took the iPad out of the box, "activated" service, presubamly with the fee... Decline this and simply sign up for "prepaid" data directly from your iPad to avoid the activation fee. If you were charged a fee, you can probably call Verizon and get a refund.
 
I just looked at the website...again...and it has what seems like 2 data plans and I feel like I got rail roaded into the wrong one.

One Says "Purchase Your Device Without Service and Activate on a later date.
No Activation Fees, no reconnect fees and no overage charges."

The plans are 1,2,5,10 GB.

The 2nd is "Purchase Your Device with month to month service. It will arrive activated, ready to use and global capable"

The plans are 2,5,10 GB.

When I bought it they only had the options for the 2,5,10 GB and when I said I thought there was a 1 GB plan they said no...I am starting to think what I need to do is totally cancel what they did and use the LTE settings in the iPAD to manage the account.

----------
Adelphos33 said:
Verizon salespeople will try to set you up on a "postpaid" plan for the iPad, which requires a $35 activation fee and will charge you every month for your data. I saw a few Verizon salespeople do this in the store this morning. They took the iPad out of the box, "activated" service, presubamly with the fee... Decline this and simply sign up for "prepaid" data directly from your iPad to avoid the activation fee. If you were charged a fee, you can probably call Verizon and get a refund.
Click to expand...

So, do you think I should just call them and cancel my account and number they gave me. Then just sign up for service on the ipad as I need it?
 
Yup, same thing Adelphos said.

They tried to get me to do a post-paid plan today with a $35 activation. I told him no, I would activate later. They make commission off of new activations so it's no wonder.

He even gave me his card and said when I activate to call him and he will see what he can do about getting that fee waived. Yeah right. This ain't my first rodeo, you're not fooling me with this scam.

I had an iPad 2 and ordered service at will through the cellular data menu as mentioned here. No contracts, no activation fees, nada.

The rep this morning was simply trying to make some commission off of you and unfortunately succeeded.
 
Well, fortunately I got someone worth their salt in VZW CS. They are currently in the process of noting my account that if I do get charged anything I need a credit back and they are moving my account from Postpaid to Prepaid...so I think all will be well very soon.

Thanks for the the help here.
 
ckiggins said:
Yup, same thing Adelphos said.

They tried to get me to do a post-paid plan today with a $35 activation. I told him no, I would activate later. They make commission off of new activations so it's no wonder.

He even gave me his card and said when I activate to call him and he will see what he can do about getting that fee waived. Yeah right. This ain't my first rodeo, you're not fooling me with this scam.

I had an iPad 2 and ordered service at will through the cellular data menu as mentioned here. No contracts, no activation fees, nada.

The rep this morning was simply trying to make some commission off of you and unfortunately succeeded.
Click to expand...

In all honestly I was disappointed with Verizon in-store service this morning. However, at A&T, I know it wouldn't be any different. One good thing about iPhones is now you don't have to deal with cellphone companies stores, store associates, etc.
 
I spoke too soon, I got forwarded to someone else to do it and they gave me some crazy BS about data plans and they were WAAAY more expensive then the website says...they also wanted to charge me 35 bucks activation...how can no one know what is going on...I am back on hold.

They quoted me plans that started at 500 MB..who are these people!
 
repthrd said:
I spoke too soon, I got forwarded to someone else to do it and they gave me some crazy BS about data plans and they were WAAAY more expensive then the website says...they also wanted to charge me 35 bucks activation...how can no one know what is going on...I am back on hold.

They quoted me plans that started at 500 MB..who are these people!
Click to expand...

Don't do anything with Verizon except for purchase the iPad for the list price. Decline all other services.
 
Ok, got another decent person...getting transferred again for some reason though to get this completed.

Lesson of the day - if you want to do pre paid tell them don't touch the damn thing and do it yourself.
 
I am off to the Verizon Store. My post paid account is now closed, but the technical support staff at VZW said to swap to prepaid after closing a postpaid, you need a new SIM card. So heads up - I have a feeling there will be a lot of very angry people that got signed up incorrectly today. I feel no one had a real grasp on how these plans worked.
 
I called and my hometown Verizon rep said that there always will be an activation fee, and I also called customer service 611 and they said I shouldn't have been charged one since I paid full retail..
Soo confused
 
Not to be cynical, but I'm pretty sure they knew exactly what they were doing in getting you to sign up for postpaid vs prepaid - commission.

This is the same setup they have with the iPad 2, so it's not like this is new to them.
 
Hey all! I actually purchased prepaid data on it this morning. It was $50 for 5GB -- no activation fee.

Hope this helps!
 
ah what a pain in the ass. Don't go to the Verizon store if you don't plan on using the LTE account immediately or if you are going to give the iPad away as a gift. I just called to cancel the plan and it took about an hour of phone disconnects and run arounds. Finally it was cancelled but now you need a new SIM card if you want to reactivate on a prepaid account. Pretty much just confirming what repthrd had said.
 
I was convinced by the Verizon sales rep that I *had* to activate if I wanted to buy it from them ($35, which I payed because I wanted my gadget and didn't know better..) . I called VZW CS and they told me that there is a $35 fee if you activate in stores, but not if you do it on the web. He then told me I'd have to take it up with my local branch if I had an issue with how they handled it. I followed the link posted by Ccrew ( http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/s...sp#howMuchData ), and called my local branch. They didn't seem to believe me, but changed their tune when I showed them their own website... so my $35 is said to be credited to my account, but I'm still on the month to month. I went on to tell him that I wouldn't want 4G every month necessarily, and he told me I could suspend my account for 3 months if I wanted, but I'm not clear if I can continue to suspend it indefinitely (i.e. call them and re-suspend before the 3months is up). Anyone know more about this? Sorry for the long post..but hopefully it helps someone get their $35 back.
 
jinrawke said:
ah what a pain in the ass. Don't go to the Verizon store if you don't plan on using the LTE account immediately or if you are going to give the iPad away as a gift. I just called to cancel the plan and it took about an hour of phone disconnects and run arounds. Finally it was cancelled but now you need a new SIM card if you want to reactivate on a prepaid account. Pretty much just confirming what repthrd had said.
Click to expand...

This is ridiculous! I'm also in the same boat as you. So how much does a new sim card cost?!

This needs to be made a sticky so others don't get caught in this trap!!!
 
Got my Verizon iPad. Enabled LTE in settings. Chose the $20 plan. Was billed $20.

It's that simple. :D

On a side note, does anyone know how much it is per GB should I go over? I did not see it listed anywhere.
 
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