Verizon Makes Customers Wait Longer for Upgrades

[macnchiefs]

Two carrier system

This is what a two dominant carrier ecosystem looks like. It's a two horse race with T-Mobile and Sprint picking up the scraps...

Expect AT&T to follow suit here pretty quick.

 

[abbstrack]

tone deaf anyone?

 

[dfnj123]

Hmmm, let's see:

AT&T's customer service is incompetent. A few years ago, I had to call their customer service and speak to "managers" every month for six months to get them to remove a recurring monthly charge on my bill. Everyone I spoke to at AT&T was supposedly clueless as to what it was or why it was on my bill. I wonder how many other people have charges buried deep in their AT&T bills that they've been paying for years like a special AT&T "tax"?

Sprint's customer service sucks and their network blows, as well.

T-Mobile's network is far from covering the majority of this country. Not talking about their LTE network -- just their network in general. In many parts of the country, you'll only get T-Mobile coverage within 10 miles of an interstate. Try traveling with that kind of coverage. It's not a pleasant experience.

Who else is left but Verizon if you're looking for a nationwide (not regional) carrier? Sure, Verizon's far from perfect; but IMO, they're the lesser of four evils.

Except there is no lesser of four evils in this situation. They are each evil in their own unique special ways.

 

[The Barron]

Thanks, Verizon! NOT

What a total crock.

Come on Verizon and re-think this asinine decision.

You're not going to win any points with current iPhone users or get many new customers by practicing regressive business tactics!

 

[abbstrack]

People will piss and moan, but it's not going to make a huge difference in the long run. People will just deal with it, just like they have dealt with all of the other changes.

I'd rather see contracts and all forms of subsidies go away and we get cheaper monthly rates. I've always felt contracts do nothing but hurt the. Us toner anyway.

not true. i paid $849 + NYC tax for my iPhone BECAUSE of the bs these carriers pull. People do get pissed off enough to the point where we no longer want to put up with nonsense. I'm now on a month to month with at&t on an unlocked iPhone 5, and can bounce anytime i want. I hold the ultimate power. More people will start to do the same.

 

[QCassidy352]

Wow that's arrogant. The reason for allowing upgrades before 24 months is so people don't have a chance to shop around when the contract is up (like resigning a free agent-to-be the year before his contract is up). Verizon is basically saying people won't jump ship if given a chance to look around. Like I said, arrogant.

 

[carlgo]

It would seem simple enough to also offer a payment plan for a phone of your choice, full pop for month to month and discounts for 1 or 2yr contracts.

I am really looking into last generation iPhones on ebay, then getting month to month with limited data plans and then getting a cell capable iPad for the road, just signing up before long trips. Am on WiFi most of the time.

It is hard to understand why Apple, and of course Google and MS, are putting their entire futures into the hands of a couple of carriers who do little other than to clog up the whole deal.

 

[BornAgainMac]

I think the end is near for these companies before a Wifi only phone is more possible.

 

[PatriotInvasion]

The beauty of T-Mobile's plan is that there is no "upgrade eligibility". Just like buying a new car, you trade in (or sell privately) your old device and start making payments on the new one...whenever you desire.

You'll have negative equity in the first phone that you can pay off with what you sell it for, and then just put $99 down on the new device and start making payments again. Brilliant.

Of course, you can pretty much do the same thing with AT&T or Verizon regardless of contract. Pay full price for the new one, sell your old one, and eat the difference. Been doing that for years.

 

[SeaFox]

I'll wait to see the official notification, but methinks this sounds like a material alteration to the service agreement. I hope VZW is ready to let me out of my contract!

That would be only if your service agreement says you can upgrade at 20 months to begin with. It could very well say 24 and they've just been letting people upgrade early.

With this change they would simply be following what the contract said to start with.

 

[Orlandoech]

I recently got an iphone 5 two months ago. I ATT does the same thing, I am leaving no matter what. I do not care if I have to pay a cancellation fee.

This is ridiculous. I will not be part of their selfishness and make them more rich!

Exactly. Ill do the same once the S4 comes out.

 

[TruthWatcher412]

Unfortunately I have to eat the ***** and love it that Verizon dishes out to me. The rural area I live in only gets reception from Verizon, and then it is only if I stand in one window of my house with my face pressed against the glass. And there are only like 3 spots outside I can stand in order to get signal out there. I've already tried all the other carriers and had 0 reception and had to go back to Verizon. I wish Tmo would get signal out here

This is the same with me. I hat Tmo a few years ago but the service sucked. I live right in the edge of their 3G service area and if they would expand, I would be off Verizon in a second, they disgust me.

 

[SoAnyway]

I'm not even with Verizon and I hate them as I much as I hate AT&T because of this.

 

[Small White Car]

You only said it one other time in your 9,296 posts (as of this post) on MacRumos and it wasn't even the same thing you said originally. One and a half times is a far cry from a million times.

So you assume that I'm a mute who ONLY speaks by typing my thoughts into Macrumors?

An odd assumption.

 

[LaredoHK]

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]

Image​

U.S. carrier Verizon has changed its phone upgrade policies, making customers wait longer between upgrades. Until now, customers with a two-year agreement could upgrade at 20 months.

Now, customers will only be able to upgrade at 24 months, when their contract is up. The first customers impacted by this change are those whose contracts expire in January 2014.
Verizon's main competitor, AT&T, allows customers to upgrade after 20 months, with an "early upgrade" allowed at an earlier time with a larger initial payment. Sprint offers upgrades after 20 months as well.

T-Mobile recently rolled out its new "uncarrier" plans, allowing customers to buy an iPhone 5 for $100 down plus 24 monthly payments of $20. Customers can buy a new phone at any time, but they will still be responsible for the monthly payments on prior phone purchases.

Article Link: Verizon Customers to Be Eligible for Upgrades 24 Months Into Contract Rather Than 20

I have at&t and I do admit their evil regularly, but when it comes to iPhone early upgrades, they got it right. You can early upgrade after like 6 months, this and my cheaper than verizon bill keeps me chillin in the deathstar.

 

[KdParker]

So if I have 7/2014 renewal date currently I will see it change to 11/2014? How can they do this in middle of contract.

That is my question also. wtf

 

[britboyj]

This, coupled with Verizon refusing to put FiOS down my street (when it's available literally the next street over) because it's already served by Uverse is a pretty big knock on it. Considering going to T-Mobile when my contract is up now to be honest.

It's all up to T-Mobile iPhone unlocking/international policy, their tethering policy and how fast their Dallas LTE ends up being.

 

[kas23]

Everyone wants to point their fingers at the carriers, and yes, sure they are out to destroy consumer choice, but nobody's looking at the big elephant in the room. Apple.

Apple has well over $100 Billion (I still don't think people get the concept of Billion) sitting in the bank. They are the sole reason carriers can grab us by the balls with these ridiculous bloodsucking contracts. Yes, Apple has a duty to make as much money as possible for their shareholders (which they actually don't, they hoard their money), but so do the carriers. So, don't just point your finger at the carriers.

Apple is in a very special position to completely change the landscape of the cellphone industry. They can do this by making their unsubsidized phones more affordable. If they do that, it's the customer then who now has the upper hand. We can buy a phone, totally unlocked and jump around to the carrier with the best price and service. Unlike now, where the carriers are in collusion, they will have to compete for customers.

And Apple may be working on this. We'll have to see. But if it comes picking between the slightly thicker, plastic, single core iPhone with no contract vs what we have now with the contract, I'll pick the plastic one.

 

[miamialley]

I was debating going from AT&T to Verizon. Mind made up now, staying with Death Star.

 

[Jimbo47]

Pretty sure this is grounds for contract termination. They can't change something like this mid contract without allowing people the opportunity to get out of them. Sucks because I just paid the bill this morning, I hope that doesn't mean I've agreed to the changes.

 

[ghsDUDE]

First I lose my Unlimited Data...now this!

 

[Tiger8]

not true. i paid $849 + NYC tax for my iPhone BECAUSE of the bs these carriers pull. People do get pissed off enough to the point where we no longer want to put up with nonsense. I'm now on a month to month with at&t on an unlocked iPhone 5, and can bounce anytime i want. I hold the ultimate power. More people will start to do the same.

Except that you are handing AT&T free $25 monthly subsidy for a phone that you already paid for, it's baked in your rates.

 

[abbstrack]

Except that you are handing AT&T free $25 monthly subsidy for a phone that you already paid for, it's baked in your rates.

yep. And i'm only *powerless to the extent that T-mo doesn't offer LTE in NYC at the moment, so until a viable solution comes up i'm stuck at at&t. but knowing that i can walk out any second and there's not a damn thing they can do is a good feeling.

i'm also paying closer attention to some of these other smaller carriers. if i can find of them that has decent-to-good LTE service in NYC and LA, (my main two bases here in the states) then that might be my out.

 

[iChrist]

You only said it one other time in your 9,296 posts (as of this post) on MacRumos and it wasn't even the same thing you said originally. One and a half times is a far cry from a million times.
Just Sayin'

Dude. He SAID it, not typed it. Can u read??

?

 

[hexonxonx]

Verizon I am SICK of you. I get unusable 3G speeds every day in the afternoon and when it does work I get about .3 Mb/s down .05 up in my town. Now they are going to do THIS? I pay them good money every month for my service and I am SO ****ING DONE

I broke my contract after a year because of this very same thing in January and sold my bad ESN phone on eBay. All they ever told me was that they constantly make improvements to their network and just be patient.


I am now on T-Mobile with my 4S and get speeds from 6-10Mbps and on a Nexus 4 from 17-21Mbps. I never knew speeds were that possible. Never got them on AT&T either.