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Verizon modifying Edge to makes it harder to upgrade

N

normanfox

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 9, 2014
783
331
Quote from Engadget
"...As of October 16th, payments for new devices will normally be distributed over two years, rather than 20 months; if you can't wait that long to get new gear, you'll have to pay off 75 percent of the hardware price rather than 60 percent. In practice, that means that you'll either be waiting at least 18 months to trade up (instead of 12) or else paying more to accelerate the upgrade process..."

Verizon is an anti-consumer corporation. They got everyone upgraded to iphone 6, then box them in and squeeze it. it is sad that alot of people support this devil.
 
normanfox said:
Verizon is an anti-consumer corporation.
Click to expand...

Or they tried it for a while and the reality that presented itself was that they were losing money. They don't have a duty to lose money just to be friendly. Of course, it is possible they're just doing it to increase something that's already profitable, but without more data you're just kind mudslinging without a full picture.
 
Verizon knows that many people are addictive to their "Network" and can't live without it.

they are sure to take full advantage of it.
 
normanfox said:
Quote from Engadget
"...As of October 16th, payments for new devices will normally be distributed over two years, rather than 20 months; if you can't wait that long to get new gear, you'll have to pay off 75 percent of the hardware price rather than 60 percent. In practice, that means that you'll either be waiting at least 18 months to trade up (instead of 12) or else paying more to accelerate the upgrade process..."

Verizon is an anti-consumer corporation. They got everyone upgraded to iphone 6, then box them in and squeeze it. it is sad that alot of people support this devil.
Click to expand...
I don't get it. They give you a FREE loan with no fees to pay off a $749 - $949 phone over 20 months and they are evil? Okay... If you think it is so evil, buy the phone outright at full price, what's the problem with that? Then, you can do whatever you want.
 
The 24 months probably makes the payments smaller, which is nice in a way, but the having to pay off 75% of the device AND trade it in to upgrade? That's some BS right there. At that point you should just pay off the phone and own it to sell if you have to give them that much.
 
uwdude said:
The 24 months probably makes the payments smaller, which is nice in a way, but the having to pay off 75% of the device AND trade it in to upgrade? That's some BS right there. At that point you should just pay off the phone and own it to sell if you have to give them that much.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
If you return it paid off 75% they will just sell it and pocket an additional $100-150 for themselves.
 
I've got mixed feelings with Verizon.

My upgrade date wasn't until October 19th, but the weekend the iPhone 6 was on pre-order, they bumped up all 4 lines on my family's account for eligible subsidized prices and we all managed to get our new iPhones on launch day.

However, when I signed the contract with them in 2012, I was told we would be eligible to upgrade in 18 months, then magically a year the upgrade wasn't going to kick in until 24 months.

They have the best cell service (in my opinion) of any of the major carriers, and they know it. I hear people on at&t, tmobile, etc. complain about their service, but (personally) have not heard those kind of things from Verizon.

But those EDGE, Next plans always seemed fishy and way too over-complicated for me. 2 year contract, phones start at $199 is plain and simple for me to understand, and I'm fine with it.
 
nikhsub1 said:
I don't get it. They give you a FREE loan with no fees to pay off a $749 - $949 phone over 20 months and they are evil? Okay... If you think it is so evil, buy the phone outright at full price, what's the problem with that? Then, you can do whatever you want.
Click to expand...

Well one of the problems is after you're done paying the phone off verizon doesn't reduce you're bill. You're still paying payments on a phone you already payed off.

For example:

On my verizon unlimited account I pay around $110 a month. Lets say verizon still allowed upgrades for unlimited users as of today and I wanted to buy an iphone 6 128gb phone. It would cost me $470 for a new 2year contract of $110 a month.

Now take for example tmobile, You can get the iphone 6 128gb for $270 and pay $107 for 2 years..............but here is the kicker. After the 2 years, Tmobile drops you're bill to $80 while with verizon you're still paying $110, saving you $33 an month vs verizon. This includes a unlimited everything no tether with a 5gb hotspot on tmobile. Thats the catch with subsidies. That is how they get you. And remember verizon no longer lets you upgrade with unlimited, so you're really screwed in the end.

Tmobile sucked 2 years ago, but since then they but billions in upgrading their network, and where I live (sacramento Ca) there data speed is twice as fast as I ever got with verizon. So it was a no brainier for me to go with tmobile after 8 years with verizon.

That said tmobile is still not the carrier for travel, so stick to verizon if you have to do that. At least until tmobile finishes up it rural area network upgrades in 2015. I like having four carrier to choose from, keeps you from being stuck with one.
 
Last edited:
I believe the change is for new Edge customers going forward. If you have already purchased a phone via the edge program then they would have to honor the terms and conditions specified at the time of purchase.
 
jayinla said:
I believe the change is for new Edge customers going forward. If you have already purchased a phone via the edge program then they would have to honor the terms and conditions specified at the time of purchase.
Click to expand...

Yes - exisiting contracts stay in place.

And you could just buy it outright.

Or you could keep your own phone.

Why do people bitch and complain so much? NOBODY makes them sign up for any of these things.
 
I am Only a verizon customer because I have unlimited data lines otherwise LOL... never. Shocked people still pay them their prices for what they receive in return.

Even with my unlimited lines, I have still considered leaving.
 
while I despise telecom corps. in general ...Verizon holds a unique spot of hatred in my mind

I once called to upgrade all 4 of my lines (2 were eligible, the other 2 were a few months off)

My deal to them was that they could take away the unlimited data on all 4 lines if they were willing to give me an early upgrade on the 2 lines w/o an upgrade.

they said ok, placed and paid for all 4 new phones to only later find out that 2 of the orders (the 2 for the phones w.o an upgrade) were canceled.

..I switched to at&t the very next day.
 
HolyGrail said:
Well one of the problems is after you're done paying the phone off verizon doesn't reduce you're bill. You're still paying payments on a phone you already payed off.
Click to expand...

If you have 10gb or more of data and have a line on Edge, you get a $25 credit/Edge line. Once the phone is paid off that $25 credit remains in place and your edge payment goes away. Therefore you’re paying $15 monthly access. This is also true when your contract expires. Everything I mentioned only applies if you are on the Share Everything Plan. Traditional plans offer no incentive to be out of contract or have your phone paid off... because your phone is never really paid off under the old plans.
 
I saw this and wondered how people felt about the changing terms.

I tried NEXT and just didn't find it worthwhile (under the old terms). I guess it allowed me to upgrade to a newer phone but I hated how my bill went up every month. I try not to upgrade more then every 2 years so I'm not an ideal candidate for the NEXT program always.

I think they may be turning of more potential customers, given how cheap ATT, T-Mo and Sprint are.
 
maflynn said:
I saw this and wondered how people felt about the changing terms.



I tried NEXT and just didn't find it worthwhile (under the old terms). I guess it allowed me to upgrade to a newer phone but I hated how my bill went up every month. I try not to upgrade more then every 2 years so I'm not an ideal candidate for the NEXT program always.



I think they may be turning of more potential customers, given how cheap ATT, T-Mo and Sprint are.
Click to expand...


Traditionally I enjoyed paying full retail for the iPhone's that I have gotten in the past and enjoy doing so and having that freedom every year. While preordering the iPhone 6 the first day it became available online, the AT&T website glitches out and only gave me the option to subsidize the iPhone 6 for $299 or do AT&T Next.

I initially chose to do AT&T Next for 12 months so that I could get the phone then pay off everything and not be locked in. Then I realized that this plan is actually to my benefit if I budget out only enough money to pay for the 12 month installments of $37.50 so that I am eligible to get an iPhone 6s, I don't have to go through the hassle of reselling the phone and keeping it in mint condition (compared to good and working). This way I can get a new phone yearly and I'm saving a couple hundred and a lot more headaches this way. But then again this is just me and my logic on the situation.
 
Rayy42 said:
if I budget out only enough money to pay for the 12 month installments of $37.50
Click to expand...
That's what I hated to see. My bill is high enough as it is, and in the case of the iPhone, it would have gone up to 37.50. That's not something I really wanted to
see.

For one or two lines where the people only upgrade once every two years, I think the subsidy model works better.

To bring it back to the topic of VZW, I think they're trying to extract even more $$ out of their customers. I have since moved on to ATT since I think their terms are better.
 
nostresshere said:
Yes - exisiting contracts stay in place.

And you could just buy it outright.

Or you could keep your own phone.

Why do people bitch and complain so much? NOBODY makes them sign up for any of these things.
Click to expand...

the problem is do they stay in place when I upgrade next year to the iphone 6s? Wouldn't I be signing a new contract since I Edged up? Then I wouldn't be able to get the iphone 7 since I have to wait 18 months.
 
Sounds about right for Verizon. I got tired of their antics and went to AT&T. I was hard to give up unlimited but I am much happier to be done with them. Sold my unlimited lines and have 7 more days until my one tiered line's contract is up and I am officially done with them.
 
I agree with you guy's about the 18 month edge up and 75% part but if you keep the phone for the full 24 months it's yours. Just don't upgrade the phone.

So here are 3 examples in my case. I have 3 smartphones on a 15GB plan. So right now it's $40+$40+$40+$100(Verizon gave me 15GB for $100 2 days ago). This does not include my employee discount.

1. Pay full price and still pay $220 a month.

2. Edge up on one line with zero down. So for a $650 phone it's $27 per month for 24 months. But Verizon gives you $25 credit towards the $40 device access fee. So the new price is:
$40-$25=$15(after discount)
$15+$27=$42(device access+device)
$42+$40+$40+$100= $222 a month

3. Upgrade like normal and pay $200 out of pocket (16GB iphone 6) and continue to pay $220 per month under contract.

In my situation option 2 look the best (Edge) after 2 years of service. With all the options I keep the phone. Now I'm not saying that Edge is good for every situation. If you have only one smartphone and use 6GB a month or have unlimited data it would be different. But for me it actually works out better. I use about 8 to 10GB all by myself. And I can sale my wifes iPhone 5 for about $200-$250 and maybe get a refurb iPad mini retina once I upgrade her.
 
normanfox said:
Verizon is an anti-consumer corporation. They got everyone upgraded to iphone 6, then box them in and squeeze it. it is sad that alot of people support this devil.
Click to expand...
So they did two things.

1. Raised the pay-off amount from 60% to 75%, which (on a $649 phone) means an extra $97.35

2. Raised the EDGE per-line discount on 8GB or less plans by $5/month. That means a $120 savings (over two years) for anyone on a 8GB or less plan.

So for some people, these two changes actually net out as a savings.

This new plan took effect Thursday, so everyone who bought before then isn't affected by it.
 
cdmoore74 said:
I agree with you guy's about the 18 month edge up and 75% part but if you keep the phone for the full 24 months it's yours. Just don't upgrade the phone.

So here are 3 examples in my case. I have 3 smartphones on a 15GB plan. So right now it's $40+$40+$40+$100(Verizon gave me 15GB for $100 2 days ago). This does not include my employee discount.

1. Pay full price and still pay $220 a month.

2. Edge up on one line with zero down. So for a $650 phone it's $27 per month for 24 months. But Verizon gives you $25 credit towards the $40 device access fee. So the new price is:
$40-$25=$15(after discount)
$15+$27=$42(device access+device)
$42+$40+$40+$100= $222 a month

3. Upgrade like normal and pay $200 out of pocket (16GB iphone 6) and continue to pay $220 per month under contract.

In my situation option 2 look the best (Edge) after 2 years of service. With all the options I keep the phone. Now I'm not saying that Edge is good for every situation. If you have only one smartphone and use 6GB a month or have unlimited data it would be different. But for me it actually works out better. I use about 8 to 10GB all by myself. And I can sale my wifes iPhone 5 for about $200-$250 and maybe get a refurb iPad mini retina once I upgrade her.
Click to expand...

You also forgot that if you just signed up for another 2 year contract and bought the phone for $200, Verizon would have also charged you an activation fee of $35. With Edge, there is no activation fee.
 
aristobrat said:
So they did two things.

1. Raised the pay-off amount from 60% to 75%, which (on a $649 phone) means an extra $97.35

2. Raised the EDGE per-line discount on 8GB or less plans by $5/month. That means a $120 savings (over two years) for anyone on a 8GB or less plan.

So for some people, these two changes actually net out as a savings.

This new plan took effect Thursday, so everyone who bought before then isn't affected by it.
Click to expand...

they will be affected the day they try to get the iphone 7 because when you trade in phone next year you signing up for the new Edge agreement.
 
Haha you have to love it. Verizon is always one step ahead when trying to figure out new ways to rip off their customers even more.
 
Apollo 13 said:
they will be affected the day they try to get the iphone 7 because when you trade in phone next year you signing up for the new Edge agreement.
Click to expand...


so last year everyone hated contracts and this year when you can buy a phone on an equal payment plan, everyone is pissed off that you actually have to pay off the phone before buying another one
 
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