interesting. that does make me think at least about waiting awhile longer since my DX2 is still functional. 3 years of the DX/DX2 just has me itching for a new one but I have a hard time replacing functional electronics sometimes (I don't mean simply functioning, but still actually fulfills my basic requirements). If that happened, I'd rather take advantage of a the latest & greatest subsidized phone. But who knows, I could end up waiting another year for that to happen haha.

7/31/2013 9:50:31 PM

I bought an iphone 5 from verizon and kept my unlimited data. The key was having my wife on my plan without unlimited data. It looked in the system like she got my upgrade and I got her phone then the guy just switched the phones so that I had the iphone 5.

7/31/2013 9:57:52 PM

I pulled a stupid move and did the upgrade to the Droid RAZR just over a year ago; it basically forfeited my unlimited month-to-month data plan once my contract ends next year. I only did it since I figured it just a matter of time before unlimited data for everyone was essentially going to be switched over to a limited or tiered data plan and was tired of my old HTC phone with just 3G. Obviously that hasn't been the case yet but hindsight is 20/20. As luck would have it at least I got a work iphone for now to use for a hotspot but I'd say the prospect of holding on to your unlimited plan is more than worth the cost of an unsubsidized smartphone especially if you have some sort of tablet/laptop and using it as a hotspot. It's only going to get more valuable the longer you have it.

7/31/2013 10:19:12 PM

I have a galaxy nexus, and am considering a new phone.... I also have unlimited. My strategy right now is to wait until the end of the year, and determine whether there is any truth to the rumors... My hope is, those on grandfathered unlimited will not be knocked down to 2GB, but will receive some other promotional rate, to quell the unrest, and avoid revolt. My reasoning being, they ran a few 4GB for the price of 2 GB promotions. I'd be pissed, but not livid if I was given 4GB, or 5GB.

It make sense for them to do that, rewarding contract longevity, for moderate users on unlimited plans. Theres a small fraction that use in excess of say 10GB, and those are the ones they're trying to target, and likely won't give a shit if they got mad.

8/1/2013 7:49:00 PM

These people would not negotiate anything over a 2 month discount with me, a six year customer. Had to bail

8/1/2013 9:01:42 PM

Two month discount for what, exactly?

8/1/2013 9:45:32 PM

Quote :

"it's a pretty strong rumor from a number of reliable sources (by internet standards, anyway) that unlimited will be gone by or very close to Q1 2014"

meh...apparently there was a pretty strong rumor over 2 years ago when you made this thread, and it still hasnt happened

8/1/2013 11:10:09 PM

sorry, missed your post, quag.

Quote :

"i feel like i've asked you this before, but what are you doing that gets you >11GB each month? i assume tethering, at least...and with that, torrents? streaming HD content? i assume that most people that go over more than 2GB in a month either don't have wifi where they live and/or work (so you're on cellular data for most of the day), or use their phones as their primary source of internet access (be it tethering or mobile hotspotting) don't get me wrong...at least you're USING your unlimited i just assume that the average user who uses their phone primarily for email, facebook, occasional youtube/netflix/hulu, and pandora/slacker/whatever keeps it under 2GB pretty easily"

Yeh, I tether to it at work. Wifi at work is protected; and while I could get on anyways, it still runs through corporate IT... so not good for browsing. So I tether my computer and do as needed, especially when the work I'm doing doesn't require network access, or work is slow . Obviously my biggest data hogs are streaming music (pandora or whatever) and video (youtube - music videos, documentaries, etc, and news video streaming)

I think my highest in the last year is 16gb. Though even times/months I've gone without tethering, I still manage to bust 2GB pretty often. I don't see how people operate on 2GB.

[Edited on August 2, 2013 at 8:32 AM. Reason : .]

8/2/2013 8:30:30 AM

I don't ever tether, don't do much by way of streaming music, and I hit 3GB a month, sometimes 4. I seldom watch video, and never use WiFi.

8/2/2013 2:53:22 PM

I've managed to stay just under 200MB this billing cycle by only using wifi at home and work and making sure any app updates or downloads were on wifi. Wifi usage was about 2.5GB though. Debating on waiting out the inevitable unlimited data apocalypse or just going ahead and flashing my GS3 to run on Selectel. $50 for unlimited voice/text and 2GB data running on Verizon's post paid network so any roaming is free unlike Page Plus. Granted with most of my calls being at home and only 200MB of mobile usage. I could probably get by paying only $20/mo and using GrooveIP for calls so it'd be like Republic Wireless with a better phone and better mobile service. No 4G yet but I'm sure I'll live especially for the savings.

8/2/2013 4:15:23 PM

Quote :

"meh...apparently there was a pretty strong rumor over 2 years ago when you made this thread, and it still hasnt happened"

what do you mean? verizon stopped offering the unlimited plan in july of 2011

Quote :

"I could probably get by paying only $20/mo and using GrooveIP for calls so it'd be like Republic Wireless with a better phone and better mobile service."

how would that work? grooveIP doesn't offer cellular service of any kind, right? so the $20 is just limited minutes and mobile data?

[Edited on August 3, 2013 at 7:38 AM. Reason : .]

8/3/2013 7:34:38 AM

yeah, they offer $10 flex cards that give you 200min, 200 texts, 200MB of Data or any combination of the 3. The cards roll over to the next month and currently don't have an expiration data so you could make the monthly cost even cheaper if you limit cellular usage. Also have a $30 plan that has 1300min, 3000texts and 300MB of Data but Page Plus offers the same plan with 500MB for $29.99. Use Google Voice for texts and then GrooveIP and Google Voice for calls while on wifi. Using an app like like Google Forwarder (99 cents) to auto-enable/disable call forwarding to GrooveIP or the phone itself would essentially give you Republic Wireless type service.

3G Verizon phones are easy to bring over to Selectel or Page Plus while Verizon LTE and Sprint /US Cellular devices require a bit more work to get everything working. Talk/Text work with minimal effort but you need a donor phone (Samsung Fascinate and HTC Incredible 1 or 2 being the best) to pull the 3G keys for working 3G data. Guys online charge $30-$50 to remote flash but I bought a Fascinate with a bad esn from ebay for $15 to use as a donor so I'll probably try to do it myself.

8/3/2013 8:32:39 AM

i think if you pay for the phone outright then you can keep your data plan, that's what I"ve done for my past 2 phones and Verizon hasn't changed my unlimited plan. Its what I plan on doing for my next phone.

8/3/2013 10:33:14 AM

Quote :

"i think if you pay for the phone outright then you can keep your data plan"

Yeah, paying full retail, doing an alternate upgrade using another available upgrade, or purchasing from ebay or craigslist allow you to keep unlimited data for now. Key there is "for now" though as there's no guarantee on how long those options will last.

8/3/2013 10:44:07 AM

Does alternate upgrade still work? Score.

8/3/2013 1:15:55 PM

^ afaik. Haven't heard of anyone having problems with it.

Just reactivated my Thunderbolt on my Verizon line to free up the ESN for the GS3 so I can activate it on Selectel. *Fingers crossed my phone doesn't blow up*

8/6/2013 8:41:23 PM

Quick vzw question...if I have a regular 3G phone now with unlimited plan but go buy a galaxy S4 and pay full price can I still use my unlimited plan with the new LTE phone?

8/6/2013 9:38:09 PM

^ I was able to but prior to trying to make it work at a VZW store, I checked the forums and it sounded like success was varied (but this was a hot minute ago so perhaps it's ironed out now).

8/6/2013 9:53:47 PM

Unlimited Voice > Unlimited Data

8/7/2013 10:51:02 AM

excuse me?

8/7/2013 12:08:52 PM

sweet got the phone flashed and didn't break anything.

8/7/2013 3:21:50 PM

I try to use my unlimited data to my advantage..but not crazy...I've noticed I use above 5GB versus 1GB before they got rid of the unlimited.

8/7/2013 11:41:43 PM

Well I should be a pro now at flashing a Verizon GS3 to Page Plus or Selectel. This makes the 3rd time I've had to reflash because my old lte sim keeps changing the esn on the phone. Without the sim, you get no 3G icon (eventhough it's active) and the nagging "no sim" notification. Glad I was flashing myself instead of paying the online guys $50-$60 a pop.

Downside to Selectel is there's pretty much no online account management so you can't track usage without calling in but they're pretty new though so maybe they'll get things figured out. For anyone interested in ditching Verizon:

Page Plus Plans
http://www.kittywireless.com/pageplus/pageplusplans.html

Selectel Wireless Plans
http://genius-wireless.com/selectel-plans-2/

8/9/2013 2:04:50 PM

So, I was hoping if unlimited got axed, they'd slot you at 4gig, since there are plans where people get 4 for the price of 2. After talking to Verizon yesterday, those 4 for 2 promotions get reverted on an upgrade, too. Shit.

So, my new plan is to wait until December, and pick up an htc one or pick up whatever else comes along that I like.

Does anyone have any experience buying a subsidized phone on a brand new plan and paying the etf? What about adding a line and paying the etf? My hope is the one will be cheap by the end of the year, when subsidized. Phone+$350 etf+$35 activation could save me a decent chunk....

8/14/2013 7:46:11 PM

Quote :

"Does anyone have any experience buying a subsidized phone on a brand new plan and paying the etf? What about adding a line and paying the etf? My hope is the one will be cheap by the end of the year, when subsidized. Phone+$350 etf+$35 activation could save me a decent chunk...."

You aren't really saving too much going that route since that's the main reason they increased the ETF on smartphones. For the GS4, full retail is ~$694 with tax. Adding a line and then terminating would be ~$600 w/tax for the phone+ETF and activation fee. Read somewhere that they don't prorate the last month's bill when you ETF, so you'd still be on the hook for the extra line charge. Then the cheapest monthly charge would be is $12 incl tax/fees assuming you're on a legacy plan and have a dumbphone to activate to drop the data plan; otherwise, you're going to pay another $40-$50.

And so far Selectel seems to be working out great. Added the $10 flex card which doesn't expire and provides 200 min or 200 texts or 200MB of Data or any combination of the 3. After a week of using GrooveIP for wifi calling and google voice for texting, I've used 11min and about 2.5MB of data. Groove Forwarder is also pretty handy as it automatically switches Google Voice to forward to Groove IP or the cell number depending depending on your data connection.

8/15/2013 10:02:25 AM

Yeah i wouldn't do it on a phone that currently costs $300... But for example if a phone was $100 because it was an older model, or one that didn't sell well, or from amazon, then I'm looking at $100+$350+one month service... I could save $100. I just don't know if its worth the hassle, but sticking it to Verizon would be fun.

8/15/2013 10:53:41 AM

What really sucks is that right now I'm on a grandfathered Alltel unlimited plan with a 20% corporate discount and they take the 20% discount off the final price of the plan.

When I have to switch to a shared plan, they only take the 20% discount off the data plan...

So, my wife and I will still have to pay $40 each for our smartphone access plan... without that part being discounted.

I'm in a dilemma. We are both eligible for upgrade price with the next release of the iPhone (pretty soon). If we upgrade, then we have to switch to the shared plans and our monthly bill goes up approximately $35.

However, if we sell our iPhones and pay full price for the new ones, we are able to keep our low monthly rate with unlimited. That will probably be more money out of our pockets for the phone (full price), but lower monthly rate.
Then, they could turn around and do away with our old plan and make us switch to a shared plan anyway.

Not sure what to do.

8/15/2013 2:05:24 PM

as long as you have a verizon compatible phone, you can activate it online to your existing plan using the switch device option without having to talk to verizon at all, if you use your upgrade options to subsidize you'll have to change your plan and lose unlimited.

im just waiting until they figure out what they want to do and rolling with my HTC rezound.

8/15/2013 3:27:51 PM

Quote :

"as long as you have a verizon compatible phone, you can activate it online to your existing plan using the switch device option without having to talk to verizon at all, if you use your upgrade options to subsidize you'll have to change your plan and lose unlimited."

There's nothing preventing Verizon from releasing new phones and requiring them to be activated on a share everything plan in which case you're pretty much screwed regardless of how you purchase it. I almost wish they'd go that route just to see the shit storm that would follow.

8/15/2013 3:33:09 PM

Very true... however, at the moment, all you have to do is go to your my verizon page and change devices.

8/15/2013 3:38:56 PM

yeah that's what I did with my iPhone 5. I paid full price (sold my 4s for $300).

But I'd rather not pay full price this go round...unless that is my best option.

Wish there was a firm date on when/if Verizon was going to make everyone go to a shared plan.

8/15/2013 3:41:11 PM

they're being pretty massive cock teases at the moment... i realize they do it because they can, but it's still ridiculously frustrating

8/15/2013 3:43:02 PM

Quote :

"Then, they could will turn around and do away with our old plan and make us switch to a shared plan anyway."

8/15/2013 7:03:48 PM

Quote :

"There's nothing preventing Verizon from releasing new phones and requiring them to be activated on a share everything plan in which case you're pretty much screwed regardless of how you purchase it. I almost wish they'd go that route just to see the shit storm that would follow."

I can't say specifically, but that smells like an FCC violation. They could, however, opt to not sell phones at retail. The phone can be purchased by subsidized methods only

8/15/2013 8:45:46 PM

You can't activate a smartphone without a data plan regardless of how you purchased it so it wouldn't really be that much different. LTE only phones are supposedly coming in late 2014 so I'm thinking it's game over then.

8/15/2013 8:53:25 PM

http://www.droid-life.com/2013/08/23/verizon-is-launching-verizon-max-a-limited-time-6gb-30-deal-for-unlimited-customers-who-want-verizon-edge/

And so begins Phase 1 of trying to convince people to give up their unlimited plans. $30 for 6GB instead of the current 2GB for anyone dumb enough to sign onto the Edge upgrade program.

Quote :

"So what is Verizon Max and who can participate? Max is a two-tiered plan that offers unlimited data customers either a 6GB block of data for $30 per month (without tethering) or an 8GB block for $50 (includes tethering). This is not a shared block of data either, meaning your 6GB or 8GB are yours to keep. In fact, you can’t share the data in Verizon Max as it is a “line level feature.” Verizon Max is not a part of Share Everything, from what I understand. Verizon Max will only be available for a limited time, though the dates on expiration have not been shared. Max can only be added to an existing customer line that currently has unlimited data and is signing up for Verizon Edge."

8/23/2013 2:22:27 PM

and for anyone who isn't familiar with how edge would play out:

Quote :

"So here's the math for the $650 Galaxy S4, based on widely held industry estimates of a $20 / month subsidy built into Verizon's standard plans. Under Edge, you'll pay $27 a month for a new GS4 on top of whatever plan you already have. That means at six months, Verizon will have collected $282 towards the price of that phone: $162 in Edge payments, and $120 in subsidies from your plan. But Verizon doesn't count the subsidy towards the retail cost of the phone, so if you want to upgrade at six months, you'll have to pay another $163, since you can only upgrade when 50 percent of the phone is paid off. That means Verizon will collect a total of $445 towards a $650 phone if you trade in that GS4 after six months, and it'll get to resell that phone and start the cycle all over again. The math tilts even more favorably in Verizon's favor if you don't trade in your phone every six months. At 12 months, Verizon will have collected $565 towards that $650 phone: $325 in Edge payments and $240 in plan subsidies — and you still have to trade in the phone. By month 18, Verizon has collected $846: $486 in Edge payments, and $360 in device subsidies. That's $196 in pure profit — money that would have otherwise gone to subsidize the cost of the phone."

http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/18/4535068/verizons-edge-phone-upgrade-plan-same-bad-ripoff-as-att-next

8/23/2013 2:36:43 PM

I would have considered the max plan if it was able to be used with subsidies. I use 3 GB a month, on average.

Paying the subsidies myself, by buying outright, adds roughly $15/mo over the 2 years. So I could get unlimited for 45 or 6 GB for 30, with a subsidized phone.... That would have been a reasonably attractive option for me.

But tying it to edge? That's dumb. You pay for the phone in full, essentially... Only difference is a guaranteed sale at half the retail price, instead of putting it on eBay. You forfeit unlimited for a guaranteed phone sale every year. No thanks.

[Edited on August 23, 2013 at 6:52 PM. Reason : .]

8/23/2013 6:51:01 PM

all that announcement does is reassure me that MVNO is the way to go...verizon can suck it

come on RW, release your new phones!

8/23/2013 8:23:46 PM

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2013/06/05/data-for-nothing-calls-for-free-how-freedompop-will-offer-free-phone-service/

could be interesting

8/23/2013 8:36:44 PM

I bet they are going to just end unlimited plans if they can via throttling, etc.

8/24/2013 8:19:42 AM

that edge thing sounds like a scam

i am going to just sell my old phone on eBay and pay out right for the new one before going through that much bureaucracy and added cost.

8/24/2013 6:18:08 PM

I have been looking at getting a smart phone lately...looks like I should be avoiding Verizon?

9/2/2013 9:12:45 AM

Quote :

"I should be avoiding Verizon?"

Here is a list of steps Verizon has taken to minimize their expenses on handset subsidies.


* ended new every two program
* did away with plans that have 9.99 add a lines (people used to add a line and put a dumb phone on later for $10/mo vs $40, getting another subsidized phone and their bill only goes up slightly)
* did away with upgrade dates being 4 months prior to contract end date (now contract end date is same date is upgrade date)
* added an "upgrade fee" so that you are paying more for your upgrade without seeing a higher handset price
* stopped paying their retail reps commissions for "upgrades" that are smartphone to smartphone, reps are focused on selling you new lines and accessories now
* Verizons prepaid offering is lower per month, but does not support 4g LTE, so you have to pay for the higher plan if you want LTE


Verizon is on the move away from paying high handset subsidies. This new EDGE thing is the most recent step. They know people do not want to go 24 months between phones so they offer to finance your phone so you pay full price for the phone AND keep paying full price for service.

Verizon still has the best voice and data network, but you are going to pay for it, VZW has no intention of competing on price with the other carriers. I just renewed my contract on 2 lines for the Motorola MAXX and love the phone, but if I need a new phone before 2015 I will probably be stuck paying full retail or ebay prices and selling the old one to recoup some of my money.

9/10/2013 1:22:12 PM

Quote :

"* ended new every two program"

I don't understand how this is possible. If they really did end it, what's to stop you from "leaving" them when your contract expires and the resigning up as a "new" customer and getting the subsidized price? I guess you might not be able to keep your number if you do that, and you'd obviously lose out on any plan you have grandfathered, so I guess I answered my question right there. But for the people that don't care about keeping an old plan, I really don't see what's to stop them from actually leaving. Aside from the fact that all the alternatives are just as bad I suppose. :-/

9/10/2013 2:29:24 PM

The NE2 program was an additional $30/$50 (was previously $50/$100) discount based on the cost of your base voice plan. You still get the 2yr contract price when upgrading but not the added discount.

9/10/2013 2:34:38 PM

They need to just nuke subsidies. Drop everyone's plan by $20, except unlimited, and buy the phones outright. I wonder how many that would flush off their unlimited tiers, and then Verizon doesn't have to worry about handset expenses. If you agree to 2 years of service you pay 80. If you do month to month you pay 90.

I have always hated the subsidized model. But people are terrible at math.

9/10/2013 6:29:59 PM

The wireless industry has pretty much achieved saturation on smartphones and data plans now, they are going to try to make more $$$ off the handsets.

[Edited on September 10, 2013 at 8:33 PM. Reason : .]

9/10/2013 8:32:41 PM

So you sell the smart phone yourself.... There are still margins to be had.

9/10/2013 10:24:34 PM

^,^^ & ^^^ agree completely. Talked to the gf about this very topic last night.

9/11/2013 7:52:36 AM