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Aurium posted:Extra etf if you cancel service with in like a year. They also charge you if you end the data plan early. Sorry to be a moron but can you show me where it says this in the terms of service? I couldn't find it. Also is this an Amazon-specific thing?
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Jun 24, 2011 01:20
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HondaCivet posted:Sorry to be a moron but can you show me where it says this in the terms of service? I couldn't find it. Also is this an Amazon-specific thing? Amazon specific. AmazonWireless Instant Discount Policy posted:When you purchase your device with service from AmazonWireless.com, we automatically pass along an instant discount from the carrier to you. This discount has been provided to you based on your agreement to (a) activate a new, or extend an existing, line of service for this device with the carrier, and (b) maintain this service in good standing for a minimum of 181 consecutive days. If you do not activate or extend a line of service in connection with this device, or if your service is canceled/disconnected before 181 consecutive days, AmazonWireless.com will charge you $250 per device, plus applicable taxes. So it's actually half a year(181 days) that you have to maintain it, not a whole year. (Wirefly does the same thing. Instant discount, and extra etf if you cancel.)
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Jun 24, 2011 01:31
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Aurium posted:Amazon specific. OK thanks . . . What about the second part where if you drop data they charge you?
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Jun 24, 2011 01:51
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HondaCivet posted:OK thanks . . . What about the second part where if you drop data they charge you? I'm sure you want to know just to know, but why would anyone drop data? Especially if you have a 4G device?
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Jun 24, 2011 02:04
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HondaCivet posted:OK thanks . . . What about the second part where if you drop data they charge you? Amazon charges you an etf if you remove the device you bought through them from your plan. The only way to remove data from your plan is to remove the smart phone it's on from your plan. Then amazon charges you. For most people this is basically the same thing, but I remembered that you were talking about dropping down plans earlier, so I figured I'd say something specific about it. Over all amazon is definitely a good way to buy phones if you're eligible to buy though them, e.g. new customer or have an upgrade waiting. Half a year isn't that long, and you were probably planning on paying for your phone anyway. hotsauce posted:I'm sure you want to know just to know, but why would anyone drop data? Especially if you have a 4G device? Aurium fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Jun 24, 2011 |
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Jun 24, 2011 02:09
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/\/\/\/\/\Yeah that, the losing-the-job thing.hotsauce posted:I'm sure you want to know just to know, but why would anyone drop data? Especially if you have a 4G device? Best-case is if I just ended up not really using it enough to justify the cost. Worst-case is if I suddenly needed to reduce my expenses while still needing voice. Yeah, you're right about the dropping-the-device thing, didn't make that connection myself. Is it just me or does Amazon not offer the extra texting packages that Verizon does? I don't text much so I wanted to throw that little $5/month option on but I'm not seeing it. HondaCivet fucked around with this message at 02:21 on Jun 24, 2011 |
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Jun 24, 2011 02:10
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So my friend just switched from At&T to Verizon (which I also have), and got a Samsung Fascinate. I've had a droid 2, but every since she switched to Verizon I haven't been able to receive most of her text messages(I got 1 tonight), even though she can read mine fine. I appear to the be the only person she has this problem with. Is this a technical glitch, a problem with the company switching and does anyone happen to know a solution?
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Jun 24, 2011 02:27
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Did she port her number? Sometimes service is really wacky for up to a week after that.
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Jun 24, 2011 03:01
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Cozmosis posted:Did she port her number? Sometimes service is really wacky for up to a week after that. Yea she did. So there's nothing more to do other than wait a little bit?
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Jun 24, 2011 03:02
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My mom and I just switched from Sprint to Verizon, and are on a family plan together. I live in Chicago and get perfectly good service here, but when I was visiting her at her house in Michigan, we both got terrible to no service. I have an Incredible 2 and she has an LG Octane. It's so bad that I can't carry on a conversation with my mom when I call her at her house because it cuts out too much. It was the same when anyone called me when I was over there. It seems really weird, because my stepdad is also on Verizon, through a corporate account, and he has no trouble getting good call and data reception at my mom's with his Droid X. Why is this? Is his phone programmed different, or does the Droid X just get really good reception? Is there anything Verizon can do about it?
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Jun 24, 2011 03:24
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Does the corporate discount going away aspect also apply to the hotspot data plans? I am currently getting 22% off my 5GB hotspot plan and I will be pretty sore if they take it off.
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Jun 24, 2011 03:50
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Just a shot in the dark, but would anyone happen to know why I've been getting calls meant for a pediatrician's office in Seattle ever since the alltel-Verizon merge?
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Jun 24, 2011 04:33
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Hmm...what's the name of the office? Edit: I have no idea why you are getting calls. I just happen to know most Pediatricians in Seattle...and was curious. hotsauce fucked around with this message at 05:04 on Jun 24, 2011 |
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Jun 24, 2011 04:52
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SpacedOut posted:This is definitely doable. Just go to your Verizon corporate store and let them you know you want to activate a new account with your own equipment. If the salesperson does it properly, this will mean you won't be under contract and therefore will qualify for subsidized equipment whenever you feel like it. A new 2-year agreement will be signed once you eventually buy new equipment. Ok, this should be my last question for a while I swear: The Droid Incredible 2 is on sale on Amazon now so my wife wants it now. I still want to bring a Verizon Treo 755p in and have them activate it next week when I get it in. Can she buy phone and sign up for a 2-year single line plan off Amazon, and then next week we go in to a Verizon store, upgrade to a family plan by adding my original equipment as outlined in the quote, and also apply our corporate discount? Then, whenever a phone I like comes out I can use the 2-year subsidy thingy and sign an extension on my line (as outlined in the quote). Sorry this is super complicated but it's hard to pass a deal like this up when the phone costs so much in store.
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Jun 24, 2011 05:30
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Kinda late to the game on this, but I was waiting for something official from corporate that I was allowed to say on the whole data plan change Anyway, in regards to being able to renew your existing unlimited smartphone data plan: Q: I have heard that Verizon Wireless is changing their data plans and eliminating the unlimited plan. I am currently on an unlimited plan, will I be forced to change my plan upon launch of the new plans? A: Historically, we have not forced customers to move from an old plan to a new plan and we don't foresee this being the case with this change. Q: I am currently on an unlimited plan. Will I have to change to one of your new data plans if I upgrade my phone or renew my contract? A: If you are currently using a Smartphone with an unlimited plan and you upgrade to a new Smartphone or otherwise renew your contract, you will not be required to move to the new pricing at this time. However, if you are currently using a basic (feature) phone with an unlimited plan and you upgrade to a new Smartphone, you will be required to move to one of the new usage based data plans.
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Jun 24, 2011 05:39
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Hed posted:Ok, this should be my last question for a while I swear: This won't be a problem on the Verizon end of things, but you will want to read the Amazon T's & C's carefully when purchasing her phone. Sometimes they'll have special requirements (e.g. data plan, minimum rate plan, etc.) that must be maintained for a minimum of 6 months or else they'll charge you a fee of some sort.
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Jun 24, 2011 05:42
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SpacedOut posted:Kinda late to the game on this, but I was waiting for something official from corporate that I was allowed to say on the whole data plan change Hmm. Minimally cryptic, but still has wiggle-room built in. Nice, corporate lawyers. You have earned your paycheck for today, you are dismissed... So, on July 7, 2013, lets say Verizon forces all grandfathered accounts (OMG, they used 20 LTE gigs per month streaming Nexfilx we advertised on our commercial) to metered. The world comes to an end with massive geekrage. Massive. Geek. Rage. 7813 is the actual end of civilization. There will be a movie, just watch.
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Jun 24, 2011 05:45
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Cozz posted:Yea she did. So there's nothing more to do other than wait a little bit? Sometimes. Sometimes its a network thing on the providers end. If it doesn't fix in a few days, call it in. BTW, have we absolutely confirmed the employee discount won't come off of the data plan if we are already in? That would severely increase my cost vs other services and make me not want to stick around..
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Jun 24, 2011 06:01
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Hed posted:Ok, this should be my last question for a while I swear: From my reading of the relevant passages of the amazon terms (one of which I have quoted on a post on this same page) they do not specifically call this out as impossible. That said it IS a tricky situation. Amazon will not upgrade phones or plans that receive a corporate employee discount. AmazonWireless Frequently Asked Questions posted:If I currently receive a corporate employee discount with my cell phone contract, can I still upgrade it at AmazonWireless? Perhaps it's simply due to difficulty and reducing the number of variables that amazon has to deal with, or perhaps Verizon simply doesn't produce enough of a kickback to merit it. Amazon dings you based on if they are dinged by Verizon. Verizon dings them if a plan is sold and then the level of profit goes down based on a lowering of plan level. Adding an employee discount will lower profitability, but is it something that Verizon dings resellers over? I don't know. Even if it is something that Verizon dings resellers over, Amazon doesn't specifically call it out in their policy. The closest they get is "maintain this service in good standing" going to a lower plan level doesn't do this, but does same plan level + discount trigger it? For what it's worth, wirefly.com has the same business model. They also have the same language of maintain the plan level you buy, or we'll ding you. The official word that discounts are after the fact are fine, as long as you don't change the plan level (eg fewer minutes, the $40 vs $30 data level). This comes from a yahoo answer,  but seems to be official none the less. Judge for yourself.But Amazon isn't Wirefly. What one lets you do isn't necessarily what the other will. In the end, I'd say that there's probably no problem with doing what you want to do, as long as you add equipment to the amazon plan. If it turns out there is, though, it's a $250 mistake.
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Jun 24, 2011 06:30
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hotsauce posted:Hmm. Minimally cryptic, but still has wiggle-room built in. Nice, corporate lawyers. You have earned your paycheck for today, you are dismissed...
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Jun 24, 2011 09:11
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sirbeefalot posted:...unless they run webOS (aGPS anyway). I'm confused about aGPS and GPS. I know aGPS is assisted GPS, which I think means it uses triangulation for the navigation. So basically if you're in an area with no cell service, you're hosed. GPS actually has a GPS receiver built into it which is infinitely better (I think) because as long as you can see the sky, you'll get navigation. In fact, if you use IGO8 on your phone (which stores all the maps/software on your SDcard and it doesn't use data at all) you could actually use your phone as a GPS even with the cell being inactive, right? Did I get this right? And why does the Thunderbolt I just ordered say aGPS/GPS. It does both? Why?
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Jun 24, 2011 12:13
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Hamburglar posted:I'm confused about aGPS and GPS. I know aGPS is assisted GPS, which I think means it uses triangulation for the navigation. So basically if you're in an area with no cell service, you're hosed. GPS actually has a GPS receiver built into it which is infinitely better (I think) because as long as you can see the sky, you'll get navigation. In fact, if you use IGO8 on your phone (which stores all the maps/software on your SDcard and it doesn't use data at all) you could actually use your phone as a GPS even with the cell being inactive, right? Did I get this right? You got the basics right, but every Android phone (including your new Thunderbolt) has both aGPS and a real GPS chip inside. The reason is that the aGPS helps the GPS chip get a faster lock by giving it a rough location approximation, which narrows the window of satellites that the GPS has to search for. I believe you can still get a lock with no data/cell connection on an Android phone, but it takes much longer.
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Jun 24, 2011 12:37
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Penguissimo posted:You got the basics right, but every Android phone (including your new Thunderbolt) has both aGPS and a real GPS chip inside. The reason is that the aGPS helps the GPS chip get a faster lock by giving it a rough location approximation, which narrows the window of satellites that the GPS has to search for. I believe you can still get a lock with no data/cell connection on an Android phone, but it takes much longer. Awesome info, thank you. I never found regular GPS' to take too long to get a lock; my $60 Mio used to lock from a fresh boot to a lock in like 40 seconds. So let's say I'm in the Lincoln Tunnel in Manhattan, where a normal GPS will lose signal, but I could still make a phone call. Would my navigation software still work? Or does it just use aGPS for the initial lock, then any time GPS is lost you're screwed?
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Jun 24, 2011 13:22
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Hamburglar posted:Awesome info, thank you. I never found regular GPS' to take too long to get a lock; my $60 Mio used to lock from a fresh boot to a lock in like 40 seconds. Not exactly sure how it would work in that case to be honest, but Google Navigation caches your route as soon as you set it, so as long as you had done that before entering the tunnel, in the worst case it would pick up your location as soon as you exited. My guess is that in that situation, you could still use coarse location-based services ("Figure out which city I'm in and tell me the weather here"), but since the cell tower-based location isn't precise enough for turn-by-turn navigation, you'd lose that until you got a clear GPS lock again.
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Jun 24, 2011 13:37
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Its pretty much speed, aGPS can get a lock in about 3-5 seconds. GPS on most phone goes into a sleep mode anyways 90% to save battery.
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Jun 24, 2011 13:53
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Hamburglar posted:Awesome info, thank you. I never found regular GPS' to take too long to get a lock; my $60 Mio used to lock from a fresh boot to a lock in like 40 seconds. The only time you would take a really long time to get a GPS lock is if say it's been months since you last turned it on, or the last time it was on you were on the other side of the world. In cases like that, the system does what is known as a 'cold start' and has to lock on to several satelites before it's ready and that can take up to 15 minutes on some hardware.
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Jun 24, 2011 13:53
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hotsauce posted:Hmm...what's the name of the office? I don't recall the name, but I think it was greek sounding. I've never managed to answer one of these misdirected calls and always end up missing them by a few seconds and end up with a voicemail.
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Jun 24, 2011 13:57
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WeaselWeaz posted:Asurion is pulling a weird promotion. I got the following text: They're doing a special open enrollment period for Thunderbolt users because insurance was available on the phone at first.
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Jun 24, 2011 16:37
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Penguissimo posted:Not exactly sure how it would work in that case to be honest, but Google Navigation caches your route as soon as you set it, so as long as you had done that before entering the tunnel, in the worst case it would pick up your location as soon as you exited. Thanks for the information. I won't really be using Google Navigation because I kind of hate the idea that if someone calls me, Google Navigation won't be able to keep drawing maps (due to Google Navigation downloading data as you move). It's a major reason I use iGo8: all the maps are stored on the SD card. It's only like 1gb for the entirety of the US. Ryokurin posted:The only time you would take a really long time to get a GPS lock is if say it's been months since you last turned it on, or the last time it was on you were on the other side of the world. In cases like that, the system does what is known as a 'cold start' and has to lock on to several satelites before it's ready and that can take up to 15 minutes on some hardware. Thanks. I'm not too worried about it taking a long time every once in a while, but my current phone (LG Fathom) takes drat near forever, where my Touch Pro2 (also a WinMo phone) took no time at all. The only difference I could tell between the two is that the Touch Pro2 used a COM port for the GPS, and the Fathom uses a driver. No idea if that's what is making the difference, though!
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Jun 24, 2011 16:55
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Hamburglar posted:Thanks for the information. I won't really be using Google Navigation because I kind of hate the idea that if someone calls me, Google Navigation won't be able to keep drawing maps (due to Google Navigation downloading data as you move). It's a major reason I use iGo8: all the maps are stored on the SD card. It's only like 1gb for the entirety of the US. a) Google navigation caches your entire route so it's not really using the data connection most of the time unless it has to recalculate b) If you are going with the thunderbolt it's all moot anyways. Since it's an LTE device, you can be on the phone and get 4G data simultaneously. The thunderbolt also supports SVDO which allows you to be on a call and use 3G data simultaneously.
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Jun 24, 2011 17:00
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Any opinions on the Verizon Certified Pre-Owned phones? I've heard pretty much nothing but good things but I just wanted to see what you guys thought. A CPO Thunderbolt is relatively cheap with a contract (apparently returns are high, haha) and I wouldn't have to deal with Amazon or Wirefly's scary additional ETFs.
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Jun 24, 2011 17:16
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HondaCivet posted:Any opinions on the Verizon Certified Pre-Owned phones? I've heard pretty much nothing but good things but I just wanted to see what you guys thought. A CPO Thunderbolt is relatively cheap with a contract (apparently returns are high, haha) and I wouldn't have to deal with Amazon or Wirefly's scary additional ETFs. It's about 50/50 for me. They always send CPO phones as warranty replacements, and two of the four that I've received over the past few years were completely inoperable and useless. The other two were fine. I don't see a problem with going for it, because you have a return period if there are problems. I would just make sure that you're more willing to call tech support with an issue if it comes up...so you can start the return process if there are major issues down the line.
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Jun 24, 2011 17:53
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Man, I didn't realize the 500 MSG Allowance + UNL IN MSG plan option wasn't available anymore and rolled into that 450Minutes+Text plan that makes it $10 more a month now 
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Jun 24, 2011 18:16
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I'm thinking about gifting my Pixi to my parents, mobile hotspot and all and keeping them on my family plan. Would I be able to switch numbers on the Pixi and whatever phone I wind up choosing without causing them to try and end the free mobile hotspot? For that matter... You can change which number is attached to which line, can't you?
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Jun 24, 2011 18:21
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bull3964 posted:a) Google navigation caches your entire route so it's not really using the data connection most of the time unless it has to recalculate That's friggin' brilliant! My friend had an Android phone (one of the older Motorola ones with a huge screen) and I remember him being so annoyed when he got phone calls while driving because his GPS wouldn't be able to keep drawing the maps. Good to know they fixed that. bull3964 posted:b) If you are going with the thunderbolt it's all moot anyways. Since it's an LTE device, you can be on the phone and get 4G data simultaneously. I know about the 4g being able to do voice+data but I'd imagine on any decent sized car ride you're gonna leave a lot of 4g spots. bull3964 posted:b) The thunderbolt also supports SVDO which allows you to be on a call and use 3G data simultaneously. That's....loving awesome. I had never heard of this before. So I don't have to ignore phone calls while I'm wireless tethering? This is getting better and better.
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Jun 24, 2011 18:33
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HondaCivet posted:Any opinions on the Verizon Certified Pre-Owned phones? I've heard pretty much nothing but good things but I just wanted to see what you guys thought. A CPO Thunderbolt is relatively cheap with a contract (apparently returns are high, haha) and I wouldn't have to deal with Amazon or Wirefly's scary additional ETFs. I've had good luck with the Certified Pre-Owned program. They come with a 1-year warranty and are insurable just like standard new devices. All of our employee phones are CPO, and I've never had one arrive DOA or with any other issues. I also just purchased a CPO 32GB iPhone for my personal line (saved $70) and when I received it there was a tiny dent in the speaker grill on the bottom. Called care and they overnighted me another CPO under the 14-day return/exchange period without any hassle. The replacement arrived in mint condition. Acrolos posted:It's about 50/50 for me. They always send CPO phones as warranty replacements, and two of the four that I've received over the past few years were completely inoperable and useless. The other two were fine. Supposedly the CPO program's devices are different from the CLNR (warranty) program's devices. I've heard from several parties, although have never been able to personally confirm, that CPO devices are customer returns and/or warranty returns that never actually had a defect, while CLNR devices are phones which had a defect that needed to be repaired.
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Jun 24, 2011 18:56
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Hamburglar posted:That's friggin' brilliant! My friend had an Android phone (one of the older Motorola ones with a huge screen) and I remember him being so annoyed when he got phone calls while driving because his GPS wouldn't be able to keep drawing the maps. Good to know they fixed that. Keep in mind there's a different between Google maps and google navigation. If you just had maps open, yeah it won't be able to keep drawing your location as it doesn't really know where you are going and can't precache. However, if you are navigating with the navigation program to a specific destination, it should pre-cache the entire route. I know I've driven though areas of zero signal coverage before using navigation and will still able to follow the route and get turn by turn directions just fine. Hamburglar posted:
The reason why it's not really an advertised feature is, according to verizon, it's not up to their quality standards. Basically, you have an increased risk of dropping the call under those circumstances and coverage of that feature may not be 100% of the 3g coverage area. However, it does exist. Also, google is expected to add a completely offline mode to google maps sometime this year. bull3964 fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Jun 24, 2011 |
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Jun 24, 2011 19:36
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You could also do something like ALK CoPilot and just cache your region. It's only $5 if all you need is the US maps. http://www.alk.com/copilot/android/ I don't even plan on touching Google's nav as it's taken me way off the correct path too many times for me to trust it.
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Jun 24, 2011 19:40
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Beowulf LaGrange posted:Man, I didn't realize the 500 MSG Allowance + UNL IN MSG plan option wasn't available anymore and rolled into that 450Minutes+Text plan that makes it $10 more a month now You can still get it. Just order the 450 minute plan and look under features for the $10 txt plan.
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Jun 24, 2011 21:58
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I'm switching carriers even if I do get grandfathered into unlimited data, that could be taken away at any point and regardless it would be like condoning rape to stick around and support such a sleazy company. Reminds me of when my home town got its first draconian cable modem provider and you could go over your monthly quota in just a few hours. If all the other carriers follow suit I can only hope Google turns into a non-rapey cell phone provider in addition to rolling out their Gigabit internet access, or some other rich-but-not-greedy company steps up to the plate to provide a fairly priced service.
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Jun 24, 2011 22:33
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