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The only thing that scared me is I've read a lot of reports about people burning through huge amounts of data on their LTE iPhones on Verizon. My understanding is the problem is two-pronged: 1. There was a glitch that has since been patched causing iPhones to use LTE data instead of wifi even when wifi was available 2. People didn't do their homework, such as disabling background apps from using data (or the apps themselves were data hogs), and other settings
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# ? Nov 30, 2013 22:17 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 03:54 |
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That's basically true, you've just got to train yourself to use your phone in neuter mode when you're not on wifi.
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# ? Nov 30, 2013 22:28 |
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iostream.h posted:That's basically true, you've just got to train yourself to use your phone in neuter mode when you're not on wifi. What you're saying is that people are not familiar with how fast the 4G is versus 3G, so they burn through data much faster? (Like someone used to driving a little Toyota taking a ride inside a F1)? I've also heard horror stories about where people get "out of the blue" data usage. That gives me pause.
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# ? Nov 30, 2013 22:35 |
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It really depend on what exactly your using your data for really. If I'm on tumblr, YouTube or other such sites I can blow through 10g easily in one month on LTE. however just regular app usage and using these forums I barely use anything. Images, video and audio streaming can kill your allowance if your not careful.
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# ? Nov 30, 2013 23:01 |
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I've had enough of Sprint's horrible data speeds in my area so I just ordered a couple of LG G2s off Amazon to make the switch to Verizon. Could someone explain this 6gb max plan? From what I could find on Google it is supposed to be for people coming from unlimited plans and requires Verizon EDGE. Posts I've read on the last couple of pages here suggest otherwise though. Do I just need to call in and ask for it once I get my phones and have my service running?
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 00:17 |
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I will be corrected if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure like you said it's only for people coming from a grandfathered unlimited data plan.
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 00:20 |
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min posted:I've had enough of Sprint's horrible data speeds in my area so I just ordered a couple of LG G2s off Amazon to make the switch to Verizon. Could someone explain this 6gb max plan? From what I could find on Google it is supposed to be for people coming from unlimited plans and requires Verizon EDGE. You can't get unlimited, period. Sorry, they have been discontiuned for several years but people can still keep them if they jump through crazy hoops. So much so that there is a market that people will buy lines with unlimited plans on them. If you want to use a lot of data for cheap the only real choice besides lovely Sprint service is TMobile. TMobile is really good for many people (although network may very) were as Sprint is good for no one (or so it seems).
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 01:04 |
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min posted:I've had enough of Sprint's horrible data speeds in my area so I just ordered a couple of LG G2s off Amazon to make the switch to Verizon. Could someone explain this 6gb max plan? From what I could find on Google it is supposed to be for people coming from unlimited plans and requires Verizon EDGE. Posts I've read on the last couple of pages here suggest otherwise though. Do I just need to call in and ask for it once I get my phones and have my service running? You do not need Edge to get the 6GB Max plan since I just did it and the rep never even mentioned Edge (thanks, 800 number) but the rep called it a loyalty plan. I don't know anyone who's gotten loyalty plans off the bat as a brand new Verizon customer, but I'm also not an authority on that! Speaking of calling the 800, when is the website going to be updated with my order status? I want to make sure it went through okay, had some weirdness with the robot voice reading me the terms and conditions/push 1 to confirm part at the very end. e: okay the email confirmation showed up a couple minutes ago, I guess I'm just incredibly impatient Psion fucked around with this message at 01:47 on Dec 1, 2013 |
# ? Dec 1, 2013 01:27 |
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min posted:I've had enough of Sprint's horrible data speeds in my area so I just ordered a couple of LG G2s off Amazon to make the switch to Verizon. Could someone explain this 6gb max plan? From what I could find on Google it is supposed to be for people coming from unlimited plans and requires Verizon EDGE. Posts I've read on the last couple of pages here suggest otherwise though. Do I just need to call in and ask for it once I get my phones and have my service running? The 6GB for $30/line is a loyalty plan, and is only available to current Verizon lines that have unlimited data, basically to encourage people to move onto tiered data while still giving them a really good deal compared to the normal tiered prices. It used to require an Edge contract, but they removed that requirement over a month ago. Share Everything is a fair shake for smartphone-only accounts, especially given you can go under 2GB/phone now if that works for you. You can't get the loyalty max plan with SE either, so in all likelyhood you wouldn't have saved money with it to begin with.
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 01:38 |
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Thanks for clearing that up, everyone. I was reading some discussion on the Max plan from a couple pages back and wasn't entirely sure how it worked. I'm on a family plan with my sister and she gets a discount through her employer so our Verizon bill is going to be approximately the same as Sprint was.
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 01:51 |
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Three-Phase posted:What you're saying is that people are not familiar with how fast the 4G is versus 3G, so they burn through data much faster? (Like someone used to driving a little Toyota taking a ride inside a F1)?
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 02:25 |
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iostream.h posted:I'm saying that web based service providers in general are building their services based on the expectation that their users have access to unlimited data. The data on your phone, be it 3G, LTE or whatever is only intended as a stopgap until you're at someone else's wifi point. It takes next to no use to blow through 2GB of data. Simply updating the apps on your phone can do that in a matter of minutes. Except none of that is really true. But otherwise, yeah.
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 02:47 |
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Three-Phase posted:What you're saying is that people are not familiar with how fast the 4G is versus 3G, so they burn through data much faster? (Like someone used to driving a little Toyota taking a ride inside a F1)? Verizon will/can send you emails and sms warnings when you hit certain usage percentages: 50% 75% and 90% I think.
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 03:34 |
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hoobajoo posted:Except none of that is really true. But otherwise, yeah. The day I switched to Verizon a number of apps (for whatever reason, it's been a while I'm not sure what I did wrong) weren't backed up on my MBP even after doing a backup to the laptop immediately prior to going into the store for the service change. I had to IMMEDIATELY turn my phone off and find a WiFi hotspot to allow my phone to continue the restore otherwise it was going to use at a minimum (and I want to say more, but I'll err on the side of caution) of 25% of my then-cap of 2GB that month. That's nothing more than installing and updating a not-particularly-large number of apps. Ever actually paid attention to how often apps get updated and how much data they consume in doing so? I have and do, since my phone and Jetpack are my only internet options where I live. I don't Youtube, I don't FaceBook, I don't get to listen to Spotify or iTunes Radio, none of that, and I EASILY burn through a 'normal' 2GB cap on my phone alone, not even taking into account the Jetpack. Everything I said is absolutely true. The average service plan is tiered according to the expectation that the average user will be supplementing their data via WiFi, the actual cellular data isn't intended to be the actual primary data source at ALL. There's simply no realistic way that it IS. Try it for a month. It's eye opening.
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 04:41 |
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Lowen SoDium posted:Verizon will/can send you emails and sms warnings when you hit certain usage percentages: 50% 75% and 90% I think. Correct, the system will tell you when you reach thresholds. You can also setup custom alerts for talk, data and messages on your account page.
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 06:16 |
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iostream.h posted:The day I switched to Verizon a number of apps (for whatever reason, it's been a while I'm not sure what I did wrong) weren't backed up on my MBP even after doing a backup to the laptop immediately prior to going into the store for the service change. I had to IMMEDIATELY turn my phone off and find a WiFi hotspot to allow my phone to continue the restore otherwise it was going to use at a minimum (and I want to say more, but I'll err on the side of caution) of 25% of my then-cap of 2GB that month. That's nothing more than installing and updating a not-particularly-large number of apps. Reloading all of your apps onto a new/freshly formatted phone isn't a common occurrence (unless you like jumping from one custom ROM to another on a daily/weekly basis or frequently have to replace your phone) and its not that difficult to arrange to do so when you're connected to wifi. iostream.h posted:
I'm not disagreeing that 2 GB is a low allotment for data, but reloading all of your apps at once or apps updating on their own shouldn't be a primary cause of blowing through your cap.
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 07:03 |
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Lowen SoDium posted:Verizon will/can send you emails and sms warnings when you hit certain usage percentages: 50% 75% and 90% I think. I can't speak for the iPhone but android lets you set data usage alerts.
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 07:24 |
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Grumbletron 4000 posted:I can't speak for the iPhone but android lets you set data usage alerts. You'd still want to set up the alerts with Verizon, because the data apps and Verizon can have discrepancies, and you best believe it's the Verizon data viewpoint that matters.
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 07:35 |
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iostream.h posted:This comes up pretty regularly (and I'm usually in the middle of it) but spend a month with your WiFi turned off on your phone using it like you normally would then report back in with your findings. I've been leaving my phone on off Wi-Fi for 12 hour shifts. It auto update all my apps, Skype and steam running and doing Facebook and awful on lunch. I've used a grand total of .462 GB. I'm on unlimited currently but seriously most normal people don't use a ton of data. Even my barely 18 and 19 year old sisters stay under 2 gigs (also on unlimited). Yes I know it's totally possible to use more without abusing it. But unless I go hard streaming Google music 8 hours a day it's not common for me to even touch a full gig.
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 07:40 |
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Geoj posted:
No, app updates and reloading backups shouldn't be a primary cause of blowing through a data cap, I wasn't implying or insisting that it WAS, simply what I said, the data provided with your phone subscription isn't intended to be the primary source of use, it's to supplement the data you get through WiFi, which is intended on being your primary source, which is backwards from how subscribing to an actual data service SHOULD be. Again, smartphones and their accompanying data plans are sold with the expectation that the subscriber will be using the cellular data plan as little as possible and NOT with the expectation that the actual plan WITH the phone will be what the phones services are primarily used with. As far as EbolaIvory, I long ago after a previous round of discussion we had came to the conclusion that as far as you're concerned cellular customers are all idiots and the companies can do no wrong and if someone's unhappy with their data service it's obviously their fault. I'll say this, you're flat-out lying about your use and bandwidth or at the very least being disingenuous regarding how you're actually USING those apps.
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 21:46 |
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EbolaIvory posted:I've been leaving my phone on off Wi-Fi for 12 hour shifts. It auto update all my apps, Skype and steam running and doing Facebook and awful on lunch. I've used a grand total of .462 GB. I'm on unlimited currently but seriously most normal people don't use a ton of data. Even my barely 18 and 19 year old sisters stay under 2 gigs (also on unlimited). If you use google music, and have at least a 30 minute commute, then you're going to be well over 4gb a month. Close to 6.
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 22:35 |
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Doctor Butts posted:If you use google music, and have at least a 30 minute commute, then you're going to be well over 4gb a month. Close to 6. Yeah, I have to save music to my Note 2 just to not blow through my cap. This is with normal quality, not high or low. Sure, if all you do is browse Awful and check your email, 2GB is fine, but try streaming music.
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# ? Dec 1, 2013 23:12 |
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Lowen SoDium posted:Verizon will/can send you emails and sms warnings when you hit certain usage percentages: 50% 75% and 90% I think. Yeah, and I have heard of "bad actor" applications, especially since they can work in the background now. (So I'm assuming an ad-sponsored app could continually load banner ads and chew through data.) My concern was these reports of mysteriously downloading 500MB overnight for no apparent reason or eating through a 2GB plan in a matter of days. I thought that was supposed to have been fixed by Apple but I am still seeing some reports here and there as recent as last month about people who are getting unexpected data usage. Also people who have iPhones where even nowadays they are having cellular data consumption while they're supposed to be on Wifi. I am also trying to find out if this is more of a problem from people who have older 4/5 iPhones versus people with brand new 5s/5c's. This was one of the threads discussing this problem on VZW's official forums. Also, is it correct that on the Verizon iPhone you can switch 4G/LTE off so the phone only uses slower 3G? Sounds a bit like a selector on a gun from semi to full auto. Three-Phase fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Dec 2, 2013 |
# ? Dec 1, 2013 23:41 |
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Tha Chodesweller posted:Yeah, I have to save music to my Note 2 just to not blow through my cap. This is with normal quality, not high or low. Well 6-8 hours a day of Pandora for me 4-5 days a week with nothing else on that device put me just under 5 gigs. Barely. Dunno. I really Dont know many people who stream like you goons do in the really real world. Phones for most of these folks are for angry birds and Facebook. I must not hang with the cool kids or something.
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# ? Dec 2, 2013 00:51 |
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Three-Phase, for an anecdote we have an iPhone 4S and a 5. Have never seen phantom data use in a couple of years. Turning to facts, yes you can turn off LTE, I assume you'd use that in areas where the LTE signal is weak enough to regularly drop out. There's also a toggle on the same settings page that lets you turn off all cellular data. In addition, at any time you can easily bump your data plan to the next tier (and backdate the change to the beginning of your current billing cycle) and get 2 more GB for an extra $10 (2 for 10 on the share plan, at least). If you do that, you can also "future date" a drop back to your original tier to start at the beginning of your next billing cycle. Since streaming comes up a lot, a data point: a 128 Kbps audio stream = about 56 MB / hour, which is ~18 hours / GB.
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# ? Dec 2, 2013 03:17 |
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:In addition, at any time you can easily bump your data plan to the next tier (and backdate the change to the beginning of your current billing cycle) and get 2 more GB for an extra $10 (2 for 10 on the share plan, at least). If you do that, you can also "future date" a drop back to your original tier to start at the beginning of your next billing cycle. That was actually a question I forgot to ask - if you could do that without breaking/renewing the contract. I take it the bumping can go in both directions if you use much less than you expected?
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# ? Dec 2, 2013 11:07 |
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Three-Phase posted:That was actually a question I forgot to ask - if you could do that without breaking/renewing the contract. I take it the bumping can go in both directions if you use much less than you expected? And no, changing tiers has no effect on contract / upgrade dates.
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# ? Dec 2, 2013 13:04 |
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Three-Phase posted:That was actually a question I forgot to ask - if you could do that without breaking/renewing the contract. I take it the bumping can go in both directions if you use much less than you expected? Yes, as long as you have your line open on the same type of device, it doesn't matter what the plan is.
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# ? Dec 2, 2013 18:02 |
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Three-Phase posted:That was actually a question I forgot to ask - if you could do that without breaking/renewing the contract. I take it the bumping can go in both directions if you use much less than you expected?
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# ? Dec 2, 2013 18:25 |
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Can I email one of you verizon sales guys a chat log so you can help me understand how to avoid an overage charge in the future? Thanks.
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# ? Dec 2, 2013 23:52 |
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I'm a couple of months away from being off contract. I just lost my 20% corp discount and am questioning why I'm paying $130 / month for 700 minutes, unlimited text and data compared to T-Mo's $70. I'm averaging about 6 gb a month on data, so downgrading data isn't going to save me money. And while I'm happy with the service (especially in Colorado mountains), I'm getting tired of Vzw's phone situation. Any likelihood of negotiating a lower price while keeping my data once my contract is up? Otherwise I'm looking at a "free" phone every year just in the savings on the T-Mobile plan
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# ? Dec 4, 2013 04:01 |
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How long have you been with Verizon?
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# ? Dec 4, 2013 04:11 |
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Verizon's Cyber Monday deal was a free white LG G2 with 2 year contract, and I need a new phone so I tried to get one. All out of stock yesterday afternoon according to the website and customer service on the phone and online. Come this morning, I check if the deal is still happening, nope. But they have a whole bunch of white LG G2s for $149.99 Really smooth, Verizon. I bet you were scrambling to get those white LG G2s overnighted from the factory.
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# ? Dec 4, 2013 05:18 |
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Alastor_the_Stylish posted:Verizon's Cyber Monday deal was a free white LG G2 with 2 year contract, and I need a new phone so I tried to get one. All out of stock yesterday afternoon according to the website and customer service on the phone and online. Soooo mad they waited to release that. Its so pretty. Oh well, I'm happy with my black one (God damnit I wanted white too).
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# ? Dec 4, 2013 05:48 |
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stormrider posted:I'm a couple of months away from being off contract. I just lost my 20% corp discount and am questioning why I'm paying $130 / month for 700 minutes, unlimited text and data compared to T-Mo's $70. How is t-mobile's service in your area? A friend of mine has his phones through them and in his words, "when its good its really good, but get outside of the city and it all goes to poo poo."
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# ? Dec 4, 2013 07:44 |
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stormrider posted:I'm a couple of months away from being off contract. I just lost my 20% corp discount and am questioning why I'm paying $130 / month for 700 minutes, unlimited text and data compared to T-Mo's $70. VZW will always cost more, because it is a premium service, and because they won't throttle the poo poo out of your data. You could try to call and ask what can be done for you, without being rude, but it will never be as cheap as T Mobile. They couldn't even choose to price match, because the FCC and anti-trust laws prohibit it.
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# ? Dec 4, 2013 09:22 |
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hoobajoo posted:VZW will always cost more, because it is a premium service, and because they won't throttle the poo poo out of your data. You could try to call and ask what can be done for you, without being rude, but it will never be as cheap as T Mobile. They couldn't even choose to price match, because the FCC and anti-trust laws prohibit it. Are you saying Verizon can't make "we will price match Tmobile" its policy? Because that's wrong. Companies can match prices set by their competitors. They just can't collude beforehand on what prices they'll both set. At least one of them has to act first. Edit: See: http://www.ftc.gov/bc/antitrust/factsheets/antitrustlawsguide.pdf posted:Q: Our company monitors competitors’ ads, and we sometimes offer to
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# ? Dec 4, 2013 09:43 |
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clamiam45 posted:Are you saying Verizon can't make "we will price match Tmobile" its policy? Because that's wrong. Companies can match prices set by their competitors. They just can't collude beforehand on what prices they'll both set. At least one of them has to act first. All wireless providers are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, which has the power to prevent "undue market power" by, in part, regulating the prices charged by providers. I'm not saying it's literally impossible, just that they don't have the agency to do so.
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# ? Dec 4, 2013 10:08 |
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clamiam45 posted:Are you saying Verizon can't make "we will price match Tmobile" its policy? Because that's wrong. Companies can match prices set by their competitors. They just can't collude beforehand on what prices they'll both set. At least one of them has to act first. Have you followed Verizon policies at all for the last 5+ years? The only carrier they sometimes match is AT&T because the rates are close. Verizon isn't dropping to T-Mobile pricing anytime soon, and they have been adding enough customers that they have no incentive too. It was said once on this page, but you pay for the network basically. Edit:noticed you said can, so I may have misread what you said. Either way, point is Verizon will be more expensive than T-Mobile, and which one you get depends on stuff like local coverage, etc.
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# ? Dec 4, 2013 13:06 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 03:54 |
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hoobajoo posted:All wireless providers are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, which has the power to prevent "undue market power" by, in part, regulating the prices charged by providers. I'm not saying it's literally impossible, just that they don't have the agency to do so. Plus that blurb is mostly talking about device pricing and poo poo. So theres that.
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# ? Dec 4, 2013 13:15 |