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How do I not pay an activation fee? I bought a Pixel 2 XL off Google and didn't have to do this. Just popped in my old SIM card and I was off and running. I just bought a Pixel on sale for my wife from Verizon's Cyber Monday sale (it was "$10/mo" yesterday so it was hard to pass up considering her current phone is dying a painful death), but they nailed us with a $30 "activation fee" which was to "keep bringing [me] the best coverage." Pretty sure it's to cover the teenager's 10 minutes to set up your new phone in the store, but we can do that ourselves. I don't need a new drat SIM card. There is no option when buying online from Verizon's site...and the tracking came and sure enough there was a 2nd line item for a SIM card. Can I fight this ever, or am I perpetually screwed when buying phones directly from Verizon?
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Nov 29, 2017 03:47
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 10:42 |
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OK so for the first time in a long time, I've gone over my 3Gb data cap. I have an old Medium plan. We have 2 people and mostly use wi-fi, but it seems more and more things like to hog data (pre-loading/auto-playing video ads, etc.). Also I travel for work occasionally, so I often don't have wi-fi available. With work travel, I tether my laptop a lot. One thing I noticed is that the new "unlimited" plans have tethering restrictions. It's slow enough as it is, I have no interest in waiting 20 minutes to send an e-mail at the end of a work day when I'm trying to get out of a noisy factory. I also don't like all the other restrictions they place on the unlimited plans...seems like they're basically exchanging data caps for speed caps. And as I recall, they changed their strategy from the once common "throttle high users" to a now common "throttle everyone" when the network is experiencing high usage. I guess I would rather pay for more data than be subject to speed restrictions. So, how do I get a little bit more data without running in to these speed restrictions? Looks like the "new" M plan has 4 GB for $5 more a month. Claims I get to "hang on to Mobile Hotspot" but is that with any restrictions? Are these speed restrictions only on the Unlimited plans, or do they affect the shared data plans as well?
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Jul 6, 2018 14:15
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Got it, thanks! That's what I thought I just wanted to be sure. So is there anything else worth getting on the new M plan? I just did the math and if I have a data overage once every 3 months, I'm paying the same amount of money as getting a plan with that extra data. Generally we're sitting at around 2.5GB, sometimes a bit more. Thinking I'll just wait to see if this becomes a regular thing or if it was a one-time deal.
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Jul 6, 2018 16:05
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What's the current recommendation for plans? We've been on the "The new Verizon Plan Medium 4 GB" plan for several years. Had a consistent bill of $88/mo for 2 lines (after discounts/taxes), but apparently the base plan cost has gone up $12 now? So we're at $103/mo for 2 lines right now. Looking in detail, it's: quote:Monthly charges and credits $53.00 That's base, and the per line is $20. So technically we were paying $45 per line base, but now $51/line with the extra plan rate adjustment. That's pre-discount pricing, so with discounts were back down to $53 + $20 + $20 (+ taxes) so $46.50 per line for 4GB/mo 5g data. I assume the "plan rate adjustment" is "hey gently caress you for clinging to this old plan we're going to charge you extra because we're dicks and want you to move to a new plan." I automatically assume I'm losing something they don't want me to have anymore... The thing is we... basically never use data. At home all the time, but we're on wifi... typically our data usage is around 2GB between us each month, so we often roll over the extra so we usually have 6GB available any given month. The only time we really use data is when traveling to see family for holidays (in-laws turned off their wi-fi for... no reason whatsoever). So it'd be nice not to have to worry, but I don't want to move to one of the new unlimited plans and get slammed with unexpected stuff. We both have Pixel 6 phones (mine is a Pro, hers isn't, both bought unlocked from Google store), so 5g capable, and I can theoretically get UWB. But 5g is spotty in my area... I mean, we're near a big city, and the map shows 5G all over the place, but that's laughable in real life. Theoretically we have 5g at our house, and UWB in some places, but in practice we mostly get LTE. I get it at my office, usually, and sometimes while out and about, but it's not reliable, and the house is 100% LTE all the time. So I guess the questions are: Does "throttling" still exist? Is it a problem? Is there anything on the higher tier plans (i.e. Get More) that would allow them to revoke the "true unlimited" in the future? Is LTE under the "unlimited" umbrella, or would we be hosed for using LTE data? Is there literally no reason for us to be clinging to this ancient plan? Looks like tethering is restricted on new plans? I sometimes use this for work, but it's infrequent and usually on the order of a few megs per session, not GBs, but I'm loathe to give it up. So on the surface, it looks like we'd only be paying a few bucks more per month to get unlimited (?) 5G on the Get More plan. That SOUNDS good.... but I'm wary. The main thing is I want to make sure I'm not giving up some legacy feature that they've stripped out of new plans. The 5G Get More is only a hair more expensive, but over the years it seems like they want you on new plans because they're stripping away good things from the old benefits (tethering, no throttling, etc.). Or am I a being a crotchety old man about this? Way way back I used to cling to a REALLY old "unlimited" plan because it was pre-throttling and in the times before phones used a ton of data, but I eventually gave it up for some reason. DaveSauce fucked around with this message at 14:14 on Sep 15, 2022 |
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Sep 15, 2022 14:09
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Duckman2008 posted:The Verizon website will show what the plans are with 4 lines of service by default. well... gently caress, of course it does. Didn't notice that, that appears to change the math significantly. I knew it sounded too good to be true. Duckman2008 posted:Here’s the curveball: a lot of customers (not all!) on old plans have a retention offer to move to unlimited data. If the retention offer is there, it’s $25 off any unlimited plans (with 2 lines which you have). That's good to know! Had this number through Verizon since like 2006 I think, and the account has been in my name since 2013 maybe? I dunno, it's been a long time. Not sure if that necessarily means anything, though. Here's a question: do the "work" discounts still apply? So we get 15% + 3% because of who either I or my wife works for (can't remember which). Is this still a thing, or have they discontinued that on new plans? If they still do it, how do they apply it? Currently it's on the "base" plan only, not per line, but the new plans don't have a base cost, so I don't know how to translate this to new plans. (edit: I think the 3% is for autopay maybe? Can't remember). Duckman2008 posted:Personally , your usage is lower where even with network throttling , I think start unlimited would be fine usage wise. Your current plan does not have throttling , because you have a data cap instead. That said, if you’re not using much, I just don’t see a big difference between low usage , and usage but occasional throttling (but that is honestly my opinion and it’s totally fine if your opinion is different). Yeah I'd happily pay $10 more per line a month to get the Get More plan, but of course that's not an option. I'd love to be able to watch videos and stuff on the go, but we've pretty well trained ourselves over the years to not use data on the go outside of basic web browsing or low-data apps. Might have to rethink that attitude, though, since we have 2 small kids, and now that the pandemic is "over" we're going out with them more frequently. That said, I'm not sure I could use 50gb if I tried, so the Do More plan might be worth it to get at least some amount of unthrottled data. We're in a fast growing area so I don't trust that the towers aren't clogged all to hell, and I don't really trust that "when the tower is busy" doesn't translate to "well we feel like it, so what are you going to do about it?"
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Sep 15, 2022 15:15
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I figured employer discounts were dead... I know several years back they did a massive clean-up and made everyone re-verify their eligibility, so I'm not surprised they've been eliminated entirely. Is there any way to tell how often a given area gets busy? Reading more about the throttling, it's less active speed limits and more "you get whatever scraps are available," which gets pretty miserable when towers get overloaded during power outages/etc. from storms (edit: of course this is unavoidable during that situation, I'm just trying to figure out if this is the norm for unprioritized connections or not). Never been under a plan that does this, so I'm not terribly interested in finding out the hard way since there's no going back, only paying more. Also, regarding that $25 retention discount... how long is that good for? Is this a "for as long as you are on that plan" thing, or is it a "we'll take it away in 12 months and you can't do gently caress-all about it" thing? edit: also, what the hell does this mean: quote:You’ll also get high-definition 720p video streaming on 5G Nationwide / 4G LTE when you activate it in your plan settings. can... can they override apps and force a max video quality? I mean, not that I intend on streaming 4k videos over data, but just curious as to whether they're enforcing this or just giving it as an example. DaveSauce fucked around with this message at 16:12 on Sep 15, 2022 |
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Sep 15, 2022 16:07
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 10:42 |
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Duckman2008 posted:They can absolutely enforce a max video quality. It’s 480 on start unlimited, 720 on play more and above. Oh... welp, didn't know that. Not that it's a huge deal on a relatively tiny phone screen, but an insight as to their technical capabilities. I mean, I never doubted that they COULD if they wanted to, just never knew that they actually did it. Duckman2008 posted:No way to know in terms of how prevalent network management is in your area or any area. Wish I had a better answer but it’s basically just YMMV. OK, I wasn't sure if there was some website that a person could use to check this or if it's something you won't know until you experience it. Duckman2008 posted:I can’t guarantee the loyalty offer, but if it’s there (i would give it 50/50 chance) it doesn’t expire once attached. So it isn’t a one year thing. Yup, I get that. Just trying to figure out if it's sold as a definite "this expires in <time>" or if it's just open ended. I mean, even a year of $25/mo is not nothing, but the math certainly changes depending on how long it lasts. I can at least give Verizon credit for their consistent pricing... Until recently, we've been paying the same for our plan for ages, and same for the plan we had prior to that. Once you're in, you're in... which of course gives them incentive to try to push you out. And it's all great until the day you find out you could get a better plan for less money, of course... But in any case, this new fee is honestly the first time I remember them doing anything to force a price increase, rather than trying to nudge you in to another plan. DaveSauce fucked around with this message at 17:54 on Sep 15, 2022 |
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Sep 15, 2022 17:50
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