Options for someone grandfathered into unlimited data plan ?

[GoodEnough]

Friend is on VZ.
She uses like 6GB a month.
Listens to youtube videos in the car (TED Talks, documentaries, etc)

She has a grandfathered old plan that offers unlimited data.

As a result, she's paying like $80/mo and NOT using the phone subsidy b/c if you renew the contract, they'll put you into a new 2GB plan. So, she can't move to the Loyalty plan for only $60 and get a "free" phone, to boot. It seems the worst of both worlds. Paying the VZ premium and using hand me down phones that are 2 years old.

What are the options if she wants to stick with her unlimited data plan?
Does anyone offer unlimited data at a discount to VZ?
PagePlus charges $70 for 5GB (and no phone subsidy)

 

[paperwastage]

T-mobile has a prepaid $30 plan for 100 min, unlimited text, 5GB data @ LTE(throttled to 2G when you go over). if your area has t-mobile LTE, sell your unlimited plan for like $200+ (you might lose the phone number), and go to t-mobile

$80/month for truly unlimited data from Verizon is worth it even without the phone subsidy(if you use a lot, and your area isn't congested)

you can buy used phones from Swappa, or wait for special deals on Verizon phones (or buy higher end but not as pricy stuff like MotoX/MotoG

an alternative would be opening/using a second line if you can still do it, and using that line for the phone upgrade. $10 dumbphone plan/month for 2 years = $240, plus your typical $200 upgrade price = $440 for a new smartphone

 

[openwheel]

Buy used phones on craigslist. My Note 3 only costs me $360 and not a scratch with box. I also got S4 for $250 in same condition. LG G2 FOR $280. As you can see. Phone subsidy is iverated unless you like to unwrap new phones.

 

[notposting]

So she ALREADY uses 6GB.

(and it's not like data usage is DECLINING nowadays)

Page Plus offers 5GB! Oh wait...
T-Mo offers prepaid unlimited that throttles after 5GB...
T-Mo offers regular unlimited that *doesn't* throttle...for the same price...without a subsidy...and generally worse coverage.

As stated above, look for stuff on Swappa, reputable deal forums (hint: AT FS/FT), Craigslist for bonus mugging and rape, and eBay (eBay is totally safe when buying, it's the sellers that will get hosed up down and three times sideways).

Also, I swear I've seen conflicting info on this...but she might be able to enroll into the EDGE program even with unlimited data. Might be worth a look.

 

[blairharrington]

Friend is on VZ.
She uses like 6GB a month.
Listens to youtube videos in the car (TED Talks, documentaries, etc)

She has a grandfathered old plan that offers unlimited data.

As a result, she's paying like $80/mo and NOT using the phone subsidy b/c if you renew the contract, they'll put you into a new 2GB plan. So, she can't move to the Loyalty plan for only $60 and get a "free" phone, to boot. It seems the worst of both worlds. Paying the VZ premium and using hand me down phones that are 2 years old.

What are the options if she wants to stick with her unlimited data plan?
Does anyone offer unlimited data at a discount to VZ?
PagePlus charges $70 for 5GB (and no phone subsidy)

Unlimited for new T-Mobile customers is now $80/month. Up from $70.

I would tell her to purchase phones off-contract. Either via Verizon or Swappa. An Ebay seller with a high feedback count close to or at 100% is probably a safe bet but not entirely. Craigslist is the riskiest and something I don't suggest unless you meet the seller at your carrier store, have the IMEI/ESN number checked by a store rep, make sure the seller doesn't owe money on his account, etc.

 

[boomhower]

I use a combination of used and another line on the account that's on a tiered plan.

Another option is to use less data. Download the audio and sync it to the phone instead of streaming it. She knows what she likes to listen to so tell her to download it the day before to cut down drastically on the bandwidth if she does want to move to a tiered plan to get the subsidy, though I agree it's not worth it. Keep the unlimited.

Another option is Verizon will finance a phone at full price for 12 months. This is separate from the Edge program.

 

[s44]

Link her to Swappa. Make sure she gets an AWS-enabled phone (see other thread).

 

[sze5003]

I am on unlimited data grandfathered. I've been off contract for over a year. I get 450 minutes unlimited text and data. I pay $83 a month for one phone with a company discount.

I buy all my phones from swappa. EBay is worth looking at too. You don't need to get old phones but you will pay 350-400 for a recently new phone that has been out for a couple of months.

I have a droid DNA I'm debating to sell in excellent condition. I've upgraded to an htc one. I may keep it as a backup because it works with T-Mobile and att sim cards on their prepaid plans. It gets hspa/+ on those in my area.

Keep looking at swappa. It's worth keeping unlimited data and Verizon does not throttle. I once used up to 15gb of data streaming music on car trips to and from work. Also, I don't connect to my work's WiFi since they monitor everything.

 

[GoodEnough]

I'll look at swappa.
She's not going to drop $300 on a phone 3 months old.
But, something like 1-2 years old might be worthwhile at a lower price point.
I can see $200 ballpark being justified...

 

[sze5003]

I'll look at swappa.
She's not going to drop $300 on a phone 3 months old.
But, something like 1-2 years old might be worthwhile at a lower price point.
I can see $200 ballpark being justified...

You can get a nexus for that price probably less. Or a DNA itself if your friend prefers HTC. There are a lot of older phones on swappa if you know what you want. In my case I wanted a relatively new phone so spending in the $300 range was something I had to do at the time or wait.

 

[s44]

You can get a nexus for that price probably less.

Not the GNex, I hope! That thing is half the speed of the RAZR M, and not much more than half the battery too.

I forgot to mention -- a good time to buy something will be the actual S5 release. You'll see a lot of latest-and-greatest folks offloading S4s on Swappa.

 

[sze5003]

Not the GNex, I hope! That thing is half the speed of the RAZR M, and not much more than half the battery too.

I forgot to mention -- a good time to buy something will be the actual S5 release. You'll see a lot of latest-and-greatest folks offloading S4s on Swappa.

Yea every time a new phone comes out prices on swappa decrease. The newer nexus phones shouldn't cost that much more though.

 

[s44]

Yea every time a new phone comes out prices on swappa decrease. The newer nexus phones shouldn't cost that much more though.

They don't, but none of them work on Verizon.

 

[sze5003]

The gs4 and lg g2 prices on eBay and craigslist at least in my area have been around $250 or so. Maybe he can find something along those lines. I will never upgrade and lose unlimited unless they just take it from us.

If so I will sell my phones and go to an mvno.

 

[notposting]

Heck...I'm under contract with unlimited

April 18 I'm off, but then I used the second line to get an upgrade last year, so it's under contract into 2015.

Hopefully I see Verizon having a "glitch" and allowing unlimited data users to reup again. If they drop the unlimited I'll be taking a long look at options currently available.

(I think the 12-month financing mist be what I was thinking of)

 

[Insomniator]

Just keep unlimited verizon and get a used phone. Its not worth moving to a new plan... unlimited VZW LTE is just too valuable.

I got a used Droid DNA for $250 last August and its a great phone. You could also get a Galaxy S3 for probably $150 now... great phone as well.

DO NOT GIVE UP VERIZON UNLIMITED

 

[sze5003]

Just keep unlimited verizon and get a used phone. Its not worth moving to a new plan... unlimited VZW LTE is just too valuable.

I got a used Droid DNA for $250 last August and its a great phone. You could also get a Galaxy S3 for probably $150 now... great phone as well.

DO NOT GIVE UP VERIZON UNLIMITED

On swappa the DNA is going for $200 and up. It's a wanted phone, mostly because it is compatible with att and tmobile sim cards and it gets hspa speeds because it has the needed radios as long as that service is in your area. I think it's part of the reason Verizon stopped selling it.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

When my mom's contract is up, I'm getting her iPhone 5 so I won't have to give up my unlimited.

lol.

 

[GoodEnough]

Not the GNex, I hope! That thing is half the speed of the RAZR M, and not much more than half the battery too.

I forgot to mention -- a good time to buy something will be the actual S5 release. You'll see a lot of latest-and-greatest folks offloading S4s on Swappa.

Good call. When is this going to happen?
What is the current price of S4?
What do you think it will drop to after the S5 comes out?
People really spend $500 out of pocket on new phones?

I got a used Droid DNA for $250 last August and its a great phone. You could also get a Galaxy S3 for probably $150 now... great phone as well.

Droid DNA is a lot better than Razr M?
Is Galaxy S3 a lot better than Razr M?

 

[openwheel]

Raze M is better than S3 but not DNA. However RAZR M has its advantages over DNA mainly battery life and small form factor.

 

[sze5003]

I think the DNA is newer than the razor m? I'm not sure when it came out but it's 5 inches and pretty thin. I prefer HTC sense to moto's UI.

If you want better battery, run a custom Rom on the DNA. Although i know most people don't want to do that.

 

[chin311]

I've been off-contract with Verizon unlimited for at least 1 1/2 years now, I bought my iPhone 5S on eBay, the last iPhone 5 I had bought on FS/FT on here actually. I'd much rather pay a little more and keep the plan, I use 10gb-20gb a month so they'll have to pry me off the plan. I pay $105~ with tax for 900 min, U/L data & text

 

[Yuriman]

Republic Wireless offers unlimited 3G at $25 per month and unlimited 4G at $45 per month. Data speeds are reduced after 5Gb and you're limited to the Moto X and Moto G, but you can get them for $300 and $150 respectively. No contract, but no tethering allowed.

RW uses Sprint's network which may or may not be a problem in her area, coverage is plenty adequate where I live.

 

[cronos]

Republic Wireless offers unlimited 3G at $25 per month and unlimited 4G at $45 per month. Data speeds are reduced after 5Gb and you're limited to the Moto X and Moto G, but you can get them for $300 and $150 respectively. No contract, but no tethering allowed.

RW uses Sprint's network which may or may not be a problem in her area, coverage is plenty adequate where I live.

Some people really hate Sprint network, and would rather pay twice than deal with it. Personally for me, the network itself is fine for my needs, but the phone limitation is an absolute deal killer for Republic Wireless. I think it is absolutely crazy that you have to pay full price for the phone *and* limited to only whatever phones they allow. Not to mention the bonus killer that if I leave the carrier I bet I won't be able to use that phone anywhere else either. That's just ridiculous.

Having said all that, what does this discussion have to do with this thread? The OP was specifically asking about keeping Verizon unlimited grandfathered plan, not switching to a different carrier.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Im also thinking about finally ditching my unlimited data on ATT. Ive been hanging on to it since my sister and I are both on the same plan, and are both grandfathered in on unlimited data. Ive been buying phones off contract anyway even though I know I can still upgrade and keep my data plan.

Problem is I know I can go somewhere else and pay less - so is it even worth it for "unlimited" data from ATT anymore? Im using a nexus 4, and she has a moto g - so we can both switch right now if we wanted to.