Verizon Note2/Note3 Questions...

[DefDC]

I'm still running my GNex with unlimited data on Verizon. I want to upgrade to a Note 3 on release. My account has a few smartphones with 2gb data plans ready for upgrades. Can I still do a switch-a-roo and keep my unlimited data? Last I heard, people were still doing that. I love to hear about a recent incident of this.

I can actually sit and daydream about having a battery that lasts all day. I've suffered since WinMo 6 with crappy battery life. I'm used to keeping multiple batteries on hand, but I'd love not to HAVE to do this.

My other concerns, which I've heard mixed reviews:

Speaker Volume:
My GNex is afraid to speak above a whisper, even with boosting apps. I loved the blaring loud speaker on my Droid1. Is the Note 1/2 better in this department? Speaker and earpiece? I've only have fleeting hands on experience with the Note series, and none with the Verizon version.

Antennae Strength: This is going to be really subjective. I live in pretty good 4G coverage. (South Bend, IN). Outside my workplace, I have blazing full bars of 4G. I sit behind one cinder block wall with no windows. Everyone's T-mo, Sprint, and AT&T phones get great reception. I don't have anyone with a Verizon 4G phone here, other than mine. I can OCCASIONALLY get a bar of 4G, but if I touch the phone, it's down to a bar of 3G , or nothing. Did anyone notice getting better antennae strength when they switched to a Note? (Preferably from a GNex) I know I got better 3G reception with my Droid1.

I swore I was going to be Nexus for life. However, I'm sticking with my Verizon unlimited due to the travelling I do and a meager work discount, so that nips that in the bud. But, I must say, the Notes I've handled have been very enticing. Enough, I think, I can handle the carrier and OEM bloat. I'm also a big guy with big pockets and fingers. I also have kids, so I could use a better camera. The Note 3 is looking to be almost exactly what I'm looking for!


Cliffs: Want to do an account swap on Verizon to keep unlimited data with Note 3. I have multiple phones with tiered accounts ready for upgrade. Am I still able to swap and keep my unlimited data?
Speaker quality/loudness?
Antennae strength of Verizon Note series? (Subjective, I know...)

 

[ControlD]

As far as I know you can still keep your unlimited data as long as you don't "upgrade" to a subsidized device. Just buy a used Note 2, swap your SIM or take it to Verizon and you should be good.

I don't use the speaker much on my Note 2 but it seems loud enough. The headphone volume is quite a bit more than enough. I don't think I have even used mine at half volume, so there should be plenty there for almost any decent set of headphones. I actually lowered the amplifier gain so I could get more granularity from the volume buttons and I still have plenty of spare.

My Verizon Note 2 has as good or better an antenna than I had with my iPhone 4S, which was already pretty good. I don't have any complaints in that department.

 

[Chiropteran]

I've got to give Verizon props. It's amazing to me that their customers are willing to buy full-price phones and then run them on a subsidized phone plan without getting the subsidized phone price, just to keep unlimited data.

 

[ControlD]

I've got to give Verizon props. It's amazing to me that their customers are willing to buy full-price phones and then run them on a subsidized phone plan without getting the subsidized phone price, just to keep unlimited data.

Yep. Unfortunately for a lot of us, nobody else has coverage where we live and Verizon knows it. Until other carriers start actually expanding their network coverage I suppose a lot of us will be Verizon's bitches for quite some time. For the record I never did have unlimited data so I generally go for the subsidized price. However, had I been on the unlimited plan I probably would have gone the route of buying my own phone.

 

[DefDC]

If you have another line with an upgrade (without unlimited data) you can get a subsidized phone and "transfer" that phone to you unlimited line.

At least you used to. I'm curious if anyone has done that lately. I've heard 2nd hand references that you can still do this.

 

[ControlD]

If you have another line with an upgrade (without unlimited data) you can get a subsidized phone and "transfer" that phone to you unlimited line.

At least you used to. I'm curious if anyone has done that lately. I've heard 2nd hand references that you can still do this.

Maybe it varies depending what CSR you get, but when my wife went to use her upgrade we were told very specifically that you can NOT get a subsidized phone and keep your unlimited plan. They told us that was a corporate wide decision and went into effect some time in the last year.

 

[trmiv]

Don't do the upgrade swap via Verizon CSR or their website. Just buy the phone on the line that has the upgrade, and then activate it on that line. After that, swap the SIM from your Galaxy Nexus into it, and then put whatever phone that line was using back on that line. I recently did this when I upgraded to an S4, and I kept my unlimited. I took my mother-in-law's upgrade (we pay for her service), and swapped my sim into it.

Later on down the road I even used the online upgrade swap thing to give my upgrade to my wife since she didn't care about having to go to tiered data.