Verizon Ending Unlimited Data for Grandfathered Users

[Yeahha]

Yea but I don't think your contracted rates continue after the end date of your agreement. So you'll be like a month to month renter, so to speak, and dumped into the new data requirement. You can't just not renew and keep the old rates and features forever... The agreement prevents changes to what you pay, so no renewal means you pay what they say if they change something.

Sorry but this is incorrect. You will keep your current plan and pay month to month if you do not renew. The contract is still in place but you have finished the shortest term. They will not change it to a new plan and have confirmed you can upgrade by paying full retail if you wish to keep unlimited data.

 

[euph_22]

Yea but I don't think your contracted rates continue after the end date of your agreement. So you'll be like a month to month renter, so to speak, and dumped into the new data requirement. You can't just not renew and keep the old rates and features forever... The agreement prevents changes to what you pay, so no renewal means you pay what they say if they change something.

They can change your price whenever they want after you go month to month, but they won't. They've said repeatedly that you can keep unlimited as long as you don't use and upgrade. Besides, since there is nothing contractually keeping you on Verizon if they jacked you're prices you would just take your money elsewhere.

 

[trophynuts]

Okay i still have a question. On the 28th when this goes down. If i do nothing what happens to my data plan?

Also on my wife's she has an upgrade but we're holding out. Will we keep unlimited? Or will they automatically set our accounts to the lowest available data plan? Or do you just keep the unlimited until you upgrade after the 28th?

I know if you upgrade before then you keep it but what about people that are already on unlimited and don't want to use the upgrade or don't have one.

for my situation me and my wife could actually get by on the 4gb shared data. I actually may save money with my corp discount if we have to go this route.

 

[Redflea]

Okay i still have a question. On the 28th when this goes down. If i do nothing what happens to my data plan?

If you do nothing, nothing happens. You stay as you are, all plans/settings, etc.

Also on my wife's she has an upgrade but we're holding out. Will we keep unlimited? Or will they automatically set our accounts to the lowest available data plan? Or do you just keep the unlimited until you upgrade after the 28th?

If you upgrade her line to a subsidized phone after the 28th, you will lose unlimited on that line...it will have to go to Tiered (2GB/$30, etc.) or you could choose, if you wanted, to convert everyone to shared at that time. Your line is not affected unless you choose to go to Shared for all lines.

I know if you upgrade before then you keep it but what about people that are already on unlimited and don't want to use the upgrade or don't have one.

Nothing happens to them.

for my situation me and my wife could actually get by on the 4gb shared data. I actually may save money with my corp discount if we have to go this route.

Based on the reliable information that I have seen repeatedly and also confirmed directly with VZW:

- If you have a line with unlimited data, you can keep unlimited data, even after your two year contract is up and you go month-to-month. Now, it's possible Verizon could try to change this in the future, but their current very public statement (which matches my conversation w/Verizon support) is: "Customers will not be automatically moved to new shared data plans. If a 3G or 4G smartphone customer is on an unlimited plan now and they do not want to change their plan, they will not have to do so."

Actions that will cause you to lose unlimited data on a line after June 28:

- If you upgrade a line that has unlimited data to a new phone at subsidized prices, then you will lose your unlimited data on that line, and have to go to a tiered or shared data plan.

- Say you have two lines, both unlimited data. If you upgrade line 2 to a new phone at a subsidized price, you will lose unlimited data on your 2nd line, but you can keep unlimited data on your first line.

- Say you have three lines, two w/unlimited data, one w/dumbphone. If you upgrade the dumbphone to a smartphone at subsidized pricing, you can keep unlimited data on your two other lines, but have to use tiered data (currently 2GB for $30, 5GB for $50, and 10GB for $80) on the new smartphone on the third line.

Additional:

- Each line is treated separately...an upgrade on one line does not affect any other line on your account.

- You can buy a phone from any other 3rd party source (ebay, next door neighbor, etc.) and put that on a line w/unlimited data w/out losing your unlimited data.

- You can buy a phone from Verizon/partners at full, unsubsidized price and put it on your line and keep unlimited data.

Hope that helps...

 

[sully5981]

for those thinking about going to the shared plan.... this is probably the best comment i have seen from droid-life

JMonkeYJ

 

[vr4]

Does anyone know if you can move phone numbers between lines? My wife's line has unlimited data, my son has 2GB...he's going to need more, she never uses more than 1GB, generally .5 GB.

Can I move his number to her line, and her number to his line? (They have the same phone, so I wouldn't even necessarily have to swap the phones between the lines. )

I suspect this isn't done, but thought I'd ask.

i do believe in this case only actually swapping numbers/phones will work. i wouldnt be surprised if her number is tied to the unlimited data/line.


upgrade both to 4g and swap SIMs? maybe this will work?

 

[Optimus]

This seems reasonable. Only problem, we are going to experience the same treatment as AT&T unlimited contracts. Data throttling and the constant threat of taking away unlimited data by simply activating a more recent phone.

If you do nothing, nothing happens. You stay as you are, all plans/settings, etc.



If you upgrade her line to a subsidized phone after the 28th, you will lose unlimited on that line...it will have to go to Tiered (2GB/$30, etc.) or you could choose, if you wanted, to convert everyone to shared at that time. Your line is not affected unless you choose to go to Shared for all lines.



Nothing happens to them.



Based on the reliable information that I have seen repeatedly and also confirmed directly with VZW:

- If you have a line with unlimited data, you can keep unlimited data, even after your two year contract is up and you go month-to-month. Now, it's possible Verizon could try to change this in the future, but their current very public statement (which matches my conversation w/Verizon support) is: "Customers will not be automatically moved to new shared data plans. If a 3G or 4G smartphone customer is on an unlimited plan now and they do not want to change their plan, they will not have to do so."

Actions that will cause you to lose unlimited data on a line after June 28:

- If you upgrade a line that has unlimited data to a new phone at subsidized prices, then you will lose your unlimited data on that line, and have to go to a tiered or shared data plan.

- Say you have two lines, both unlimited data. If you upgrade line 2 to a new phone at a subsidized price, you will lose unlimited data on your 2nd line, but you can keep unlimited data on your first line.

- Say you have three lines, two w/unlimited data, one w/dumbphone. If you upgrade the dumbphone to a smartphone at subsidized pricing, you can keep unlimited data on your two other lines, but have to use tiered data (currently 2GB for $30, 5GB for $50, and 10GB for $80) on the new smartphone on the third line.

Additional:

- Each line is treated separately...an upgrade on one line does not affect any other line on your account.

- You can buy a phone from any other 3rd party source (ebay, next door neighbor, etc.) and put that on a line w/unlimited data w/out losing your unlimited data.

- You can buy a phone from Verizon/partners at full, unsubsidized price and put it on your line and keep unlimited data.

Hope that helps...

 

[phantom phenom]

I have question, if I buy 4G phone at full retail will I lose unlimited plan after June 28th?

I using iPhone 4s...

3G to 4G will lose unlimited plan ?

 

[MrB206]

Sorry but this is incorrect. You will keep your current plan and pay month to month if you do not renew. The contract is still in place but you have finished the shortest term. They will not change it to a new plan and have confirmed you can upgrade by paying full retail if you wish to keep unlimited data.

Yea, that's why I said I wasn't sure. I haven't looked at the agreement in a while, but I recall it's more like "you agree to use the service for 2 years if we agree to give you this phone at a subsidized price". But the thing you have to remember is once your 2 year agreement is up, there is NO protection from Verizon changing what you have to pay. They can't change your allotted minutes (from what I recall), but they can change what you pay for those plans.

Now.. just because they can, does that mean they're going to? Probably not. If you're grandfathered and/or a long-time customer (if they still have the 'gold customer' plan in effect), they're not going to try not to do anything to piss you off.

 

[Redflea]

This seems reasonable. Only problem, we are going to experience the same treatment as AT&T unlimited contracts. Data throttling and the constant threat of taking away unlimited data by simply activating a more recent phone.

Verizon already has data throttling, so nothing new there.

And there really isn't a "threat"...No one is going to point a subsidized phone at your head and demand you take it. ;-) (Though you can bet they are going to do their best to roll out some really sexy phones w/cool features that aren't backported to older phones to get people to want to upgrade...)

I have a feeling that Verizon will lose subscribers over this to some extent, but other carriers may use this as an opportunity to tighten up their plans as well, so switching could be a Pyrrhic victory.

We've all gotten used to unlimited data, but things are changing (at least for now)...sad, but life isn't always chocolate cake and ice cream. <shrug>

 

[MrB206]

BTW... does anyone have data to $ comparison for family data packages planned? I'm trying to get a feel for how badly I'm going to be screwed. I've got 2 lines, so I'm paying $60/month, but I get the impression from what people online have said, that I'll be paying more for 5-10gb data. We *might* be able to get away with 4gb, but probably not... and I think VZ is counting on that. :/

 

[heyeaglefn]

Ok, so here is my question. I've seen a few answers to similar questions, but they were somewhat confusing.

I have 4 family lines with unlimited data and the 20 off promotion.

I have the SIII preordered for 2 lines, but the other 2 lines are not eligible for upgrade until the end of July.

So I can obviously keep the unlimited on my 2 lines, but what happens come end of July when these lines upgrade? 1 of the lines that I can upgrade to an SIII is the primary line on this account.

 

[AntimonyER]

Ok, so here is my question. I've seen a few answers to similar questions, but they were somewhat confusing.

I have 4 family lines with unlimited data and the 20 off promotion.

I have the SIII preordered for 2 lines, but the other 2 lines are not eligible for upgrade until the end of July.

So I can obviously keep the unlimited on my 2 lines, but what happens come end of July when these lines upgrade? 1 of the lines that I can upgrade to an SIII is the primary line on this account.

They will revert to the 2GB plan. I don't know if you will retain the 20 off on those two or not.

 

[Redflea]

Ok, so here is my question. I've seen a few answers to similar questions, but they were somewhat confusing.

I have 4 family lines with unlimited data and the 20 off promotion.

I have the SIII preordered for 2 lines, but the other 2 lines are not eligible for upgrade until the end of July.

So I can obviously keep the unlimited on my 2 lines, but what happens come end of July when these lines upgrade? 1 of the lines that I can upgrade to an SIII is the primary line on this account.

SIII pre-order on the two lines that are currently eligible for upgrade retains your unlimited data on those two lines.

http://www.droid-life.com/2012/06/1...y-s3-on-verizon-and-keep-your-unlimited-data/

If you upgrade the other two lines after July 28 to any phone at a subsidized price, they will go to Tiered data.

Contract/pricing on all lines should stay the same unless there is a limitation w/the $20 off plans that as soon as you take any upgrade you lose the discount, or it expires, etc.

 

[Yeahha]

Yea, that's why I said I wasn't sure. I haven't looked at the agreement in a while, but I recall it's more like "you agree to use the service for 2 years if we agree to give you this phone at a subsidized price". But the thing you have to remember is once your 2 year agreement is up, there is NO protection from Verizon changing what you have to pay. They can't change your allotted minutes (from what I recall), but they can change what you pay for those plans.

Now.. just because they can, does that mean they're going to? Probably not. If you're grandfathered and/or a long-time customer (if they still have the 'gold customer' plan in effect), they're not going to try not to do anything to piss you off.

I am not sure if they can make changes just because you are out of contract, but they more than likely wouldn't. There is nothing to keep you from just saying cancel the service if they do. They have said multiple times that as long as you don't sign a new contract they will not take away your unlimited data.

It is too risky to them to make changes to someone out of contract. They want you locked in a contract. If you are in a contract they know they will make $2000+ off of you, if they make a change to it there is nothing preventing you from leaving. This is the same reason they won't make this change effective for everyone on contract right now and they are waiting for the contract renewal as it would allow those under contract and easy out without paying an ETF.

 

[Negativism]

This is big red to its loyal long term customers.

No iphone 4g LTE for you!

That $30 dumbphon,$20 month cards is looking good now so big red no 248.38 aa month for you!

 

[MrB206]

I am not sure if they can make changes just because you are out of contract, but they more than likely wouldn't. There is nothing to keep you from just saying cancel the service if they do. They have said multiple times that as long as you don't sign a new contract they will not take away your unlimited data.

It is too risky to them to make changes to someone out of contract. They want you locked in a contract. If you are in a contract they know they will make $2000+ off of you, if they make a change to it there is nothing preventing you from leaving. This is the same reason they won't make this change effective for everyone on contract right now and they are waiting for the contract renewal as it would allow those under contract and easy out without paying an ETF.

Look at it like an auto pay account... You won't see the product quantity change, but the price may. But like you said, will they change your price? Probably not.

But people who have unlimited should not expect vz to allow them to keep it much longer after they let their agreement expire. I'd be willing to bet they'll have a grace period as they phase it out, notify us of forced data package changes on old accounts and then change accounts after that period. It's common in program changes in the corporate world. I've done a few phase outs like that.

 

[Redflea]

Yeah, I agree...unlimited data is the Dodo of our time...soon (as in over the next few years at most) I'd expect it to become extinct, except possibly as a very expensive premium service.

I'm wondering how much longer until the home cable/DSL companies jump on this bandwagon and start putting in the same type of pricing structures on their internet services.

 

[bamaredwingsfan]

If you have 2 smartphones on a family account, an both with grandfathered data plans. I see no reason to go to the shared data plan just to save 10 dollars. If 10 per month is hurting you that much, maybe you need to re evaluate your need for smart phones.

 

[Wizard Prang]

Yeah, I agree...unlimited data is the Dodo of our time...soon (as in over the next few years at most) I'd expect it to become extinct, except possibly as a very expensive premium service.

Everyone says "unlimited data is going away", but personally I think this feels... wrong. I have unlimited data on my home internet, unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling on my cellphones. Many of these things were limited and metered in bygone years, but not any more.

Under the new plan unlimited calling and unlimited texting are on the table. This is actually a good thing, though in dire need of some real competition (as opposed to the "same-as-the-next-guy" thinking that seems to pass for competition in this industry).

In Britain just about every cellphone carrier bundles unlimited texting with most of their plans, probably because the cost is minimal. Over here, for some reason, hardly any of the majors do. Why do they do this? My best guess is "Because we can". And texting is almost pure profit...

In an age where technology is getting cheaper and faster, and data availability becomes less of a luxury and more of a commodity - if not an outright necessity - it seems to me that cellular data is overpriced and, under the new plan, getting more so.

I believe that one day, unlimited will be the norm, until then, they should simply offer data at a flat rate (say $5/GB). That would be fair, reasonable and honest; naturally the majors would be horrified at such an idea.

That is why this attempt at removing unlimited data customers seems like such a retrograde step to me. The main reason that unlimited data is currently such a pain for the cellcos is because of their network capacity. This should improve over time. Data hogs who abuse the system are not part of this equation - they can and should be targeted and dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Pardon my rant. And now back to our regular-scheduled programing.

 

[AntimonyER]

Unlimited isn't gone forever, but it won't be coming back for $30 per line. Go back to the days of the original unlimited minutes. Those plans were exorbitant. That is what Verizon has its eyes on. Unlimited data will be hundreds, until someday a network advance makes data so cheap that prices will come down as regional carriers start competing with dirt cheap data.

 

[MrB206]

Everyone says "unlimited data is going away", but personally I think this feels... wrong. I have unlimited data on my home internet, unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling on my cellphones. Many of these things were limited and metered in bygone years, but not any more.

Well look at it from a corporate perspective: would you give away 500 of something if you knew you could get the same money for giving the customers 100 of the same item? Of course.

So why would they give you unmetered/uncapped bandwidth if they can limit you? Comcast used to be unlimited, but now they're limited to 250gb/month, which is pushing it if you watch Netflix regularly, given their high bandwidth requirements for HD content.

 

[Wizard Prang]

Well look at it from a corporate perspective: would you give away 500 of something if you knew you could get the same money for giving the customers 100 of the same item? Of course.

Ever heard of something called "competition"?"

 

[MrB206]

Irrelevant if competition does the same, which they are.

 

[Redflea]

Everyone says "unlimited data is going away", but personally I think this feels... wrong. I have unlimited data on my home internet, unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling on my cellphones. Many of these things were limited and metered in bygone years, but not any more.

Under the new plan unlimited calling and unlimited texting are on the table. This is actually a good thing, though in dire need of some real competition (as opposed to the "same-as-the-next-guy" thinking that seems to pass for competition in this industry).

In Britain just about every cellphone carrier bundles unlimited texting with most of their plans, probably because the cost is minimal. Over here, for some reason, hardly any of the majors do. Why do they do this? My best guess is "Because we can". And texting is almost pure profit...

In an age where technology is getting cheaper and faster, and data availability becomes less of a luxury and more of a commodity - if not an outright necessity - it seems to me that cellular data is overpriced and, under the new plan, getting more so.

I believe that one day, unlimited will be the norm, until then, they should simply offer data at a flat rate (say $5/GB). That would be fair, reasonable and honest; naturally the majors would be horrified at such an idea.

That is why this attempt at removing unlimited data customers seems like such a retrograde step to me. The main reason that unlimited data is currently such a pain for the cellcos is because of their network capacity. This should improve over time. Data hogs who abuse the system are not part of this equation - they can and should be targeted and dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Pardon my rant. And now back to our regular-scheduled programing.

You'll notice that mobile phone technology separates mobile data (email, web browsing, videos, file downloads, phone apps online actions, etc.) from phone/text usage. Phone/Text is indeed unlimited in the new plans...and coincidentally they are not the growth area for VZW profits.

Data (as defined above) IS the growth area, will be metered/priced by the byte for the most part, and you have to wonder when/if the cable/DSL industry will dip their toes into this type of pricing.