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Free IPhone 16?

I have been with Verizon for over 22 years. I have 4 lines, two of them are IPhones, two are flip phones of which one is mine. I never wanted or needed a smart phone. My flip phone had limited Internet access but it was enough for me until recently when it started having problems. Needing a new phone I decided to give in and enter the 21st century by replacing my flip phone with a smart phone. I decided on an IPhone because two family members on my plan have IPhones and are happy with them. I wanted the IPhone Plus because a larger screen would be better for me. Today I received an e-mail from Verizon titled- "Just for you, IPhone 16 on Us, Keep your plan!" Perfect timing or so I thought. When I went online to get the deal for an IPhone 16 Plus it said I was not qualified. Confused, I called Customer Service. The woman who answered was very nice but still said I did not qualify. She suggested changing my plan to one of the new unlimited plans which would save money. My current top unlimited plan costs a base $198. for 4 lines. The new top unlimited plan would cost $220., $22. more. Besides I wanted to keep my plan like the e-mail said. After reviewing all the available "promotions" she said the best Verizon would offer me was an IPhone 14. I declined, if I was finally going to a smart phone I wanted the latest IPhone technology.

Several other cell phone companies are offering unlimited cell phone service at lower or comparable prices with a free IPhone 16 for each line. I would like to stay with Verizon but I obviously will have to consider the competition.

Comments

SynthpopAddict

While it is true that legacy plans are not eligible for promotions, I'd have to think you're getting some perks rolled into your plan, which the current plans do not include. Even if you decided to switch to a current plan to get the phone promotion, then you might have to pay extra to keep using any perks you've got now. I've also read of issues where someone upgraded their plan and then it broke all their perks because the system still thinks they're on the legacy plan and tries to log them in under the old plan, which isn't there anymore.

If you have never used a smartphone before, I'd recommend borrowing your family members' iPhones and checking out the interface to see if that's something which comes to you easily and whether or not you would enjoy/use all the features. There are other smartphones out there which could suit your needs better and not come with the hefty price tag of newer generation iPhones.

In my own experience, cell phone service is like anything else in life: you usually get what you pay for.

bbskip1

No perks. I don't know what you mean by "legacy" plan. My plan is called "the new Verizon Plan Unlimited" which was the best unlimited plan they offered at the time.

Verizon_Support

Hello there bbskp1! We want you to be able to get the promo that was offered to you. I will be sending you a private message so that I can review your account further.

-Erica

bbskip1

Well, contact with Customer Support went well, at least at first, before going south and ending in a dead end. First they told me I could apply the free upgrade to one of the 2 smartphone lines and use the phone on my flip phone line which would presumably give me the desired IPhone 16 Plus that I want. But as we got further along they told me it would cost me $30. more a month to actually use the new phone. Why? It gets complicated. Even though my original plan was for unlimited data I supposedly could not use data on any of the 2 flip phone lines, they supposedly have some some of data block on them. I do remember that in the beginning I paid an additional separate fee for the 2 smartphone lines. Why? That is the way the plan was priced back then. So to now use data on the "upgraded" to an IPhone flip phone line I would have to pay the "smartphone" fee. But several years ago Verizon changed the plan and the individual line fees, so since then I have only been paying $20. for each of the 4 lines. So since the line charges are all equal now, $20. basic or smartphone charge, why would I be charged $50. for one of the lines now. And as for my flip phone line being "data blocked" all these years that is not true. I have used data to connect to the Internet with my flip phones dating back to at least November 2004 without any additional charge. I remember, it came in very handy on our trip to Disney that December. And I have continued to use data until just recently when something happened to the browser, I cannot scroll on it which blocks almost all access to the Internet.

So to take advantage of any one of the free phone offers they keep sending me (I just received 2 new ones today) I have to agree to increase my monthly bill by $30. plus tax forever as long as I have the account. "Free" certainly sounds misleading to me.

SynthpopAddict

My opinion only of course, but considering how we are all paying to use the same network, yet different service plans vary in pricing - when you get a "free" phone, there's usually a requirement that you sign up for the fanciest service plan currently available. This is true with the competition as well. So, if you ask me, it's not really "free"...you just paid for it in other ways. I am oversimplifying it a bit because there are fine print details and yes, there are some additional benefits for paying more, but you get the idea.

To answer a few of your earlier questions:

-A "legacy" plan is a service plan Verizon offered some time in the past, but is now not available when you go on the main website for brand new customers. Your "New Verizon Plan Unlimited" is a legacy plan.

-Many flip phones can only do calls and SMS texting. If you have a flip phone which is able to access the internet, it would be limited to email and basic web browsing. Modern smartphones, however, are miniature computers and can use the internet for anything.

-Since you have flip phones on 2 of your lines, it sounds like Verizon gave you a price break on the service costs, since the flip phones can't use the internet like smartphones. To change out the flip phones to smartphones, then you would have to pay more for full internet access.

-As for phones being able to use the internet even in 2004 and your flip phone having issues with internet usage, that's a more complicated discussion on the different generations of wireless technology, and how things have changed over the years.

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